Creative Café: Marketing Portfolio Innovation Centre June15 th 2011 Caroline Griffin

Key concepts Marketing in the round - Being authentic Product or Market –led - Being compelling Making it pay - Being focused Free and Easy Top tips for small creative businesses

Being Authentic

Money – and energy – can be wasted on saying the wrong thing to the wrong people Can you smell the coffee? Who are you talking to – and why should they care? Being Compelling

Think about your business and identify one or two key selling points. Think about who you think would make a good customer. Think about them in some detail including lifestyle, age etc for consumers, business model, values etc for businesses. Your partner will play the role of the customer. Describe your offer to them and they will ask ‘what’s in it for me?’ until you identify the real benefit you can offer them. Convince me!

Know your audience – use market data to get closer to them. Do your own research. Focus your energy on refining your message and sending it to the right people. Be personal – e.g. phone calls rather than leaflets Even if it’s free, it might not be worth the time you spend Making it pay

Caroline Griffin Audience and Organisational Development Consultant and Executive Coach Tel