Many times I hear the same question when I discuss writing a Marketing Plan, "Should I be a specialist or a generalist?" Most creative professionals believe this is a conflict but it really is not. In today's economy, you must be both for two important reasons: clients will usually hire the 'specialist' in order to get exactly what they need and you want to be a generalist in order to get all the work you can!
This is not the conflicting statement it appears to be. Specializing to become a generalist is possible for two reasons. First reason: clients initially hire you as a specialist because it is the "safe" thing to do. But once they are comfortable and happy with you, they will want to work with you on a greater variety of projects. This is why it is most important to treat current clients and prospective clients differently (keeping prospective clients tuned to a single marketing message and expanding your message to your current clients). To expand your message and provide additional (and profitable) services to your current clients, you gradually introduce them to the other things you do. It is often a very natural process. For example, as a designer you may be maintaining a client's web site and find a way to introduce them to your illustration style. Or as a photographer you may be providing them with product photography and they happen to see your portrait work when they come to your studio. The more comfortable a client becomes with your services as a professional, the more willing they will be to ask for more.
Second reason: because you want to be as profitable and recession-proof as possible, you want to have more than one marketing message, more than one area of your services you are promoting! You will naturally want to develop multiple profit centers (types of clients) and sources of new business in your marketing plan to have a more viable and more interesting business. Each profit center or client type is developed out of a different direction and marketing message.
Next let's look at the different marketing message choices.
Target Your Marketing Message
What is a Marketing Message? Creative professionals often use the terms 'Direction' and "Marketing Message" interchangeably. It is a phrase I use in my workshops and portfolio reviews to identify "what are you selling and who are you selling it to". Literally, when you know "what" you are selling only then can you identify "who" the client will be. For example, if the "what" is food photography" then the "who" will be buyers of food photography. This is more efficient than simply identifying yourself as selling "photography".
In order to create a marketing message for your work, first answer this question: Do you want to do more of the same work but for better clients with bigger budgets? Or do you want to do different types of assignments and take on an entirely new direction? Deciding this will help guide your next step and the types of clients you target.
There are four ways to to determine who to target with your marketing message:
- By a particular style of work
Style is based on how you perceive the world and the way you approach creative problems. Style is the way you solve photography, design or illustration issues for the clients with your own brand of individual creativity. Marketing your style is a complex endeavor as it is how you "see" the world. It is not specific to any subject - but transcends subject and industry. On the up side, the assignments gained through marketing with this approach tend to be with high-end clients (with bigger budgets) and clients in cutting edge industries such as editorial, entertainment and advertising clients. On the down side, as style is so complex to market, clients can be hesitant. It takes a very secure or risk-tolerant client to hire for style and so there are fewer clients to sell to and they are harder to find and reach. - By a specific industry
This is based on what industry you choose to sell to and it is one of the most common types of targeting because it is so easy to identify potential clients. The beauty of targeting your marketing message this way is that it builds on itself. For example, once you have done work for a financial services client, you can use your experience and expertise in the industry to market to other financial services companies. Another nice benefit is that the use of your work can be very diverse. Every industry has a great variety of uses for your photography, design and illustration services. - By the use of the work
This type of targeting is based on what the photography, design or illustration is used for. It is not the same reference as the word usage which will come into play when you are looking at pricing and licensing. The word here refers to how the client will use the work you do for them Within this type there are many categories of use for you to choose from, for example, your images can be used for corporate communications, web sites, packaging, advertising, editorial, paper products and books to name a few. For example, if you were to target packaging design or photography your clients would be any industry that needs packaging, such as food, beverage, pharmaceutical and beauty products. - By the subject
Mostly used by photographers and illustrators, you can target your marketing based on what it is that you are photographing or illustrating. Again, this is a very popular technique because your potential client base is readily identified. Examples include: automotive, people, food, architecture, products, locations and landscapes. By identifying the subject, you will also find great diversity in the use of your work and your clients can range from advertising to editorial and everything in between.
The importance of balance
It is extremely important when developing your the targeting part of your marketing plan that you identify a balanced client base to get enough work. If you choose a target market too narrowly, you won't find enough work and you won't be maximizing the potential of this profit center approach. If you select too broad or general a target you will have trouble identifying potential clients. Here are some examples of balance:
- When you target with a specific style, your client base should have a broad range of industries represented.
- When targeting a market by type of industry, your client base should have many different uses for your work. For example, if you just focused on websites for Healthcare industry clients, you are too narrowly focused. You would need to broaden that to working on all the different uses a healthcare firm has for design not just their websites.
- When you target your marketing by the use of the work, your client base should have diversity (and therefore profit!) from a broad range of industries, much like the targeting by style.
- And, for a marketing message by subject, you will want to identify every potential use of the work you are doing. For example, if you selected food illustration then you would target ad agencies with advertising food clients, food clients directly, editorial use of food illustration and even such publishing clients as calendars, greeting cards and cookbooks.
In the end all that matters is that you stay focused on your goals, keep your marketing messages clear and consistent, and target properly to bring in new business or re-invent the business you have. Keep your eye on the prize - finding and keeping clients.