Who Says You Aren’t Creative?!?!

dreams

About once each year, I have one.  It sticks with me for days and each time I have one, I think I have the genesis of the world’s greatest novel.

I am talking about those epic dreams that are so intricate, so detailed and so vivid, that I am sure it has the makings of that novel that I always wanted to write.

I have oft told friends and associates who didn’t believe they were very creative to tell me about a dream they had this week.  Now tell me you aren’t creative!

It has never ceased to amaze me how our brain takes little snippets of events, things we say, things we do or see, and molds it into some kind of out there story with more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie “who done-it”.

Having worked in the media and advertising for most of my life, being creative was an everyday need.  Some days are better than others, but every time I think I am stumped, I remind myself about those dreams, and I know that the right idea is in me somewhere.  And the nice thing is that ideas don’t have to be bound by what you have seen or heard in the past.  It can literally be anything.  It is absolutely true that there are no bad ideas.  Some of the best commercials I have ever heard started with some of the cuff quip by someone in the room, that may or may not have been on topic, but it sets of a chain of thoughts with someone else, then another picks up on it, and before you know it, we have the foundation of a great theme or idea that will help make one of our clients a lot of money.

Those dreams are amazing because while they are most often pretty out there, they usually have a foundation of truth…..what you are happy about, what worries you, or what is on your mind during that time.  They speak to you because they are really about you.

Wouldn’t it be great if your ads did the same thing to your prospects?

Think about that!

The best ideas, and ads, are truthful and honest.  Be truthful and honest.

Advertising Your Customers Will Notice!

advertisingideas

When talking with clients about what we are going to say in their ads, one of the first questions I ask them is, “Why should I shop here?” And then I tell them that they can’t say because they have the best prices, best selection of product, or best customer service. You would be amazed at how many cannot give me a good answer.  They go on and on about service, price, selection, 20 years in business and all the other things that all of competitors are saying too.

Then I give them a challenge. Before our next meeting, I ask them to put a note pad beside the phone, and write down what callers are asking for or about when they call or come through the door. What problems do they have? What kinds of things are you delivering, and which ones are you not currently offering or providing. Why did they contact you? And I ask them to do the same with website comments, and if they have field staff, have them do the same thing.  And this, by the way, is for both positive and negative comments and questions.

In those questions and comments, you can discover what your customers are REALLY looking for, and what is important to them. And it may not be what you think. Business owners often get so caught up in what they think is important to their customers, that they don’t take the time to find out what actually is important to them. Believe me, they will tell you. But, it may not be obvious at first, and it will take some practice to catch the nuggets of gold.

When I owned a service business, we made appointments with a two-hour arrival window.  But rather than leave customers afraid to go to the bathroom for two whole hours in case we showed up, we called our customers prior to the arrival window and told them when we would be there. And we kept them up to date if anything changed. Many could stay at work longer or spend more time doing what they wanted to do, rather than sitting at home waiting for us to arrive. On the very rare occasion that we were late, they got an instant discount, without having to ask for it. We did the job well too, but really, that is the price of admission. Customers expect you do be professional and do the job right. This shouldn’t be what you hang your marketing hat on. I can tell you that this approach went a long way in building a 97% customer satisfaction rating. You see, we knew that they wanted the job done right.  But we also listened and realized that they also wanted us to show up on time and respect their time. We did, and we won many, many loyal customers.

Listen to your customers. They will give you all the ideas you need for your marketing and advertising campaigns.