Why do some companies seem to be stuck in the 70’s and can’t seem to move forward with a new look and feel? I can’t tell you how many clients come to me who have not updated their marketing collateral in 10 years. Some CEO’s are stuck in the old way of doing things and seem to not want to change. The word “change” scares many business owners and keeps them from updating the company’s brand. Is your company’s logo and marketing materials out of date and tired looking?
Even If It’s Not Broken, You May Still Want to Fix It
The old saying if it’s not broken don’t fix it holds true to many CEO’s who have been running businesses for 30-40 years. These types of business owners do not want to utilize social media and online marketing. They want to stick with traditional advertising and telemarketing initiatives to drive new business. However, they are missing out on new ways to promote their business and receive additional leads. It can be frustrating for employees that are up-to-date on the current marketing trends to convince the CEO to change their ways. The key is to show the CEO valid reasons to change their ways.
Here are some tips to help convince “old school” CEO”s to upgrade their marketing:
English: Creating lifelong customer value (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Old Collateral – A great way to convince a CEO to change their collateral is to show them a brochure of a competitor. The new brochures have more white space and are concise. Developing a new brochure is a great way to rebrand your business and upgrade your marketing. Costs range depending on the type of brochure you would like to produce. A simple tri-fold brochure can cost under $1000 to design and printing costs are low. The style today is more photos and less text..keeping it light and airy.
New Website – A website is the face of your business and should be consistent with your marketing material. Many companies have not upgraded their website and are using an outdated website. New websites can be upgraded with flash and new photos that make it look up-to-date. The cost to redesign a website can be kept low if you provide the photos and content to a website developer.
Trade Show Booth – An old booth design can destroy your brand at a trade show. It’s important to keep up with your competitors and design a new booth. Show the CEO’s a competitors booth and explain that it’s important to keep your marketing materials consistent. The cost can be high for this depending on printing costs…but you will use the new trade show booth at all shows. It won’t go to waste and is a very important investment.
Social Media Marketing – Show the CEO your competitors page on Facebook and Linked-In and explain that it’s good to have a page as well. There is no cost to develop a FaceBook page for your business…so there is nothing to lose and everything to gain. Why not?
The most important item to a CEO is the ROI and if you can show this over time..then you hit a home run. Set goals up front for the CEO and show him results and you will be a “star”. Dealing with “Old School” CEO’s can be extremely frustrating..but learning how to work around them and show the benefits of upgrading can be rewarding. Take it one step at at time and don’t hit them with too much change at once. The turtle always wins the race!
Author:
Monique Merhige is the President of Infusion Direct Marketing & Advertising, Inc. She has over 15 years of marketing communications experience with technology companies ranging from small service firms and equipment manufacturers to a 1.5 Billion dollar division of Motorola. Infusion is a marketing consulting firm that specializes in the security industry and delivers marketing solutions that include Public Relations, Direct Marketing, Branding, Collateral Development, and Social Media Marketing. Visit: www.infusiondirect.com or call 631-846-1558
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