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?

Consider these things to find an attitude of gratitude:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

A two-part series where we will explore 8 great ways you can market your company.

Marketing in many people’s minds conjures up glamorous images of flashy and expensive campaigns. The reality of effective marketing couldn’t be further from the truth.

Welcome to The Great 8 of Marketing Success! This is a two-part series where we will explore 8 great ways you can market your company.

And the best part? They are all extremely effective and low-cost.

Number One: Differentiation

What differentiates your offering from that of your competitors? If you don’t have a strong point of differentiation, the only option is to compete on price. That isn’t where you want to be.

Your point of differentiation is not customer service. We are all in the service business. It is a given.

Define what sets your company apart from the competition. Ask yourself:

• What is a superior performing aspect or expertise of your brand that has multiple customer benefits?
• What do your clients really appreciate about your service?
• Why are long term clients still with you?
• What was one of the nicest things a client ever said about how you conduct business?

Number 2: Brand Personality

Your brand must be both differentiating and emotionally relevant. Human beings buy based on their emotions and justify their decisions with logic later. How do you connect with your customers on a more human level? By infusing your brand with its own personality.

The purpose of brand personality is to capture the human characteristics that build and enhance a relationship between brands and consumers.

These characteristics, when executed consistently, make a brand likeable. This is particularly valuable for marketing because it determines whether the look and feel of the execution is right. If a communication does not pass our “personality test,” then the consumer should never see it.

Companies who invest in their brand enjoy the following benefits, to name a few:

• Higher price points and less pricing pressure
• Greater market value
• Reduced competition
• Increased business opportunities (partnerships, licensing deals, acquisitions)

Define your brand personality. What four to five adjectives define your brand?

Number 3: Marketing Plan

Marketing plans serve as a roadmap, with measurable goals and defined tactics outlining how you will reach those goals. A marketing plan also:

• Determines your marketing budget for the year
• Ensures that your company will be proactive and not reactive
• Keeps you focused on your target clients and customers. You can’t be relevant to everyone.
• Organizes your time and priorities

Components of a marketing plan include:

• Market research
• Target market
• Positioning
• Competitive analysis
• Metrics / Goals
• Strategies
• Tactics
• Budget

You need a roadmap, a marketing plan, to maximize your resources. Remember, hope is not a strategy. Having a sound marketing roadmap is.

Number 4: Business Card

Yes, even in today’s tech-savvy world, business cards are still relevant. We have all been in a place where the Wi-Fi connection was weak, or our cell service was spotty. It’s oftentimes easier and faster to hand someone your card.

Business cards create a quick first impression of your company. If they are different and/or cleverly designed, they can also set you apart from your competition.

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Stay tuned for the Great 8, Part II. We’ll explore four more effective, low-cost ways you can market your company.

The working world is changing, there’s no doubt about it. Remote work arrangements are on the rise as companies maneuver to keep overhead low, and more and more workers are prioritizing flexibility in their work schedules.  A recent Labor Report indicates that 23% of workers report doing some or all of their work at home, and this trend shows no signs of reversing.

Here on the Porch, we all work remotely. We gather when we need to, have robust dialogue via phone, text and email, and share work product and resources digitally.  The rest … the when, where and how we work … is entirely ours to manage.

For me, it’s ideal. Solitude and silence are welcome commodities. I can largely plan my work around my kids and my commitments. I can work anywhere, at any time. It’s a great combination. But it’s not always rainbows and unicorns, and unfortunately, it’s easy to succumb to the pitfalls.

Distractions

Office environments come with their own set of distractions, there’s no doubt about it – the ringing phones, the chatty co-worker, the people who pop into your office when you’re at your most productive. But when you work remotely, your entire life can be a distraction – the unwashed laundry, the food that needs prepping for dinner, the television, the phone calls from friends.

It’s ok to let yourself go there on occasion, the ability to multi-task when necessary is one of the perks of working from home. But don’t sabotage yourself. Identify your triggers and make a conscious effort to avoid them. Put the remote control away. Set aside a window to respond to personal texts and emails. Or make deals with yourself – work for a few hours straight and then allow yourself a 20 minute spin on the Peloton or 30 minutes with the Real Housewives.

Designated Work Space

If working remotely is a once in awhile situation, working from the kitchen table or having Kelly Ripa on in the background is fine. But if working from home is the norm, you need a designated work space.

Set up a space to work in and ensure that you can be productive there. A designated room in your home that can act as your office is an ideal situation. Ensure it is well lit and stock it with all that you need to work efficiently. Don’t have an entire room to spare? Then set up a desk in a quiet corner and Container Store the heck out of it. Staying organized and focused is a must.

Boundaries

The good thing about working remotely is that it gives you the flexibility to work whenever you need to. The bad thing about working remotely is that it gives you the flexibility to work whenever you need to. So boundaries are important.

You will be more likely to succeed if you set up a schedule for when you will work and stick to it. This will not only ensure that your work gets done, it will ensure that work doesn’t bleed over into your personal time with your family. Know when to work and when to put it away. It will keep you efficient and it will keep you sane.

Change It Up

Although working remotely can be rewarding, it can also be isolating. If you find yourself feeling disconnected, change things up. Take your laptop to Starbucks. Have lunch with a remote colleague instead of spending an hour on the phone. Connection is a human need – don’t create a life lived in a tunnel.

The ability to work remotely is a wonderful thing. If managed properly, it can give you the perfect combination of efficiency and flexibility. With a dash of Real Housewives.

If I were to google you right now, what would I find? What impressions would I form after viewing your professional history, your social media presence (or lack thereof), and your photos? Would I want to do business with you? Hire you? Befriend you?

Wakeup call, people … you’re being watched. It’s time to take control of your personal brand.

Say what?

Whether or not you identify it as such, you have a personal brand. Branding used to be reserved for businesses, but with the mushrooming social media landscape and the growing gig economy, the time has come to embrace personal branding.

A personal brand is how you present yourself to the world. It’s what you want people to know — who you are, what you think, what you stand for, and what makes you unique. Oftentimes, it’s the first impression someone will make of you.

So … yeah, it’s important. A strong personal brand establishes you as a thought leader in your industry, promotes your company (and your career), differentiates you from those who share your space, and allows you to build trust with those who seek you out.

Know thyself

Developing your personal brand starts with taking an objective look in the mirror. How would you describe yourself personally? Professionally? How would others describe you? Identify a handful of adjectives that feel like spirit words and make them your litmus test for everything you publish, post, share, comment on, and participate in. 

Find your niche. Solidify what sets you apart. And then run with it. It won’t happen overnight. It requires communicating your mission to your audience, in a genuine way, consistently and for the long-term.

Speaking practically

• Focus your branding. Share only what rings true. Posting just for the sake of posting is just noise.
• Deliver value to your audience. Make sure what you’re sharing is relevant to those you are talking to.
• Put the “social” in social media. Interact on the platforms where you live. Comment when you have something to say. Like when something rings true to you. Start a conversation.
• Share yourself with your audience. Give them a glimpse into your life and your soul. People want to know what makes you tick.
• Don’t live and die by your numbers. Having a gaggle of followers is fantastic, but are they your people? Are they engaging with you and furthering your brand?
• Lastly, and most importantly, make sure the on-line version of you matches the in-person version of you. Nobody likes a stepford wife. Don’t get caught up in what you think you should be – be authentic. 

If you’re not sure how to get there, give us a ring. We can help you hone your personal brand and show you how to rock it!

Personalized marketing is all about connecting the dots – data and content – based on consumers interests and preferences. Data collection and analysis allows for strategic deployment of individualized content to target audiences. “Customers have more choice than ever before, so we have to ensure we’re meeting their needs in real time, on-demand and personally relevant ways, both online and offline,” Mark Sciortino, VP of brand marketing strategy and planning, Walgreens, relayed in 2018.

Here are three benefits to utilizing personalized marketing:

Improved Customer Experience

Knowing their sensitive information is protected makes customers more comfortable with providing personal information. In return, they should receive more personalized experiences upon subsequent visits.

Increased Brand Loyalty

When consumers provide information and data, they expect to be treated as unique individuals with specific preferences. Dedicate time and resources to implement successful personalized marketing strategies. The result will be a competitive advantage in both brand loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Inflated ROI

If your automation technology is on point, you can easily identify individual customer preferences. Capitalize on it with customized content across channels online and offline. This will result in more sales opportunities. Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign used common first names to attract millennials. That personalized campaign was the first time in years Coca-Cola grew their sales.

Personalized marketing campaigns require you to connect the three “C’s” of content with the three “C’s” of customization. You must know – and connect with – your audience. To know them is to love them by generating content personalized to them.

Collection

To create personalized marketing, you have to know what matters to your target. That starts with collecting data about them which is relevant to your brand. Real-time collection and analysis of data allows you to consistently evolve your marketing strategies to customers’ ever-changing behaviors. For example, if you are marketing a restaurant, your data collection would include location, demographic, and transactional data.

Creation

For your data collection to be beneficial, you have to utilize the collected information to create relevant content. Data collection allows you to create targeted and customized email marketing, social media marketing, video messages (one reason automated technology is key), and individualized product recommendations. In fact, 2015 research showed that personalized email campaigns received 29 percent higher email open rates and 41 percent higher click-through rates than ordinary emails.

Connection

Connection is built through authentic interactions. Personalized marketing allows you to connect individually and in community with your audience. You can show your human side (social media engagement or working reply-to email addresses). It also allows you to capitalize on consumers FOMO (fear of missing out) by showing how many people may be looking at the same product, how many of an item remain in stock or how long an item may remain on sale.

As with any marketing campaign, there are challenges to achieving these goals. In personalized marketing, the two main challenges to overcome are:

• Consistency. Consumers are interacting with brands across a number of channels, including email, social, mobile, etc. Each interaction with your brand must be consistent at every touch point.

• Time and Resources. To collect the right data, companies must utilize the right technology. Analysis of the data to create relevant content on a constant, evolving basis across multiple channels is key. This takes a significant number of hours and a significant chunk of manpower and monetary resources.

We would love to be a consistent resource to help you connect all the dots on your brand’s personalized marketing campaign.

I’m a mother to three kids firmly in the grip of teenage angst, so I frequently find myself talking to them about the importance of authenticity. Recently my youngest child said, “You keep using that word. But what does it mean EXACTLY?”

And that got me thinking. Authenticity IS a buzzy word, used frequently in many different contexts, which makes it easy for the concept to feel trendy and hazy. So since I’m a word girl, I consulted my dictionary to give me the word’s purest form:

authentic

adjective

not false or copied; genuine; real

Not false or copied. Genuine. Real. That’s pure gold, isn’t it? Authenticity is a buzzword for good reason.

We talk to clients all the time about authenticity in their branding and marketing. As the Chief Rocker would say, “It all begins with the brand.” And she is SO right! If the brand doesn’t feel real and natural, your audience won’t:

1. Know you.
2. Like you.
3. Trust you.

Authenticity is the new brand standard. The most authentic brands in the world are also the top brands, period.

So how do you build an authentic brand? Answer these questions:

Does your brand have conviction?

Your brand must stand for a specific promise, and everyone within your organization must believe that it’s important.

Does your brand have consistency?

Your brand must deliver on its promise at every touch point, every time. Your outreach efforts should be undertaken regularly and on schedule.

Does your brand have connection?

Your brand must be relevant and persuasive to your target audience, or your message is falling on deaf ears. Establishing an emotional connection with your people is key.

If the answer to these three questions isn’t a resounding YES, give us a call. We can show you how to rock your brand authentically!

Any good marketing plan wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of some event marketing as part of the mix. Hosting an event allows you to reach people personally, build a relationship, and increase brand loyalty.

I love a good analogy, and I liken running an event to conducting a symphony. A symphony needs a strong conductor to unify performers, set the tempo, and control the pacing of the music. It needs a strong and diverse instrumental ensemble to provide a beautiful, multi-layered performance. And it needs a captivating musical score that sets the tone and crescendos in spectacular fashion.

Planning and executing a successful event lies in these details:

Crystallize Your Vision

Start by “scoring” your event. Identify your audience, define your message, and determine the experience you want to provide. Having a clear vision is important, because all the smaller event details and decisions will flow from it.

Logistics Follow

Your “score” will inform your logistical decisions. Choose a venue, food, music, entertainment, format and feel in keeping with your vision. Stay true to the experience you want to provide and these decisions will flow easily.

Choose Your Partners Wisely

Ensure the professional  partners you choose to assist you are on board with your vision. Your caterer, photographer, videographer, etc. should be well versed in what your plans and expectations are for the event.

Plan and Train

Plan everything, down to the minute. Have a schedule and a timetable. Ensure that your “orchestra” understands their roles from beginning to end. Identify your transition times, your presentation times, time spent ramping up and time spent winding down. It’s all important. Extremely important.

We love planning and executing events for our clients. Most recently, it has been our privilege to partner with Practice Ministries in order to “Set the Table” for the future success. We look forward to delivering an exceptional experience to their attendees bright and early on Thursday morning!

Do you need some help planning an event? Come see us on the Porch!

I love telling a story.

Last week, my son asked a girl to Homecoming. Naturally, I posted the obligatory photo on Facebook, but the way he asked needed explaining, because it involved a three year old conversation, a completely nonsensical batch of verbiage, and a pint of guacamole. So I told the story. It was heartwarming, it was funny, and it illustrated the completely unique bond between my oldest children.

The post received more likes and responses than usual. Why? Because I told a story, and that story resonated with people, who felt compelled to engage with me about it.

This is no surprise to us on the Porch. We have long known that effective, evocative storytelling is the cornerstone of marketing. Finding the right words and ways to tell our clients’ stories is what marketing them is all about. On social media. On their websites. In their email newsletters.

It’s no wonder, then, that the marketing world is proclaiming that storytelling is the Future of Content Marketing in 2018.

It’s no longer enough to give consumers some evocative imagery and slick typography. The visuals are important, of course. It’s what catches their eye and piques their interest. But you have to give them something to connect to emotionally, something that engages them and keeps them coming back for more.

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” – writer Phillip Pullman

Your marketing should tell your story. It should tell the story of your business – what sets you apart and makes you unique. It should take information that is fairly practical – company capabilities, project descriptions, etc. – and give them life, context, and meaning.

It’s what I love most about my job. Meeting our clients. Listening to them and watching them and figuring out who they are and what makes them special. And then choosing the words that paint their picture. It’s the best.

Are you effectively painting your picture? Does your website show people exactly who you are? Do your social media accounts give people a glimpse into why you do what you do? If they don’t, then come see us. We can help you tell your story.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about business leadership.  What makes a good leader today?

As luck would have it, I recently watched The Founder, starring the underrated actor Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, the “founder” of McDonalds.  Turns out, stealing the McDonalds brothers’ intellectual property and last name aside, Ray Kroc had some pretty good ideas about leadership that ultimately led to the success of the company and can still be applied today.

Side note: yes, I know McDonalds is not doing great right now and other restaurant chains are, ahem, eating their lunch. But, at the time, Ray Kroch was able to capitalize on a few key ideas to great success.

A Good Leader Takes a Step Back

The McDonald brothers, the original founders of McDonald’s, spent years perfecting their “Speedee Service System,” the assembly-line style fast food kitchen we all know today. They cut down on costs by eliminating wait staff and paired down their menu to the top-selling items – burgers, sodas, shakes, and fries.

Their first foray into franchising was a disaster. It was difficult for the brothers to control quality standards because 1) they were in California and franchisees were far away in a different city or state and 2) they hardly ever ventured outside of their original location.

So, you can imagine their consternation when Ray Kroc, who they trusted to create and supervise their second attempt at franchising, started suggesting new menu items, sponsorship opportunities, and that the brothers should expand the franchise even more. Who was this yahoo to tell them how to tinker with their creation?

It is a difficult thing to go from working in your business to working on your business, to giving up some control and letting others take on the day-to-day details and hands-on work. It’s a risk – what if a staff person comes back with less-than-stellar work? You have spent all this time growing your business and now you’re just supposed to what, give up the reins?

In a word, yes. In three more words, a little bit. What the movie makes painfully clear is that the McDonalds brothers were never going to grow their business to the fast food behemoth it is today by themselves. They needed right leadership, and the right people, to grow and they needed to let those people take the lead.

Finding the Right People Is Worth It

Initially, Ray sold McDonald’s franchises to a few friends from his country club. This was not a great success. They changed menu items without consulting him first. Burgers were overcooked. Locations were messy. And what was worse, they did not care. Their livelihood did not depend on these restaurants and so they let standards slide.

Ray then decides to fish for the right franchisees in different waters. He found them in VFW halls, American Legions, Shriners Clubs, churches, and synagogues. He sold franchises to regular, working-class people who were willing to work hard and had some skin in the game.

The lesson in all of this: finding the right people is tough. But, hiring the wrong people can be a costly mistake. Is it time to expand your talent search?

Leaders Work on Growing Their People

Let’s be clear: Ray Kroc was not a nice guy. But, he knew good talent and ideas when he saw them.

Ray didn’t immediately squash new ideas from his staff, he tested them out first. He took chances on people who might otherwise be overlooked, because he liked their work ethic. His original Director of Operations, Fred Turner, started out on the line of one his restaurants. Ray initially took interest in him because he literally liked the way Fred flipped burgers.

Ultimately, good leaders grow people. And by growing their people, they grow their business.

A Strong Brand is Worth a Lot ($2.7 million in fact)

Ray Kroc understood the value of a strong brand. He knew that even more than burgers and fries, McDonalds was selling the chance to spend time with your family, a sense of community, a slice of Americana. He also knew he could copy the Speedee Service System all the wanted, but no one was going to go to a restaurant named after him. Kroc’s doesn’t quite have the same ring as McDonald’s.

This is the point in the movie where things take a dramatic turn and we see Ray basically bullying the McDonald brothers into selling their very name to Ray for $2.7 million.

While I don’t advocate bullying, I do suggest looking at your brand and identifying what makes you stand out from the pack. In a world of increasingly commodified goods and services, what is special about your company?

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Its an old saying, but its true: what got you here won’t get you there. The things that make a business owner successful at first –a great product or service, hard work, attention-to-detail – are not enough by themselves to take a business to the next level.

To level up, business leaders must step back from the day-to-day, find and grow the right people, and cultivate their brand.  What steps are you taking to get to the next level of your business?

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!