5 ways to Spring Clean your marketing

Spring Fever. Now's the time to focus some of that energy on your business.

This is the time of year that we're all opening windows, letting in fresh air, clearing out the stale air and cobwebs. Why not do the same with your business?

Here are 5 ways you can recharge your marketing with some of that Spring energy.

1. Take stock of your website.
   • Number One - make sure you're mobile friendly. The number of people accessing the web on mobile devices will only continue to climb, and if you don't adapt you'll suffer. That doesn't mean you should fall victim to the doomsday snake oil salesmen who are trying to terrify you into throwing money at your site because of Google's upcoming algorithm change for mobile friendliness (reminds me of the Y2K hysteria), but you NEED to be mobile friendly just to stay competetive.
   • Try to take a step back and look at your site with fresh eyes. If you can't do that, enlist a friend or client who isn't familiar with it and ask them to navigate it, looking for what trips them up.
   • Take a long hard look at what the most important content is and how you can make it more prominent. Think about what your clients or prospects most need to know, and make sure it's easy to access. Try to put yourself in your customers' shoes. Would your site be helpful or a pain? If it's a pain, you can kiss them goodbye.
   • Are you totally missing vital information that could make the difference in landing that new deal? Whether it's case studies that can help prospects relate to your strengths or product specs that serious customers want to see, make sure it's included and easy to find.
   • What about those images that haven't changed in several years? They're kind of like the rugs in your house. You see them all the time so you don't really see them. Are they making you look dated or current? It's amazing the difference just new site images can make; it's kind of like putting fresh paint on your walls. That paint makes the whole room feel different.
   • Look at other sites for leaders in your industry and see how you stack up. Is it time for a redesign? There are lots of things you can do with your site to avoid a total redesign, but when it's time it's time. You can only wear that powder blue leisure suit for so long.
2. Fluff up your collaterals.
   • Is the information in your brochures and other materials still current? You'd be surprised how many companies have outdated product and contact information.
   • Can you replace some of your print materials with digital? There are some things that you really do need to have printed, but some that would be better presented digitally.
   • Can you be more selective about what you put into print, and end up with much higher quality pieces that are more highly targeted? By going with shorter print runs, you're much less likely to have to ditch outdated materials and you can also afford higher quality.
3. Pitch out what isn't working. I know, you spent good money on all that crap and just hate to let it go. Marketing isn't the place to be a packrat, though. Leave that to accounting :) And I say that lovingly, as a reformed accountant.
4. Seed new connections. Get out and network! Read new blogs and post comments. Foster conversation. Seek out new ideas. Get to know people in complimentary businesses to investigate how you may be able to co-market. It's easy to be complacent, but you MUST keep learning and meeting new people or you'll wake up one day and find yourself a has-been.
5. Put your business on a workout plan. We all tend to get fat and lazy over the winter, and the same thing happens to businesses over time. It's easy to become complacent with our success and take it for granted. We've worked hard so it's time to relax, right? Sorry, but wrong. There are too many hungry upstarts out there for you to ever let your guard down.

Take a good hard look at your marketing, work on the parts that are out of shape, highlight your assets, and you'll be ready for Summer.