Knowing the Score – Part 2

Music resonates with us in so many different ways. There is so much more going on at a concert than meets the ear. If there is one thing that the music industry can teach us about business, it is synergy. Your product, everything before it, everything surrounding it, the delivery, and everything after the delivery, must work together from beginning to end.

Take for example how disappointed the fans in Georgia would be, if Ray Charles showed up to give a concert and neglected to sing Georgia while in Georgia. Of course, he would never do that. Before jumping a plane bound for any concert, Ray selected his playlists with the specific local fans in mind. The venue, the delivery, the instruments, down to the style of attire that his backup musicians would wear–all must meet expectations.

Whose expectations? His own? Not on your life. His fan’s expectations, of course.

Many entrepreneurs want to find more fans. In fact, they want lots and lots of fans. They search for magic formulas. They find promising blog posts with titles like “Ten Ways to Triple Your Sales in 2016”, and then carefully follow the directions on the package. Ten emails per month, (check!), networking, (check!), and 4 cold calls per day, (check!), all in the hopes of finding someone, (anyone?), with a pulse on the other end of the line. Unfortunately, all of this honing and tweaking of sales processes is focused on the company–not the fans.

Want an easier way to find new fans? The answer is so intuitive, it is frequently overlooked.

Let me say in advance that the answer assumes that you, the business owner, like any aspiring professional musician, already know the song you were born to play. If not, make sure you believe in your own song first. Most of the time, studious practice alone will supply the answer to this question. And here it is:

Develop a uniqueness that no one else can duplicate.

Perhaps you work in an industry with cut-throat competition. Finding a unique way of doing business seems virtually impossible. Reframing your thinking is in order. Too much competition in your market is a really good sign. It indicates an abundance of demand. This “problem” gives you a boost over the first marketing hurdle.

Now, what resources do you have at your disposal? What disadvantages do you have? Disadvantages? How might you turn disadvantages into assets? Remember Dizzy Gillespie’s horn was bent right before he was to play. A comedy dance team accidently stepped on it while fooling around back stage. Dizzy went on stage and played it anyway. His trumpet not only became his trademark, the horn’s unique sound made Dizzy a jazz sensation. Billie Holiday burned her hair while preparing to sing in a night club. She put a gardenia in her hair to cover the damage. The flower became trademark to her fantastic set of pipes, and the rest, as they say, is history. Woody Guthrie’s songs were so unique that he used a copyright that allowed everyone to copy him. He knew that wherever his songs were sung, it would only add credence to him as a folk singer and songwriter. 

So everyone else is singing your song! Practice till you can sing it better. There are plenty of covers that people love more than the original. Elvis’s famous Hound Dog was originally sung by Big Mama Thorton. Over the Rainbow, originally made famous by Judy Garland, was resurrected to contemporary fame by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. Oh What a Beautiful Morning, from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma, could not be more beautiful as sung by Ray Charles. You probably have a few favorite covers of your own.

The more a business focuses on singing their own song, to the best of their ability, the less they have to look for fans. Sing your own song. Sing it the best way you know how. And I will not be surprised at all if the fans come looking for you.

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Like this article? You can read Knowing the Score, Part 1, here. All this month, we will be discussing music, and especially Jazz, as a model for Small Business management and marketing. Stay tuned, (pun fully intended!), for Parts 3 and 4, as we hone our chops, grow, and become the entrepreneur we were intended to be.  Etc Graphics is devoted to helping you, the small business owner, think like a marketer.