Essential perspectives: Market To Your Army, Not to Your Enemy
The people who love you are your most important marketing tool.
The reason smart businesses focus on strong creative branding is because they want new business. That’s the point of good creative, after all; to appeal to new customers. yet too often small businesses throw good money after bad by literally settling for creative that appeals to them without considering what will truly make that creative work for the business.
Sure, good creative needs to carry your message, and it ought to fit the business owner’s tastes. However, that is not the measure of good creative. Good creative goes beyond just merely being accurate or really cool. Good creative has strategy baked right in. That strategy is the cornerstone of your marketing.
You were always told not to talk to strangers. So why are you trying?
“Good creative goes beyond just merely being accurate or really cool. Good creative has strategy baked right in. That strategy is the cornerstone of your marketing.”
I hear it all the time; clients claim they are open to business ‘from anyone,” and want “everyone to know who they are.” This isn’t a faulty interest, but it is just too vagueue and broad. How can your logo, tagline, imagery, or any creative be tailored for appeal when the target is “just anyone”? Good creative is created with targets in mind, and if the intention is too broad and vague then the creative becomes generic, bland, and forgettable. That is just a waste of money.
That kind of strategy is like talking to strangers. You know the age-old advice against that; strangers are less likely to be open to your message. Strangers are like an enemy to your business; they don’t know you, they weren't looking for you, and they’re not really interested in being nagged. Which leaves clients wondering how they can appeal to people who are not familiar with the enterprise. How can you win new business if trying to talk to strangers through your creative doesn’t work?
You’re in the army now.
There are people who know you and love your work. These people adore your services or products or message. They are your clients, your customers, your audience. they are the first in line to speak your praises. What you may not realize is they are also key marketing assets.
I call it “your marketing army.” The people who already like your brand are actually an army that will gladly play your front line against the “marketing enemy” – the strangers who don’t yet know how great you are.
Think about it: if you continue to secure loyalty from those who already like you, they are that much more likely to be incentivized to carry your brand message to others. Which then becomes the focus of good creative; appealing and affirming the clientele that already likes you and uses your services. When you think about it, those people describe the basic demographics of your best clientele, and therefore your creative can take direction from their styles, tastes, and attitudes.
Your creative is the armor in the epic battle for new business.
If your clientele is your “marketing army,” how well are they equipped to go out and help generate new business for you? This is where creative becomes super valuable.
For example, think of your tanginess, slogans and other text. These are creative assets that focus your message. Are they created in memorable ways that your “army” of loyal clientele would remember? Are they clever or conversational or pithy enough to be on your clientele’s mind? These assets are what your current customers are likely to communicate to the “strangers” out there. How well have these creative assets been crafted to target and communicate?
Your social media is another solid example. Is your audience active and responsive to your pages? If so, they are likely to mention your brand to others on social media. So what makes a good campaign of posts? What imagery our graphics or content needs to be shared?
These are creative assets you give to your army to do that marketing footwork for you. From logos to ads to promotions, your creative branding is an essential way to help your army carry your message. The “market to your army, not to your enemy” strategy is a streamlined way to hone and develop your creative assets to maximize new business leads.