Next up in the Rocker Spotlight series is Front Porch Spring Intern Sarah Kiburz! A recent grad from the University of Arkansas, Sarah gives us the scoop on her internship and all things marketing.
What is the biggest misconception about marketing today?
That it is pushy and unwanted. People think marketing is all about selling something, which is partly true, but it is more so about meeting people’s needs.
One of the biggest lessons you’ve learned throughout your career?
Be confident and assertive! It is okay to highlight your accomplishments in order to get noticed. Hard work goes a long way, but you can’t expect people to note every good thing you do. Speak up and be your own advocate!
What does good marketing look like?
Good marketing meets the customer where they are. It connects on a deeper level, is expertly timed, and highlights the purpose behind the business.
If you could be anywhere in the world right now where would it be?
Either on a beach in Maui or watching a Broadway musical in NYC.
If you could describe yourself in three words what would they be?
Loving, thoughtful, driven.
What is your favorite thing about FPM?
As Front Porch’s Spring Intern, I am able to work diligently on projects with minimal supervision. It is a great feeling when your boss trusts you and your work!
In what ways does the team at FPM have aligned values?
The team at FPM has aligned values in that they truly believe in the clients they work with. They establish deep relationships and are therefore able to create meaningful, high-quality work that resonates with customers.
Your goals for FPM?
I hope Julie and the team can continue to grow the business by adding clients and potentially expanding the team to take on a whole host of new clients. They are some of the busiest people I know, and they love a challenge!
How would you describe the culture at FPM?
I would describe the culture as incredibly inclusive. The team is a tight-knit group that likes to have fun, but everyone gets down to business whenever necessary. It is a fast-paced work environment where there is always something that needs to be done.
How does FPM differentiate itself from other marketing companies?
FPM has an incredibly experienced team that acts as a powerhouse when it comes to meeting clients needs. They differentiate themselves with a casual and humorous approach to marketing but are no strangers to hard work.
Fun fact?
I am musically inclined! I danced(mostly ballet) for 12 years and played the violin for 6 years, which I have been wanting to pick back up. 😊
Fayetteville, AR, can sometimes feel like a bubble. The craziness of the COVID-19 pandemic still doesn’t seem real here!
I wanted to give you an insider’s look from Fayetteville in relation to the other states.
The Stats
There are 4,012 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus and 91 deaths as of May 10th. A shelter-in-place was never issued in Fayetteville.
Restaurants were allowed to reopen dining rooms starting Monday, May 11. Non-urgent dental services also opened Monday. Pools, water parks and beaches are set to open May 22, with restrictions.
Bars are still closed under Phase 1, which I think is a smart decision. Arkansas has 3 casinos, all of which will be open on May 18. Some stores in Fayetteville opened back up Monday, including thrift stores which I was able to visit.
Phase 1 of Fayetteville Perspective
Phase 1 of this new implementation allows restaurants to be at one third capacity, with seating six feet apart. Employees must wear a mask and gloves, and patrons should wear a mask. If patrons are not wearing masks the restaurant has the right to turn them away. Phase 1 also includes daily health screenings of employees, and groups cannot be larger than ten.
My Perspective from Fayetteville
I am located in an apartment complex near Dickson Street, the central hub for restaurants and bars for students at the U of A. While Dickson street has been mostly shut down, some restaurants offer curbside pickup.
From my perspective in Fayetteville, roughly 50% of people I have observed in the grocery store are wearing masks. It is possible to keep 6 feet apart but difficult, especially if the store is crowded.
Fast food restaurants are all open, and some dining rooms are available with limited seating. The Northwest Arkansas Mall remained open, but most of the stores inside were closed. I have stayed in Fayetteville thus far during the pandemic because I feel it is safer than Dallas, however I will be moving home soon.
What I’ve Learned Through My Perspective From Fayetteville
Be respectful. Wear a mask if you feel that is right for you. You are shielding both yourself and others from potential exposure.
Supporting local and small businesses is very important during this difficult time. Whether it be patronizing favorite local coffee shops with curbside pickup or stopping in to a new store, I have made efforts to express my appreciation.
Just because Fayetteville feels safe, does not necessarily mean it is. Since a shelter-in-place was never issued, people are still going about their days as if everything is normal here. In my perspective from Fayetteville, it is just as important that we preserve our health here as it is anywhere else.
In times of uncertainty, it can be easy to focus on the
negatives. Economic downturn, job loss, and our loved ones getting sick are certainly
reasons to be feeling distraught. While these feelings are normal, an important
shift in our thinking is crucial to survive this fork-in-the-road and come back
stronger than ever. There are positives of the pandemic that should be
accounted for, and I am here to highlight these for you!
Positive #1: Experiencing and appreciating the little things
Now that we are all on house arrest, it gives us the opportunity to get outside more. Maybe you are getting to know your neighbors and even family members better. Yay for lawn happy hours! This positive of the pandemic has instilled in us a better sense of localism. It also helps us realize how interconnected we are and (hopefully) allows us to recover a sense of society.
Positive #2: We are more in touch with our networks!
A perfect example of this is my family’s weekly Zoom call. Before COVID, I wouldn’t hear from or see my family in Dallas for months at a time. This crisis has opened a new channel of communication for my family and allowed us to check up on each other frequently. We all have technology to thank for this!
Positive #3: Surprising effects on climate change
Another positive effect COVID-10 has had is fewer carbon emissions, potentially saving around 300 MILLION tons of carbon emissions per year. Not to mention all the other awesome benefits such as work/life balance and decreased traffic congestion! Air quality has improved in areas of lockdown, and carbon emissions are down in China. From February 3rd to March 1st they experienced a 25% decrease in emissions.
Positive #4: Our responses to future pandemics should
improve
Our current situation has exposed shortcomings all around, including test kit accessibility and a faster global response. Taking what we have learned from this pandemic, there is all the more reason to be more prepared in the future.
Positive #5: It has encouraged altruism
Celebrities and athletes have made considerable donations to those taking a hit by the pandemic, and that is just naming a few. Some major health insurers have also promised to cover care and testing related to COVID-19. Our client Faith Family Academy has approached the the situation with immediacy, and teachers have made generous food donations for their students, as well as other restaurants such as Cane’s!
Overall, we don’t want to dismiss your normal and expected feelings of despair during difficult times. However, we also need to shed light on the positive opportunity the pandemic has presented us. Let’s turn a new leaf and embrace these positives today!
E-learning has affected students today in both good ways and bad. Before e-learning I was up at a set time each morning, took the bus to and from class, and had my whole day carved out. There was a distinct accountability system, where I was obligated to show up to class to get notes and participation points.
Now, classes are set up via recorded lectures or live video conferences. I can ask questions in the chats during live lectures and email if I am confused on the recorded lectures. It has shortened the length of most of my classes because we are not directly interfacing. Test schedules remain the same; exams are proctored and timed, using Lockdown browsers. I have less of a schedule, making things harder to time-manage.
What I like/miss about e-learning today? Benefits vs. how it could be improved?
What I like about e-learning is that I save time not traveling to and from class and I have more “free time.” I also don’t have to be up at a given time, I can watch prerecorded lectures at my convenience, and tests are open book.
What I miss about in-person classes is seeing my friends during my classes, walking the campus, interfacing with professors, getting off topic with entertaining teachers, and having a set schedule.
Benefits of e-learning include time spent going to class can be used elsewhere, certain tests are easier, and I can take time to do things I wouldn’t normally do (ex: go to a park, walk a trail, explore Mt. Sequoyah).
Areas of improvement for e-learning today include live lectures to help with questions that need to be addressed. It would be beneficial if classes with recorded lectures could go live once weekly. This also may help with understanding material if one is directly interfacing with the professor. Also, I would appreciate potentially adjusting the test material such that it is not significantly more difficult than any in-class test would be.
Lessons that are applicable to business and working from home:
Lesson 1: Just because you technically have more free time, it may not feel like it. With E-learning today, you must become a time-management expert! It is so easy to procrastinate if one is not physically going to class or work. We are more productive when our work is public rather than private!
Lesson 2: Nail down a routine- whether it be waking up at a specified time each day, setting working hours, or scheduling breaks in between work. Routines keep you on-track, motivated, and they deliver results.
Lesson 3: Keep your videoconferencing as close to “normal” as possible. Test the software before you schedule a call so that if it needs finetuning you are not wasting other people’s time. Be professional and minimize distractions! If you know your dog will bark when the mailman comes, either put yourself at the opposite end of the house or put the dog up while you videoconference.
Whether we realize it or not, E-learning affects students today. Awareness of these small changes can lead to improvements in productivity. Taking advantage of the benefits may change your working or learning style for the better.
Teamwork is essential in so many aspects of our lives today. How many team hats are you wearing right now?
My kids’ closet shelves are scattered with different hats, jerseys and socks, for instance. I love all our different teams, whether its academic, spiritual, work, sport. We even call our family a team.
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie
Big agency life perk is the opportunity to join brands and marketing teams spanning different sizes, categories and geography. Joining new teams to reach goals is one of our favorite things. We are energized and inspired regularly by the talented, dedicated teams we partner with to achieve defined objectives.
Did you know that our Chief Rocker blares Boys of Fall by Kenny Chesney every day in her car during football season? The lyrics resonate with her for many reasons and because of the quotes by some of the greats at the end. Above all, her favorite quote is from Joe Namath: Life is a team game. It is the big game.
Effective teamwork is simultaneously simple and challenging.
We’ve rounded up nine factors that we link to team success. The folks that live and nurture these factors seem to achieve their targets effectively and consistently.
My family invests a lot of time in sports, we are a football, basketball, soccer and baseball loving crew. Therefore, team sports organically have all these components – how convenient for parenting two preteen boys! Do your teams hit all the notes?
If you are reading this, you are probably curious to learn more about branding! Before we dive deeper into branding, it is critical to understand how your brand represents your purpose. Brian Whipple, CEO of Accenture Interactive, says “Brands must genuinely commit to aligning their businesses with purpose to differentiate themselves.” Innovative companies such as Apple have done this, starting with the “Why?” mentality instead of “Who?” or “What?”
When businesses focus on why they are doing things, they establish purpose and garner respect. It is important to actively take steps to support your cause, because it is the action instead of words that makes a difference, and people can see this. Customers want to see companies supporting the things they support, and when this happens, they are 63% more likely to purchase.
Why it’s important
To build equity in a customer’s mind, a brand must be: memorable, meaningful, aesthetically appealing, transferable, adaptable over time, and protected legally. It means differentiating yourself and finding ways to stand out among competitors. It matters because brands stick with people!
How many times do you think you have asked for a Kleenex when in reality you meant a tissue? James R. Hupp states that people refer to tissues as Kleenex because of their well-known reputation and product quality. People become emotionally invested, and while some people will hunt around for the best deals others will stay loyal to the companies they trust.
Why you should start with branding
Brands define you from the very beginning and act as a launching pad for your business. They are a “lens through which the words and actions of a company, its competitors, and the environment in general are converted to thoughts, feelings, images, beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes, etc., about a product (or family of products).” At Front Porch we place serious emphasis on branding because if you don’t define who you are/your purpose, how will you be credible?
Is it okay to forget branding just to have something out there?
In certain rare instances, it is okay to create something just to get it out there. This would be most acceptable for smaller projects or a company who has difficulty defining its brand. If a company is truly struggling , it may suffice to take a step back and begin generating content. Hopefully somewhere in the midst of creating content that company realizes its purpose and is able to establish its brand successfully.
Key Takeaway:
Much of the value perceived by consumers is completely subjective. If you begin with branding, you will have a solid foundation that the rest of the company’s actions should follow, and you will always have something to circle back to should you stray from your brand image. We believe branding should be first always, and we would be delighted to show you how it’s done!
“It’s easier to love a brand when the brand loves you back.” – Seth Godin
Are you meeting customer expectations? We all know the importance of customer service when it comes to running a successful business. In this social media obsessed world we live in today and the age of instant feedback, excellent customer service can go a long way, but an excellent customer experience can go even further!
Until recently, the quality of product and service provided were the keys to winning customers and earning their business. But today, a new factor has come into play and that is providing the best customer experience.
A recent Walker study found that by the end of 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. Customers will stay loyal based upon the experience and if you can’t keep up, they will move on (bye, bye).
Happy customers remain loyal customers.
Consider these statistics:
1 in 3 customers will leave a brand they love after just one bad experience.
Research by American Express found that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience.
49% of buyers have made impulse purchases after receiving a more personalized customer experience.
Customers that rate companies with a high customer experience score spend 140% more and remain loyal for up to 6 years.
Customer experience (aka CX) is the biggest opportunity businesses have to reduce customer churn and increase revenues. The problem is, most businesses think of customer experience and customer service as one in the same when in reality, customer service is only part of the many pieces of customer experience.
Simply put, customer service is a single touch point with a brand, while customer experience includes every touchpoint a customer has with a brand from the first time they hear about you until after completing a purchase – basically the perception the customer has of a brand. While you may think your customer experience is one thing, the customer may see it as something completely different and that is what the actual customer experience is.
Managing customer perception should be the top priority for every business and having a strategy for customer experience is the best way to make that happen.
Customer expectations are rising.
The expectation is that every single interaction with a brand be the best that it can be.
Below are several strategies for creating a great customer experience:
Create a clear customer experience vision that is customer focused and can be communicated within your organization. This statement will act as the guiding principles and drives the behavior of your organization.
Collect customer feedback. It’s the only way to know if you are delivering on your promise. Try using live chat tools, conduct a focus group or send an email with a follow-up survey. Hey, even pick up the phone, for instance. In other words, get feedback, share it with the team and fix what is broken.
Develop your team to the standards of your vision. Using the feedback collected from customers, identify the training needs for each member of your support team.
Use employee feedback to improve the customer experience. Because, it’s your team who are interacting the most with your customers so give them an opportunity to share their ideas.
Measure the results of your customer experience investment. There are several metrics available for tracking customer experience over time which include Customer Effort Score, Net Promoter Score, Customer Satisfaction Score and Time to Resolution. These tools allow you to track the success or failure of changes you implement that might affect your customers.
Customer expectations are at an all-time high and word spreads fast! The importance of the customer experience increases because the customer becomes even more empowered. Customer experience is an area that needs constant attention.
Because, a greater focus on customer experience strategy, businesses will see a reduction in customer churn and an increase in revenue growth.
Need help developing your customer experience
strategy?
Now that Julie has laid down some groundwork for a great marketing foundation, let’s look ahead. What is on the marketing horizon for 2020? Here are a few possibilities:
If only there was a crystal ball for marketing…
Social Media
Yes, organic reach isn’t what it used to be, and some businesses are even pulling out of Facebook altogether. But social media continues to be a driving trend and marketing tool going into 2020.
Social media engagement looks different than it used to even five years ago. Consumers are increasingly using social media to research products and services. And platforms are delivering ad options to take advantage of this trend. Are you?
on-SERP SEO
Did you know there was such a thing as a zero-click result? A zero-click result is a search result in which Google automatically provides the answer to the search query in the form of an automated snippet. See my “What’s the temperature in Dallas?” screenshot below.
Screenshot example of a zero-click result on Google.
Why is this important to marketers?
Because 61.8 percent of search results in Google are now zero-search results, according to data from Jumpshot. As a result, more and more keywords are becoming less profitable.
The automatic snippet oftentimes come from a website that ranks somewhere on page 1 of the search engine results page (SERP). But companies do not know for sure how to optimize their content so that Google chooses them over anyone else.
Marketing Silver Bullets
There is no one marketing tool to rule them all.
The marketing version of this does not exist.
According to marketing guru Neil Patel, we are all fighting for the margins now.
A lot of businesses were built off of one marketing channel… But you no longer can build a business through just one marketing channel. Good channels now get saturated extremely fast. Even if they work and cause explosive growth, it will only last for a short while before your competitors jump on board and make it harder. Marketing is now heading in the direction of being about “marginal gains”.
I know this sounds a little daunting. But I think this is a good thing. At no other time in history have small businesses had so many tools and channels to choose from to market businesses and grow their sales. Back in the dark ages of media and marketing, you had three channels to choose from and the cost of production to create and place a 30-second spot was out of the realm of possibility for most small businesses.
Now, we have a plethora of choices. Take some comfort in that. You have so many tools to choose from going into 2020. What will you choose?
Practicing gratitude as a business leader can be challenging at times. Sometimes it is hard for business leaders to know what to be grateful for because of the many hats we wear, and the myriad of opportunities thrown our way each day. The big stuff often overshadows the tiny pieces of our everyday lives for which we should be grateful.
However, science has shown that regularly practicing gratitude makes you happier. Doing so makes you a better leader, which makes your team happier.
Want to be thankful at a time when it seems impossible?
Focus on the here and now. Ask yourself what you are grateful for this very minute. Perhaps it is that you made it safely to work or appreciating your computer didn’t choose this instant to crash.
Actively listen to a team member. Take time to truly listen to people when they talk to you, even though your mind is going a million different directions.
Each time you talk to a team member, thank them for something. It doesn’t have to be a big something. Acknowledge a nicety they did for a teammate or client. Say a simple thanks for sharing their thoughts with you. Let them know when they brighten your day.
Remember your “why.” Consider how the work you do benefits the people for whom you do it. Be thankful you have the opportunity to lead.
As a leader, go beyond. Go beyond yourself. Focus on showing thanks to others. Take it beyond Thanksgiving. Focus on practicing gratitude beyond this season of Thanksgiving.. Strive to live a life of gratitude, not just a season.
Julie Porter, Chief Rocker, is grateful for her precious family and their health, Texas high school football and the fabulous Front Porch Marketing team, clients and advocates. She tries to focus on showing gratitude to others daily as often as possible.
And now for the second installment of our two-part series on The Great 8 of Marketing Success. Numbers 5-7 are distinctly digital in nature and deal with how you can communicate and meet your customers where they are. Our last recommendation caps off our series with a decidedly human touch.
Number 5: Website
Prospects – both clients and candidates – are going to your website to validate your company and expertise. Make sure you are communicating your point of differentiation and your brand personality.
Most service sites look the same, sound the same and make
the same mistakes. Take a look at your website and see if you can take it to
the next level:
Eliminate the word “we.” Replace it with “you”, “your”, “our clients”, or “our candidates.” It seems like a small distinction, but you might be surprised by how much more customer-centric your copy will sound once you replace one word.
Include links to your social networks. And if you already have links to your social networks – great! Are they up-to-date? Or do you still have a link to your Google+ account? ( Hint: you might want to delete that one.)
Sell results and testimonials. Third party endorsements go a long way and potential customers want to see the value you can bring to their company.
Use minimal stock photos. We get it – when you were getting your website off the ground, you used whatever you had on hand to get it done. But stock photos can reduce the credibility of your company and take from the authenticity of your brand. Make the investment and book a professional photographer.
Optimize the site for mobile. No one likes to pinch and zoom on their phone when they are trying to view a website. And increasingly, Americans of all ages are likely to say that they mostly access the internet on their smartphone.
Make it easy for people to contact you with a form and make sure your phone number and email address are front and center.
Number 6: Social Media
Consumers are increasingly using social media to not only connect with friends and family, but also with brands. Social media is increasingly influencing consumers’ buying behavior:
When consumers follow a brand on social media, 67% of consumers are more likely to spend more with that brand.
Social media can drive retail foot traffic: 78% say they will visit that brand’s physical retail store.
These results become even more pronounced when you narrow in on millennials: 84% said they were more likely to buy from a brand they follow on social media.
But, don’t count out older folks – young people may have been early adopters of social media, but older adults using social media has increased as well.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by social media. That’s why we
recommend narrowing your focus and pick two social networks to be active on
daily. Most social networks are monetizing their platforms so organic social
media, i.e. free, is becoming less effective, which is why you must be active consistently.
But which platforms should you choose? It depends. We recommend meeting your customers where they are. With almost a third of the world’s population using Facebook, the 500-lb. gorilla in the room might be a given. If you have an aspirational brand whose customers skew female and under the age of 49, Pinterest or Instagram may be a good fit. If you are more of a B2B company, look at joining YouTube, LinkedIn or Twitter.
Also, make sure you are connecting with the people you meet,
whether you are introduced virtually or in person. Utilize both your personal
timeline and create a company account if you don’t already have one.
Number 6.5: Social Media Content
As for content, have you ever been to a party and you were cornered by that one guy who talks about himself all night? Don’t be that guy.
Instead follow the rule of thirds: 1/3 of your content should be devoted to sharing content, 1/3 to engaging with others and 1/3 promoting yourself. Share open positions at your company, business successes and company news, just don’t let all your content be about you.
Number 7: Email Marketing
Email marketing doesn’t have to be crazy complicated or
expensive. Email marketing is inexpensive and effective. If done correctly, you
will be surprised at the results you see after every send.
Use a simple automated platform like MailChimp and send an
email to your audiences once a month, or if you are just starting out, once
every other month. Make sure you are updating your databases and are not
sending the same content to both your clients and candidates.
Target your content to the reader and use your email
marketing to establish yourself as a thought leader. Share information and
expertise. This is especially true for B2B businesses; email marketing is most
effective if you are sharing news people can use. At Front Porch, this is the
direction we choose to take with our email newsletter. We offer marketing advice
and highlight our clients.
Similarly to social media, do not use email marketing to talk 100% about your company or you. It will not work.
Number 8: Networking
We are very fortunate to have several places to network in
North Texas – industry associations, chambers of commerce, community
organizations and the list goes on.
In deciding which group is right for you, consider these things:
Can I learn and grow?
Are this group’s values aligned with mine?
Can I contribute my knowledge and skills?
Do we have common interests?
When you are at these meetings or events, remember:
Give to get. Focus on what you can do for others, not what they can do for you.
Make sure you have business cards. (I know that sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised.)
Ask questions and listen.
Follow up. Sometimes this is the hardest thing to do because we are all wearing so many hats, but it is important to connect on LinkedIn with people you met, send them an email and if the situation calls for it, send a handwritten thank you note.
As business owners, we need to network. We need to work “on”
our business as much as possible, not in our business.
Networking is a process. Remember that most business owners are looking for connections. Make time to network intentionally. Be bold and step forward into their world.
I urge you to not “go big or go home,” but as we tell our
small to mid-sized clients, “Fewer. Deeper.” Do a couple of things well and
knock it out of the park.
If you do your marketing well, then your target audience will come to trust your brand. Trusted relationships develop into emotional bonds that are hard to break. Consequently, loyalty to your brand means greater business success and reduced competitive threat.
Remember The Great
8. Engage your clients and candidates and turn them into customers and brand
ambassadors.
