How to Think Outside the Box with Your Marketing Ideas

The business world is competitive and sticking to just traditional ways might not be enough for you. If you want to create a buzz and get some traction, think outside the box of crazy marketing ideas. But is that a good thing? It is about creativity, experimental strategies, and an alternative way to reach out to your audience. For either a Startup or an Existing Business, thinking out of the box might open the doors of a new niche and help for growth.

The Importance of Think Outside the Box in Marketing

Marketing without innovation is lifeless. In an age where consumer behaviors change faster than most can keep up, and markets are saturated beyond belief the only way to think out of the box is by having a unique creativity shining from your brand. The old ways might do the trick; however, they get lost in a sea of noise. Think outside the box marketing ideas can break through all that noise, cut to the chase grab attention, and mind share.

This makes your brand look advanced and customer-centric, which can then draw in more customers for you. Brands that catch consumers off-guard are those they remember and engage with. In addition, innovative marketing techniques can facilitate low-cost campaigns using creativity ahead of spending opportunities.

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Strategies to Spark Creative Marketing Ideas

1. Understand Your Audience’s Needs and Preferences

You only think out of the box if you know what is inside it (the insight on your target market). What do they need, what causes them pain and how would this be alleviated? Analyze data, listen to your customers, and research the market for clues about what makes them tick.

For example, if your audience cares about sustainability you can touch on eco-friendly marketing tactics. This can be something as simple as using sustainable materials for your promotional products or organizing eco-friendly events. When your unconventional means match the audience’s values, this works to create an impression in their minds.

2. Think Outside the Box – Leverage User-Generated Content

Using user-generated content (UGC) is another ingenious way of thinking out of the box to connect with your viewers. Even better than creating your own branded content, ask and allow your customers to create and share entirely consumer-generated content around the products or services you deliver. This can be anything from social media posts, reviews, or even videos.

They could run a contest calling on clients to take fun snaps incorporating their product with the best entry winning a prize, like this one. While simultaneously creating organically generated content, this strategy also achieves heightened brand visibility and generates a sense of community around your brand.

3. Embrace Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing is the creation of memorable experiences through engaging consumers on a personal level. It can be a much more effective way to reach customers than running regular advertisements. Consider holding live events, seasonal stores, and even out-of-store virtual reality experiences that help customers uniquely interact with your brand.

For example, a beauty brand could generate an app feature that allows you to try virtual makeup using your phone. Having a way your audience can be embraced in the experience you offer, and not just have it to sell as a product.

4. Think Outside the Box – Utilize Guerrilla Marketing Tactics

The point of guerrilla marketing is not simply using creative skills to make cool ads or campaigns, but achieving higher impact with low cost that can be very far-fetched. This might be various types of concepts like street art, flash mobs, or artistic installations in public areas. If you can spin it into something so out of the ordinary and unexpected that onlookers stop to look at it in wonder, then a conversation piece is a talking point.

So, the fitness brand could have free workouts in a busy park by setting up a shop with a pop-up gym. This drives brand awareness and prompts user participation and social sharing to increase the campaign’s reach.

5. Collaborate with Influencers in Unexpected Ways

Influencer marketing is not only thinking out of the box, but a novel idea will be to make it so, that instead of just sponsoring posts, partner with influencers on creative projects that make sense for your brand.

A home decor brand, for example, could collaborate with interior designers and influencers to design a line of exclusive pieces. But not only that this partnership lets you tap into the influencers

6. Think Outside the Box – Tap into the Power of Storytelling

Storytelling is a highly effective marketing device however, to think out of the box one needs to tell such stories that are completely less than predictable and binding. Try to share less of the traditional brand stories but rather tell customer stories or behind-the-scenes moments (creating an exclusive feel) that are too good to be true, rather than just lies about how amazing your company is. More reputable barriers can even discuss some kind of failings and then tell us what you did differently afterward.

This could be your startup sharing its experience from idea to launch in the form of a video series, and all the trials and tribulations that happened in between. In a world filled with photoshopped and Instagram-filtered influencer posts, this human content builds trust and relatability around your brand.

Also Read: Proven Tactics to Make Your Small Manufacturing Business More Profitable

7. Think Outside the Box – Launch a BAF (Bring a Friend) Day

A BAF (Bring a Friend) Day is a great, fun method of growing your clientele without having to pay big money! The idea is straightforward—ask your existing customers to bring a friend with them so both can try out for free or at a reduced cost. This approach gets new customers in the door but most importantly it creates an entertaining social platform for your recurring customer base.

For instance, a gym could hold a BAF Day where current members bring in friends with them to participate in their workout. Not only does this allow prospective clients to see the gym but it builds rapport with members, which is key. The social factor of this event allows for engagement, and possibly word-of-mouth advertising driving even more people to your page.

Restaurants could adopt BAF days by offering food for free to friends — as opposed to businesses that have internal Friends and Family Day, markdowns they offer customers on F&F do not require posting in public space the fact that you are getting a discount) while software companies can help host demos/bring-a-friend-and-your-peers-day. If that event is good enough that you feel your customers will want to do it and they also have other friends or colleagues who use the same app, think about all those potential new downloads reset on referral.

8. Experiment with Non-Traditional Channels

Although social media and email marketing are essential, do not be afraid to think outside the box and use non-traditional channels to reach your audience. It could also involve podcasting, building an online community, or even cleverly using offline tactics such as direct mail.

For example, a tech company might start its podcast about coaching other software developers on certain best practices and philosophic approaches or in general offering tips to the industry which then at this point cements that brand as having superior thought leadership in that space. A door-to-door service provider might even go so far as to send customers a hand-written thank-you note, adding the much-needed personal touch that is often lost in digital communications.

9. Think outside the box – Measure, Learn, and Adapt

Thinking outside the box is not a one-time occurrence but an everyday practice. But do not forget, that you need to be able to measure the performance of your creative marketing campaigns and learn from it. Monitor engagement, conversion rates, and customer feedback with the help of analytics/tracking.

So, if a particular concept does not perform as you thought then take out its analysis and accordingly reshape your approach. Even the most radical ideas need some adaptation at times to live up to their potential.

10. Create a Cash-Back Customer Loyalty Program

Here are some ways that this cash-back customer incentives loyalty program can be used to build a stronger connection with your customers while increasing the frequency at which they purchase from you. In comparison to conventional point-based loyalty programs, the cash-back system provides instant gratification rewards, which is more attractive among customers.

You could, for example, allow a certain cash-back percentage on each purchase to be used towards future purchases. This prevents customers from coming back and increases the overall shopping experience for them. Because the cash-back program is so open and simple for consumers, it becomes easy to comprehend too, which sparks consumer interest in participating.

Moreover, to make this even more engaging you could add higher cash-back rates on special promotions or for purchasing certain items. With this strategy, you can not only increase your sales but also give them an urgency that forces the customer to buy.

Implementing a cash-back customer loyalty program is an effective way of brand promotion as it rewards customers instantly while increasing your sales which turns out to be beneficial for both business and clientele.

Crafting a Viral-Worthy Digital Marketing Campaign

Some out-of-the-box marketing campaigns have the potential to go viral, grabbing headlines and buzz by attracting a lot of attention. This is how you can create a think outside the box marketing campaign with viral potential, by developing ideas that closest fulfill the everyday challenges experienced by your target audience while still being inherently shareable. The secret to creating shared campaigns is creativity with relevance — your campaign should either evoke strong feelings or provide some sort of benefit that gets people talking.

Innovative campaigns are important but should be coupled with digital marketing strategies that are more foundational in driving impact. Posting on social media–Make sure your site is educational and interactive, boost tweets, and optimize your Business Page to help make the campaign better Balancing the creative with due diligence in marketing will expand your campaign far beyond just a good idea, and into viral success.