Brochure Marketing To Parents: 6 Steps To Turning Mom And Dad Into Customers

If you market to parents, you already know they are a unique consumer and that getting and holding their attention is a lot more challenging than getting and holding the attention of all other types of customers. The parent-marketer’s message must shout “Mom!” louder than all other information vying for her or dad’s attention, and it must scream “Important Message about Your Kids!” Many of the one million things on her mind are already directly or indirectly child-related. The bottom line, marketers: You have to show her that what you now want her to focus on is of paramount benefit to the welfare, emotional well-being, health, happiness, safety or security of her most invaluable, irreplaceable possession and endearing treasure – her “baby,” whether that baby is two years old or seventeen years old.

1. COVER PANEL

Company Name: If the name of your company or organization is not familiar to the majority of your prospects or if it probably will not strike an emotional chord in them, make it much smaller than your headline. Yes, it should appear on the cover, but your headline should be more prominent. You only have a few seconds to engage parents, so you want those seconds focused on the attribute that is going to make them open the brochure.

Headline: Your headline MUST immediately direct the parent’s attention to their children and to the greatest promise your company is making about your benefit to their children. If that benefit is “safety and security,” then say so. You want the parent to stop and look inside.

Picture: Feel free to use objects, although people prefer to see pictures of other people. However, be very mindful of the parent you are talking to. Seriously think about what that picture is going to conjure up in the heart of the parent, because parents think with their hearts and their minds. For instance, if you are a counseling center and you are targeting parents of depressed children, then pictures of only happy children on the cover may not cut it. These parents need to see an image of a child and situation they can relate to. In addition, they need to see an outcome they wish to achieve. To accomplish this, you might consider a picture of sad child, who, later on the same page is smiling, perhaps with your program somewhere in between. The point is, be ultra sensitive to your prospective parent-customer’s situation and needs. Lastly, you must use quality pictures. If you choose animation, make it quality animation.

2. FIRST INSIDE PANEL (FEATURES)

Subheading: Introduce your features section with a caption that sums up the essence of your product or service, an essence which benefits the child, e.g., “ABC Daycare is not just a daycare. It’s a home away from home.”

Features: If at all possible, bullet your features. Bullets make sentences reader friendly, particularly for busy parents. Again, you only have a few seconds. Bullets allow you to tell them the most in the least amount of time.

Picture: You may want to show a colorful picture of a child actively involved in one of the features you offer. Use quality photos only.

3. INSIDE MIDDLE PANEL (BENEFITS)

List the benefits of your product or service. Paragraphs are fine, but bullets work best here, as well. Take note that your best writing is used in the benefits section. If you have held the parent’s attention this far, you don’t want to lose it here, because this where you convince the parents of the value of your product or service. This is where you solidify why they should choose you and not your competition. You should dot your i’s and cross your t’s on every panel, but be extra cautious in this section. Make sure you triple check your grammar, spelling and punctuation, especially if you are providing a service or offering an educational product. Get a good proofreader if you need to.

4. INSIDE THIRD PANEL (TESTIMONIALS)

If you are an unknown, testimonials are critical. You can use one really poignant testimonial or three to four, short, but telling testimonials. You are talking to parents, who want to hear about your product or service from other parents or children who really have something meaningful to offer about your goods. Testimonials are oftentimes the deciding factor for parents, many of whom trust word-of-mouth much more than they do other marketing collateral.

5. OUTSIDE MIDDLE PANEL

Use this section to make your brochure a keeper. For example, if you are a family-friendly travel agency, you may want to print on this panel: “10 Ways To Keep Your Child Safe When Visiting Big Cities.” Think of concepts that resonate with parents to the point where your brochure needs to go into their carry-on luggage or glove compartment or on his refrigerator or scanned into her PDA.

6. OUTSIDE CLOSING FLAP

Here is where you include any required certification, licensing or registration your company or organization has. Criteria to be met by parents, hours of operation, your contact information, and directions, all belong here, as well. Although this section is significant, it should always be at the end so it will not interfere with the parent’s initial decision-making process. You want the opportunity to wow them before they get bogged down with the stress-inducing parental administrative details. This section is less nerve-racking , when the parent is excited about this wonderful, new X that’s going to benefit their child.

P.S. From your headline to your testimonial(s), EVERYTHING in your brochure must be first-rate when you are marketing to parents.