Design Strategy: Hope or Hype — The conclusion 3/3 | How do we market our creative services?

Stupid, what José showed me was a framework on how to

design

a better user experience, not how to

design

a website, a better user experience and understand branding, what immediately became apparent to me was that this is a framework that could apply to anything. applied to anything you know when you haven't seen a therapist I'm not shy about admitting that how does the therapist know how to solve your problems? Does that bother you? I know they already know that when you walked in the door you have a mommy and daddy problem, someone hits you, something didn't love you enough and here's the answer, but if they go, if you go in first, they make you. 100 dollars 100 dollars an hour and that's it, thanks and that's it, the problem is when they tell you, marks, your dad didn't love you enough, your mom drank too much and you get enough attention as a child. since Wawa you don't know me let me tell you my story my dad didn't love me enough and you're going to tell them exactly the same thing I swear this is what happened okay and you already know one of my talks I would talk about this: the experts ask questions, amateurs give advice, okay, the therapist has been trained to ask you questions and find out what is the root of the problem, not a symptom, and they do it in a way where you realize the answer because they.

I've known the answer for a long time, thousands of you have seen it before, believe me, it's like I'm not seeing, oh my God, it's like witchcraft, how did you know this about me? It's as if your birth order is due to age. Besides, your family structure says that this is who you are and 99% of the time it is true, it is a good foundation, so if we say that a therapist is an expert, not everyone can become a therapist, not all children of Elance or oDesk are therapists, what's up? the difference really is the same, the execution is the same, it's the self-discovery part, the part that makes you feel good about accepting the solution, which is the magic and that's why the

market

ing people in the room are pays a huge amount of money for such a long time. do it well, some don't do it well, my thing is, and this is the good news for all the

creative

people, who know about execution, know about aesthetics, they can be that magical hybrid person if they were willing to learn the business part, the strategic part, the

market

ing part, if you can put that together, you are incredibly invincible and if I were a violent person, I would kick this chair and end the talk, but we are not going to do this with sarin in the boards we are not, it is a metaphor, guys, reach, no, don't do it right, you understand what I'm saying, so this was the revelation, so what I did was I looked at this thing, this frame that's in front. from me, which if you want to call it something it's just a series of questions, ladies and gentlemen, that's all, it's a carefully crafted series of questions and I took this and I had a conference call two days later and this was the oldest client that Daniel Brewster talked about and you guys will see that video too.

I tried it on them and I even know what he was doing, so imagine if someone said, don't go to school, don't get your bachelor's degree, don't get your master's degree. don't get your PhD tomorrow I'll give you this read this and you'll meet your first euro therapist client today you'd say no way and they said if you do it openly, honestly and transparently, tell them This is the first time I don't have a degree but I'm going to do this for you, so see how it works and if it works great, pay me and you do it, they're impressed, it's not even possible.

I'm telling you right now Marc posh, not only is it possible, I'm living proof of it and everyone in this company, in that action that we are taking as a company, is the result of that decision. Now you are also an excellent designer, which is thank you, which is also an ideal situation knowing the

strategy

and being able to execute the beautiful design, which I see a lot, although this goes back now, we go back to our original reason why we are here is to implement a

strategy

. Think with similar questions, something that comes from the business side anyway, so it makes it almost as easy because it's not easy to convince a client that you don't need to leave out clear things.

In fact, it is not easy, since we think not, let me tell you why it is not possible to convince. Don't convince anyone of anything. I'm hurting hard times. You convince someone to come out. Check it out, so that's it. I don't convince them. Honestly, I swear the internet gets really angry because there's a closet. Today we talk about these things. I don't convince them. I'm just telling you, from my experience, you know? This is what these things are because I've already gotten my money for the part I did if you want. Hire us, we will be happy to do it.

I can give you references. Hire whoever you want now, who in their right mind would say: wow, you understand this so well, you've helped bring to light things we didn't know, you put our needs first. Yours, you have acted in the best interests of our company, advising us where and how to spend the money and you are saying that there are no conditions why it would go to someone else. You simply looked at the soul of our company. You just told us things you didn't. didn't tell us that it helped us understand things about our customers that we didn't know before and if we acted on some of these things, we could actually move the needle, we could increase our market share, we could close a higher percentage of business, we could reach the right people, okay, so I'm going to give you some practical things that she doesn't want to be a talk.

I don't mean, as much as I would like to argue with you, we want to do. this productive right is this and this was in a TED talk and I don't remember which TED talk was okay if you want to get to the root of it, which is what we want to get to and I'll give you some things you can do. but if you want to get the root, try this guys, ask a client when she prescribes something to you. We want it bigger, we want it smaller. We want to build a new website. We want to launch this marketing campaign.

We want to make a new package. all I want you to do is do this, ask them why three times just ask why and not like an idiot is the idiot clap let's see who I like my kids like why don't you like that but why I want to know why we want to build a new website, well we are reaching your customers, why do you think you are reaching your customers? Oh well, I don't know, I'm not sure our products are very good, so do you think designing a new website? website and solve the customer's challenge, why don't we try to solve the problem?

It would create a better product and let's confirm that with some research and asking users what they think of your product, let's make sure it sounds like a good strategy. I think that's what we're talking about if you just ask why you know and if you ask why a couple of times you get to the truth of who you are, two very powerful things that therapists do. I think I've reached the total. About ten sessions, I don't think I remember, but it's not much, it's not decades and I learned the game very quickly. I'm going to share something I do and I

hope

you can do it too.

Here's a life hack it's not easy, but it is a life hack when you meet with a consultant, a teacher or a therapist, anyone from whom you may have something to learn. The first thing you do is just be present here, everything he says, you realize how similar Mark speaks. I'm writing notes and filled out my card for you guys to ask questions. Did anyone else right now Spencer do it because that's how he's right because I'm listening closely. That's the first thing you should do and the second thing you should do. What I have to do, which is much more difficult, is try to see the dialogue between Mark and I from the third person even though you are in the conversation.

I know it's super weird. That's what I do. Okay, so when I tell you something. I'll give you an example. I was walking through the Beverly Center Mall on Santa Monica Boulevard. Okay, I'm walking and there's a cosmetics store and it caught my eye in an unattractive way. I looked at her. She looked at me for a second and tried to love me. come and I looked at her for a second smile and she smiles and says you know, I want to ask you a question walking into the store and handing myself to the next person, I ask, can I give you a sample? then you started skiing like me, buddy, and then it's like looking into your eyes, your left eye versus your right hand.

I'm fine, I'm fine and you know I have a weakness. It's hard for me to say. not people who are nice to me despite the whole sales context and if it had been a different price, well, I might have bought something. I wonder how much she costs like $400. Look, a Florida dollar for an eye cream, forget it. I just look old, okay, and the whole time I was upset like I got tricked into a free sample and I had to do something for 10 minutes and you're going to tell me about this, you obviously recruited the wrong guy.

Attracting a woman, it might be okay, you're just not going to get me sold, but I marveled at the whole process, since Noida it wasn't like they get this person to attract you, they put the attractive people that I can. I don't give your free sample some kind of question that you can't say no to so the ninja I made eye contact with was doomed and then they hand you over to the salesperson on the right and they don't ask you to buy anything they go to this . the whole process they know about reciprocity they do something for you you will do something for them and it doesn't have to be the same and we will give you a free evaluation and some advice about your skin I care about your room right but I "Oh my God, they are so good that I need to go home and write the script.

Oh what's happening to me because it's very effective, except for the last part, they went to the wrong person, so this is what I want to say, but I'm right now wondering what's happening here's my money too abcdefg this is what's happening to me so when the therapist was asking me questions like all what's the answer oh my god what question are you asking me why do I feel this way and I'm taking note of it because my goal in life is not to be in therapy for the rest of my life, so I'm studying and those are the best 10 times $100 I've ever spent, that's $1,000.

I just realized. I should having said that chest, I'm smarter, that's the best thousand dollars I ever spent because it was a first class education on how to ask questions and how to get answers from your client, okay, remember, say this and I'm in automatic control. I already answered this and this is a very popular thing. I have to educate the client. Doesn't that sound so condescending? Let me tell you about your business, successful millionaire, you know? Let me tell you what kind of smart decisions you have to make. to save you from yourself it works better by a hair, okay, but you know the root of the word educate, do you know what educate me does not mean put it means extract education does not mean here is the market research here is my 30 years of experience in design, here is my first big pedigree in design, this is what my design teachers told me and here are the latest books by Paul Rand and blah blah blah, educate educate means extract so that our entire educational system is ruined because of the way it means to draw. so if I take the approach of asking questions listening without aim just wondering stay I want to try to help you it's a wonderful thing okay I have five points here come five points you the rules of collaboration lead mixes okay one there are five rules strategy before development we have to know what we are doing we have to know why we are doing it and for what purpose strategy before development number one so don't do that you are already screwed with the continuous reference to said strategy if you don't have the strategy, there is no reference to said strategy, it becomes totally subjective, okay, okay, it moves a lot make it relevant relevant movements equally make it innovative use an eye for the beholder innovation to use non-innovation for someone else three because we have developed a strategy because we continue to reference it, so we must have freedom to execute it because we've already locked it into something and there are no more surprises at this point, it's okay because we will provide fewer higher quality options this goes straight to what you are tied to in school iterate 100 sketches that is stupid and one of the master letters in letter form the artist lived young he was a fan of making a thousand rhymes he was just very good at them obviously a master could just sit there and write letters because it's like a painting or a sculpture we're just trying to find the way, how do we know when it's done when we say that, how do we convince the client that we can't and lastly? is that we will present our own work, which is less important to me, you follow the first floor, you are pretty good, okay, strategy before development, continuous reference to strategy, the freedom to execute and we will give you now because we have an objective measure , less better quality options when you guys like that nice framework, so we have strategy and design combined in one solid package, so oh yeah, I don't want to show the gnomes that they exist.

I do not see themas separate concepts, no, they are not right and you know it. before I continue with another complaint, here is the design, I mean I like Mart, a new design of marriage definition, it is the process of inventing a

creative

solution to a problem. I just like to define the problem now as beyond, like giving a place a facelift. I want to help clients solve a business problem because then I speak the same language and we talk about the same things and I'm not the last one to receive the report. I'm the one who wrote the report and so on now.

We can address your questions, that's great guys, so here we go, let's address your questions right now. When I initially had a question, what was my strategy, who was asking. The question: what are my stars? Do you think you are asking correctly? The first strategy of the particular process. Do you have a static process that you know for each project or do you keep it in-house? Do you prefer to articulate certain projects depending on you know the type of project it is or say the budget is something you know, so it always starts with a question that always makes the modified strategy definitely one of the first steps, but we have a solid questionnaire that we review and it varies a little depending on the project it is a type of project but it always starts with a lot of questions and it is not yours ideally in person yes, I think chemistry is very important and it comes back to the therapy situation o'clock, it is almost like when once If you go through those questions, you have a better chance of connecting with a customer, so ideally yes in person and then it's not a questionnaire, then it's not a questionnaire that is sent out and

hope

fully with a consistent response Yes, I am precise. that the discovery, the definition, the design development process, so that's more or less the classic, otherwise, you don't dislike it, eh, you can discuss it as they discussed it, yes, well, your reflection face, no you're happy doing it, you just like it because please tell me. how to do it is the only way I can get a client.

I'll deal with this nonsense. I mean, look, if you don't believe in it, you do it, you're just following the formalities and that's a problem. Now there are several. The people in our community love and Daniel who has the kit, there is a $500 kit, they have the child, they make the kit with the intention of trying to get something good out of it, but unfortunately they don't bring to light what needs to be brought to light. surface because I think I'm thinking I'm ready to design. I have to go through this process. It sounds smart and knowing a little more when I'm done, but ultimately building well what I want, that's not strategy and I want to give them something first. we're done it's not like an Oprah moment there's nothing under your chairs I want to tell you the key difference between what I understand is that I'm thinking about being then what's on the board and maybe what we've been talking about because we still have not yet.

I've come to that, so we've answered your question, Spencer, how is the mark applied? In my opinion, you can't do a quiz, you can't, you can't, you can't say why because you can't ask why three times the question. You haven't answered if you like what it is that you want and then you ask yourself why why it seems like a small feeling you have this question there where you have these specific questions that you ask every time does the result surprise you sometimes yes quite a bit? often it at least starts a conversation that is very important, so it opens a dialogue that we wouldn't otherwise have, where we would just get the report and it's also something I use even when someone sends a query about a poor project and I'm not very sure if this is going to happen or not, but when I send them a questionnaire and I have to answer 20 questions, the chance of them becoming 2 increases, they take the project seriously and increase dramatically hoping that you understand what said marketing. in I don't accept it, we all understand that, well, you understand well what Mark just said.

I guess then what do you say? I was basically saying that his questionnaire is what interests them in designing, how to use it for design. My question was you. he said it starts a dialogue that wouldn't have started and wouldn't have started otherwise, couldn't you have started that dialogue and skipped the questionnaire and gotten to the root cause from the beginning? I mean, it's a little bit based on our experience with what board action is relevant information on how to wait for the brahmic line, in that sense the catalog helps a little bit to get to the core of things, but again it also serves multiple purposes , ok, I want to jump. because I have a reaction to what Mark said and I want to say this in the most emphatic clear way.

I can tell if I hear it correctly. Mark said that he does the questionnaire, the strategy version of it simply as a sales tool. as a means of vetting clients if they really want to hire you, so if you ask a question saying that you are the murderer, well, what

conclusion

will you come away with? You must be the murderer, not a very good detective to me, I go into your answer answer your question It always surprises me and it doesn't surprise me at all how I can be both I sound like Mark Bosch It always surprises me because I'm learning things that I don't I know nothing and I'm not surprised because I didn't go in with any assumptions about what this was going to be.

In fact, I tell clients from the beginning. I have read little or nothing. I have not profiled your company. I haven't gone any further. the first page of your website, but rather a cursory overview of what you stand for because I don't want to come in here with assumptions about what you do or what you want to do. This should be open and will work anyway. direction it should go, so when they hear that they first get a little taken aback and say, well, that sounds a little vague, it's kind of a weird excuse that you didn't come prepared, but I've seen the opposite.

This happens when the facilitators go to the meeting and they over-prepare, it's like they're saying, well, that's why you didn't do this well and you know they like to go and call the competitors, people have worked there, they do all these things and So let's just go on a

conclusion

mission. I already know what we're going to end up with, so I won't be surprised now that they don't expect you to have to know the industry or your company. but they expect to have qualified people to ask quality questions, that's my experience and it's totally true and that's why it's very important to me to be prepared in some way and get them even involved in answering. really important, a little more sophisticated and it's just you being the killer, etc., but if they're really involved in the process, if their response is that they're diving in and it's very intimate at some points or even then, this gives me a feeling. that they're actually very dedicated and that's just fishing and just playing, that's why you're like, well, that's the difference when you shared your soap story.

I think you strategized the way it should be done because I don't know anything about this: at first it was considered a dollar soap, it's not expensive, but then for people, selling it is a luxury and it's something we can celebrate and empower women about what Did you discover something that surprised you and it wasn't about whether it was your initial motivation or not, to get them to take seriously what you were doing? It was really about bringing to light something that they themselves didn't know and you're successful in doing that and I applaud you for doing that now the relationship that you're going to have with that particular client is going to be radically different from that of the clients, right, let's change. the graphics, let's change this, let's do something cool and fun and innovative, just do that, isn't that much more aligned with your brand, whatever that means now at China Creek and overall, I have to say that our business has evolved in that direction and am I really enjoying it?

I know this is kind of funny, it's the post. that you put in our group it sounds like you're arguing for the same thing you're arguing again my conflict is just that we see so many bad designs you know as a result of okay, understand, okay, I care because, okay, you're the king of the No design, okay, okay, if that design is being done, I say it's an opportunity for good design, yes, if strategic design companies are being bought and sought after, very valuable, well, that's good news, introduce yourself as such mmm, you already have the design. things now let's look at what works yes, I was wondering what the question is, that's why I wanted to talk to you about this, it's a general trend, if the whole industry is moving in this direction, it's a whole industry that can't, creativity is decreasing. the value of creativity is declining while other parts of strategies are suddenly skyrocketing so it's like lost capital or not, I don't think these are mutually exclusive concepts just because strategy being on the right doesn't also mean design is in decline.

It is not a zero sum game there may be winners in strategy and there may be winners in design there will be traditional classical designers who will do very well from now until they want to retire totally fine, I am seeing less and less evidence of that and they will be strategists who they'll make wonderful, beautiful, clever designs, all that kind of stuff. There will be one who will do terrible things. I can choose where I want to be. I prefer to be the strategic design company that understands business needs along with fantastic design. Well, I feel like design for a lot of companies has grown so much that it's more of an implicit end result and getting to what you design and figuring out the strategy.

Strategizing root causes will only help you in the design process, like helping you design the right thing. Well, I feel like a lot of companies know they need design, but they don't know why, but they will go to a design company and they will choose the one who knows the strategy, so they will design the right thing, why would they do that? If you could choose as a customer, put yourself in the customer's shoes for a second price. If you were the customer and there is one company, there are many. of shiny things, but you don't understand how they do what they do, why they do what they do, any kind of results that they get, and then you have another company that has a very clearly established process to help them expose their weaknesses. and they have case study after case study that shows how they understood the problem and brought something new to the table, helped understand something, who would you choose?

I chose the strategy, well, yeah, that's like bringing a knife to a gunfight, now let me leave it. I get into this, okay, look at this guy, we're about to get really meta and we probably need to end tonight like this, okay, the word I didn't write down is collaboration, so now something's okay, look at this. We talk about what we should do for our clients. This it is. Are we doing it ourselves? Do we understand your business? We tell our clients they need to understand their business, but do we understand their business? Do we understand our?

Are we focusing on our target audience for every customer who appreciates solid, smart business-driven solutions with great design? There are hundreds more who don't, but let's not sit here and cry for the hundred who don't let the great answers and let the fibers of the world fight over them because I'm not interested in them, let's get over it, just get over it completely, guys Are we researching competitors in our space? Just apply the same framework to yourself and how are you differentiating yourself from everyone else that's out there? Okay, there's an endless supply of beautiful design work in the logo identity space and folders full of them.

If you do logo identity work, what will set you apart? You could be better than a butt. better than everyone else and unless you talk to someone, they have a highly trained eye, they can't tell the difference. It's true that you stretch your type to ten percent. I can, they can't tell you have extra space after your period, they can. I didn't realize you didn't use an apostrophe, footmark use, but I can, but to them it doesn't matter, so now you're on an undifferentiated, non-unique product, and if the world is looking for design solutions from business leaders, now you will. no longer relevant, game over man, sorry for quoting Bill Paxton, aliens, sorry, just reference the game, man, what are we talking about here, you know what we do there.

I think you only have two options right now, just sit down. Hey, keep going with him. schedule and get a piece of this B, you buy a big box of Kleenex tissues and cry yourself into bed every night, those are your two options and right now I'm out of Kleenex, that's it, the only thing I said . I'm going to tell you and I'm not going to go too deep into two because it's like another three hours. All of this focuses on one thing: the user. This is what design thinking about the user means and the user is not the user. customer is the customer customer when we understand who they are what they want what their challenges are what it's like to walk in their shoes look at the world through their eyes this is where we find some magical things brand founded the soap user is this very aspirational, like justscrape a person who considers a dollar bar of soap as an affordable luxury, that is the user's weak point when we understand that we speak to them authentically, we are relevant to them in their world, we appreciate them, they appreciate us.

And keep in mind, going back to the example, we were talking to a guy from his own company. He's definitely not a luxury-for-a-dollar type of person. It's got a Jaguar outside, so we might as well give you a really sexy, glossy luxury campaign with the global classy imagery, but really the selling point was the wearability and that's what really created this beautiful story that's now been released, yeah, well the thing is you, for the few of you that know what I'm talking about, that are part of our tribe, that understand the framework that I'm talking about, there are things that you can do today and right now and I.

I'm going to give it to you hope just for free because you showed up because I like you and you smell good, okay, I'm going to give it to you for free, totally free, okay, when Mark Posh says well, what are you asking for? these people, what are the good questions? What are high-quality questions you can ask? In fact, you can arrive at a meeting unprepared. Would you like to know what that is? Would you like to be a poker player? I think maybe it's the right time. come on you're kidding i love this elaborate here when you opened the door like no one was home i left ok ok look all you have to do is ask the person what your goal is what you want to achieve and I just have to listen, it's really not that complicated, it could be that Craig wants to find happiness in his relationship and then all I have to do is go down that rabbit hole, well Craig, what's getting in the way your path to find happiness in your relationship?

That's my second question the three golden questions the three golden questions all you have to do is ask those questions mark knows what I'm talking about rather than the quality of the question that's important to say it right what are you dealing with of doing? and the last question is your last general question: why do you think that's true and you sit there like an idiot and you write and you listen and you know what they say oh my god, you're a genius, yeah? yes I know, here is the invoice, that's all you need to do.

Mark what you want to be successful, to be loved, to be all these kinds of things, what's getting in the way, my bitterness, well, whatever it is, whatever he's responding to, like that, why? you think that's true because it's true I say yeah it's true believe me okay guys mark posh thank you for coming thank you for coming and I appreciate you coming here and I know this took a little while. Ya, thanks for being such a wonderful audience, Mark, no hard feelings. You and I were very good friends. In fact, I love Mark because he helps me figure out what I need to say, because I have to respond to everything he does very clearly and emphatically. terms, he's the genesis, probably more than half of the posts I write there, so you guys like who Chris is, so angry about why he writes, it's like a damn brand.

I have or write the answer that I will publish as an article.