Beyoncé is ‘Fast Company’ magazine’s latest cover star.
In the mag, ‘Fast Company’ breaks down a few major keys that anyone can learn from Beyoncé’s business acumen.
Yes, Beyoncé knows how to slay. And her impact is much greater than even these statistics imply. She has become one of the world’s most distinctive brands, a single-name powerhouse. She’s not only redefining how artists market themselves, building an uncommonly loyal customer base known as the Beyhive, but her successes are reverberating more broadly across the business landscape, too—prompting a reevaluation of rules, tactics, and strategies as enterprises large and small consider the pros and cons of cultivating their own Lemonade moment.
Beyoncé’s career has both closely tracked the rise of the digital age (her first solo album, 2003’s Dangerously in Love, came out five weeks before the launch of MySpace) and encouraged its evolution. No pop star has better navigated the tectonic shifts in the music industry, from iTunes to YouTube, Facebook to Spotify. What’s more, she has traversed the ever-more-complex tendrils of global culture with cleverness, discipline, and sophistication. “As a product, she is incredibly consistent—every album, stage performance, video, interview, and marketing deal,” says Jonathan Mildenhall, chief marketing officer at Airbnb. “On top of that, she has something that not a lot of contemporary artists have, and that’s an understanding of how to evolve the brand. The brand of Beyoncé shapes and leads pop culture.”
Beyoncé is unique. (It helps to be one of the world’s great singers and performers.) But that doesn’t mean we all can’t learn from her moves. Not unlike Steve Jobs during his triumphant stewardship of Apple, Beyoncé offers a window into a new, more modern way of approaching the marketplace.
Beyoncé-inspired lessons examined in the issue include:
FIND YOUR LEVERAGE
OWN YOUR NARRATIVE
DON’T BE AFRAID TO FIRE (SOME OF) YOUR FANS
MARKETING IS A PRODUCT—AND A PRODUCT IS MARKETING
CREATE URGENCY
TAKE RISKS—WITH DISCIPLINE
OPPORTUNITY COMES FROM WITHIN
COURAGE TAKES PLANNING
PLAY THE LONG GAME
MAKE YOUR OWN LEMONADE
It’s a pretty lengthy read, but it’s a good one! Check it out here.
