Speaking to an ‘old school’ customer today I realized the mixed expectation of a website, when they can only relate to the way a brochure is produced. Getting the content exact first time, by specific deadlines overshadowed the flexibility of the content managed website that is being delivered. It got me thinking about the differences that I come across between the real differences of a traditional brochure and a website.
Speaking at vs. conversation
A traditional brochure is a leave piece harking back to the days when salesmen knocked on doors and wanted to leave an overview document. As such, it was there to announce and is all about the organization… me, me, me.
A website is usually found, or discovered. It needs to grab attention on a very competitive medium. Engagement in this case is a much more personal action, requiring connection at an emotional level. With their abundant choice, it’s now about them, them, them.
A website is fluid
A brochure gets designed and printed. Hours are (should be) spent honing the copy to sound impressive and attractive. When it’s printed, that’s it until the next print run. Although digital printing has brought down print costs, it’s still a major expense to the marketing budget. There is no room for mistake.
A website goes live. If there is a typo, or a more appropriate set of words, they can be edited. What’s more, there are no physical constraints (if your structure is flexible): You can have as many pages as you want. You can embellish. Finish a job in the morning and have a relevant case study on your website by the afternoon. You can approach clients in different ways and test variations of approach on the fly.
A website is not “produced”
A brochure gets printed; end of production until the next run. Pay the designer, pay the printer, get it posted. Same next year?
When a website goes live the work does not stop, it starts. To stay relevant and attractive to search engines a website needs constant investment and needs to be budgeted accordingly. This allows for flexibility and adaptability but needs constant nurturing.
Reach
A brochure gets picked up by, or sent to, a prospect. Every time you use one, it costs you part of your budget. You can only put in the hands of people physically, therefore your reach is limited.
A website can be marketed the same way as a brochure without the need for postage: E-mail people the link. Your website can also be discovered. With good content and ‘right’ words on your pages, relevant prospects will find you and every page impression doesn’t cost you extra (unless you are paying for your traffic).
Personalization
Your brochure can be printed personally but you are talking variable data, limiting your production run, increasing your costs. Most brochures are generic trying to sell to your entire customer base using the same language and approach.
Your website can be personalized. Either focussed, with user log-ins, or into groups using relevant sections and landing pages. You can answer client questions by adapting your message. Different pages on your website could be saying the same thing in a different way; not in generic marketing speak, but in a language that engages subsets of customers.
If you can begin to understand the differences, you can change your approach. You can reassign your budgets and start increasing your opportunities online with a website that engages with existing customers and brand new prospects.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Craig, you have captured the essence of a website in comparison to printed media and have supplied a great resource of information for web developers to use when talking to traditional marketing types. Great article, thanks.
A website is a living thing, who wants to come back to the same site once they have visited once?
It’s somewhere in between a TV program and a brochure, and people haven’t yet fully realized how to use this medium.
The more I understand about websites, the harder it becomes to relate to my customer/potential customers pre/mis-conceptions. Sometimes you feel like trying to enlighten them about what the web is really all about is counterproductive. Would it be easier to do appeal to their misconceptions and take the path of least resistance like so many other agencies?
Recently I have been pondering something which is a little unrelated, but I hope worthy of sharing. Is gratuitous self promotion in copy effective on a website? A quick Google of my main keywords reveals that the majority of my competitors go for the “our success is built on absolute commitment to delivering a service that is second to none” type “happy talk” approach. My belief to date has been to cut out the happy talk and to write concise copy. Give users useful information and communication meaningful messages with the limited time you have. Web users don’t like happy talk do they? Lately I have been wondering: maybe this is what some visitors expect, maybe some of them believe it? Where do you draw the line between good sales copy and happy talk?
Hi James, I found this book – Web Copy That Sells ( http://tinyurl.com/c4w8r7 ) quite handy.
It lends itself to the subject quite well. I have also combined this with Milton Model Language Patterns, which I learned during my NLP study. Well worth looking into.
With regards to what you know, compared to what your clients will buy, I always tell our guys the fashion equivalent. We can create our Haute Couture range and show this off as what we can do. They will always tend to want off the peg… last years fashions in effect. To me, it’s the same thing.
Craig – thanks very much for the link and the very true analogy. Compliments also on your cracking posts both here and on The Escape.