What Businesses Need to Know Right Now About Defying the Status Quo

​What led you to create your business Defy The Status Quo – and why defiant?

It’s never been my style to just get in line.

I had been working as a freelance writer. One day I said to myself, “You know what – there’s more to this. There’s more to me, and there’s a brand here.” I brainstormed a lot of different names, but one of the things that really hit me was that I specialize in working with B2B companies. These are usually professional service-type companies. They could be in marketing, consulting, sales, supply chain – those types of companies. And the status quo was that the content was kind of boring for these types of businesses. Yet, what my clients always appreciated about me was that I created content and their strategies that were out of the box. I came up with things that their competitors weren’t doing – and that was the key to getting noticed.

Professional sometimes seems to be synonymous with boring. But there’s a lot you can do while still maintaining your professional bearing – and not putting everyone to sleep. And so that was where it came from.

We are purposely defying the status quo and doing something different.

“Has your business become mired in the status quo? Is it keeping you from differentiating yourself and preventing you from thriving? Now may be the ideal time to take a hard look at your business and make sure you’re doing all you can to set yourself apart from the pack, so that you get the recognition and notice you need and deserve.”

How can businesses use content to help them with marketing?

You need to determine how you want to be perceived.

In my case, I chose “Defy The Status Quo,” – but I had never done a video, for example. I had never created a video and shown my face on LinkedIn, and I was worried. I didn’t want it to be somebody just running their mouth for five minutes and then getting off and nobody ever watching it again. And this little thing made me realize, “Okay, I’m defiant.” I realized that there were going to be people who don’t like this. And that’s the point.

In marketing and sales, people talk about, “Oh, let’s qualify leads…” At the same time that you’re qualifying leads, you’re also disqualifying others. You’re saying this lead is good and this lead is bad.

Your content should do the same thing.

Your content should qualify and disqualify people. For example, if there are people who say, “Oh, I didn’t like this new video style she’s using. I just don’t like it.” Then they’re not the people for me. Because should I happen to take them on as a client, but then they don’t like some of the things I do, I’m going to hear, “Well, we’ve never done it that way before.” And that’s a red flag for me – because that’s the point. That’s why we’re doing it right now.

You have to be okay with some people not liking you – but that’s not really how we like to roll as humans. We want people to like us.

In marketing and sales – and everything you do – you can’t talk to everyone. Everybody is not your community, and that is what your content should serve to help you with. It can qualify and disqualify the people who will contact you. And that’s a good thing because that means we’re not wasting each other’s time.

“Are you using your content to speak to everyone? Or have you been able to hone your message so that it speaks to the clients and customers you want to attract? You could be spending too much time on people who aren’t genuinely interested in your offerings – and it may be time to change your messaging.”

Is there a marketing trend this group should keep their eyes on?

Empathy is going to be huge, and this requires a break outside of the norm. For example, on LinkedIn, you’re seeing representatives of enterprise-sized businesses showing up in a more genuine manner.

Right now, we’re all Zooming, and that means dogs are barking, packages are being delivered, and children are interrupting – and we have to learn how to be empathetic about these things.

How does this apply to your marketing? You don’t necessarily have to over edit or over polish the content that you’re producing. You want it to fit your brand perception.

This is a great opportunity for us as individual professionals and as company representatives to show humanity in our brand. This is a great opportunity to get some individual faces out there.

“Empathy has often been discouraged in business, but now is the perfect time to embrace it. Is your business showing empathy? Are you showing your humanity and establishing that connection with your clients and customers?”
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3 Action Steps

1. Take a look at your business and make sure you are setting yourself apart from your competition by allowing people to see the real you.
2. Create content that attracts the people you want to work with – and does not speak to everyone – so you are not wasting your time and efforts.
3. Use empathy in your marketing to fit your brand’s perception and connect with clients and customers.

Be sure to connect with Ruthie Bowles on LinkedIn or by signing up for her newsletter.

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