R Studio 101

You may be wondering, what is R Studio? Is it easy to learn? R Studio is a programming language for statistical computing and graphics. The overall goal of R Studio is to help you summarize and analyze data that will provide insights for making data-driven marketing decisions. While it is not initially easy, like most things, through practice and many trials you can hone your skills just as I have.

This past semester, at Baylor University, I had the pleasure of doing in-depth customer analysis through R Studio and learned how to create data visualizations and perform different statistical analyses using R codes.

Data Science

Data science is the future of business analytics, yet it is often difficult to figure out where to start. The last thing you want to do is waste time and money with the wrong tool or program. Making effective use of your time involves two pieces: 

(1) selecting the right tool for the job at hand

(2) efficiently learning how to use the tool to increase value for your business.

This blog focuses on the first part, explaining why R is the right choice in three points.

Reason One: High Return on Value

The first reason for why R may be the right tool for the job is if you are looking to use a statistical programing language that lends itself well to an extensive infrastructure of big data. R covers a wide range of topics such as econometrics, finance, and time series. R has the best-in-class tools for visualization, reporting, and interactivity, which are just as important to business as they are to science. Because of this, R is well-suited for scientists, engineers, and business professionals.

With the analysis of customer analytics through R, business professionals can:

1. Increase sales to new and existing customers.
2. Increase response rates and customer loyalty.
3. Reduce campaign costs by targeting customers most likely to respond.
4. Increase sales force effectiveness by targeting qualified prospects.
5. Reduce customer churn by accurately predicting customers most likely to leave and developing the right proactive campaigns to retain them.
6. Deliver the right message by segmenting customers more effectively and better understanding target populations.
7. Deliver higher returns on marketing and promotions investments by contacting the right customers with highly relevant offers/messages.

These all important marks for a company and can be drastically improved through R.

Reason Two: Free Open-Source Tool

When downloading R for business use, one of the greatest pros is that it is an open-source program. Therefore, it can be modified and redistributed as per the user’s need. It is great for visualization and has far more capabilities, compared to other tools like Python.

Companies, such as Facebook, Microsoft, and Google, are using R programming as their core platform to make online advertising more effective. They also use R for economic forecasting and Big-Data statistical modeling. Due to the results that the ‘console’ and ‘plots’ provide in R, these big-name brands are able to make dutifully noted decisions.

Reason Three: Easy to Use

What is great about using R Studio is that once you understand the basics, you will be able to transcribe codes to more advanced stages since they have similar frameworks. Although it takes a couple tries to understand the statistical language, through failure comes success. To help create successful codes and interpretations, the RStudio Cheatsheets are a great reference guide for R syntax as well as YouTube videos.

Conclusion

Whether you use R or Python or another program, find out what your customer data strategy is and what your marketing strategy is to find that perfect balance between the two.

2021 moved consumer shopping from brick and mortar to eCommerce – most likely for good. Increased demand for online shopping turned retail into an Omnichannel experience over night. Right at the cusp of experiential retail taking over, many retailers pivoted to eCommerce. So online was the only experience in shopping last year for many. Some stores and services even stayed exclusively eCommerce for the better part of 2021 – and remain so still.

Moving a brick and mortar business to eCommerce – like a restaurant, a doctor’s office, a clothing boutique – isn’t easy, and in 2020 many retailers moved their businesses years into the future in an instant. How exactly did they do that?

Pivoting from bricks to clicks

While planning to add the services of tele-health such as video sessions and text therapy, our client Apple Counseling sped up their timeline when 2021 presented them with a situation where their services were more in demand than ever. Yet, in-person brick and mortar was not the preferred method for experiencing mental health services.

By putting the infrastructure in place to accommodate many types of digital health services, and a robust new website, Apple was able to pivot quickly from exclusively brick and mortar to ecommerce. Going forward, they’ll keep the digital services they’ve added as they open their offices back up to in-person sessions. This new hybrid model is one that is being replicated all over the world of retail.

How to incorporate brick and mortar to ecommerce into your business model

Making ecommerce part of your long-term strategy is a smart move. eMarketer estimates that ecommerce sales grew 27.6% in 2020. Start by assessing how your customers use your business. For instance, if you are a restaurant, what percentage of your business is already take-away and to-go orders? What are you doing to maximize this experience for your customers already, and how can you streamline it or plus it up to make it better? Increase your eCommerce sales by adding new ways to order like website, social, text or 3^rd party apps.

A consumer Incisiv survey  indicated that 80% of shoppers expect to continue to use contactless and curbside pickup this year. Can you repurpose part of your brick and mortar space to make it easier to fulfill your eCommerce orders? Instead of a clothing boutique, can you make your merchandise accessible on-line?

Our client GNB, a women’s clothing retailer, quickly built out website and Instagram last year to showcase her customer’s favorite brands and fulfilled orders in a new way. Now that she has opened her brick and mortar up in a new space, she is keeping the online store in place to continue to cater to the wider audience she developed when she was exclusively online.

Your Business Strategy Pivot

When you move from in-store to on-line you’ll need to perhaps rethink your business plan to accommodate a regional versus local audience. Rely on your social media analytics for demographic information to guide your choices. Cater to the right audience. Think about the yoga studios that pivoted to teaching class online, or the wineries that now offer Zoom tastings with professional sommeliers.

Your “physical” space might become an order fulfillment center, or a showroom only. Showrooms are a growing choice for retailers (like Sephora) to show off a smaller portion of their total inventory. Customers can then place their orders in the showroom. Or, return to pick them up in a few days or have them sent to their home. But the customer will have had the chance to interact with your retail brand in person to some extent.

Your New Brick and Mortar to eCommerce Product Mix

Products that factor into an eCommerce retail business versus an in-person retail business may vary. Consider shipping, logistics and storage when rethinking your product or service mix. Think about what consumers are looking for – the needs of the market. How your brand can make your customers’ lives easier in some way?

Marketing for a digital-first business

With an eCommerce-first model, more of your budget will go to digital improvements in your website, digital marketing and social media. Upgrade not just the look of your website to really give customers the feel of your brand – upgrade your SEO. Search engine optimization can help the right customers find you on search engines. Use a combination of keywords, content marketing, targeted digital marketing and social media. Optimizing how you talk about your business online can help new customers find you faster.

When your brand transitions from brick and mortar retail to eCommerce, you can reinforce your brand’s benefits with your current customers while growing a new audience online. Then the convenience of online retail opens up a whole new world of potential business. With some thoughtful strategy and a digital marketing plan, your retail business can capitalize on this trend, and you can double down on your brand smoothly and successfully moving from brick and mortar to eCommerce.

Chances are you have seen a post or two about what days and what times are the best for posting on social media. And in fact, they are all probably right, and probably wrong. You see, the best time and place for YOUR social media is totally dependent upon your followers.

Short Cuts to an Optimal Social Media Time and Place Posting Schedule

What people want is a quick fix to their social media. A set-it-and-forget it system that they can follow that requires the least amount of work. But social media is not a broadcast channel like television, radio, or a print ad. Social media is supposed to be SOCIAL. Your social media channels are the place where you can actually have one-on-one conversations with people who love your brand already. How do you know they love you already? They’ve chosen to follow you, haven’t they? So talk with them when they are sitting there ready to have that conversation.

Sure, there are general guidelines for posting on social media channels, many of which have to do with putting yourself in someone else’s shoes for a moment. When are people most likely scrolling thru Instagram? What are people doing on their lunch break besides eating? (hint: scrolling thru Instagram) What’s the last thing that people do before they go to sleep at night, while they’re laying in bed? (another hint: scrolling thru Instagram) You get the picture. So how do you determine what social media channels and times are the best for your brand? When can you maximize a conversation with your followers going forward? The short answer is “the past”.

The Right Channel for Your Social Media

Each social media platform has a specific and different purpose. By offering a little bit different perspective and content on each channel of social media (instead of using the channels to broadcast like a tv or radio station) a company can show their many sides and offer a more nuanced look at their company, much like you would develop a friendship with a real person and grow to appreciate the many facets of their personality. So after you’ve given your social media channels a spring cleaning, start looking at your analytics.

Social Media Analytics

Every platform you post on for your brand has some form of analytics. You can see a surprising amount of information about your followers in the insights part of your dashboard, whatever the platform. One of the most valuable pieces of information in there is when your followers are on the platform. Start there. Your followers might be the breakfast crowd, in which case 6:15 – 8:30am is a good time for you. Maybe your followers are night owls in which case, program your posts (or manually post them) after 9:00pm.

With 63% of American users checking Instagram at least once a day, and 74% of American users checking Facebook once a day – according to Hootsuite – , you’re sure to find at least one and probably more than one heavy use time in your follower insights.

Scheduling platforms like Hootsuite, Buffer and Planoly make it even easier – they look at the analytics of your followers and tell you the best times to post without the research. Taking advantage of these low-cost automation platforms can save you valuable time, so you can concentrate your efforts on content creation.

Past Performance

Look at your social media feed on any channel as an indicator of what to post in the future. Which posts did well? What type of content got the most likes or comments? Do more of that. Look to your past performance to guide your future endeavors.

What are your competitors doing?

Competitive research is not just for branding and creative. Take a look at what your competitors are posting – what, when and where – when you’re setting up your optimal schedule. Look for patterns in not just your own feed, but in the similar feeds of your competitors and do more of what they are doing the best.

Post, Rinse, Repeat

Testing your content in different forms and at different times will also provide key insights when scheduling the best times and places for your social media as part of your content marketing plan. There is no one-size-fits-all best time solution that will fit every grand, as your brand’s best time and best platform are just as unique as your branding.

With a little effort upfront, you can glean insights into your audience that will not only increase your engagement, but actually help your followers even more. They have questions they want answered and you have the answer – so use the information that is readily available and answer that question sooner.

Your Brand in 2021: Front Porch Marketing has seen an interesting client trend this past year, especially in the second half. Many entrepreneurial brand companies have decided that 2020 – and indeed 2021 – is a good time to double down their brand. They want to really dig in, define their brand and differentiate themselves from their competition. Even big corporate companies, like Burger King, have rebranded, seeking to better define their mission and vision going forward.

If you step back and take a look at your brand with the fresh eyes of 2021, does it look like the company you envisioned when you started? Likely, your brand has evolved and so have you. Does your current branding reflect where you want to be in 5 years with your company or even where you are now, or is it trapped in the past? Maybe it’s time to graduate your branding.

Your Brand in 2021: Envision, Evolve, Emerge

Are you adequately featuring your new products or services? Are you communicating your most compelling benefit? Does your brand look legit, grown-up, like a serious brand that does serious business? Don’t get the veto vote from a customer or a partner business because your brand is not getting taken seriously. You know you can do the job…make sure your branding speaks that truth this year.

Branding – and the digital marketing that embodies branding – has become more important than ever. Your customers and clients are getting bombarded with texts and emails from business service providers to retailers. Ask yourself “why should they read mine?”

What do you stand for?

Do you know what your company’s biggest benefit to your customer is? Do you know how each of your products or services add value to their lives, make their lives easier or answer their questions? Does the tone of voice you use resonate with your customer, and instill loyalty to your brand?

If you don’t know the answers to some of these questions, 2021 might be the year you think about doubling down on your brand. What DO you stand for? What is your mission? As part of your Marketing for 2021, branding can help you answer all of these questions and more, leaving you with a clear map of where to take your business next and how to get there. Branding gives you the platform and parameters to deliver tangible solutions to your customer. We’ve seen the excitement and commitment of more than half a dozen of our own clients rebranding for the future, in just the past six months.

Don’t just work IN your business, work ON your business.

Branding is not just about looks though, it is also about strategy and tactics. What are you going to say, and where are you going to say it are key. You need to be cohesive and coherent in your messaging, as well as look professional. Small businesses often fall down thinking they can “do it themselves” with marketing but without a marketing background – from logo design to social media to PR. Often, they are holding themselves back because they are too busy working IN their business and to work ON their business.

So double down on your brand this year – strengthen your commitment to your particular strategy or course of action. Become more tenacious and resolute in your bringing your brand vision into 2021 and beyond.

Reflecting on the past year, we are so grateful for courageous, fearless business leaders. We continue to be inspired by those who bravely carried on in 2020. Grit and gumption.

Cheers to those leaders who showed up. Those who made the most out homeschool, while working or not, closures, pivots, business opportunities and personal and professional loss.

Earlier in the year, I watched no TV. I read only the daily work related briefs and blogs.

However, in the later part of the year, I read a good chunk of mindless trash. This is how I escape. Reading fiction, mostly murder mysteries and romance novels.

The two personal and professional development books I did read were life changing for me. Leaders must read. One was this. The other was Brene Brown’s Braving the Wilderness. I read it twice in the past two months.

Leaders will brave the new year.

How?

Do you. Brown talks about praying and cussing. Those who know me will not be surprised I love this. She talks about not being moved. Doing work in an honest way that is true to yourself. Leaders, time to truly support each other. I let others “do you.” And, I do me. Belong to yourself. ” … brave the wilderness of uncertainty, vulnerability and criticism.”

Speak truth to bullshit. Do not shut down. In other words, that is the easy road. Leaders do not avoid communication. Learn more about others. Even if we still disagree, at least we engaged in meaningful conversation. We have a deepened mutual understanding. However, at all costs, be civil.

Strong back. Soft front. The latter is most challenging for me. No more armored front. I will stay open. Leaders are comfortable with vulnerability. “A soft and open front is not being weak; it’s being brave, it’s being the wilderness.” Eeeek … here goes. I can do it.

Be fearless. I am a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program alum. The experience was life changing. My co-hort continues to inspire me. My growth group was named, “The Fearless Five.” Coincidence? “Fear is how we got here.” Fear and blame. Own your pain. Do not inflict pain on others. Be fucking fearless.

Read the book. It is worth your time.

And, in conclusion, I am driven to make this my best year, for me and my family, business, team, clients, community, country and world.

A branded Facebook page has the power to be a gathering place, a showcase or a conversation starter for your company. As a part of your social media marketing, a Facebook Business page is a very good addition to your digital asset family to connect with your customers and build a following for your business.

Why should your brand be on Facebook?

Here are five good reasons why your brand should consider being on Facebook, and a few suggestions on how to use this social media channel and it’s features to build your business.

1. Your next customer is looking for a local business just like yours

Potential customers are using Facebook to find a new favorite neighborhood restaurant, plant store, realtor or dentist. You might not think of it this way, but Facebook is a search tool just like Google. People use Facebook to ask their friends about their experiences with businesses all the time…in front of all their other friends. They use Facebook to look up your business to see what your food looks like, what your office interior looks like, what people say about you, and more.

Facebook organically suggests brand pages to people who are located nearby. Facebook also suggests brand pages to people whose friends already like that page and engage with that business. If your brand is not on Facebook, you’re not benefitting from this simple suggestion.

If your business is on Facebook, friends can recommend you easily, give you good reviews and chat about you with their circles. Facebook is a good way to be a part of the conversations that are already happening between friends all over the country…but especially in your local trade area. By having a page, you can present your brand to your community and host those conversations.

Local customers are also looking for events in their area, and Facebook Events – another great Facebook feature – helps you easily create and post an event page with its own URL and mechanism for inviting people right on Facebook. Have a fun outdoor pop-up event next month? Build an Event page and share it. Need volunteers for a non-profit help day? Facebook Events can rally neighbors to help.

2. Engage Your Employees Digitally to Show the Human Side of Your Company

You want people to think of your business as a person that they like. They need to connect to faces, names, voices and personality. Showing the human side of your business endears your brand to your customers, and creates loyalty. You already accomplish these things in your place of business with your own employees, so extend this personality and corporate culture onto your page, giving your employees a digital way to connect with the company. This both gives them the emotional reward of connectivity and shows their friends publicly what a great company you are.

Your employees are your ambassadors. Highlight their accomplishments and their awards on your company’s page, and their networks will see that engagement as well. Value your employees publicly to build positive company culture not just among your current employees, but with your future employees.

3. Your Future Employees Are Keeping Tabs on Your Company

When you use Facebook to showcase your company, you are speaking directly to not just your own employees, but to their communities containing your future employees. Convey the personality of your company and attract new employees who are already a good culture fit.

Facebook also has another helpful feature called Facebook Jobs. Companies with a Facebook Business page can build a job post easily and immediately post it into the Facebook Jobs bank. Your followers will be the first to see your job posting – which also resides as a post on your business page. Who better to be your next employee than someone who already knows all about your brand? Facebook jobs also appear in Google search and display job local to the searcher.

4. Your target demographic is on Facebook

Do you know who your customers are? Facebook Insights can help you discover the demographics of your customers, to better market to them. When people like, visit and comment on your page, you can gather information from their Facebook profiles that is helpful for your business. Using this information, you can pivot what your business does to meet your customers’ needs.

For example, if you are a CPA and your Facebook followers continue to ask you what seems like the same tax question over and over – that might be a cue to write a blog post on your website that addresses that very topic. Then, share that page on Facebook so that your followers get the information they need. And voila, you are the voice of authority and their hero.

5. Build Your Digital Presence with Facebook Traffic

On Facebook you can present information and tell stories about your company a little bit at a time; much like you would become good friends with a person over a period of time by sharing little stories about yourself. These stories give weight to your SEO and give your company better Google Search Ranking.

You can drive traffic to your website from your page. Sign up new email list subscribers. Build your authority in your field by curating and sharing relevant and useful articles. In addition, offer special sales to customers, incentives for activity on your page and hold contests or promotions.

Facebook Business pages are one of the important tools many small businesses use in their digital marketing plan. In conclusion, with 2.4 Billion active Facebook users, more and more small businesses are utilizing a Business page to connect with their customers – and future customers – through daily conversations and brand story telling.

What do customer experience and gestures have in common? They both speak volumes about your brand as a company and your brand as a person.

From giving a smile to a customer to going the extra mile for a coworker, the art of showing a kind gesture to others has been lost in the haze of living in an individualistic generation. We live from day-to-day with a driven focus of going to the next best thing as soon as we have finished a task. Although this is a productive use of time it strips away the opportunities to foster a healthy and interactive workspace or home space.

Whether it’s a work-related task or a personal task, there is beauty in slowing down once in a while and appreciating the little things and people in your life. This beauty can be seen in the relationship-building that occurs with customers or partnered companies or even neighbors. Although there should be a focus on the task at hand there should also be a focus on the art of gestures. For example, buying a customer dinner before a meeting, finding out a partner is confused about a contract and offering your help, or even sending flowers to a neighbor who is having a hard week.

Regardless of the line of work you do, gestures go a long way. Today, I want to help you improve your customer’s experiences through the art of gestures with three easy steps.

First Step:

Become in tune with your surroundings. You’d be surprised at how much you miss when your eyes are locked on a screen or on a task at hand. There are relationships you could be building with a potential customer you may have never noticed or with a passing stranger who may need help bringing their groceries into the car. With a simple smile or extra hand – your gesture has great power to turn someone’s day around.

Second Step:

Put yourself in the shoes of others. Imagine this: you have a hard day at work and feel so overwhelmed because everything seems to be going wrong. From being late to a meeting to finding out your computer didn’t save the work you had spent hours working on the night before – you feel defeated.

With low spirits, you head back to your desk. Only to find that someone has left you a cup of your favorite coffee and an encouragement note! The note acknowledges the hard work you’ve been putting in all day. Suddenly, the day seems to be not as bad as you thought. You smile and get a surge of motivation to finish the end of the day on a sweeter note.

Something so small can be so big for someone who may not realize they needed that gesture. From a cup of joe to an encouragement note, think about what you may need if you were in another person’s shoes. It may be the start of a beautiful friendship or a fantastic customer experience!

Third Step:

Incorporate words of affirmation into your everyday conversations. Take the time to give a shout out on someone’s hard work or encourage a client who is feeling overwhelmed. It takes only seconds to brighten someone’s day.

Conclusion

No matter where you are, a gesture has the capability to mean the world to someone. You have the power to make a positive difference in someone’s life. Challenge yourself to make that difference and pursue an art that can be found through you.

Curbside Sales for restaurants and retailers appear to be here to stay – so think upselling, at least for a while. Your customers still crave your product. But, they want to enjoy the purchase and the consumption of it in their own homes. The simplest way to keep retail and restaurant doors open is curbside service.

Rather than shopping in your store, customers can order on line or by phone. Then, they can swing by your store as you bring their package to their car. Instead of dining in your restaurant this evening, customers are calling in their order. The customer then pulls up to your curb 15-20 minutes later ready to take their meal home.

Curbside pick-up – partnered with on-line or phone ordering – gives restaurants and retailers an effective way to keep selling. Indeed when things open back up again, this is also a new way to increase sales to an additional audience beyond the traditional in-store or in-restaurant customer.

Pick-up is not a new practice, but it is one that has been quickly honed during the pandemic.

There are best practices for curbside sales that will benefit both the customer and the business owner. Keep in mind that the easier you make things for your currently stressed-out customer, the more likely they are to return for this convenience again and again.

Get ready for curbside pick-up by optimizing your website and social media

• Get your website, customer email and social media up to speed. Make sure your customers know you offer curbside service and how that works is a way of upselling. Put this information on the homepage of your site. Build a separate landing page for curbside and link to that on your social platforms. Zanata Restaurant in Rockwall added a pop-up talking about Curbside Pick-up on its homepage.
• Remind customers weekly on social about curbside service. Consider having a weekly curbside special with a great photo of the item and the deal.
• Build community with your customers. Encourage them to take a picture of their purchase (food or clothing or whatever it is) and tag your store on social media. Then you in turn repost their picture thanking them publicly. This is called “User Generated Content” and is a best practice by big and small brands alike.

Make the ordering process easy for everyone

• When customers are ready to order, provide an on-site phone number for the customer to call or text to let you know that they are at your curb ready to pick up their order.
• Process payments in advance either on the phone or via your website or app. Keep the transaction at the curbside swift and contactless. If you must transact at the curb invest in a mobile card processor.
• At the time of order, ask your customer for their type and color of car picking up, and a description of the driver for clear instructions to deliver the right order to the right car.
• Designate a parking space or a specific spot as the curb service pickup area. Mark this area with signage that has clear instructions and the on-site phone number for the customer to call once they have arrived.
• Create a designated table inside to place curbside orders to streamline delivery during busy times. Have plastic ware, extra sauces, etc here to add to bags for food orders. Add tissue and gift bags here for retail merchandise.
• If you have the outside space to create a pop-up drive thru, this format can make things easier for both the customer and the business for upselling. Emporium Pies in Bishop Arts District built a pop-up “Pie-Thru.” Customers get pie without leaving their cars, mimicking their famous long line of people waiting to get pie on any given weekend.

Upselling: Keep them coming back for more

• Restaurants: include an order menu in the bag with the take-away food to make it easy for the customer to order again. Hand write a thank you note on the menu. Let the customer know how much their order meant.
• Ask the customer if they’d like to add a gift card to their purchase to either use next time, or to share with a friend. Or, if the customer hits a certain dollar amount on an order, add a gift card to the order as a thank you. This gift card will act as a bounce back for them to return to your store again.
• Invest in higher quality to-go containers to maintain integrity of your dishes. Presentation and temperature are still important. Big Al’s Smokehouse BBQ packages every to-go order in tamper-proof, sealed packaging. Consider branding your to-go packaging with stickers or hand-written “Thank Yous.” Adding stickers with your store’s logo and phone number or website helps remind customers how to find you.

Think outside the to-go box for upselling

• Consider narrowing the selection of items to your restaurant’s most popular items to offer curbside to streamline delivery.
• Offer Family Meals versions of your most popular items. Make it easier for families to just order the “Daily Family Meal for Four” for instance.
• Package an appetizer-entrée-dessert. This is an easy to pick-up choice. Switch out this special weekly to allow for local availability of ingredients or a chance to use up what’s on hand.
• And of course, have staff deliver bags or packages to customers’ cars wearing branded masks.
• Add the ability for the customer to add grocery basics to their order: milk, eggs, butter, bread, fresh veggies. Saving them an extra trip to a store can earn you a more loyal customer.

Go above and beyond to offer an experience while they wait

• Live music outside adds enjoyment when guests come to pick up their order.
• Some restaurants, depending on TABC laws, offer drinks to go to sip on while you wait for your order.
• Customers can order ingredients for one of your signature dishes with instructions to learn how to make it themselves at home. Some restaurants have even staged events. Consumers buy the ingredients kit and then tune into a Zoom with the chef to make from home.

There are more North Texas restaurants good to go best practices for how to do curbside service right by upselling. And there are several ideas for optimizing the outdoor space you do have. Re-imagine how to use it for curbside service and outside sales.

You can successfully make this way of doing business good for your bottom line.

Continuing on in our Rocker Spotlight series is Front Porch Lil’ Rock Maria Gregorio, who will share her insights on her own career and her experience on the Porch.

What is the biggest misconception about marketing today?

People want quality marketing for very little money. Cheap and great quality don’t really go together.

What advice would you give to someone struggling with creating a brand identity? 

Sit down, talk with customers, friends and colleagues. Have lots of post-its and pens around. Branding can be a tedious process but worth it in the end when you know who you are as a company and what you stand for.

One of the biggest lessons you’ve learned throughout your career?

Keep learning and growing. If it looks like you can’t grow or learn in your position, its time to look elsewhere.

What does good marketing look like?

Responsive, meets the customer where they are, makes you smile.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now where would it be?

My parents’ house in the Philippines.

If you could go to dinner with one person living or dead who would it be?

My grandpa (deceased).

If you could describe yourself in three words what would they be?

As the Front Porch Lil’ Rock nickname hints, I am short, funny, and quirky.

What is your favorite thing about FPM?

No commute! Seriously though, that we get to do interesting, creative work for great clients.

Tell me about a major milestone in your life?

When my husband visited me in college, Memorial Day Weekend 2001. We have been together ever since.

In what ways does the team at FPM have aligned values?

I think we’re all straight shooters who want to do great work and do right by people.

Your goals for FPM?

Grow the business and continue helping small businesses achieve their dreams.

How would you describe the culture at FPM?

We are a fun group who work very hard and genuinely like being around each other. That’s not something you see every day in other workplaces.

How does FPM differentiate itself from other marketing companies?

I think that judging from our quirky titles and the name of our company, people can tell that we like to do things a little differently. It does sound a little “folk-sy” but we just want to do great work for companies we believe in.   

Fun fact?

I have never lived in one place for more than four years. (military brat/railroader wife) And I used to do acting competitions in high school. I liked playing the villain 😈

Next up in the Rocker Spotlight series is Front Porch Rock Star Vanessa Hickman, where she shares her experience on the porch and things she has learned throughout her career.

Biggest Misconception about Marketing

The biggest misconception about marketing today is that there is one solution to advance brands in their marketing goals.

Advice You Would Give To Someone Struggling With Brand Identity

Seek  third-party experts to facilitate the process!

Lessons Learned

As a marketing maven and Front Porch Rock Star, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is “your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do”- Steve Jobs.

What is Good Marketing?

Above all, good marketing is intentional, consistent and precise.

Dinner With 1 Person Living Or Dead

If I could go to dinner with one person living or dead I would choose Jesus.

Describe Yourself in 3 Words

I describe myself as loyal, inclusive and loving.

Favorite Thing About FPM

My favorite thing about FPM is delivering results for a variety of clients. Above all, I would describe the culture at FPM as collaborative, caring and dedicated. Furthermore, FPM differentiates itself with its sound strategy, excellent execution and tenured team members.

Fun Fact

My fun fact is I graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts when I was 20 years old.