Every type of business has its own creative niche, some niche’s are narrow while others offer a wide ranging spectre of creativity. No matter how narrow or wide your niche is, ignoring these possibilities will prove detrimental for your business. Whoever your customer is, be it a business or the end-consumer, they all need a bit of that shiny dust sprinkled over your product, something extra to get them hooked.
Lately I’ve been involved with a wooden chair making company, they work b2b (business to business) so my creative juices have been running dry, but that got me thinking, what can be done ? I mean taking pictures of models in-front a white wall has been the go-to model for them, from day one in print to today in digital form. And going in with radical ideas won’t get me far, the upper management might think I’m crazy, barging in asking for money for something that doesn’t give any visible, direct return on investment. So I had my niche trimmed down to its bare bones.
I’m sitting there having these crazy ideas pop into my head, sadly one by one they seemed too impossible, at least at this moment, so I took a look at the pictures and thought what if we at least pour some creativity in the pictures, no matter if its a business partner or a customer looking, a good photo will get you places. Baring in mind that it is a company that mostly works with oak wood, I suggested that the next photo session be held in an oak forest, luckily there is one just a few kilometers from the factory, so my idea had leverage. I wanted it to have that rustic feel to it, so we set it up as if it was in a house, with all elements, the point was to show not just how the single chair looks, but how it looks all together in a living space. The outside and the trees were there to show the origin of the furniture, the mighty Oak tree. My idea was to position ourselves as a premium quality product, striving for perfection but also an eco-friendly company that gives back to the community and knows its roots.
This first shift in creativity opened the doors for more change, or should I say opened the minds, because the criticism we received was very positive from our business partners. The introduction of a digital catalogue and newsletter that followed were also a huge hit and something these business circles haven’t been accustomed to. My next step is finding our ideal social strategy without overexerting our capacities, as everything is still kinda new in this departement.
All of this has to be done in order to calibrate your creative potentials, once you have the general idea and you define the content strategy for your company, you have to be consistent because once your customers are used to certain content, they expect you to deliver it on a regular basis. This is where stability comes, a stable relationship with your customers, engaging with them ona daily, weekly, monthly basis. Keeping your top of their mind.
Define yourself, be consistent, and find ways to stay inventive and progressive within your niche, sometimes not having total freedom helps you focus your thoughts.
