Sometimes people have a hard time letting go. I saw a man the other week…and it was obvious he was having this problem. He was trying to recapture his youth – and doing a horrible job at it. The outfit was bad enough (cream-colored linen pants, black tennis shoes, bright color print spandex shirt that was at least one size too small) and then there was the hair. Obviously a bad, bad hair piece that was dyed much too dark for his age. Honestly, it was clear that he was a fit and decent-looking man…and he would have been WAY better off dressing for his age in matching clothing and ripping that hair piece off the top of his head and burning it in the nearest trash bin.

Seriously.

What does this have to do with marketing? A lot.

How we look is sort of how we market ourselves to others. And this guy was doing pretty horrendous in the marketing self department. I just wanted to go up and give him a hug and a quick makeover. But since he’d be horrified and then I’d feel guilty, I decided against it.

So instead, I’m here to spread the word that as a business owner, sometimes you need to take stock of how things look. Give your website the once-over. Check out your business card, your direct mail pieces, your tagline. Over time, the look, the feel, the perception of your marketing pieces by the people who matter (your target market) can fall victim to “old age” and this isn’t a good thing, unless you’re an antiques dealer or something.

It’s important to stay consistent with your brand, but you also want to stay connected with what your target market wants and likes. And if you’re not giving it to them, someone else will.

Look at your marketing pieces with a discerning eye. And then get some other people to do the same. And it shouldn’t be the people who designed the pieces to begin with. They are too close to their work and will have a hard time letting go. Hold a survey. Develop some focus group sessions. Do what you need to do in order to get true stock on current marketing pieces and whether they need a refresher or complete overhaul.

Your business will be the better for it!