To print or not to print: Is the brochure obsolete or still useful?

Customers ask us all the time: does it still make sense to print that brochure? After all, we have communication migrating online – and a near unlimited range of tools to do so. Plus, personalized, one-on-one communication is increasingly crowding out the traditional one-to-many tools. And then there are the printing costs…. Still, the answer can be a definite “yes”. Brochures, flyers or fact sheets remain a great way for organizations to communicate with their customers … in the right circumstances.

 

Still, it is a question worth asking. Brochures, for example, are often a legacy tool. Companies produce  them because they have always done so when rolling out a new product. Or simply because that’s what everybody in the industry does. That alone is obviously not a good reason to continue the practice, and companies have to assess whether print is still worth the cost.

The benefits of print

A well-made brochure is a thing of beauty. Copy, images, format and paper work together to inform and seduce. They are handy to pass around, for example by salespeople starting a conversation, and are useful tools for comparison. Paper is a physical presence that has some benefits a website can’t match. When looking at a brochure, a reader’s attention isn’t diverted by incoming chat messages or the other distractions a computer offers. In addition, they last longer than a shared link and are often easier to find.

 

An email with a link to a website will get lost in the flood of incoming messages, even if it is marked as “Important” or “High Priority.” A brochure handed from one colleague or another or from a salesperson to a potential customer won’t.

 

Different Audiences, Different Preferences

Still, brochures are probably the wrong tool for a hip online startup  trying to sell a new product to millennials across the globe. In that case, anything on paper will probably be ineffective.

 

But not everybody is an Internet-savvy computer wizard who appreciates all of the bells and whistles of an amazing website or social media platform. There are still a lot of people who are much more old school. Due to their age and seniority, they are often in decision-making positions. They still like to use brochures in their decision-making process and appreciate a handy, well-made print product.

 

Geographic and cultural differences come into play too. Some countries, or even regions, have gone fast and far in the digital conversion. Other have held on to the tools they know and trust.

 

Brochures and branding

“Touch” is an important keyword when building a brand. Sure, appealing to customers with audiovisuals is important, but brands become richer if they involve all the senses. Haptics matter.

 

Just think back to a time you picked up a wooden or metal object and were surprised because it weighed more than you anticipated. You could immediately sense that the materials were of a higher quality than you expected.

 

That’s why a good brochure still works. It tells people something more than the information it contains right from the moment they pick it up. And it’s not just the paper that is used but also the quality of the print, the images and its contents.

 

Brochures done right

As with everything, getting it right is key. A poorly made brochure filled with factual or grammatical errors is going to leave a terrible impression. Authenticity is one of our six criteria of outstanding communication and that is a key factor here. To do a great brochure, everything has to fit. Even something as seemingly minor as a stock photo can make the entire product appear “off” somehow. Relevance also matters. Readers want to see themselves, their needs, their aspirations and goals in a brochure. A self-indulgent long read will be discarded in 20 seconds.

 

So does it still make sense to use old school paper products? Sure, but only if you are willing to do it right – and we can help you with that.

Make martech work for you

Do you need martech? Absolutely. It is 2017 after all. But how do you know what works best for you? Hint: don’t listen to sales reps.

The dazzling growth of martech

According to ChiefMartec, the martech landscape grew by about 40% this year “to a total of 5,381 solutions (from 4,891 unique companies).” Big data is here to make you more successful and martech can play a critical role in customer insight and engagement.

Making martech work for you

So how do you make sense of thousands of solutions? Your budget and staff resources are important criteria. Assuming you have budget and workload limitations, you will have to choose smart. A good partner, internally or externally, can help guide you through the process. Don’t listen to the sales rep trying to sell you their piece of martech. There are plenty of experts (like us! :)) without a vested interest in selling you a specific technology.  As always, a good understanding of who you are and where you are going, will serve as your guiding light and will help you zero in on what exactly you need.

The 6 criteria of outstanding communication

Communication is important. That we can all agree on. After all, it is your name, your face and your message to the world. But how do you get it right in this fast-paced, ever-evolving world? Does it feel like you’re trying to hit a moving target? Don’t fret. These 6 criteria of outstanding communication will keep you on track.

 

The 6 criteria of outstanding communication:

1. Be effective

We know. There are so many cool and fun communication tools and technologies out there. And it is so easy to get caught up in the excitement. But how do your communication messages and media contribute to your business goals? Asking yourself that question is half the battle. Often, the least “sexy” media are the most effective. So keep your eye on the prize.

 

2. Be efficient

Oh, all the fun things we could do. The possibilities are endless. Unfortunately, your budget isn’t. So does that video need to be shot on location with actors or will an animation do? Do you need 2,000 copies of a brochure that will be updated next month? Efficiency always factors in. A communication professional’s job is to allocate resources wisely.

 

3. Be relevant

Your inundated buyer has the power to ignore or delete your message. The passive audience is long gone. To get noticed and resonate, you must be relevant to their needs, challenges and goals. Knowing your audience and tailoring your message to them is an absolute requirement.

 

4. Be consistent

Mixed messages don’t work, they never have. Your messages and visual identity must be consistent to leave the intended, powerful and lasting impression. This means that internal disagreements or different ways of working never make it outside. It also means doing things differently should be a deliberate, careful choice and a commitment for the future.

 

5. Be authentic

Today’s audiences can spot fake a mile away. We have all grown up with marketing communication. It surrounds us from the moment we wake up until we put our cell phone down for the night. The result: more than one generation of smart, savvy buyers. In a world full of fake smiles and unrealistic perfection, authenticity convinces.

 

6. And stand out!

You need to stand out from the crowd to get noticed. No, you don’t have to be the loudest or the most outrageous. There are many ways to distinguish yourself. Just find your own voice. And choose and stick with an identity that is honestly distinctive.

 

That is all, folks: the 6 criteria of outstanding communication. We sort of wish there were less. After all, a simple 1-2-3 would have been easier to remember. However, in today’s red oceans, you have to be all that and then some to succeed. On the plus side, there is a peace of mind that comes with knowing there is a structured way to getting communication right. And it only involves 6 check boxes.

Communication relevance, a necessary requirement

Remember the time when people sat in front of the TV and paid attention to commercials? When you walked into a business meeting and you found five people happy spend the next 30 minutes passively listening to your presentation? Yeah, we don’t either. Nobody has time for that. Enter communication relevance. 

As communication professionals, we have had to shift from trying to persuade customers to trying to influence their decisions. Our stakeholders filter, block, ignore and delete – unless what we provide is relevant to them. That is why relevance is not just one of full.stop’s six criteria of outstanding communication, it is a necessary requirement. Know your audiences. Don’t just list and map them. Gain real insight. What are their goals and challenges? Why are they (not) doing what you want them to do? Only then can you create communication that is relevant to them and pass their spam filters.

 

Photo: Bert Stephani

 

Back to communication effectivess, cutting through the clutter

Technology is rapidly changing our world, especially our media and communication. We are witnessing an explosion of touchpoints, i.e. the points at which we interact with our customers and other stakeholders. But what happened to communication effectiveness? 

Whereas many touchpoints used to be paid (advertisements on TV or in a newspaper, billboards, etc.), most now live online. The Internet has freed businesses from the dependency on (expensive) paid media. It has also created a free-for-all as companies vie for the most likes, retweets, and downloads with an endless supply of animations, virtual reality, apps, videos, online content, click bait, etc.

Getting it right matters

Not so long ago, communication was so expensive that much thought went into strategy and translating that into a Big Idea. Today, more is more. The cost of communicating has gotten so low that the common approach seems to be: let’s just throw enough mud at the wall and some of it might stick. However, the rise of “cheaper” earned and owned media masks the fact that getting it right still matters. And that getting it wrong is still an expensive proposition.

Cutting through the communication clutter

When we started full.stop, we were an agency that created smart communication campaigns, tool mixes and individual tools for customers. We still do. But too much of communication has been reduced to tool production. The means have become the end. “Do we need an app? What social media should we use? Infographics are cool. Can we have some made? How about iPhone video? We need likes! Right?… But we have always done a brochure. Why stop now?”

Along the way, we figured out that our true value is in how we can help customers cut through the clutter, not contribute to it. In other words, we want to focus on what communication is really about: reaching, engaging and convincing a target audience, to deliver the business goals you have set.

Back to communication effectiveness

So instead of more-more-more, we go back to the basic 1-2-3 of communication. Back to a focus on effectiveness. Who are you, what is your audience and how does that translate into communication needs and to dos? Your communication tools are a logical reflection of who you are and where you want to go, and who your stakeholders are and where they are going. That’s why the tools come at the end, not the beginning.

Once a strategy (your big.picture, as we call it) is in place, we craft your custom campaigns, mixes and tools. Instead of simply developing the tools that are trending now or, on the flip side, build the media you know because “you have always done it this way,” we set out to meet the six criteria for communication that works in our cluttered society. Specifically, we want to develop communication that is consistent, effective, efficient, authentic, relevant and remarkable. In short, we want to get your communication right and can’t wait to get started.

Photo: Bert Stephani