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. …
Category: Recent Posts
Ansoff’s Matrix for Creative Business Development
Strategies for creative business development and growth using Ansoff’s Matrix (or Ansoff Matrix). [Note: this article was updated in a response to the COVID-19 Crisis. See updated article which includes a new ‘COVID-19 Diversification Matrix’, adapted from the Ansoff Matrix, to devise strategic responses to COVID-19.) When advising creative and digital businesses about strategic marketing …
Devise a REAL Business Strategy
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’. Sadly, this is true for many design, media and technology companies. A REAL business strategy is different. A real business strategy is a clever solution to a particular …
Blue Ocean Strategy
Creative, digital and cultural enterprises can radically improve their businesses using ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’. Advising a creative business in Spain, I suggested that they adopt a Blue Ocean Strategy. The company was working in a highly competitive marketplace, with many other businesses offering similar services. This meant that very often they were competing on price. …
Dance at Work
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 ‘3Ms of Marketing’
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 …
Marketing article: Is Marketing a ‘Paper Tiger’?
This marketing article is based on David’s TEDx talk ‘Marketing: Power by Illusion?’ at TEDxENCGJ, El Jadida, Morocco, in April 2015. David is an international keynote speaker on marketing, international business and the creative industries. The theme of this TEDx event is ‘Power is Illusion’ and my talk is going to come from the angle …
Don’t be a ‘busy fool’ – act strategically
Are you a ‘busy fool’? We avoid doing difficult things by occupying ourselves with trivial things. We deal with urgent trivia instead of what’s really important. Keeping busy like this allows us to avoid having to make important decisions. In my work, advising and training hundreds of businesses all around the world, I see too …
Your Competitive Advantage
What’s your Competitive Advantage? Knowing what you can excel at in relation to competitors – and then building your business strategy around that focus – is probably the most important element of any successful business strategy. If you are competing in a market place by offering the same thing as many other rivals, then you …
Word of Mouth Marketing : Not ‘proper marketing’?
Word of Mouth Marketing. Some people think it’s not ‘proper marketing’. Pedro, an entrepreneur in Colombia, told me he wasn’t able to do any real marketing because of a lack of budget in the early stage of his web design business. He assured me that once he had generated some profits he would devise ‘a …