From time to time, all of us get a little tired of the “same old-same old” approach to business. This can be dangerous for business owners that are overambitious because it could cause them to question their branding efforts. Since re-branding is one of the most dangerous things a company can do when it is not absolutely necessary, it is usually not a great idea to tread into those dangerous waters.

So what do you do if you feel like you need to change up your marketing efforts for your small business?

There are multiple ways to shake things up. Any changes you make should be to keep you current and interesting while also helping to spread the word about your brand.  If you want to put a fresh foot forward, you can start by taking some of the following steps:

Give Your Business Cards a Facelift: Take a second to do a Google search for “creative business cards.” Take another few seconds to pick your jaw up from the floor. A business card is often the first (and last) impression a client is going to get from you, especially if you have met them at a networking event. Make sure your business card is current, modern, and unique. Do what you can to make your business card stand out from the rest without sacrificing your own vision and brand identity.

Switch Up Your Promotional Products: Cheap pens and tacky desk calendars aren’t going to cut it. When you head out to a networking event, you want to have promotional items that will really grab people’s attention. If you can get people that have no interest in your industry or business to come by just to see your give-away products, you’re doing it right. And yes, you can get creative without getting expensive. Think long and hard about inexpensive conveniences or novelty items within your industry and see if you can turn those into a promotional product.

Go Digital: Look around your office and find any promotional materials that you only have in paper format. These can be brochures, fliers, resumes, case studies, even business cards. Make high quality digital copies of them and make them available for download on your website. This creates ease of access for clients and can cut down on e-mail traffic and waiting times in the long run.

So don’t even think about rebranding. Start with these three steps and then see what else you can do to give your company a facelift without altering it completely.