Not all customers are good customers! Strategic Marketing will avoid and deter bad customers. Customers can be bad customers for all sorts of reasons. They can be unprofitable or troublesome. They can waste your time or cause stress. Some interfere too much. Some aren’t worthy of including in your portfolio. Others pay late, or never. …
Most businesses in the creative and digital industries want to grow and I advise them on growth strategies based on their ambitions and their own definition of success. Business growth in the creative and digital industries requires a combination of creative passion and smart business thinking. Plus hard work and a fair amount of luck. …
Strategies for creative business development and growth using Ansoff’s Matrix (or Ansoff Matrix). When advising creative and digital businesses about strategic marketing and growth, this tool is useful to consider different options. In a Masterclass I gave on creative business development in Ukraine, there was a question about developing new products for new markets, which …
Most so-called “business strategies” are in reality just audacious goals and ambitious growth targets, bundled with a ‘vision of the future’, then packaged as a ‘business strategy’. A REAL business strategy is different. A real business strategy is a clever solution to a particular challenge or problem. A creative manoeuvre. The problem must be understood …
Classic ‘SWOT Analysis‘ involves evaluating the Strengths and Weaknesses within a business or organisation, ie an ‘Internal Analysis’. Strengths and Weaknesses – or Characteristics It’s important to assess the strengths and weaknesses of our business, focusing particularly on strengths, especially strengths which competitors do not have. These relative strengths are an essential element of your …
When I advise clients and ask about competition, their first answers are about immediate competitors in their industry; other companies offering broadly similar products or services in the same market place. This is valid of course, and we need to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of such competitors using techniques such as Charting the …
Don’t write a business plan until you have read this article! The article in English is reproduced in full below. It can also be downloaded as a PDF document in English and ten other languages. Creativity and Business Some people regard creativity and business as being like oil and water – they just don’t mix. …
Instead of competing within an industry, invent a new industry. Competitive strategy traditionally focuses on competition within an industry with corporations competing for market share. Chan and Mauborgne refer to this as ‘Red Ocean Strategy’, ie a blood-filled ocean of competitors fighting one another. Instead of competing within an industry, some firms have successfully invented …
Here’s an eBook that’s highly recommended for people who want to combine their creative passion with smart business techniques – that combination I call ‘T-Shirts and Suits’. ‘Dance at Work. The Creative Business Toolkit’ is written by Helen Baxter, a creative entrepreneur based in Wellington, New Zealand. Helen’s book is excellent for entrepreneurs who want …
The best way to illustrate the technique of using the 3Ms of Marketing most effectively is to use a true story. Julie, a jeweller, asked me for some marketing advice. With a limited budget for marketing communications, she couldn’t decide whether to invest in a better website or in a printed brochure to promote her …