Producing Effective Promotional Materials - Automotive Tech Info

Front Counter Mechanics

Producing Effective Promotional Materials

P revious installments in this series of marketing articles have described promotions designed to gain new customers. Once you have successfully enticed new customers to your business, you will want (in most cases) to do all you can to convince them that they have made the right choice in coming to you. One way to do this is to develop a sales brochure that can be handed out to new, prospective, and existing customers.

Rebecca Baisch, president of Engine Weld & Machine Company, Inc., in Idaho Falls, Idaho, has kindly sent me some of her marketing materials, and has given permission to share her thoughts:

"I come from a background where marketing was a standard business tool, so when my husband and I bought this business in 1983, I never thought about not marketing, particularly since it has a true `niche market' aspect, plus we evolved it considerably beyond casting repair soon after acquiring it.

"To say that shoppers here are price conscious would be understating it. Whether you're selling bread or engines, everybody wants top quality at bargain basement prices.

"We decided three things almost from the beginning: We weren't going to play the `Low-Ball Price Game;' we would spend the time to educate the marketplace as to why `something for nothing' isn't possible; and we would always try to do repairs as though we had to use them and pay for them ourselves, i.e.: `What's the best quality that can be had for a fair cost?'"

The Engine Weld & Machine Co. sales brochure embodies this philosophy. It's a tri-fold brochure that opens width-wise to a standard 8 1/2" x 11" size. The first panel is visually divided into three sections: the Engine Weld & Machine logo, a features section, and a benefits section.

The logo (shown above) is printed at the top of

the panel. It's a picture of an engine with legs that are in motion, and the phrase: "We keep your engine running."

The features section is headed with the words: "We offer the following services" printed in bold type. Beneath that are bullet-points describing the machining, casting repair, parts, and rebuild services they offer. This part of the section is printed in the smallest type font used in the panel.

The benefits section uses a larger type font that varies between bold and standard to help organize the statements into similar sections. The very first line in the section is: "****FREIGHT ALLOWANCES!!! ****" in bold type. The next line, also in bold, is: "Your Emergency Is Our Emergency Too!" The next two lines are in standard type, but they are surrounded by white space to help them stand out. They state: "We strive to keep turnaround times as fast as possible." and "Some exchange cylinder heads in stock."

The next line is the largest type font in the entire brochure. It's also printed in bold and surrounded by white space. It states: "Save up to 75%" and immediately below, in smaller type: "(Based Upon Dealer Pricing)." The next four lines of the first panel list the name, address, and phone numbers for the business. These lines use a distinctive type font, and are printed in bold.

The entire panel below the logo is enclosed within a scrolling border. At the very bottom, just above the border, are the words: "Serving Customers in 47 States and Europe."

The center panel is informational. It poses five questions in bold underlined blue type: ? WHO ARE WE? ? WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU? ? WHAT SORTS OF DAMAGE CAN WE REPAIR? ? IS THE REPAIRED PART AS GOOD AS NEW? ? DO WE WARRANTY OUR WORK?

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Each of these questions is followed by a paragraph, printed in a smaller, lighter type, that briefly answers each question in a straightforward manner.

The last panel is a "Return for quote" card that is designed to be filled out, torn off, and mailed back to Engine Weld & Machine.

The back side of the brochure is reserved for the quote card addresses and, if the brochure is to be mailed, the customer's address.

I read the Engine Parts & Machine brochure and liked it. It's informative. It's honest. It answers questions likely to be asked by the type of customer they're looking for. It conveys the image of a business that is trustworthy, caring, and competent. I'd be happy with it as a brochure for my business.

A Sober Assessment

The catch phrase for the nineties is "continuous improvement." Even though I liked the brochure, I decided to ask my marketing friend, Marsh Terry, for his thoughts. True to form, he had strong opinions about it. He started off by asking a question:

"Is this brochure designed to go to the trade, or the general public?"

I was surprised by the question. I told him I thought it was probably intended for both markets.

"If they have two markets, they should have two brochures. The intended market isn't clear. The brochure should make the reader feel singled out. If the market is the trade, have it say: `If you use us as a supplier, we will make you a king.' If the market is to the public, it should say something like: `An alternative to mainstream repair.'

"You should also state what it is you want your customers to do: `Call Us On Our Toll-Free Number!' I think they should take the 800-number at the bottom, make it about five times bigger, and say something like: `We can give you a phone quote within five minutes!' It should be a statement of performance--maybe it will take an hour, or a day --it doesn't matter how long--it's the statement of performance that means something.

"The features need to be pared down to the truly unique ones. Stand as tall as you can on guarantees: `Absolute money-back guarantee on our work.'

Testimonials are best. Use examples of real jobs. The phrase `Save up to 75%' is almost valueless in today's market. It's empty sloganeering. You can say it better with real life examples: `Ed Schultz came in with a broken casting off his combine, we got him up and running within four hours for only $124. A new casting would have taken two weeks to get from the dealer and would have cost him $500.'

"For every feature you have to offer, you can give an example that shows the benefits within the context of the story. This does triple duty: it's an example of price, it's an example of your competence, and it's a testimonial from your customers.

"You don't have to list everything you do, just say `We Repair Almost Anything.' Leave it at that, then give a half dozen good stories. Take out the

whole center panel and end panel. Fill the brochure with case studies of each type of repair and service offered.

"Make it fun to read. Don't presume that you're doing anything more than offering someone a choice of something to read."

Marsh also had a few words to say about sales brochures in general:

"Know what you want to happen. Before you set your pen to paper or designer to table, you must know what you want to happen as a

result of this effort. "Do you want them to

call for more information? Do you want them to send back the attached Business Reply Card? Do you want them to show

up Saturday? Do you want them to tell their friends? Do you want them to file this material away for future reference? "As elemental as it sounds, it is essential that you know what you want before you draw out all your ammunition. Otherwise, it's like going into a restaurant and simply asking for food. "When you are building a brochure, or planning a trip, or baking a cake, it's necessary to know what you want the results to be. "Once you know what effect you want your message to have, the words that compel will write themselves, and the photos, graphs, or drawings that illustrate will appear before you. The brochure will build itself."

--By Chip Keen

September 1997

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