Do You Really Need A New Brochure?

by Steve Fodor

I read something interesting in Business-To-Business magazine recently. Over 70% of industrial buyers view white papers as the most credible source of information for their purchasing decisions. Even more, they prefer information they can download from a Web site.

At first I was surprised by this statistic. I’ve always viewed the “stand-by” full-line product brochure as a necessity for anyone selling in the B2B, industrial world. But, with a new generation of decision makers entering the work force, I guess this isn’t such a surprise.

People (be them consumers or industrial buyers) want information on their terms. In a world of commodity products, decisions are often made based on “who makes it the most convenient for me to purchase” and “who gives me a feeling of more control over my purchasing situation.”

Selling tools for today’s new generation of decision makers must be created to meet their information needs, not the seller’s. Think about all the new alternatives to the standard, printed brochure. There are DVDs, social media venues, opt-in e-mail and others that present information in a more dynamic and convenient format than a printed brochure. Not to mention that some of these options are more flexible and less costly than a printed piece.

Ultimately, it comes down to understanding the information needs of your customer. How do they use information? What is their decision-making process? Where do they go for information? What do they consider the most credible sources for information?

Understand what customers want and how they want to be communicated with. Gee, what a novel marketing concept.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinandrewstewart/

Hammer the Benefits

by Steve Badertscher

A wise advertising creative director once told me, “Nobody buys a hammer to own a hammer…they purchase a hammer to pound in nails.”

I’ve never received better advice to help shape effective advertising messages that really resonate with prospects and end-users. Simply put, it’s a great reminder to focus on benefits, not features. In other words, focus on what the product does for the end-user, not on what the product is.

For example, I love to take photos as a hobby. I particularly enjoy taking photos of sporting events, especially those involving my kids. But when I recently went shopping for a new lens, I didn’t do so with the intent of owning a zoom lens…I wanted to be able to see the grit and determination on my kids’ faces as they edge out their competitors at the finish line of their cross country races in my photos.

Likewise, my teenage son didn’t recently purchase a Jeep Wrangler so he could own a sport utility vehicle…he bought it to enjoy the “top-down, music-up” benefits when the summer weather arrives.

And clients don’t engage our agency’s services because they want to acquire beautiful brochures, advertisements and Web sites (although it is a nice added bonus)…they hire us because they want their sales to increase and the bottom line to improve. In other words, they don’t want tools, they want results.

So whether you’re responsible for crafting your company’s marketing messages or approving the messages that are created, always keep in mind the perspective of your target audience. Remember, your customers don’t want to own your product, they want the resulting benefit of what it will do for them. And once you clearly define and articulate the key benefit that is most important to them, all that’s left to do is hammer it home!

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/justinbaeder/