When it comes to providing information about your company and its products and services, a good website offers a lot of advantages. It allows prospects to find you, regardless of their geographic proximity. Searching for information is fast and easy. The prospect has complete control, spending as much or as little time as desired on the site.
But all the information gathering can be done anonymously. That means you don’t know the extent of the prospect’s interest – whether an early-stage shopper (slight interest, may not have intention to buy); information seeker (gathering information from more than one source); qualified buyer (has the interest, authority, and budget to make a decision); or someone actually ready to purchase. You can’t answer questions, counter misinterpretations, or offer additional information. In short, you have no control over the sales process.
An effective brochure, on the other hand, returns control to you. It also requires you to think through exactly how to tell a compelling story about your company and its products and services – the basis of any marketing effort, regardless of the strategy used to carry it out.