Opinions on my leaflet please

I agree with Guy. Who are you aiming at, home users or businesses? If it's home users then I'd guess most your your leaflet will go straight over their heads.if it's business users they they'll want someone who can support their network 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, not just some bod who pops round to tinker inside some boxes.

I think your leaflet as it stands falls somewhere in the middle of oth camps without actually appealing to either.

The other thing to bear in mind is what insurance do your customers have if everything goes titsup and they lose all their data, need new hardware/software etc?

I think there is a market for home IT support, the problem is, how do you differentiate yourself from the dozens of other people offering it. My local Asda has a noticeboard and it always has half a dozen cards from people offering PC installations, virus protection, beginners courses etc.

Hi Joy Division,

I think you know it's not quite right - so that's a start.

You've already got some good advice - but here's my four penneth …

• Less is more. There's way too much info on this leaflet.
• Limit it to three selling messages maximum. Make sure that there’s plenty of white space to make it easy on the eye.
• Don't try and be all things to all people. E.g. Put your businesses selling messages on a business leaflet and your domestic selling messages on a domestic leaflet.
• Consider a unique offer exclusively available to anyone mentioning they’ve seen the leaflet. This way you can track the response.
• Spell check - on the ad – ‘Competitive’

So where now?

I'd go back to the drawing board I’m afraid, and begin by putting yourself in the shoes of your customers. Ask yourself ‘what do they want to hear from me?’ - not ‘What can I tell them?'

Consider case study approach. Instead of focussing on what you do – focus on what your customers need. Explain how your services will help their real life situations.

Then I’d think carefully about exactly what you want the leaflet to achieve. At the moment it looks to me like you want to tell as many people as possible about everything you do. Praiseworthy – but not going to bring you business.

Your aim (Called a ‘Call to Action’) should simply be for people to call you – which then gives you the opportunity to find out more about what they might need and then sell it to them. The information on the leaflet simply needs to focus on this much more straightforward job.

Good Luck

Richard

Hi Joy Division

You have some very good advice on this forum.
I can only repeat it

As a few people have pointed out, your leaflet is
trying to be all things to all people.

First you need to have two leaflets: one for businesses
and one for consumers (if you really are intent on aiming for both).
Then each one needs a very strong pitch, approaching the
customer from the point of view of their probems.

Think... What keeps my prospects awake at night?

Then you have to make your prospects really feel the
pain of those problems (or the fear of the possibility
of them happening).

Your pitch doesn't compel anyone to get in touch.

With the right pitch you could well be flooded with customers.

But you're on the right track, because you realize something
isn't right.

Good luck with your next effort.

Cheers

Steve

I have a problem with your basic propositions. I should be in your target market on two counts: firstly I am really keen on having WiFi/AV linked up in my house and have the money to spend on it. Secondly, running a small office I would be keen to get that better technology-enabled than it is. But somehow what you are offering does not appeal to me on either of those levels.

I am guessing that M21 is in Manchester (I used to live in Chorlton before moving daan saff). So you have the M62 corridor of increasingly wealthy city-slickers in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and so on. There must be a huge market for bespoke aspirational, high-value domestic AV/IT solutions. As well as the "boys toys" market for top-of-the-range tech gadgetry there is a booming home-office market that is really going to present you with opportunities if sold correctly.

Simply put, IMO you need to clear out all the waffle from your flyer and site and look at providing the lifestyle "solution" for your potential customers. e.g...

"Setting up a home business? Get the best value, reliable, managed home office set up and ready to run with personal support and training to let you concentrate on what your business needs."

...or...

[stylish modern interior shot]
"The total home network for those who demand the best of everything. Get a home audio visual, and WiFi network tailored to your needs - control your TV, stereo and internet from every room in your house." etc etc

These things could appeal to the domestic market in a very aspirational way. You would be using the same skills but in a more interesting manner and you could burn the rest of those flyers to produce something much simpler. Very aspirational stylish flyers/cards in bars along Canal Street would give you the perfect target audience for example.

just an opinion though. If you like the ideas PM me and we can discuss how you would do it further.

I would suggest back to the drawing board as well.

You need to know exactly who your ideal client is. Then you need to know what their problem or goal is, why they're having that problem, why it hasn't been solved yet and so on. And a whole array of other factors that eventually determine your positioning and your core message.

I would also go for a lead generation campaign rather than trying to sell off the leaflet.

It may well be the case that selling to businesses is both easier and more lucrative - after all, they have more work for you and need bigger systems. But as has been mentioned, they may prefer to work with a bigger company - in which case you could always form a network of associates in order to provide 24 hour cover.

If you're selling to businesses, fear will probably be the best motivator. A business can be literally destroyed if they lose their computing facility. What would happen if their premises were burgled and the theives made off with the server? What would happen if hackers got on their network and started stealing personal information or data? What would happen if their installation was attacked by a virus? What would happen if they keep their backups on site and there was a fire that destroyed all the equipment and their backup tapes? What would happen if they weren't backing up regularly and a disgruntled employee decided to scramble the client and prospect databases? Find the "hook" that gets you through the door - once they're a client, then you can sell them everything else on your backend.

With regards to Public Liability Insurance, this covers you against claims for injury or damage to their property through your negligence. I don't think it will cover you for claims regarding business loss, so if you lose someone's data or someone's network is down for a day and it's deemed to be your fault, then they can sue you and you won't be covered with this type of insurance. You need to get professional indemnity insurance for that.

Here's an example:
Your client sells products by mail order/internet. They do £6,000 of business each day. Their computers are down for a day - so they can't take any orders. They may conclude that not only has your error lost them £6,000, but it has lost them "goodwill" plus new customers with a known lifetime value. So their claim could be for considerably more than £6,000 in lost business as a result of your error.

Now, whether courts take that view or not, I wouldn't know because I'm not a legal expert, but who wants to take the risk or have a claim against them?

This is one of the reasons I got out of IT - too much risk for too little reward.

Hope something in this helps,
Jane