A new year is looming, as is the perfect time for small business owners to review and refresh their business marketing materials. If you’re thinking that your logo, online presence or perhaps your print materials could use a do-over, now is the time to start planning.
Here are some specific ways you can start the New Year off right by updating some of your printed marketing materials.
Update Your Logo
I certainly wouldn’t recommend frequent changes to your logo, after all, brand recognition is a primary goal in business. How will people recognise you if your logo keeps changing? Nevertheless, it is important that your logo fits with the overall image you want to portray.
I do find that businesses that have been around 20 or so years, may have a logo design that is a little outdated and may need a refresh to bring it (and the business) into the new era. Sometimes an old-fashioned logo can cause customers to think it’s for an old-fashioned business. Depending on your product/service and your market base – that is not always the ideal image to project.
On the flip side of that, young businesses can sometimes find themselves wanting for a “better” logo while they are still fairly new. Startup budgets are typically limited, so investing in the first logo is often kept very low-budget. The logo has worked okay, but now business is rolling you might be wanting to tidy your logo up a bit, to give it a more professional edge.
A logo refresh doesn’t always mean a complete overhaul, however. Sometimes, it may just need a small tweak or a font change to help give it a brand boost while keeping it recognisable for an established customer base.
Below are two well established businesses that we created a logo refresh for in the last year.
If you feel that your printed marketing is a little outdated or not in keeping with the direction your business is heading, then your logo should probably be the first thing you update.
You can work with Staples Print & Marketing Services or a professional designer to come up with a logo that fits with your ideal brand image. And then you can use that new logo in all of your updated 2017 marketing materials so that you portray a consistent image across all platforms.
New Business Cards
Business cards still remain an essential tool for most business owners. It’s important to have professionally designed business cards with you for networking events and meetings.
And as much as we want to live by the mantra “don’t judge a book by its cover”; let’s be real… we often will judge a business by its business card.
Updating the business card can also be the quickest and cheapest way of giving your business a fresh “pick-me-up” for the new year.
If your last lot of cards were made on a budget, through sites like VistaPrint, consider having them professionally designed and printed. You (and your customers) will notice the difference.
There are so many options available today, that aren’t budget breaking. Like, having a different print for each card (that’s right, not every card has to be exactly the same anymore), using metallic foils, even having your cards printed on 100% recycled COTTON are possible and affordable.
If you’re like me, and like the idea of having something different about your cards (but get bored with it easily) then go for a short run of cards instead of the standard 1000. That way you can get a feel for them first, and it not cost the earth. Plus, you might decide you want to change it up again next time around. At least then, you don’t have hundreds x hundreds of cards to get through first. Unless you are a mega networking machine, you probably find you don’t hand out business cards that much anyway, so a smaller print run is the perfect idea.
Print Brochures
Speaking of Mega Networking Machines, if you are one, have you considered handing out a flyer (instead of a business card) at networking events? Flyers are often cheaper to print and of course, you can include a stronger marketing message on them. I prefer to keep my quality business cards for those who will keep it or pass it on. So the flyer is a great option for handing out en-masse while keeping it affordable.
If you have a lot of information to share, then a brochure is an even better option. The design is important, as is the marketing message itself, so you’ll want to make sure that your brochures fit with your other branded materials and look both eye-catching and professional.
Invest in New Signage
Finally, you might also want to consider new signage for your business’s location, or for use in upcoming trade shows or expos. The print quality is incredibly important with banners and signage. So make sure you have a professional looking design and a quality printing service producing it for you.
Artifex Marketing Studio offer graphic design services in all these areas. We also organise and manage the printing for you. You are welcome to contact Tanya to discuss your printed marketing needs, even if at this stage, you just want another (honest and unbiased) opinion as to whether you really need it.
