Three Purple & Paisley Marketing Lessons You Can Learn From Prince

Written By Ryan

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Marketing Update

Around about the time I was 18, I was TOTALLY obsessed with music.

Writing songs, playing drums in a band, performing live…it was ALL I could think about. ALL I wanted to do.
At the same time, I was also TOTALLY obsessed with Prince. One tale in particular of Prince’s exceptional talent completely captivated my younger self… At the very tender age of 19, Prince wrote, arranged, performed (as in played all the instruments), recorded and produced his entire debut album, For You, all by his lonesome.
I don’t know about you, but at 19 I could barely walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. But write, perform and record an entire album under my own power? FORGET ABOUT IT.
Suffice it to say, Prince was (and is, truthfully) my musical IDOL. Of course, at 18 I wanted to be him. To be a virtuoso at every instrument, to craft hook-filled hit songs, and to rock-hard in a funky place (which Prince suggested is the ONLY way to ROCK on the Black Album).
Maybe I didn’t want to be quite so freaky, or so short (only Prince could make 5’4″ seem so HUGE), or have Kim Basinger accuse me of holding her hostage as a sex slave in my Minneapolis mansion (although…). But I definitely wanted everything else.
Though my adolescent daydreams never became a reality, my love from Prince has never waned. Needless to say his appallingly untimely death has dealt me a crushing blow.
Yet amid the sorrow, this grave tragedy does offer a teachable moment. Because Prince’s particular brand of genius delivers three marketing lessons every small business owner can learn from…

Being Good: It Gets you Stuff

Prince helmed an uber-successful career to say the least…
-He maintained a career in the music business, the most cutthroat and unforgiving of industries, for nearly 40 years
-He produced 39 studio albums, 6 compilation albums, 5 soundtrack albums, and 4 live albums – for a grand total of 54 albums.
-Among those he racked up: 11 platinum albums, many certified multi-platinum, including mega hit Purple Rain, certified 13x platinum (for the uninitiated, platinum = 500,000 units sold, thus Purple Rain sold 6.5 million units); and 9 Gold Albums (100,000 units sold)
-He released 104 singles, scoring 18 top 10 singles, and 5 #1 hits
All of this is to say Prince’s name is synonymous with indisputable quality. And that reputation speaks for itself – to the tune of millions and millions of albums, singles and concert tickets sold.
Small Business Marketing Takeaway – Always striving to do your best work possible is the foundation of any successful business.
Consistently exceeding client expectation banks invaluable social capital. And most importantly, it yields Word of Mouth, which is most the valuable marketing any business can capture.
In fact, prospects are two-thirds more likely to use a business recommended by a friend, family member, professional associate or even acquaintance. And that includes recommendations offered via social media sites.
Prospects are also twice as likely to use a business positively reviewed on reviews sites like Yelp, Google reviews and other similar platforms.

Don’t Think Outside the Box – BLOW IT UP

Pop music is largely sanitized for the masses (which is really code for expunged of all sexuality to make it “safe for children”).
Of course much of pop music has frequently hinted at sexuality…
-Elvis waggled his hips while the Beatles begged to “hold your hand” to get the girls screaming
-Countless ‘70s teen idols batted their big baby blues and blasted floodlight-wattage “knowing smiles” to clamoring crowds of amorous lasses
-Michael Jackson didn’t deny his relationship with “Billie Jean,” but insisted “The Kid is not my son”
-And later Madonna seized her sexuality, wielding it like a deadly weapon, and bludgeoned listeners with her long lost virginity.
Prince, on the other hand, didn’t shy away from sex. He didn’t play coy. Rather, he embodied sexuality. He was all “bump and grind.” He eschewed clever “suggestion,” in favor of a persona that was hot and sticky and sweaty – like the act itself.
And by throwing out the “suggestive” template, all too common in pop music, Prince cut a sharp contrast from his competitors. In turn, he watched his coffers runneth over with Benjamins.
Small Business Takeaway – Sex sells, but I’m not suggesting you take that route. Nor am I recommending you ignore all convention.
Marketing paradigms exists because, well, they WORK. And there’s often little to no payoff in trying to reinvent the wheel.
But at the same time, standing out is paramount to effective marketing. Going against the grain of your industry, and considering approaches rejected by your competitors is often the key to differentiating yourself – and WINNING NEW BUSINESS.

Narrow Your Niche – And Blow up BIG TIME

Prince didn’t set out to be a Rock Star. His intension was make music that makes you shake your butt, roll your hips and stomp your feet – he was an all singing all dancing FUNK-MACHINE.
As his music developed, Prince infused blistering rock, soulful balladry and rhyming hip hop into his sonic repertoire. But that was simply a byproduct of his growth and experimentation as artist. Through it all, he reminded committed to his dance-funk roots.
And the low-and-behold, the audience came to him. He attracted fans from across the musical spectrum. Fans that embraced the quality of his music, not necessarily the specifics of his sound, because it was THAT GOOD.
Small Business Takeaway – It’s oh so tempting to throw everything and the kitchen sink (and even the whole kitchen) onto your list of service offerings.
And why not? The wider you cast your net, the more prospects you’re likely to catch, right? WRONG. But as he old saying goes, “you can’t be all things to all people.” And when you try, you wind up being nothing to no one.
Instead, take a page from Prince’s playbook, and focus on your core talent. Take whatever service (or limited set of related services) you’re best at, and make that your niche.
Stop trying to appeal to every prospect, and focus on attracting your ideal client – those in desperate need of your core service. And like magic, you’ll become the guy that does “that thing you do” – and your business will BOOM.

What Are Some of Your Favorite Prince Stories?

This doesn’t have to be about marketing. It can be anything Prince related… Your favorite album (Parade) or song (Sexy Mother F*cker), the Get Off video you loved since 10th grade, the Prince concert that BLEW YOUR MIND (2011, the Fabulous Forum, LA). Anything and everything Prince, I wanna hear about it. Just drop by my Google+ page and share.