What is it like from a marketing perspective to be yesterday’s news? We rely on what is tried and true in marketing because it is usually safe, tried, and tested. It saves us time, as well, since we don’t have to put on our creativity cap to craft an innovative strategy.
But, there’s a certain attractive quality around someone who markets his or her business on the edge. They stretch their thoughts and ideas into new territories to create an innovative way of packaging or presenting their product or service. Shifting ourselves to be forward thinkers, one step ahead of everyone else when it comes to marketing our business might be something to consider when attracting new customers and clients.
Here are some ways to add some zip to your marketing.
1. Try a new mental environment. Involve yourself in new mental environments. Read different materials or magazines. Take a class in creativity or in an area completely unknown or outside of your general interest area. Or, better yet, find a coach who works on the cutting edge to experience their way of thinking.
2. Consider other industries and study how they market to their customers. How do pharmaceutical companies market? How do construction materials companies market to homebuilders and real estate developers? How do Realtors market to their home buying and selling prospects? What tools and techniques are they utilizing that you might capitalize on and try in your business? Consult trade magazines or make contacts in different industries and find out how they market to their clientele.
3. Take a look at fads. As a forward thinker, look at the current trends and see where they can take your business. When PDAs first appeared, all sorts of businesses were scrambling to create software that was compatible with this new technology. From those new innovations, many new types of software and other electronic devices were created. MP3 technology really pulled the invention of the IPOD forward. What new trends or fads do you see out there?
4. Stay one step ahead. There are many benefits to staying in the future with regard to marketing. You do this by reading widely, networking with people in a variety of industries, and spending quality time thinking about where you want to take your business. The future is all about possibility thinking. Let the future pull you forward to success.
5. Revise your vision. As you uncover new information that would be helpful to your business, make sure that you revise your vision of your business. It’s vital that you keep your plans for the future up-to-date. Review your business plan with frequency, no less than quarterly to ensure that it is still on target with your vision, mission, and most importantly with what your clients or customers most want.
6. Be willing to risk. Part of staying ahead when it comes to marketing is to adopt a mental attitude that you are willing to take risks, whether it result in great rewards, or equally great failure. While you should do the proper research, check facts, and craft detailed plans for all of your marketing efforts, you must be prepared for the risks associated with anything that you do. By engaging in future thinking, possibility thinking, you might be risking failure that your clients or customers just aren’t ready for it. But, at the same time, you’ll be making great strides if they are. You may become a trendsetter in the market place, a very nice place to be.
7. Stand strong. We can all agree that being a forward thinker involves a great deal of risk