Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Jo, I`d like to give you one word of caution about printing your own brochures. You mentioned that you had an HP printer - is this a laser printer or inkjet? If you print your brochures on inkjet, they will fade over time and look very unprofesisonal. (Based on the different types of papers that you mentioned using, I`m guessing you have an inkjet??)

Some of the copy houese like Kinko`s and MailBoxes can print your file if you bring in the disk. - Kinko`s even offers a feature where you can upload your file on line and pick up the finished product later. I will admit that I have not used this on line feature, but several years ago I DID have Kinko`s print a few brochure samples for me when my fuser went out the day before a client meeting. The service was quick, and as I recall, it was only $1 a page (side) for color laser printing.

Karen is absolutely right about brochures fading over time when printed on your HP printer. Also, most desktop printers won`t allow you to print your brochure with bleeding colors (This is when your color goes all the way to the edge of the paper, instead of having a white border around your brochure). This can also be a problem at a quick copy shop like Kinkos, or any other store that is printing on high end copy machines. You can get full bleeds from Kinkos, but it means that they will have to print your brochure on larger paper and then cut it down. For example if you would like an 8.5 x 11 brochure with full color on both sides, you`ll have to pay for an 11x17 sheet of paper with full color on both sides. This way they can print your project slightly larger than 8.5x11 and then they`ll trim it down to size so that the color goes all the way to the edge.

The problem is that this gets pretty expensive for each brochure that you`d like to have. Paying around $2.50/piece for a full color brochure is fine if you`re printing fewer than 100 brochures, but if you need more I would recommend professional printing.

Once you print the minimum quantity with a commercial printer, additional pieces are only pennies a piece. (PrintingForLess.com also offers 20% off for new customers too!)

Most people aren`t aware that they can save a lot of money through professional printing. So, whether you use PrintingForLess, or your local printer, you should at least compare the cost. As long as you need more than 250 brochures, I think that you`ll be pleased.

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Nick Runyon
Director of Marketing
PrintingForLess.com

Jo,

All the reply`s you`ve gotten so far have provided great advice pertaining to the brochures.  If what I`m posting here steps on your toes, I apologize in advance.  I didn`t see what your service offering to seniors was, that may have an impact on how you reach them. 

You mentioned something in your opening post that bears some scrutiny.  You said that you thought all businesses used brochures.  To my mind, this indicates two things: 1) that you need to research in more detail what your target market is and how they are most effectively reached and communicated with, and 2) that you may be lacking a thorough evaluation of how you will build and promote your company.  Doing something in your business just because everyone else has it or that`s traditionally how things are done doesn`t necessarily mean that you have to do the same thing.  Look at your competitors, the leaders in your market and figure out what makes them #1.  Then analyze your offering and figure out how you can better reach/serve your market.  Differentiate yourself.  You may have heard of USP, unique selling proposition.  Identify your USP and build your marketing around that.

A couple of people have made the suggestion of test marketing and given ideas of venues in which to reach your market.  You have indicated you`ve taken some steps there.  Great.  You need to follow up with how to best reach these people.

You also said you were busy putting up your website and then in another post you indicated that most of the seniors you were talking to didn`t use the `net.  Before you jump off into developing any advertising program, you better step back and evaluate your market. 

You also indicated building a brand and logo, etc.  to build your business.  This is important for future growth and value, but to get your company going, it will be product and service that will get you started, the branding is built up over time with experience and reputation.  In your advertizing, always promote your service or product, the company`s presence is secondary in the marketing message.  At first, people are looking for your service, not the company.  Once you have your reputation, they`ll look for your company, knowing the service.  Look at magazines and evaluate their ads.  The good ads use most space to promote the goods. 

There is an online email newsletter that you may find helpful over time, it is dankennedy.com.  He is a marketing consultant.  I have no association with this company other than I have a couple of his books.  His newletters have great ideas and suggestions, however they are really a sales tool for his seminars, etc.  So get the gems you can and ignore the rest.

This is a long way around the barn to say that while brochures may be great ego trip, they may not be where your efforts need to focus to start, promote and build your business.  Only you can determine that.  Take actions that you have determined will help your business, not because everyone else does it.

  Mike Michaud

Hi Karen
Thanks for  your post on brochures. Yep, your`e right, its an Inkjet!
More affordable than a laser and its great for text purposes. Appreciated the
comments about Kinkos -I was about to check them out shortly too. (I may
just hold up for now on the brochures since I have something else in mind
for the time being. I typed up what I am calling " Letter of Introduction". It`s
lengthy (several pages long) but it details who I am and company history and
ways to make senior`s lives better all around. I plan to leave them with the
seniors who call me and request a free consultation.  But  I still plan to check
out Kinkos in the near future. I just have to watch my startup costs right now
as I havent opened up for business yet and I still have a lot of other "have to
have" items such as comml auto insurance, liability insurance, bonding insurance,
etc. Thanks so much jo


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Jo
NJ

Hi Nick,
Thanks too for your post.
I didnt know about bleeding colors, I never had my own brochure at all.
I am thinking of contacting the board of trustees at the senior community in my area for a presentation (sometime this year). Then brochures would come in handy and not the Letter of Introduction that I mentioned to Karen. I would need the most 200 or 250 brochure since  there are 4015 homes in this community.  Though probably less than 100 people will show up.        &nb sp;   
Most likely, I will try Kinkos ( for a sampling) just to see what I can get for the money and if I like it. If I dont I will probably think of going to a professional printer. Probably someone who get put together the whole package for me (stationary, cards, brochures with logo on all. But right now I just want to get into business the least expensive way as fast as possible. If I was going to target corporate business then I probably would feel that my marketing tools would have to look 100% professional to compete. Right now it seems that my only competitors are people who are not registered with the state and just list ads in the local senior papers for an hourly wage and their only marketing tool is a flyer made on their computer. Thanks
jo


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Jo
NJ

Thanks Mike for your post -
No need to apologize for giving me good advice
I will be providing services to seniors (non-medical only), things like errands,
shopping, help with organizing their home, assisting with medical paperwork,
medicine reminders, call monitoring and feedback to family & transportation and
a lot more. I plan to promote my new company with an ad in the senior paper
just for the one community I want to work in and also through my own doctor who owns two senior business himself in toms river and princeton. He will help me probably with recommending my services to his patients. Right now he is in Iraq due to return next month. Then I guess we will discuss a marketing plan. Also plan to meet with the board of directors at this senior community to explain what my company is about and bring over some articles about what a success this is in Beacon Hill, Mass. I am going to ask them to put me on their vendor list that they have there (I will be the only company providing errand/concierge services). I am not sure yet whether I should offer a discount on first time users since I won`t have any competition (yet).  There are no competitors yet in this field. Sure there are a lot of non-medical help out here in toms river, it is a senior town (6th largest senior community in the nation). One of the reasons I selected this town to do work in. Theseother companies are franchised and they do very well (my doctor above owns two) but I am going to offer services these others don`t (more geared towards business - one example is home organization which can be anything from organizing  their closet, kitchen, garage. Setting up a filing system so they can manage their own medical paperwork and pay bills efficiently without much trouble. (I got a lot of feedback from seniors I know who say this is what they need help with). Also I plan to help them sell things they dont want around the house or help them with disposal of them. I have over 20 years experience in air freight so selling on Ebay would be something I could do without a problem. As far as the internet goes, some seniors use it but older ones don`t, I mean I dont think people in their 70`s or 80`s would use the internet, at least not the seniors that I know. But others would, younger seniors and children of seniors. That is why I need my own web presence,so seniors` children can check my company out on the web whenever they want to and advise their parents.   I appreciate your comments about branding. I think also this is something that I will want down the road but right now I really have to just  "jump in" with the basics. I will check out  "dankennedy.com" too. Thanks
so much for your good intentions and your time
jo              


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Jo
NJ

Brochures can be a great marketing tool; however, if you`re not using them effectively, they`re not worth the money.  Not knowing exactly what type of "service" you`re providing, it`s difficult to say if you could get away with a "pocket stuffer"... sort of like 1/3 of the brochure.  Include logo, name, contact info, etc., with basic highlights of your services.  You`d have to know your customers first.  Some will want whatever info they can get - and don`t mind reading a lengthy brochure.  Others want just the facts in an easy-to-read format.  If you do the pocket stuffers still use quality papers.  There`s nothing wrong with designing your own brochure.  You could have them professionally printed.  I do mine on my computer, and since they change regularly when my wine list changes, they`re easy to update.  Minimum quantity insures no wasted costs.  People don`t seem to mind, but my brochure is mostly text anyway.

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Donna - Dance to the Song of Life!
Owner - The Basquet Case Market & Gifts
www.thebasquetcase.com

Thanks Donna for your input
Never heard of "pocket stuffers" before.  I like the idea of designing my own
brochures because I know I will be changing them around in the beginning until
I get just the right look and content. So I would only want to make a small
amount and then get them printed out somewhere else probably try Kinkos. I think I can download the brochure to them and they just print and deliver to me. That`s simple enough! I have looked at templates and not seen anything that appeals to me so I will set some time aside to design my own . Mine will be mostly text too ( my services and benefits of using them). Thanks again for the help!




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Jo
NJ

Jo,

You asked about giving discounts to promote your business.  That is the easiest way to 1) get some business and 2) let everyone know that your "real" prices are not.  A better way to generate interest in your services is to bundle your services in a complementary way.  This is still discounting but not in reducing your prices.  It is offering more than they pay for, i.e. greater perceived value for the money.  It also is a way to get them to try your other service offerings without having to pay for them individually. 

I don`t know your full service menu, but a silly example would be a free bath for their dog with every 5 scheduled dog walks.  You get the idea.  Sell them at full price on what they contact you about, but then offer them free or deeply discounted services that would complement the primary service and not take much more extra effort on your part.  They get more than they originally paid for, you get to showcase your outstanding customer service and their word-of-mouth will be 10X the power of any other ad medium you could choose.

Discounting is the last thing you would generally want to do, but if you must, give a valid and temporary reason for doing so.  If you are not careful with this, after a while you are nothing more than the shouting car salesman on TV about this is the best time of the year to buy (every week).

I hope this generates some ideas for you.  If you come up with any good ones, let us know, we can all learn.

Thanks Mike,
I have bundled services already worked out into 4 plans (bronze,silver,gold
and platinum. The higher end plans are discounted. Each plan contains coordinating
services. What I like about what you mentioned is discounting another service as a reward for purchase of a set amount of errands. In my case, maybe a client would pay for 5 grocery shopping trips and I would then offer them a discount on a service they normally would not even think about. (Like helping them to organize their paperwork, bills, medicare and doctors, etc) into a efficient,quick and user friendly system.  This would help them by saving them time and hopefully  like it enough to tell their neighbors about it thereby spreading the word. Thanks for the great tip
jo


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Jo
NJ