7 Ways for Marketers to Get Out of a Creativity Rut

If you feel like you're falling into a marketing rut, use your competitors, friends, and even people you don't know for inspiration.

These days boring and generic formulas for success seem to be the standard (looking at you,?Fast and The Furious, Part 37). Commoditization is everywhere, especially in many industries where marketers are essential, such as restaurants and home services.

We tend to see the same?marketing strategies?and formats over and over again when watching competitors. It can be hard not to fall into the same trap. But, as long as you're willing to be bold, you can stand out.

However, if you stand out, you must do it right. You want to be creative enough to innovate at your company and stay ahead of competitors, not just to be different for being different. Thankfully, it's easy to find creative inspiration if you want it.

Here are seven of the best places to look for?creative inspiration :

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1. Talk to others who sell to a similar audience

One of the most important and valuable things you can do is find others who speak the same business language as you and hear what's working and what isn't from them.

Ask them for ideas, suggestions and feedback. Listen carefully to what they tell you. You'll learn a lot if you do that.

Watch their commercials, read their blogs or follow them on social media. You don't even have to be in the same industry. The ideas you get can help you create new ideas based on what you learn from others. I once messaged 50 writers on LinkedIn and received fascinating advice and perspectives. One thing that helped me succeed is learning that in many relationships people might only accept one out of 20 pitches. This helps me more easily handle rejection when it inevitably comes.

2. Walk away

Get out?of your regular workspace. Walk anywhere, go to a park or even sit in the lunch area at your office. There are many places where you can get creative ideas. These include the library, the mall, your local supermarket, a bookstore or even the gym. Go somewhere you don't usually go.

Every time you visit a new place, you will experience something new, helping you develop new ideas and ways of looking at your marketing process.

You can meet new people and ask them what they think of your ideas. Even a brand new friend at a networking event might have helpful advice on your marketing practices and their effectiveness.?Focus groups?pay companies thousands of dollars for information you can get simply by striking up a conversation with a new colleague.

3. Read about how companies grow

You can find inspiration from other companies' successful marketing strategies. Follow their lead and use some of their ideas as inspiration. Perhaps their teams succeeded because they had a goal or were inspired to be creative.

Look for companies whose customers are exceptionally loyal. Take?Apple or Starbucks?for example. They don't keep that brand loyalty because their products are exceptionally superior. Rather, customers feel an intense attraction to the brand image.

It helps to remember that inspiration also comes out of failure. Product marketing doesn't typically generate overnight success. Most products fail or struggle before they succeed.

Also, what works for other companies will not necessarily work for you. Rather than copy Apple's branding, look at the qualities of their typical customer and why they stay loyal. Work at bringing about that same brand loyalty, but not necessarily through the same marketing.

4. Steal ideas from other marketers

"Good artists borrow, great artists steal."

-Pablo Picasso (A quote later stolen by Banksy)

Even though I just told you to avoid totally copying other brands, there are often exceptions to that rule. While you should never try to recreate another company's exact marketing strategy, don't be afraid to use ideas that work.

Look at social media. Companies copy each other all the time, which is fine. The trick is to not rely on others but to take their ideas occasionally and add your unique spin, so it's yours. Look at the success of widely used tactics like TikTok challenges.

Avoid using someone else's specific approach. When planning your marketing campaign, don't get stuck on any one idea. Keep your eyes open for different tactics. Of course, it's always helpful to get ideas from people who've found the success you're looking for and even to form brand partnerships where you help each other.

5. Shake up your routine

Be willing to try new things when it comes to your marketing plans. Take a risk now and then. It can be?scary?to try something new, but you'll learn a lot, and getting out of your element is one of the best things you can do to get the creative juices flowing. When you try a new tactic, you'll learn more about yourself or even start to look at your overall plan in a new way.

Sometimes the best marketing ideas come from the strangest places. For instance, you might think a particular product might have potential, but you never expected it to have other uses beyond what everyone knows it for.?Bubble wrap was originally designed ?to be a form of textured wallpaper. Years later, people discovered its use as a packing element to keep products safe (as well as a fun stress reliever).

6. Practice bisociation

Bisociation ?is a good way to find inspiration. This is when you look at two things that may or may not be related, and find inspiration to create something new.

For example, if you have a specific problem marketing for a particular campaign or customer, list the characteristics that describe the problem. You can then associate those attributes with something you have or haven't seen before for creative solutions. For example, consider making a list of specific marketing obstacles, followed by a new list of general solutions. Then look at the two side-by-side and see which ones fit as a solution to your problem, or if they inspire a new solution altogether.

I've seen marketing teams make a list of terms related to their product, then make a separate list of other random words and try to pair them up to see if the associations they generate inspire new approaches, campaigns or tactics.

7. Read more often

If you want to get creative ideas, you should read more often. Even if it's science fiction, you'll be surprised by how creativity can open up doors. When I recently re-read the classic sci-fi book?Dune?(which reads almost like a?video game), I was reminded that characters demonstrated at several points how beneficial it can be to put yourself in your competitor's position/state of mind.

The point is, simply reading a story can highlight aspects of your life and business that bring insight and inspiration going forward.

Creative but realistic

As you work to become a more creative marketer, find the right balance between being creative and realistic. You want your messages to be authentic, so be as creative as possible within that framework. Live creatively. Try creative things. It will come no matter what you do, as long as you shake yourself out of any bland, basic routines.

John Boitnott ?is a journalist and digital consultant who has worked at media companies for 25 years. He writes about startups, marketing and leadership at?Entrepreneur , the?Motley Fool ,?Readwrite.com ,?Jotform.com , and?his blog .

This post appeared on Entrepreneur.com.