Your brand’s reputation is among the most valuable assets your company has so how are you protecting your brand? It defines your company and helps it stand out from competitors.

As Warren Buffet said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it.”

This is especially true today with social media – what used to be a 24-hour media cycle is now a 24-second social media cycle.

Unfortunately, even with diligent, proactive risk management, a crisis can happen at any time. No company is immune to misconduct by employees, the sudden resignation or illness of a key leader, product recalls, accidental injuries/fatalities, natural disasters, etc. So, you need to prepare, anticipate and plan ahead – because it’s not a matter of if a crisis will occur, it’s a matter of when. The cost of a crisis to a company can be huge, and most crises require attention within the first 24 hours.

What can you do to prepare?

Create a crisis management plan to ensure a rapid and adequate response, maintain clear lines of reporting and communication and set rules for crisis termination. You must protect your brand.

Crisis management is NOT THE SAME as risk management. Risk management serves to minimalize and hopefully avoid crisis. Crisis management is actually dealing with a crisis.

To create a crisis management plan:

• Research your company’s record
• Identify all potential crises
• Create and prepare your crisis team
• Schedule media training sessions
• Stage regular crisis readiness simulations
• Assess and update crisis plans

Want to learn more?

Come hear Front Porch Marketing present on “Protecting Your Brand” at Danger Zone 2: Active Shooter Seminar presented by FBI Dallas Citizens Academy Alumni Association this Thursday, September 3, at the Charles W. Eisemann Center in Richardson, TX. The seminar is designed for individuals, business leaders, school teachers and administrators, church leaders and anyone seeking to gain knowledge should you ever encounter an active shooter in the workplace.

As a country, we are averaging one active shooter every three weeks. No location is immune from these events happening. Danger Zone is a great program with a proven track record of success that will greatly increase your chance to survive the ordeal.  For more information and tickets, click here.

A special shout out to our friend and advocate Rod Fullenwider at D&L Entertainment for including us in this event. We appreciate your continued support Rod!

As our Chief Rocker continually espouses, marketing is not a science, it is an art. There is no one size fits all. It is a continual effort to fine tune your strategy including your message and its delivery.

Like an actor playing to an audience, there is a relationship – the transfer of energy and interaction from stage to audience is palpable. If an actor correctly reads the audience’s cues, the energy feeds on itself. The same holds true of marketing a product or service.

As an entrepreneur or small business, you’ve done your demographic research for your target market – your audience. Don’t fail to use it. This is your chance to tell the story of your brand and your value to potential customers and to let them know what makes your product stand apart.

Content and delivery are both important. And as new apps and technologies are continually evolving, it’s important to remain relevant. There is an element of trial and error. Pay attention to shifts. If it’s not working anymore – move on! Remember to know and address your audience.

Melissa McCarthy’s blunt and physical brand of comedy is a sharp contrast to Helen Mirren’s more serious and dramatic performance. While both are wildly talented and entertaining, they each have different “brands” and vastly different audience appeal. Bridesmaids plays to a very different audience than Queen Elizabeth. Both are great. But, there is an audience for each.

Know your audience. Remember, you are telling the story of your brand. Focus on the artistry of conveying your brand’s voice and message.

I am at my happiest in the summertime. The days are long, the schedule is loose, the feeling is decidedly relaxed. I can always talk someone into a fun night of chips and salsa on a patio over a margarita. But my body had been feeling the effects of too many jaunts on the patio, a beach trip was around the corner, and a big tennis tournament was in my future.

It was time to clean up. Cleanse.

Enter The Gem. They are our client and friends, and I believe wholeheartedly in their mission; but more than all of that, I’d done their 3-day cleanse before and felt great, so I decided to do it again. I enlisted the partner-in-crime-mentality of my friend Wendy, who had just returned from vacation and was feeling as sluggish as I was. And off we were.

Day One

I wake up, and instead of grabbing my usual Diet Coke, drink … water. Lots and lots and lots of water. And then some more water. I head to the Gem to pick up my first day’s 6 pack. I open the door, and smell the juice. It is fragrant and fresh, and I am officially excited.

Grab my cleanse and chat with Mary Kathryn, who looks ridiculously lovely and is happy and friendly. Side note: is she ever NOT lovely, happy and friendly???

Drink my first Green Glow. Yum. How can a green beverage be so delicious? Second Green Glow on my way to tennis. I’m so healthy! Yay me!

First stumbling block: standing post-drill lunch with my tennis team. They are all ordering our usual tostadas, and my third juice, the Ruby Slipper, is at home in my fridge. Tactical error. Thank heavens Wendy is doing this with me – we order water. With lemon. Mmmm, lemon. We pretend it’s delicious and filling and escape without incident. I run home and drink my juice.

It’s afternoon and time for the Clarity Lemonade. Wowza! Spicier than I remember. I feel like I’m sweating on the inside. I can feel my metabolism revving up. More water.

Maybe it’s the heat of my son’s swim meet, maybe it’s the lack of caffeine, maybe it’s the lack of food, but I have a killer headache. I know I’m supposed to drink some more water but I just can’t. I do remember this first evening being the hardest, so I go home and drink my last Green Glow, and I feel slightly better.

Dinner time and I’m hungry. Thankfully my husband has agreed to handle food for the kids, so I lock myself in my bedroom with my Cashew Milk, which is actually very delicious. But I want whatever my kids are eating, which smells divine. Feeling weak, I text Wendy for reinforcement. “Don’t do it! Go to bed,” she says. Good advice.

Day Two

I wake up and I feel clear-headed and fantastic. The headache is totally gone, and the scale tells me I’m down three pounds. Excellent! Although weight loss isn’t my primary goal, it’s always nice to drop a few. My resolve is newly restored, and I’m off and running.

I drink my water (the hardest part for me, although I don’t exactly know why) and set out for The Gem. The impossibly chic and funny Leslie Needleman is there to give me my juice this morning. I’m dressed in tennis garb, and she eyes me suspiciously, “Are you playing tennis Jacqui?” I know I’m supposed to be kind to my body and take a break from strenuous activity while on this cleanse, so I blather on about something irrelevant and run out of the store.

Hmmm, should I not be playing tennis? I have a tournament to prepare for and so I push this thought aside and down my Green Glow on the way to my club. I don’t know if it’s the juice, my attitude, or the aligning of the stars, but I play great. “I feel like Wonder Woman!” I tell my tennis pro. I’ve officially crossed over into obnoxious-ville but I don’t even care. I smugly drink another juice.

Somehow my afternoon juices become mixed up, leaving me drinking my clarity lemonade at 6 PM, when I’m playing tennis for the second time today. Um … not my smartest move. I am hot and palpitating and feeling very much like I might throw up. No bueno. Now I know why I got the Needleman side eye.

I go home, drink my Cashew Milk, take a long hot shower and fall into bed.

Day Three

Morning is my favorite time on this cleanse. I wake up incredibly bright-eyed, my skin looks great, and I feel like I can do anything. The scale tells me I’m down another three pounds, which makes me want to walk around unclothed on all day because honestly I haven’t looked this good in ages.

At this point, I know the drill and everything feels easy. Water, juice, water, juice, water, juice. I don’t even miss the food and I am becoming nervous about having to reintroduce it tomorrow and undo all the good things I have done.

It’s evening and I meet an old friend for dinner at Shinsei, which is my favorite restaurant. I am in the home stretch so I have a piece or two of sashimi and drink lots of cucumber water. The food feels good in my stomach and I decide that I will be happy to eat again tomorrow.

Day Four

Ah, lovely morning. I’m down another pound (Just a pound? Was it the sashimi?). I’m craving some juice, so I head to The Gem. Although I’m done with the cleanse, I am going to continue to incorporate these juices into my daily routine. I feel too good not to.

I’ve gotten used to feeling like Wonder Woman.

I admit it. I’m a bit of a black and white person. Figure it out, do what’s best, and move forward. “Moving on!” is a familiar refrain in my world.

So when we, as a family, decided it was time to sell our house and find a new one, I clipped along and got it done. Old house sold. New house bought. Packing. Moving. Planning.

Moving. On.

But what I didn’t count on in all my efficient trouncing forward was the emotional toll it would take on everyone around me. My children cried. A lot. My sweet, easy-going husband was wound tight as a drum and stomped around for several weeks. Even my animals became not themselves.

What was wrong? Didn’t we all want this? Weren’t we all excited about the moving on?

If I’d taken my moving on hat off for five minutes to really think about things, I would have realized that efficiency cannot take the place of closure. Recognizing the emotions associated with change, regardless of how positive the change is, is an important part of moving on. Perhaps the most important part.

What is true in life is also true in business. You must properly handle the endings to fully succeed in your beginnings. Clients. Employees. Jobs.

Pay proper attention to the things you are letting go.

Be gracious in your goodbyes.

I love what Ellen Goodman said on the matter, “There’s a trick to the ‘graceful exit.’ It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage or a relationship is over — and let it go. It means leaving what’s over without denying its validity or its past importance to our lives. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving up, rather than out.”

Essential for moving on.

You’re standing at the podium in front of the room with all 500 eyes on you. Waiting. On. Your. Every. Word. Is this your worst nightmare?

It can be a terrifying feeling for many – in fact, statistics indicate about 74% of people have a fear of public speaking. So if you can relate, you’re in good company. But knowing this doesn’t help when business requires a speech.

The solution? You’ve got to grab the presentation bull by the horns and practice. Honestly, the more you present, the better you’ll get, both in technique and in feeling relaxed when you’re at the head of the table.

Even if presenting doesn’t make you break out in a sweat, it never hurts to remind ourselves of a few best practices that will more fully engage audiences to achieve the desired outcome.

1. Research Your Audience. Know who you’re talking to – if you want to influence these people, you need to understand what they care about and what motivates them.

2. Start With a Good Story. Preferably one that the audience can relate to – and one that will make them laugh. Capture their attention right away.

3. Clarify the Goal of the Presentation. Before you even outline what you’re going to say, determine the end goal. Sharing a key process? Persuasion to a specific point of view? Providing status on a project? Then, as you’ve likely heard before, “Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. And tell them what you told them.” Keep it simple and on topic.

4. Make Eye Contact. Engagement happens when people feel like you’re talking to them versus at them. They’re more likely to actually hear you and buy into your content when they feel a more personal connection. Eye contact goes a long way in small, intimate meetings and large, seemingly impersonal audiences.

5. Project Your Voice. Everyone in the room, no matter how large, should be able to hear you – otherwise, what’s the point? Practice, if you can, in the room you’ll be in so you can gauge how loud you need to be – and don’t turn your back and talk to your slides instead of your audience.

6. Slow Down. Most people, when they’re nervous, don’t realize how quickly they talk. Concentrate on speaking slowly, pausing at key points, and giving meaning to your words.

7. Use Big Gestures. Not only is your voice and delivery important, so are your gestures. Command the space you’re inhabiting in front of the room. Move around, make a point with your hands – think like a TV weatherman! Your enthusiasm and passion for your subject should be evident in your actions.

8. Be Entertaining. A presentation is not the same as reading an informative article or textbook. It’s in person, and as such, the audience expects to have an emotional connection with the speaker. They want more than just the facts – they want to be engaged.

9. Anticipate Questions. Come prepared with answers to potential questions. You can’t possibly cover everything in one presentation, so what are people likely to ask? You’ve started a conversation, and an enthusiastic audience will want to know more.

10. Practice Like Crazy. Last but certainly not least, practice!!! When you know what you’re going to say backward and forward, you won’t have to worry about stumbling over words or losing your train of thought. And when you know your presentation, you won’t read slides, which keeps your audience focused on you.

Have more tips? All of us on the Porch would like to hear from you!

Every year in the month of May, I sort of lose my mind. The world spins at hyper-speed from all the commitments. Mother’s Day. My birthday. End of school. Wrapping up of activities. Onset of summer. First vacation. Send-off to summer camp. It’s nuts. Always.

But this May, it’s particularly nuts. We are selling a house. We are buying a house. There are big career things happening. Many good friends are dealing with serious health situations in their families. I am, of course, feeling the stress of such weighty life events.

But also, I am feeling surprisingly clear-headed. And what I have come to realize in my ever-advancing years, is that the key to this clarity is acceptance.

Acceptance is defined as the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered. Let me say that again. Acceptance is defined as the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered. And that’s the important part. Every situation, good or bad, is an offering – an offer of growth. An offer of clarity. An offer of understanding.

There are 5 absolutes of acceptance:

1. Acceptance of self. Yes. You must. The good, the bad, and the crazy. You are you and that is awesome.
2. Acceptance of others. Flip the coin. Everyone deserves this.
3. Acceptance of situations for what they are. Open your eyes and take a look around. This is your reality. What are you going to do about it?
4. Acceptance of change. Life is fluid. Let go a little, nothing is forever and that is ok. See what’s around the next corner. Breathe.
5. Acceptance of failure. Let’s call a spade a spade. So you failed. So what? Course correct and know better next time.
6. Acceptance of success. That’s right. I said success. You’ve earned it so enjoy it, feel proud of it, and stop worrying about losing it.

All we have is the world in which we live, so accept that world and find peace in it.

“Of course there is no formula for success except, perhaps, an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings.” ~Arthur Rubinstein

True that, Mr. Rubinstein. True that.

Plans are comforting. Satisfying to-do lists, orderly outlines, and pro-and-con comparisons are all tools that tame our anxiety and give us the feeling of being in control. As business people, we thrive on living this structure. assembling and assigning structure to a process.

Whether we are a part of a service-oriented business or one that is product-based, smart business people assemble structure to a process and put systems and procedures in place to maximize productivity.

Yet the natural order of things is chaotic.

So you’re a start up and are successfully launched. All systems are go. Products are distributed. You’ve diligently put systems in place and created a system of organization and productivity. Things are humming along smoothly.

Congratulations … but don’t get too comfortable.

Because inevitably, unforeseen circumstances and uncontrollable events will threaten to derail your hard-earned success. So how do you handle the chaos?

1. Stay focused

2. Stay true to your core concept

3. Stay true to your brand vision

4. Be agile

5. Be adaptable

6. Get back on track

As Deepak Chopra said, “All great changes are preceded by chaos.” Chaos is inevitable. Use it. Learn from it. And recognize that in the midst of the chaos lies opportunity.

We love our business and are thrilled by the predictions for expected global growth in video content. Take this statistic, for instance:

• According to Cisco, video will account for 69% of all consumer Internet traffic by 2017 (and some sources take this figure as high as 74%).

Experts indicate that video is the future of content marketing, and that trend is already in full swing. Nielsen claims 64% of marketers expect video marketing to dominate their strategies in the near future.

Our role is to develop clear, concise and engaging video stories for our clients. We know that in this age of information overload people want a quick visual message so they can move on.

In fact, even using the word “video” in an email subject line boosts open rates by 19% and click-through rates by 65%, as reported by Syndacast.

The icing on the cake?

Axxon Research reports seven in 10 folks view brands in a more positive light after watching interesting video content from them.

Videos are a great way to create an emotional connection with your audience and leave a lasting impact long after the video is over. And we love client stories with happy endings!

John Doty, owner of InMotion Imagery, is an Emmy Award winning director and editor who has now worked in broadcast television and video production for more than 25 years. His work has been recognized by, among others, the Telly Awards and The Press Club of Dallas.

Not only is he expert at creating the perfect script-to-screen visual communications tools for clients, but he also directed the construction of InMotion’s sound stages from blueprint to finish. He has led teams of industry experts in producing television programs, live national broadcasts and corporate Webcasts. He’s a member of the Dallas Producers Association.

Like InMotion Imagery on Facebook and follow on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Vimeo as well.

I love it when people ask me about our brand and how the name came to be. We enjoyed our branding process immensely; and we as a team love it when start-ups come to us with their business concept and ask us to help them name, brand and market it.

Just yesterday we were presenting logo options to a client who commented that they were impressed by our process for naming, preparing a creative brief and then developing logo concepts. The leadership team had no idea how much time, energy and thought went into the process and were curious whether we thought other start-ups went through a similar process.

Unfortunately, the answer is no.

But they should! Naming your brand is an important process and must be tackled in a diligent, thoughtful way. Choosing a strong name requires that it:

1. Stands out from the competition (unless it’s more important to fit in)
2. Communicates the business you’re in
3. Reinforces your brand promise
4. Communicates your company’s distinguishing characteristics
5. Has long term viability
6. Is easy to read
7. Is easy to pronounce
8. Is simple to spell
9. Is short and concise
10. Is memorable

Do the work on the front end to analyze your brand, your business, your competitors and your promise to ensure that your identity represents all that you want and need. You will save time, money and energy down the road if you start off right!

When was the last time you looked up at the sky and really enjoyed the sunshine, being in the moment.

Felt the breeze on your face. Found shapes in the clouds.

If you stopped right now, went outside and looked up, how would you feel? What would you be thinking? Are you happy? Content?

Perhaps, like many of us, things are basically good, but you’re in a bit of a life rut. Same routine over and over, and you suddenly realize how quickly the years are slipping by. Or maybe things simply aren’t going the way you want. There’s a little too much rain on your parade, and it’s gotten you down.

We all feel this way at some time or another. In today’s busy society, no one is immune from getting swept up in the stampede of life. Or being occasionally trampled by it. So how do you break free?

One way, again, is to simply look up. It’s sunshine, folks!

Let me explain. The other day, I heard a client talking about an employee who wasn’t performing at her best. He noted, “All she needs is a little water and sunshine, and she’ll be great.”

That was an amazing observation, and it really struck home with me. Of course, he was talking about nourishment. Nourishment of a person based on who she is. The things that feed her soul. Things to help her grow and thrive and blossom!

Ok, I’m overdoing it a bit, but you get the idea.

Friends, what is your sunshine? What are the nutrients that will nourish the essence of who you are? What do you need in your core being to shine more brightly?

It’s easy to ask these questions but not always easy to answer. Try to discover the tiny inkling within that excites you. Something you love and are passionate about, deep down. Maybe it’s a hobby, like painting or gardening. Perhaps it’s philanthropic, like rescuing dogs or mission work. It could be a special career skill that you didn’t pursue in college. Something on your bucket list? Take a moment and really listen to your gut. What are you hungry for?

When you find it, FEED IT! Embrace it! Nurture it! And give it plenty of sunshine!

Before you know it, you’ll be following your own heart on your own journey instead of being fenced in, grazing with the herd. It may be new and different, and it may require taking a risk. But you are only you once.

Dare to be great!