As human beings, we’re prone to think of ourselves first, before we consider other people. In air travel, a parent is advised to secure their own oxygen mask before attempting to assist a child or another passenger. And we’ve all heard the expression ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’, right? However, there is a limit to where this level of constructive selfishness applies.
There is a difference between the individual(s) tasked with marketing a brand or company, and the individual(s) themselves. All the brands I’ve come across have spent large amounts of money in defining their brand identity, which is often based on who their target audience is. A good brand has a clearly defined brand personality, which is painstakingly mapped according to stakeholders and target audiences. This is all good and well, but it sometimes falls apart when it comes to the decisions around influencer engagement or corporate entertainment.
At times, artists and creatives (like myself) feel like the people tasked with making marketing decisions for brands and companies can sometimes become more focussed on their own preferences, instead of focusing on who will benefit most from their decisions. It’s to these people that I’m saying, ‘It’s not about you’.
The art of listening
The simple trick I’ve learnt over the decades as a DJ is that the audience will always tell you what they want. You just have to be attuned to their needs. Listen to the words they use to tell you what they want. Listen to what they are not saying. Listen to their body language. Listen to what they say to other people around you. Listen. And match what you’ve heard to what they want.
The art of listening is about understanding. Just because we’ve seen Spider Man all over social media in the last few weeks, it doesn’t mean that’s what your brand or company needs. Listening isn’t just about following trends and fast-fading fads. It’s about respecting your audience - don’t underestimate the intelligence of your audience; trust that they know what they want. Listen to what is being said around the coffee station. Listen to what music is played on random days in the office that lifts everyone’s moods. Listen to what your customers tell you by their posts on social media when they complain or commend you. Listen. And apply that to your decision-making processes.
It’s a skilled marketer who knows their target audience as well as they know themselves. And it’s a truly seasoned one who can separate their personal preferences from those of their target audience.
