The other day someone asked me for one of my informational brochures. As I was giving her the piece I stated that if I were printing these today it would be a little different. The piece was only about two months old and already the way I wanted to communicate things had changed slightly. Then I got to thinking. If I were to print informational brochures six months from now, they would probably be a little different too. Don't get me wrong. I am a big believer in consistency of marketing. However, in today's business environment especially as fast a pace as our business develops, things change...sometimes minutely and sometimes in a big way. What do you do?

What I do is to keep my printed materials updated with my current thinking on my computer. That means if I have a new idea or thought or way of saying something to my prospects I put it right in my pieces even though I may not print off more for a month or longer. Developed a new product? Put it right in your flyer now instead of waiting until the last minute. Come up with a better way to explain what you do? Update your brochure while you are thinking about it rather than waiting until you need to print 500 more and don't have time to change the copy. Keep your marketing pieces current at all times and you will save a lot of hassle when you need them.

As a matter of fact, why not jot down an action task in your list to review all of your pieces as soon as you can. Update them with your current thinking. And then practice keeping them updated between printings as your business evolves.

Mike Shannon is the owner of Shamrock Business Coaching, a coaching practice that helps business owners increase profits. You can visit Shamrock Business Coaching on the web at: http://www.ShamrockCoaching.com.