Author: Garth Beyer

When a solution has too much science behind it, it’s sure to cause more problems than it solves.

In the world of marketing and sales, science can help with automation and pricing, but it can also hurt loyalty and personality.

Sure, start with science and get it close to optimal – but leave room for art.

Just because science says this is what the price should be doesn’t mean it fits the story people are telling themselves about the price they’ll pay – that requires listening, relationships and showcasing value, or, you know, art.

Stay Positive & Steady Hands

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Build it and they will come is not the smartest strategy.

Better to invite people in before you put so much time and energy into building something.

A brewery takes preorders of their branded hoodie before they order it.

A game developer puts out a beta version of their game to acquire signups for the full launch before they finish developing what the rest of the game will be.

A record store hands out a card with an address for record-fanatics to sign up for their newsletter before they sign a lease for a spot in the area.

Stay Positive & How Can You Get Buy In Before Build Out?

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Alright, something can’t technically be over-optimized. Optimal performance is static, it’s certain and it’s un-improveable.

Optimal is also constraining. It removes humanity and story and connection in some cases.

The smart entrepreneur and marketer optimizes the work that allows them to be more human, tell a greater story and establish more connections.

Not everything needs to – or should – be optimized, though.

Stay Positive & Save Some Art

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There are plenty of pillars that a business can build upon. Trust. Quality. Speed. Cost. Philanthropy. Service. Humor.

However, there’s one pillar that a business can no longer ignore.

You can be successful without being humorous. You can be successful with the highest cost. You can be successful without donating to a charity.

But you can’t be successful with lesser-quality content. Not just what you put into the product, but how you tell its story, what you wrap it in, and how someone feels when they receive it.

Every day people are getting smarter about products they care about. They’re researching, learning and talking to others they trust about them.

Shortcuts in manufacturing or service won’t cut it for much longer.

Stay Positive & It Costs More To Catch Up Later

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Stress is simply defined. It’s the difference between what you what in the moment and what the moment actually is.

By focusing on changing the moment to what you want, you’re focusing more on what is making you feel stressed.

The obvious (or non-obvious) solution is to become content with how things are, right now, in this moment.

Magically, the stress disappears when you no longer focus on how the moment should be different.

From there you can peacefully focus on moving in new direction if you desire.

Stay Positive & Sometimes A Deep Breath Is All It Takes

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It’s not just a rhetorical question.

The onus is on us to see the answer and if we can’t, to create one.

Stay Positive & It Should Be Fun, After All, Shouldn’t It?

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Those who you are targeting for your business don’t just fit into your target group.

They fit into a lot of groups.

And while staying true to your brand is sure to build loyalty; getting the attention of more of the right people may require you to reach out and into other target groups.

Nonprofit leaders in need of insurance for their organization are avid cribbage players.

There are a lot of binging Netflix watchers who are also Dungeons & Dragons fanatics.

The world might be big, but our communities are small.

The businesses that seek out the edges and the overlap are the ones that will succeed in finding, attracting and retaining a following.

Stay Positive & Seek Out Other Circles

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