Time constraints and considerations can be your friend in the business world. With your home business marketing, putting deadlines and dates on things can help to create a sense of urgency and let people know that they need to make a decision. It can also be a way of sending the message that you are staying current on things in your industry or in the world at large. Once things are dated, however, they need to be “updated” and pulled when they have expired—nothing sends a negligent message like having outdating materials floating around or on your web site.
Sending a mailing that has a deadline or date that is past sends the wrong message to your customers and clients. It looks inept and as if you are not organized and on top of your business plan and marketing. We all make mistakes, but some mistakes can be bigger than others. Chances are, if you have something outdated, you will attract attention and customers or clients will call you to let you know they found the mistake and this can be embarrassing—not to mention, it can leave them with the impression that you are not on top of things.
Dated materials on your web site, or those articles, promotions and content that are seasonal or so event-specific as to lose their validity once the event is past should not be left on your web site indefinitely. They really need to be removed as soon as they lose their relevance. A web site that still shows a sale that is over or an event that has already happened tells customers and clients that you are not paying attention to your business. It can also make people think that your site is “dead” or that you are going out of business since you are not keeping things current.
Keep your materials up-to-date and keep a close watch on your content and marketing to make sure that you are not sending and sharing stuff that is “expired.”