Remember Creative

Bring your business back to life

 

We are a marketing business, and when you think about that concept, essentially, we have to find the positive aspects of a product or service and we have to use that to showcase the most positive effect your product, business or service can have on the life your desired customer.

We often get called in when there’s a problem (although you should be marketing even when everything is going well) whether it is a dip in sales or completely rethinking tried and tested strategies because the market has changed. And naturally, with all this extra stress at work, they can find themselves in a funk and that’s when we meet them.

Now, I’m not a psychologist (not that you needed to be told that) but being in the “finding the positives” business and the fact that we regularly meet business owners and account managers who are stressed and in a funk at work, we often find ourselves in mock counselling session with a client – before they have even signed on the dotted line.

So, if you need to make some changes in mentality at work (and beyond) here are my tips on telling the FUNK to F-off and in doing so prepare your business to better sell itself.

 

1. Wake up earlier…

This is not one of those work longer or work harder concepts. No. Wake up earlier and make some more time for yourself.

One of the worst things about being a business professional is that you devote so much of your time to the business and in the end, you grow tired and resentful because it takes up all your time.

But this advice goes beyond just giving yourself back a bit of time for you. This down time where you lift some weights, go for a run, or have a latte at the café, gives your brain some downtime. And believe it or not this is when the best ideas will manifest themselves.

 

2. Get out there and meet people.

If you find yourself constantly engaging a certain type of client and they are draining (physically and time), not profitable or not really fulfilling to service, the likelihood is (by virtue of your current marketing activities, referrals etc.) you will continue to attract more of these types of clients.

So, take a moment, have a think about who your perfect client might be and then try and figure out where they are, what networking groups they are in, what events they go to, where they have a beer after work and get there. This is not the promotion of stalking. It is the targeting environments where customers you want to work with are.

And if you can hone in on this, the marketing initiatives we help you with will be greatly improved by your understanding of these customers, where they are and their pain points.

 

3. Shake it up a bit

Most jobs are repetitive, we become good at them the longer we do them because we become more effective and efficient at doing the same task repeatedly.

But over time, for some, this repetition can be quite monotonous. So, shake it up. Change meeting times. Only respond to emails at certain time during the day so you remain more focussed, vary your hours.

Changing little things can alter the way we perceive even what we have grown tired of.

This could be setting aside some time to really work on your thinking around marketing. Be hands on with your agency and inject some new energy into an otherwise repetitive scenario.

 

4. Declutter

Maria Kondo’s is a smash hit on Netflix (great watch if you haven’t seen it) and her show is all about decluttering your home.

Decluttering can go beyond the physical. Declutter your schedule, if you do 4 meetings a day do 3 and take that additional time to focus in on improving one aspect of your work life.

Don’t eat lunch at your desk – go out and have a walk.

Set a time each day to pack up your desk, clean your desk top and be ready for the next day so you can approach it with a clear mind.

Decluttering your time and mind will have a dramatic impact on your performance.

You can also declutter your products, seek out the highest performing products, declutter your messaging – work with an agency like us to make your marketing approach more streamlined and direct.

 

5. Stop focussing on money.

Money, ah, that old chestnut! – We all work or own a business to make it. It’s a prerequisite of life to some degree. Hell, even not for profit doesn’t mean not for money, look at the balance sheets of some major charities and you will see what I mean.

But if you think about the dollars and cents every minute of every day you may overlook the simple joy of service.

Now this isn’t some spiritual humdrum, nor is it overlooking the need to make money. But I sometimes think it’s like this: If you never take your eyes off the GPS whilst driving, there is no doubt you will have a very clear picture of the destination but I highly doubt you will get there.

Your marketing I think could benefit from similar thinking. People often think of marketing as a chore, an expense.

If you change your focus and become part of the process, own it and find joy in it. Make it part of your service delivery as opposed to an external function, I think you will find your marketing will improve greatly. This doesn’t mean you need to become a marketing expert, or do it all yourself, rather it suggests working with trusted marketing partners and together making great things happen

 

6. Be positive.

You know on a personal level, my business has taken some big hits over the years, we’ve been screwed a few times, we’ve made mistakes and we haven’t always been where we want to be.

It can be quite painful at times when things don’t go right.

But, I think you must be positive. After all everything that is wonderful in this world can have a dark side. And so too can your career or your business.

Take stock of the things that have gone wrong and assess the lessons that can be learned, there is so much we can take from tough times.

And this is a key lesson for marketing your business too, SH!T happens, but when you present your business, present the best it can be. Take the learnings, take the bits that aren’t perfect and use your marketing to make a public commitment that as a business you will do things better… customers respond to positive words, even more so positive action.

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This little list has helped me manage the pitfalls of having my own business, they keep me sane and in the long run help my business run smoothly. They also help me focus on how I externally promote our business. Many of these personal activities can be reflected in the way you market both yourself and your business.

Give them a go and tell me what you think?