Every part of your marketing campaign needs to be strong. From your digital presence (website, social media, online advertising) right through to your printed materials (brochures, leaflets, catalogues.) In this digital world, it’s so easy to get digitally focused that you neglect your printed marketing efforts. Don’t fall into this trap. Strong printed marketing materials are a valuable part of a company’s marketing strategy.
What are the benefits of printed marketing materials?
- Establish your company as credible and trustworthy.
- Gain the attention of new prospects.
- Reinforce your brand.
- Give your business a sense of legitimacy and professionalism.
- Can be targeted to specific demographics or locations.
- Offer convenience as they can be referred back to.
- Create a lasting impression on customers due to the tangibility of print.
If you’re looking for printing services in Milton Keynes or the surrounding regions, we can help. Prospect Print are a printing company in Milton Keynes. We specialise in printing high-quality booklets, leaflets, banners, catalogues, newsletters and more.
It is important to regularly review your marketing materials to ensure that they still reflect your brand and build awareness for your company. Just like your digital marketing efforts, printed material needs to be updated. If you have poor-quality printed marketing materials, it reflects badly on the quality of your company. People will think you don’t invest in your business and thus won’t deliver a quality service. How do you know when to update your printed material? In this blog, we will outline the tell-tale signs that it’s time for a refresh!
1. If you can’t remember when you last updated them
When was the last time you updated your marketing materials? If it was a couple of years ago, or worse still, you can’t even remember, this is a big red flag! You need to assess if the material is still working for you. Many businesses try to be frugal by prolonging the use of their printed materials way past their sell-by dates. This is doing your business a disservice. Printed marketing collateral needs to be regularly updated in order to remain effective in promoting your business.
2. Your company has experienced a major change
As time goes by, something has likely changed in your business. We understand that it’s much easier to update a website with new copy or a new logo. Your marketing materials can get left behind. However, it’s no good holding on to marketing material that contains outdated information. If you have a shiny new logo, you’ve changed the services you offer or your business goals have gone in a different direction, your marketing materials need to reflect these changes. Your customer will expect a similar experience no matter how they interact with your brand. Any outdated information can cause confusion for the customer. It’s all about consistent messaging across your marketing campaign.
Business changes include:
- You’ve added or removed products/services.
- You’ve changed your company logo.
- You’ve changed the company colour scheme.
- You’ve revamped your website and your marketing materials no longer match.
- You’ve set up new social media channels.
- You’ve moved premises.
- You’ve changed your phone number or email address.
- You’ve changed your mission statement, motto or tagline.
Never just cross things out – this looks sloppy, and customers will perceive the quality of your service negatively. Ultimately, if what you currently have no longer reflects your brand values, you need to get fresh material.
3. Your sales team flag up issues with your printed marketing materials
Your sales team will know what’s working and what’s not. They can provide valuable feedback on how you can amend your print material to generate leads and improve sales. They are the closest team to the customer and can let you know what information is helpful and unhelpful in closing sales. They can also give real insight into the target audience; they’ll know what resonates and what doesn’t.
4. They’re outdated looking
Design trends change. Do your marketing materials look dated? Is the imagery or colour scheme looking passe? Outdated and overused fonts from the 90s like comic sans can instantly age a brochure. It will look like your company are out of touch and doesn’t move with the times. It goes without saying that contemporary-looking marketing materials will appeal more to your target audience. You don’t want something outdated representing your company, so get shot of anything that looks tired.
5. Lack of engagement
Are your marketing materials failing to resonate with your target audience? Are your marketing efforts no longer producing the results they once did? Perhaps you’ve added a QR code to discover the response rate and you’re noticing you’re not getting results. Perhaps you’ve handed or sent out lots of brochures or catalogues and you’re not seeing any new business? If lack of engagement is an issue, then it could be time to invest in new material. This may re-engage your audience and attract new customers.
6. Your competition offers fresh marketing materials
If your rivals have updated their marketing collateral, you need to keep up with them! A company with fresh and modern material are going to impress potential clients more, as they’ll be perceived as offering a higher quality service. Level the playing field and ensure you remain competitive by doing the same.
7. You’re running out of materials
There’s the obvious reason to update – your stock is running low. If a customer asks for a brochure and you’ve run out, you risk being forgotten about. Make sure this doesn’t happen!
You can’t afford for your marketing materials to look stale. If you’re looking for printing services in Milton Keynes, Prospect Print can help. We are a printing company in Milton Keynes. We offer high-quality print services including marketing collateral, large sheet, stationery, banners, posters and more. Get in touch with us to discuss how we can help your business.