5 Reasons You Need A Killer Company Brochure

There is plenty of information on how to introduce your company with a brochure, and how brochures add value to your product presentations. But it is hard to find convincing information on why you really need a company brochure as a means of general introduction.

Most business owners understand the value of brochures designed specifically for certain products, and the need for having brochures that are customized for each trade show. But there are plenty of good reasons for your company to print up and use general company brochures every day of the year.

An Elevator Speech With Pictures

Every corporate executive, business owner and sales professional prides themselves on having a great elevator speech. A corporate brochure is an elevator speech with effective pictures in a glossy and professional package. When a business professional understands the potential of a good corporate brochure, it is easier to see why they are so valuable.

No Bounce Rates

When you hand a prospect a brochure, there is no other brochure for that prospect to bounce to and put yours to the side. With a website, thousands of people a day will bounce from your website to other sites in seconds and take away your chance at telling your company’s story. But with a brochure, the audience is captive and will read your story without jumping to read the story of the competition with the click of a button.

Show Your Professionalism

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with handing a prospect who is interested in your company a nice business card, the impact of a professional brochure is worth the investment. As with any marketing piece, think of how you would react if a business owner was able to give you a colorful brochure of their company along with a business card. You would not only be impressed, you would immediately have a positive impression of that company.

Highlight Your Company’s Strengths

In the marketing world, a picture is worth 1,000 words and the picture you put on the front of your company brochure can make a strong first impression on any prospect. If you have a product your company is known for that has a sleek look that appeals to clients, then make that the cover of your brochure. Your company brochure should use your company’s biggest strength to make a first impression your audience will never forget.

Give Them Something To Look At Later

Your prospect may listen to your pitch and take your brochure, but they may also fold up that brochure and put it away without reading it. But hours later, when they are flying back to their office, they will reach into their pocket and pull out your professional brochure and spend some time actually reading it. One of the most valuable aspects of a brochure is that it cannot be turned off or ignored like an online ad. Once your prospect has your brochure, the marketing impact can be felt at any time.

A good brochure can be an invaluable corporate marketing tool that you should carry with you at all times. A brochure can enhance other marketing pieces, and it can be that professional first impression your company makes that sets your organization apart from the competition.

Best Ways To Use Printed Banners In Your Business

Sometimes success in business centers around who can call the most attention to themselves for the least amount of money. At a trade show, the company with the huge light show gets all of the traffic because it attracts a lot of attention. But there are ways to call attention to your company that are more subtle and cost-effective than a huge light show, but equally as effective.

Large, printed banners offer a great marketing value because they can be used over and over again in a variety of situations. The key is to know when to use your banners to call attention to your company and get a strong return on the relatively small investment you made in having those banners printed.

Storefront Window

Your company name is on the sign out in front of your business and all your banner does is repeat that company name. But the advantage your storefront has over your sign is that your storefront is at eye level with the people walking down the street. There are zoning laws regarding your sign, but you can hang your printed banner in your front window and attract traffic all day long.

If you feel like investing in focused banners for your window based on events or promotions in your store, then you will attract even more traffic. The next time you are planning a sale or promotion in your business, have a banner printed for your storefront window and watch how much more traffic you get this year than you got last year.

Outdoor Events

When you are part of outdoor festivals and events, it is critically important that people know where you company’s booth is located. If you pay attention at outdoor events, you will see some companies with printed banners at their booths, and other companies without banners. The companies with the banners are always the ones attracting the traffic and taking full advantage of their event exposure.

Press Conferences

If your public relations people are doing a good job, then your company will host one or two press conferences each year that bring in good attendance. The key to getting maximum exposure from a press conference is to own the press conference and give the media plenty of visuals to take pictures of and talk about. A large banner at your press conference helps to enhance your brand name recognition with the media and it will also result in some free advertising when it shows up in the pictures and video from the conference.

Local Parades

Local parades are excellent marketing opportunities that companies often allow to pass by without using them. Contact parade organizers of the most popular parades in your area and offer to sponsor some part of the event. The result will be your company banner slowly moving down the street as it is seen by thousands of enthusiastic people.

A durable printed banner offers a lot of marketing opportunities to companies that know how to gain exposure. The return on the investment in a banner can be significant, provided you spend the time getting it seen by plenty of people. Even a simple banner with your company name, logo, and website address on it can gather attention and help to significantly enhance your company’s brand marketing efforts.

Three Must Haves for Your Tradeshow Displays

As you prepare your trade show booth for each upcoming industry event, you need to make sure that you are doing everything you can to accessorize your booth properly. As trade show experts, we understand how to bring attention to your booth without alienating any part of the audience. There is such a thing as too many bells and whistles on a trade show booth, but there is always room for a good poster.

Your trade show booth probably has a lighted sign and modern looking display pedestals, which are both essential to looking professional and getting the proper amount of attention. But if you do not have properly designed and placed posters, then it may be difficult for attendees to find your booth.

1. Each Poster Must Have A Purpose

We will always recommend one trade show booth poster with your company logo on it and then at least one more with the name of the big product you are introducing at that particular show. You may also want to consider a poster for your website address and a poster showing off the product that made you famous.

Just like each marketing campaign needs to have a focused message to be successful, so does your trade show booth posters. Nothing confuses a potential client more than a poster that tries to talk about everything, but winds up talking about nothing.

2. Less Is More

White space is a term we use in marketing to describe the blank space purposely left around important elements of a magazine advertisement or product brochure. When you use white space properly, those important elements will stand out and get the reader’s attention immediately.

Your trade show booth posters will be competing with a sea of other posters and banners to get the attention of trade show attendees. If you want people to notice your poster message, then you must use white space to make your message stand out. A trade show booth poster designed using just the right amount of white space will always get the attention of trade show attendees.

3. Presentation Is Critical

We always ask how our customers plan on presenting their trade show booth posters because that affects how we make them and the advice we give. If you are going to put your poster on the side of your booth, then there aren’t a lot of details to get concerned with. But if you plan on hanging the poster over your booth, then you will need a frame and you should probably get that poster printed on both sides.

As marketing experts, it is our job to think ahead on these things and ask the questions we have gathered thanks to our experience. We know how critical good presentation is to trade show booth posters and that is why we work so closely with our customers to create posters that look great and are functional as well.

There is a difference between dressing up your trade show booth in accessories that never bring any visitors and having a professional marketing company maximize your space and help you drive revenue. When we work on your trade show booth posters for you, we will provide you with the kinds of effective posters that come from years of experience in attracting trade show traffic.

4 Reasons You Should Print Shirts for Your Business

To many business owners, getting printed t-shirts is one of the biggest marketing cliches around. But have you ever wondered why, if the idea of custom t-shirts is so common, there are companies that still print them? The reason is because custom printed t-shirts work and we can give you four good reasons why you should give us a call to have your custom printed t-shirts done today.

T-Shirts Are Effective, Walking Billboards

Think about the way you react when you walk down the street and see a colorful t-shirt. More often than not, your eyes are going to check out the shirt to see what the colorful design has to say. Many people even go the extra step and try to see if there is any more designs on the back of the shirt.

A well-designed t-shirt gets attention and will expand your company’s brand name recognition. Our design experts can create a t-shirt that people will have to notice and we will get you a maximum return on your investment.

People Grow Fond Of Their T-Shirts

While it does help that hundreds of people may see one your custom t-shirts as it is worn by a happy customer, there is even more value to the customer themselves. A colorful and quality t-shirt can easily become a part of a person’s wardrobe and be something that they wear regularly.

That customer, or prospect, starts to develop a warm, emotional bond with your company and all you did was give that customer a t-shirt. Never underestimate the power of comfortable and reliable clothing.

Well-Designed T-Shirts Are In Demand

One of the lingering effects of a well-designed custom t-shirt is that many of the people who see someone wearing your shirt will want one. While that may not mean that those t-shirt coveting prospects will call your company to order a shirt, it does mean that your company name will stick in their heads and they will have a strong positive response when they see your business location, or when they see your business on the Internet.

Our experts can create a t-shirt that people will want to have in their collection, regardless as to whether or not they need your product. One of the primary purposes of a custom t-shirt is to increase brand name recognition and our t-shirts are very effective at getting the job done.

Collect Them All

The business owners who dismiss the marketing power of custom printed t-shirts do not understand the strong appeal t-shirts have to a large portion of the public. For example, if you gave away a promotional t-shirt that got a lot of attention, then many of the people who got the first shirt will wonder what new designs you will be offering. Our experts can help you put out promotional t-shirt designs that people will have to collect, which means more exposure for you.

Giving away custom printed t-shirts is one of the most effective ways to create a positive bond with your client base and to get your company name out there for thousands of people to see every day. Give us a call and we will discuss a custom t-shirt plan that will put your company name and logo in the minds of a whole new array of customers. We will show you how t-shirts will expand your customer base and increase your revenue.

Professional Presentation Folders Get People’s Attention

There is the right way to make a good first impression with an important presentation, and there is the wrong way to do it. The wrong way involves using standard presentation folders with sticker and writing on them to try and give the impression that the folders were customized. The right way is to contact Tom and Company and let us create professional presentation folders for your next presentation.

Prove Your Professionalism

True professionals attend to all of the important details and understand the critical nature of looking, as well as acting, like a refined organization. From the moment you walk into the conference room to give your presentation, your customer will be watching every move you make and monitoring everything you say. When you start handing out your hard copy information in our professionally printed folders, then you will establish a first impression that will get your customer’s attention.

Give Your Information Credibility

Our professional presentation folders have a silk finish to them that shows how seriously you take the information you are about to present. If you take your information seriously, then your customer is going to take that information seriously as well. Utilizing our professional presentation folders will help you get the attention of your audience before you even start your presentation.

Create A Lasting Impression

When your presentation is over, your customer will be left with the information you have presented and the care you took to create that presentation. One of the prime examples of the respect with which you treat your information and your customer will be the presentation folder you use to hold your hard copy information.

Your presentation could be a standard PowerPoint presentation with some photocopied pages to accompany it. While your information could work to set you apart from the competition, your familiar presentation will allow your information to get thrown in with everyone else’s and forgotten. But when you use our professional presentation folders, you will make a lasting impression that will give your information and your organization respectability in the eyes of your customer.

We Have An Array Of Options

Along with a variety of colors and a silk finish, we have an array of effects and options that you can choose from to make your presentation folders unique. Contact one of our marketing experts today and we will help you to create a corporate presentation folder that will make your next presentation impossible to forget.

We can highlight your logo with a different texture, or we can add an effect to your presentation title that really makes it stand out. Gives us a call and we can discuss our full line of options for our presentation folders that will give you the professional appearance you are looking for.

When you want your customers to take your message and your company seriously, then you have to show that you are serious about what you do. Our presentation folders allow you to set the proper tone for your next presentation and help you to elevate your level of professionalism in the eyes of your customers.

4 Keys to Looking Like A Rockstar At Your Tradeshow

A trade show is a place where you can meet new customers, network with industry experts and find out the latest information on industry innovations. But if you want to really find success at a trade show, then you need a booth that will attract and interest people.

We are experts at developing the ideal trade show displays that will bring you foot traffic and get results. When you are putting together your trade show booth, make sure that we are part of your planning process. We can give you four good reasons why your trade show displays matter and how our professional service can make your booth more successful than it has ever been.

Trade Show Visitors Are Looking For Bling

When consumers go to a trade show, they are expecting booths to pop out at them and make them want to talk to sales people. Business professionals are looking to network with companies that give the image of being proactive and show the promise of being an industry powerhouse.

A plain booth with some standard, vinyl signs is not going to get you the status that you need. But when you allow us to create your trade show displays, we will give you the kind of bling you need to get plenty of positive attention.

Good Displays Let You Compete With The Big Boys

Trade shows are like the Internet in that mostly everyone is on a level playing field. Aside from the major show sponsors who get huge spaces to utilize, you and your competition are all setting up in basically the same size space. What you do with that space will determine what people think of your company.

We can create displays that will make your company look like it is a top industry competitor. Even if your biggest competition is three times your company’s size, we can elevate you to their level with an effective set of trade show displays.

Your Trade Show Displays Answer Questions

Good trade show displays with attractive graphics and text that is easy to read can answer questions for traffic that will bring you more interest. When you use professional trade show displays, people will instantly know what your company has to offer and they will be able to make an informed decision as to whether they want to do business with you or not.

Professional Displays Establish Your Brand Identity

We will use your corporate color scheme and corporate logos to create trade show displays that work to unify your brand identity. A big part of brand identity is instant recognition, and putting your logo and corporate colors on a professional trade show display will make your company hard to forget. The next time that potential customer sees your logo, they will remember it and remember your company.

At Tom and Company, our job is to create the best possible image for your company. We do this by using our years of experience in marketing and trade show success. Let us put all of that experience to work for you and create for you a series of trade show displays that will get your company noticed and help you to maximize the return on every trade show you are a part of.

Use Your Brochure To Introduce Your Company

How often have you been asked to describe what your company does, and no matter how hard you try, you still wind up with blank looks from your audience? But the moment you bring out a brochure, you suddenly see your audience’s eyes light up with understanding.

A brochure is more than just some marketing piece you give away at trade shows. It is often the first impression that your company gets to make on potential new clients. That is why a good brochure needs to be designed properly to create the most effective presentation.

What should be included in a brochure?

Have Relevant And Vibrant Pictures

A brochure is an 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch piece of paper folded in two spots. Every square inch of space on that brochure needs to be used wisely. Your pictures need to get people’s attention and tell your company’s story. Make sure your pictures are colorful, vibrant, and pertinent to the topic in your brochure. Do not waste the space you use when you include pictures in your brochure.

Your Brochure Needs A Catchy Headline

Most people that you hand your brochure to will look it over quickly and say they will read it later. But when the front panel of your brochure has a catchy headline, that makes your brochure immediate and urgent. A good headline sets up the information inside the brochure and gets your audience needs to read all six panels.

Your Brochure Needs To Be Clearly Compartmentalized

You will notice that the most successful brochures have their information in boxes laid out strategically to create flow. It is much easier to get people to read your brochure when each piece of information has its own place that is easily defined. This is where the art of creating a brochure comes into play and why you need a professional marketing company to take care of it for you.

Your Brochure Needs To Be Focused

If the brochure you are creating will be designed as an introduction to new clients, explain what your company does and then offer benefits to the reader. Avoid including long segments about the company’s history or any of the company’s business policies. If your brochure is about a specific product or line, do not include information about other products. When you keep your brochure focused, your message is easier for your audience to read.

The Text Needs To Be Concise

A brochure is meant to deliver focused information on one particular subject. It is not supposed to tell a long story and contain much text. When you write the content for your brochure, keep the sentences short and to the point. Present your information in a clear and concise way and use a format that makes it easy to skim your information. Bullet lists, headings, and larger print all help to make a brochure more desirable to an audience.

A printed brochure is still one of the most effective pieces of marketing a company can utilize.

You should design brochures for your business by a professional brand design agency and get your message out to people who could be your best customers someday. That is the power of a good brochure.

Should You Have Professional Business Cards?

These days, technology has created the illusion that the do-it-yourself method is the best way to do things. But when you are trying to run a business, doing some things yourself can actually be counterproductive. For example, printing your own business cards can sound like a great idea, but there are several benefits to letting our professionals print your cards for you.

A Professional Printer Knows What Works

One of the reasons you pay for a professional business service is because a professional has the experience necessary to deliver an excellent result. We have plenty of experience printing high quality business cards and we have all of the design options you need for an effective finished product.

An impressive business card makes a much stronger impact than a basic card printed on a laser printer in your office. We know what designs and options work and that is something you should take advantage of.

It Takes The Right Materials To Get The Right Look

We can print embossed business cards that have a professional look and feel to them. Unless you have invested in the right printing equipment and materials, then you would not be able to get that same effect. As a professional printer, we have all of the right materials to create the cards that you want.

Trust Your Business To Professional Printers

Printing perfect business cards on a printer in your office can be one of the more frustrating things you would ever try to accomplish. You can go through all of the setup options for your printer and paper, but the end result will look like it was printed in an office on a company printer. That is not the kind of business impression you want to make.

We have all of the knowledge, experience, materials, and equipment to make sure that your cards always look professional. When you hand a business prospect a card that was made by one of our professionals, you will be making the right first impression each and every time.

You Save Money In The Long Run With Professional Printing

Once you have established the business card design you like, you can request replacement orders whenever you need them. When you add up the cost of the ink you will use to print your own cards, the cost of high quality business card stock (especially for the cost of the card stock you throw out when the cards come out looking poor), and the cost of your time – it becomes obvious that hiring a printing professional makes all of the sense in the world.

Not only will you save money by utilizing a professional printing service for your business cards, but you will get excellent results each time. Our reputation is on the line with every business card we print, and we want to help you make a strong first impression each and every time.

Business cards are some of the most important personal marketing tools a business professional will ever use. Instead of trying a do it yourself approach to these very important marketing pieces, you need to invest in professional printing services. We are a professional printing service that will help you to make a strong impression with your business cards with every customer and prospect.

Four keys to creating killer rack cards for your business

Rack cards are an affordable and easy way to market your business effectively. Between the wide range of finishing options to styling and cuts – the creative scope of what you can do with a rack card is enormous. If you feel nervous about putting one together – or find that you’re new to the game of rack card marketing, then this week’s post is for you! Below, you’ll find four core components that every good rack card should have!

Bold headlines and even bolder graphics

Rack cards are almost always found in groups of other rack cards, so you had better make sure yours sticks out from the pack. Graphics are what specifically draw people in, but it’s great headlines and content that keeps them there. Rack cards in many ways – are like keys to a business. They show the customer how to let themselves in. Make sure you add dynamic maps, directions and describe or show definitively – what it is they can do there.

Incentives and more incentives!

Moving off of what we discussed in the previous point, it’s always important to make sure that your rack card adds value. Whether that manifests itself as a coupon or special promotion for first time viewers; it’s always important to try to think of ways that you can give prospects more bang for their buck. Also – be sure to track – as best you can – the results from various offers and incentives. Seeing which offers don’t work can – in some cases – be just as important as the offers that DO work. Tracking the results simply help you build better rack cards.

Features and benefits, benefits and features

Rack cards don’t afford you with a ton of space to get your point across, so the words you choose and the message they convey needs to be profound. They also need to be easily scannable and the words – from a graphical standpoint – really need to ‘pop’ off the card. Simply put – remember to be succinct, direct, noticeable and compelling. That’s the formula.

Know your audience

Part of the challenge of putting together a rack card is to know what specific audience you want to speak to despite being placed in a rack full of other products and messages. A good rack card should always have a goal. Whether it’s speaking directly to mothers with young children or inspiring men to come and try a new product, it’s important your rack card speaks to a specific group and does so in a way that sparks them to action!

The Three Essential Ingredients Of A Good Brochure

In an age where everything and its mother is digitized, there’s still something to be said for having collateral that people can hold in their hands. As such, brochures are some of the most effective means of marketing communication you can deploy.

With that being said, most brochures are – in a word – awful. Nothing is better than a good brochure to be sure – but a bad one can actually hurt your business more than help it. This week, well share out the three essential ingredients that your brochure needs to have in order to be successful.

Here they are:

An attention grabbing cover

While we’d love to heap praise on the modern consumer’s attention span, the fact is it just wouldn’t be keeping in touch with reality. Consumers have incredibly short attention spans these days – whether it’s on the web or out in the physical world. As such, your brochure’s cover needs to be attention grabbing, interesting and engaging. That means compelling design and graphics and headlines that reel them in. You’ll only have a few seconds, if that, to grab their attention. Make the best of it!

Powerful calls to action

The primary purpose of a brochure is to keep moving people through the sales cycle. In a way- it’s almost like cattle ranching. Think about what you want your customers to do and then write your brochure to achieve that specific purpose. Is it to go to your website? Sell sponsorships? Order clothes? A good call to action will tell your readers exactly what you want them to do and should stand out from the rest of the copy so that your readers don’t miss it.

Compelling, engaging content

Long story, short: you care about your business more than your customers do. And you know what? That’s fine. But don’t expect your enthusiasm for your business to translate in to actionable solutions to your customers’ problems. Customers simply aren’t interested in you, your history and your accomplishments. Yes, those can help, but they shouldn’t be the primary focus of your content. The customer and their challenges should be the focus. Can your business lower their costs? Save time? Help them pass their competition? Determine what your product does for others and purpose the copy to achieve that task. Then use imagery that supports it.