The fundamental importance of consistency in your marketing game
The irony of this email is not lost on me – how *dare* I talk to you about consistency when the frequency of my emails are nothing of the sort?
And yet, that’s kind of the point.
I’ve never managed to stick to a super-disciplined marketing schedule. I’ve tried, really I have – ranging from best-laid intentions to sending a newsletter once a month to one daring (and short lived) attempt at blogging weekly, it’s just never stuck. Work takes over, project lifecycles mean there’s nothing I’m able to share yet, and I can only watch helplessly as the task of writing something thoughtful, relevant and useful slides waaaay down the to-do list.
So when I speak of consistency, we can all be sure that I’m not referring to the frequency of marketing activity (though if you’re the sort of clever soul who can stick to regular activity, then by all means have at it – and let me know what the secret is).
But…
A dogged, determined and unwavering consistency in our work has meant that carefully scheduled marketing activity is not all that important to our business. I’m talking about being consistent with:
clear, well articulated communications throughout every stage of a project
a thoughtfully structured journey which lends confidence to the client while guaranteeing nothing gets missed
consistently striving to do the best work we can, taking advantage of opportunities to introduce new techniques that’ll provide a fresh angle to our creativity (on our last project we introduced a Japanese technique called suminagashi to create some distinctive paper marbling!)
making space for reflection, and a commitment to banking our learnings from every project, ensuring our thinking is always gently evolving
All of this is to say that while I don’t prioritise marketing consistently, consistency in our commitment to excellence is unshakeable… and in turn, every project which leaves the studio is of a super high standard and wears our signature of thoughtfully elevated design and attention to detail. It means that every client is an enthusiastic advocate of our business, and that our portfolio is packed with gorgeous work which really reflects what we can do – powerful marketing, indeed.
When time is a premium – as it is for us all – its so important to be intentional with how we spend our time. Having shifted our attention away from attending every networking event going, and desperately coming up with content for those weekly emails, I can say with absolute certainty that focusing on building consistency in our work has been a far more rewarding use of time.
If the anxiety of all the things you *should* be doing to win business is creeping up on you, my advice is this: take a step back and focus on finding consistency. That’s not only in the standard of your work, but in the services that you offer, the products that you sell, the journey that you take clients on, and the message you communicate at every point within that journey. Focus on refining and elevating your work and message, and I promise – the rest will follow.
