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Are you designing a brochure for your business? Did you say yes? Then have you done a brief market survey? If not the brochure you are designing may not be of much use.
Brochure is a marketing material. It is a kind of leaflet that is handed over to people. Sometimes marketers send brochures to the consumers who have asked information about a product or service. And sometimes brochures are distributed randomly to all.
Both types of brochures are made to help the readers make a decision; honestly speaking, to convince them about the product, service or concept it is selling. When the reader goes through the brochure usually no representative remains there to explain the things. The idea the reader gets from the brochure is the final impression and based on this idea he or she is going to decide whether they need the product or not.
Hence, a bit of market research is essential before the brochure is distributed. Here is a list of things that you should concentrate on while doing the market survey.
First impression is often the last impression:
Hand over the brochure to a person who is not part of the design team and record his first reaction. Ask questions like what comes in mind as he looks at the brochure, watch how he uses it, which part of the brochure he focuses on while reading, if it is a multi-page brochure or folder then note which pages he checks attentively. You can try this test with multiple people and then make suitable changes to the material, if required.
Images – do they speak?
Chances are high that you have used images in the brochure; show the image to few people and ask what they understand from the imagery. You must have used the image with an objective in mind – see if it is matching with what people are saying! If not, you need to modify the images. If possible choose few of your target customers for this test. This will help you make the brochure really profitable and convincing.
Text or captions – are the comprehensive?
Brochure design is incomplete without texts or captions. Show the text to people and note the reactions. Did the reader understand what you wanted to say? If not, how did they interpret the caption? Tell them a bit about the product or concept and ask which word comes in their mind immediately. Use these words in the brochure.
Key terms should reflect the USP:
You must have used one or more key terms to describe the product you are selling. See how people are interpreting these terms; can these words effectively convey the USP? If not, make suitable changes.
Organizing such market surveys can be expensive; alternatively you can hire professional brochure designers to help you come up with convincing and effective brochures. With years of experience in this field they can offer you exactly what you need.