How to audit your offline print marketing materials effectively

Measuring the effectiveness of your online and offline marketing at the end of the year ensures you’re spending time and money on tactics that deliver the best returns.

After all, if you aren’t measuring your marketing, you can’t really know how successful it is.

Those glossy, new postcards do look great... But what happens when you order too few for the trade show or have too many to give out before they go out of date?

Blindly estimating printed marketing materials guarantees one thing and one thing only - a giant headache. You'll either be scrambling for extras at short notice or have a huge stack of recycling to do. Either way, it’s an expensive approach to offline marketing! Print is now more affordable than ever, which means your marketing budget can stretch even further - as long as you're clever about it.

But how do I gauge my actual printing needs? I hear you ask. I'm going to tell you to do my favorite thing - Do an audit! Dub yourself your company’s newest documentarian and follow the advice of these marketing pros and business owners to understand the marketing materials you need, and assess how they perform:

Consider Effectiveness

Before you place an order, assess which pieces actually bring a return on investment.

In the past, it was a guessing game whether or not a campaign was effective and when it was time to change or update it to something new. Use variable data printing that allows you to track URLs, phone numbers and other tracking measures directly linked to your Web site metrics, such as Google Analytics. You're able to see and track what's working and what's not and tailor your print materials and collateral to specific goals or campaigns. Variable data printing can be expensive, but it provides a true ROI, which may justify the cost for high-volume or more quality (read expensive) print pieces.

Want to spend less in 2020? Get your salespeople to do a little digging. Ask customers what made them call, or ask if they've seen the newest corporate brochure and received any direct mail. A couple of extra questions at the beginning of a call can lead to a goldmine of information for your marketing manager. You can use a basic spreadsheet or sales management software solution for tracking.

Estimate Carefully

So how do you determine the quantity you need? Consider your storage space, past history of distributing similar marketing materials, overall budget and the number of people on the distribution list.

And remember, if you go to a show, you’re not going to hand materials to every attendee. Instead, check with organizers for their input or see how many leftovers you have from last year to hone in on a number. Your local print provider can also help you estimate and are usually happy to help.

Adapt & Improve

After auditing your marketing, you should have a good sense of the design that resonates with customers.

For those really effective pieces, edit any dated materials before ordering reprints and never put a date on anything if you can help it! I make sure to edit all printed marketing materials several times over. Spelling, photo cropping (no missing tops of heads), dates, times and locations should be looked at carefully. This cuts down on waste — those rate cards with outdated fees — and the expense of unplanned reprints!

Ask for Help

If the idea of editing, adding QR codes (those little abstract black and white boxes you scan with your phone) or setting up multiple phone numbers to track campaigns makes you want to breathe into a paper bag, feel free to ask professionals to help.

These are just a few ways you can make sure you don't end up feeling like your printed marketing materials are just fodder for the recycling bin!

So that's how to do an offline marketing audit.