Marketing misconceptions happen. We are so grateful that our clients partner with us so we may help them know what is reality in the marketing world to make a difference in their businesses’ topline.

We work with amazing CEOs and business leaders. They are forward-thinking, move at light speed and want to make s*^! happen for their businesses. There are moments though that make us cringe and then we have to either just bust out loud or ask them to stand up and dance it out before we bring them back to reality.

4 Marketing Misconceptions by CEOs & Business Leaders

1. Your one person Marketing Manager or Marketing Director can do it all. When you are able to start building a marketing team, that rocks. But, please be real. Your marketing person should be responsible for setting a strategy and plan, but, ODL, they need help to execute it all.
2. A marketing calendar is a plan. Nopey. No. You can do a lot of things but if they are not on strategy, not focused on the goals, not delivering your targeted messages, you are wasting your time and resources. Go deep or go home. Fewer deeper is especially important for small businesses and startups.
3. Media relations alone will not deliver the results you need. There are many tools in the marketing toolbox. Media relations is an effective one, but it cannot stand alone. Editorial is fab but one well placed story isn’t going to drive the topline.
4. You are a Creative Director. CEOs and business leaders are brilliant people. They are driven, they are talented, they are creative. But there is more that goes into a logo, an ad, etc., then just your thoughts of beautiful images on a page. Know your brand architecture, define your brand standards, refer back to your marketing plan, and, for the love of Pete, fill out a creative brief and let the creatives do what they do.

Marketing misconceptions happen. The best business leaders share their thoughts and adapt to constructive criticism.

Be open to dispelling marketing misconceptions. That’s when the business magic will happen. That’s music to our ears.

Life is full of transition. Some are big – a new job, a move to a new city, the birth of a child (or when a child leaves home), the loss of someone close to us. Others are smaller – the beginning of a new project, the transition from the school year to summer, a change of activities that brings new people into our lives or makes it harder to see others.

Our professional and personal lives are always shifting – new opportunities present themselves, things that no longer serve us fall away. Change is what drives growth. It’s healthy. It’s positive.

Our rational selves recognize these things as consummate truths. But sometimes our emotional selves don’t get the memo. Transition can be unsettling and confusing – oftentimes excitement about what lies ahead gets mixed up with melancholy over what has been left behind. When change stirs things up, it’s important to properly honor both sides of the transitory coin.

Sometimes what is needed in these moments is not action, but inaction. Stillness. Reflection.

I was talking to a friend recently about this very thing. I was blathering on about all the things I was going to do now that a big time commitment was wrapping up. Instead of humoring me, he called me out on my steamrolling. He said, “Doll. Settle down. Take this time to recalibrate and evolve. Just do you for a bit.”

Of course, he is right. Transition, whether big or small, presents a tremendous opportunity to make things better. Make you better. But it must be approached thoughtfully and respectfully; because that’s when the magic happens.

In the words of India.Arie:

Just do you
Somebody’s got to be a star
Just do you
Somebody’s got to raise the bar
Just do you
Somebody’s got to change the game
Just do you
Today

So the next time you find yourself in the whirlwind of change, take a deep breath, relax, and Just Do You.

In 2000, when I was young and an idealist, I was working at an agency. The principal there had a mantra: “In marketing there are three ways to do things – good, fast and cheap – you can pick two.”

I didn’t get it, and for years, I tried to prove the pick two mantra wrong, without success.

Today, and hundreds of projects later, here is my official acquiescence and nod to the marketing professional that laid this out so succinctly.

The mantra is true. You cannot achieve good, fast and cheap. You must pick two.

I find this mantra is true across many spectrums. Case in point: I love to cook. Let’s take this approach and apply it to cooking:

Weekday dinners at the Hickman Home

• Good and Cheap: BBQ smoked chicken thighs with roasted root vegetables, 4 hours, $3 per serving
• Fast and Good: Cauliflower rice veggie bowl with turkey, 30 minutes, $5.50 per serving
• Cheap and Fast: Macaroni and Cheese with canned chicken, 15 minutes and $.87 per serving

Not into cooking? Apply it to your passion and see how it holds up.

Here are some recent projects on the Porch where the mantra held true:

• Good and Cheap: The GEM social media strategy which leverages optimal posting times and post sharing. We have been successful keeping social media channels current, fresh and relevant – all while meeting budget.
• Fast and Good: TodoModo Group trade show in December. With a two-week turnaround, we lovingly call this our Holiday marketing miracle.
• Cheap and Fast: “Not good” is not okay with us. Recently a prospect’s budget and timing didn’t work, and while we were grateful for the opportunity, we graciously declined.

We are tenured professionals dedicated to your business. We’ve run the course of projects from marketing strategy and planning, brand development, brand refresh, global internal and external communications, CSR, sustainability, operations in retail, fashion, real estate, restaurants, construction and more. We’ve got you covered with experience and expertise.

Join us on the Porch! Pick your two and let’s rock!

Folks, it’s 2nd quarter. If you haven’t finalized the strategy, written the plan or started the project, it’s time. No need to agonize or over-think it, just get started and take a small step forward.

• Do you still need to define or revise that strategy?
• Are you not executing on a plan, or haven’t written one for the year?
• Is the project behind schedule, or not started yet?

The reality is we are all behind on something and you’re not alone here, but maybe it’s time to leave team belated and start something right now that needs to get done and can help you produce great results. This year is still young – bring on your second quarter by ringing that opening bell, firing the starting pistol, waving the green flag and get yourself going on something that can no longer wait.

“But …”

If this is what you are thinking right now, you are going to need assistance to get started! Start small with a phone call or e-mail to that person or company that will follow-up with you and make absolutely sure you are doing what needs to be done and begin executing. Find a partner internally or externally who helps you define, decide, plan, execute and grow.

“I need to …”

You already know what you need to start that has been on the back burner but you just haven’t done it? Write it down immediately, in a place where you can look back on it and add future notes. Ask that partner to capture it for you. The best execution starts with clarifying the need(s), then defining the strategy and executing a plan based on the need(s). Write it all down.

You don’t need a lot of time, this isn’t like writing a blog or book. Remember, you are starting small. Make a list of needs. It’s a simple process. Determine a few important ones followed with a one-page plan of attack is enough to get going and help you define a process to move forward, quarter by quarter. Write it down. Find a partner. Set the plan. Start executing. Plan to Win.

Q2 has started friends. It’s time to tackle that need that is just waiting for the right plan. If you need a little help, you can find us on the Porch.

Spring has sprung and Q1 2017 branding and marketing is about to come to end, friends! We love the feel of the sun on our shoulders, all the blooming going on around us, and the hopeful smile that the season puts on our faces! We are happy and excited about, well, everything!

Here is what we have to share:

We’re Having a Contest!

As you know, we are celebrating our sixth year in business with our own version of “Pick Six.” Well this month, in celebration of spring and our giving spirit, we are taking the Pick Six to you, our clients and friends! Be among the first six to reply “Please Rock My World” and you will receive six free social media posts for your business on one social media platform of your choice!

• Six Winners
• Six Free Rockin’ Social Media Posts
• Six Expert Rockers posting
• Six Days in April
• Winners will be contacted on April 6th!

Front Porch Marketing Q1 2017 Branding & Marketing Review

April is the absolute perfect time to review your Q1 branding and marketing efforts. Are you meeting your goals? If not, it’s time to quickly re-collaborate for Q2. Here is a refresher on metrics vs. analytics. Call us if you need to take an objective look at your results.

SEO and PPC Benefits

When it comes to boosting traffic to your website, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) are hugely beneficial. Need further convincing? Call us. We would love to chat about it. We are currently rockin’ it for our new clients OLLI at UNT and Women’s Business Council Southwest and loving every minute of it!

Fresh Branding and Marketing Initiatives

Spring into your next marketing initiative with a fresh brand look and feel. Why not update your marketing material creative and messaging? We are proud to partner with new client Owens Machine and Tool Company to do just that for a recent trade show.

Texas CEOs Rock!

Our Chief Rocker heard a refreshing and uplifting outlook on the Texas economy for 2017 and 2018 recently at the 2017 Vistage Executive Summit by Alex Chausovksy, senior analyst, ITR Economics. Also at the Vistage Summit, Roy Spence, co-founder and chairman, GSD&M, shared key insights and lessons from legendary, purpose-inspired leaders he’s worked with over the years. He presented actionable ideas to inform making decisions that support your Core Purpose. Decisions that build a business—and a life—of success.

As Always …

We are grateful for so many things – a Q1 2017 branding and marketing jam, our rockin’ team, amazing clients, faithful advocates, collaborative partners and truly great friends. Thank you for the many referrals! Keep them coming!

Follow us! Join our blog nation here, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn!

Here on the Porch, social media marketing is king. A strong social media plan is key to a healthy, robust presence on-line – which in turn leads to increased brand recognition, increased brand loyalty, more traffic, and ultimately more customers.

Using social media to grow your business can seem like a daunting task. But it needn’t be! Here are our 6 top tips for developing a strong social media presence:

• Have A Social Media Plan for Each Channel. Please people, don’t just create one type of content and blast it across every social platform! Identify your audience and your goals for each platform – they are very different creatures. Ensure your posts are true to your brand and strike the tone you wish to convey. Develop a calendar and stick to it.

• Create Meaningful Content and Deliver it Consistently. Quality content that excites and engages is worth its weight in gold. Make sure everything you post is valuable, relevant to your audience, helpful, and/or entertaining. And get it out there consistently!

• The Key Word in Social Media is Social – Interact! Engaging with other users on a regular basis is key. Like people’s posts. When people comment, reply! Comment on other people’s posts. Retweet. Give people a shout out! Encourage communication and conversation.

• Optimize Your Content with Visuals and Links. Visuals grab people’s attention, so don’t neglect this important piece of the puzzle. Photos, infographics, memes, videos – all valuable tools. Mix it up. Then don’t forget to drive traffic back to your site! Always link back to your products and services.

• Blog, Blog, Blog. We can’t stress this enough. Develop blog posts that are easy to read,  highlighting ideas that are interesting and thought-provoking. Creating original content in the form of blogs is a win-win! Don’t become overwhelmed, blogs don’t have to be long. Just do it!

• Get Your Entire Team In On the Action. Everyone has a valuable point of view and cache of experience, so encourage everyone to help your marketing efforts. Get them to blog and share their expertise. At the bare mimimum, ask them to follow and comment on the social profiles of your company and your clients.

We always say, marketing is more of an art than a science, and that is true! Take the human approach when developing your social media strategy – it will pay dividends!

Every morning, I wake up, brush my teeth, make a pot of coffee, shower, and get ready to start my day. I do it in that order, every single day. It is my routine. Now, think about your daily routine. Do you check your phone first? Wake up your children? Make breakfast? We all have routines, and I think it is what keeps me grounded. As human beings in the twenty-first century, we do everything at a very fast pace. Our brains encode the things we do each day into something referred to as habits. We get tangled into the cycle of habits, and it hinders us from noticing what is going on around us and it puts our imagination on time out. Now you’re probably thinking, “Well, I like my routine.” And trust me, so do I, but I think we get a little too caught up in them.

Recently I watched a TED talk with Tony Fadell where he dove deep into this “routine talk,” which he refers to as a process called “Habituation.” He gives an insightful talk about how we need to fight back the human tendency of transforming our patterns and day-to-day behaviors into habits, and recognizing the “little idiotic details” we encounter every day. He explains how as a designer he is always trying to improve the everyday things he sees, and encourages the audience to do the same.

Tony Fadell gives 3 tips on how to fight habituation:

1. Look Broader: look at all the steps forward and backward and identify problems that need solutions!

2. Look Closer: the smallest details give us the greatest meaning

3. Think Younger: have young minds! We get use to the things we are exposed often. As Tony mentions, we need to be as kids in which they haven’t been around much and question everything.

I think Tony makes an excellent point. We need to look beyond our habits to truly experience the world better. Therefore, I challenge you to open your eyes, pay attention to what is going on around you, and break out of your everyday routine. Try to see the world as it really is, not just through our lens we put on each morning.

You can watch Tony Fadell’s TED talk here.

As I sit down to write this, I am surrounded by a big mess… a very big mess. We are currently in the process of renovating our house. My washer and dryer are temporarily set up in my living room, my water is cut off for the day and I’m trying to figure out where in the already-crowded dining room to put the bathtub that is about to be delivered for the next month or so. My dog is barking at me because of all of the strange people working on our house and her restricted access to her yard, and my daughter wants to see what everyone is working on and try to figure out how she can “help.” Oh, and did I mention I’m almost 8 months pregnant?

Perfect timing, right?

When I feel like I’m literally on the verge of losing my mind in the chaos of change, I have to take a step back and realize that the mess is only temporary, and in the end, I’m going to have a beautiful home that is more spacious and more organized than it was before this mess began.

“Change is hard at the beginning, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.” – Robin Sharma

Without change, there is no progress, and this is true in all areas of life – whether it be personal or business. Is there a change that you know you need to make to help your business grow, but you are avoiding because of the mess that comes along with it? Perhaps you need to grow your team or change your org structure? Or it’s time to move to a new or larger location? Or there is a process that you have had in place, but it is no longer working? Is it time to take your marketing to the next level, or really focus on branding your business?

Well, consider this your invitation! Come join me in the chaos of change. There is no better time to make positive changes than NOW! And believe me, your future self will thank you for it.

What should I blog about? I asked my friend, as we texted this afternoon. “Instant connections,” she said. “Whether it’s a business or a personal relationship. Like a friendship born in a seedy Grand Prairie volleyball warehouse.”

It’s true. We became friends three years ago in a cold, remote, loud volleyball warehouse where we spent an entire weekend watching our daughters play for the same club team. We bonded quickly over our disdain for the helicopter parents in attendance and the absurdity of the diet our girls were forced to adhere to. By the next tournament we had a wagon full of inside jokes that we shared … and we were off.

Today she is one of my very closest friends, even though our daughters are no longer close, and volleyball is but a distant memory.

What causes people to gravitate to each other? And what enables those authentic connections to endure? The same can be pondered in business – what causes people to gravitate to businesses or brands and maintain that loyalty?

Brand loyalty doesn’t happen by accident. Brands that cultivate loyalty find ways to emotionally connect with their customers. How is this accomplished? Here are three things to consider:

1. Focus on what your brand does best. If you try to be all things to all people you’ll end up being nothing to anyone. Be bold. Be unique. Differentiate your brand around what makes you, YOU.
2. Serve your customers. Wow them. Take care of them. Listen to them. Serve them. Give them reasons to come back to your brand again and again.
3. Determine what your brand stands for and deliver on your promise. You must become relentless in your dedication to deliver on your brand promise. Every day.

Creating authentic connections and maintaining a successful brand that brings loyal customers to your door is key. Does your brand measure up?

We are passionate about branding here on the Porch! If your brand isn’t speaking to your customers the way it should, give us a call. We can help.

Customer experience is a daily topic on the Porch. Those who know me are probably like “smh” that I would say I learned about customer experience from Disney Princesses ‘cuz mama be like, Hey, Cinderella, what’s the story all about … you know, the Suzy Bogguss song?!?! No? Well, Google it …

Did you know Millennials ranked Disney number one in the latest Brand Intimacy Report***?

***Survey was not by the Porter family nor was the Porter family surveyed for this report.

Why did they rank Disney number one you ask? Millennials tend toward “escapism and the need for respite” during this point in their lives. Disney delivers. The Disney brand rocks it with Millennials, children, teens, parents, grandparents and everyone in between.

My latest experience at Disney World brings me back to why the most powerful brands are the ones that have mastered customer experience, among other things.

Three customer experience takeaways from Disney:

1. Hire people who love their jobs and continually give them reasons to love it. They have to love it. There are people of all ages touching Disney Princesses and their hair and clothing for hours on end. Random lils asking questions about the Princess’ movie or last episode of their Disney Junior show. Upon each interaction, there were smiles and dialogue about the show and questions about whether they liked the outcome of that episode or if they knew what Belle’s favorite book was. My favorite answer, “Yes, princess, your hair is the same color as mine.” Swoon.
2. Consistently deliver on the brand at every touch point. When you call the front desk or housekeeping or the restaurant at a Disney property, you always hear, “Welcome home.” If you ask, “Are you open tomorrow?” You will most certainly not hear, “We are off tomorrow. Sorry.” Take note friends.
3. Words your team speaks matter. You are called your highness or majesty. Your children are called princess or prince or your highness every time you turn around. How can you not love being at Disney?

Customers and clients are the new royalty. The quality of customer experience you must offer to compete in your market and win is of the utmost importance — now more than ever.

Dream big marketer. Be A Champion.

Disney, you got me hook, line and slipper.