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:

1. 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.
2. Share socially. Acknowledge loyalty on your company’s social networks.  Follow, like and comment on others’ posts.
3. Share financially. Donating to a cause they care about signals your attentiveness to what is important to them.
4. 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!
5. 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!

Put Your Marketing Must-Have Plan in Place Now.

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.

Sports Mom Perspectives on Marketing

Here we are. End of a season and that means a sports blog is imminent. I am a sports mom of two boy athletes. This fall season was extra special because we got a double dose of football with one on varsity and one on middle school. Here’s what we learned.

Our freshman is a football enthusiast, works hard and leaves it all on the field. However, we had little expectations for varsity field time because he’s a freshman. At the beginning an upperclassman parent asked: what position does your son play? Stumbling a bit, “we don’t really know yet” the response (in jest) was: “C’mon sports mom, you don’t know what position your kid plays?”

Well, yes, we knew what he wanted to play, but we didn’t know where he was going to fit in the team. He was a newcomer, learning a new system and building relationships. The first game on special teams he got a five-yard penalty on the FIRST play because of a major rookie mistake. He got his first sack in game four. His first strip and recovery in game eight.

He has had equal moments of failure and success on the field, he learned a lot about being a teammate, work ethic, leadership and most important to us — he had a TON of fun.

Sports Mom Takeaway: Be open to new roles and positions. Adopt the “put me in coach” mentality and learn as much as you can as quickly as you can to make a positive impact on your team.

Our middle schooler does dual sports in the fall. Watching him balance two sports with ease and grace brings us joy. In baseball he is a catcher, pitcher, and infielder. He didn’t pitch the first two tournaments. When he inquired with his new coach, he didn’t even know he was a pitcher, because our kid never told him! Faceplant moment here, friends.

At the next tournament we had two game injuries that took the other two catchers out for the season. We thought our kid would be behind the plate the rest of the season, because that was where he was needed. The next tournament he pitched two games. How? His coach knew it was important to him and found a catcher to help us so he could have his shot. He did well.

Takeaway: Respectfully communicate how you want to contribute and back it up with performance.

The dichotomy of having a freshman (who is watching the upperclassman) and an upperclassman – the 8^th grader has been fascinating! Both are leading in their own ways. We have noticed student athletes (peers and opponents, underclassman and upperclassman) get wrapped up in titles, positions, and stats. A kid that is so wrapped up in their performance can became unrecognizable by his friends and family.

So, as a sports mom, tap the breaks if the stats are the drive. It’s a game. A game that can teach valuable life lessons, but it is still just a game. Here on The Porch we don’t take our titles too seriously; I have never sung or played an instrument in front of crowd but do try to deliver rockstar results on every project.   

Final Sports Mom Takeaway: Don’t let titles (positions) and stats be your drive. Instead focus on learning and improving your craft.

Modern marketing is inherently a team sport. No one can win the game (or grow their business) alone. Different “players” with different skills must work together to produce results. So on to the next season. In the winter we play basketball, so the sports mom in me will no doubt discover more life lessons to share in the spring. Let’s play ball!

How do you define a testimonial? Put simply, a testimonial conveys an individual’s thoughts or feelings toward a product or service.

In marketing, praise from a happy customer is one of the most important tools a company can use to show potential customers the value of its products and services. Not only that, they help your business build trust with customers, which ultimately leads to increased sales. And it goes without saying, a satisfied customer is your brands best advocate.

Testimonials are powerful marketing tools

Leveraging testimonials is a powerful tool you can use in your marketing efforts and there are many ways you can implement them in your strategy. Let’s spend a few minutes highlighting three ways to take advantage of them.

1. Display testimonials on your website.

Think about your favorite websites? Now go visit a couple of them. Chances are you’ll find a customer comment or two prominently displayed on the homepage of the site (or sprinkled throughout the site.) Your website is your front door for customers to learn about and purchase your product or service. So it makes sense you use this valuable real estate to tout what your loyal customers are saying.

2. Use testimonials in your social media efforts.

Do you ever find yourself at a loss for fresh social content? Testimonials are a great way to engage customers. They are usually short in content making them perfect for sharing across your social channels. If you want to take it a step further, try video testimonials. Start by asking your customers to submit a short video reviewing your product or service and their user experience. Conclusion? A customer providing insight into how your company positively impacted them can be very powerful.

3. Incorporate them in your email marketing.

Email marketing is yet another way you can incorporate customer praise. First, tie it into your email content. For example, if you’re promoting your top-selling coat for the winter season ahead, include two or three customer testimonials all raving about varying benefits (value, warmth, style, etc.). Second, email is a great way to collect customer testimonials. So, try to include a link to a feedback form and ask customers to submit a testimonial for potential use in upcoming marketing initiatives.

Overall, I think you’ll agree it’s easy to see why testimonials are a popular strategy in advertising your business products or services. If you haven’t considered implementing them into your marketing initiatives, what are you waiting for?

Welcome Debbie, or shall we say “Rock Climber”!

It’s time to welcome a new team member to the Porch. We love adding members (and their fun rock-based titles) to our team, and we’re so excited to introduce you to Debbie Stern. You can read her deets on our team page, and we’ve asked her a few questions so you can get to know her better. And then you can send her a big “howdy!”

What is the biggest misconception about marketing today?

People often say they don’t have the time or the money to do any marketing. This naivete is typically due to a lack of facts, education, and information that impedes growth. First, there are countless professionals available to assist small businesses with maximizing their resources most effectively. The right agency or team can develop a strategy to meet your needs on a limited budget. Even some smaller, inexpensive initiatives (such as online promotions, press releases, email marketing, and social media campaigns) can be implemented without spending a fortune and still demonstrate a successful ROI.

What advice would you give to younger Debbie Stern?

Sometimes taking risks and making mistakes is the best way to learn.

What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your career?

There is value in networking, building, and maintaining relationships. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know that makes the difference.

What does good marketing look like?

Good marketing engages or educates your target audience in some manner. If you can also demonstrate a ROI, then it’s even better.

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

Sipping a glass of wine in a piazza in Florence, Italy

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

My teenage son, whom I never see at dinner, or anywhere else, for that matter.

If you could describe Debbie Stern in three words, what would they be?

Persistent. Resourceful. Thoughtful.

What is your favorite thing about Front Porch Marketing?

The commitment, dedication, and shared expertise.

Tell me about a major milestone in your life?

A major milestone is occurring right now. My 17-year-old son is applying to colleges while I am transitioning my parents from their lifelong home in Houston, to Dallas. A lot of change at one time.

In what ways do you see the team at Front Porch Marketing have aligned values?

We are all devoted to moving the needle for our clients, whatever it takes. We enjoy the process of research and discovery and developing the most creative, competent, and cost-effective solutions for our clients.

How would you describe the culture at Front Porch Marketing?

Collaborative. Flexible. Authentic.

From your perspective, how does Front Porch Marketing differentiate itself from other marketing companies?

Projects are assigned to the right person for the right job. Front Porch Marketing plays to the expertise and strengths of our team, ensuring that each person is the best match for the assignment. This allows each team member to contribute most effectively to powerful branding by making connections, informing, educating and generating engagement.

What is a fun fact about you?

I am addicted to a plethora of TV shows and was once a contestant on Wheel of Fortune for College Week.

How can your company create better social media content and increase engagement? A cost-effective marketing strategy that is often overlooked today is employee — we prefer “team”— activation. Not only can employee activation, hence forth, team activation, benefit brands externally but internally as well.

What is Team Activation?

Team activation provides team members with social media guardrails. This approach allows them to share content and ideas on social media that align to their interests and professional goals.

More than 10 years ago, employee advocacy was popular. Team activation is similar but more engaging and collaborative. Employee advocacy forces team members to blast boilerplate messages and brand content to their social networks. The generic approach and efforts of employee advocacy fizzled out over time.

But team activation encourages employees to authentically create and share content that aligns with their company, on their own channels. If done properly, team activation benefits brands from employee engagement and communication to marketing and sales. As well as much more.

How does this work on different social channels?

Team activation works across all the social networks, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Over the past few years, according to our clients’ successful team activation campaigns, we have found:

• Team members grow to consistently like brand posts on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
• Whereas they like LinkedIn posts and tweets, they also reshare or RT the information to their personal accounts.

How does this help the brand internally?

When team members are socially engaged, they are more likely:

• Stay at their company
• Optimistic about the company’s future
• To believe the brand is more competitive

How does this approach help the brand externally?

Here’s a fact: sales reps using social media as part of their sales strategies outsell 78% of their peers. According to Social Media Today, content shared by employees receives 8x more engagement than organic content shared by brand channels. More and more, social algorithms bury a company’s page posts, tweets, pins, etc. And, people believe individuals’ social media posts and engagement are more authentic and creditable than a brands’.

Done well and right, your team becomes real brand advocates. Think less expensive form on influencer marketing. We can help. Front Porch Marketing holds collaborative in person or virtual team workshops. Also, we do one-on-one team member training.

This week, my Texas heart was deep in the heart of Florida. Florida is my second home. My son is there. My extended family is there.

My heart breaks to see all the devastation left by Hurricane Ian. Some there said it was the worst storm that they’d experienced. Hurricane Ian’s wrath is incomprehensible to those of us who watched it from afar. And even more unbelievable for those who suffered through it. And yet, I was lifted up by this story in the Orlando Sentinel. Ian “couldn’t sink New Smyrna Beach.” The heart of Florida is strong, but it has weighed heavily on me, on all of us, this week, and will for months to come.

But here’s how to help. Wherever you are in the country, if you are so inclined, we are grateful that you might extend your heart to others:

Organizations that are working in the heart of Florida right now:

American Red Cross – Red Cross disaster relief teams have been working around the clock with partners and local officials to provide emergency assistance to those in need. In the wake of such a devastating, widespread disaster, families and individuals impacted urgently need your support. Donate here.

Communities Foundation of Texas – Our local organization has posted a helpful list of organizations to support, that are working to lend aid to Florida at this time. Click here.

Florida Disaster Fund – This fund raised more than $20 million in 48 hours for The Florida Disaster Fund. That is a testament to the absolute generosity and compassion from people across Florida and in fact across the country.

Lastly, we want to say thank you to our clients, advocates and team for the patience and grace this week. You constantly remind us that we’re all in this together and we could not be more grateful.

Sustainability is top of mind with consumers. They have more choice than ever on where to spend their money. So more than ever, companies are focusing on sharing their sustainability efforts with their customers. Does sustainability affect consumer buying? The data says yes.

ESG (Environmental, social and Governance) are the criteria used by companies to build value. They organize business objectives around sustainability-focused risks and opportunities. Initiatives can include customers, supply chain, and even employees of a company. So get started! Basically, start by tracking your company’s impact on the environment. Then, measure your sustainability. Finally, share the results. This process can influence consumer interest in your company, your products, and your services.

Sustainability: What is ESG?

The environmental, social, and corporate governance framework highlights three areas where companies can track their sustainability. This can illustrate their impact on the environment.

• Environmental: Does your company strive to preserve the natural world? Chiefly, talk to your consumers about how you are addressing climate change, pollution, water management or greenhouse gas emissions. This information could take the form of a Sustainability Report at the end of the year. We do this for our client Acme Brick every year. You might apply content marketing on your website. Or use social media posts to highlight specific places where your company has excelled.
• Social: Does your company focus on including and supporting a diverse community? Referred to as DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), this set of actions enhances employee engagement and retention. Firstly, this could look like employee spotlight blog posts. Or you can engage the public with PR. Additionally, you might establish and promote programs to broaden your talent pool. Or you could support employees by offering training programs, like our client Diamond Brand Gear does.
• Governance: This aspect of ESG covers topics like cybersecurity practices, corruption prevention and management structure. Indeed, talking about your company’s efforts in these areas reassures clients that your company is solid. It can highlight innovation. Generally, you can share posts on LinkedIn touting an advance your company has made in one of these areas, as an example.

Consumers Want to Buy From Companies That Support Sustainability

As 83% of consumers demand more ESG best practices from companies, 91% of business leaders now believe that their company has a responsibility to act on ESG issues. Conclusion? Obviously, consumers want to follow, buy from, and visit these companies more readily than ever before. And it’s not just consumers that want brands to take on these initiatives. 86% of employees say they’d prefer to work for companies that care about these issues. Sustainability has become one of the top issues that people care about.

Sustainability as a business goal is not a trend. Certainly, it is key to creating meaningful relationships with your customers and your employees. First, make sustainability your company’s business goal. Next, set up programs that support sustainability. Then, track and talk about your success. Therefore, this process is a fountain of content that you can share with your customers. Grow meaningful relationships with them centered on sustainability. And in turn, grow your sales based on your customers’ desire to make financial decisions tied to the social good your company is doing.

Is your brand looking dated or tired? Is it still representing your business the way it needs to? One of our new clients came to us for a social strategy and execution. That is what they thought they needed. But, upon initial discovery, we altogether realized that would be shooting money into the wind. What they needed was really a brand refresh.

How Do You Know When You Need a Brand Refresh?

Examine your brand! This is what we did as a team with this new client. First, we did a deep dive discovery process that included several steps:

• A brand audit laid out all the brand’s existing materials like their website, collateral and social, to see if their branding is still relevant and representative of their current business.
• Internal and external stakeholder interviews uncovered brand insights and allowed everyone to see the business through other’s eyes
• A competitive analysis was conducted of the industry that the brand operates in, and who their competitors are.

The Conclusion? The Brand Needed a Refresh.

There are specific and necessary steps to take in a brand refresh to be thorough. We like to follow this tried-and-true plan when we undertake a company’s very important branding!

1. Project timeline – Stick to it and hold each other accountable. This will keep moving things forward with all eyes on the prize.
2. Brand pillars – Define your vision plus three other very important things. Want to know what those things are? We are happy to share them with you! And our process as well. Just call us!
3. Solicit feedback beyond the leadership team – The more internal buy-in throughout the entire process the more successful an initiative and brand your company will become. Your greatest ambassadors are your employees, so make them part of your branding process.
4. Testing of concepts – Your refreshed brand should connect with both internal and external audiences. So testing the concepts is important to find the clear choice.
5. Roll out plan – A disciplined execution of the branding roll-out plan will make your new brand refresh a success. Whether it’s a new logo, tagline, website, collateral or PR, timing is everything and having a plan is key to making the big splash you want to make.

We look forward to sharing the results of three brand refreshes we are currently working on. Coming to you this fall, y’all.

Successful email marketing can be a cost-effective way to market your business. When done right, you’ll be keeping your brand top-of-mind and become a trusted resource for your customers. They’ll look forward to your emails because you’ll be sharing your knowledge and solving their challenges.

Keeping your audience engaged with email marketing, as a part of your overall marketing strategy, is an excellent way to introduce new products, solve an on-going pain-point for customers, give a tutorial, keep your customers up-to-date about the industry, and more.

How Do You Do Successful Email Marketing?

There is a lot to designing an effective and efficient email campaign to be successful. The most important question to ask yourself: Are you leading with the audience in mind? Everything you do should be from THEIR perspective. It’s for them. Help them. Guide them. Solve their problems.

Then ask yourself: Are you overselling? Your brand and your products do not always need to be the hero in email marketing. Afterall, this is an on-going dialogue you’re having with your customers. Establishing a relationship is a longer-term proposition. Don’t oversell. Again, be helpful. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself: What do I need? What will make my life easier or better?

Getting Started With Email Marketing: Do This Not That

Your email marketing is a fail if it doesn’t contain these four elements. Set yourself up for success by making sure these four things are included thoughtfully in each email you send:

1. Look professional — Make sure the email platform template is set for your brand fonts and colors. Design is key to successful email marketing as well — design a nice header and footer. Link to your social channels in your footer. Stay consistent from month to month with this template and your customers will start to recognize your email and your brand, and look forward to your next email.
2. Have a call to action — What can readers do to learn more? Use a button in your email that links back to your website where the reader will read more, download something, watch a video, contact you for more information or order a product. For instance, if you are linking to a blog post, tease them in the email, but don’t reveal the real scoop…ask them to “Read More” and click the button to go to your website for the rest of the insight.
3. Date and time — When do users want to engage and not unsubscribe? Many email programs like Mailchimp will tell you when the best time is to send emails to be successful. Statistically, Tuesday mornings are the day most people open their emails.
4. Don’t try too hard to sell — Engage your audience and don’t make the email be all your company. Again, be helpful: share hints, tips, tricks. Give away your knowledge and they’ll see you as the industry leader and come to you to solve their problems (with your products or your service.

Most Importantly: Be consistent.

Successful email marketing campaigns provide content to make readers’ lives better. They are informative, not sales-y. Email marketing campaigns provide value, real value, to customers’ lives consistently. Create a schedule using Google Sheets and plan each month’s topic, date, and assign responsibilities. After a while, it becomes easier and easier to stick to your schedule and create smart, thoughtful, nicely designed emails that make your brand the one that customers turn to again and again.