A brochure is a good marketing tool that tells new and prospective clients what your company is about and how you can be of service to them. As well, existing clients can pass it on to family and friends, potentially generating referrals and new business.

There are strategies to putting out a good brochure, and the key to success lies in focusing on the clients you want to attract.

“Advisors should tailor the message in their brochures to the segment of the market they are targeting,” says Michael Wickware, creative director of Wickware Communications Inc. , a Toronto-based company that provides copy-writing, design and branding services to the financial services industry. For example, he notes, the concerns of clients who are saving for retirement are different from those of retired clients who are looking for income-generating strategies.

“Instead of general retirement planning,” he says, “talk about the needs of someone who is saving and those of someone who is drawing income. Advisors need to be aware of these differences and recognize that different groups have different needs and require different solutions. Target specific needs, whether taxation, growing wealth or income.”

While many advisors focus on a specific market segment, those who serve multiple segments can create a separate brochure for each specific segment, says Wickware, a former advisor who worked in the financial services industry for 15 years before starting his company in 2003.

“You should know to whom you are talking,” he adds, “and the message in your brochure should reflect that.”

The message of the brochure should focus on the client, not the advisor, Wickware says. Instead of describing the services you offer, the brochure should first focus on those issues from the client’s point of view. For example, if you specialize in estate planning, mention some common estate planning concerns many people share, then explain how you can solve them. List your service offerings, but as a secondary or supporting message.

“A mistake we sometimes see is advisors creating marketing material that focuses on bragging about their experience or expertise in a certain service area,” Wickware says. “It’s a lot more powerful to focus on what’s in it for the client — and how you can solve their needs.”

Clay Gillespie, vice president of Rogers Group Financial in Vancouver, is currently revising his company’s brochure. The objective of the brochure is to give prospects a “flavour” for the company in a couple of pages, Gillespie says. “With our brochure we are trying to describe the identity of the firm, how we work and the attributes of the firm. Somebody can pick it up and have an idea of what is going to happen to them when they call our firm.”

When a Rogers Group advisor sends the company brochure to a client, it is accompanied by a bio of the advisor and his team on a separate sheet. The client learns not only about the firm, but also about the team members. “You are trying to build a comfort level, so clients will know with whom they are working,” Gillespie says.

The company brochure should be consistent with the firm’s other marketing material. If the company has a Web site, the wording and the theme in the brochure should be consistent with what is on the site.

“Make sure all your marketing pieces say the same thing and complement each other,” Gillespie says. “Otherwise, you are wasting your money. A brochure itself is useless; it’s how you use it with your marketing that makes it worthwhile.”

Rogers Group includes its brochure in the introduction package it sends to new or prospective clients.

But Wickware suggests the brochure should be sent to existing clients as well because it can educate them about your range of services and motivate them to act.

“A brochure about estate planning could be the trigger that encourages a long-time client finally to consolidate his or her assets with you, and look at putting together an integrated estate plan,” he says.

Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of communicating core business values.

“Marketing material makes a firm look professional, stable and solid,” Gillespie notes. “If you don’t have a brochure, you could give the impression that you are a fly-by-night company. Marketing is all about impressions.” IE

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