Act like a child! HubSpot advises being curious and fearless will make you a better marketer.
We agree.
Michael Reynolds, in a blog post on HubSpot titled “The Secret to Being an Awesome Marketer? Act Like a Child.” offered up so many great points, we can’t summarize them all … but we can stress two–being fearless and never losing that sense of “how?” and “why?”–insatiable curiosity.
Although we detest the butchering by over-use of the word “awesome” … we love the rest of his conversation.
(Really … awesome, being full of awe, should only be applied to things that truly are … like the Sistine Chapel or an incredible sunset that makes you feel small and insignificant!)
Children Are Fearless
Ever notice how a three-year-old will try anything? They have no fear. Children have not yet developed that inner recording that plays through all the terrible things that could go wrong when considering something new. They just do it. Adults often see a new idea and think, “What if this happened, and that happened, and this went wrong, and my boss found out, and oh my goodness … this sounds way too scary to start working on!”
After 35+ years in marketing and design, I can vouch for the fearless part. Playing it safe is okay … and can maintain what’s needed. But it’s when you go beyond what’s expected, get a little silly, or purposefully do what is apparently the opposite of where most would go … that’s when we’ve seen the biggest successes for our clients.
Then there are the brainstorming sessions … with our team and with the client. It’s the best part of the job! Throwing ideas out, tossing around new options, bouncing thoughts off one another, each building on the previous. Laughing, challenging, inspiring, playing.
Adding curiosity to fearlessness will deliver a result that grabs attention and increases response … and make you a better marketer.
Children Are Exhaustingly Curious
Kids ask questions all the time. They want to know why things happen and how things work. As an adult, this can be exhausting at times — especially after answering questions all day. But this is how kids learn. They are inexperienced at dealing with the world around them and have not yet acquired the same knowledge that you have.
Being curious is part of being a marketer. With all of the intensive changes in our world–from shifting audience perceptions to new communication channels to more options with technology–curiosity is essential.
- How can you reach audiences more effectively?
- How are people choosing today vs. what worked 5 years ago?
- What’s possible with data and the latest technology?
- What do people want now?
- How can we use the latest iterations and options in social media?
Endless questions challenge us to measure, track and improve, not to rest on what worked in the past. Endless questions encourage us to talk to customers, review trends and examine the data. Endless questions keep us in front, rather than falling into entropy.
Endless curiosity about your business, your industry, your products and services. How are you perceived? What are the expectations and opinions about what you have to offer (not your point of view … the point of view that’s out there). Digging deep for answers to those questions will also make you a better marketer, better able to compel response from the right people.
How to be a better marketer …
It seems so simple, doesn’t it? We know it’s not.
Yet keeping that childlike perspective, the sense of wonder, the pursuit of what’s possible, and the willingness to try something new … is definitely the path to being a better marketer.
Ready to learn more?
We offer an e-book, developed after years of real-world experience … that gives you 10 steps to optimize your brand and compel more response. Let us know what you think!
