You’ve gotta have a plan. And when starting a new business, everyone knows that you need a strong business plan. But for some reason, many times business owners forget about a marketing plan, which is just as critical to the success of a business.

A marketing plan focuses on how you are going to get the customers you need to survive. It’s your plan of action – what you are going to be selling, who is going to buy it and how you are going to reach those potential customers and convert them to sales.

Here’s how to create a marketing plan that works:

Who are you? Define your company, the products or services you offer, and what sets you apart from the competition. Positioning your product requires a complete understanding of the market segment you are entering. You must know what your competitors are offering and what makes your product or service unique or a better value.

Include an overview of your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses will be factors within the company while opportunities and threats are external factors.

Who is your target audience? Describe your prospective customer – this can be done in terms of demographics or by lifestyle. If you’re marketing B2B you may define your target audience by the type of business, size of the business, job title or any other factors that make them potential customers. It is important to know exactly who your target customer is in order to plan your marketing strategy.

What do you want to achieve? Write down a list of measurable goals.

Develop strategies and tactics. These are the guts of your plan! Focus on reaching prospective customers at all stages of your sales cycle, whether they are cold or warm prospects. Outline your primary marketing strategies, then include a variety of tactics you’ll use to reach prospects at any point in your sales cycle. This should be a combination of several tactics that can include social media, traditional print advertising, online advertising, blogs, customer events, loyalty programs and email marketing. It’s important to know which media your customers and potential customers will go to for information on the type of product or service you sell.

Remember, a great marketing strategy needs to be realistic and implemented consistently over time. Building brand awareness takes time and patience. If you need a guiding hand, we on the Porch can steer you in the right direction!

As our Chief Rocker continually espouses, marketing is not a science, it is an art. There is no one size fits all. It is a continual effort to fine tune your strategy including your message and its delivery.

Like an actor playing to an audience, there is a relationship – the transfer of energy and interaction from stage to audience is palpable. If an actor correctly reads the audience’s cues, the energy feeds on itself. The same holds true of marketing a product or service.

As an entrepreneur or small business, you’ve done your demographic research for your target market – your audience. Don’t fail to use it. This is your chance to tell the story of your brand and your value to potential customers and to let them know what makes your product stand apart.

Content and delivery are both important. And as new apps and technologies are continually evolving, it’s important to remain relevant. There is an element of trial and error. Pay attention to shifts. If it’s not working anymore – move on! Remember to know and address your audience.

Melissa McCarthy’s blunt and physical brand of comedy is a sharp contrast to Helen Mirren’s more serious and dramatic performance. While both are wildly talented and entertaining, they each have different “brands” and vastly different audience appeal. Bridesmaids plays to a very different audience than Queen Elizabeth. Both are great. But, there is an audience for each.

Know your audience. Remember, you are telling the story of your brand. Focus on the artistry of conveying your brand’s voice and message.

Plans are comforting. Satisfying to-do lists, orderly outlines, and pro-and-con comparisons are all tools that tame our anxiety and give us the feeling of being in control. As business people, we thrive on living this structure. assembling and assigning structure to a process.

Whether we are a part of a service-oriented business or one that is product-based, smart business people assemble structure to a process and put systems and procedures in place to maximize productivity.

Yet the natural order of things is chaotic.

So you’re a start up and are successfully launched. All systems are go. Products are distributed. You’ve diligently put systems in place and created a system of organization and productivity. Things are humming along smoothly.

Congratulations … but don’t get too comfortable.

Because inevitably, unforeseen circumstances and uncontrollable events will threaten to derail your hard-earned success. So how do you handle the chaos?

1. Stay focused

2. Stay true to your core concept

3. Stay true to your brand vision

4. Be agile

5. Be adaptable

6. Get back on track

As Deepak Chopra said, “All great changes are preceded by chaos.” Chaos is inevitable. Use it. Learn from it. And recognize that in the midst of the chaos lies opportunity.

I love it when people ask me about our brand and how the name came to be. We enjoyed our branding process immensely; and we as a team love it when start-ups come to us with their business concept and ask us to help them name, brand and market it.

Just yesterday we were presenting logo options to a client who commented that they were impressed by our process for naming, preparing a creative brief and then developing logo concepts. The leadership team had no idea how much time, energy and thought went into the process and were curious whether we thought other start-ups went through a similar process.

Unfortunately, the answer is no.

But they should! Naming your brand is an important process and must be tackled in a diligent, thoughtful way. Choosing a strong name requires that it:

1. Stands out from the competition (unless it’s more important to fit in)
2. Communicates the business you’re in
3. Reinforces your brand promise
4. Communicates your company’s distinguishing characteristics
5. Has long term viability
6. Is easy to read
7. Is easy to pronounce
8. Is simple to spell
9. Is short and concise
10. Is memorable

Do the work on the front end to analyze your brand, your business, your competitors and your promise to ensure that your identity represents all that you want and need. You will save time, money and energy down the road if you start off right!

When was the last time you looked up at the sky and really enjoyed the sunshine, being in the moment.

Felt the breeze on your face. Found shapes in the clouds.

If you stopped right now, went outside and looked up, how would you feel? What would you be thinking? Are you happy? Content?

Perhaps, like many of us, things are basically good, but you’re in a bit of a life rut. Same routine over and over, and you suddenly realize how quickly the years are slipping by. Or maybe things simply aren’t going the way you want. There’s a little too much rain on your parade, and it’s gotten you down.

We all feel this way at some time or another. In today’s busy society, no one is immune from getting swept up in the stampede of life. Or being occasionally trampled by it. So how do you break free?

One way, again, is to simply look up. It’s sunshine, folks!

Let me explain. The other day, I heard a client talking about an employee who wasn’t performing at her best. He noted, “All she needs is a little water and sunshine, and she’ll be great.”

That was an amazing observation, and it really struck home with me. Of course, he was talking about nourishment. Nourishment of a person based on who she is. The things that feed her soul. Things to help her grow and thrive and blossom!

Ok, I’m overdoing it a bit, but you get the idea.

Friends, what is your sunshine? What are the nutrients that will nourish the essence of who you are? What do you need in your core being to shine more brightly?

It’s easy to ask these questions but not always easy to answer. Try to discover the tiny inkling within that excites you. Something you love and are passionate about, deep down. Maybe it’s a hobby, like painting or gardening. Perhaps it’s philanthropic, like rescuing dogs or mission work. It could be a special career skill that you didn’t pursue in college. Something on your bucket list? Take a moment and really listen to your gut. What are you hungry for?

When you find it, FEED IT! Embrace it! Nurture it! And give it plenty of sunshine!

Before you know it, you’ll be following your own heart on your own journey instead of being fenced in, grazing with the herd. It may be new and different, and it may require taking a risk. But you are only you once.

Dare to be great!

Cheers! Your company has a clearly defined brand – a simple, relevant customer promise that competitively gives you an edge. Check that off the list, right? Absolutely! But before you move on to other things, have you thought about your internal processes?

What must you do internally to execute the brand? To make it come alive? Become more than just a piece of paper? Ensure that your customers understand the brand as you intended?

Before you talk about your brand to the masses, you need to first look within to be sure you’re delivering on that brand throughout the organization. You don’t want to set an expectation that disappoints later! So consider this carefully – What are your customer touch points? Think about ALL of them, from where your store is located to how well the product performs or even how clean the front desk is when you walk in the door.

They’re all important.

Ergo, all companies need to identify and proactively manage their brand at all points of customer contact. Make a list of your contact points. Especially the less obvious ones like:

• the way your phone is answered
• how seamless your billing processes are for customers
• what your employees say to others about their job
• the attire of your salespeople
• the quality of your packaging
• the functionality and ease of navigating your website
• your response time for customer questions

Basically, everything you say and do as an organization reflects on your brand. Look carefully at your internal processes. If you’re experiencing problems at a touch point, they need to be addressed – you don’t want a seemingly minor issue to be the string that unravels all the work you put into building your brand. Assess each item on your list, and then prioritize those you need to change.

The goal is to eliminate negative experiences and keep or build on areas in which you are strong. Strong in communicating the brand promise.

Often, we ask a client, “If you do everything right, what’s the one thing you want your target to remember about you? If we conducted research now, would they give that answer?”

This is the fun part, folks! Branding and marketing rocks! Every company has struggles, but strategic marketing built on a strong brand is the impetus for success!

Go team!

Julie Porter is the chief rocker at Front Porch Marketing. You can follow her, julie_porter, or her company, itsfrontporch, on Instagram; and Twitter @juliedporter01 or @itsfrontporch; and like us on Facebook at FrontPorchMktg.

I’m obsessed with customer service. Have been for some time. Retail brands can be wiped from my consumer consumption in a swipe if things go sideways.True for you too, right? If you don’t feel valued or respected, why should you spend your money there?!?

Customer service has never been easier or harder. Gone are the days:

• Where the employee servicing the customer are the only touch point.
• As an owner, major stakeholder, CEO you never hear about bad experiences.
• 9-5 customer service. A social world means 24-7 visibility. Customers want quick resolution at anytime of the day.

One negative experience can end the relationship.
I had a favorite clothing store, a national brand and I loved them. They were the best. They kept a book on me. I could call ahead. They would have a room waiting with items in my size and preferences.

Until one day … the manager texted me that my loyalty reward was going to expire on Monday. I went to redeem and OOPS it expired on Sunday. The manager wasn’t there, the employees could do nothing for me (even though I shared the text). I decided I would return when someone followed up. It has been 14 months.

Excellent service creates loyalty.
This year, I ordered my Christmas cards. I waited patiently, for them to arrive but after an appropriate length of time and still no cards I called to inquire. They shipped to a previous property and had been delivered and signed for. I FORGOT to change the shipping address in my profile. How did they respond? “We will express print and ship tomorrow overnight.” I asked how much this wonderful solution would be?? It was FREE because they appreciated my business. Just. Wow.

Three benefits of having a customer service strategy. Customer service:

• Differentiates. Blue Ocean Strategy by Chan Kim & Renee Maubogne tells us we need to differentiate to set us apart from a sea of sameness. Recommended read!
• Creates loyal customers.
• Creates happy employees.

Can you service your way to sales? Absolutely.

Can you service your way out of sales? Absolutely.

Do you have a customer service strategy? If not get on it. Your team, customers and P&L will thank you.

Chances are your business is using content marketing as part of your overall marketing plan. The objective of content marketing is to deliver valuable information that will engage your audience. Consumers are tuning out the more intrusive marketing tactics. What they really want is great, customer-focused information that helps them make a decision or solve a problem. That’s what content marketing delivers.

I actually like The Content Marketing Institute’s definition of content marketing the best: “Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

So when it comes to content marketing, as a marketing professional, your job is to create and share valuable, free content to attract and convert prospective buyers into customers and engage existing customers so they are repeat buyers. The content you create and share should be closely related to what you sell without selling.

The purpose is to build relationships, awareness, branding and overall establish your company as an expert in your industry. You want to educate people and gain their trust so they do business with you.

There are many types of content that form a content marketing strategy including:

• Blogging
• Guest blog posts
• Social media posts and sharing
• Email marketing
• Infographics
• PowerPoint presentations
• Podcasts
• Standard videos
• Micro-videos (i.e. Vine)
• Public Speaking
• Webinars
• Articles

It’s up to you to know what is the best way for your brand to reach those potential and current customers. Just remember the power of great content marketing can make a person stop, read, think and behave differently. The return on investment for content marketing can be huge if executed correctly. And, it really doesn’t take a significant investment!

One of the things that makes marketing rock is the combination of science, art and a whole lot of planning. Clients that come to Front Porch Marketing typically have marketing goals they are trying to achieve. Sometimes they are WOG’s (wildly outrageous goals), sometimes they are motivational or aspirational.

Regardless of the size or type of goal, without a brand strategy and marketing plan, it is just a dream.

You are planning a trip from Dallas, Texas to Taos, New Mexico. You have plugged it into your GPS and you have selected the route with the shortest drive time. You know how long it is going to take to get there and what it is going to cost.

The STRATEGY: (your why) Family of four wants to have a safe trip to Taos, New Mexico, and enjoy time together.

The TACTICS: (your how) Travel by car in 16 hours, spending $200 on gas. You have your plan!

Not so fast.

What tools do you need to be successful? A driver’s license, a car, food, water, lodging and gas. There are a lot of vehicle models just as there are endless marketing tools (branding, social media, radio, TV, direct mail, print, e-mail marketing, e-commerce, in-store POP, affiliations, cross-promotions, customer loyalty, on and on).

The vehicle selection for a road trip is important, as is the selection of your marketing tools. Having a budget upfront can be helpful in determining tool selection. Who doesn’t want to drive a Bugatti Veyron to Taos, but is that the best tool for the goal?

Always tie your tactics and tools back to your goal and strategy. The performance and constant analysis of your tools is the science of marketing. There are tangible metrics and formulas for each tool ranging from frequency, reach, engagement and ROI.

When and how you use your tools is the art.

Ask the tough questions. What else do you need to know to be successful? For the Taos trip you might ask: Are there other destinations you want to visit along the way? What is the weather forecast? What are the traffic patterns? What is the longest stretch of highway between gas stations? Even the most expensive and sophisticated vehicle without fuel is just a heavy piece of metal.

Ask every question that will help or prevent you from achieving your goal. Then ask 10 more and PLAN accordingly.

Our Chief Rocker enjoying the opening festivities with Megan and Landon Wood of Lily Jade.

Branding and marketing are more art than science.

In fact, it’s one of the reasons it’s so rewarding. There is no “one size fits all.”

Blogging could be a necessary part of your digital strategy. It’s the perfect way to deliver messages near and dear to your brand and engage your audience.

So, when we heard about the first annual The Hundred Event, we didn’t think twice about participating ourselves.

Hosted by four lovelies, Grace Patton, Bridget Hunt, Lauren Knight and Megan Graham, the event brought together a talented group of small business owners and bloggers intent on learning and sharing best practices. There is a distinct entrepreneurial spirit in this group. People came from all over to partake in the delicious food, warm ambiance and shared knowledge.

We discussed many blogging styles. What do they have in common? Imagery is key to them all. Whether it’s still or video – good photography is non negotiable.

Here are a few of my favorite photography takeaways and recommendations, compliments of Jenni Dawson of J.Noel Photography:

• If you have a good camera, shoot in manual.
• If you don’t know how to use that great camera, invest in the Extremely Essential Camera Skills Tutorial and learn how.
• Afterlight is a handy app for photography on the go. It’s super easy and really adds a textural element to pictures taken on your phone.
• Pic Tap Go is perhaps my favorite app. It costs $1.99 and is worth every penny. There are several filters to choose from. Pic Tap Go saves your “recipes” for future use.

Enjoying the Peacock Alley Block Party under the super moon.
Lauren Knight, Laura Busby, Beth Dotolo
Photos courtesy of Awake Photography