One of the most common phrases in the Book of Great Clichés is perhaps, “think outside the box”. Now when I hear someone say that it makes me want to loose it. I am sure all of the great business books of yesteryear promote the phrase like it is the end all and be all of business marketing. However, if you think about it, thinking outside the box leaves something important out. Well, at least when it is applied to marketing.

As a marketer if I am always thinking outside the box, by definition, I am never thinking inside the box, and doing things that are tried and true. How is that a good thing? It’s not, especially for marketers with modest budgets.

What sparked this idea in my head was a client call I had yesterday. We were talking about ways to increase traffic to her website, and as if it were required to say, she uttered those all-to-common words, “let’s think outside the box.” There was silence on the other end because I am sure she expected something purely genius to come out of my mouth, but I had nothing. There are so many sure-fire ways to drive traffic to your website that I don’t want to waste energy or money on out of the box experiments. Bare in mind, I am NOT saying you shouldn’t test different strategies, and get creative. But, I am saying that, if you have a limited budget and need results. This is the boat most small merchants are in.

So, just to back-peddle a bit, I will say I am all for thinking outside the box when it comes to marketing. I love a good creative approach just like the next guy. However, when I am advising someone with a limited budget I will always air on the side of conservatism. When someone only has a few hundred bucks a month to spend driving traffic to their site, I am not going to recommend something new and crazy. A good, well managed PPC campaign is all they need for now. So please, if you are one of those adventurous marketers that are always thinking outside the box, be careful, and remember, the weather is much more predictable here inside the box.