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You might find it strange that our digital marketing agency uses “Think Inside The Box” as one of our mantras, but it’s true.
Every day, new marketing articles discuss the latest trends, new technologies or innovative techniques to get a head start on your competition. As a business owner or marketing manager, you find yourself stretched thin trying to stay on top of these hot trends to keep your marketing as fresh as possible.
Have you ever considered the possibility, that a Fresh idea may not necessarily be a good idea?
While it’s true that “Think Fresh” is one of our tag lines, it’s not necessarily the best idea to constantly chase after new ideas. After all, today’s “hot idea” could become old news within a week. It takes time to implement any new idea. By the time it is fully executed – is it going to be replaced by something new?
What does “Think Inside The Box” mean?
When we use the phrase “think inside the box,” we’re referring to the process of sticking to your guns and using the systems you already have in place – properly and consistently.
As a digital marketing agency, we’re no strangers to iteration and testing to find ways to improve our campaigns, consistently, in a way that’s backed by data. It’s no secret that marketers love to optimize and stay agile.
But here’s a thought – 50% of every test fails. This means that while you’re testing a new system, idea or concept, you’re lowering your short-term efficiency for a chance at long-term improvement. This is usually a risk worth taking – assuming you don’t switch gears too often.
“Switching gears too often” is the problem that we aim to address with the mantra “Think Inside The Box.” Just like with investing, a good marketing test needs time to prove it’s worth. If you give up at the first signs of failure, you’ll never uncover the true data behind the ideas you had in the first place.
Writer Napoleon Hill talks about the story of an unfortunate miner who gave up on digging at their gold mine, as they had believed the vein had run dry. Unbeknownst to them, they were actually three feet away from gold the entire time.
Think Inside The Box – to allow your original ideas and strategy to shine through.
How To Think Inside The Box
Thinking inside the box means taking your original concept and processes, often your strongest advantage, and optimizing it to the highest level of effectiveness.
Unlike with new ideas, when you “Think Inside The Box,” you already have a wealth of data to draw knowledge from – namely, the successes and failures of the past. Use this data to improve, without straying from the path.
At our digital marketing agency, one of the key copywriting techniques we employ is the process of “review mining” to find pain points and themes in the needs of the target audience. Why re-invent the wheel, when the answer is right in front of you? Often, we’ll take phrases that are shared amongst hundreds of reviews as inferences towards the great strengths or weaknesses of a service/product.
Taking data that already exists, and implementing the insights into your existing strategy and system, allows you to fortify your brand and stop the dilution of your business from taking on “too many things” at the same time.
Ironically for many businesses, “Think Inside The Box” may be a very fresh idea for them. This particular tactic is most helpful when executing a long-term marketing plan or after your brand has undergone significant change. Always have a marketing plan in place! There’s no point in staying “Inside The Box,” if the box itself doesn’t exist.
If you need some help crafting the optimal marketing plan for your business strategy, contact our marketing agency today. We always have chocolate.