We are not the colouring in department!

Is the website performing as well as it could? Is the customer journey slick? Am I being unique, is my content getting seen, what’s the point!?!!

I can guarantee this has gone through each and every mind of someone who works in a design and marketing capacity.

If you’re reading this and you have individuals within your organisation whose job it is to market your business, I’m about to let you into a secret.

It is flipping tough to actually do a good job in marketing, design and development. Let me tell you why;

Things change super quick

We live in a world where regardless of what industry you are in, we can universally agree that things change quickly. If you work in the digital marketing or design space, this is doubly as true. Day to day I spend a huge amount of time talking about what is current and, as importantly, what is coming around the corner. The truth is most people who don’t live and breathe the stuff are months, sometimes years behind. It isn’t your fault but be prepared to be open to techniques you don’t understand or haven’t heard of yet that your marketing bod is going to tell you; trust us, we love this stuff.

So many people do the same thing

Lots of businesses, heck most people on the Internet are doing the same thing to try and get seen, sell, or collect vanity views. You name it there is a lot of the same stuff going around. The trick is to do something different that also complements what and who you are as a business. The problem is that, all too often, teams are told to create a campaign, assets or a website that look and feel like everything else because it feels safe and recognisable. Don’t be afraid to be different.

Some of us are “weird” and won’t wear a tie

It’s a bit of a generalisation but one worth talking about. I once wore a suit to work everyday in a career gone by and I thought marketing (The colouring-in department) were the most unprofessional ragamuffin group. This was based entirely on how they looked and the fact I didn’t understand how much goes into developing websites, designing the assets and coming up with the marketing strategies that gets businesses seen. We’re an expressive bunch, try not to judge us based on the Rick & Morty T-shirt we’re wearing.

Creativity needs space and time

Some things don’t require much creative flair; setting a form, swapping out text, amending an email signature. But defining, designing, planning and developing customer journeys, marketing content, strategies and website functionality? That takes time and space. Deadlines are justified but expecting creativity to work 9-5 is not. Sometimes that killer marketing angle, new branding design or plugin discovery happens at 11pm. It doesn’t mean we aren’t working on the project but you won’t always be able to see us do it; trust us, we are doing it.

Experience breeds results

I’m not talking about age here, I’m talking about breadth of (experience). Designers, developers and marketers get better by applying new things and experimenting. The world of creativity is not binary and as a result of the ever shifting landscape, individuals who work in the space must adapt. It’s so important to let designers, writers and developers work within the wide range of verticals to add that vital experience to their armoury.

And if you have read this and you are a designer, developer, copywriter, SEO executive or anything in between, we salute you. And most importantly we are here for you. We support marketing and development departments to create delightful experiences.

Contact us to find out how we can support your business.