Six Things You Should Never Do With Your Marketing Materials

Your marketing materials say more than you think about your business

Be honest: when was the last time you gave your business cards, brochures, or flyers a second look? Are they helping your brand, or are they just…there?

With so much focus on websites, social media, and digital marketing, printed materials can easily fall to the bottom of the priority list. Well-thought-out marketing materials don’t just tell customers what you do or what you sell; they help establish you as a reputable, trustworthy business people want to try, return to, and recommend, time and again.

You’re working hard to attract potential customers with your website, social media, and content strategy, so don’t let your printed materials fall short. Once customers decide to visit or contact you, or when you meet prospects at trade shows and networking events, they will likely interact with some form of printed marketing pieces. The quality of your marketing materials reflects the quality of your business: they should be on-brand, look amazing, and give your customers all the information they need.

Continue reading to learn the most common marketing material mistakes, and the simple habits that help you avoid them.

Examples of marketing materials

Marketing collateral pieces take many forms, and your business probably relies on more of them than you’d expect:

Business cards
Menus
Brochures
Letterheads and envelopes
Folders
Direct mail: postcards, flyers
Promotional items: pens, tumblers, notebooks, tote bags
Apparel and uniform: t-shirts, caps, visors, aprons
Vehicle wraps
Banners and signs
Tradeshow backdrops
Table skirts

The more of these you use, the more likely small slips are to creep in. So how many of our top six marketing material mistakes have you spotted, and are you guilty of any yourself?

#1: Falling for AI slop

AI slop is a slang term used to describe low-quality, bizarre, or meaningless AI-generated content. With AI at the forefront, creating graphics, images, and other marketing materials can seem like the easiest route. But it’s important to remember that no matter how good AI gets, it can still produce sloppy results that may put off potential clients. Your marketing materials need consistent branding, purposeful designs, and clear messaging. AI can support the creative process, but should never replace the strategy and human judgment behind it.

#2: Amending your marketing materials

In business, things change. What you should never do is amend your marketing materials by hand: crossing out a menu item or writing in a new phone number on a business card is a big no-no. This sloppy approach can send a bad message to your customers. If the quality of your marketing materials isn’t good, the quality of your service might be bad too.

#3: Running out

You’re missing out on countless potential customers if you don’t keep your printed materials well stocked. If you’re all out when a passerby asks for a business card or a printed brochure to take home, you risk being forgotten and losing them to a competitor who has them on hand. It is also important to keep printed materials on hand in case you have an opportunity to attend a conference, trade show, or unexpected networking event.

#4: Mixing old and new branding

If you’ve recently rebranded, ensure you redo all of your marketing materials. Dispose of all materials with outdated logos, brand colors, and messaging. Using different business names or logos across your marketing efforts can confuse customers and devalue your brand. Mixed messages can cause mixed signals. Customers demand a consistent, reliable experience across all physical and digital marketing channels to earn their loyalty.

Learn more:
Rebranding: When and How to Make the Change

#5: Showing inconsistent prices

If you’re telling different stories in different places, it can put people off. You must ensure your service and product prices are consistent across all your marketing materials and online platforms. If it’s the customer’s first visit, a price discrepancy can create a terrible first impression and erode trust before the first sale.

#6: Using outdated marketing materials

People are busy, and when it comes to your business, they will judge a book by its cover. If your marketing materials look tired and out of date, potential customers won’t be tempted to learn more. They’re much more likely to choose your competitor with the fresh, modern branding instead. When you’re happy using old marketing materials, you’re showing you don’t care about staying competitive.

Unfortunately, most of us have probably seen at least one of these marketing material mistakes in practice. The good news is there’s plenty you can do to avoid them in the future. Many of these marketing material mishaps stem from not keeping things up to date. In business, things can change fast, and the services you offer may change too to keep up.

So, is it really worth the work and investment of keeping your marketing materials up to date?

The answer is a resounding yes! Your marketing materials are an extension of your brand, and your brand is something you’ve worked hard to develop and nurture. Consistency builds trust. Keeping your marketing consistent across all channels can go a long way toward helping customers feel confident about the services you offer.

Cost vs. perception

Marketing budgets are often the first to suffer when businesses are looking to save money. This can be a big mistake. Remember, your marketing is often the first thing that customers see. There’s no reason to keep using out-of-date marketing materials: reprinting a brochure or T-shirts costs far less than the value of potential customers you may lose with outdated marketing pieces.

If you’re concerned about cost, be strategic and start with reprinting your most important marketing pieces. The ones that are the most visible to clients and can help you during your sales process. However, do not use outdated materials after a brand refresh or new brand launch.

Our advice to keep your marketing materials fresh and up to date:

Review everything regularly

Have everyone in your team read through your collateral thoroughly to see if anything has changed. Ensure everything accurately reflects the products and services you offer, and make sure all contact information is up to date. Be sure to proofread thoroughly, too: grammatical errors can be very off-putting to eagle-eyed customers.

Keep a master list

Create a document of all the places, both online and offline, where you have your products or services listed. That way, when things change, you can update everything at once.

Plan for changing prices

If your prices change frequently, consider printing your brochure without prices. There’s not a lot you can do for line sheets or menus that usually include prices, other than avoid overprinting them.

Monitor your supply

Have a procedure in place to monitor your supply of printed materials, and give yourself plenty of time to order more if stocks are running low.

Run a brand audit before rebranding

If you’re rebranding, make a list of all places where your branding needs updating, and set a realistic time frame to have everything in place and ready to launch. For consistency and a bigger impact, unveil it only when all your online and offline marketing materials are ready.

Create brand guidelines

Brand guidelines help you and everyone who works with your brand stay aligned. A Brand Style Guide should include rules for logo usage, approved fonts, and core messaging to ensure consistency across all your marketing communications.

Need help with your marketing materials?

For more than 20 years, we’ve helped businesses like yours build brand strategy and systems that stand out. Our team designs a full suite of marketing materials that tell your story and keep every touchpoint consistent, polished, and unmistakably yours.

Want to learn more?
Contact us today to get started.

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