Creative marketing is a process of marketing of goods and services using some creative and innovative tools and techniques. It has evolved with industrialization in the early 1820s.

In the recent years, there are some methodologies like design thinking, stilt,  startup, scrum etc. that if applied in marketing can generate value to the clients and our products and services can be positioned in the market through reassuring creativity as well as increasing interaction with our clients.

There are some points which are heard on a regular basis but the reality is various functions of marketing still face the challenge of understanding, comprehending and most of all putting them into practice so as to capitalize and materialize the derive advantages of these practices.

Techniques which can be complementary to these methodologies are termed below that enables the attainment of results and the concurrence of key aspects of creativity:

EMPATHY MAPS:

This tool helps in strengthening of advertising campaigns and support the visual characteristics of the brand which further leads to the development of a product or service. Empathy map helps in taking a rooted vision into the customers. It was first created by Dave Gray and is attaining fame and approval.

HOW TO USE AN EMPATHY MAP?

A mapping session can be started by assembling your team members and ask them to bring data or judgment about the target of the map. You can get a print out of empathy map on a large paper or you can sketch it. All the team members should be provided with notes and markers so that they can write down their thoughts. The questions that you may ask are as follows:

  1. What are clients’ thoughts and feelings?
  2. When the user is using a particular product and service, what will be the reaction of their family friends or other persons?
  3. What will the client first see in the product while buying it?
  4. What are some of the worries of the users while actually using the product?
  5. What kind of benefits will the user get while using our product?

By asking these questions to the team members, you can have a deeper insight into the customer’s requirements and preferences. In the end, ask your team members what insights they have learned from the session which can help you to find out the facts about the users that you would like to validate.

IDEATION MATRIX:

This tool helps in generating ideas and has only two dimensions. Brands which are multi-category and have a large number of segments, this tool has a great utility for them. It helps in speeding up the development of strategies for each segment and section. By using this tool, you don’t have to wait for the right moment as it helps in generating ideas proactively.

HOW TO MAKE AN IDEA MATRIX?

  1. Make a chart.
  2. Make rows and columns.
  3. Put one set of principles in the top row and another set of principles in the left column.
  4. As idea matrix helps in developing business ideas that suits your skills and comforts, you can put your skills in the top row and your interests and comforts in the left column.
  5. In every corresponding box, you can write down that how you can combine both things to form a business idea.
  6. All the boxes should be completed until you have explored all the alternatives and choices.
  7. In case you get stuck somewhere you can leave that box blank.

 

CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPS:

For visualizing and identifying the relationship of the clients with a brand, this is a basic tool to be used. For designing brand experiences, relationship programs, and digital tactics, this tool is of main utility. It involves contexts and trends because of which it becomes very useful to create valuable content like infographics and advertising campaigns.

The process of mapping customer journey can be done by anyone and has become very essential because of the following reasons:

FOR DESIGNERS:

It will help you in understanding the perspective of the customer. You will get to know that from where the customers have come and what are they trying to achieve.

IF YOU ARE COPYING:

It will help you in understanding users questions and what are their feelings.

HELPFUL FOR MANAGERS:

It helps in understanding customer’s experience. They will get to know how customers move through the sales funnel which further helps in identifying different opportunities to boost their experience.

Above all, customer journey map place the customers in front and center of the organization. So, what you want to achieve and how it will benefit the customers becomes easy to understand. It serves as a reminder throughout the project in the context of the customers. You should be aware of the change in customer’s feelings and questions.

This tool also helps the management. For e.g, management always focuses on various things like social media, SEO etc. instead they should see the things in the context of the customer. Customer journey maps help in giving that context which helps in finding out all the shortcomings that help the management team to tackle them. It helps them to understand that the focus should be on the customer and not on other things like products or services.

ABC DIAGRAM:

When you have already found out the customers that you want to target for your products and services, the next step is to select few of them that you want to target for your next research. This tool will help you in computing the priority customers e.g, you can divide the customers on the basis of highest income levels so that you can understand what was the effect of such customers on your income. Then you can divide the customers into following categories:

  1. 80% income
  2. 15% income
  3. Less than 5% income.

This technique is based on 80/20 rule.

PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS:

Above analysis is based on two proportions that are a customer and the income which the customer is generating for you. In this analysis, you can add a third proportion that is possible growth. It will help in finding out the customers who will be included in your next research through the graphical presentation.

5W1H:

This technique includes questions that you should include in your research like?

  1. Who is the customer?
  2. When is the customer using your product?
  3. Where is he using your product?
  4. Why is he using your product?
  5. Why is he liking or disliking your product?
  6. What you can do to improve your product in case the customers are not liking your product.

By covering these questions, you will come to know the number of customers who are using your product and how you can gain more customers by applying the formula of improvisation.

ONE ON ONE INTERVIEW:

Through this technique you can get all the required infoormation directly from the customers. You can ask them about their needs, preferences, requirements, and expectations. You can conduct the interview through following steps:

  1. Schedule the interview.
  2. Specify the reasons for the same.
  3. Prepare for the interview.
  4. Ask questions and record them after taking permission from the customer.
  5. Then examine the information that you have recorded.

By analyzing all the important information, you can better understand the customer which will further help you in making the products according to their requirements and information provided by them.

ZOOM DATA:

Spreadsheets help in visualizing the data but sometimes the figures are not enough and don’t give us the exact answers that’s when zoom data proves to be useful. This tool is simple to use and very collaborative. If anyone in the organization does not have the skills to understand the figures and the data then he or she can effectively use this tool. You can use the visual figures and create custom visualizations.

QUICK TAP SURVEY:

Whenever you are attending any event, you can interact with the customers in order to capture the data related to them but if you are missing some lead data while interacting with them then you are missing an opportunity. Quick tap survey helps in gathering information that you need to consider after an event which includes names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and the products and services that they like the most. This tool helps you to take up a survey which will fit into your business environment.

USERVOICE:

UserVoice does not merely focus on collecting feedback but also helps in taking action on the information that you have collected. The tool gathers information through a website or an app on a continuous basis, either the information is entered by customers or the employees who gather the information from the customers. Whenever your employees are showing your products to the customers in any workshop, trade show or any other event, they can fill the information and customer’s reaction to the app. Then you can, then, filter the feedback so that only the relevant information which is suitable for the work that you are doing will remain aside.

To develop more effective tactics, it is very important to understand that marketing is a discipline that has the power to obtain and exploit tools, methods, and approaches.

The above-mentioned tools should always be implemented with proper planning and management which will help us in the proper assessment of the market for gaining more customers.