Reminder: its almost Gratitude Week — or as most people call it, Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of our favorite times of the year. Why? Because there is much to be grateful for and so many blessings to celebrate. So here’s your gratitude reminder!
Gratitude for Those Around Us
On the Porch, we are thankful for our team, supportive families and friends, clients and advocates. We are always looking for ways to show our gratitude to our village. In doing so, we often have opportunities to create new, authentic connections as well.
Five Ways You Can Share Your Gratitude to Clients and Customers:
Share experiences. Host an event or invite them to attend events with the team. The time spent together is invaluable in building relationships and expressing gratitude toward one another.
Share socially. Acknowledge loyalty on your company’s social networks. Follow, like and comment on others’ posts.
Share financially. Donating to a cause they care about signals your attentiveness to what is important to them.
Share milestones. Commemorate birthdays, business founding dates, anniversaries together. Celebrating success is motivating and boosts confidence. We can all afford to celebrate more in life!
Share simply. Thank them at each touchpoint and in every interaction. A simple “thank you” goes a long way. Gratitude is a gift you can share any time of the year!
A Big Thanks from The Front Porch
Your clients and customers play huge roles in your success and should be reminded of your gratitude at every opportunity. So from all of us on the Porch, thank you to our own clients, customers, and readers of this blog. We appreciate you and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Are you ready to tackle your company’s marketing must-have plans for next year? You’re in luck! We’ve simplified that list for you, to get you started. Your business success can be mapped out ahead of time with these five guideposts put in place to execute against.
Having a plan means you know what to do to build your business according to seasons, holidays, business cycles, trends and more. And, if you need help formulating any of these must-haves — or executing them, please ask us!
The Marketing Must-Haves:
1. Marketing Plan
What are your 2023 business and marketing goals? Define them now. Make a marketing plan. Then add in audiences, competition, SWOT, strategies and tactics. Know who you are and what you’re doing. Know what makes your company unique, and what your brand’s biggest benefit is.
2. Content Calendar
This important calendar includes social media and blogging as marketing initiatives. Know what you’re going to talk about every month and every week using this calendar. Take advantage of social media trends. Every content strategy needs a roadmap with dates, and this calendar is super helpful for engaging your consumer on a regular basis.
3. Marketing Timeline
Calendarize key events pertinent to your business, down to the day. Know what events to capitalize on for business success. Plan out when you will carry out campaigns for advertising, digital or print, as well as event pushes, PR and media relations, holiday and event marketing and more.
4. Marketing operations — including people, technology and analytics
Do you have the right team in place? Do you have enough team to get the job done next year? What tech and analytics tools do you need to execute and then evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies against your goals?
5. Marketing Budget
Once the four above have been defined, put numbers to each of them. Create a marketing budget that maximizes your impact. Plan for this budget quarterly, and then, manage to it monthly. Staying on track will pay off.
No matter the size of your business, start on your marketing must-haves now.
Take the guesswork out of what to do next week, next month, or just next with these five marketing must-haves for planning your next business year! We’ve seen our clients grow year over year when we help them set these must-have marketing goals in place. Then, we work together diligently all year to execute against them for business growth and success. It can work for you too.
If there’s anything we learned from the pandemic it’s that going digital is the ultimate way to survive as a business. No one expected an event like this to disrupt the world as fast as it did, but we adapted. Lots of corporations switched to being remote or hybrid; and Zoom became a household name. With the world going digital many of us started to realize the importance of marketing ourselves online and there’s no better place than LinkedIn. Membership has climbed to reach over 780 million since the pandemic hit. So there’s no better time than now to upgrade your LinkedIn!
Personal branding is a topic we’re all familiar with. We all know it’s important, but many of us don’t give it the attention it really deserves. Most of the time were just too busy to give it any real time or thought. We think “I know there’s more I could be doing to improve my LinkedIn.” However, in this day and age its crucial to have your personal brand looking clean and professional. Here are a couple of tips and tricks to improve your LinkedIn profile.
Upgrade Your Profile Picture
Your picture is the first thing people see when they click on your LinkedIn profile. It’s important that you get this right. First make sure the picture is a recent photo of you, then make sure your face takes up about 60% of the frame. No long distance shots, and smile with your eyes!
Choose a Background Photo
Choose a background photo that represents either what you do, or your interest in visually interesting way. If you don’t have your own photos to work with, I recommend using a free hd stock image site called Unsplash. Also try to stick with a photo that fits within 1584 (w) x 396 (h) pixels for the best quality.
Linkedin has amazing networking opportunities and has made it very easy to expand your network. One helpful tip is to link your profile with your email address book. LinkedIn will then suggest people you should connect with. Once you start connecting with people you may even notice that you have connections working at companies that you are currently applying for. I strongly suggest if you are in college that you connect with those who go to your school in your major. You never know when that connection may come in handy.
Take Skill Assessments
These are free tests that LinkedIn has created to help you stand out amongst the crowd. According to Linkedin candidates who have certified skills are 30% more likely to get hired. I recommend to getting certified in the Microsoft Excel assessment. It’s a universal skillset that will always help you standout. Obviously the more certified skills you have the better.
Publish Your Own Content
The best way to get noticed on LinkedIn is to publish engaging, long content. You should start pumping these out to start conversations. Make sure it’s interesting. A good tip is to look at the trending articles on LinkedIn News on the right hand side of your account. Look at the trending topics on the platform and share your thoughts or experiences on the topic. If you can don’t be afraid to sprinkle in a little emojis. It may sound stupid but it actually increases reader engagement. Just don’t over do it. Also try to steer away from politics on LinkedIn. This is a platform for professional networking, it’s not Facebook or Twitter.
A Brighter Future Awaits
Upgrading your LinkedIn doesn’t have to be done all in one day. Try to take it in small chunks. These steps may seem trivial at first, but I promise if you knock these out when you have your lunch break, or when find yourself with extra fee time you won’t regret it. Allow LinkedIn to work for you by taking the first step!
Marketing leaders, what are you doing to nurture relationships with your customers?
Consistency and connection nurture relationships. Sure, loyalty and points programs are tactics that bring brands and customers closer together.
But genuine allegiance is an outcome.
A recent conversation with a marketing leader provided inspiration. This marketing leader has had some challenges. But realized the value of marketing.
The company had cut the marketing budget. All the momentum that person built was put to a halt. And then the company brought in a consultant. First, he asked her what was happening on the marketing front. To which she replied, “Nothing.’ And, obviously he was shocked.
How to foster genuine relationships.
Business leaders do these four things:
Conviction – Know the brand. Marketing leaders walk the talk. And they demonstrate it every touchpoint. Then, clients and their customers can see it and feel it.
Consistency – Do you have a message map for your client? Share the value proposition of the brands you work on, on every platform, consistently.
Communication – Know your audience. Then recognize: how do they want to communicate? It isn’t about you. It is about what works for them. Marketing leaders will recognize this and pivot messaging to solve clients’ problems in a way that is meaningful and relevant to the client.
Connection – If there is consistency communicating the message, then the connection will happen. But as a marketing leader, how do you deepen the ties with your client and their customers?
Weekly meetings with clients
Weekly catch-up calls on both status of projects, and how pain points with consumers are being addressed
Notes on special days to recognize achievements
Boundaries set on both sides, so that both marketing and client are set up to succeed
Marketing leadership: Take inspiration. Deepen connections. Accelerate growth.
We love to partner with smart leaders who value marketing. And, if we can help, let’s talk about mutual partnership to grow top line sales.
Recent readings over Spring and Easter Breaks provided four great reminders for me as a business leader. And I hope they do the same for y’all too.
For those of you who do not know, one half of my heart – my son – attends Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, right outside Orlando.
We stayed at one of my favorite beaches over Easter, New Smyrna Beach, which is a hour drive from my “son~shine.” And, where I purchased a beach condo, aka short-term rental investment property, earlier this year. It is affectionately deemed the “money pit.” But that is a blog for another day. I digress.
Reminder One: Be a GD Cheetah
A beach read was Glennon Doyle’s Untamed. She shares a visit to the zoo and the Cheetah Run. The cheetah, Tabitha, is tamed. She performs on queue.
A little girl asked, “Doesn’t she miss the wild?”
Zookeeper comes back with a BS answer.
Doyle writes that Tabitha would sigh and say, “I should be grateful. I have a good enough life here. It is crazy to long for what does not even exist.”
“I’d say: Tabitha. You are not crazy. You are a GD cheetah.”
That had such a profound effect on me. I later cried as I read the excerpt aloud to my daughter. Without the GD, of course. And I asked her to promise me to always be herself. To be a cheetah.
Reminder Two: Finding Leverage
Not as an emotional experience for me, but profound none the less. Reading the latest issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.
Time is our inventory.
An article by Adam Bornstein explores business growth by not necessarily adding more people. Rather, exploring this. “Smart growth is not about spending more time, nor is it about maxing out your time. It is about finding leverage.”
Reminder Three: Damn the Sycophants
I cannot remember what the article was about. It was the word. The word I had to look up.
I was reminded, although sometimes painful, I treasure those around me who are not this.
Surround yourself with talented people. Those who are smarter than you. Formidable team members push back. They may not think like you. But they make the organization better. These folks fill in for your short falls.
Reminder Four: Being Too Efficient
In a past life, I was ultra-organized. I am a Franklin Covey Planner Training Course graduate for heaven’s sake. Organized all the things in my office and life.
Then, I started Front Porch Marketing. And, had my second child at an “advanced maternal age.”
Words quoted from Edward Tenner in another Entrepreneur Magazine article spoke to me. In summary, big business always has the advantage. However, entrepreneurs combine technology with connection to people. Something big companies cannot do.
Jason Feifer, author of the article, cited Blockbuster and Netflix as an example. Early in my career collaborating with folks at Blockbuster and Viacom shaped me into who I am today. And I am eternally grateful for those experiences. I saw how they tried to evolve. As well as saw what was attempted and did not happen. These learnings were invaluable.
So I hope these four reminders for business that I learned this spring will resonate with you too!
AHAs and WHOAs. When the way the world of work is done shifts, like it did Q1 of 2022, you can expect a little bit of both. Our annual team kick off meeting this year was an AHA for us! Unfortunately, not everyone could make it. But it was the first time for us to meet two team members in person. They had joined us in 2021, but we had not all met in person yet. Such a great AHA moment!
We were also so excited to be onsite with our client last week. Their manufacturing facility inspires. Yes, we creative individuals love being in this environment because we can have lots of AHA moments together. Then, some of us go into a cave for a few hours after to recharge, taking all that inspiration with us to create. That meeting was the first time we met our client of several months in person vs via a screen. We hugged, natch.
WHOA, I’m not sure I’m ready for this.
In a catch-up lunch, Friday, a longtime advocate of ours was very anxious. And he admitted, he’s a bit angry. He starts international business travel again full throttle this week. He liked his pandemic routine. WHOA. We all kind of got used that didn’t we?
Another client of ours brought us on board recently. Their team is overstretched all the way around. Trade shows and conference are back now in person, and that adds a lot of extra marketing work to their plate. What’s extra hard for them right now is the fact that some of their clients are demanding online events as well. So, WHOA, they are now doing double the work.
We’ve been virtually ready for this for years.
Between all the client AHAs and WHOAs, it’s easy for us to just keep rollin’. Eleven years ago this month, we were founded on a virtual model. So, not much changed for us workstyle wise over the past two years. The rest of the world finally realized what a great model remote work is, and caught up to us!
Now the “Hybrid” work is emerging. Hybrid offices practice some time in the office and some time remote. According to U.S. News & World Report, the younger generations love the hybrid idea. But, they also love the connection of the face-to-face model. The older generation, who were the yuppies of the ‘80s, working 70 hours a week, now prefer not to be in the office all the time. And everyone seems to still be moving forward, getting things done. So remote and hybrid models are making more sense to a lot of workers.
Different work styles can work together.
Whatever style you or your team members or clients chose, be kind and carry on. You CAN work together! Remember professionals of all industries and levels are going through AHAs and WHOAs of their own as 2022 progresses. It may take some people time to settle in to their optimum work style, and make it work for their family, their team, and their company.
Most business leaders know successful marketers when they meet them. These marketers are focused on the same things they are. Building enterprise and customer or client value.
Marketers must mobilize all the people inside and outside the organization. They are focused on return. Do less, more consistently and effectively.
Therefore, hate to tell you, just because your bestie is on Instagram, doesn’t mean she is a marketer. Newsflash. Sorry to disappoint.
Moreover, our team is filled with seasoned marketers. We have fabulous, cream of the crop interns. They keep up with multiple clients, projects, deadlines, industries and trends. These folks are skilled enough to have conversations with CEOs. Front Porch Marketing is not a teaching hospital. For instance, we are triage surgeons on most days.
Technology and consumer attitudes have and will continue to change drastically. Marketing professionals must stay flexible. Know a bit of everything that is going on in the company. Some days are filled with customer service and distribution. Meanwhile, other are sales management and internal communication.
However, despite the varying roles, these qualities are at these professionals’ core. Super powers they have in common.
The Super Powers of Successful Marketers
Adaptable. In other words, with all technology changing at light speed, know how to evolve with it.
Analytical. Marketing is data driven. Some don’t know what to do with all the data being generated. Therefore, if you can sort through it, and find the relevant. You will be indispensable part of any organization.
Collaboration. Must be an extraordinary team player. Seek input. Solve issues. Foster cooperation. Similarly, often the CMO is the company’s glue. The entire team rallies around the company’s vision because of this person. Illustrate how collaboration creates more value.
Excellent communicators. Words have power. The right words break down barriers and rally the troops. Inside and outside the organization.
Creative. Marketers value innovation. Take risks to facilitate it. They vigorously seek solutions. Explore new approaches. In conclusion, continuously.
Inquisitive. The best marketers are a cross between a detective and a scientist. Therefore, they ask the questions.
Strategic. Start with why. Strategy is the key to successful businesses. Obsessed is a strategic thinker. Constant eye on the market. Diligently studying consumer behavior. In addition, watch the competitors’ every move.
In conclusion, marketing is a marathon not a sprint. Have the right people on your team. Boulders move up the hill with smart people pushing them. Above all, right now, everyone could use a few less boulders. Therefore, pick the marketers that demonstrate super powers.
Have an internal marketing team? Outsourced function? Freelance consultant?
It doesn’t matter what your marketing team looks like. Or what the project looks like. If you’re B2B or B2C. Ask the questions.
It is the last week of the first month of a new year. Therefore, one third the way through first quarter.
Our world looks different than it did even a month ago. With the constant changes, it is critical to focus on the “why.” Make sure the entire organization is aligned. After that, measure initiatives and report results and data.
Business leaders and their marketing team share the responsibility for growth. In other words, work together to achieve collective outcomes to improve enterprise value. Reframe conversations. Arrive at common language. In conclusion, ask and answer the questions.
Marketing Team: Ask These Questions
Do we remember why we are here? The first step to create alignment, excitement and positive team energy cross-functionally.
Have our business goals, objectives and strategies changed? Similarly, need to be tweaked?
Who are our customers / clients? Are the same as last year? How have our existing clients’ mindsets, decision drivers, perceptions changed in the last month?
Are we doing enough to add value and fully leverage our relationship with them?
Where are we falling down? A positive discussion with constructive criticism and actable outputs.
What could limit or impact our strategy, direction or execution?
What has been our biggest marketing success this month?
Are there new key relationships and milestones or events coming up we should be aware of?
Marketing contributes more than 50% of firm value when brand, customer and digital assets are properly valued. And, the impact of marketing performance, collaboration and perceptions are measured. Marketing is an asset, rather than a cost center or risk mitigator.
We are grateful to work as a marketing team for our clients. Front Porch Marketing asks the questions. We can work as fractional CMOs and outsourced marketing department. In addition, we help write marketing plans and execute marketing initiatives on a retainer or project basis.
Already, we are halfway through January. What has the year looked like for you? Are you following through with your resolutions? Are you on the trajectory to meet the goals you have set for yourself?
Or are you going through the motions? Because it already feels like you don’t have the time to start or already missed your chance.
Creating resolutions or goals at the start of the year may seem frivolous or trivial to some but these ideas can truly kickstart your year on a high note. When it comes to 2021 goals for your company or for yourself as a team member, I want to encourage you to commit to getting things done. By putting your mindset into one that is proactive, realistic and driven I believe that you have the ability to accomplish any goal that you set your heart to.
Now that I’ve got your mind thinking about your goals or potentially lack there of, it’s time to get to business. Grab the nearest paper you have or even open your notes app.
Think of three types of goals you want to set for yourself.
Three Types of Goals: Physical Goal
The first kind of goal is physically oriented. There are numerous ways that this goal could look like to you. It could look like a number on a scale or the number of workout classes you take per week. Or it could look like you getting more rest than you are getting right now and allowing yourself the time to recharge. We could also pivot to nutrition where you may want to be more proactive about what you put into your body rather than what you do with it. Maybe that looks like eating a salad twice a week or skipping desserts until the weekend. Truly, YOU know your body best – what do you want this goal to look like?
Three Types of Goals: Mental Goal
The second kind of goal is mentally oriented. Do you let yourself take a breather when you need it? Or do you push through and jump onto the next thing on your never-ending to-do list? While endurance is admirable, I want to encourage you to also take the time to listen to what your body and mind are telling you. If you take a break after a long day there is nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, you deserve that breather and I am proud of you for persisting with as much tenacity as you have.
This goal may also look like setting healthy boundaries that you’ve always wanted to set but felt like it just never stuck. I myself, have difficulty with setting boundaries but with practice it has become easier to find pockets of peace in my day. This could look like you sending automated messages through your work email past a certain time. Be more proactive with your work/life balance.
Although silly, something that helped me was writing in my agenda “me time.” This was my way of giving myself the space to do whatever I wanted for one hour. Therefore, not to stress about the other things on my agenda. It allowed me to recharge. Hit the ground running with new ideas and a positive attitude.
On the flip side maybe you are so set in boundaries to the point that your no’s in life highly outweigh the yes’s. Give yourself the mental space to step out of your comfort zone. Therefore, try something new. Start saying yes to things that you wouldn’t normally do and discover a different side of yourself that you may have never explored. In the infamous words of Babe Ruth, “never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”
Three Types of Goals: Personal Goal
The third kind of goal is personally oriented. Think about something that you want for yourself. Is there a raise that you’ve been wanting for some while? But, haven’t been taking the steps to get it? Are there monthly profits you want to accomplish for your company? Or is there an activity that you always wanted to try out but never did?
No matter what this goal looks like, make sure that it makes YOU happy. Ask that person out that you’ve always wanted to but never have. Try new foods that you’ve been too nervous to try. The world is your oyster. With an entire year ahead of us, time is on your side.
Dig Deep
Goals and resolutions buzzing through your head? I encourage you to write them all down. No matter how frivolous they may seem. Take a moment to dig deep. Then, analyze what you’ve written. Is there a common thread? Something that surprised you?
Now, figure out a game plan. Plan out realistic smaller goals. Reach your overarching goals and resolutions. Create consistency. Is your goal to get a raise? Then, start looking at the historical value that you bring to the company? Should you do more? For instance, meetings you could attend during your free time? And are you taking the steps to reach that goal?
In conclusion, whatever goals you choose to set, remember to make 2021 the year of getting things done.
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.
