 Image by iChris |
Approaching product development, services, and situations by way of odd associations can spark that creative idea marketers love to develop.
I had an interesting email come in the other day in regards to an article I wrote a while back called 8+ Ways To Train Yourself To Be Creative. The person mentioned how they loved the techniques I suggested and like me, they love the book Purple Cow by Seth Godin.
The question brought to me was, “These are all great techniques, but how do you suggest going about creatively finding a Purple Cow for your business?”
“Wow – what a great question,” I thought as I swiveled my chair around and walked over to the bookshelf housing Seth’s insightful book.
There of course is no one method or plan for developing a remarkable product, service, or business that stands out from the rest. For every idea out there, there’s an infinite number of ways to approach its development.
Those of you who know a little about me know I like thinking laterally. Thinking laterally usually entails approaching ideas from odd angles and different perspectives. Here’s one lateral way of approaching an idea that can kick that creative genius’ butt inside you and get those remarkable juices pump’n.
Think Opposites
Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War said, “To foresee a victory which the ordinary man can foresee is not the acme of skill.”
In the context of this article’s topic, that quote tells me don’t be ordinary. It tells me I need to challenge myself and create a way to win that’s unforeseeable by my competition.
One way to develop a new product or new direction of an existing product is to think in contradictions.
Unusual connections of information and placing two dissimilar objects together can create a memorable product which people often times can’t help but remember (and hopefully talk about). These unusual tactics often times get attention and spark creativity.
View your idea in different perspectives and force yourself to see relationships between dissimilar things that normally defy all logic. After awhile, you’ll begin to see ideas where none existed before.
For example, pizza and beer go together; so does peanut butter and jelly. But how does beer and jelly go together? Imagine advertising the campaign: “Get drunk on peanut butter and jelly!”
This is nothing new. You can often times find odd relationships in works of art.
Now that’s the question. Can you create a work of art in your product or service?
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May 23rd, 2008 at 9:40 am
Hi John, I love your article, reminds everyone to think outside the norm. Different, outstanding, remarkable is worth paying attention to. That’s exactly what everyone wants…. people paying attention to their business. Same old same old becomes boring and quickly becomes forgettable. Like your illustration above caught my attention, I thought what is a car doing powering along on water??? ok what’s this about? You’ve already inspired me to start thinking about a creative marketing idea for my landscaping business, something that will catch people’s attention to an already saturated market of landscapers.
Thanks!
Theresa
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:54 am
Well, your site has a great start – it ranks #1 in search on Google and Yahoo! for las vegas landscape company.
Oh wait, didn’t I design and optimize that site?
In marketing, you have to solve problems and really connect with your target customer. Your company should be designed from the initial stages with marketing built right into it. For example, your company’s name, Modern Landscape, already imprints a vision into a customer’s mind.
Everyone perceives the name differently, but the trigger word there is “Modern.” When you read “Modern Landscape,” what comes to your mind? I think water smart and synthetic turf as that is the way things are going.
I see other Las Vegas companies have names like TNT Landscaping, Las Vegas Landscaping, SC Landscaping, etc. – none of these have marketing built into the name.
If you need any help or would like to toss around some creative ideas for your company – let me know and we can brainstorm.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:16 am
ha ha ha yes you did and we couldn’t be happier with it, excellent job. Most of our business comes from people who viewed the website. I wouldn’t change a thing on it, like you said we are number 1 for yahoo and google, can’t get better than that. Your article got me thinking that our presentation when meeting with customers could be more dynamic so once we’ve gone they would remember us. We definitely plan on brainstorming with you on that!
Thanks again for all your help…
Theresa
May 24th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Hi John,
I’m a little bit of a lateral thinker too. I’m not always satisfied when others say “this is the only way”. For me, that presents a challenge, and I love challenges.
Thanks for sharing your ideas. You’re making me think, and that’s a good thing. It feeds my creativity.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..No Comment
May 24th, 2008 at 7:09 am
@ Barbara – glad to see I’m turning those wheels
If you think about it, the name of your blog is an opposite or contradiction. You blog on a site called “Blogging Without A Blog.”