Tag: Printed brochures

Great design and print can help you grow your business

We may have entered a so-called ‘digital age’, but businesses overlook the power of print at their peril. Today, having a strong online presence is, of course, absolutely vital, with more aspects of our everyday lives being transferred online and the growth of e-commerce meaning any company – selling goods, products and services of any kind – needs a powerful digital marketing campaign. Yet despite this, the printed word is far from dead, and neglecting this more ‘traditional’ channel of communication could mean your business is missing a trick. With a bit of creative flair and the right products, great design and print really could help your business grow.

Building a brand

A company of any shape and size needs to develop a coherent brand if they are to succeed, and that brand has to be consistent across all the communication channels it uses, from the signage outside your premises to the business cards in your pocket. A coherent brand creates a unique identity for your business, which allows customers to better engage with you, your work, your core beliefs and your company’s story.

Every business has a story to tell, and the very best branding campaigns help put that narrative across. When your digital media marketing ties up with your ‘real world’ printed marketing, you can develop a strong, diverse and incredibly effective campaign which will generate interest in your business, attracting ever greater numbers of customers from ever more varied walks of life.

Can the pen be mightier than the mouse?

Printed materials such as leaflets, advertising brochures, branded letterheads, office stationery and business cards can reach a whole new demographic, when it comes to generating new custom for your business. There’s still something incredibly satisfying about holding the printed word in your hands. Distributing something tangible and ‘real world’ can have a big impact and bring in customers who may not have had any other way of discovering and engaging with your company and brand. Although people of every age are now conducting more and more of their lives online, there are still plenty of potential customers who don’t want to interact in this way. We’re not just talking about older adults either, but also young, tech-savvy but cynical ‘Millennials’, who regularly shop online and have had enough negative experiences to be naturally wary of trying a new and unfamiliar retailer.

Printed materials have a solid and reassuring feel to them, and when they look attractive, they’re hard to ignore. When looking at things on screens, particularly the smaller screens of smartphones or tablets, there is a tendency to just skim through text and glance over images, without really taking in or fully engaging with the content. That can mean customers miss out on vital information or simply switch off before they get round to exploring your online catalogue or making a purchase.

By comparison, a beautifully illustrated and well-written leaflet or brochure can be more successful at grabbing and holding a viewer’s interest. For all the screens we have incorporated into our daily lives, research has shown that most people still feel more comfortable reading a physical document than trying to focus on the glowing face of a computer or portable device.

Also consider the impact that a glossy brochure or leaflet can have when hand-posted through a letterbox. The vast majority of your existing and potential customers will probably live within a few miles’ radius of your business premises, and can easily be targeted with printed materials delivered by your team. Even now, with the ping of emails and texts a constant in most people’s lives, hearing the letterbox rattle still generates that little buzz of excitement. When they receive your printed product, people inevitably have to look at it, even if it’s just to decide whether it’s something they’re interested in, or whether it’s heading for the recycling. With powerful branding, a clear layout and a strong message, it will make more of an impact and greatly increase the chances that it will end up saved for future reference.

Printed materials: the choices are endless

The printed products you choose should complement the digital branding you have. Most companies will have a stylised version of their company name, a logo and a set of colours which make up their unique branding, and keeping these consistent between your website and email advertising and the printed materials you select is very important.

A design and print campaign can really help your business grow, when it complements and works with your digital marketing strategy. Branded business cards are a great way of making your business memorable, especially at networking events or occasions when you can hand them out to customers. With branded office stationery and letterheads, you can ensure that any documentation you have to send out is also working to promote your company, while leaflets, brochures and other advertising materials can have a much wider appeal and reach far more people than a brief slot on the local radio station or a small ad in the local paper.

With great advances in the printing technology now available to specialist design and print firms, the choice of printed materials is virtually limitless. A good design team will be able to craft creative, vibrant and eye-catching printed products, enabling you to combine this traditional yet effective channel of communication with your digital branding and help your business reach a wider audience.

How can we help?

Here at The Sussex Sign Company, we have a team dedicated to producing bespoke printed products perfectly tailored to your business needs. With a whole range of packages available, we can undertake projects of any size and scope to help you get the very best in branded printed materials – from basic artwork printing and running up business cards, to full re-branding exercises. Simply get in touch today to see how we can help your business grow. Call us on 01273 424900

Printed leaflets and brochures are still just as relevant in 2017

The death of print has been greatly exaggerated. Surrounded by screens, constantly connected as we all may be, the printed word and physical text still has a hold over us. Paper based materials have been around for thousands of years and are stubbornly refusing to go quietly despite technological advances. Human beings like the connection, the touch and feel of the printed page, and there’s no sign of that changing anytime soon.

Our love of ink

There’s something solid and reassuring about ink on paper. At a time when we can simply swipe or click away from any written material or images we’re not interested in, holding a physical piece of paper or a book in your hands still has a charm that’s hard to beat.

When it comes to marketing in the digital era, there’s very definitely a place for printed leaflets and brochures, and many companies still rely on them to reach their core target audience. Despite businesses everywhere having ready access to a range of marketing media, from radio ads and billboards to social media campaigns, print can and still does compete against the new tools in the marketing department’s arsenal. Leaflet printing is still as strong as it’s ever been, but why are printed leaflets and brochures still just as relevant in 2017?

The traditional approach

Print is a very traditional media format, which is not to say it is old-fashioned or outdated. For many people, being able to hold that tangible piece of paper in their hands and examine its contents at their leisure still holds great significance, which is why a leaflet through the door can still work wonders for your marketing campaign. Unlike a radio advert which potential customers might miss or tune out of, or the advertising board which flashes by as they drive to work, a printed brochure can have real sticking power. It takes time and effort to dismiss or dispose of it, and within that time people inevitably examine the goods, services or products being promoted.

No matter what age you are, there’s still that little flicker of excitement when you hear the letterbox rattle. A well-designed brochure or leaflet with strong branding can be a powerful thing when it lands on a potential customer’s doormat, especially if your firm is offering a local service. Hand-delivering your printed materials allows you to better target the audience you need to reach, namely the people living within a radius of a few miles from your business. It also speaks volumes about how seriously you take your work. Trudging the streets in all weathers to deliver glossy leaflets and brochures shows a dedication and personal touch which larger, faceless organisations simply cannot hope to compete with, demonstrating that you have taken the time and energy to promote a business you take pride in.

A well laid-out and carefully designed brochure can be a real thing of beauty, and it does so much more than merely announce your name and contact details to the reader. Done well, it helps build a brand with real staying power. Attractive images, easy to read text and your company logo and colours all help embed your business in the viewer’s mind, so whether they glance at it for all of thirty seconds or pin it to their notice board for future reference, you’ve made an impression.

Brochures are the past and future

While we’re regularly told that we’re living in a ‘digital age’, nobody is burying printed media just yet. 2017 is set to be a particularly challenging year for businesses up and down the country, with uncertainty over Brexit hovering in the background and consumers still tightening their belts and budgets a decade on from the financial crash. However large or small your company, whatever goods, services or products you supply and whatever industry you’re in, there has never been a year when it’s so important to stay ahead of the competition by any means necessary.

Leaflet printing has come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years, and the quality of the printed materials you can now create has never been higher. More advanced printers and greater investment in computer design packages mean there are very few curbs on your creativity. However, when it comes to designing an eye-catching and memorable leaflet or brochure campaign, getting professional assistance is almost always the best way forward. Graphic design companies spend a lot of time and effort in recruiting the most imaginative designers and procuring the most advanced printing technology, and they can achieve a standard of quality far superior to anything which can be run-up on a home computer.

Here at the Sussex Sign Company, we have been working with businesses across the region to help plan, design and produce some of the most effective and enduring print media campaigns, helping you reach a wider audience through the printed word. Leaflet printing and brochure design are among the many services we offer, but it’s a specialism we are particularly proud of. Our expert team of designers have many years’ experience in this field, and we strongly recommend you take a look at the beautifully designed, bespoke printed media we can create.

For more information on how we can help you launch your successful leaflet or brochure campaign, simply get in touch with the Sussex Sign Company today.