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Marketing: The Beauty and the Details

Last week I was visiting friends in Wyoming. If you have ever visited that part of the country you will agree how absolutely stunning the scenery is. Having been born and bred in the Midwest myself, well I just don’t see landscapes like that every day.

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I constantly found myself looking in awe in every direction. There are mountains, trees, rivers, and many animals and other wildlife I’m just not used to seeing in my part of the country. Not only was I in awe, but I was very aware of every little detail in every little thing. (Yes, climbing rocky trails near cliffs and being reminded of bear and buffalo and other wild creatures will also force you to be very aware.) But it was when I looked at the night sky that I realized just how much detail you simply can not see even though it is right there in front of you.

The Marketing Milky Way

Out there in the mountains in Wyoming at night you can look up and see more stars and planets and twinkling lights in the sky than you can imagine. You can actually see the Milky Way. And not only that, but if sit still you can see satellites as they make their way across the sky. If you look a few minutes longer you can see several of those lovely falling stars that bring us such delight and joy. Back here in the city we just don’t see all the beauty our solar system has to offer, but it’s there and lots of people all over the world see what we can’t every night.

In marketing we have something like that milky way as well. Especially if we are business owners or marketing managers who try to focus on every little aspect of our product or service. We get down in the details, yes, but we forget to actually look at the details, because we know they are there. We forget to look at our marketing through the eyes of our customers and prospects—who aren’t as familiar with the terrain. While they probably won’t look at our marketing materials in awe, they do see the details we overlook. So it’s important to remind yourself to see it all.

Paint Your Marketing Landscape

We visited Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Like most tourists I brought my camera and took lots of pictures. I noticed in that amazing landscape how the tiniest detail could affect the whole scene. Framing my photos just right, cropping out a recycling can, and waiting until other sightseers moved away so I could get just the right shot were things I could control. But the color of the trees, the reflections in the water, and clouds and rain we had on the first day that completely obscured the mountains…well, I’m just not that divine to change that. So I needed to look for the beauty in what I had to work with as well as what I couldn’t control.

Marketing Beauty Through Detail

It’s important in marketing, whether it is visual graphics or images, copy and messaging, or audio to present it in a beautiful, appealing way. Let’s face it, we humans like pretty things. And, though “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” it’s still important to show your product or service in “the best light”. So how do we do that?

  • See the entire landscape — If you have imagery, photography or graphics or both, make sure that they are clear, accurate, and visually pleasing. Look at the whole picture, if that soda can on the ground isn’t supposed to be there (pick it up and put in the proper receptacle!) use another image or edit it out.
  • Paint a pretty picture — Be sure your messaging tells the story you want to present, beautifully and positively. Don’t use negative sentences to convey your message. For example I can describe this photo in two ways.
      1. I wasn’t quick enough with the camera and didn’t get a good photo of a moose drinking water from this lake.
      2. We stopped at this quiet little lake where a moose had just been drinking at the water’s edge.

Which one sounds nicer?moose-lake2

  • See more than meets the eye — Rest assured your customer will see more than you. Double and triple check all your images and verbiage. Get an opinion from someone else. Turn it upside down. Anything you need to do to make sure you catch any mistakes before someone else does.

Marketing can be awesome if you really look at the detail you will see the beauty, and hopefully so will your customers. If you need help marketing your product or service details “beautifully”, call EVH Marketing today.