Corporate Brochures
A corporate brochure is a professional, print publication that is used to advertise a company’s products, services and information on the company for customers. Based on advertising budgets, a brochure may have one, two, three or more folds and is set apart from a flier. A company can create their own, but it is advisable to have a professional company do that for you.
A Simple Brochure consists of your company information and your message. Vistaprint.com has an article that gives basic information on the creation of one.[1]
- Getting started
- How to write a brochure
- Create an effective brochure design
- Choose the right paper
- Getting the most out of your brochure
https://www.vistaprint.com/hub/brochures-guide?rd=1
This video (which is found in the article above), gives good, basic information about brochure use.[2]
Video: https://www.vistaprint.com/hub/brochures-guide?rd=1#
Another resource I found on the internet was one from the Tennessee Ag Department and it gave detailed information about brochures being an effective marketing tool. While the article was from December, 2010, it was addressed to both private and business individuals.[3] I also found business card and postcard design that was put out by this company, which had good information.
https://ag.tennessee.edu/cpa/Information%20Sheets/cpa179.pdf
The advantages of a brochure are many, primarily it gives information on your company, and gives contact information, website address, and what you have to offer. The disadvantages are that the buyer may not be in the market for what you are offering at the time the brochure is looked at, and not everyone tends to keep the information and file it. Or your information may change and unless you mail a new brochure to everyone, you do not keep in contact with them. The cost can be expensive, but it is a necessary expense of business and worth it.
When discussing the AIDA concept, the brochure gets the buyers attention, interest, desire and action based on what is represented in the brochure and in your product. You can be promoting a cup of coffee or a rock, if the brochure is done correctly, it will get attention.
Since this is a corporate brochure, the audience is set, unless it is a hotel chain and you are shopping for an event or family meeting. An effective brochure will preach to the all customers in that target audience. You do not send a plumbing brochure to someone looking at floors and by targeting the market ahead of time, you control who you send it to. In the Saylor Foundation book on Launch, a B2B situation was explained as one company help another company in their advertising efforts, and “… campaign generated 120 percent more registrations than expected. The success was due in part to demographic profiling that identified potential customers and why they buy, and then used an integrated campaign to reinforce the messages and reach customers in different ways.”[4] This is an example of profiling that was successful. I would utilize the brochure as a main piece, sending a cover letter and a business card. If I was in a business trade show or similar setting, I would introduce myself and hand the potential client the brochure.
[1]Vistaprint.com, “How to Make a Brochure” https://www.vistaprint.com/hub/brochures-guide?rd=1, (Accessed October 13, 2017)
[2] Vistaprint.com, “How To Use Brochures For Your Business” https://www.vistaprint.com/hub/brochures-guide?rd=1, (Accessed October 13, 2017)
[3] Ladd, Ann “Developing Effective Marketing Materials: Brochure Design Considerations” , https://ag.tennessee.edu/cpa/Information%20Sheets/cpa179.pdf
University of Tennessee, Center for Profitable Agriculture, December 2010 (Accessed October 14, 2017)
[4] Saylor Foundation, “Direct Marketing” https://www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/Launch!%20Advertising%20and%20Promotion%20in%20Real%20Time.pdf#page=175&zoom=auto,-121,580, Chapter 9, page 273 (Accessed October 12, 2017)