Let’s face it, there are some things you just cannot do when shopping online. You run your hand over a soft, plush sofa at a furniture store. You try on those new running shoes before you buy them. These offline experiences are crucial to the buying process, proving that it’s not enough to exist solely online. Here's why.

The Top 5 Reasons Why Brochures Are Still Important

1. Shoppers are Kinetic

Prospects hang onto paper longer--when it is well-written and has a great design. When that prospect gets home and looks at that brochure again, they need to see an effective call to action that will make them want to check out your website.

2. 
   

   Ease of Reading
   

Too many websites are not user friendly. Unfortunately, not every company has mastered the Tangible Words Website Sales Tool Trifecta. The three elements of the Trifecta (Graphic/Web Developer, SEO Strategy and Copywritten Content) work together to provide prospects and customers with what they want:

• Easy Navigation to
• Fast Access to Information
• Credible Experts They Can Trust
• Unique Way Your Company Can Help Them (USP)
• Incentive to Act Now

Brochures are still important because they allow prospects to find information much more easily than websites, because some people still think on paper. Once they have been introduced to your company by the brochure, they will feel more confident exploring your website as they know what to expect.

3. Thinking on Paper

At one of our marketing training workshops, a lady said to me, “I think with pen to paper.” When you sit down at a computer, you fall automatically into editor mode, not creative mode. Studies show that doodling on paper can be a memory jogger. In our copywriting course, I teach writers the importance of brainstorming with a pen because it is known to engage your "right brain" (creative, not analytical side). So it stands to reason that you want your prospects doodling and writing on your materials.

       4. Trade Shows, Workshops and Seminars: Maximize Face-to-Face 

Besides the connection that is communicated by body language, when we give a brochure to a prospect at a face-to-face meeting, the sales team looks professional. A brochure shows that you are organised and prepared for a sales conversation. Having a brochure ready to go is also perceived as an indication that your business is successful.

At tradeshows, workshops and seminars, your brochure not only gives the prospect something to do, but gets them further into the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey, while they wait to speak with you. And when you do engage in conversation, with a brochure in hand, you don’t have to “send someone away” to go and look at your website. You can discuss what’s right in front of you together, without the distractions an electronic device immediately offers (waiting for it to load, pop ups, entering passwords).

5. 
   

   Another Point of Contact in the Buyer’s Journey

These days you need more than 7 points of contact before a prospect trusts you. Distributing the brochure is one point of contact, and it gives you a second point of contact when you follow up with your prospect to see if they have any questions. This follow up conversation allows you to provide further information, resolve any objections and answer specific questions. It gives the customer the opportunity to make a more educated purchasing decision. This is a win-win situation for both parties.

How to Keep Your Brochures Out of the Recycling Bin

The "killer combination" that gets prospects to respond to your brochure content is:

• Offer: give the prospect an opportunity that would interest them
• Incentive: give a reason to act "now" (rather than procrastinate)
• Call to Action: explain how to take action.

This "killer combination" is the difference between a well-planned, well-written sales tool and just a piece of paper. And remember: your prospects won't take action from behind a computer screen all the time, that's why brochures are still important to business.

Use consistent business branding so that when the prospect has finished reading the brochure and decides to check out your website, they will experience a smooth transition and familiar feel. Those brochures will keep selling for you long after the prospect has left the room.

Need a content development partner help make your brochures and website more effective?

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