How Your Business Is Like Barbie
On 9 March 1959, Barbie was launched on an unsuspecting world.
By 2006, Mattel claimed that there were 3 Barbie's sold every second around the world (which just as an aside, is approximately equivalent to the numbers of human babies born each second).
Your Business is Like Barbie Barbie is one of the most well known brands around the world, and yet I can pretty much guarantee that many businesses, no matter how big or small, are identical to Barbie.
How can that be? Barbie's shape essentially doesn't change, but her clothing does.
This is the same for most businesses in their marketing.
They copy, without thought, what other people are doing and just dress their marketing with different colours and pictures.
If you undress the marketing of the business's name, colour and pictures, you would not be able to tell businesses apart.
Barbie is plastic and has no heart.
Most businesses struggle with letting the heart of their business shine through.
They feel safer looking and feeling the same as everyone else, rather than showing their unique human qualities.
They don't value the diversity of their team members, or encourage them to bring all of their skills to work.
Barbie is essentially un-bendable.
Most businesses find change hard - they are slow to take on new ideas or challenge how they have been doing things.
Is this a problem? Yes - you are not Barbie, but an imitation of Barbie.
By trying to be something you are not, you are ignoring the pieces inside you and your business that have the greatest potential to make you wildly successful.
So how can you kill Barbie in your business? 1.
Decide that you are no longer willing to be plastic.
That you are willing to let your human side through, to show the world that your business is made up of living breathing human beings who want to interact with their customers and the community around them.
Talk with your customers.
Engage with social media.
Share your unique voice and your expertise with the people around you.
Rewrite your marketing material to showcase the real people in your business and what makes you unique.
2.
Be open to mistakes.
Humans make mistakes & life isn't perfect.
At the first hurdle, don't retreat back to Barbie land - find ways to improve your feedback and complaints process, improve your guarantees, support your team when they make mistakes and create ways to make it right with your customers.
Review all of your standard letters you send after mistakes - are they human or plastic? 3.
Have those hard conversations.
Most hard conversations are avoided, not because you are protecting the feelings of the person on the receiving end, but because you are afraid of your own "stuff".
Discuss the sacred cows in your business - are you really making a difference, do people enjoy working and engaging with your business, where are you as a business making stuff ups, where are you truly exceptional? Ask for feedback, then take action.
4.
Uncover the other hidden Barbie's in your business.
If your marketing has more than a nod to Barbie, you can guarantee other parts of your business have Barbie elements as well.
Which parts of your manager's approaches, systems and processes need to be humanised? 5.
Find your own brand and voice, and don't be afraid to change.
You don't have to be the same as every other business.
Find your niche and work with customers you love.
The clearer you are on who you want to work with and how you can help them, the better your business will be.
And allow who you are to naturally change and develop over time - who your business served 3 years ago may be different today.
Allow your voice and branding to change to match your new direction.
I am not saying Barbie is bad - she is great for what she is, a doll for kids to play with.
But, in business, if you truly want to be successful, then you need to make your business a Barbie free zone, and allow the heart of your business to beat through clearly and strongly.
By 2006, Mattel claimed that there were 3 Barbie's sold every second around the world (which just as an aside, is approximately equivalent to the numbers of human babies born each second).
Your Business is Like Barbie Barbie is one of the most well known brands around the world, and yet I can pretty much guarantee that many businesses, no matter how big or small, are identical to Barbie.
How can that be? Barbie's shape essentially doesn't change, but her clothing does.
This is the same for most businesses in their marketing.
They copy, without thought, what other people are doing and just dress their marketing with different colours and pictures.
If you undress the marketing of the business's name, colour and pictures, you would not be able to tell businesses apart.
Barbie is plastic and has no heart.
Most businesses struggle with letting the heart of their business shine through.
They feel safer looking and feeling the same as everyone else, rather than showing their unique human qualities.
They don't value the diversity of their team members, or encourage them to bring all of their skills to work.
Barbie is essentially un-bendable.
Most businesses find change hard - they are slow to take on new ideas or challenge how they have been doing things.
Is this a problem? Yes - you are not Barbie, but an imitation of Barbie.
By trying to be something you are not, you are ignoring the pieces inside you and your business that have the greatest potential to make you wildly successful.
So how can you kill Barbie in your business? 1.
Decide that you are no longer willing to be plastic.
That you are willing to let your human side through, to show the world that your business is made up of living breathing human beings who want to interact with their customers and the community around them.
Talk with your customers.
Engage with social media.
Share your unique voice and your expertise with the people around you.
Rewrite your marketing material to showcase the real people in your business and what makes you unique.
2.
Be open to mistakes.
Humans make mistakes & life isn't perfect.
At the first hurdle, don't retreat back to Barbie land - find ways to improve your feedback and complaints process, improve your guarantees, support your team when they make mistakes and create ways to make it right with your customers.
Review all of your standard letters you send after mistakes - are they human or plastic? 3.
Have those hard conversations.
Most hard conversations are avoided, not because you are protecting the feelings of the person on the receiving end, but because you are afraid of your own "stuff".
Discuss the sacred cows in your business - are you really making a difference, do people enjoy working and engaging with your business, where are you as a business making stuff ups, where are you truly exceptional? Ask for feedback, then take action.
4.
Uncover the other hidden Barbie's in your business.
If your marketing has more than a nod to Barbie, you can guarantee other parts of your business have Barbie elements as well.
Which parts of your manager's approaches, systems and processes need to be humanised? 5.
Find your own brand and voice, and don't be afraid to change.
You don't have to be the same as every other business.
Find your niche and work with customers you love.
The clearer you are on who you want to work with and how you can help them, the better your business will be.
And allow who you are to naturally change and develop over time - who your business served 3 years ago may be different today.
Allow your voice and branding to change to match your new direction.
I am not saying Barbie is bad - she is great for what she is, a doll for kids to play with.
But, in business, if you truly want to be successful, then you need to make your business a Barbie free zone, and allow the heart of your business to beat through clearly and strongly.
