“One of the greatest rock songs ever written is ‘Stairway to Heaven’ [by Led Zeppelin]. ‘Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on.’ So, whatever’s wrong, whatever’s not working out, whatever you’re not happy with – in yourself or a situation – take the initiative and fix it.” – Shaun Breidbart, comedian and executive director, The Ivy League of Comedy

As you choreograph your brand’s 2019 marketing plans, press pause if the same old song and dance is on repeat – particularly in the following four areas. A remix (and the addition of instrumental help) may be your brand’s ticket to achieving rock star status.

1. “Let it Go.” Turn Over Control of Social Media.

Time is money. Social media marketing isn’t just about increasing sales. It is storytelling. It is about consistent connection with your target audience. For social media to truly boost your brand, dedicated time to engage with your audience regularly – in real time – is crucial. You can’t press pause for vacations, trade shows or weekends.

Mistakes are costly. Social media management is customer service. In the absence of a solid social media strategy – and someone experienced to execute it – mistakes are likely. Poor customer service leads consumers to give brands the freeze-out.

The person/company managing your brand’s social media is its agent, tour manager and promoter all rolled into one. Outsourcing those managerial duties gains you an experienced professional who knows the ins and outs of social media.  This frees you up to focus on other areas of your performance.

2. “What are You Waiting For?” Take the marketing plan off the back burner.

Leaders must understand the importance of brand marketing. As we’ve said before, we love partnering with business leaders on single release initiatives. But to avoid being a one-hit wonder, a brand needs a solid marketing plan to complement their strategic plan.

If the creation or implementation of a marketing plan is left “Standing Outside the Fire” you will have no plan. If you have no plan, you will have no direction. Without direction you won’t have consistency – leaving your brand running “Against the Wind” to build consumer trust.

3. “Breakaway.” Transform garage band marketing to unique, memorable content.

Having a website is great, but customers believe “What You Get Is What You See.” Are you getting the veto vote because your marketing is lacking? How do you look when going up against competition? Are potential clients trying unsuccessfully to validate you?

Bands wanting to become famous must promote themselves to make the right connections to boost their profile. Likewise, your marketing must make meaningful connections to your brand. You can bang those drums “All Night Long” but that alone won’t help you advance. You must have someone in your corner to successfully influence the interest of others.

4. “Shake It Off.” Say Goodbye to Gmail.

Excellent email communication is now a required piece of good customer service. Here are 3 reasons you should say goodbye to Gmail:

• Your email address and content represent ‘how you look’ in the online world. Having a business email address with your company’s domain name is judged as professional. Business emails sent through Gmail raise doubts about your credibility.
• An email account contains confidential business information. Using Gmail does not afford you the luxury of controlling whether employees utilize that information appropriately.
• Gmail does not allow you to integrate your brand’s logo and colors to your email messages to make them more consistent and memorable. This renders it ineffective as a marketing tool.

You are “The Leader of the Band.” No one knows your brand better than you. It is ultimately up to you to determine your vision and whether your current track is helping that vision materialize. We are here to help you rock!

Frequently, we ask a potential client what their marketing budget is in an effort to better understand what resources we will use to meet branding and marketing goals.

And regularly, we hear, “What should our marketing budget be?”

We are already two weeks into Q1, so let’s talk about your marketing budget. Total marketing budgets are on the rise (yay!) and are at 7 – 12% of total gross revenue. If one of your resolutions this year is to grow your small to mid-size business, let’s rock.

Here are four things to remember when formulating your marketing budget:

1. Small businesses should budget 7 – 8% of gross revenues for marketing in order to compete against larger companies.

2. Track your marketing budget and results monthly – at a minimum. If you consistently track your results you will be better able to adjust your marketing spending over time to spend smarter, not harder.

3. Increase the budget for new product launches. Keep track of what you make on the product and tweak as needed to cover the marketing costs and increase profit from sales.

4. One size does not fit all. While the latest Forrester Research report projects that digital marketing spending will make up 44% of all ad spend, this number can vary depending on a variety of factors including industry, growth plans and local market.

As you create your marketing budget this year, don’t start with the tactics. Develop a defined marketing budget to support a marketing plan with measurable goals and a sound strategy.

Change – in time or circumstance – often sparks reflection. The match may also be our own – or another’s – experiences, a song heard, or a quote shared. Equally true is the reverse – reflection often sparks change. Growth is ignited by both. As 2018 nears its end on the Porch, we are reflecting upon this year and gleaning insights to lead us into next. We hope our reflections will serve as a guiding light to your own.

As Chief Rocker, 2018 has been a year of growth for me professionally. In the spring, I graduated from the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses program – one of the most challenging and rewarding things I have done for my career and business thus far. As wife and mom, it has also been a year of transition and growth for my family. My husband has grown his team at work and is settling into a new leadership role.

“I believe that days go slow and years go fast.” Luke Bryan

Nowhere is this more apparent than in parenting. My daughter transitioned brilliantly into a new school and turned five, which seems like a landmark year. This fall my son entered what is widely rumored to be the most difficult year of education at his high school. He has shown tremendous grit and commitment to achieving success with his grades, his varsity football team and his competitive shooting team.

It has also been a year of anticipating and preparing for big changes ahead. With college on the horizon – and a mom’s need to collect as many experiences with him as possible – I once again increased my volunteer commitments at his school. As a parent, change is bittersweet. The growth you model, encourage and watch proudly take shape in your children is the same growth making you wish desperately time would slow down.

For my other love – Front Porch Marketing –– our passion and dedication to the development and growth of our clients’ brands continues.

“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. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” Steve Jobs

Rock Star Vanessa Hickman:

As 2018 comes to a close, I am joyful that I have the opportunity to do what I love … sharing stories and helping organizations create and share their story. For me, the most meaningful project of 2018 was partnering with Practice Ministries to tell their story and raise funds in order to expand their ministries. Two of my loves collided: my faith and my work. To have found something I love and which allows me to contribute to the prosperity of my family makes me grateful, humbled and blessed.

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” James Cash Penney

The Porch saw some changes in 2018, too. We added two Rockers. For one of them, a personal and professional collision of another sort occurred when her homecoming this year also grew our roster of amazing clients.

Lil’ Rock Maria Gregorio:

I moved back to Texas after a brief time in Kansas and I have somehow managed to reconnect and work with some old friends: Julie and Girl Scouts. It reminds me of an old Girl Scout song “Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold … ” While I did enjoy my time in Kansas – I did indeed make new friends and learned a lot – it’s nice to be home again.

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” John C. Maxwell

Back Porch Rocker Jacqui Trujillo:

2018 will be remembered as a year of tremendous change for me. Fear and discomfort can accompany change of any sort, but in the end, what I discovered is that sometimes the change you fear the most is the change that saves you … and turns you into exactly who you were meant to be.

“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” Brene Brown

Finding our joy and practicing gratitude each day – regardless of circumstance – have also provided opportunities for reflection and been a catalyst for change in 2018.

The Rock Tara Engelland:

This year I have tried to take time at the end of each day to make a list of the things I am grateful for, both big and small. It’s amazing what practicing gratitude can do for your overall sense of happiness and contentment – especially on bad days. Sometimes, I even find the everyday things that I consider to be such chores are the things I am most grateful for. It really helps put things into perspective.

We are immensely grateful to our clients for the changes and growth we have experienced through the opportunities to work with each of you.

Classic Rocker Greg Asher:

2018 brought about the opportunity to work with great clients and a wide array of companies. From new products and services to new growth opportunities and new customer segments, they inspire me daily with their passion and commitment, and have me looking forward to a dynamic 2019.

“The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates

As you reflect upon 2018, contemplate what roads you (and your brand) should start or continue to travel and where you should change directions. Focus your energy on making those changes so the reflection you see in the rearview mirror is a year full of growth, for yourself and for your brand’s bottom line.

From all of us on the Porch, may your holidays be merry and your 2019 shine bright.

You are a small business owner or a business leader who knows their business inside and out – no one will know your business like you do. And in terms of marketing to your ideal customer, that is the problem.

When you are trying to sell to your target customer, it’s tempting to imagine their wants and needs. But, there are limits to what you can imagine your customer wants, and what their lived experience is. Remember: you are not your customer.

Unless you are …

A middle-aged dad with two volleyball playing daughters and a penchant for craft beer … you are not Greg.

An entrepreneur with a Division 6A football playing son and a daughter who is ready to take over the world at the age of five … you are not me.

A thirty-something woman with a deep and unabiding love for bulldogs who has never lived in one place for more than four years … you are not Maria.

What does any of this have to do with marketing to your target customer? I have no idea, but unless you take a hard look at customer research and insights, you might miss something important that has a bearing on whether your customer chooses you over a competitor.

Marketing is not one size fits all

Each customer is unique and has different needs.

Does your customer value convenience over cost or vice versa? Do they care about how their product is made and its impact on local communities? Are they early adopters of new technology? Do they want a Swiss Army knife or one product that does a few things well? Do they like to try new things spontaneously or are their purchasing decisions based on thorough research? How do they find out about new products and services – social media, word-of-mouth, content creators and influencers? All these factors affect how you market to your customer.

Let’s look at a product that many of us on the Porch are about to take on soon – college. It’s easy to think that with this digital generation, all that matters are engaging with them on an online, social media level. But you would be wrong. Students have a ton of options – what makes one school stand out over another? If you look at the experience of our summer interns, their answers might surprise you. Go here and here to find out.

Reaching different customer audiences can seem overwhelming. The solution? Your friends from the Porch. We love a good marketing challenge and we want to help businesses reach their customers through the channels that make sense for that target market.

We are a company comprised of people with very different skillsets, backgrounds and experiences. We are moms, dads, fur parents, former corporate folks, nonprofit fans, football lovers and football nubes, big thinkers and specialized experts.

We are different. Just like your customer.

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Continuing in the pattern of marketing and travel metaphors, let’s look at the itinerary for your marketing efforts: your brand.

Is your brand getting you to where you want to go? If its not, maybe its time for a brand audit.

“Businesses don’t own their own brand, they are custodians of it.” – Small Business Marketing Expert Dee Blick.

A brand audit looks at:

• Current brand identity – This includes your logo, tagline, key messages, style guidebook, features/benefits, and color palette.
• Digital/social presence – Is your website easy to navigate? If your company has an ecommerce component, is it easy to purchase items from your site? Is your site optimized for SEO and is it mobile responsive?
• Electronic marketing – This includes your company blog, email marketing, and e-newsletters. (Email marketing gets a bad reputation these days but remains one of the most effective ways to reach your customer and increase your business.)

And the list goes on. Everything is a touchpoint: your collateral, your website, the way the receptionist answers the phone.

Ask yourself, “Does this resonate with our current customer? Does it resonate with new customers we want to pursue? Are these efforts in alignment with one another?”

A few years ago, Front Porch did a brand audit for The Remac Group, the parent company of four shoe and women’s apparel brands: J. Renee, Kay Unger, Phoebe and L’Amour Des Pieds. We looked at all four labels from top-to-bottom, looking for cohesion, consistency and alignment with business goals.

Want to know the results? Give us a call and we love to share more.

Even if you know you need to overhaul your brand, it would still benefit your company to conduct an audit. After all, if you don’t know where you’ve been, how do you know where you’re going?

How do you know when its time to rebrand?  Maybe you know that something is not quite right about your brand strategy. Perhaps your brochure copy sounds a little clunky and stale. Or your logo does not render well on mobile devices. Maybe the overall design of your website seems, well, old.

A rebrand can be a time-consuming (and potentially expensive) process.  Before you jump in, ask yourself a few key questions.

Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash

Does your brand look dated?

Design trends come and go. What worked for your company in say, 2006, might not work for your company now – especially if part of the crux of your business is offering the latest technology or ideas. The Apple logo is a perfect example.

Has your product or service changed?

Where you started out as a company might not be where you are now. A few years and a couple pivots later, your company might offer a totally different set of products or services. Does your brand reflect everything you offer today?

When Amazon first started, they were an online purveyor of books. Now they are an online (and offline) purveyor of everything. And their brand has evolved to reflect that change.

Has your customer changed?

Kids these days. With the hair, and the clothes, and their insistence on disposable furniture… Now, before we jump on the “Millenials ruin everything” bandwagon, consider this:

• Less than 60% of Americans live in the same state they were born in. That may seem like a lot, but according to US Census Data, it was almost 70% in 1950.
• People born between 1990 and 2000 are now more than 2.4 times more likely than the average American to be paying off student loans, and have a median income of $24,973; older millennials’ median income is still just $47,854.

How One Generation Changed The Way We Think About Furniture. Buzzfeed.com 

I can see why Millenials would prefer to buy a dresser from Ikea, rather then a matching bedroom set from their local furniture store.

Have your customer’s tastes and aspirations changed? How do they like to communicate? Does your brand speak to where your customer is now, or where they were 20 years ago?

Ultimately, when your brand doesn’t reflect who you are, it’s time to make a change. Is it time for a rebrand?

In April, we discussed using the start, stop, continue approach to cultivating the growth you want from your 2018 marketing plan. Good marketing begins with branding.

“Branding gives you an exceptionally effective way to broadcast who you are to your target market quickly and efficiently.”– Rick Haskins, MultiChannel News.

Therefore, start by determining who you are and who you aspire to be as a company. What is your vision? “A brand’s strength is built upon its determination to promote its own distinctive values and mission,” Jean-Noel Kapferer wrote in (Re)Inventing the Brand (2001).

Who you are should be based in part by what target customers want. What / who do your customers or clients need you to be? Therein lies the power of the branding exercise. With the right guidance and strategic partnerships, in working through the branding exercise you can determine what your brand should be, what makes the brand relevant to your target, and how to best describe its personality.

Branding Exercise Defines Key Brand Pillars

Great brands have three key attributes:

Conviction
Belief by everyone within your company that the brand is important and that the brand stands for a specific and important promise to the consumer.

Consistency
Imprint the brand into the essence of the organization so it comes alive for everyone it touches. Brand consistency equals earnings consistency.

Connection
Your brand must connect (through conviction and consistency) with target consumers to be effective. After all, as Zig Ziglar said, “If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.”

Whether your company is established or new to the market, large or small, retail, direct buy, online or MLM, one of the most important things you can do to achieve growth is to create a strong brand. It is a critical component of any business.

Take the time to define your brand architecture. The exercise is valuable. We’d love to help define your company’s foundation.

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We see it all the time. Businesses who bring us in and ask us to give them a marketing quick fix – a slight website facelift, some basic social media training, a piece of collateral – and think that it’s enough. And friends, I’m here to tell you, it’s not enough.

Although we are happy to collaborate with well-positioned partners on specific marketing initiatives, a marketing quick fix in lieu of a full marketing investment is ill advised. Spending time and dollars on a marketing band-aid is often a waste, when you haven’t done the work to flush out your brand or your audience.

There is no marketing quick fix. Good marketing is thoughtful, mindful, and multi-layered.

Good Marketing Begins With Branding

Everything begins and ends with the brand. Taking the time to identify your brand’s specific positioning and personality is essential. Your business must live and breathe your brand – without it you are dead in the water.

Know How You Fit in Your Market

Identifying your market and where you fit within the landscape is key. Knowing your competitors and their strengths enables you to differentiate yourself in your space.

Get to Know Your Audience

Understanding what motivates your audience is at the heart of any successful marketing program. Identifying your audience allows you to determine how and where to reach them.

Fine Tune Your Messaging

You’ve done all your homework, now you must use that knowledge to develop messaging that befits your brand, positions you well in your market, and resonates with your audience. Put that message front and center.

Track Your Results

A good marketing program should be monitored along the way to ensure you are getting the results you anticipated. If not, make mid-stream adjustments.

There are no quick fixes, friends. Marketing is important, and it’s a process. Do the work, and you will reap the rewards! If you’re not sure where to start, we can help!

On the Porch, we are often asked about the differences between Mission statements and Vision statements. Having clearly defined Mission and Vision statements as part of your strategic plan can help your company perform better than your competitors in the short and long term as the two serve very different, yet important purposes.

Mission Statements vs. Vision Statements

Mission statements define the present purpose of a company by addressing the following three things about your company:

• WHAT your company does
• WHO your company benefits
• HOW your company does it (differentiate yourself from your competitors)

Vision statements define the future purpose for the company by addressing the following two things about the vision for your company’s future:

• WHY your company exists – Identify your purpose.
• WHAT your company wants to achieve over time – Identify your goals.

Successful Mission Statement: The Short Term

One word can be used to describe successful Mission statements – short.

• They should be short and to the point, using only a sentence or two. Clear, succinct mission statements make it easy for employees to understand and articulate your company’s Mission, allowing them to know how they contribute to accomplishing it.
• They should be short term, addressing a shorter timeframe (one to four years). This allows for refining your Mission statement as needed due to economic or product changes.

Perfect Vision Statements: Focus on the Future

Carefully crafted, successful Vision statements are forward looking, and should:

• Be inspirational and aspirational, succinctly addressing the vision for your company’s future.
• Be farsighted, focusing on a longer timeframe (upwards of five to ten years).
• Serve as a challenge to your employees, helping them visualize how their daily tasks help your company’s quest to meet long term goals. This will help develop buy-in and support throughout the organization, even if/as leadership changes.
• Serve as a litmus test for marketing to keep your company’s communications on message.

So, which should come first? Begin with the end in mind. Take a look at your company’s present state (Mission) and ask yourself whether you are working towards your future purpose (Vision). If not, consider creating a Vision statement to set a new course for your company and your people.

Spring is a beautiful time of year to sit on the porch and watch flowers bloom and the green grass grow. While April showers bring May flowers (unless you’re in Texas, of course!), as spring turns towards summer, we must evaluate and adjust our strategies to keep our flowers blooming, our grass green and growing. We START watering. We STOP the weeds from spreading. We CONTINUE fertilizing.

This start, stop, continue approach can help you rock your 2018 marketing goals, too. As we near mid-year, there is still time to impact 2018 results. It is a great time to evaluate how your marketing plan is blooming. For your goals to flourish, you may need to STOP less successful strategies. You may need to START new strategies to sprout growth. CONTINUE the strategies that are thriving and helping you grow your “green” (revenue!).

Here are some tips for evaluating your marketing progress and pruning your strategies to meet your goals by the end of the year:

1. Get the lay of the land

Review your 2018 marketing plan. In the hopes of boosting activity (and ultimately revenue), were you going to start a blog or a newsletter, send email campaigns, try paid social media posts, or launch a referral program?

2. Water the roots

Review your internal business development process. How well is your team growing prospective clients to revenue-sprouting clients? How are you distinguishing yourself from the competition?

3. Plant seeds online

Review your website. Is your content up-to-date, optimized for mobile devices and appealing to prospects? This is a good time to add new content based on 2018 experiences to date. Adding success stories or client testimonials can sprout new opportunities and potential relationships.

4. Cultivate relationships

Review vendor agreements. If you are using third party sources to help you with certain aspects of your business (SEO or lead generation, for example) is it proving fruitful? Are the results, activities, reports and general communications meeting your expectations?

5. Grow your green

Review your financials. Are the marketing strategies you are using ultimately sprouting a growth in revenue?

6. Prune when necessary

Review what needs to START, STOP or CONTINUE. Asking the following questions will help you to determine which strategies are working and which strategies need to be pruned:

• What areas for improvement have sprouted and can be addressed proactively throughout the remainder of the year?
• Where have things failed to flourish or failed to deliver the results anticipated?
• What is thriving and performing at or above expectations?

START – Plant new seeds to realize your 2018 marketing goals.
STOP – Pull the weeds and stop unfruitful marketing activities.
CONTINUE – Grow and/or maintain the portions of your marketing plan which are thriving.