Engrave Your Brochures: 8 Best Alternatives for Creating Collateral
If you work in marketing communications, you’ve probably seen this scenario a dozen times: A harassed salesperson, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, bursts into your cubicle. “I got a hot sales call in Toledo in three weeks. I have to have a brochure to drop off,” he says, pounding his fist into his open palm.
you sigh. So it begins: yet another brochure. And you know how it will end: thousands of dollars and several late nights against deadlines, you will have your brochure. But the company will not have the sale. And you’ll have a coat closet full of bulging boxes of forgotten warranties.
Is there a better way to support sales? Something you can leave with prospects that’s a little more memorable, and more effective, than the standard brochure with its forced march through company “visions,” product descriptions, and corporate bios? Yes actually. I offer eight suggestions, not as comprehensive answers to all sales communications situations, but as inspiration and provocation to create material that is less likely to gather dust and more likely to bring your company closer to a sale.
1) Make it a magazine. David Ogilvy once asked why print ads had to look like print ads, why not make them look like articles? I mean, why not go one step further and make your brochures look like magazines? Instead of the usual boring content, create articles that position your company, products, or services as ways to solve problems or achieve desired customer goals.
For nearly a decade, Baystate Health Systems in Massachusetts has published a beautiful four-color glossy magazine, AlphaSights, which distribute to referral medical professionals in central Massachusetts. Distributed three times a year, AlphaSights is packed with articles on new procedures, protocols and initiatives at its flagship hospital, Baystate Medical Center. It has been a phenomenal success: the first issue alone attracted a surge in referrals that more than offset the production costs of the entire year.
2) Make it useful. Here’s another health care lesson. Every day, tons of samples, coffee cups, and brochures are left in doctors’ offices across the country by legions of pharmaceutical and medical device reps – clutter, clutter, and more clutter. In a competitive field, how do you stand out?
A manufacturer of medical products took notice. They developed a form pad, 8.5″ x 11″, with pre-assigned checkboxes and quick and easy order fields that a doctor can complete in seconds. All you have to do is fill a few boxes, sign it, and send it through a fax machine to order the product. In a crowded field of competitors, this manufacturer got the most orders, not because they had the prettiest mug or the most beautiful brochure, but because they left something behind that made their product the easiest to obtain.
3) Make it educational. Give your prospects a taste of your expertise. Professional services companies have been doing this for years with the ubiquitous white paper, a kind of monograph on a relevant topic of business interest.
Why not apply the “report” idea to consumer products and services as well? For years, the Wall Street Journal has been offering personal finance guides as subscription lures. Anything complex could benefit from an educational report that simplifies: imagine a countertop selection guide for a kitchen remodeling company or an explanation of home value for real estate agencies. With a little research and imagination, these companies and others like them can distinguish themselves as authorities, not just other brokers in the group.
4) Make it practical. Two of my current clients are getting a lot of mileage out of packaging tips: tips and/or ideas that are long enough to be useful, but short enough to be easily digested. It is a format that people love; in fact, you’re reading a tip-based article right now!
The key is to break your knowledge down into bite-sized chunks that busy people can consume on the go. Of my two “tip” clients, one heads into the multi-billion dollar M&A market with a “top ten tips” guide; the other runs a tips-based website on a variety of topics that interest consumers and attracts enthusiastic patrons who want to communicate with them. High or low tips attract favorable attention either way.
5) Make it “maintainable.” When I was a kid, a mechanic’s shop wasn’t real if it didn’t have at least one “girly” calendar, sponsored by “Joe’s Auto Parts” or “Cranwick’s Plumbing Supply” on its walls. Cheesy? Maybe. But you can be sure that the target audience saw the sponsor’s name and phone number every day, often long after the calendars had expired!
In addition to calendars, consider attractive posters, playing cards, puzzles and entertaining cubicle toys. Of course, you want to select options that are as closely associated with your business, proposition, or message as possible. I know of a company that creates custom decks of cards for authors (especially consultants or motivational authors), with each card serving as a chapter or topic summary. Playing cards are much more memorable than business cards or brochures, but they are less cumbersome and expensive than giving away copies of books.
6) Do it from the customer’s point of view. If the familiar brochure format is still your best option, at least consider changing your perspective. Too much collateral is narcissistic, full of empty chest thumps trying to surprise the reader with the supposed greatness of the company.
Instead, write from the customer’s point of view. Forget the boring company history and honour-earned stuff, and talk about the real issues your customers are facing. Then tell them how you solve these problems with precise and specific evidence that makes your claims believable. By adopting this shift in perspective, you demonstrate empathy with the customer (you’re on their side) and show an understanding of real-world circumstances that prospects can recognize and respect.
7) Make it mailable. Or, if it’s going to be shared by hand, easy to ship or transport. In either case, consider how you’re going to distribute your new collateral before you commit to creating it.
Years ago, I worked on a spiral bound brochure that the client loved. Unfortunately, the spiral binding bulged inside its envelope and jammed the post office’s machines. Worse yet, the book was an odd size, small enough to rattle around in an ordinary cardboard “express” envelope. While the design was charming, the project was impractical and ultimately failed in its intended purpose. Don’t make the same mistake: if you’re distributing in bulk, make it easy to mail.
8) Make it work for you. One final thought: you’re not in the business of posting collateral yourself; You should always have a specific business or marketing goal in mind for each piece you create. Everything you do should play a dynamic role in your sales process, a goal that brings the potential customer one step closer to buying. What do you want the customer to do as a result of getting or receiving your part? Whatever it is, make it explicit.
If nothing else, at least end your collateral copy with a “call to action,” a directive to phone, write, or otherwise respond. If you can offer an incentive (a discount, a bonus, a free analysis), all the better. But at least ASK for the answer and tell readers exactly how to reach you.