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

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

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

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

Key Takeaways Thus Far From Back to the Classroom

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

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

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

Have an internal marketing team? Outsourced function? Freelance consultant?

It doesn’t matter what your marketing team looks like. Or what the project looks like. If you’re B2B or B2C. Ask the questions.

It is the last week of the first month of a new year. Therefore, one third the way through first quarter.

Our world looks different than it did even a month ago. With the constant changes, it is critical to focus on the “why.” Make sure the entire organization is aligned. After that, measure initiatives and report results and data.

Business leaders and their marketing team share the responsibility for growth. In other words, work together to achieve collective outcomes to improve enterprise value. Reframe conversations. Arrive at common language. In conclusion, ask and answer the questions.

Marketing Team: Ask These Questions

1. Do we remember why we are here? The first step to create alignment, excitement and positive team energy cross-functionally.
2. Have our business goals, objectives and strategies changed? Similarly, need to be tweaked?
3. Who are our customers / clients? Are the same as last year? How have our existing clients’ mindsets, decision drivers, perceptions changed in the last month?
4. Are we doing enough to add value and fully leverage our relationship with them?
5. Where are we falling down? A positive discussion with constructive criticism and actable outputs.
6. What could limit or impact our strategy, direction or execution?
7. What has been our biggest marketing success this month?
8. Are there new key relationships and milestones or events coming up we should be aware of?

Marketing contributes more than 50% of firm value when brand, customer and digital assets are properly valued. And, the impact of marketing performance, collaboration and perceptions are measured. Marketing is an asset, rather than a cost center or risk mitigator.

We are grateful to work as a marketing team for our clients. Front Porch Marketing asks the questions. We can work as fractional CMOs and outsourced marketing department. In addition, we help write marketing plans and execute marketing initiatives on a retainer or project basis.

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!

Isn’t it hard to believe that Q1 is already in books? Nevertheless, the time has come to analyze topline sales for the first quarter of 2018.

Why is this analysis so important, you ask? Demonstrating the value of your marketing and sales efforts by evaluating ROI is paramount for our client partners. And for our own business as well!

Take a look at these four things If your topline sales weren’t what you anticipated:

1. Were your marketing efforts consistent? Think consistency in creative, messaging and delivery. All are important, together with frequency, which is critical as well.
2. Are you proactively managing and following up on your sales leads? This oversight can be accomplished in a few ways, depending on resources (time, money, people, etc.). Something as elementary as an Excel workbook can be updated daily and analyzed weekly. Some of our clients chose other management tools, such as Hubspot, Pipedrive and Zoho. Maximize technology if it makes your business (and you!) more efficient and more profitable.
3. Are you communicating clearly with your internal audiences, and are they on board? Starting from the inside out is critical to the success of any strategy. Conviction is key. Make sure you have your internal champions. The team must understand the “why” and articulate strategy, initiatives and messages clearly. At every touch point.
4. Are your initiatives relevant and persuasive to your target audiences? Make sure you are connecting with your prospective and current clients and customers. Create an emotional connection. Be relevant. People will be predisposed to your brand and business if they are made to feel something.

Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”

If your topline sales aren’t where they need to be, then let’s take a look at the possible reasons. We are here to help.

Peace. Out. And most importantly, rock on!

As I skim materials for my upcoming Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Marketing and Sales class, my mind wanders (Hey, a squirrel! Or is it procrastination, perhaps?). I must blog. Now.

This post builds on my colleague Jacqui Chappell’s last blog on differentiating against competition. She is known as being the writer extraordinaire on the Porch, so I do not want to disappoint as I follow a post from her! So just read this blog for content and nuggets of marketing and sales knowledge. Puhleeeease!!

There is no one size fits all marketing and sales strategy. And this post does not suggest it, either. Period.

However, as I stare at a document asking me to define “current and aspirational competitors and their market share,” I realize Front Porch Marketing has a million and one competitors. I do not watch them daily, nor do I care if they are watching us.

I was asked recently by a client if they should list names of their clients on their website, collateral materials, etc. My answer: Heeeelllll, yes! If you are doing your job well, then no competitor can cold call your client list and take them away from you.

Doing your job well is obviously the first way to weed out your competitors.

Here are five more:

1. Define your brand. Know your pillars.
2. Communicate your brand consistently inside and out. If you look like every other company in your category, you are not doing this, nor is your brand defined.
3. Look outside your industry. Take key learnings from strong or unique brands in other spaces and consider how you can use them to help your brand.
4. Talk to your clients / customers. Ask them why they selected your company or product over others? What didn’t they get from their last partner or other product?
5. Ask yourself if who you consider your main competition is really that. Speaking to two business owners independently recently, they named each other as direct / primary competition. The more we learned about said businesses, the more we found them to be great complements to each other’s concepts and thought of more than a dozen ways they could leverage each other to grow their businesses. (Maybe if they use our ideas, they will let us blog about them specifically in the future.)

Identifying and evaluating your competition is an important exercise, there is no doubt. But it’s a delicate balance. Knowing they are there keeps you on your toes, pushes you to do your best work, and provides occasional inspiration. But ultimately, what will differentiate you from your competitors is your brand, the work that you do, and the way that you do it.

So rock your brand, rock your work and rock your competitors! TTFN!

Customer experience is a daily topic on the Porch. Those who know me are probably like “smh” that I would say I learned about customer experience from Disney Princesses ‘cuz mama be like, Hey, Cinderella, what’s the story all about … you know, the Suzy Bogguss song?!?! No? Well, Google it …

Did you know Millennials ranked Disney number one in the latest Brand Intimacy Report***?

***Survey was not by the Porter family nor was the Porter family surveyed for this report.

Why did they rank Disney number one you ask? Millennials tend toward “escapism and the need for respite” during this point in their lives. Disney delivers. The Disney brand rocks it with Millennials, children, teens, parents, grandparents and everyone in between.

My latest experience at Disney World brings me back to why the most powerful brands are the ones that have mastered customer experience, among other things.

Three customer experience takeaways from Disney:

1. Hire people who love their jobs and continually give them reasons to love it. They have to love it. There are people of all ages touching Disney Princesses and their hair and clothing for hours on end. Random lils asking questions about the Princess’ movie or last episode of their Disney Junior show. Upon each interaction, there were smiles and dialogue about the show and questions about whether they liked the outcome of that episode or if they knew what Belle’s favorite book was. My favorite answer, “Yes, princess, your hair is the same color as mine.” Swoon.
2. Consistently deliver on the brand at every touch point. When you call the front desk or housekeeping or the restaurant at a Disney property, you always hear, “Welcome home.” If you ask, “Are you open tomorrow?” You will most certainly not hear, “We are off tomorrow. Sorry.” Take note friends.
3. Words your team speaks matter. You are called your highness or majesty. Your children are called princess or prince or your highness every time you turn around. How can you not love being at Disney?

Customers and clients are the new royalty. The quality of customer experience you must offer to compete in your market and win is of the utmost importance — now more than ever.

Dream big marketer. Be A Champion.

Disney, you got me hook, line and slipper.

She arrives early at Starbucks for our first meeting, is already working on the first item of our Front Porch Marketing orientation “to do” list, and impresses me with how eager, engaged, and talented she is. An SMU undergraduate student majoring in marketing with a minor in advertising, she is ready to learn, ready to work, ready to rock it.

Folks, if you hear someone rambling about all of the flaws they see in the next generation, make a positive choice – don’t listen to them.  In fact, I won’t list any of the negative commentary I read while researching Gen Y, because there is no reason to give it any cred. Here is what you need to know as you consider making our future leaders a part of your business team – They are:

• Energetic
• Tech-savvy
• Intelligent
• Cost-effective
• Bilingual
• Flexible
• Eager
• Civic-minded

Take a quick peek at Wikipedia and you will learn that Millennials, also known as Generation Y, were born between the early 1980’s and the early 2000’s and are sometimes referred to as the Echo Boomers, because estimates of the number in the U.S. exceed 80 million. Read a bit further, and you will discover that authors William Strauss and Neil Howe, who wrote specifically about this generation in a book titled Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (2000), predicted this group would become “civic-minded” similar to our great G.I. Generation.

Interns Rock!

It doesn’t matter if you work for a Fortune 500 company, manage a nonprofit organization, or own a small business – there is benefit to hiring this generation of interns. In my previous sales management career with a Fortune 250 company, some of our most successful regional sales leaders made the business case for bringing on part-time interns to provide local sales support, and markets where we hired tech-savvy millennials to join tenured teams produced the most amazing sales results.

Nonprofit organizations can also benefit greatly from these hires. With tight budgets, extensive workloads and purposes great but challenging, nonprofits can bring in unpaid interns from high schools and colleges to help out while engaging them in an important cause. A family member of mine runs a foundation for exceptional children specializing in autism therapies, and has numerous interns on board helping to assist these children and their families. It is life changing for these interns and the families in need, and some of these interns have made this their career and purpose following graduation.

For a small business, an intern can make a real difference, and Front Porch Marketing has been rocking it successfully with student interns for several years!  As experts in unlocking the social nature of brands for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and franchisees, we make certain our clients are getting access to experienced marketing and advertising professionals, while utilizing young talent to provide a social media view and analysis when we need it. Rocker Interns on the Porch are part of our culture – it’s just how we rock n’ roll.

We are excited to welcome our Future Rocket, Rachel McMains!

One more fantastic intern on The Porch…ready to rock it.

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.

On January 1, 2015, the Carryout Bag Ordinance went into effect in Dallas ~ hello baby step on the road to sustainability in our great city. The ordinance mandates that retailers charge consumers five cents for every single-use plastic bag they are given. This legislation may have dealt Dallas shoppers a jolt, but it’s nothing new.

Some Canadian cities have been adhering to these regulations since 2007, and Dallas is joining an ever-growing list of American cities who have been on board including San Francisco, Chicago, Portland, Austin and all the islands in Hawaii.

The reason for doing this is simple: WE HAVE TO.

Consider this:

• More than trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide.
• Only somewhere between .5% to 3% of all bags is recycled.
• A single plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years to degrade.
• Plastic bags remain toxic even after they break down. When plastics break down, they don’t biodegrade; they photodegrade. This means the materials break down to smaller fragments which readily soak up toxins. They then contaminate soil, waterways and animals upon digestion.
• Ten percent of the plastic produced every year worldwide winds up in the ocean, 70% of which finds its way to the ocean floor, where it will likely never degrade.

As consumers, the decision is easy. Plastic bags are superfluous and avoidable, so take reusable bags shopping with you. Throw them in your car and use them. End of story.

But as a business-owner, there is a bigger issue at play – sustainability.

The most widely agreed upon definition of sustainability requires we meet the needs of today without negatively impacting future generations. All companies have the opportunity to formulate and then execute a strategy that will take into account all aspects of sustainability but that is useful enough to be implemented today.

True sustainability has four coequal components:

1. Social (act as if other people matter)
2. Economic (operate profitably)
3. Environmental (protect and restore the ecosystem)
4. Cultural (protect and value cultural diversity)

Now, more than ever before, consumers, employees and investors share a common purpose and a passion for companies that do well by doing good. So any strategy without sustainability at its core is just plain irresponsible – bad for business, bad for shareholders, bad for the environment.

Side note: It was our fine city’s birthday yesterday! Happy 159th Dallas! We built this city on rock and roll baby!

It was my intention to write a prophetic post this week about the Texas bag law and the impact on Texans, small business and the progress on our slow road to being a sustainable nation. 

And, then, duh dun dah … Mr. Flu A happened in the middle of the night and Ms. Worst Diaper Rash in the history of ever (ITHOE) caused baby to scream, “Mommmmiieeeeee,” every time she is changed during the day which is every 20 minutes due to the severity of her raw booty’s condition.

Folks, mama needed to work ~ lots of deadlines and things to be done.

Small business owners can’t just go a hundred miles an hour the day after a sleepless night. They can’t drop everything to take their child to an early morning, unscheduled pediatrician’s appointment. They can’t run and cuddle their wailing baby at the drop of a hat in the middle of a work day … Or can they??

Friends, they can.

There are four must haves for every small business owner in case life takes an unexpected turn on an action-packed work day:

1. Highly, functioning virtual work space – Have the bunker ready at all times. High speed Internet, phone charger and all necessary supplies you use on a daily basis at the office. Thankfully I have a high quality color laser printer wired and ready in the home office and a pack of the 32 pound paper on hand at all times. We were able to complete the brand book we are presenting to a client today.   
   
2. The village – I mention it frequently. It takes a spouse that can stay home from work for a few hours with the sleeping baby while mama goes to the early morning doctor’s appointment with the other baby. It is extremely helpful if the spouse’s employer believes in their employees putting their families first in times of need. It also takes a doting daytime care giver to be there when mom can’t to console the aching baby.
3. Attitude of gratitude – It is easy to go down a dark hole and focus on all the things negative happening in your world. Instead, focus on the positive. Be grateful for all that is right. There are a million and one books, articles and studies showing that professionals with a positive attitude are more productive and successful. Put on your rose-colored rock star glasses and leave the tissue with lotion for the sickees.
4. And, last but not least, a dependable and adaptable team – When the work needs to be done – the client’s blog sm’ed by 8:30 a.m., the enewsletter draft to the client by noon, the conference call rescheduled, etc. – the work needs to be done. Make sure your team is as adaptable and reliable as you are and willing to step in and step up in a pinch.

Check, check, check and check! The kiddos are on the mend, deadlines were met, work got done and there is a new episode of American Idol on the DVR calling my name. Ciao for now!