Reason #1- Your content is outdated.
Why This is Important: Being modern is important! You wouldn’t wear a powder blue leisure suit or a shoulder padded to the hilt 1980’s power suit to a meeting with an important client because you want to look current and be taken seriously. You need to think of your marketing materials in the same way you think of your clothing.
Ask Yourself: What first impression are my marketing materials making?
Reason #2- Your target market (the people you sell to) has changed
Why This is Important: Either you’ve changed your product line or the market for your audience has changed. You will want to redo your marketing materials accordingly to appeal to your (new) audience. The “voice” your materials uses need to shift with your audience.
Ask Yourself: What is the best way to present myself to my target market?
Reasons #3 – Current marketing items are not cohesive
Why This is Important: People should be able to figure out your marketing piece belongs to your company in 30 to 60 seconds (or less). Here’s a dirty secret about a lot of people (not all people, but a lot) – we don’t read. We use visual clues to help us figure things out. Logos are so important because they tag your company so people will recognize you. If your marketing materials don’t match each other people may not recognize your business.
Ask Yourself: Do my current marketing materials have a defined look that identifies my company, even if my logo and company name aren’t visible?
Reason #4– Technology andor business environment has changed a lot
Why This is Important: You need to be where your customers are. This means using social media and having a mobile device friendly website. A great thing about this is you can use your online materials in harmony with your printed materials. Put a QR code on a printed advertisement that takes people straight to your social media pages or post a coupon that is only featured on your social media platforms, but needs to be printed and brought in to you to be redeemed. Make sure your product line is up-to-date. For example, offering to fix “Walkman” cassette players used to be cutting edge…30 years ago, but very few people use these devices anymore and you risk looking passé. If your customers think of you as something of the past, your business will be history. Time to re-imagine yourself in a new way, one that will attract the attention of your customers.
Ask Yourself: Are you using online materials to market your business? Do they mix well with your printed materials?
Reason #5– Your marketing items don’t stand out from your competition
Why This is Important: This is the number one reason why templates aren’t good. If your marketing materials match your competition you can be confused for them. As mentioned above, a lot of people don’t read, they trust visual clues to let them know what is going on. Make sure your marketing materials stand out what your competitors are doing. Your uniqueness will get you noticed and that’s a good thing!
Ask Yourself: If my marketing pieces were sitting on a table with hundreds of other pieces from different companies would people see my marketing piece? What makes my marketing materials stand out?