Over the years we have dealt with many types of businesses across many business sectors and have therefore seen lots of different leaflets, some good and some not so good.

One issue that we can come across over and over again is what we call ‘Professional Snobbery’.  This is a phenomenon that is suffered mostly by professional service businesses where the management feel the need to demonstrate to all what qualifications they have.

For example, we recently designed a leaflet for a dentist who, despite our advice against it, insisted on listing the name of everyone with a qualification in their practice, along with each person’s qualifications.

If you are thinking along the same lines, then there is one question that you need to ask yourself – Who Cares?  This may sound harsh but seriously, if you pick up a leaflet are your going to even look at a list of people and their qualifications and even if you did would you care?  The answer is a resounding no and by doing this you are at best wasting space that could be better used to provide information that actually matters and at worst you may look pretentious and switch people off.

If you feel that it is important for people to perceive your business as being professional then start by the quality of your marketing materials – using high quality paper tells people that your service are also high quality.  Your should also ensure that the design of the materials is professionally done and is in keeping with your company’s brand.  Finally you should write good content that focuses on the benefits of your services and highlights any special offers and calls to action.

If you feel that it is necessary to promote the fact that your staff are qualified to deliver a high quality service then simply mention that your staff have the relevant qualifications in your marketing materials and use your web site to make specific mention of individuals and their qualifications.