Small businesses and start-ups put forth great effort to appear stable and established. But often times they have a 'tell'. Business cards printed at home, an AOL email address or ...a tri-fold brochure. No matter how great your company/ service may be, you simply sell yourself short with these marketing flubs.
Marketing Faux Pas
While the tri-fold format in printed collateral has long been a a staple in marketing, in recent years the layout style has become a faux pas. We live in the age of 'instant' success, consumers want to get information at a glance. That means they are looking for a Visual Snapshot. Its a big risk to assume that someone will take the time to comb through the folds of a page just to find out what you do, and how it will benefit them.
The Visual Snapshot
If you are wondering what a Visual Snapshot is, then imagine yourself in line at the supermarket. When you glance at the magazines on the shelf you make a decision on whether or not to buy, just by looking at the cover. The same thing happens when a person looks at your marketing collateral. I mean we don't want to have to read the
entire magazine to determine if we should buy it.
The first page of your brochure should state the following (very obviously):
- Who are you?
- What do you offer?
- What is unique about your product or service?
I'm not saying that the triple dipper doesn't have its effective uses. It can be quite helpful as a pamphlet and its a wonderful tool in the health care industry. But for small businesses, it just makes you LOOK small time.
I have included an example of a Sell Sheet. Whether single or double sided, its a sure fire way to impress prospects.
Happy Branding Everyone! (http://thebrandcoach.com/ or @brandcoachllc)
