Business Goodness: The Art of Connecting Emotionally

Source Credit: Every Stock Photo

In the last year as I've sought to greatly restructure my business I've learned a great many things.  When I started my business years before I had to operate on a much more limited mindset.  It was a very structural view and it was the greater majority of the teachings of the time.  One thing I didn't particular like was "target market" definition.  Older definings of this focus on very technical data, which while perfectly relevant and valid are horridly boring.  It's like cutting out a cardboard cut out of a person.  The likeness may be there but its rather flat and it needs more support then just basic facts, it needs personality.

As an artist it's easy to see your work in a gallery or hanging on someone's wall, even as it sits on the easel.  But for those like me where the art takes on a less conventional form in the form of basic home decor and wearables, considering personality of your market is even more important.  Art communicates feeling, its the means of expression by which the artist shares an emotion they wish to convey.

While contemplating my market yet again and thinking on words from Laura George & Marie Forleo I came across this concept Marie puts out there about defining your market, to consider their "greatest fears & deepest desires".  For me part of my mission is to breed positivity, so I chose to consider the latter only.  (I also couldn't think of much to say for the former either.)

In a conversation with friend and fellow creative Zoe Goode I expressed the imagery I had in mind and how I came to it.  She replied with these words which move me even now:

I think it is different with art than business in general.  We're not so much solving a pain problem, its more a desire for beauty that we're fulfilling and maybe the problem is our idea client might not be able to directly verbalise and communicate that desire until they are captured by our work and feel it well up in them.

See what I mean, utterly moving, and I couldn't agree more!

As the conversation continued on, our fearless leader, Laura C. George added this which I also found greatly inspiring:

I think people are worried about sounding superficial when they say they want to be beautiful. But there is something wonderful and magical in our world about beauty. What a magnificent place we live that things can be so beautiful and reach our souls so deeply. There's nothing wrong with wanting to wear beautiful things or look beautiful yourself. You just want to be a part of all that soulfulness that happens when someone sees something beautiful.

So when we think about our target market as more than just words, but a feeling, seeing, needing, wanting person who shares some of our hopes and dreams and sequesters our fears away as well it becomes so much easier to connect with that energy as an artist.  I never was one for strictly facts and figures, I like a little soul, a little meaning in my thoughts.

Thanks for tuning in!  I'd love to hear your thoughts about target markets below!  How do you feel about the old model versus the new one?  Will this make you rethink your target audience now?  What else might you add?  If this is your first time stopping by the blog be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you can hear that exclusive behind-the-scenes conversation I don't put out there and drop by social media to connect with me in real time!