Excuse #2:
"We've always been this way. This is who we are."
Being creative in your work does not mean departing from your identity as a company or as a brand. Being creative does not mean that you must become Apple, or 3M, or Southwest Airlines, or Starbucks, or Procter & Gamble. In fact, imitating other "innovative" companies is not "innovative" at all.
Being creative means proactively looking for ways that your brand can be even better at who your brand is supposed to be. Becoming even more aligned with your corporate identity, by creating greater value for your customers within that context. Be creative within the boundaries of who your brand is.
So who is your brand? What is your brand promise? Is your brand about luxury and status? Then find ways to pamper your guests in even better, more serving, more extravagant ways than before. Is your brand about family fun? Then spur on your imagination - and create amazingly fun products and environments that encourage kids (and their parents) to use theirs, too. Is your brand about bare-bones, no-frills, low-cost? Then be innovative about how you can cut non-necessities to help your customers save money. Is your brand about customer service? Then bend over backwards for your customers. Is your brand about drawing people together? Then probe for ways in which your products and locations invite people to share life.
Let your brand be itself. But make it the absolute best self it can be.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
OK, I admit it...You picked what is probably my pet peeve... 'We've always done it that way'. Well, if it's not working, think outside the box. Whether it's persons or companies, I wonder if most really know what 'identity' they have. In regard to marketing, have the managing MBA types become so imbued with theory that they have totally forgotten that there are real people who are the consumers? In a previous post, you suggested taking the staff out of the board room and taking them to a museum or park. Staff development always begins with individual development, which then translates to teamwork. Sometimes that does mean drawing with crayons or playing volleyball in the park.
ReplyDeleteAfter decades of such meetings, that's my two cents. Keep writing Haley!