I have heard many times from many business owners that they don’t need to do any advertising or promotional activities. “We’re busy enough as it is”, “We can’t handle any more work”, “We’re happy making the money we’re making now, we don’t need any more”. These are the most common things I’ve heard.

And then sales drop. We get out of the standard buying season, people stop spending money with these businesses, and then the new lines start to come in. Well, it’s many variations of the same line. “We need to advertise, but we don’t have any money for it. Can you help us?

These businesses are just riding the waves of increases and decreases in sales. They’re in a tiny boat getting thrown around in the ocean of price increases, competitors, changing trends, and worst of all, complacency. They may know and understand the importance of advertising, but every time there’s a change in sales, either up or down, there’s an excuse why they can’t or don’t need to.

If you’re thinking strategically and go into business with an understanding that there will be times of increase and times of decrease, you will be able to budget and effectively plan for these times of both feast and famine. You need to consider your sales funnel and lead conversion times. If your product takes a year for the customer to make a decision, you need to start connecting with that customer through your promotional activities before and during that decision making process. The same holds true for retail where that promotional activity happens up to the time that the customer sees your sign on your building.

There’s a lot more to this obviously, but the main principal is there. If I were to give you one piece of advice that you can take and do something with, it’s this. Budget every month. Take a percentage of gross sales, let’s say 4-5%, and set that aside. Do this daily, monthly, whatever is more comfortable for you. Set this money aside and use it effectively. Know your audience and where they look for the information they will use to make decisions. Save some cash and do something different. If you’re in a position to host an event, do it. Events are awesome ways to create experiences with your audience that will stay in their minds for a long time. However, don’t neglect this opportunity to create follow up experiences that will also last. Think creatively and strategically.

You don’t need to spend huge sums of money to advertise, you just need to spend wisely.

Jeff

Influence is defined as the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something, or the effect itself. It is synonymous with words like clout, control, impact, leadership, reputation or significance among many others. I’m certain we have all read about, encountered or heard about influence…but what does it take to become a person of influence.

There are three things that contribute to becoming an influencer; your character, your purpose and your passion.

Would you agree that the key to being an influencer starts with being someone worth listening to?

This typically takes intention, a admirable skill or achievement and more importantly at the core, a presence that is recognized to build into others. When I think of those I see as great influencers, I think of attributes like selflessness, consistency, integrity, a servant attitude, commitment and humility.

Being a person worth following must come before having a message worth listening to.

As the world become a smaller place, and our reach goes farther, people generally have learned to recognize genuine from that laced with ulterior motives; what I mean to say is that people can smell a fake from a mile away…maybe more. Those listening will be just as concerned with your motive as with your message. People of influence let their purpose speak through their motives as well as their message.

Passion…we all have one…and I’m not talking about a product or a service. I’m talking about the reasons behind the product or service. The solutions, providing quality, supporting a cause. My son has a passion for trains…it’s all he thinks about and in the same way, an influencer has a very clear focus and direction that acts as a thread woven into all they do and say. 

Maybe your passion is wanting the best for the people around you and that comes through in the way you serve them, maybe its leaving each person you encounter better than when you found them by providing viable solutions or products that make that part of their life better. Maybe is the language you choose with your customers as they get an unexpected bill. 

The thread of your passion determines your purpose and makes the things you do worthwhile.

It’s what sets you apart in your industry, within your company, among your colleges. It acts as your drive and foundation and it’s the true mark of a great influencer.

So go out and be, go out and do.

Sherri

A few days ago I had the opportunity in business to approach strangers for short video testimonies. Overall it was a very pleasant experience.  Meeting new people and making connections is one of the greatest joys of my job. It was a great experience that day until I walked up to a man, put my hand out to shake his, and much to my surprise he looked me straight in the eyes and refused to shake my hand. I was a little taken back. He made it blatantly obvious that he didn’t want to talk to me.

I have a line that I say to myself in these kinds of situations:

If someone says ‘no’, you say ‘next’!

Shake it off, smile, and move on. But he definitely made an impression.

This reminded me of ‘Bob’, my fictional business owner.

‘Bob’ had been extremely rude to ‘Joe’ down at the hardware store.  So, Joe, being displeased with the ordeal, decided to write a Facebook post about it. Because of his post, many people now have concluded that they will likely not do any business with Bob.

Bob’s reputation was hurt by his actions and by word of mouth. But when people behave rudely or unkind in business, it has a very different meaning today than it did even 10 years ago. 

We are now living under a social media magnifying glass.  Welcome to the very real days of social media!

Businesses are learning that the days of social media has created a massive shift in marketing.  Now, more than ever, the culture of your business is going to be the foundation of your marketing efforts. Your marketing strategy will have to begin at the core; taking care of your workplace and your employees so that they are representing you well in life and on social media platforms.

Questions you can ask yourself are:

1. Are my staff happy?
2. Are my clients happy?
3. Are my staff knowledgeable on all products and services or offerings?
4. What about my products, services and offerings are better or different than my competitors (business neighbours) and where can I improve?  

These are all basic and simple questions, but it’s imperative that we ask these questions and keep it at the forefront. The world is watching, and they are largely watching through social media.

Remember: word of mouth, is now world of mouth!  

Whether we like it or not, the social media magnifying glass is hovering over your business! Did you know that you only control 20% of your social media marketing? The next 80% will be controlled by organic comments from bystanders, onlookers, and customers.

So, back to the man in the coffee shop. I’m sorry he was having a bad day. But it was a good reminder for me that even when I have a bad day, I’d best be working at being my kindest anyway. The world is watching, the world is talking, word is travelling faster than ever, and it WILL effect business.

Connie

In business and life I value little above integrity. I enjoy doing business with people of integrity, and working with the same type of people. If a person’s word is their bond, trust can run deeper than if there’s a legalistic approach to everything. 

At one point a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ was the norm. This is no longer the case. This was the norm when integrity was worth more than money.

We do need to have contracts and agreements in place, and I don’t suggest that we do away with these things, as it’s still a matter of stewardship to ensure we protect ourselves and our businesses against the worst case scenario. The subject of integrity must go deeper than just how we make our agreements.

Who do you say you are? Do your choices align with this projected self image? Is the person behind closed doors, or the person in a different city where no one knows you, or the person given an opportunity to make a lot of money at the cost of sacrificing your values, is this person the same person you want others to believe you are? I truly hope so.

Integrity may not always be the most lucrative, but it’s EASY! To make the right choices means you don’t have to backpedal in conversations where someone has been called out on a lie. It means you already know what choice to make in a compromising situation. It means you know what kind of people you should do business with. It means you treat people the way you know you should treat them, both people you like and those you might not. Many good things stem from integrity, and if properly nourished and maintained, it will be the guiding light to creating a lasting legacy that leave others speaking well of you and creating a good name for your family.

Jeff

I’d recently had a conversation with a colleague about a child’s study.  The study noted that children in a playground used less of the space and kept to the middle when the playground had no visible boundary.  

A fence was built, and the study found that the children used much more of the playground, knowing where the boundaries were.

In the context of Creatives, we often assume that they are looking for a boundless playground, when in fact, structure is what they ask for. It’s called brand standards (a document that determines how you logo, its colours and elements are to be used), and it creates a ‘fence’ to allow for more creativity within a brand.

Let’s take a simple request and study it in light of our playground analogy…how about ‘Hey, can you make me a poster?”.  Sure we can!   

Without a fence

Ok, so we have the info and a blank 11 x 17 canvas with no rules.  The possibilities are endless…and there in lies the problem.  Where does a creative, full of ideas in all directions even begin?  This poster could take a million different shapes, and at the same time has no direction at all.  In the end, the creative puts it off until the last moment and creates whatever is in their head at the moment.  Often, because of skill and creative inclination, it fits the bill, but it has been a taxing process to find a path. 

With a fence

Once you get past the info, the creative is left with endless possibilities ON A PATH. They know the colour palette, the font family, and the general feel of the brand, so the vision begins to form.  They know details that create a landscape to create within. There is brainstorming, but often little procrastination and they attack the poster feeling proud that they have added to the brand’s identity in a successful way.

For most creatives, brand is the beginning…always.  It sets the tone, the feel and is the framework to be built upon.  It includes font families, colours, graphic elements and themes.  What it becomes is the foundation for the furniture you put in your restaurant, the type of trees that are used on the social media ad, the style and shapes used on your website’s icons and buttons. 

To us, our fence (in the context of marketing) is not restrictive, rickety, or overgrown with weeds, but rather it’s covered with the roadmap to success. 

Sherri & Cassie

“Are you a good social media friend?”

Someone presented this question to me months ago, and inadvertently helped me grasp a welcome revelation about social media business connections.

To describe the man who posed the question:

He was likely in his 50’s.  A successful business man, and clearly well-learned in the intricacies of his trade. Driven to succeed in business. But what’s more, he was passionate and kind. The type of person I strive to be.

This question opened up a discussion on social media relationships. This man was of the mind that these online social conversations are real friendships, or at the very least, develop into real friendships.  In his world, these connections develop into real business partnerships. His message was that there is tremendous value in the relationships that we build through social media.

And so I began thinking about all this.

“Social media friends don’t really exist, do they?”

“Are social media business contacts real?”

These questions seem straightforward, but they come with with a layer of complexity. Is it possible to have a real connection through social media? Even as you read these words, can you picture an actual person behind them, or are they simply a distant person on a screen? I believe that this decision is up to us. 

We are living in a very unique time.  My friends, and/or business partners no longer have to be in my hometown.  Or even my province.  Or even my country. In just a few years, the entire world has become very open and accessible.

At a social media conference I attended, one of the speakers mentioned that every single one of his business contacts began as a social media relationship. It seemed that this was even more personal for him than classic door to door sales. In the past year, he has made a point of making friends (or business contacts) on social media (such as LinkedIn) and then following up in person.  He now has contacts (and has made business deals) across Canada and the United States, and has, in the process, generated a comfortable and stable income.

So, could there be something to these social media friendships? Perhaps it really is something that we could embrace. Having said that, let’s not let it end with social media. 

Social media is just a tool. Using social media to meet people that you can partner with in your industry and maintain a relationship with is great.

In the end, however, it is my hope that we always make it personal. If we are going to be business partners through social media, I certainly hope we can share a cup of coffee sometime.

Connie

It’s Friday, what have we learned?

I would like to challenge you to as business leaders and as team members to evaluate your positions.

As managers we need to ask ourselves these questions:

A) Have we done a good job in casting a vision and motivating our awesome teams?

B) Do we have the right people on our teams? 

As a team member we need to ask ourselves these questions:

A) Is our leadership really leading us?

B) Are we exercising our gifts and talents? 

In reality, there are a number of other questions we can and should ask ourselves, but let’s not overwhelm ourselves if we’re just starting on this journey of self exploration.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that you need to quit your job or fire a bunch of team members. On the contrary, I’m suggesting that you search for the purpose of your position, of your business and with that knowledge and understanding, lead. 

When I say lead, I’m speaking to both team members and managers. 

If there is a sense of unity or working on the same level, a different position can be achieved.  A bond of community will be realized, and working towards a common goal will take place. 

The key to all of this is a relinquishing of ones ego (digging further into that is a topic for another day).

Today is Friday.  A good day to reflect on the week and ask ourselves these questions: 

A) What are the opportunities we missed to find or provide meaning? 

B) Did we plug away at our boring job like every other week, OR…

C) Did we ask our leadership for vision and a sense of understanding in how our contribution is absolutely critical to the business (and to the big picture)?

D) Did we continue to give our team members a task list of things that needed to happen, OR…

E) Did we encourage and uplift them; tell them that without them business can’t do what it set out to do?

To break through the all too often cringe of the Monday morning alarm, to a place of knowing your real meaning and motivation is a collective initiative. This invisible line in the sand between management and team members MUST be erased to the extent that there is a mentality of two separate teams. Yes, management needs to provide leadership and direction (and at times correction) but to really get to the heart of the matter we MUST create a strong vision, buy into that vision, cast that vision, and move forward with a focus like never before. 

If where you are as a team member cannot provide you with that vision and purpose, then stop waking up with regret and terror of the day to come, and do something about it.

Jeff

We are in the people business…I have always thought that to be true. 

How much more can you say on the subject….well…a little I guess.  We believe that everything in business revolves around people; 

the ones you employ, the ones get to influence, the ones you work with, the ones your come to work everyday to serve.  We could talk about automation, about economy conditions, about productivity, but at the root of it all are the people. 

Without them, we do not have the genus involved to create automation.  Without them, we have no economy.  Without them, we need not discuss productivity. 

So the question is this….are you in the people business?

Sherri

I remember watching movies like “Big” where the mind of a young boy came up with an amazing advertisement for a new toy simply out of passion. Or the movie “Thirteen Going on Thirty” where the mind of a 13 year old creates a campaign to win the client when she connected ‘the good life’ and fashion. 

I remember watching the hired pro’s attempt to sabotage the campaign. Of course they were upset… because they didn’t see the vision… they were unable to create the emotional connection.

These are of course the movies, but having been in marketing and advertising for several years, I have found that one thing to be consistent… marketing plans that connect to emotion are the most effective.

I have observed many advertising campaigns, and although many have had beautiful design or great sales information, they’ve not delivered great results if they’ve lacked emotional connection. The object should always be to make a real emotional connection with your target audience in relaying information, not simply ‘getting the information out there’.

I’d like to use a national coffee brand as an example. For most, their coffee is average. Yet, the drive-thru is always packed. I believe this is linked to the fact that they’ve connected with their audience emotionally. I think of commercials with kids playing ice hockey on the lake while mom and dad drink warm coffee on the sidelines. Or the commercial where a new mother receives a coffee in the hospital, and I may have even shed a tear myself. My heart is filled with a sense of warmth… I am connecting. I’m thinking “I am proud Canadian” and “I understand the love of a mother”. These positive feelings are now associated with the coffee chain. The product becomes second to the feeling created when I connect with their brand.

Emotion sells.

Chances are, there has been an effective ad that has made you laugh or cry. It may have triggered a memory or brought up a strong emotion in you. I’ve heard a saying many times before, “People won’t remember what you say, but they will remember how you made them feel.”  I believe this is true of all marketing and advertising efforts; from radio ads, social media posts, magazine ads, and even your company logo.

Every advertisement and marketing effort towards your target audience NEEDS TO evoke an emotion, and THAT is what people will remember about your business. Back to coffee… what I love about making coffee is not that I have a certain brand in my kitchen but that I connect those beans to the smell in my kitchen while smiling at my loved one from across the table at the start of my day.  After all… “the best part of waking up is…”  (sing it now…)

If you have a raw passion for what you sell, please don’t apologize. Rather utilize. Take that passion and make an impression that really connects!

– Connie

I was inspired to write this blog from some recent conversations with a client. In fact, the title of this blog comes from a recent post they made to social media. Their drive, their passion, their work ethic is astounding. 

Listening to the passion and the hard work they’ve put in over the past decade it’s no wonder that they are, by most people’s standards, successful. However, they’re not done putting in the hard work, and they may never be. 

When we take the time to understand that the hard work has to happen first, we frame ourselves in a way that establishes a foundation for success.

Success comes in many forms for different people. For some, success is helping others achieve their own goals. For others, success is achieving their own personal goals, and for others, success is simply a measure of how much money is in the bank account. None of these are right, none are wrong. They’re just different tools used to measure the version of success for each of us. 

Whatever your version of success is, it needs to be measurable and there needs to be an understanding that, by and large, hard work has to happen first. As mentioned, there are some businesses that seem to just luck into having a successful run with very little effort in the beginning. This is uncommon, however, it’s still legitimate success. For everyone else, success is an ongoing quest. When we take the time to put the work in, to make mistakes and to learn along the way, that’s when we will have the greatest success. And then comes the work required to maintain that success.

We kid ourselves if we think that it is common for businesses to make it ‘big’ on the first try. Podcasts or books are not hard to find about people having a ‘magic formula’ for instant success. It can become very discouraging when we use that same ‘magic formula’ ourselves and it doesn’t work for us. We should rather be committed to putting in the work long term. Strategy and planning will go a long way to help guide us. Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t felt your success yet. Keep thinking, keep planning, keep executing, and keep working hard. This is what will pay off.

I’m inspired by our clients in many ways. Watching them grow as leaders, improve and innovate their products or services, and be consumed by their passion to improve their corner of the world. It inspires us to continue pushing the envelope, creating, and elevating our own products and services, and as a team, we are honoured to have played a part in our clients success stories.

Your success has truly been our success.

Jeff