Your brand has a voice.

As your brand’s marketer, you have control over whether that voice builds your brand or not. A strong brand voice is the structure and tone of the copy and content that is created for a brand to speak from. You can hear this voice on its website, ads, social and in collateral. With consistency, a brand can feel like a person. And over time that person can become familiar and even recognizable. That’s when you know you’re doing it right.

Why does brand voice matter?

First, a part of your initial branding exercise, your brand might have completed something similar to what we call The Brand Elaborative. This branding document outlines the personality of the brand. This helps writers write in that voice when creating copy for digital and traditional marketing and advertising. One of the most important parts of The Brand Elaborative are the three personality words that describe the brand as if it were a person. For instance: honest, kind, quirky. So why does having a distinctive brand voice matter to your brand?

Brand voice drives consistency.

Our B2B client Agile Sourcing Partners specializes in helping gas and electric utilities and utility infrastructure companies improve operational efficiencies and performance. So, they speak in an authoritative voice with above average complexity of language. Given that their audience are decision-makers in engineering and other technical industries, it makes sense for them to speak the language of their peers. Thus, using this consistent voice in content sets them apart as insiders: educated and in-the-know.

Brand voice helps you discern what copy hits the mark – and what misses.

Our restaurant client Chocolate Angel Café & Bakery is a local favorite for cross-generational high teas, exquisite baked good and charming family recipes. They believe in serving one another and understand that relationships matter. Thus, their brand voice is connective, celebratory and conjures up memories of childhood. They express gratitude often, and make every day feel like a special occasion. So it’s no wonder they’re a favorite for bridal showers and family celebrations. If it sounds like your great aunt reminiscing about a casserole, then we’ve hit the mark.

Brand voice creates fans.

Our education client Faith Family Academy, a charter school in DFW believes in pushing public education beyond just the classroom. They speak in servant leader’s voice. FFA makes students the center of attention, celebrating wins and putting every effort possible into their individual and collective success. The social media channels for Faith Family Academy are a testament to this brand voice in creating fans. In both English and Spanish their fans celebrate right along with the students, staff and parents. The FFA community adds congratulatory comments and a plethora of emojis on a daily basis. So who wouldn’t want to be part of this kind of enthusiasm, joy and experience of being lifted up by your community?

Brand voice can make your brand the authority on subject matter.

Our real estate client The Slay Diaz Group is a woman-owned residential real estate team who regularly wins “best-in-class” awards for their work. As a result, their voice is very real, straightforward, easy-to-understand and ready to give helpful advice on everything home-related, even sharing their coveted list of service providers. This is who you ask when you don’t know if remodeling your bathroom is a good idea or not. And, this is who can tell you if now is a good time to sell your house, put in a pool or move to a new neighborhood. Their consistent brand voice has grown their business, their reach and their authority on the subject of residential real estate.

Brand voice lets people know what you stand for.

Our own brand voice here at Front Porch Marketing tells you that we will go the extra mile to help. That we share what we know without reservation. And that we will be your biggest cheerleader. We stand for lifting you up, making you laugh and creating opportunities for others to do the work they love while taking care of the people they love. If your brand has a mission, shouldn’t all of your content reflect that mission? We think that your brand voice can show your potential customers that you are like them – kind, helpful, positive – and they will want to hang around with people like that.

Need to define or redefine your brand voice for better consistency and stronger connections with your audience? Then get started with a branding exercise which results in the guidance documents you need to hone your tone and define your voice. Consumers actually prefer brands with strong, defined and unique personalities. And having a unique personality definitely helps in creating spot-on social content, email storytelling and website visuals for your brand – which results in stronger brand loyalty and repeat customers.

You can visit some of our Front Porch client brands to see different types of brand voice in action.

Marketing meeting must-haves. What are they?

If you’ve ever sat through a meeting and walked out wondering what its purpose was or why you were there, then you know you don’t ever want to be the host of such an event. The must-haves must have been missing. Must-haves are important, and this is especially true in marketing where people expect you to get their creative juices flowing from the start of the meeting. To help you avoid being a bad host, here are eight must-haves for hosting your next marketing meeting – and making it successful.

Meet only when necessary.

If something can be easily covered via e-mail, it should be. 

A prepared – and shared! – agenda is the best start.

An advance agenda helps set the tone of the meeting, lay out the goals, and allows people to budget their time, as well as prepare responses. Be sure to include time for brainstorming!

Begin with the end in mind.

Know what you are trying to accomplish during your meeting. This is not a status conference. The goals need to be clearly defined so that they can be addressed and accomplished.

Keep meetings small.

The smaller the group, the better the collaboration. Amazon’stwo-pizza team rule for productive meetings is well-known and highly successful. The idea is that the group must be small enough that two pizzas can feed all attendees. This keeps ideas from being drowned out by too many voices.

Keep your marketing meeting short.

Be respectful of people’s time. No more than an hour – half an hour is even better.

Keep it simple.

Use pictures. Charts. Demonstrations. Content is king in marketing meetings too so make them compelling and focused, but not overwhelming.

Keep distractions out.

Set a no-computer rule and declare phones emergency-only devices.

Keep it interesting.

You don’t want a boring, tedious marketing meeting.  For instance, kick off the meeting in a fun way to grab their attention.

At a kick-off marketing meeting, for a client in the concrete industry, we needed to explain to the team that their audience didn’t know the difference between cement and concrete. How did we capture their attention? Cake batter. We demonstrated the difference in simple, relatable terms – without using engineer-speak.

Cement was represented as a box of cake batter. Concrete was then explained as the combination of the box of batter plus all other ingredients – resulting in a cake. This simple demonstration of making a cake in the meeting got the team’s attention, engaged their imaginations and helped them understand how their audience thought of them. Plus, CAKE!

Marketing Meeting Must-Haves are a Must

Well-organized marketing meetings can be great for productivity, team building, and brand development. Keep these marketing meeting must-have tips in mind so all you have to worry about is getting those creative juices flowing to rock your next marketing meeting.

Welcome!

Front Porch Marketing is proud to support Ursuline Academy of Dallas for six years. Ursuline seeks to provide opportunity and a welcoming environment for students of widely varied ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Front Porch Marketing meets the mission of Ursuline by providing opportunities for students to grow in a mentoring environment and experience first-hand what marketing looks like in a professional setting. From start to finish, interns are able to learn how to conduct research studies, create content, prepare branding documents, meet clients face-to-face, and more.

This summer, we have the opportunity to work alongside Ann Kurian and Sofia Arce, two rising seniors at Ursuline. We are excited to be mentoring the next generation of businesswomen and extend a warm welcome to our newest interns for the 2021 summer.

Ann Kurian

Ann is a rising senior at Ursuline Academy and currently plays the flute for the Jesuit Ursuline Ranger band. She has plans to be a marketing major and promote products for companies that she believes in. She is excited to meet clients and learn about the world of marketing. Additionally, her interests include creating or supporting products that are environmentally friendly and making the world a better place for others.

To start prompting her inquisitive mindset, we asked her some questions to which she brought a fresh take on. Some examples being:

Welcome to the FPM team Ann!

Sofia Arce

Sofia Arce is a rising senior at Ursuline Academy. With hopes of going into business in the future, she looks forward to expanding her knowledge of marketing by using her organization skills, attention to detail, and diligence. Sofia is very involved in and outside of school with activities such as playing on the basketball team, being an Ursuline Academy ambassador, participating in Global Advisory Council, and much more. Moreover, she has a passion for creativity and enjoys mentoring others.

To gain some fresh insight, we also asked Sofia what her thoughts were about the marketing field in today’s society and life advice. Some examples being:

1. What does good marketing look like?

Good marketing accurately reflects the business and caters to the client’s target audience in a way that is effective and engaging. Marketing also uses strategies that draw people in, in order to spike curiosity in a business and in services/products.

2. How does FPM differentiate itself from other marketing companies?

FPM is made up of people with such diverse backgrounds and experiences. This makes for many points of view and approaches to a situation. The team at FPM is driven to helping a business succeed. It’s evident that they have a culmination of knowledge about marketing, communications, branding, digital media etc. It is important to have a tight-knit team and Front Porch Marketing definitely possesses one. It is clear that they value their clients and will help them market their business in creative and helpful ways.

3. What is the best piece of life advice you have ever received?

The best piece of life advice I have ever received is that there is always going to be somebody better than me. Granted, it might sound harsh, but it has helped me realize that comparing myself to others is a waste of time. This is due in part because burning myself out to meet unrealistic expectations is useless. I should instead focus on being the best person I can be by using my talents and strengthening them to be unique.

4. What are your goals for FPM?

My goals for FPM are to take my interest in marketing and learn everything I can about how to execute it successfully. Without a doubt, I am looking forward to learning more about the professional world and broadening my horizons. 

Welcome to the team Sofia!

In Conclusion

These two bright ladies are going to be great additions to the Front Porch Marketing team. We cannot wait to continue mentoring the next generation and empowering the women in our lives. Here is to year six of supporting Ursuline Academy of Dallas and to the brilliant minds of women everywhere!

Do you think you need a marketing audit? We’ve said it before, and we will say it a million times over – consistency in marketing equals recognition. You have to be consistent in your branding across all channels and materials. You also have to be relevant to your audience in the current marketing climate. 

There is a simple solution to ensure your marketing materials are current, accurate, and consistently following your branding guidelines – an audit of your marketing materials.

What is a marketing audit?

A marketing audit is designed to make sure your materials are aligned with your goals via a review (or creation of!) your brand’s marketing plan. It is a fabulous way to keep you on pace in the marketing marathon.

Here are five reasons you may need a marketing audit:

1. It has been a hot minute. Maybe you’ve never done an audit of your marketing materials or perhaps it has been a long while since your last one. If it has been a year since your last audit, it’s time to rock one!
2. Demand shifts. Products and/or services routinely go in and out of style. Your offerings need to be effective based on current supply and demand fluctuations.
3. Products or services have changed. If you’ve added or removed products and/or services, your marketing materials need to reflect those changes.
4. Competitive changes. This is one area you absolutely want to make sure you’re keeping up with the Joneses. You don’t want stale messages to hold your brand back while your competitors offer fresh and inspiring marketing.
5. Contact information updates. If your address, phone, website or e-mail has changed, your marketing materials need to as well. If you’ve added – or need to add – a social media presence then your marketing needs to reflect that, too.

The market is constantly evolving and changing. Don’t let the materials designed to boost your brand get behind the times. A marketing materials audit gives your brand the boost it needs to keep rocking. Give us a call – we’re always ready help your brand reset and refresh.

The Bigger Picture

Picture this. You have the perfect idea for an event, and you feel that it represents your brand’s vision to a T. Yet, there are so many steps to get from A to Z that you start feeling overwhelmed and as the date of the event looms nearer, you realize how many things you wish you had planned for. If you have ever felt this kind of stress before or are currently experiencing it, this is the blog for you.

When it comes to event marketing, there are multiple moving pieces. At times there are so many pieces that it may seem like there are too many starting points. To help set a starting point for you, let’s focus on the big picture and then hone into the minute details that will lead your brand’s vision to the picture-perfect moment.

The First Focus: Scheduling

Imagine event marketing to be like a photographer setting up the most picturesque scene. To capture the moment perfectly, at times working backwards is best. In this case, thinking about what you want the vision to look like as a whole then mapping out how to get to that end goal. Although this may seem unorthodox, this process will lead you to a track record of success while also allowing you to tweak the planning breakdown to fit your needs.

At Front Porch Marketing, we start with writing everything down, especially anything that is time-sensitive i.e. inviting VIPs, scheduling speakers, printing deadlines, and booking sponsors. This timeline allows you to envision a clear reality and identify immediate “strikethroughs” or ideas that should be nixed.

Next, identify your audience, define your message, and determine the experience you want to provide. Having a clear vision is important, because all of the smaller event details and decisions will flow from it.

The Second Focus: Seamlessness

Once you have the deadlines and your audience in mind, choose a venue, food, music, entertainment, format, and feel that aligns best with your vision. Stay true to the experience you want to provide, and these decisions will flow easily.

When it comes to your deadlines, also keep geography in mind. Although it may seem natural to book an event near your location, for your professional partners, sponsors, or guests this location may be new terrain. As such, ensure the professional partners and sponsors you choose to assist you are on board with your vision. Your caterer, photographer, videographer, etc. should also be well versed in what your plans and expectations are for the event.

The Final Focus: Structure

Now that your event is on the horizon, it is time to hammer out the final details. Here are some of my final tips on how to create that picture-perfect moment for your future events.

1. Create an overall schedule for the day and share with all of your professional partners and staff.
2. Double-check with your staff on their roles and make sure that all loose ends are tied.
   • Examples of closing loose ties:
     • Posting check-in times to all communication platforms.
     • Pre-inspecting uniforms.
     • Finalizing catering details with the company of your choosing and making sure no cross-contamination occurred.
     • Securing all entrances and marking them accordingly.
     • Making sure that the exits are not blocked by staff or their respected station.
     • Posting last minute schedule changes to all social media platforms.
3. Notify staff and members who should be called in case of an emergency or in the event that something needs to be addressed.
4. Do an event run through the night before to make sure that all equipment is running smoothly. Also do another run through at least two hours prior to the event.
5. Check that social media has been posted and is shareable throughout the event. (A quick way for guests to get plugged in is to post QR codes throughout the location or on deliverables.)
6. Center the company’s brand at the forefront of the event from color schemes to logos to swag.
7.  Brand the sponsored content and products by making sure that they are explicitly seen.
8. Label Wi-Fi passwords and make them visible.
9. Double-check that all mandated COVID protocols are being followed. Have disposable masks and sanitation stations readily available to increase accessibility and comfort.
10. Promise a good time (and deliver)!

In Conclusion

We love planning, executing, and marketing events for our clients! Most recently, it has been our privilege to partner with Faith Family Academy to create a socially distanced graduation ceremony that is expandable for future success. We look forward to executing more events in the future and are proud of the recent 2021 graduates.

I hope that these tips are helpful and got your creative juices flowing! If you need help planning an event come see us on the Porch!

Business growth is always top of mind for me. Bringing it to the forefront is the fact that I am 2/3’s of the way through my Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Back to the Classroom program. Back to the Classroom is an opportunity for 10KSB alumni to reconnect with the lessons and concepts of the 10KSB program as we navigate the current economic situation and our next business opportunity.

Each week of the four part series addresses the key learnings from program modules. For each session, we are required to attend webinars and growth group meetings.

In between sessions, we have homework. We continue to refine our new business opportunity.

And, unlike my last 10KSB experience, this one is national. Every section of 10KSB Back to the Classroom includes alumni from across the country. I engage with small business owners from Alabama, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oklahoma every few weeks. This is probs my favorite part.

Key Takeaways Thus Far From Back to the Classroom

1. Networking, even virtual, is a good. Even though this group might not be my buyers, they are inspiration. They know people who may be buyers.
2. Brainstorming with other small business owners who work in other industries is priceless. This group is energized and excited to help each other. The ideas shared and problems solved big and small help refine and shed new light to the strategy and execution.
3. Run the numbers. Work the scenarios. It is painful, like stick a needle in my eye, torture for me. However, with help from my business advisor, the time spent doing this was invaluable. The financial exercises are proof of my concept. The numbers less daunting than I expected.
4. Keep reading. Even if you don’t have the time, make time. I have four new books on my desk suggested by this group. Three I have never heard of.

Lastly, don’t undervalue the power of collaboration. I collaborate with my team on the daily. And, for that, I am blessed. But, collaborating with this group reminds me how valuable that is.

For business growth, you need lifelong learning. You need motivation. Small business owners are equally interested in positive outcomes for other small business owners. Keep calm and collaborate on.

This week, we welcome Carson Allen, our newest intern rocker, to the team!

1. What is the biggest misconception about marketing today?

That its full of people who want to take advantage of others for a quick cash grab.

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

To be patient and to play the long game. It takes time to build a brand and you need to be incredibly persistent with growth.

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

That when it comes to marketing you want to apply the “KISS” method. Which is “Keep It Simple & Stupid.” Keeping things simple and easy to understand helps draw in clients.

4. What does good marketing look like?

An agency that respects their clients and knows how to properly execute a plan to get them the results they need. The focus should be on helping the client.

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

Persistent, outgoing, and motivated.

6. Tell me about a major milestone in your life?

One major milestone of mine is achieving the rank of Eagle Scout my senior year in High School. It took me 8 years of moving up through the scouting program and completing a service project to achieve it.

7. Your goals for FPM?

My goals at FPM are to be the biggest sponge I can be. I want to absorb as much knowledge as possible from this company in regards to marketing and how it works as a business. I specifically want to dip my toes into Search Engine Optimization.

8. How would you describe the culture at FPM?

So far, the culture seems very warm and welcoming. I love that we get to create our own “rocker” name.

9. How does FPM differentiate itself from other marketing companies?

They put a lot of emphasis on the client and they have an easy to work with atmosphere – which makes them more approachable.

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

I would love to live in a state up North with mountains. Preferably Colorado. Nature is something I always want to be a part of due to my time spent camping in Boy Scouts.

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

I would love to go to dinner with Bruce Lee. He was such an icon in his time. Not just for his fighting techniques but also his philosophy about the way he looked at life.

12. What is a fun fact about yourself?

I really love to cook!

Conclusion

We are incredibly excited to have Carson Allen on the Front Porch Marketing team. He is going to do fantastic things. We cannot wait to see his creativity shine, through his future endeavors.

It’s graduation season! As thousands of young people across the country don their caps and gowns, I’d like to give some advice to all of the future marketers out there. Here are a few things to remember that have taken me years to learn. And to be honest, I am still learning.

It’s Okay to Ask for Help

There’s a pit in my stomach that forms whenever I need to ask for help. I have to remind myself that I don’t have to do it all myself. One of the wonderful things about working for an agency is that everyone has different skills. Different co-workers can pitch in on different parts of a project when needed. They can also give you advice on how to get things done.

Asking for help doesn’t mean your slacking or not taking your responsibilities seriously. It means you should thank your lucky stars that you have a team backing you. Marketing is a team sport and it works better when you work with others.

Writing Skills are Important – and Rare

At the start of my career, I took my writing skills for granted. I thought everyone can write. No big deal.

After a few more years in the workforce I learned that everyone can write but not everyone can write well. So much of marketing is writing. Or starts with writing – advertising copy, scripts, creative briefs, white papers, taglines, web copy, blog posts, social media and the list goes on. If you can hone your writing skills, you will stand out from the pack.

Stop Worrying So Much

Early in my career, I worried about so many things. I worried about finding my “niche.” It seemed like everyone in my office was good at something I wasn’t. (Which is by design, see “It’s Okay to Ask for Help” above.) I worried that I wouldn’t be able to get to where I wanted to go, which was a title with the word “director” in it.

Its understandable to worry a lot about your career, especially at the beginning of it. In my case, the only antidote that I could find to my constant worrying was time and experience. I stopped caring about having a niche when I figured out that I am interested in many things . My advice: figure out what you’re interested in and what is important to you. Develop your natural talents and stop trying to force yourself into some mold you think you need to fit into.

Your Goals Might Change

Which brings me to that “brass ring” syndrome I had for the longest time. At some point, I figured out that being the director of something was not going to make me happy. Making things, working with great people, moving fast and yes, sometimes breaking things, that makes me happy. A fancy title does not.

In sum, it’s important to think about what makes you happy and fulfilled. I know that’s easy for me to say, especially from my vantage point of having spent many years in this industry. And I know that the first few years in any career are going to feel like you’ve been thrown into the deep end.

Remember, it’s easier to float on a rising tide than to swim against it. You just have to find the right tide. So, go and catch your next wave, and see where it takes you.  

More advice for recent graduates:

• Just graduated? Here’s how to start looking for a job
• CEOs share their best advice for college graduates
• Graduating in a recession: Advice from ’08 and ’09 grads for the class of 2021

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.