When was the last time you gathered all your marketing materials \u2013 business cards, flyers, brochures, posters, banners \u2013 and had a thorough review?<\/p>\n
Chances are some will be out-of-date, others might not be branded correctly, and you might find some gems you\u2019ve forgotten about.<\/p>\n
Reviewing and updating your old marketing materials is a great way to make the most of your budget, it is quicker than starting from scratch and streamlining your marketing will make your message clearer too.<\/p>\n
Read on for our top tips for auditing your print marketing materials.<\/p>\n
How to Get Started<\/strong> By the end of this stage you should have a pile of materials that are still up-to-date, some that need to be rebranded, others that need the content updating and some to throw away.<\/p>\n Make Sure Your Branding Is Consistent<\/strong><\/p>\n If you have branding guidelines you should be able to update the branding on your print marketing materials easily. Remember, it\u2019s important to be consistent with branding across the board to make your business instantly recognisable and memorable. Make a Plan for Moving Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n Before you spend time and money updating your materials, consider whether the format is right. You might decide that your business has moved on so much, it would be better to have a brochure rather than a leaflet, for example, so you can go into more detail.<\/p>\n Make a plan for each piece of marketing and prioritise the projects in order of importance.<\/p>\n See related: How To Plan a Print Marketing Campaign<\/a><\/p>\n Resources to Help You<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve gathered together some useful information to help you update or redesign your printed materials.<\/p>\n Business Cards are still the easiest way to pass on your contact details. Find out how to design a good business card here,<\/a> and get information here about Spot UV<\/a>, an innovative printing technique that we often use on premium cards.<\/p>\n Flyers are inexpensive to produce which makes them useful for letterbox drops and for leaving in places where your target customers will find them. Click through for our top tips how to design the perfect flyer.<\/a><\/p>\n Brochures are useful when you want to go into more detail about your products or services. Get some help designing the perfect business brochure here.<\/a><\/p>\n Posters, banners and other large format prints are great for in-house displays and for trade shows etc. Find out how to design a large format banner here. http:\/\/dev-socialmatrix.co.uk\/sbsoriginal\/blog-post\/how-to-design-a-large-format-banner\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nGather a print copy of all your business cards, flyers, leaflets, brochures, posters, banners and anything else you might have. Go through them one by one and ask the following questions:
\n\u2022 Are they useful for your current target audience?
\n\u2022 Is your marketing message clear?
\n\u2022 Is the content up-to-date?
\n\u2022 Is the branding up-to-date?
\n\u2022 Does the format work well?
\n\u2022 Do you still have access to the electronic version?<\/p>\n
\nIf you don\u2019t have clear guidelines for your brand identity, it\u2019s important to create these, before you start updating your marketing materials. Our guide How to Rebrand Your Business in 7 Steps will help.<\/a><\/p>\n