In the course of writing her book, Persuading on Paper, Marcia Yudkin examined hundreds of brochures. The Boston-based consultant wasn't surprised to find that the graphic quality of the leaflets improved with the size and wealth of the company behind them. But she was astonished to discover no correlation between a company's resources and the marketing effectiveness of its brochure text. For example, a brochure to be distributed at a trade show should include non-promotional information that prospects will want to keep on file, she says.
Form follows function, so think about the function, first.
Therefore, a company's features should be translated into what the customer gets-the benefits. And be sure to spell them out in language that makes sense to customers, not in your own jargon. Either create an umbrella concept that makes sense of diverse offerings, or create multiple marketing materials. No matter how small your budget, you should demand professional-looking typesetting, consistent ink coverage, straight alignment and folding, sharp images, and proper correlation of color accents from yourself, the copy shop, or the printer. If you're not 100 percent certain, get someone with a rigorous eye and impeccable English to examine your text.