Is a Blog Better for My Business Than Social Media?

March 13, 2016March 13, 2016Leave a comment

I love writing articles for my blog, whether that’s on catwalk trends or how to make fulfilling your goals for this year more enjoyable.

But like other small businesses and creative entrepreneurs, I’ve got my fingers in lots of digital marketing pies; I also enjoy writing articles on LinkedIn, and sharing photos on Instagram, and starting interesting conversations on Twitter.

These channels are continuously developing their functionality, whether that’s increasing character count or linking up with other platforms, and using them for marketing is more exciting than ever.

So the question is - is a blog better for my business than social media?

SLICK WEBSITES + SUPER SOCIAL MARKETING

Services like SquareSpace now offer beautifully-designed, seriously pared-back websites for entrepreneurs and businesses. If you have a bricks-and-mortar retail store, the idea of having a website that’s anything more than a clear and communicative home page seems a bit unnecessary.

And if you can now gain customers from your carefully-curated Instagram feed or Twitter recommendations, you might not need to convince people with length blog articles.

Long-form writing isn’t right for every business. It takes time, planning, and resource dedicated to dreaming up and getting down on paper lots of relevant ideas which you and your customers will benefit from.

But there are still plenty of reasons to have a blog for your small business, and keep it regularly updated.

IT’S ALL YOUR CONTENT UNDER ONE ROOF

The most important thing for me about my blog is that it’s got all my ideas and support for clients under one roof. Rather than direct clients to an insightful Instagram photo from six weeks ago (which will take me ages to find anyway), I can direct them to a blog post which is simpler to find thanks to good categorisation and tagging.

A blog means you can link articles to other articles easily, showing clear connections between your ideas and sending potential customers on a journey (which encourages them to stay longer on your site).

It’s a portfolio of your expertise that’s easy to gather together and direct people to; spreading yourself across multiple social media channels means getting people to stick around and ‘join the dots’ is a lot harder.

IT’S YOUR PROFESSIONAL BRAND AND VOICE

While increasingly we’re seeing visual content take the place of the written word, and entrepreneurs are encouraged to explore infographics, photo tutorials or video, clients still want to absorb you through what you say in person and in writing.

That’s why Instagram photographs have captions and even the shortest emails can take hours to craft.

Keeping a business blog means you can articulate your brand through a clear tone of voice - a personality that helps people feel as if you’re really there with them.

Video is another key way to create this, but not everyone is confident on camera (and it takes real skill not to fidget, mutter or waffle).

In a blog post, you can be yourself - a crisp, edited version of yourself that speaks directly to your client’s needs.

Clients still want to get to know you through your writing - not just pictures.

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IT DEMONSTRATES YOUR USP

I’m going to go out on a limb here: while all other digital marketing channels for entrepreneurs, especially social media, can be populated with curated content without any negative repercussions, only your blog has to be original.

On Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest you can re-post, re-tweet and re-pin other people’s content; in fact, that’s actively encouraged. On LinkedIn, sharing and reacting to other people’s updates is seen as a good networking strategy, and the articles are often repeated content from personal blogs or brand websites.

But on your blog, the idea of using someone else’s content or not writing something original is frowned upon - both by customers and by Google. Even Buzzfeed, the king of curated content, writes every blog article from a unique point of view, linking together images and ideas in an original way.

Your blog is the way for you to show your originality and demonstrate your business’ USP. You should be doing that on social media, but you’ll also be curating and sharing other people’s ideas; other people’s USPs.

Your blog is for you, your USP and your customers - not anyone else’s.

Your blog is *the* way to show your USP. Social can be curated; your blog must be original.

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IT BUILDS TRUST IN YOUR BRAND

Showing your USP and your tone of voice very clearly on a regularly updated blog can also build real trust in your brand. This can be the difference between a client considering you as an option, and actively wanting to work with you - whether they take that next step on the customer journey towards conversion.

Having a regularly updated blog will not gain you more customers as a small business if the rest of your website doesn’t have key information a customer needs. This includes opening hours, clear descriptions of services and contact details.

Some customers aren’t bothered about a blog. In BrightLocal’s 2016 survey of 800 American consumers, only 2% said a blog was important on a local business website and just 3% said not having a blog would stop them from shopping with a local business.

But in a saturated market, having an informative, helpful and well-written blog can be the difference between a potential customer and an actual customer. From BrightLocal:

We should clarify that these [like the blog] are good features to have; they will help to inspire trust, establish expertise, answer more tricky questions & even encourage return visits from knowledge hungry customers.

And looking at the stats from their survey, helpful content features like FAQs, customer testimonials, accreditations and a blog are all more important to customers than they were in 2014 - so investing in a blog now could prove very fruitful in the future.

IT GIVES YOU CONTENT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

One of the biggest struggles about using social media to promote your small business is thinking of what the hell to talk about. Because of the suggested frequency of some of the channels - for example, five times a day for Twitter or twice a day for Instagram - it can be a real struggle to find interesting, relevant content to share with your customers.

As a recent client of mine said, “This social media stuff’s a full time job!”.

Writing for your blog gives you something to share on social media - it’s that simple. You can share your blog posts multiple times in multiple ways on social media, giving you something fresh to talk about on a regular basis (as well as showing off all the good stuff I’ve already mentioned, like your tone of voice and USP).

Rather than simply ‘moving’ content around in the big community of social media through re-tweets and re-posts, you’re adding to the community.

Keeping a business blog gives you something to share on social media - it’s that simple.

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IT KEEPS GOOGLE HAPPY

There are many more exciting things in this life than SEO, but it’s a bit like death and taxes; you can’t avoid it. Considering SEO means you’re considering Google, and considering Google means you’re considering the shopping and search habits of the millions of people who use it every day.

An informed, original, consistent blog for your business means your website is regularly given an injection of content - what Google refers to as ‘freshness’. And the freshness of a website directly affects whether it appears in search ranking or not.

So does the number of people linking to and sharing your website, which is much more likely if you write about things your customers are interested in and find helpful.

Having a blog means your fresh, original content is under your roof (not Twitter’s or Instagram’s) so Google is more likely to display your site in search results and your potential customers are more likely to discover it.

If you’re a small business or an entrepreneur, having a blog on your business website isn’t always going to be the right option; you might find more success in social media, email newsletters or traditional marketing.

But a lot of the time a blog is ignored because businesses don’t have the time, energy or skills to keep it going, even if it might be one of the most successful and cost-effective marketing channels to reach their customer.

Taking the time to work out your customer profile, where they hang out and what sort of content they’ll respond to is key to understanding whether a blog is a waste of time - or an incredibly good investment.

Thanks for reading.

If you know your blog is a great way to reach your customer but want some much-needed support, get in touch to find out how one of my cost-effective writing packages (from £45 and up) can help you make the most of your blog and social media marketing.

Clever Retail Ideas for Small Businesses and Creative Entrepreneurs

March 6, 2016March 25, 2016Leave a comment

If you’ve read my article on how to make the most of your retail space, you’ll now be looking for some tactics to make sure your shop, market stall or pop-up shop gets your customers to help achieve your business aim.

There are plenty of ways to find inspiration for your retail space. One you can do from the comfort of your armchair is browsing (ok, ‘becoming addicted to’) Pinterest.

But don’t search for ‘retail ideas’ because you’ll get the images everyone is seeing.

Instead, search for home trends, storage solutions and other more personal visual merchandising and display tactics.

For small businesses, these are often more cost-effective and innovative than trying to fit the latest Parisian concept store idea into a tiny retail space.

Don’t forget, your tactics should fit with what your customer needs and wants, and what you want to achieve from your retail space.

Here are my five favourite, clever retail ideas for small businesses and creative entrepreneurs.

(1) Use a feature wall to draw a customer’s attention to the till or key product area.

(2) Install modular display units you can move around to fit new products and renew customer interest.

(3) Display small products inside larger items to show contrast and intrigue customers.

(4) Combine hanging window displays with information to attract and educate your customer.

(5) Show your inspiration or work-in-progress in simple ways to help customers trust your story.

You can find more inspiration by following me on Pinterest and Instagram, where I share marketing ideas and more. See you there!

Thanks for reading.

Liked this post? You might enjoy these ones too:

How to Make the Most of Your Retail Space

March 6, 2016March 7, 2016Leave a comment

In this article I wrote about how I didn’t want to shop at a retailer where the product’s value wasn’t being communicated through proper visual merchandising or service.

This time, I want to use those thoughts to help small, independent retailers fulfil the potential of their shop space.

The shop floor is just as much a marketing channel as your website or lookbook, and there are always ways to make your retail space more effective, interesting and meaningful for customers.

(If you don’t have a retail space, you can still use this article to help you fulfil the potential of your ecommerce site or market stall).

Here’s how to make the most of your retail space in a way that’ll achieve your business aims and please your customers.

FIRST, FOUR QUESTIONS TO WRITE DOWN

First, stop asking yourself “What do I want to sell?”. Selling stuff is a strategy to help you achieve a bigger business goal (like steady income).

To really fulfil the potential of your physical retail space, you need to ask yourself these four questions instead:

“What do I want to achieve with this space?”
“What is the customer journey in this space?”
“What does my customer need from this space?”
“What does my customer want from this space?”

WHAT DO I WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS SPACE?

Your retail space is the physical expression of you, your business and your brand. It’s not just a place to sell stuff. So thinking about what you’re trying to achieve with it is essential to fulfilling its potential.

Your main aim for the space will tie directly to your business objectives and will probably be commercial. For example:

My aim is to encourage repeat purchases
My aim is to sell high-ticket items
My aim is to have every person who walks through the door buy something

But you might also have some aims not related to sales but definitely linked to the perception of value you want your brand to have. For example:

My aim is to make the space feel relaxing and welcoming
My aim is to exude coolness and ironic trendiness
My aim is to express the creativity of my brand

Select the most important of these aims. These are what will shape your store.

PSST…COPY THE BIG BOYS

You can split up your store space (or ecommerce site, or market stall) into smaller sections which could have different aims.

This is what big retailers do, and it’s why:

Shop window displays always have the most exciting items (and tiny printed prices)
Low-ticket items are placed near the till
Grocery essentials are put round the edge of the supermarket, not the centre

These smaller spaces are all trying to achieve different aims which reflect different stages of the customer journey.

Indie retailers can learn from big brands: build your retail space around your customer journey.

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WHAT IS THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY IN THIS SPACE?

The customer journey has lots of different variations but the basic premise is the same: customers go from not knowing anything about you, to knowing about you, learning more and eventually buying from you.

The number of customers gradually decreases the closer you get to purchasing - that’s why the customer funnel makes sense (more go in the top and only a couple come out the bottom).

I use this version:

Here’s a flavour of how the customer journey works with a physical store:

“Oh! You’ve got a shop.” (Awareness)
“And you sell those tiny boxes I like.” (Education)
“They’re pretty too.” (Consideration)
“At that price, they would be an absolute steal.” (Desire)
“Do you take card?” (Intention)
“I’m so glad I popped in!” (Conversion)

This is a very simplified version, but you can see how it works.

The journey ends with your business aim (the ‘conversion’ point) and the whole journey is geared towards achieving that aim. Here, it’s what you want to achieve for your physical space.

THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY IN YOUR RETAIL SPACE

In a retail store, different areas are designed to respond to different parts of the customer journey as the customer travels around the shop. The idea is to get them to move on to the next stage in the journey.

Here are some examples:

Awareness - window display and outdoor advertising
Education - main in-store display area with range of products
Consideration - specific product area with range of sizes
Desire - display card mentioning product USP
Intention - clearly displayed Visa and Mastercard logos at the till
Conversion - till point itself

This is how the most successful businesses think of their shop: not as a space to flog stuff, but as a way to achieve their business objectives by enticing customers onto the next stage of the journey.

Thinking about your store in this way will do two things:

It will help you achieve your aim for the space
It’ll give customers what they want

Designing your store around your aim and the customer journey gives customers what they want because you have to know the customer to get the customer journey right.

WHAT DOES MY CUSTOMER NEED FROM THIS SPACE?

The customer journey links directly to the third question: what does my customer need from this space?

First, use the customer journey to work out what a potential customer would need to experience in your shop’s physical space to make it to the next stage of the journey. These aren’t nice-to-haves; these are essentials.

For example, if you don’t have clear signage outside your shop or on your stall, customers won’t be aware you exist. If you don’t have displays which contain a range of your products, they won’t be educated about what you sell.

Take it step-by-step through the journey and you’ll be able to work out the things they need. You’ll also understand the barriers which you might’ve put up which will stop them from moving to the next stage of the journey.

TAKE AWAY BARRIERS FOR YOUR CUSTOMER

The reason I mention barriers is because lots of independent and small retailers are good at (1) - they know their customer or potential customer and what they need. But they’re not always that good at seeing and removing barriers to that customer journey.

For example, I’ve been in independent retailers with multiple stockists where it’s hard to tell different makers apart due to poor signage or poor layout - which is a barrier to consideration.

On craft stalls, the products might be beautifully displayed and labelled, but if the owner is ignoring passers-by it creates a barrier to desire.

And one of the most common barriers to intention is not having a card machine.

Your shop space should make it as easy as possible for customers to progress through the customer journey quickly and simply. Think about what they need and try to remove barriers wherever possible.

Any retailer’s store space should make it easy for a customer to buy. If it doesn’t, why not?

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WHAT DOES MY CUSTOMER WANT FROM THIS SPACE?

After you have your aim for the space, you understand the customer journey, have given them what they need and removed barriers, you can start to consider what customers want from the space.

You’ll have an aim for your retail space that’s sales focused. But you’ll also have an aim which is more focused on how the value of your brands and products are communicated. This is where to start with what your customers want from the space.

Although it’s your aim for your brand and how it’s valued, always start with your customer and how they want to feel. So if you want your store (and your brand) to be seen as relaxed and welcoming, ask yourself what your customer would want to feel relaxed and welcome - not what you want.

STOP THINKING ABOUT YOU

I think this is one of the hardest things for independent and small retailers. If you’re an entrepreneur with a strong vision and personality, it’s hard to suppress that and think of your customer first - especially if you have loads of creative and innovative ideas.

But your shop is not about you. It is about making it easy for your customer to help you achieve a business aim. Without them, your brand will not survive.

Your #smallbusiness shop isn’t about you. It’s about your customer.

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START THINKING LIKE YOUR CUSTOMER

Each business’ customer will be different, and a clear customer profile will help you work out what their desires and fears are. How they shop and spend money are important elements to consider.

A recent example we discussed with my students were concept stores, which look incredible and can communicate the value of the brand very effectively.

But they only work if your customer wants that. If you have a product display with only one of everything, some customers will be too fearful to buy anything. Others will love the idea of being completely unique. You need to know your customer first.

Here are some questions to get you started:

Does my customer want luxury, or everyday?
Do they want aspirational qualities, or accessible qualities?
Does she want innovation, or tradition?
Does he want uniqueness, or belonging?

TACTICS TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS HAPPY

Your answers to all these questions will help you design tactics to create a space which will achieve your aims. By now you should have:

An aim for your space which is commercial.

An aim for your space which is focused on communicating your brand.

An understanding of the customer journey in your retail space.

An understanding of what your customer needs from the retail space.

How to remove any potential barriers to the customer journey.

An understanding of what your customer wants from the space.

By putting all these answers together, you have a set of criteria. Using these criteria, you can start to develop visual, personal and physical tactics which fulfil all these elements and make the most of your retail space.

You can find some inspiring ideas to get you started in this article on Clever Retail Ideas for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let me know on Twitter or share your comment below.

Thanks for reading.

Why I Don’t Want to Shop With Brands Who Don’t Value Their Product

February 24, 2016March 25, 2016Leave a comment

Our high streets are not just about shops and selling. The successful ones are a great experience, an engaging place to visit to try new things.

Mary Portas, This is Money

THE PAPERCHASE EXPERIENCE

Recently, my partner bought a set of notebooks from Paperchase. After unwrapping them at home, he realised the cover was made of translucent plastic, not paper (which is what we expected). We thought this was pretty cool, but it made me think a bit more about this retailer.

Why hadn’t Paperchase advertised this product’s USP, the translucent covers, in the shop?

Why were the books wrapped up and filed away on the shelf with all the other ‘normal’ notebooks?

In fact, why do shops do that? Why don’t they make the product’s USP more obvious?

Why do they make it seem like they don’t care about the product?

This experience, combined with many others over the last year as I’ve looked at ways to shop more sustainably, led me to this conclusion:

I don’t want to shop with a company who doesn’t seem to care about what they sell.

I don’t want to buy from brands where the product isn’t valued.

THE TWO THINGS WHICH TELL YOU IF A BRAND VALUES ITS PRODUCT

It’s not about the financial value of the product. It’s about whether the value of the product is clearly communicated in store. And it feels like a product isn’t valued when two big things happen in store:

Poor visual merchandising
Poor service

Undoubtedly good visual merchandising and good service is subjective, which is where the different business models of different brands contribute to how the product value is communicated.

For example, we might expect a fast fashion model to include:

High volume display
Merchandising focused on sales targets
Low interaction service or fast self-service

An example at the other end of the scale is a luxury brand model, where there’s low volume display, merchandising focusing on product quality and highly personalised service.

Both models reflect what the customer is paying for beyond the physical product. Both communicate the different value of the product and values of the brand.

But even in the highest volume, lowest interaction service models merchandising and service shouldn’t be of poor quality. There’s still a competitive standard to be met, and increasingly competitive as high street fashion brands vie for market share.

THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT

If good visual merchandising and good service is subjective, here’s my minimum requirement for fashion retailers:

Clear signage or indication of departments, types of garments, sizing and price
Clean, undamaged, pressed clothing
Tidy display units with enough space to move and see clothes clearly
Staff who are ‘visible’ (they’re on the shop floor and have some sort of identifier)
Staff who know the shop layout, sizing conversions (e.g. bust measurement of size 12) and new stock
Staff who are willing to help and polite

I don’t expect amazing visual displays involving fountains and fruit, or staff who can recite the latest trends to me. Or even staff who smile and are really pleased to see customers, because I know retail is a tough job. Just that list.

(I don’t know whether the list sounds far too simple or radically unachievable. Tell me what you think!)

WHEN RETAILERS DON’T GET IT

In some of the disappointing experiences with fashion retailers, I’ve found display units rammed with hangers, making it difficult to see sizing. Clothing is crushed or streaked with makeup from a previous potential customer. Staff don’t know sizing conversions or can’t explain where items on ‘hero’ mannequins are in the shop itself.

In the worst cases, products are so poorly arranged or cared for it feels like you can’t buy them (either from confusion or repulsion). Staff are disengaged (unsurprisingly, given what we pay sales assistants in the UK) to the point of apathy and haven’t been trained in spotting when a customer is ready and willing to buy - so they miss sales.

These small things show that retailer hasn’t met that minimum requirement. In turn, it shows that the brand does not value their product enough to clearly demonstrate its perceived value through display or service.

Retailers have to deal with customers and their irritating habits of making a store messy, so it’s expected that over the course of a trading day the shop floor won’t always look it’s best.

But brands still have a choice at the start of the day to display products in a way which adequately communicates their value. They have a choice in staff, and a choice when it comes to training staff. They have a choice to meet a minimum requirement.

So why don’t they?

FIVE REASONS BRANDS DON’T SHOW THEY VALUE THEIR PRODUCT

1: The business model

Partly it depends on what business model they operate. Low cost, high volume retailers work on big numbers of clothing, so it’s imperative they pack as much into their retail footprint as possible. And to cut costs their wages and training funds might be lower than average, resulting in lower than average service quality.

2: Quantity over quality

But also there’s a desire for many retailers to demonstrate breadth of choice over quality of choice.

In Predictably Irrational, my recommended reading from last month, the author explains a number of experiments which show our dislike of losing out on available options even when the options open to us aren’t high quality.

We (apparently) want choice, so retailers work quantitatively rather than qualitatively.

3: Brand aesthetic

Similarly, the aesthetic of a certain brand might contribute towards a retail space which is visually busier than you might expect - like Lush, or Accessorize, where abundance/indulgence are both quite important aesthetic elements.

However, even in these stores clear value is assigned to the product ranges, through experiential merchandising and very good staff knowledge.

4: Lack of appreciation of service skills

Fashion retailers don’t necessarily pick staff with poor product knowledge, but the way British culture undervalues good service means some retailers don’t think the willingness and ability to absorb and communicate product information is that important. Instead, speed and flexibility of working hours might be the reason staff are chosen.

5: Poor internal communications

Many retailers don’t effectively market to their internal customers (their staff) compared to their external customers. That means training programmes are minimal, or hurried, or are consistently these top-down messages so staff don’t feel like they can really take part.

The result is a body of people who are disengaged and therefore don’t accurately communicate the value of the product they’re selling.

TOO SCARED OF RISK TO SHOW VALUE

Ultimately, the reason retailers don’t appear to value their product and instead display poor merchandising and poor service is because the alternative is high risk.

It’s risky to show a few products in a retail space where five times as many could be packed in.

It’s risky to invest in training for staff who might leave next year.

It’s risky to really think about the perceived value your product is (or is not) communicating, because that would mean questioning the quality of your product and business.

Brave retailers who truly value their product are self-assured. They select and merchandise products with care. They train staff so they are living emblems of the business’ values. They see these investments of time, money and space not as high risk, but high return.

IF BRANDS DON’T VALUE THEIR PRODUCT, NEITHER WILL WE

As bricks-and-mortar retailers compete with a greater range of ecommerce stores, physical retail spaces and personal selling are becoming bigger USPs than ever. Yet visiting a British high street, neither of these potential differentiators feel like they’re really being addressed.

The real risk isn’t money or space wasted. It’s that there’s a demographic of consumers, interested in finding brands they can depend on and a high quality, fully-rounded experience, who will turn away from these retailers.

Why should a customer value a brand’s product when it doesn’t seem to be valued by the very people who make and sell it?

Why love a brand which doesn’t love its products, its people or its store?

Why buy something value-less?

I believe that good service is our basic right. Far too many businesses on our high streets don’t prioritise good service as part of their offer, meaning that as a nation we’ve come to expect no better …[yet]…It’s amazing how the smallest service gestures really make a difference: from connecting with and really knowing and caring for your customers, to having an in-depth knowledge that guides and advises them; serving is quite simply the new selling.

Mary Portas, The Portas Review 2011

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How to Come Up With Great Marketing Ideas for Your Business

February 16, 2016April 28, 2016Leave a comment

Dreaming up ideas for marketing your business can be very difficult. Dreaming up creative, innovative, new ideas is even harder, especially if you’ve been established for a while.

There are many, many sites which will give you “70+ blog post titles to get you clicks” or “Sure-fire, creative ways to increase Instagram followers”. Some of these articles are useful, but a lot approach your business - and hundreds of others - as if they were the same.

They’re not.

Many seem to think every business of a certain type has the same objectives and audience.

They don’t.

And many try to use a one-size-fits-all solution to coming up with great ideas for marketing your business.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to coming up with great ideas for marketing your business. There’s no easy route.

Instead, there’s lots of thinking and experimenting and testing things out with your customers. They take work and a clear understanding of your target customer and your objectives.

How to Come Up with Great Marketing Ideas for Your Business

Here’s my guide on coming up with great marketing ideas for your business which you can tailor to perfectly fit your objectives and your customer. It’s based on a recent lecture I delivered at London College of Fashion to MA students designing sustainability projects.

Before you start, make sure you’re really clear on your marketing objectives and who your customer is. Without those, you’ll struggle to come up with relevant, successful ideas.

Download the guide to take you through each part step-by-step with clear (and fun!) activities.

Split your marketing into three parts

Research suggests there are three main bits you need to consider when you start coming up with new ideas:

Components (the content and ‘stuff’ of your marketing)
Configuration (how that ‘stuff’ is put together)
Customer need

Thinking about your marketing in these broad terms splits up your marketing into three areas which often get squashed together. Separating the parts helps you think of new ideas for each, and when you start to combine the bits, you start to get really great marketing ideas.

An example of some components might be product images, product details, customer stories or lifestyle content. An example of configuration might be YouTube videos, podcasts, Twitter chats or LinkedIn group updates.

Combine new and old parts

Combining different bits of your marketing together - some old, some new - is when you start to get innovative (and even better) ideas. Start by brainstorming some ideas to add to you ‘components’ and ‘configuration’ areas - how about running an Instagram competition, or adding lifestyle content to your blog?

Once you’ve got a few ideas, there are three ways to combine the different parts of your marketing:

Mixing new components with an old configuration is called modular innovation.

Mixing new configurations with old components is called architectural innovation.

And new parts of everything is radical innovation.

Here’s some examples:

An ice-cream business that starts using video content on their existing Instagram account would be a modular innovation (new ‘stuff’, old way of putting it together)

A bricks-and-mortar jewellery business that opens an ecommerce site would be an architectural innovation (old ‘stuff’, new way of putting it together)

A local furniture business with no online presence that starts producing YouTube tutorials on how to care for your furniture would be a radical innovation (new ‘stuff’, new way of putting it together)

These examples are a little obvious and extreme; innovative ideas can be very, very small and some of the best ones for your business, especially if you’re already established, may well be much subtler.

(Fancy giving it a go? Get the guide to great ideas right here.)

Understand and consider your customer

A really important part of coming up with great marketing ideas for your business is understanding your customers’ needs. Without considering those as a key part of the thinking process, you won’t be dreaming up things which they’ll engage with.

It’s also important to consider your marketing objectives carefully. A great idea could be completely new and innovative, and totally pointless as it doesn’t fit your customer or your aims.

Use your customer profile to work out what your customer wants and needs from your business. If you’ve made sure your customer profile is compassionate, you’ll be able to answer that more quickly.

(Find out how to make a compassionate customer profile here).

The examples of new ideas above could all fulfil a customer need - but it’s also easy to come up with ideas which don’t, just because you haven’t spent some time considering it.

Bonus idea: Be radical

If you feel like your business is in desperate need of something really different, then experimenting with radical innovations for your marketing can be very helpful.

Radical innovation is when there are new components and a new configuration which fulfils a customer need. Coming up with these sorts of ideas isn’t easy at all; to start with, it’s very hard to think of something completely new. Plus, working out whether an existing customer need will be fulfilled by something brand new is tricky.

So these sort of ideas are high risk. Radical marketing ideas often feel the most exciting (because they’re new) but if they’re poorly thought through they can be seriously damaging to your business, because you’re plunging a lot of resources into untested waters.

However, despite being high risk radical marketing ideas can also give high returns, so it can be worth dedicating some time to thinking of more radical ideas.

This is hard work!

Yes, it is. It’s much harder than using a ready made list of marketing ideas. But it’s much more likely to help you come up with great marketing ideas for your business which are tailored to your objectives and your customer.

Get some extra help by using my free, step-by-step guide - there are loads of activities in there to support your idea creation!

Summary

Here’s my way to think of new, great marketing ideas for your business:

Split your marketing into three parts - components, configuration and customer need
Combine new and old parts to make great ideas
Understand your customer needs (and your marketing objectives)
Experiment with being radical to find something unique

Don’t forget to download the guide to help you come up with your very own great marketing ideas for your business - the activities will only take about 90 minutes, and you’ll end up with some great content for your future marketing.

Thanks for reading.

If you’d like extra support coming up with marketing ideas, or actually getting those ideas done (one of the most difficult bits of marketing for any business!) then get in touch. I’m an experienced, creative marketing consultant and copywriter dedicated to helping businesses and people fulfil their potential, and I’d love to see how I can support you.

Email me [email protected] with your marketing challenge, and let’s see what we can do.

10 Fashion Illustrators to Follow on Instagram Eleanor Snare feat

10 Fashion Illustrators to Follow on Instagram for Fashion Week

February 9, 2016March 25, 20161 Comment

Originally this article was going to be about top Instagram accounts to follow for upcoming fashion weeks. But there are only so many pictures of macarons, flowers, pigeon-toed shoes and other nonsense one can suffer through before you get to the good stuff - you know, the actual clothes and shows.

Instead, here are 10 fashion illustrators you should follow on Instagram for fashion week. Some of them will be live-sketching at events, while others might recreate the looks afterwards - and some just draw people with clothes on.

Whichever way it goes, their beautiful mark-making is much more interesting than another perfectly manicured hand gripping a Starbucks.

10 Fashion Illustrators to Follow on Instagram for Fashion Week

Blair Breitenstein @blairz

Loose portraits of melancholic, alien-like models.

Scott W Mason @scottwmason

Big black lines with primaries and plenty of s-p-a-c-e.

Duangkamol Suthumachote @daydream.drawing

Soft, dreamlike marker work (and occasionally fishes).

James Davison @jamesdavinsonstudio

Slightly aggro, sexy punk stuff. A bit NSFW.

Cristina Alonso @cristinaalonsoillustration

Gorgeously girly, super-pink. Just enjoy it.

Rachel Merrill @ohhhaeee

My notes say “Tin Tin style fashion illustration”. Very cool.

Nellyaba @nellyaba

Colourful, vibrant and particularly like the work on grey ground.

Mirabelle @mirabelle_fashion_illustrator

Rambling Miro-style lines and puddles of watercolour.

Yuko @pontariver

Puffs of pastel and models fading into the background.

Monika Kozak @mon_and_ka

Slightly creepy block colour people.

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