10 Signs it’s Time to Shake Up Your Marketing Strategy

10 Signs it’s Time to Shake Up Your Marketing Strategy

When business is good and sales are going well, it’s easy to get complacent about marketing. After all, if it ain’t broke, do you really need to fix it?

Yes, you do. Complacency in marketing can be a costly mistake. Markets, competitors, and channels change fast. If you’re not keeping pace, you can fall a step behind. Sooner or later, your bottom line will show it.

Here are 10 signs it’s time to give your marketing strategy a jolt:

1. Looking dowdy at the tradeshow: Tradeshows are like a marketing face-off with your competitors. Even when booths are far apart, the direct comparison can be unflattering if yours is outdated or lacks the technology for interactive demonstrations. See which exhibits draw high traffic and bring yours up to snuff.
2. Leads that aren’t converting: Are conversions down? You may be targeting prospects who aren’t qualified buyers. Or your sales team may need more marketing support, like better sales tools or more communication with prospects during the conversion process.
3. A color palette from a previous decade: If your marketing color palette is more than five years old, rethink it. Color trends change frequently. Pantone’s website and colormarketing.org can help you keep current with color.
4. Hanging onto your original logo: A brand identity created decades ago is a common marketing blind spot. While you’re sticking to your guns, your competitors may be capturing market share with a more contemporary approach. A design team can help you revamp your brand identity without losing your heritage.
5. An antique website: A website that’s more than three years old probably lacks the speed, functionality, and content today’s visitors expect. Here’s how to plan a new site and some tips for creating a site on WordPress, a popular and easy-to-use platform.
6. Pasting stickers on brochures: At some point, the value of using up your stockpile of sales brochures in the warehouse is outweighed by the negatives of presenting patched-up materials. If you’re using stickers to correct old information on your sales collateral, you’re due for something new.
7. Outdated photography: Changes in products, facilities, equipment, and even hairstyles can quickly date your marketing photos. Hire a professional photographer to keep your image library current.
8. Bullet-ridden PowerPoints: The days of PowerPoint presentations with endless slides of bulleted copy are long past. PowerPoint offers vast capabilities for sharing information in an engaging way; newer presentation tools like Prezi are even more interesting. Delight your audience by bringing your presentation into the 21^st century.
9. Plain Jane proposals: If you’re a B2B marketer, the sales proposal is your last – and perhaps best – chance to set your company apart. Make your proposals stand out with professional design and well-written content customized to the prospect.
10. Staying on the social media sidelines: By now, your company is probably on social media, but if you’re not actively posting and engaging with others, you’re a wallflower. Devote the time and resources to get off the sidelines and get into the conversation.

Is your approach to marketing delivering results? Our marketing consulting team has developed a free guide to auditing your marketing strategy. Download it here.