Business Answers

This is a guest contribution from our friends at Intel. This fascinating report contains Intel insights and research on the question of consumerisation. Click on the download link below to get the full report. 

This is a guest post from our US sister blog, 367 Addison Avenue. 

Customers love when businesses have printed materials to share. Whether you are a real estate agent or flower shop owner, the power of a good brochure that delivers your message with vivid, visual impact cannot be overestimated. A marketing brochure can boost your sales efforts instantly and by creating those materials in-house, you can save both time and money.

Why Create a Brochure In-House?
There are some great benefits for small businesses that print materials in-house. Not only does using high-quality printers make it easy to save big with in-house marketing materials, but more control can be used when customizing content. Businesses can take extra care in developing a brochure that builds loyalty, understanding and potentially reaches new audiences.

If you’re unsure about developing a brochure for your audience without a design professional, here are a few tips to develop a clear, focused message that will visually appeal to your target readers:

• Study your audience: Understand who your target reader is and craft a message that reflects their demographic, likes, dislikes and individual category, whether that is a stay-at-home mom or a Chicago baseball fan. 
• Plan your message: Use insights from your customers, employees and salespeople to create a message that is clear, concise and gives a “call to action” for the readers.
• Compile your artwork: Pictures and illustrations are almost always the first thing readers look at in brochures, so make sure all visuals reflect your business’ culture and are consistent with the theme of the content. Digital cameras can be used to take professional-looking shots and sites like Wylio.com have free images for download. 

With your established brochure content in place, many websitesand types of software like Adobe InDesign offer professional-looking brochure templates that you can download, easily personalize and then print yourself. Here are some tips for using brochure templates:

• Editing headlines and copy: An easy way to catch typos when you’re done adding text is to read the text and headlines out loud. Ask someone else to read it too.
•  Communicate with color: Experiment by changing the color to match the message of your business. It's best to limit the number of colors to two or three and choose complimentary colors that go with the hue and lightness of your art.
• Add photos and artwork: Before adding your artwork to the brochure template, remember to touch up, crop or improve your images with your favorite photo or imaging-editing software before inserting the image into the template.
• Save your work: Brochure files can be quite large once you have added your image files. If you make several brochures to target different audiences, consider making a backup on CD to save your hard drive space. Also, be sure to save your document every few minutes to prevent a disaster in the event of a computer crash or power outage.
• Choose the right paper: Spend time going over your paper options to really bring your brochure to life.
• Check brochure on paper: Producing a "proof" on plain paper first allows you to check your picture placement and color. It also helps you practice your two-sided printing and saves the valuable specialty paper you'll use for the final brochure. Here are more guidelines for flawless prints:

- Use plain paper and draft mode for your proof copy.

- Follow Microsoft Word directions for two-sided printing.

- Try marking the top of the paper before your print, to help you visualize how both sides of paper flow through the printer.

- Have someone proof a second time.

- Use the highest-quality setting when printing your final brochures.

- To avoid ink smears, set the pages aside to dry completely in between printing on the front and back.

- To extend the physical life of your brochures, store them in a dark, dry place.

With the above tools, technology and tips, any business can create professional and impactful brochures to increase sales, customers and credibility. For more information about HP’s print offerings, you can visit here.

This article was originally posted in HP’s Technology at Work email newsletter. Click here to subscribe today! 

• Research report on consumerisation (PDF)
• How consumerisation affects IT departments
• Building your consumerisation strategy part one and part two
• How do you support consumerisation of IT

This is a guest post by Jon Smith from Insight UK a leading provider of bespoke IT solutions and services.

The Consumerisation of IT is being embraced by CIO’s around the globe helping businesses increase productivity and cut costs. In 2011 there has been a significant increase in Bring Your Own (BYO) device schemes with many employees using personal devices for work purposes from home as well as the office.

As employee’s and resources become more decentralised the need for flexible working has become more important to both businesses and employees. The adoption of cloud computing and web based applications has made it easier for employees to carry out their duties while they’re out of the office.

A survey conducted by CIO magazine discovered that nearly half of CIOs are happy for their employees to use personal devices,  caused by employees demanding more flexibility between home and the office. The cost saving opportunities for CIOs make it an obvious strategy in an attempt to cut hardware and maintenance costs.

Unsurprisingly the most common consumer devices amongst employees are smartphones closely followed by tablets. The portability of devices such as the iPad make them an obvious choice for any employee who is looking to work while on the move.

A BYO scheme may not be the right decision for your business so when deciding whether to adopt a such a scheme there some important considerations to take into account:

• How will you manage data outside your firewall?
• Will you pay employee’s for using their own resources E.g. broadband, office supplies etc?
• Which devices will you support? Smartphones, tablets, laptops?
• Who will be eligible for the BYO scheme? All staff? Senior management or travelling sales reps?
• Will employee’s be compensated for working extra hours from home?
• Is a BYO scheme something your employees want?