Creative Businesses can provide a lot to the community as a whole, such as art in museums,
music, ceramics, digital artwork, fashion, and showcasing of different cultures, and will continue to innovate business into the future. As time passes, new ideas will come to light; new generations will show different approaches and techniques in their creativity.
People’s tastes can change almost daily since the creation of the internet and social media. People absorb vast amounts of content through surfing the internet, looking at social media, blogs, and articles.
With that in mind, there are a few problems that Creative Businesses can face in this modern and technological age.
Let's look at them:
Problem 1: Finding Customers
At first, finding customers sounds easy, but it’s much more complicated than you think. The media, internet, and social media are constantly updated with new trends of what people are interested in, and this will affect where they will go to follow these interests and patterns.
So how can you find your customers?
Solution: Follow the Current Trends
You can create content using trends that are relevant to your business: the best example is TikTok, where trends are always fast, new and fresh. Adapting to these trends will increase your visibility and reach potential customers. If you do it right, they will come to your accounts and follow you; then, it will be time to create a connection with them.
That can sound scary at first, but knowing your customer’s taste can impact how you run your Creative Business and where you choose to be visible. It can be hard work being everywhere, so it is best to find where those potential customers are hanging out; this allows you to hang out in the same place and then you can spend your time cultivating relationships.
Problem 2: Brand Awareness
How can people find and recognise your Creative Business if you don't show your brand to people?
Social media is a FREE and powerful tool that enables you to build your brand and show potential customers your Creative Business. Traditional and digital artists, singers, musicians, and crafters can all use social media to increase brand awareness.
But how can you do this effectively?
Solution: through both paid and free advertisement.
Advertise yourself across social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and TikTok.
Showcasing your creativity through your posts, reels, stories, and lives will grow your following, and your potential customers could be in that group.
Not only will they be made aware of you and your business and your brand, but if you do it right, they will also potentially share it with their friends, family, and peers. This is the best kind of advertising because it is free, and people sharing your content can act as recommendations.
The more content you share with value and consistency, the more people you will attract.
Paid advertisement, such as Pay-Per-Click (PPC), is where you spend every time someone clicks on the ad or goes to where you would like them to, for example, your website.
If keywords are used correctly, then the algorithm of the search engines will help push the advertisement out too.
Another form of advertising is achieved by blogs and bloggers, as they will talk about subjects in your industry and share their experiences, perhaps even mentioning your business. They use informal language to make people feel comfortable and trust them. This is useful for recommendations because it is a form of 'word of mouth'.
Problem 3: Finance
With your Creative Business growing, your sales will hopefully rise and investing in more resources will help expand your business horizons even further, increasing your income. Investing in yourself and your business can be frightening.
So how can we deal with the finance side?
Solution: Get a Financial Advisor, an Accountant or a bookkeeper.
This sounds expensive, but it’s always the best option in the long run.
Financial Advisors will tell you what investments are suitable for your Creative Business, help you with your budgeting, and could cut the cost of resources you use.
An accountant or bookkeeper can help with the pressure of dealing with your finances as they track your outgoings and incoming investments and analyse the monthly costs to offer better solutions.
Problem 4: Customer Service
Creativity takes time, especially when you perfect your craft but you also don’t want to neglect your customers/ clients. Your customers are extremely important as they provide your income, so you must find the right balance.
How can you achieve both, completing the creation of your services or products and dealing with the critical task of your customer service?
Solution: Outsourcing
Outsourcing to a third party, such as Virtual Assistants or Call Center Agents. Hiring the right person can be very beneficial; they can perform tasks and handle operations on your behalf, as they have the right skills and knowledge. Outsourcing helps make your business more flexible and agile and adapt to market conditions and challenges while not losing time or your sanity.
And if you’re looking for an organised, experienced Virtual Assistant to help with day-to-day management, scaling up your social media presence, and more, feel free to get in touch with Erin at Bizzybee.