10 business lessons from Lady Gaga

New Delhi: American singer-songwriter, record producer, activist, businesswoman Lady Gaga is nothing like anybody else. She is nothing like Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears or Jennifer Lopez either. The world of Lady Gaga may be a bit weird, but she knows how to get ahead in the competitive environment. Although many people believe that Lady Gaga's rise to fame is an overnight success, it has taken Stefani Germanotta a lot of sweat and effort to become the absolute pop phenomenon of the decade.She learned to play the piano at the age of 4 and at the age of 11 she started acting on stage. She wrote her first piano ballad at the age of 13. She performed with a microphone at the age of 14. Influenced by David Bowie, Michael Jackson and Queen, Lady Gaga is recognized for her flamboyant and diverse contributions to the music industry through her fashion, performances and music videos.Through her performances, Gaga has cultivated legions of loyal fans worldwide—fans who are eager to buy her music, concert tickets, and products. Gaga is one of the elite few to have reached a billion views on her YouTube channel. She has also amassed multi-million likes on Facebook.The achievements of this pint-sized pop star includes: over five Grammy Awards and 13 MTV Video Music Awards. Lady Gaga has consecutively appeared on Billboard magazine's Artists of the Year (scoring the definitive title in 2010), ranked fourth in VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, is the fourth best selling digital singles artist in US according to RIAA, and is regularly placed on lists composed by Forbes magazine, including The World's 100 Most Powerful Women from 2010 to 2013. Undoubtedly, the Lady is doing something right.Here are 10 lessons that can prove invaluable for any business. 1. Focus on opinion makersLady Gaga spends much of her time and energy on her highly engaged superfans who drive word of mouth. Although the die-hard fans make up a small number, they are extremely valuable as they bring lots of new fans (customers) into the fold.Lesson: Identify your most passionate customers and fans, who are willing to go the extra mile to sing your praises to the community.2. Lead with valuesLady Gaga has always stood for the issue she cares about. She champions those in society who feel marginalized and bullied for being different. Lesson: It is good if your customers connect with you through your values or causes.3. Do something outlandish for attentionLady Gaga stunned the world when she arrived at an awards ceremony in a dress made of raw red meat. Although some saw it as a gimmick, it could also be well an artistic statement! Maybe this was enough for people to start thinking about you. Although she raised the ire of animal rights activists, she also landed in the top spot as Time magazine's "Top Fashion Statement of 2010." Lesson: What's the grand statement that you can make with your business that will get the kind of attention in your field.4. Harness the power of social mediaLady Gaga is hugely successful in garnering a massive amount of fans in social media: Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc. If you were Gaga, you'd have millions of fans to read everything about you. If one compares Madonna's Facebook page with that of Lady Gaga, you'll find that Gaga's page is unmistakably filled with posts from the Lady herself, while someone else does it for Madonna.Lesson: Depending on your budget and your industry, you should try to keep your customers interested and engaged or their eyes may wander on to the next shiny, new thing.5. Diversify Gaga recently announced the launch of her first fragrance.Lesson: Diversification is key to expansion, but make sure you move into areas that make sense for you.6. Support a charity causeThe Lady may be raking in the cash, but she has not forgotten how to be charitable. She has donated and raised millions of dollars for causes close to her heart such as natural disaster relief and gay rights.Lesson: It's good to support a local cause that benefits your community. You can give whatever you can afford while adding your face or name to the public face of a charitable cause.7. Team up with a successful companyTo promote her album, Gaga teamed up with Zynga, makers of the popular Facebook game Farmville, for a promotional multi-week stint. The result was "Gagaville," a virtual farm where fans could populate their plots of land with unicorns and crystals. That also resulted in giving her album maximum exposure. Lesson: To need a receptive audience, you need to tie up with a popular company.8. Update yourself frequentlyLady Gaga changes her hair color and outfits for every public appearance. It may look weird but she has a different look every time she sits down to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.Lesson: You can't change the look of your logo or your website on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, but try to keep posting fresh content on Facebook and Twitter feeds.9. Details matter Lady Gaga doesn't lip sync during her concerts. She is constantly training for her dance numbers. Lesson: Pay attention to the details and it will result in extra attention from the customers. 10. Customers only want magicThe Lady treats all of her time in public like a performance. She is a master of fame. Lesson: Customers don't care about the R&D as all they want is the end-product. They want something that will solve their problem in a simple way. When creating marketing strategies heightened the magic of the product by down-playing how the magic happens.