5 Marketing Lessons to Learn from James Bond
Like the suave James Bond himself you can woo your potential customers by adopting a few of his tried and true techniques. We’re not talking about taking them back to your hotel room or anything like that – that’s another article altogether. Instead, we’re talking about making your brand embody the strength, confidence, self-control and charm of 007. Here is how you can employ some MI6 agent-like techniques yourself to skyrocket your marketing endeavors:
When Bond is on a mission, he doesn’t cop out mid way because it’s too hard. The man doesn’t even appear to get tired. His fierce determination is admirable and what is needed to get the job done. For marketers, you can’t throw in the towel because a campaign failed or you have yet to see a return on your SEO endeavors. It takes time and it takes effort.
Everyone is capable of starting something but few see things through to the end. Bond however, he’s a closer. When things fail to go as planned Bond finds creative and innovative ways to meet and master the challenges at hand. It’s up to you to strategize and do, and when things don’t work, to rework your strategy so that your marketing operations do become a success.
Who are you hunting? Who are your foes? Who are your allies? All of these questions are critical if you want to complete your mission. You need to be aware of the challenges that you’re heading up against and be prepared to face them. Bond doesn’t aimlessly look for a culprit. He gets briefed, does his research, comes up with a strategy and then completes his mission like a boss.
By studying your competitors you have the ability to see what their strengths and weaknesses are. This knowledge enables you to situate yourself in a unique position to adopt what they’re good at and be better at it. When seeing their weaknesses, you can dismiss those techniques yourself or tweak them in such a way that they do work for you.
Knowing who your allies are allows you to collaborate and strengthen your marketing rather than just flying solo. If your own graphic design skills suck, get a colleague or employ someone who is great at it to do the work. Your mission is not complete until it is complete and if that means partnering up with someone to get the work done, then that’s what you do. Bond would do the same.
Finally, who is your target market? This is THE question you should know. You want to do your research and arm yourself with the knowledge of what they desire, how they think, and how you can exploit that in your favour. Tailor your approach accordingly so that you’re on point when you shoot.
Not all of us have a Q slaving away in a lab building watches that detonate or bullet proof cars. But! That doesn’t mean we don’t have the means to technology that serves us. We have the internet. Bond uses technology to his benefit, whether it’s to get out of a bind or seek out the pertinent info that he needs.
The internet provides a vast resource of tools and apps to aid us in our marketing ploys. Using tools like Buffer or Hootsuite to publish your social media posts will save you time to work on other things. Online apps like Canva and Piktochart can help you create graphic design magic. Feedly and Pocket are great online tools you can use to curate content.
Your social media networks themselves are great assets to spread your marketing materials. Use technology to your benefit to proliferate your marketing messages. Just be sure that the technology you do use serves the purpose of helping you complete your mission.
Bond is always so handsome, perfectly poised and prepped for any occasion. Your marketing presentations need to mimic this. Invest in high quality graphic design or invest your time in learning how to create high quality graphics.
We are compelled to look at beautiful things and are apt to turn away from things that are tacky or repulsive looking. How you present your message says a lot about your brand. If you present it in a messy fashion, you compromise your credibility. So, suit up and make sure your marketing always look sharp.
James Bond is the epitome of cool. Has there ever been a time when he’s cracked under immense pressure? No. Get over your fears of failing and prepare yourself for those times when things may crumble around you. Bond’s training and experience are what enable him to stay cool while the world falls apart around him.
Learn about what’s current in your industry, learn about how to be better at your practice, learn about the tools that can help you work more efficiently and effectively. Stay cool in the midst of it all by immersing yourself in all that you can learn so you can leverage that knowledge when the going gets tough.
Also, you want to have one finger on the pulse of your niche at all times so that you’re ready to aim for marketing fire when the time is right. Don’t miss opportunities because you’re not paying attention. Bond would scoff at you. You want to stay cool both in the under-pressure sense and the it’s-timely-and-relevant sense.
Bond isn’t just a pretty face. He’s fierce, intelligent, cool and collected, always. His secret agent skills plus his charm make him a killer. Use his techniques to up your marketing game and wield your marketing weapons wisely.
Fin.
