{"id":27609,"date":"2013-06-20t10:34:10","date_gmt":"2013-06-20t14:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=27609"},"modified":"2024-09-01t14:49:01","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01t18:49:01","slug":"marcus-brochure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2013\/06\/20\/marcus-brochure\/","title":{"rendered":"everything you need to know about your next brochure"},"content":{"rendered":"
despite the values inherent in well-done brochures, there are some pervasive misconceptions that substantially undermine their very real value to sound marketing.<\/strong><\/p>\n by bruce w. marcus<\/em> there is a peculiar comfort in a brochure. it’s easy to feel that if you’ve got one, you’ve taken care of marketing. or most of it, at least.<\/p>\n brochures, then, are too often done “because everybody has one,” rather than as part of a thoughtful marketing plan.<\/p>\n more professional services marketing 3.0:<\/strong> being social in the new world of social media<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0 there\u2019s a leak in my firm<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0 what ads, the web or social media still can\u2019t do<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0 advertising as a marketing tool that sometimes works<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0 eight client retention strategies for the new competitive environment<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0 why \u201cniche marketing\u201d should be superseded by \u201ctotal context marketing\u201d<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0 ten strategies for the smaller firm facing competition from larger firms<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0 the client service team in action<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0 ten things every firm needs to make clear firm-wide<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 |<\/p>\n a brochure, in this context, is a pamphlet or booklet that describes a firm, a facility or a service. it may be used to explain all or a segment of the firm’s services, or how the firm functions in a particular industry, or to address a specific problem.<\/p>\n in this report:<\/strong><\/p>\n perhaps the most expensive misconception is that brochures sell<\/em> — that a prospective client will read a brochure loaded with glowing adjectives, and sign a contract as a result of it.<\/p>\n to assume, too, that people read brochures thoroughly and carefully is another trap. in fact, a brochure, no matter how attractive or thorough, is usually simply glanced at. it may be read in conjunction with other material, to get an overall impression of a firm. but it’s rarely devoured like a novel.<\/p>\n there’s a tendency to forget that publications strongly compete against one another — and against other marketing literature — for a prospective client’s attention. your brochure is rarely the lone voice in a wilderness. nor can a brochure be merely self-serving, ignoring the needs of the reader. the brochure that sings the praises of oneself may fulfill egos, but rarely will it fill coffers.<\/p>\n for all that a good brochure can contribute to a marketing program, it’s rarely the keystone of a total marketing effort, nor should it be. but as an adjunct<\/em> to a marketing plan, it can be useful.<\/p>\n the power of the well-designed brochure<\/strong><\/p>\n in conjunction with other marketing tools, brochures:<\/p>\n when is a brochure not indicated?<\/strong><\/p>\n a brochure is distinctly contraindicated when:<\/p>\n the web site<\/strong><\/p>\n it\u2019s now difficult to think of a brochure without thinking in terms of a web site. the two are different, of course, although the inevitable question is that if you\u2019ve got a web site to carry your information, why do you need a brochure?<\/p>\n several very good reasons:<\/p>\n and don\u2019t think that you can simply put your brochure on your web site. nobody will look at your site a second time. the basic questions<\/strong><\/p>\n within the context of even the simplest marketing program, thinking about brochures should begin with the very basic questions:<\/p>\n the answers to these questions will, in turn, focus the objectives of the brochure, and lead to developing a more effective document.<\/p>\n the format is dictated not by arbitrary choice, but by the role the brochure is to play in the marketing plan. too often, the graphic designer is called in before the writer, and before the brochure’s marketing role is defined. this subordinates the message to the design, almost invariably resulting in a visually attractive publication that diminishes or fails to serve the communications or marketing objective. in fact, be sure that the designer understands that the message is in the text, not the design. let the text do its work.<\/p>\n still, publications should be professionally designed, written and produced. amateurism will say things about your firm that are unflattering and counterproductive. if appearance is not the primary factor, desktop publishing may be sufficient. but a brochure to rest on the desks of ceos of prospective clients should not be home-produced.<\/p>\n the art of writing a brochure is exactly that \u2013 an art. but in writing brochures for an accounting firm there are some distinct considerations that can make the difference between a brochure that accomplishes your objectives and one that doesn’t.<\/p>\n the thoughtful, and most useful, brochure for a professional firm must solve a major problem — how do we describe our facilities and services in ways that differentiate us from our competitors, and at the same project quality? ethics, of course, preclude comparison, which forecloses a classic marketing device.<\/p>\n one problem \u2013 one nagging problem \u2013 remains. how do you get the message across without using the same language that everybody else uses, and saying the same things that everybody else says? how do you distinguish one professional firm from another, when you can’t use adjectives? no problem is more vexing than this.<\/p>\n that’s the dilemma. with a product, you can make a distinction. you can make a claim, and maybe even prove that claim. “our bulbs are brighter and last longer than their bulbs.” presumably, you can also say, “we do better audits,\u201d or “we do better briefs,” but you can’t prove it, and who’d believe it?<\/p>\n what works<\/strong><\/p>\n the answer is always emerging, driven by the imagination of marketing professionals, but we do begin to see some things that work:<\/p>\n the artfulness in a brochure is derived from knowing beforehand what you want people to know, think, or feel after they’ve read it. the art in a brochure is getting people to really read it in the first place, and to accept what they’ve read as news, as gospel, as a point of instruction and interest.<\/p>\n a brochure, in a sense, is no different from any other marketing tool. properly used, it works. improperly used, it not only doesn’t help, but it lulls you into thinking that you’re accomplishing more than you really are. better to take the larger view; to develop the larger marketing context in which the brochure is a working cog.<\/p>\n copyright. used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" despite the values inherent in well-done brochures, there are some pervasive misconceptions that substantially undermine their very real value to sound marketing. by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 there is a peculiar comfort in a brochure. it’s easy … continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1340,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[79],"class_list":["post-27609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-outlook","tag-marketing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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