The Value of Making (or Baking)

August 31, 2009 Business and Management 1 comment

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We are all creators by heart (3-year old Ethan putting together a toy set)

Have you wondered why toys like LEGO, model planes and Play Doh have such a timeless appeal?

Or mused about the popularity of recipe books (and blogs) springing up everywhere?

How about the popularity of virtual worlds like Pet Society on Facebook, and MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Everquest?

Sure there are many cool reasons to explain why they are popular, and I am sure you can come up with many.

The one thing in common though is that these items—toy bricks, play clay, recipes, and virtual worlds alike—allow you to create, build and shape your own work of art.

Put it another way, we all like to play god (or CEO, ancient warlock, chef, or engineer) once in a while.

This urge to create, grow and develop is something that is inbuilt in all of us.

It is human nature to plant, nurture, cultivate, build and make stuff, be it at work or at play.

Nothing beats seeing the mango tree which you planted years ago bear sweet luscious fruit, or enjoying the satisfaction of composing a new song on Garageband.

While your knitted sweaters may not be quite haute couture, your loved ones would still wear them with relish while you beam with pride.

The next time you think about pushing out a new product idea, consider how your customers can also play a part in creating, nurturing and building something that they can also take pride in.

Don’t give it to them complete. Instead, allow them to play a part in putting together the finishing touches or even to build their own products from scratch.

The best brand image that your company can build is one that is not only respected by your customers, but nurtured and developed by them with lots of loving care and attention.

By Walter
Founder of Cooler Insights, I am a geek marketer with almost 24 years of senior management experience in marketing, public relations and strategic planning. Since becoming an entrepreneur 5 years ago, my team and I have helped 58 companies and over 2,200 trainees in digital marketing, focusing on content, social media and brand storytelling.

One Comment

  1. You are absolutely right! No wonder I love to play World of Warcraft 🙂

    On a separate note, here are some of my thoughts to share. I think there are in general three types of people (sorry, I hate to generalize but just bear with me please). One is the creator, who loves to create. One is the maintainer, who enjoys taking care of things so that they stay as good as they are (think of museum restoration work and so on). One is the change agent, who loves to find ways to improve and enhance.

    I think, maybe people in general love to create (actually do all kids love to play legos?). But some enjoy that a lot more than others.

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