Coming up with new, ideas can be challenging; especially when it comes to marketing where you’re often challenged to use your creative mind and think strategically. This is where brainstorming can be most effective; helping you to step out of the box and consider various avenues to promote your business and reach your audience.
However, brainstorming is more than doodles on a whiteboard. Brainstorming exercises offer a number of benefits that can help you take your business to the next level. Here are 3 reasons to gather the troops and bust out the dry-erase markers!
Brainstorming sparks new ideas. Game for another common saying? “We tend to take the path of least resistance,” especially we need to be creative or come up with a plan. We feel like we’ve checked the box when we come up with the first “right” idea and the We prefer incremental, “safe” ideas. But to help our business be successful, it’s essential to think beyond the “safe” ideas or the path of least resistance. Brainstorming helps us do that; especially exercises that don’t limit the possibilities and encourage you and your team to throw ALL ideas on the table. beyond our well-worn paths of “normal” thinking.
Brainstorming inspires creative solutions. Reverse brainstorming in particular can lead to creative solutions to problems you hadn’t yet encountered. With reverse brainstorming, you anticipate what challenges you could face; which allows you to be proactive instead of reactive and can also help inspire solutions to problems you do have.
Additionally, brainstorming in a group = more brainpower = more creative ideas + encourages the less outspoken members of your team to get involved and share their ideas. If you can get even the “non-creative” folks involved you, might be pleasantly surprised by the ideas and insights they have!
Brainstorming lead to innovative approaches. Have you ever heard the saying, “can’t see the forest for the trees?” This can certainly be true when it comes to marketing planning. Often, we can become so immersed in our business that we can’t see beyond it; we can miss opportunities or overlook possibilities when we fail to step outside the normal, day-to-day. That’s where brainstorming comes in! Whether in an individual or group setting brainstorming can help you look at your business from a different perspective or at least put it in a new context.
For instance, word association, pictures, story boarding, etc. get your brain thinking in new directions, exploring possibilities you may not normally think of.
Now is the time to bust out of the rut and reap the rewards of a good brainstorming sesh! Contact LŪM Studio if you need some ideas to get you started or click here for a number of fun brainstorming exercises to try.