The Company Brochure: Still Generating Sales in the Digital Age

In the rush to implement the “latest and greatest” (and untested) techniques, too many marketers overlook simple, proven methods for driving business.

Take the humble sales brochure. It has fallen out out of favor with many marketers, who view brochures as nothing more than another piece of printed collateral. But in our experience, a well-designed sales brochure can be a highly effective messaging tool—in terms of both cost and returns—particularly in B2B marketing. A well-designed sales brochure will help train your sales reps and guide them in the field, will help your prospects articulate your value proposition to internal decision makers long after your sales rep is gone, and exemplifies your professionalism in hardcopy form.

Think of a brochure as a static snapshot of a company website and you can begin to see the possibilities. Key products, services and lines of business can be highlighted, in words and images, supplementing all other forms of digital marketing.

In particular, sales brochures:

• Provide a tangible leave-behind for sales reps and are a valuable takeaway at tradeshows and events
• Serve after the sales call in the decision-making process
• Aren’t forgotten in email in-boxes, deleted, or routed to spam folders sight unseen
• Create another marketing channel to funnel customers to your business
• Reinforce company messaging and branding

Implemented as part of a multi-faceted marketing plan, sales brochures can add a valuable component to other “link and launch” collateral. And for B2B companies who use a sales force and networking events to generate business, brochures are still an essential tool.

If you’re considering a brochure for your business, here are a few guidelines to consider:

• Focus the message by limiting the scope to 3-4 key areas of your business (your website can cover more)
• Use inserts to supplement information (e.g. vertical marketing sheets, product data sheets, vendor info)
• Use images to reinforce brochure text
• Prominently feature contact information and calls to action throughout

We recommend going with a four-page design, printed on 110 lb. gloss. Digital printing is far more cost-effective than offset printing, particularly in smaller quantities. Most of our clients print 250-500 brochures at a time to keep expenses down and because things change very quickly, necessitating updates of the brochure every nine months to a year.

If you have any questions, we welcome you to contact us. We’ll be happy to help you put your thoughts to page.