Creative work requires experience.
If creativity were comfortable, everyone would be doing it right.
The hard creative work begins after you have done your homework, put your business plan together, and worked out your marketing strategies. Many businesses stumble and fail to produce effective marketing campaigns. They lack the expertise and time to do the creative work required to build the marketing collateral well enough to attain the results they are seeking.
Your logo is a visual representation of your business. Think of McDonald’s golden arches, the Shell Oil Company’s shell, or the simple Ford Motor Company logo using the Ford name. These famous logos immediately identify the companies, as can your logo in your chosen market.
Unfortunately, many businesses skimp on developing this crucial part of identification and miss the critical first impression of their company along with easy recognition and recall in the future. Consider your corporate colour scheme, not only for your logo but also for the rest of your marketing collateral.
Be creative with your key messages.
People need to use a short phrase to know their differences and uniqueness. Capture the words that get to the heart of what your target market is missing and how exceptionally well you do it. Your key message should become how you differentiate your business and the basis for all your subsequent marketing messages. It will often take professional expertise to hone your message and develop it as your business grows, while taking time to teach your people to utilise it.
Be creative and win the best customers. Don’t use the tired old jargon like everyone else.
Websites should reflect your problem-solving skills.
There are plenty of do-it-yourself (DIY) website applications. You should ask, “When did I become a competent designer of marketing collateral, and is this the best use of my time?” Remember that your website is your face to the world, and like a shopfront, you do not want it to be unattractive and tardy.
Rewrite a creative elevator speech.
Imagine you are at a seminar or on an aeroplane, and somebody asks what you do for a living. How will you respond effectively? It would help if you moved past the ‘so what’ question and could have the person ask for more information. Just saying you are a builder, an accountant, or a web designer is insufficient unless you want the person to categorise you and move on.
Quotable Quotes
“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced”. Vincent Van Gogh
“Have no fear of perfection; you will never reach it”. Salvador Dali