Small Business Marketing Kit For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Auditing the Impressions Your Business Makes

The only way you can be sure that you’re making consistently good impressions in your marketplace is to take inventory and assess every contact with prospects, customers, and others who deal with your business.

Surveying your marketing materials and communications

Start by pulling samples of stationery, ads, signs, brochures, coffee cups, T-shirts, online communications, and any other items that represent your business. Line them all up and evaluate them using these questions:

Does your business name and logo look the same every time you make an impression?

Do you consistently use the same colors?

Do you consistently use the same typeface?

Do your marketing materials present a consistent image in terms of look, quality, and message?

Study your samples and isolate those that don’t fit with the others, perhaps because they use outdated or inaccurate versions of your name or logo. Or maybe the colors are wrong or the tone is inconsistent. Possibly the message is witty or silly when the rest of your communications are fact-filled and serious. ...