I ask because I went to see someone recently - it's what I do, you name it and I've been to an industrial estate off a motorway junction and seen it being designed, made, assembled, or warehoused - and the topic of brochures came up.

Just who are they for? 

The company I was visiting were about to start some consumer research asking punters what information they wanted and expected from a kitchen, bedroom or bathroom brochure.

In other words, their assumption was that the brochure was entirely the domain of the consumer and that somehow the role of the retailer was perhaps just as distributor.

Is this true? Are brochures just something you hand out in a take-them-away-with-you-for-later way?

Or do you use them as a tool to go through with customers while your sales patter is in full flow?

If the latter is the case then surely the opinion of the retailer should play a significant part in determining the content of the brochures. 

I've seen brochures that are nothing but wildly unrealistic lifestyle shots (ever actually met anyone who lives in a lofthouse apartment? Me neither) and barely one sentence of info - they look fabulous though. 

But then I've seen others that look like the Argos catalogue withproduct specifications spelt out to the minutest detail - looks terrible but it'll tell you everything you need to know. 

And then, perhaps most controversially, some brochures that have prices in and most that don't. 

What should you actually include in a brochure anyway? Many major bathroom manufacturers, for example, will supply every aspect of the room - sanitaryware, brassware, shower, bath, accessories etc - so should they all go in one huge unwieldy yet comprehensive book? Or spilt into different category brochures that customers can take away individually (but you'll hand them all over in one go anyway)? 

If I'm honest, my own opinion probably leans more towards printed brochures becoming increasingly redundant in the internet age. Most consumers at least start their research online before they even step through a shop door and websites can be constantly updated - once you've printed that annual brochure you're stuck with it, not to mention the costs of print, paper and postage. 

So, unless the manufacturer or distributor sells directly to the public, which 99.9% of them don't, just who is the brochure for?