The commercial brochure is the showcase of your business. It presents all of your services as well as your values in a synthetic and visual document. In this article, we help you better understand the objectives of a presentation brochure and suggest that you follow our expert examples to make your brochure a real sales tool!
Definition of a commercial brochure
What is a commercial brochure?
The commercial brochure may also be referred to as a presentation brochure or a brochure. It is a communication medium that presents the company, the services as well as the products it offers. It also highlights the values of the company. Showcase of your business, it must be designed with clarity and care. Most of the time, it is printed and distributed to your prospects. Indeed, during a sales meeting, you show your brochure in order to support your arguments and describe your products / services. This is why it is essential that it be perfectly detailed and harmoniously laid out.
What is the difference between a commercial brochure and a press kit?
Between press release, press kit, presentation brochure, it is sometimes difficult to navigate. These are all great supports to incorporate into your communication plan , but each has a different purpose:
- The purpose of the commercial brochure is to show the extent of your services, to reassure and convince your prospect. Its ultimate goal is to trigger the purchase.
- The press kit is sent to journalists to present the company, its values and an upcoming event. Its objective is to give precise information to journalists to help them write an article.
- The press kit is often accompanied by a press release which summarizes an upcoming event (launch of a new range of products for example) in one page. Its objective is to inform journalists, bloggers or influencers.
How to create an effective sales brochure?
Identify your targets
Before making each communication medium, you must always keep in mind your target ( buyer persona ). Knowing your readers precisely helps you adjust your messages (tone, keyword, promise, etc.) and the format to be used on your communication tools.
Define communication objectives
Your presentation brochure must meet the following objectives:
- Promote the image of your company;
- Present all of your services and products;
- Answer to a need ;
- Support your commercial arguments;
- Ideally trigger the act of purchase.
Use the AIDA method to optimize your communication tools
To help you in the realization of your commercial brochure, rely on the AIDA method. It groups together the stages through which a consumer goes. It is therefore widely used to help business leaders design their communication media.
AIDA stands for:
- Have like Warning – capture attention with an attractive visual;
- I like Interest – stimulate interest with precise content adapted to your target;
- D like Desire – arouse envy by highlighting the benefits of your service or the values of your company;
- Have like Action – trigger the purchase.
The idea is to be able to grab the reader’s attention, then generate interest in the service / product, evoke the desire and need for it and then trigger the buying process. You can use these principles to design your brochure.
Identify the content of your booklet
Once you have structured your goals, think about the content of your brochure. To do this, sort through all the elements you want to present.
Conventionally, commercial brochures contain:
- a presentation of the company and the logo,
- quality commitments,
- missions / products / services accompanied by examples of achievements,
- all partners or customer testimonials,
- contact information (phone, email, website, etc.)
Your presentation brochure must be synthetic. You have to get to the point and show a spirit of synthesis. You can put all of your ideas on paper without restricting yourself. Then group them by categories. Finally, ask yourself if these meet a specific need. If not, they are not really useful.
You need to send a clear message in order to arouse envy! Your text should contain short sentences so that the reader immediately understands where you are coming from.
My advice: it is important not to talk just about yourself, but to focus on your target and how to meet their needs. Always keep in mind that a sales brochure should be synthetic and show how your business can help your prospect.
Choose the right format
Printers offer multiple formats for your business brochures. The most common are brochures folded in 2 or 3 flaps in open A3 (29.7×42 cm), A4 (21×29.7 cm) or A5 (15×21 cm) format.
The “classic” commercial brochure is printed in the form of a leaflet with a slightly higher weight mat or gloss with 4 pages (A3 folded in 2). You can follow this model, or also decide to make a multiple page brochure in the form of a booklet and not a leaflet.
Write catchy titles
Each company has a commercial brochure. To stand out from the crowd, you need to differentiate yourself from the competition. For this, in addition to the graphics, you must also rely on your content. The interest of your presentation brochure is to attract the reader’s attention in order to arouse the desire to know more about your services. You must therefore be original without overdoing it. Headlines are more visible than all of your text, so it’s based on them that your prospect decides, by hovering over, to read your brochure or leave it on a corner of the desk.
Design a creative layout
The layout serves two purposes:
- It visually attracts the reader with its graphics, colors and overall structure.
- It makes your message easier to understand. A successful layout is at the service of your content.
Create your brochure like all your professional documents ( visit card , flyers , etc.) in accordance with your graphical charter !
Do not forget: the golden rule for a commercial brochure worthy of the name, it is above all to ventilate the layout, to structure it and to make all of your graphics attractive. You must make you want to leaf through your brochure.
How to make wafers: which software to use?
Make your business brochure with desktop publishing software
There are several software programs to create a commercial brochure including those of the Adobe suite and in particular Indesign, a very complete tool for page layout. There is a tutorial dedicated to the creation of brochures set up by Adobe and available for free.
However, if you are not yet very comfortable with this rather complex type of software, it is better to use Word as a word processing tool.
Use Word to design your business document
Word has been able to modernize and offer a wide range of templates to use very easily: CV, flyers , brochures … To consult them, all you have to do is open your software, go to “new”. Then type in the search bar “brochure” and you have the choice among many creations.
Word offers a variety of possibilities. And, on the Microsoft Office website, you can also find many downloadable templates free or paid with a Premium subscription (from 10 euros including tax per month). You then modify the chosen model according to your wishes by adding all of your information.
Create your free online brochure with CANVA
CAN GO is an online platform that offers pre-designed designs for communication media. From a free account, CANVA offers you the possibility of creating your commercial brochure. The tool is easy to use in “drag and drop” mode and has a large number of templates. Once you have completed your brochure, upload your document or use CANVA’s printing service.
Some of the links in the article are affiliate links (meaning we get a commission when you buy the product by clicking on the link), but that doesn’t change our recommendations because we really recommend the tools.
Commercial brochure: which medium to choose?
Digital or printed brochure?
The presentation brochure can be printed, sent by e-mail or downloaded from a website.
However, during a meeting with a company, it is preferable to arm yourself with your sales brochure in due form! Needless to say, printing directly at the office, in black and white, on basic paper is not so much the idea of the century!
Investing in quality printing with a budget (within reason) is important. Varnish, embossing, striping… there is something for everyone! It would be wise to print your sales brochure with the same media as your visit card . Several choices are available to you: directly at the printer to be able to test the media or online.
The commercial brochure or the professional network LinkedIn ™
Today, the LinkedIn ™ social network is a must for BtoB professionals.
It also takes the role of commercial brochure in the sense that business leaders have a company page to present their company and their services. It’s easy to make all communication media available: press kit, presentation brochure, etc. The company page is an effective way to increase your visibility and get in touch with your prospects and customers. If needed, follow our complete guide to creating a LinkedIn ™ Company Page.
By being available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, LinkedIn ™ remains the best sales brochure for BtoB professionals. In order to create an effective profile that inspires confidence, discover the Proinfluent® Profile which converts visitors into prospects .
A real tool for developing its digital presence, developing its business network and finding clients, LinkedIn ™ is positioned as the largest professional network. We invite you to discover prospecting and social selling through a specialized training to find clients with LinkedIn ™.
Commercial brochure: examples of effective brochures to copy: in conclusion
- Its content must be synthetic and meet specific objectives;
- It must be attractive and arouse envy;
- It brings together all of your values, services, and be accompanied by examples;
- Its presentation must be flawless: company colors (respect for the graphic charter), originality in the layout, highlighting of certain elements;
- It should be printed on quality paper;
- A digital version is possible! And, for BtoB professionals, LinkedIn ™ remains the best sales brochure by being available online all year round 24 hours a day.
Commercial brochure: to summarize in three questions
C’est quoi une plaquette commerciale ?
The commercial brochure is a communication tool that presents your company and its services. Usually printed in the form of a folded brochure in 2 or 3 parts, it aims to spread your message. It must be very easily identifiable and encourage the purchase.
Comment faire des plaquettes ?
To create an effective sales brochure, you must focus on synthetic content, meaningful images, an attractive layout and examples of services / products / achievements. Everything must be printed on quality paper, at the height of your business! You can also make your presentation brochure digitally sent by email or viewable on your website. Don’t forget to use LinkedIn ™, a professional network, as a virtual showcase for your company and your services!
Comment faire une plaquette commerciale sur Word ?
Word has many templates for business brochures. To do this, all you have to do is go to Word: “file, new document from a template”, then select a template. Then, adapt the content and create your own brochure by integrating your images, your texts, your logo …
You can also find templates directly on the Microsoft Office site to download with one click. A real source of inspiration, easily achievable and very accessible. Please note, most of the presentation examples come from a Premium subscription (offer from 10 euros including tax per month).
