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DQ News: Three Things Small Businesses Should Learn From Lady Gaga

Wait, let me guess. You’ve already read this somewhere else, right? It’s a common theme, really. The Internet is rife with articles telling businesses what they can learn from Charlie Sheen, from Jersey Shore, from Obama, from porn, and yes, from Lady Gaga. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree, at least on the Lady Gaga point. Don’t even get me started on Charlie Sheen.

Lady Gaga may have some brilliant marketing strategies, and she may be the “most talked about entertainer in the world,” if you believe Anderson Cooper. But the main thing to remember is that she inhabits an entirely different world than your business does. Well, unless your business is designing outlandish fashion, or constructing eggs large enough to hold petite women. While what Lady Gaga does works quite well for her as a performer and entertainer, you may want to think twice before you and your small business try to follow in her very unusually clad footsteps.

Leave Room For Growth

Lady Gaga is frequently compared to Madonna, not only for her outrageous style, but for her outspokenness, and apparent indifference to her critics. Some even compare their music, saying that Gaga’s “Born This Way” sound an awful lot like Madonna’s “Express Yourself.” Madonna captured the world’s attention with her in-your-face attitude, and has continually reinvented herself over the years. She’s still going strong nearly 30 years after her debut.

Where can Lady Gaga go from here? What can she possibly do next that won’t just catch people’s attention, but hold it? She’s quickly approaching the point where her outrageousness is expected, and pretty soon, won’t be so outrageous anymore. People become desensitized astonishingly quickly. Pretty much the only thing left for Gaga to do is tone it down, and who’ll stick around for that? We already have a Taylor Swift. Be bold in your business, but apply the adage that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Leave room for growth, and maintain the adaptability to reinvent your business if and when you need to. It’s the best way to build longevity.

Use Your Talent Wisely

The press makes much of the fact that Lady Gaga began learning to play piano at age four, and took her name from a song by the classic rock band, Queen. Her music is said to emulate the pop and dance music of the ’80s and early ’90s, but there’s not really much to her lyrics, which, let’s be honest, are sometimes nonsensical, albeit usually in an upbeat, you-can-dance-to-it kind of way. Many artists through the years—painters, writers, or singer-songwriters—have used their talents to make political and social statements. But while Gaga has said, “I use the media to make political statements, but my music is so damn good that I can,” she seems to have missed her own point.

Album sales don’t lie. Her music is popular, and her fans adore her. But with the true talent she possesses as a pianist, composer, lyricist, and singer, she could be making those statements with her music, rather than with her clothing or on-stage antics, and possibly be even more powerful than she is. When you get right down to it, her music doesn’t sound that much different from many of the Europop artists she’s compared to. It’s basically dance music. Could she not have set herself apart through beautifully composed music and powerful, meaningful lyrics, both of which she’s capable of producing? Whatever it is that makes your business unique, whether it’s an original idea, fantastic product, or diversely talented employees who provide excellent services, use that to accomplish your goals and earn your customers’ confidence and trust. If you truly have the talent, you don’t need the smoke and mirrors.

Strive For Clarity

Even if you don’t watch award shows, chances are you heard about the meat dress. Lady Gaga will forever be known for wearing a dress—and shoes—made entirely from raw meat when she attended the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. From the time she set foot on the red carpet that night, viewers began wondering what the meat dress was about, and many simply expressed disgust. It turned out it didn’t have anything to do with vegetarianism or animal cruelty, as some initially speculated, but was instead a statement about the United States military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Once she explained it, it sort of made sense, but her message wasn’t immediately apparent.

It’s admirable for anyone to demonstrate the courage of their convictions. But here’s the thing—if people have to wonder what you’re trying to say, you’ve already failed at getting your message across. Explaining the joke takes all the funny out of it. That awards show took place in September 2010. In February 2011, Gaga was still explaining her meat dress point. In five months’ time, your competitors will be on to other projects and passing you by while you’re still explaining yourself if you don’t make yourself understood right from the beginning.

Gaga’s fans remain devoted no matter how outrageous she gets, and the press continues to cover and interview her, giving her plenty of time and opportunity to make herself understood. Businesses don’t have that luxury. A lot of customers—the fans of the business world—may not stick around to wait for your explanations if they don’t understand you or worse, if they misunderstand you. Whether it’s your marketing message, or your internal company goals, be clear in what you say. Leaving room for misinterpretation allows your customers or employees to draw their own ill-informed conclusions about you, and while Lady Gaga might not care what people think of her, you should care what people think about your business.

About the Author: Shawn Hessinger is the community manager of BizSugar, an online community of small business owners.

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