Commercial Ink - Creative Risk Tolerance

Creative Risk Tolerance

When it comes to creativity, everyone has a different opinion. Some people think it is better to stick to basics, other are always trying to push the envelope. Which is better? Well, it depends who you ask, but there are some general rules of thumb everyone can abide by. Before getting into that, lets look at the different levels of risk tolerance and the benefits and drawbacks of a high creative risk tolerance.

Creative risk tolerance ranges from conservative to creative. This is true for individuals, businesses, and customers. Each segment has areas they are comfortable with, and it is important to know where they draw the line when you are doing business with each. Your competition has a creative risk tolerance as well. As a rule, small companies tend to use creativity the most to get recognized. Lacking the recognition and branding of a larger company, they need to "think outside the box" to grab people's attention. Smaller businesses usually take an offensive strategy, in contrast to larger businesses that usually adopt a defensive strategy, thus large businesses typically have higher costs and a lower creative risk.

Even as a small business, however, more creativity is not always better. There is a point, called a sweet spot, that each company and customer has. If that spot is breached, your creativity could backfire and your business can lose touch with your target audience. It is important to do your research, and find out how far your audience will allow you to go, creatively-speaking. Although creativity can separate your company from competition, the subjectivity of being "creative" makes things difficult - creative to some is overboard for others. One of the best practices is to first look at other companies' pieces, both competitors and non competitors. Also, discuss your plans with people you trust and get some realistic feedback. Trial and error may be beneficial as well; play with a few different ideas, and see which ones your target audience is most receptive to. The best place to start is to reevaluate your business; find out where you are, where you are going, and if that is where you want to be going. If not, it may be time to reassess your creative risk!

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