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How Zagging Can Help Your Business Be More Creative

How Zagging Can Help Your Business Be More Creative
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2016-10-21-1477072895-3311384-AdamGrant.pngBy Adam Grant

In the advertising industry, we are commonly tasked with coming up with new ideas and being creative. But it can be tough to come up with new ideas on a regular basis. I've found that the best ideas don't come from thinking up something new, but rather from evaluating the old, or "zagging."

What Is Zagging?

Zagging means getting the attention of your audience by doing something differently than everyone else. The best form of zagging is taking an existing idea and improving on it. You may be wondering why this is more effective. In short, a new, creative idea is unproven. It takes time, energy and money. It has no momentum!

How to Improve Your Business by Zagging

Create a list of things your business already does that could use improvement or a refreshment. For example, how do you pick up the phone? How do you send out proposals? How do you communicate with your customers?

There are several ways you can then "zag:"

  • Take an idea from another industry and apply it to your own. If you like something that another industry has, apply it to something you do. For example, Quicken Loans has an IT department they call "The Guy." The Guy can be reached at the touch of a button on the company's desk phones, and all your technical questions are instantly answered. At our business, we needed a faster way to reach out to our college campus representatives across the U.S., so we decided to engage them in the way they engage with everything else - their mobile device. Our "Guy" button is an app that lets us connect with over 9,000 student reps. We didn't reinvent the wheel; we just repurposed an idea that already had momentum.

  • Do what you did before you reworked something. Sometimes the original way of doing something is all it takes to stand out. For example, how did you send out proposals before email came around? If everyone is emailing theirs, try going back to mailing them. If everyone is submitting their proposals on paper, videotape yours. By implementing these methods, my response rate has increased by 50 percent. Nothing I did was brand new; I was just the one proposal that came through the mail while everyone else's was coming through email. It stood out on someones desk versus being hidden in an inbox.

  • Update your brainstorming plan. Use an existing brainstorming plan to think of an idea, but this time around, come up with different answers to your questions. For example, earlier this year, we worked with a suit company and tried to determine who their ideal customer was, what their ideal timeframe was, and what their ideal message was. Our first thoughts were: a business student, two weeks before a career fair, and "putting your best suit forward." If I were to reanswer these questions later in the year, they'd look more like this: a law student, 30 days before graduation, and "getting ready for your power interview."

    • Applying the "zag" is a great way to give your business momentum without having to start something new. So next time you need to think of a new idea, just ask yourself, "How can I apply the zag?"

    Adam Grant currently serves as CEO of Campus Commandos, a top marketing vendor specializing in helping businesses reach millennials. Since founding the company in 2010, CC has worked with some of the world's leading brands--including HP and eBay--to help them connect with millions of college students to build brand loyalty.

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