Her approach in developing the marketing strategy, company and product brands showed her depth of understanding of the consumer and their needs… — Greg Hakonson, PneuVation Medical Inc.
The concept of marketing — educating people, getting them to adopt an idea or a new behaviour — infiltrates every area of life. For those who despise “marketing” and think of it as only associated with sales and products people don’t need, this may be a horrifying thought. But take a moment to reconsider.
Marketing in it’s purest form is not about selling, it is simply a form of communication and as such is a neutral concept that can be used for good or for evil.
I’ve had newsletter subscribers tell me that even though they are not in business or marketing, they read my newsletters cover to cover and always find something that helps them. From the librarian who wants kids to know about the many fun, educational programs they can become involved in, to the kindergarten teacher who needs parents on board with her classroom policies, they find ideas on improving communication and getting better buy-in whatever their valuable, beneficial message.
I think that’s pretty darn cool.
Getting people to adopt new behaviour is often met with resistance, even when the change will be beneficial in some way. Sigh. We humans are such creatures of habit.
Marketing is usually thought to be concerned only with changing consumer behaviour, which has been the challenge of business owners since the dawn of…well, the dawn of business owners. But whether it’s business or social change (or some combination of the two), success requires both an understanding of the people you want to connect with, and the dynamics of the behaviour you want to encourage.
The Fun Theory initiative explores the idea of prompting a change in behaviour by making it fun in some way. Trust Volkswagen and the Swedes to be so inventive and show that change for the better doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, it can be downright enjoyable!
What might the outcome be in prompting socially conscious change, if we took this innovative and friendly approach, instead of trying to beat people into submission with guilt?
In the following video, check out the guy who looks around for more garbage to pick up so he can do it again!
All entrepreneurs have some element of creativity driving them to take the associated risks. It doesn’t matter if you classify yourself as “artistic” or not, there are common challenges that any visionary faces. Here’s how the “entrepreneurial/creative vs. business” barrier gets in the way:
First, those with creative or out of the box (“right brain”) tendencies often find the boring, left brain detail bothersome or even downright confusing. Frankly, it just keeps them from the fun and passion that drove them to create in the first place, and who needs that?!
Second, there is a common perception that the only way to have commercial success is by catering to the masses, which is a sell-out and artistically limiting. (It isn’t true!)
If you don’t want to become – or remain – a starving artist and/or entrepreneur, here are some limiting beliefs to dispel:
You don’t need to plan and document, you can just wing it – Hmmm, how is that working for you so far?! The old adage, “Fail to plan, and plan to fail” pretty much covers it.
Do what you love and the money comes later – If that were true, all business owners would be an instant financial success. The only thing that works is to get smarter about doing business.
Creating something unique is compromised by taking a business approach – If you don’t put your oxygen mask on first, you won’t live to help anyone else. Reality check: If you don’t make money to live, you will be hampered from doing what you love.
If you still believe you can’t balance the creative vs. business challenge without selling your soul, see points 1, 2 and 3. Repeat.
I had the opportunity to speak to a group of clothing designers, manufacturers and retailers at last month’s Fashion West conference, an event hosted by the Canadian Apparel Federation. This industry has a unique challenge, as do other artistic industries, in that its creators are very skilled on the product development side of things, but typically have little opportunity to learn the business basics that will make their endeavors a success on the financial side of the equation.
If you want the freedom to pursue your passion and dream in any venture, building a successful business framework is a must, but not an automatic given. In fact, the only way you can make your ideas pay is to get smart about business. For most of us, that means learning some new skills and new ways to operate.
First, let go of the idea that commercial success equals creative suicide. If you’re willing to do the work to connect with your consumer — the cold, impersonal, technical term for art/fashion enthusiast — you can have the best of both worlds. (Note: this rule applies for any other type of business, as well!)
Once you’ve done that, set your business up for success by choosing a marketing mindset from the start. There is a common misconception that marketing is just the fun stuff at the end (or for some, a nasty but necessary evil) once everything else is done. But, marketing is more than making a cool website, placing an eye-catching ad, or coming up with a funky retail space.
The core principles of marketing are actually the same criteria used to build a viable business model – which, if you want to move beyond starving artist, is going to be required. They are the foundation of your business and if you don’t address that, you’ll be going back, tearing down, and starting again.
Play it smart. Ensure your marketing and business strategy, which are intimately connected, are focused to ensure your venture is a business, not a hobby that requires a backup “real” job.
If you’ve ever been involved in a really productive brainstorm session you know the best ideas don’t roll out of your head in a nice orderly, organized fashion.
True creativity is a mess. If it’s a process, it doesn’t really act like one. It’s all over the map and often, the messier it is the better the outcome.
That’s where mind mapping bridges the gap between total chaos and linear idea collection. I love the concept! It lets us blurt everything out at once, all over the page, and draw non-linear but wholly logical connections while we do so.
I chatted with certified mind mapping consultant, Dragana Djurasic of Radiant Minds, and she told me there’s additional benefit when you physically write/draw your mind map, because it engages different areas of your brain. I believe that, it always works better for me that way.
But once you’re done, it would be awfully handy to have an electronic format, wouldn’t it?
Enter MindJet, a handy little tool I was introduced to today. I was able to capture all of my brainstormed thoughts, create a PDF of the document, add some notes, and share it with my colleague. Not only did it work like a charm, it looks top notch professional, too. Delicious.
