It has not been an easy road for independent agencies over the past 20 years, with uncertainties such as a recession and the more recent Covid-19 pandemic. Online presence has become the new normal and many businesses have had to transition the way they do business over the past two decades. Coming out stronger than ever is Naked Marketing, proudly celebrating their 20th anniversary this July 2022. With a purpose of helping organisations be the very best they can be by exposing their greatness through on and offline, branding, design, and marketing, Naked, a creative marketing agency, has transitioned with the developments in technology to incorporate the rise of social media and digital platforms. A key value of Naked’s is ‘Once naked, stay naked’; more than 50% of their clients have been with them for over five years and 20% have been naked for nearly the full duration. Here, Managing Director David Lloyd shares his 20 lessons over 20 years, for other aspiring marketing and creative design agencies and professionals to reach their Naked potential.
- Always ask why
This question will help you to uncover the answers you really need. If you want to do a good job, you need to understand a company’s mission to help them on their path to meet it.
- Set clear goals
Without these, you will have no clear direction of your marketing
- Brochures can’t sell themselves
There is no point printing brochures to not use them left in a box.
- Nothing will ever be 100% perfect
Chasing perfection will stifle your opportunity for growth
- Don’t be afraid to fail
Not everything in marketing will work. The key is to learn from the mistakes, and adapt for next time. And be upfront about your mistakes – if we make a mistake, we put our hands up! Being upfront about our mistakes will help us learn in the future and our clients know we will put in the time to make it right.
- What turns your customers on
Understand what excites your customers and turns them on?
- Are you always having to explain yourself?
Make sure it’s obvious what you actually do
- Stay positive
Don’t use your energy to worry, use it to grow, create and basically be amazing
- Help people shine
Enable people or organisations to be the best that they can be
- What’s the big idea?
Creativity will help your brand and ideas shine. The less complicated the better. In the right hands design brings together creativity and craft using your words and images, to get the attention of your audience.
- Find the f*****g emotion
As human beings we buy from emotion, if your marketing doesn’t do this, you’ll struggle to sell. Tell a story. A story that can linger for longer in the mind than maybe the product it was initially intending to promote.
- Google analytics should be one of your best friends
As a marketeer, it’s your tool to prove success and to provide ongoing learning.
- Your brand is what they say about you…
when you are not in the room. Create campaigns which reinforce a company’s culture.
- If your business says it puts customers first…
…don’t have director car parking spaces closest to the entrance
- Talking b*ll*cks
When communicating to your audience be clear and concise, don’t baffle your audience with jargon
- Don’t do too much
Small incremental improvements make a very big difference
- It’s okay to say no
Committing to too much will negatively impact you
- Don’t burnout
Time away from the desk is as important as time at it, so many great ideas happen when you’re not chained to your desk, your mind works better and absorbs more thoughts, it’s clinically proven
- Listen, learn, read, chat
At Naked we have incorporated new digital platforms into our offering over the past 20 years, tailoring as we go. Never stop learning, it helps you grow as a human.
- A shoulder to lean on
Find a great coach or mentor who helps and challenges you. Also hire the right people. Here at Naked we have developed a small but senior team of honest, unfussy and down to earth people who, most importantly, care! Photo credit: Naked Marketing