Brochure Websites – The Power of Ridiculousness
Brochure websites have suddenly become a buzzword in the Web Design fraternity, and to be frank we are puzzled by this trend. In essence, this is Pleonasm (also known as Superfluous Adjectives), where people use unnecessary words or adjectives such as “Wet Water”, or “Wet Rain”, to describe something that is inherently obvious.
We have written in broad terms on this subject before (The difference between Brochure and Website), but here we explain why the term “Brochure Website” is ridiculous, and any experienced marketing professional should be able to see straight through this hyperbole.
What is the Definition of a Brochure Website?
Having carried out searches in Google and other Search engines, we came across a lot of very interesting definitions, which all can be summarised as:
“Brochure websites give a comprehensive view of your company’s Products and Services, in a creative and imaginative manner, in a digital format, instead of a printed version.”
What is a website definition?
We thought long and hard, and could not come up with a better definition than:
“A website should give a comprehensive view of your company’s Products and Services, in a creative and imaginative manner, whilst enabling your visitor to easily find the information they need, interact with your company, or make a purchase.”
Compare the two. Can you see any substantive differences between these descriptions? Nor can we, other than the ability to interact, but we can see significant differences between a Printed Brochure vs a Website.
Using a “Brochure Website” is the same as calling Water, “Wet Water”!!
What are the differences between a Printed Brochure and a Website?
The list is long but we think these are the key differences in this context.
Layout
Printed brochures are restricted to the paper sizes (A4, A3, A5, etc.). Additionally, printed materials are susceptible to “Fold Bias”, where information above the fold is more prominent, whilst below the fold is often ignored or not noticed by many readers.
Websites have no limitation in size, as scrolling has now become an acceptable way of using a website. This means content producers need not worry about “Fold Bias”, as there are no folds as long as your content is interesting, relevant, and clearly signposted.
Shelf-life
Printed materials have a limited shelf-life, as their content can quickly go out of date and become irrelevant. Producing fresh and updated printed materials is costly, time consuming, and expensive to re-distribute.
Website content can easily be updated, and as often as necessary, so the content can always be relevant and up-to-date. The cost of distribution is negligible as long as the website is properly optimised (SEO).
Interactive
Brochures should contain contact details such as the company’s address, telephone number, website, and email address. However, this does mean potential customers need to take deliberate and additional action to contact the company via the information provided.
Websites are interactive, so whilst online the client can contact using the contact form, or if available, use a Live Chat Function to contact a real person for question and answer session, or real time engagement.
Brochures are non-interactive, they also do not provide any kind of engagement with the potential clients. They are reliant on the potential clients to take action, whilst Website enable the company to take the initiative once a visitor arrives. These include initiating Chat Sessions, Re-marketing Actions, Push Banners, Dynamic Content Response, etc.
Data
Websites can provide a rich source of data on consumers, and consumer behaviour. From discovering consumer’s preferred search terms, to interactions with the website, the data provides enormous opportunity for professional marketeers to take active action and respond to changing demands. Brochures are very much “Spray and Pray”, with no or little feedback mechanism.
Push vs Pull
Brochures and printed marketing materials are usually used for “Push” marketing, where information is provided in order to create demand.
Websites are “Pull” marketing as with the advent of Search Engines, Pay-Per-Click, and Social Media; businesses can respond to demand and “pull” potential consumers to their website.
Summary
We recognise that sometimes in marketing language we need to go Off-Piste, in order to create differentiation and clarity, but this new trend of distinguishing a “Brochure Website” from any standard “Website” is just going off the cliff!
As you can see from the above, websites offer vast options of function and the possibilities for interaction, which Brochures simply cannot achieve. Attempting to recreate a brochure as a website is truly a marketing folly, and missed opportunity, as well as missing the point.
For information on how to create an effective and revenue generating website without the nonsense talk, Contact us for a no obligation first consultation.