How to Do Business in the Future – Part 3 – Creative Marketing
In Part 1 of this series, we took stock of your business. Part 2 addressed thoughts on expanding your business. In Part 3, let’s examine some creative marketing ideas that will be a catalyst for new ways of marketing your business.
The best ideas come from outside of your own company. Once again, this comes from the advice of Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca Cola. When asked what true innovation means, he said “the best ideas come from outside of your company.” He said that in order to incubate ideas you need to learn from without, and not only from within. My interpretation was that we can get set in our ways, and when we expand our community of ideators, we generate innovation at an entirely new level. Once again, we are not everything to everybody and need to embrace the sharing community. If you want to learn how to launch a product, ask its customers not only its designers. Put together a thought group and ask them to tell you who they think you are. You might be surprised. And for sure you'll learn how to market yourself to make sure that you are representing your reality and not only perceptions.
Read everything. Attend everything. Go to every conference. LEARN constantly.
I learn something new every day. Ideas come from looking at what others are doing, listening to them, learning from them, seeing whatever everyone in the industry is doing, adding to my arsenal. Many of the points made in this blog and the ones that preceded it are from speakers I've listened to all over the world. The Internet is far more useful than Facebook and Twitter. Read the news. Read the business section. Everything.
If you are going after a conference or an incentive program, or a trade show, or anything that is a repeat program, attend a prior program and take great notes; come up with what was good and what could be improved. If you want to market yourself appropriately, there is no better way than to understand the specific needs of your client and then market to deliver upon those needs.
Steal great ideas.A favorite story. Many years ago I attended a play, "Tamara," in which all the guests participated in the story by following the characters room to room. I took that idea and incorporated it into an opening where a hotel wanted to show off all of its event spaces. Each guest had to go from room to room with a wandering cast of zany characters in order to solve a mystery and win a hotel stay.
When I teach classes in events and I say "steal," many are shocked. But this is what I mean by that: if you see a production or a theme that you love, take the pieces that you love and add your own unique spin to them. Don't copy in entirety. Once an event becomes public, it is fair game (after all, it is entered for awards; it is publicized in print and on social media ... it is no longer confidential or proprietary).
I could not claim "inventing" theme parties. Seems to me that long before I did a toga party, Nero probably hosted one, right?
Collaborate with your competitors and share ... make the first overture; they are bound to reciprocate. I have major competitors, and I freely call on them (as they do me) for advice, for talent referrals, for just about everything. If I'm working in a new market (or they are), we share resources. Once a long time ago a very good speaker shared that when you go first and offer this overture the response is frequently, "Thank you for doing this for me." Your response should be, "You're welcome. I know you would do the same for me." And they will. Always.
What does this have to do with marketing? Being trustworthy and well-connected has great bragging rights, and if your competitors speak well of you, it's the best endorsement you can get.
Give your customer something he doesn’t even know he wants. Deliver an experience, not just a product, or an event. In the words of strategist Stefan Thomke, "if you don't start with something insanely great, you can never end at excellent." Don't be afraid to offer up something crazy, dramatic, theatrical, or off the wall. It might not be the end product, but it's a starting point to showcase how you think. You might be asked to deliver a booth at a trade show, but if you show your customer an unusual idea that drives visitors to his booth, you've delivered far more value. Think beyond the obvious.
Seize opportunities to create a brand image.Once upon a time the mobile phone (clunky as it was) was invented. But what do we now think of as the iconic mobile phone? I'll bet we all say it's the Iphone. What were the challenges in marketing this to a mass market and delivering something beyond the obvious?
Use Apple as an example to really analyze why the Apple stores work, why the packaging works. It is all about simplicity. It creates a sense of "what's next?" Think about how and why Apple created a Genius Bar in its stores. The brand has created a culture where people will buy their product without ever seeing it. Imagine if we could do the same: if we were an entity so trusted that we didn't have to create proposals, renderings, etc.
You need the character of your company to be in line with what your customer needs it to be. If you are working toward establishing a corporate clientele, then bragging about celebrity events or showing a million dollar wedding won't sell your brand. Everyone in the company has to buy into your vision, and it needs to be one vision that is adapted in everything you do.
Many years ago, when my good friend, legendary John Daly, was just breaking into the event design business, he got a shot at pitching Delta Airlines. John, a designer with a lot of passion, liked to dress in purple silk shirts and jeans with multi colored socks with red shoes. Before his impending presentation, he did some research and discovered that everyone in the organization wore a suit and tie. So, the morning of the presentation, he wore a nice suit, shirt and tie (and matching socks) and walked into the Delta conference room totally fitting into his customer’s environment. Soon, with his booming voice and waving hands, he had them excited about what he could create for them. And, he nailed the business. He walked in dressed exactly as the customer needed him to be, and his great ideas clinched the rest for him.
It is not about “getting out of your comfort zone;” it’s about never even having a comfort zone. No explanation needed.
Be remarkable and impossible to ignore.
Everyone in the industry knows Steve Kemble. He is now a brand. He was not always a brand. Along the way, he decided who he wanted to be, and then followed a path until he became that brand to the world. What are YOU doing that is so different that people will always know it is YOU? Think of your brand as a "branding iron" that sears your image not only as a graphic design.
Be the best choice for one thing. What category do YOU own in mindshare?
Once you’ve determined this, work it!
Remember to be very conservative on all social media - someone is always watching and judging. I am "friends" on Facebook with a person who every day posts a story about how she lost out on a job she coveted. Now would I hire her knowing she did that? I check Facebook not just for gossip, recipes and photos of pets. I look to learn the character of the people who want to hire me or want to be hired by me. My brand is not about partying, so I won't hire someone who posts about behaving inappropriately for any reason.
Being good is not a reason to do business with you.Everyone says they are good (or the best); therefore, your prospect has no choice but to go for the lowest price. Give them a real reason to go with you.
To what question are YOU the answer?
Try that one on for size because when you have the answer you'll know what your true expertise is.
In Part 4, the final article in this series, we will find ways to describe your business.
The best ideas come from outside of your own company. Once again, this comes from the advice of Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca Cola. When asked what true innovation means, he said “the best ideas come from outside of your company.” He said that in order to incubate ideas you need to learn from without, and not only from within. My interpretation was that we can get set in our ways, and when we expand our community of ideators, we generate innovation at an entirely new level. Once again, we are not everything to everybody and need to embrace the sharing community. If you want to learn how to launch a product, ask its customers not only its designers. Put together a thought group and ask them to tell you who they think you are. You might be surprised. And for sure you'll learn how to market yourself to make sure that you are representing your reality and not only perceptions.
Read everything. Attend everything. Go to every conference. LEARN constantly.
I learn something new every day. Ideas come from looking at what others are doing, listening to them, learning from them, seeing whatever everyone in the industry is doing, adding to my arsenal. Many of the points made in this blog and the ones that preceded it are from speakers I've listened to all over the world. The Internet is far more useful than Facebook and Twitter. Read the news. Read the business section. Everything.
If you are going after a conference or an incentive program, or a trade show, or anything that is a repeat program, attend a prior program and take great notes; come up with what was good and what could be improved. If you want to market yourself appropriately, there is no better way than to understand the specific needs of your client and then market to deliver upon those needs.
Steal great ideas.A favorite story. Many years ago I attended a play, "Tamara," in which all the guests participated in the story by following the characters room to room. I took that idea and incorporated it into an opening where a hotel wanted to show off all of its event spaces. Each guest had to go from room to room with a wandering cast of zany characters in order to solve a mystery and win a hotel stay.
When I teach classes in events and I say "steal," many are shocked. But this is what I mean by that: if you see a production or a theme that you love, take the pieces that you love and add your own unique spin to them. Don't copy in entirety. Once an event becomes public, it is fair game (after all, it is entered for awards; it is publicized in print and on social media ... it is no longer confidential or proprietary).
I could not claim "inventing" theme parties. Seems to me that long before I did a toga party, Nero probably hosted one, right?
Collaborate with your competitors and share ... make the first overture; they are bound to reciprocate. I have major competitors, and I freely call on them (as they do me) for advice, for talent referrals, for just about everything. If I'm working in a new market (or they are), we share resources. Once a long time ago a very good speaker shared that when you go first and offer this overture the response is frequently, "Thank you for doing this for me." Your response should be, "You're welcome. I know you would do the same for me." And they will. Always.
What does this have to do with marketing? Being trustworthy and well-connected has great bragging rights, and if your competitors speak well of you, it's the best endorsement you can get.
Give your customer something he doesn’t even know he wants. Deliver an experience, not just a product, or an event. In the words of strategist Stefan Thomke, "if you don't start with something insanely great, you can never end at excellent." Don't be afraid to offer up something crazy, dramatic, theatrical, or off the wall. It might not be the end product, but it's a starting point to showcase how you think. You might be asked to deliver a booth at a trade show, but if you show your customer an unusual idea that drives visitors to his booth, you've delivered far more value. Think beyond the obvious.
Seize opportunities to create a brand image.Once upon a time the mobile phone (clunky as it was) was invented. But what do we now think of as the iconic mobile phone? I'll bet we all say it's the Iphone. What were the challenges in marketing this to a mass market and delivering something beyond the obvious?
Use Apple as an example to really analyze why the Apple stores work, why the packaging works. It is all about simplicity. It creates a sense of "what's next?" Think about how and why Apple created a Genius Bar in its stores. The brand has created a culture where people will buy their product without ever seeing it. Imagine if we could do the same: if we were an entity so trusted that we didn't have to create proposals, renderings, etc.
You need the character of your company to be in line with what your customer needs it to be. If you are working toward establishing a corporate clientele, then bragging about celebrity events or showing a million dollar wedding won't sell your brand. Everyone in the company has to buy into your vision, and it needs to be one vision that is adapted in everything you do.
Many years ago, when my good friend, legendary John Daly, was just breaking into the event design business, he got a shot at pitching Delta Airlines. John, a designer with a lot of passion, liked to dress in purple silk shirts and jeans with multi colored socks with red shoes. Before his impending presentation, he did some research and discovered that everyone in the organization wore a suit and tie. So, the morning of the presentation, he wore a nice suit, shirt and tie (and matching socks) and walked into the Delta conference room totally fitting into his customer’s environment. Soon, with his booming voice and waving hands, he had them excited about what he could create for them. And, he nailed the business. He walked in dressed exactly as the customer needed him to be, and his great ideas clinched the rest for him.
It is not about “getting out of your comfort zone;” it’s about never even having a comfort zone. No explanation needed.
Be remarkable and impossible to ignore.
Everyone in the industry knows Steve Kemble. He is now a brand. He was not always a brand. Along the way, he decided who he wanted to be, and then followed a path until he became that brand to the world. What are YOU doing that is so different that people will always know it is YOU? Think of your brand as a "branding iron" that sears your image not only as a graphic design.
Be the best choice for one thing. What category do YOU own in mindshare?
Once you’ve determined this, work it!
Remember to be very conservative on all social media - someone is always watching and judging. I am "friends" on Facebook with a person who every day posts a story about how she lost out on a job she coveted. Now would I hire her knowing she did that? I check Facebook not just for gossip, recipes and photos of pets. I look to learn the character of the people who want to hire me or want to be hired by me. My brand is not about partying, so I won't hire someone who posts about behaving inappropriately for any reason.
Being good is not a reason to do business with you.Everyone says they are good (or the best); therefore, your prospect has no choice but to go for the lowest price. Give them a real reason to go with you.
To what question are YOU the answer?
Try that one on for size because when you have the answer you'll know what your true expertise is.
In Part 4, the final article in this series, we will find ways to describe your business.
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