Dean Hayward, Sales and Marketing Manager of NMBS, reveals why brochures and promotional leaflets should still be an integral part of any merchant’s marketing plan.
It would be easy in this digital world to assume that all marketing should be done online, and that brochures and promotional leaflets are a thing of the past. But nothing could be further from the truth — brochures have been a fundamental part of effective business marketing campaigns for decades, and still form a valuable part of any builders’ merchant’s marketing strategy.
A well-designed brochure or leaflet can be an informative and eye-catching reminder of your business and its services, especially for tradespeople, who may pick up a leaflet in branch before taking it away to act as a visceral reminder of a relevant promotion or product.
Far from being intrusive, the printing and posting of branded direct mail can encourage repeat business, as well as raising awareness of limited-time promotions that could entice former customers back to your branch.
Up to 79% of recipients read, keep, or pass on to a friend the contents of a distributed leaflet, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), while flyers with money-off coupons and use-in-store deals are kept by 33% of potential customers. DMA research also shows that 48% of those who receive such direct mail either visit the shop advertised, request additional information, or go on to make a purchase.
Many independent merchants rely heavily on material provided by suppliers, getting involved in industry-wide promotions that are created and run by the manufacturers themselves. But what about when merchants wish to run their own promotions, or highlight new products that are being introduced for the first time?
Many national and large independent merchants have their own marketing teams, with in-house designers who will create branded promotional material for this exact purpose, but for smaller merchants this is far more difficult to achieve.
For them, bringing in designers, or recruiting an external agency can prove prohibitively expensive, causing them to miss out on marketing opportunities, or potentially having to make do with lower quality flyers that do not present their brand in the best way.
Instead, NMBS members looking to create professional quality marketing collateral can take advantage of the NMBS Creative service, which has recently been updated to make it even more intuitive and user-friendly for merchants.
Set up in partnership with design and print agency Ruddocks, NMBS Creative is an online portal at www.nmbs-creative.co.uk, where merchant members can create their own bespoke, branded flyers and leaflets, using a number of templates to make the process quick and easy. Templates include A5 double-sided leaflets, flyers, posters, PVC banners, point-of-sale signs and roll up display stands.
Members simply login, choose their basic layout, then drag and drop their own product images into the template. They can then add in the product code, product description and pricing, and then add their own branding, logos and contact details, to create professional, high-quality literature for any part of their business.
Once complete, the template can either be downloaded as a pdf for printing by the merchant, or sent to Ruddocks for printing and delivering to the merchant. Those merchants who choose to use Ruddocks for the printing can take advantage of NMBS’ own discount, as the Buying Society uses the firm for all its own printing needs.
NMBS merchants can also speak to Ruddocks about the other services it offers, such as the design and printing of banners to hang outside the branch, pull-up banners for one-off promotions, or full catalogue creation.
For more information, visit www.nmbs-creative.co.uk or www.nmbs.co.uk.
