Standing on Shoulders of Giants

Standing on the shoulder of marketing giants

So, people often ask, "How do I do this?" and my response is often, "I don't know... that's why I am here to help us work it out".

Of course, I often have a fair idea as to what they should do and how to do it. However, it's so much more powerful to work something out together with a client, than just tell them an answer.

And, my assumptions, previous experiences etc might be misguiding me. I might not actually know. It would be pretty arrogant of me unless I had worked with the client for a very long time to just pluck an answer from the first things that came to mind.

I'll be writing more about the power of not knowing in a later blog (tip: we use "Design Thinking" to find out).

The thing is, what's the best way to do something isn't always what the most successful companies are doing.

For example, if you wanted to build a slick, awesome UX webshop, then please don't copy Amazon as an example. People buy from the site because it's a brand you trust and the site has been around for so long that people know all the quirks.... and definitely not because it's elegant/intuitive to navigate.

So, the best thing to do when trying new things is to accept that maybe no-one really knows. Is their business your business? No. So, maybe, doing what everyone else is doing isn't best for your either.

When helping people, I try to empower them to be able to think it through for themselves. By working with them and guiding them on the journey. It's all part of enabling/training people to become masters of their own marketing rather than dependent on help.

So, the first thing to do is look around and see exactly what the leaders in your field are doing. And then look around and see what the leaders who aren't in your field are doing.

Then get deeply into the granular understanding as to what they have done (and why and how)... Then stand on their shoulders...

And then have the confidence to make your own choices/decisions for your business.


Comments

  1. Thank you, Adam. The expectation, as a smaller business, is that you will be preached at from on high, then never feel able to achieve all that you have been told. So you give up. Refreshing to hear of a different approach, empowering businesses to believe in themselves (with a little bit of help).

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