We like to focus on narrative alignment because people tend to forget how words have the ability to connect the dots. Knowing the language that defines your work and the narratives that make your vision tactical allow you to apply your work’s identity across any channel, from Twitter to Press Conferences. 

For the past decade, the most amount of our time has been spent talking Creatives & CEOS out of a panic attack as they prep for an overly rushed launch that doesn’t have a story behind it.

We get it, your great idea hits you like a ton of bricks one day, then suddenly it’s been two years of dreaming a plan, strategizing & putting far more hours and money than intended. Despite all the work, you get ready to connect with an audience when you find no company identity, no website, no about page, no “this is who the fuck we are & why we’re the best” put down to paper. Then I get a call begging me to start tomorrow, saying the deadline was last Tuesday & asking if I can be squeezed into a budget that dried up months ago. 

Y’all, no.

If you don’t know how you’re presenting yourself (aka the ways in which you will communicate who you are & why you’re vital) the question is, do you really know what you’re doing in the first place?

Marketing, like any section of a de-siloed business plan, is about connecting the dots between all the pieces & having a keen understanding of how you’re doing what you do. It’s the check point to make sure you’re on track, and the point of accountability to make sure that what you are creating in the background is the same story you are presenting to the world around you. 

When you think about it this way, it becomes something that should be accounted for at the same time as when you define your deliverables (services or products – which need to be well-written for clear & consistent communication) or your client lifecycles (the place where sales & marketing meet) or your project management & software plan (those annoying things that we as creatives are forced to use to function in the digital age). Marketing shouldn’t be an afterthought, so why does it tend be? 

Ah, the fresh smell of coffee & the fear of claiming self worth in the morning. Don’t ya just love it? I find those who call me in a panic tend to be, those who struggle with knowing or are afraid to claim, one or all of the following:

• who they are
• the direction they want to go
• the understanding that their expertise is invaluable
• the idea they have is really worth something more than an itch to get out of their current situation

Did you just cringe? It’s okay, we’ve all felt one or all of these things at once; and it cab happen no matter how long you’ve been in business.

But the good news is that Marketing is the place in business where creativity, emotions & drive meet; and it’s the crux of small business owners because it’s the place where they have to look in the mirror and challenge who they are & what they’re doing. Great news, THIS IS CORRECT. You SHOULD be challenging who you are & what you’re doing, while taking the time to celebrate your growth along the way. This is part of the process; a narrative that equally engages, educates & excites audiences. It’s a peek behind the curtain, a moment that reminds your audiences that you are more than your work – you are a part of culture, a leader or a team of people that are just like them. Now let’s talk how to market that.