Despite a need for fresh marketing materials, outdated materials persist in the supply chains of many marketing organization, according to according to a new survey from the CMO Council.
Half of Marketers Have Sent Outdated Materials
Half (51%) of marketers responding to the survey indicate they have sent out materials with old or outdated content, and 8% don’t know if they have or not. Considering this fairly prevalent lack of marketing supply chain oversight (six in 10 marketers cannot accurately say they have never sent outdated content to prospects/clients), it is not surprising that 78% admit to having a closet or warehouse where old materials are stored and possibly forgotten, instead of destroyed or recycled.
Lack of Readiness Produces Outdated Materials
Six in 10 (61%) of respondents who have sent out materials with old or outdated content have done so because new materials were not ready in time. Another 23% did not know outdated materials were included, and 2% blamed a warehouse/packing error.
This means that at least a combined 84% (not including the relatively high 15% responding “other”) of respondents have sent outdated marketing materials because of a slow or inaccurate internal supply chain (warehouse/packing may be handled externally by some organizations).
Fresh Content Matters to Most Marketers
Despite these high rates of lax marketing material oversight, a majority of marketers say fresh content is meaningful to their operation. Forty-two percent of respondents say it is critical for marketing materials to reflect the most up-to-date product and company information. Another 40% say fresh content is important at launch, but ever-changing and evolving as time goes on.
Nine percent struggle to keep pace with the demand for new information and content. Only a combined 6% say fresh content is irrelevant or rarely changes and is timeless.
