WOM is “Word of Mouth.”  This statistic isn’t specific to the music industry.  What I’m about to write is an idea and I’m curious to hear your feedback and thoughts on it.

If 70% of business comes from WOM, then only 30% comes from other areas of marketing.  Look at your marketing budget.  Actually, I know that you don’t have a marketing budget because this is the music business.  Look at how much you spent on marketing last year or try to quantify how much energy you put into marketing.  What percentage of that time, energy and money went into servicing your existing fan base and empowering them?  These are the people who generate your WOM marketing… and therefore 70% of your new customers.

Now look at how much went into trying to find new fans in other ways.   I don’t know your specific artist, but I’m going to guess if you’re like me, you put a lot of energy into “getting new fans” through internet marketing, posters, radio and publicity.

I think we may have it all wrong though.  I think we need to take a lesson from Zappos, Crocs and Google and put all of the marketing energy into the current customer base.  Blow them away with service and experience.  Your current fan base is where the momentum is already.  Give them a reason for to talk to their friends about your band.  Focus on the fact that 70% of your new fans are going to come from the existing fan base.  How does that change things?  What does this look like and mean for an artist business?

There are two main reasons to take any gig.

1.  Exposure – By definition exposure means “the act of subjecting someone to an influencing experience.”  No matter what development stage your artist business is in, it will always be important to take gigs for exposure to grow awareness of your artist (or “brand”) in untouched markets. Exposing your band to the right audiences can be worth more than upfront money sometimes. It’s all about building the nucleus of your fan base, one person at a time. And you can’t do that if you don’t get out there and expose yourself (oww)! There are lots of different scenarios for what this could mean. Some examples include:

• Playing the right venue for your kind of music.
• Playing with another artist that will have similar fans.
• Playing in a new market.
• Playing in front of an audience with similar lifestyle interests.

2. Money -  Money has an obvious place in our society and an obvious role in your business.  High paying gigs can come from the strangest places.  Some examples of traditionally high paying gigs include municipal festivals, weddings, corporate events.

For every gig you are offered measure how it stacks up on these two factors.  As you do so, apply the following two principles to help see the decision more clearly.

• Both of these factors are relative to the size of the artist. In other words what is a lot of money to a baby band would be nothing to a band at the upper echelon (defined here).  But at either level there is an amount that is considered on the high end of the scale and an amount on the low end of the scale.  Exposure is also relative.  Once you have completely conquered the United States maybe your next market is Europe or Africa.  You might take a gig in one of these places just for the exposure to the new market.

• Consider these factors together like an equation. The equation is Money x Exposure = Gig Rating.  Let’s arbitrarily assign a scale of 1-3 for each factor.  1 is the lowest, 3 is the greatest.  For example let’s say you work with a rock band that plays clubs; If you were offered a wedding gig with big money but minimal or undesirable exposure then I’d say the Money Factor is a 3 and the Exposure Factor is a 1.  In the equation this would be 3 x 1 = 3.  But if it were a wedding where lots of rock promoters will be in attendance then all of the sudden we have an Exposure Factor of 3, or 3×3 = 9!Obviously getting a schedule full of gigs rated at 9 (the highest combination possible on this scale) would be great but that is an indication of a fully developed band.  In any transition point (either in the beginning or with a developed band breaking into new areas of their career) you will get some 3′s (1 x 3) which I think is healthy.  I’ve seen many bands get to the point where they can consistently pull the 9′s and they purposely shake things up to keep the career interesting.

Also regardless of the stage of development of your artist, make note of what worked and what didn’t in relation to your expectations going in.  Possibly, what you thought would be a good exposure gig wasn’t.  Why not?  Think about it and take notes and adjust your formula for next time.  In the beginning of your career if you can find a way to anchor your passion with high paying gigs that can be helpful.

Even if you don’t apply the exact formula to every gig, thinking of gigs in this way will certainly bring a greater awareness to your decision making.  Being fully aware of why you are taking gigs can be as important as playing them.

I’ve noticed that the most important and most difficult task in project management is visualizing the project in all it’s details.  By project I mean any definable endeavor – for example a product (like an album), a festival, a website or even a new business.  All great projects start as an idea.  Ideas are easy to come up with.  Visualizing what that project will look like as a finished product, how people will interact with it, who uses it and how you build it – that is the hard part.  This first hurdle is so significant that many of us never make the jump over it.  Fear sets in and we procrastinate or worse yet, completely dismiss it.

Here’s a simple tip to beat that fear and to get the ball rolling on these big, seemingly undefinable projects: Research similar products/projects.  Yup, it’s that easy.  Even if you think your project is unique you can certainly find examples that relate.  It’s easy and enjoyable to research other similar projects and it starts to give you an idea of what you want in your own project.  Make notes of what you like, why, and who created those products.  Once the ball gets rolling so many other doors start to open that the project seems to take on a life of its own.  By engaging yourself fully in the research aspect, soon enough your project vision will start to clarify.  As the project starts to define itself momentum sets in and the daunting work suddenly becomes easy.  Give it a shot next time you have a big project and let me know how it goes.

If you are a business owner, why are you doing what you do?  Whether you are an artist business owner, a manager, an owner of a record label or any other business owner – consider for a moment why are you doing what you do?  Most of us do it for self-satisfaction; We do it because we enjoy it.  We also do it because we have the urge to help and connect with other people.  Our “work” allows us the opportunity to interact with others on our terms and to help in the ways we most enjoy.

Given that customers are a foundation to business it would seem that understanding them, knowing who they are and how to communicate with them is a fundamental part of business.  As a business owner, have you ever taken the time to really consider and describe “who” it is that your product (music) speaks to?  In my own experience managing and coaching artists and managers I have found that this simple exercise brings incredible clarity and direction to the project.

Here’s how to do it.  Step back from your work and give yourself some quiet time to dig deep into your mind, thoughts and feelings.  In this time reflect on why you do what you do and think about the people you want to communicate to.  In short, visualize your audience (your customer or fan base).

• What do they look like?
• What do they do for a living?
• What common characteristic do they all have?
• What do they do for fun?
• Where do they live?
• What are they wearing?
• What are they like when you interact with them?
• How much money do they make?
• Are they of a certain ethnicity?
• What other bands do they like?

By nature, you’ll initially want to say that your music or business can appeal to everyone.  Unfortunately that’s not realistic.  Even the most popular book in the world (The Bible) isn’t embraced by everyone.  The best you can do is identify your core fan base (your niche audience), find and embrace them then let them help you grow.

Once you have a visualization of your audience, think about what you want to say to them once you get in front of them.  It could be just music or you could have a message you want to relay.  Think about why your work would be of relevance or importance to them.  Next, think of all the places where these people can be found (do they hang out a certain place, do they work for a certain company, etc).

Once you have done all of that, go out and find them.  Start the conversation.  They are waiting for you.