Company Brochures and Shell Folders
Company Brochures and Shell Folders by Ryall Marketing Agency Watford London
Do you need printed company brochures?
In the age of digital marketing and instantaneous emails, will company brochures be worth the cost of producing? After all, they are usually expensive to print and the content requires time to compile.
Well the short answer – it depends what you’re selling. The higher the cost, the more considered the purchase will be. Research shows a corporate brochure gives you credibility and authority in your market. It also tends to stay on your prospect’s desk for a while (unlike a website or an email), as they tend to be valued and so retained for reference.
The corporate printed brochure (or shell folder) has many benefits:
- They are retained by prospects keeping you top-of-mind
- It can be mailed, giving you a reason to contact your prospect
- High quality brochures give ‘inferred’ prestige
- An extra marketing ‘touch-point’ to reinforce your sales message
- Gives your business credibility
Are corporate brochures cost-effective?
If your services or products are top-end and high-margin, then it only takes a few sales to be clinched using it, to make the investment of a brochure worthwhile. For some products and services, having a brochure is essential – you just don’t look like a serious player without one. So, for many it is a must-have item.
Can it work for lower-margin, more volume products/services?
In many instances, the answer to this is yes, when used by the sales team correctly and in conjunction with the other marketing materials available (such as your website).
Does my brochure have to cost an arm and a leg to print?
A corporate brochure, with good design, can be printed digitally in certain circumstances, reducing the cost significantly. Printing digitally allows you to print in smaller quantities, perhaps just 50, instead of 500 or more using litho print. This allows you to easily and cheaply update your brochure when your products or services change.
- Some brochures can be printed digitally, reducing print costs
- Shell folders allow you to update literature cheaply
- Some bindings allow for larger brochures to be produced more cheaply
Should I have shell folder or a company brochure?
If your services are fairly static and there aren’t a plethora of different versions, then a corporate brochure will be the most impressive solution for you.
However, shell folders are perfect if you have many products and you need to tailor the information you supply for each individual customer. Additionally, the inserts can all be printed digitally, in small quantities, so they can be updated regularly without a big bill!
You can combine both, with having a pocket on the inside back cover of your corporate brochure (providing the cover is printed on a good quality board).
Design, copy and photography matter… a lot!
It is essential that your brochure or shell folder is well laid out, and uses high quality, friendly and engaging photography. It is tempting to try and sell everything you do, for every situation you can think of, in your brochure – but ‘less is more’ for a successful brochure!
Clear, simple and straightforward language, which is client-centric and talks about the benefits of using your company is vital. The pictures and design need to support your text elegantly! And if you’re not sure about copywriting, we’re here to help with that as well!
Contact us now on 01923 286999 or info@ryallmarketing.com
Ryall Marketing are a Marketing Agency Watford, specialising in helping SMEs with their Growth and development.
