It is with a mixture of gratitude, sadness, and excitement that we’re sending this message out today. At the end of this month, Prim’d Marketing will be closing our doors.
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We know that the online space is a-flutter with "knowing your brand values" or "knowing what your brand stands for." And for lots of companies the idea of brand beliefs or values seems exciting, but they really don't understand how to either get started, or know they're on the right track when they're working.
This is especially true for brands that have team working together to create their brand values — it can often be confusing to come to one consensus about what the brand stands for when there are so many cooks in the kitchen.
This article is going to walk you through the Prim'd Method of creating brand beliefs or brand values. Within our process, these them be the "guiding lights" for everything we write in the brand's message or positioning within the market. They're the goal posts or pillars we come back to while writing, and the plumb-line we use while editing to make sure that our position is unique to each brand, truly tells their story, and avoids generic lexicon that everyone else is using.
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One of the really interesting things that happened last year is that we launched a "new" product, Web Ready Kit. This offering seemed to click the rest of our packages into place. I say "new" because all of these services are things we've been doing for clients for years. But it's just been the last 12 — 18 months or so that we've started to formalize this process into even more clear cut steps:
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How do you demonstrate to your potential clients that your method or process is actually going to work, they will get desired results, or (here's the big one) you're actually worth the pricing you're charging? Clarity, my friend. Getting clear about who you are (read: how you're different from other people who are selling or doing what you do), and what you offer is the very best way to show your best potential clients that they can trust you.
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Today’s post comes from a question from Jenny Bailey, style consultant owner of This Vivid Life. Jenny asks, “How do you “talk” to customers that don’t know they need you?” Jenny is asking what many of our clients want to know — how to begin having consistent and valuable conversations online with the right people. But how do you do have valuable conversations about how you can help someone if they don’t even know they need you?
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Last week, we got some really great questions in response to last week's newsletter, where we asked you to send in your questions (If you're not getting our newsletter, you join us here). One of our brand-friends and previous clients Jenny Bailey of This Vivid Life, a color and style consultancy, emailed us back with a great question about finding dream customers — specifically customers who don't quite know they need you. Because her question was one that we get often from our customers, last week we took the opportunity to flush out an answer on our blog, which you can read here.
But after writing that post, I wasn't quite finished with the topic. I had some lingering thoughts around finding those dream clients, especially when they don't know about you yet.
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When I was doing my MFA, I was really comfortable with the idea of drafting in the creative process. When you first sit down to write a book, you literally CANNOT write the final draft. Your job is to get all of the story out of your brain. And from there your job is to shape the story, to edit and refine. Maybe you get lost, and you definitely write chapters that never see the light of day. It's part of writing a book. You cannot write version 17 without first sitting down and writing version 1, 2, 3, ...16. So why would I think I could jump to "final" with my business?
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Jenni here, and lately lots of our clients are planning to launch something new. So this week I'm giving you something clients always ask for: a checklist of things to think through when you're launching. This list is long, and before you go getting all overwhelmed, I want to remind you that every launch is different, you're the boss, so you get to decide how much you want to take on in the release of your new product (it could be just getting it out there, it could be notifying your best clients, or it could be trying to get written up in big publications).
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Holiday Campaigns are almost here. For those of us who are what I like to call "Q4 Reliant" — this next season can be a make or break for our businesses. Whether you're a product designer who sells most of their product for holiday sales, or a service-based business who makes most of your revenue during October through December, you know both the pressures and challenges that the holiday season can bring.
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Jenni here, and one question that we get asked a lot is: "I know I need my brand to be "differentiated" or to be different than what everyone else is doing. How do I know that I'm telling a truly compelling brand narrative vs. being just like everyone else?"
After years of guiding and working with clients on our brand strategy and marketing plan, The Brand Plan, we have started to see some trends in the path we take brands through on their way from ordinary to compelling. Here are three styles of differentiation that we've used to help successful step away from the noise and stand out in a crowd.
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Most of us have a bittersweet relationship with social media. Do we love it or do we hate it? Is its making our lives better or worse?
Like anything of power, unless we teach ourselves how to use it in the right way, it can end up controlling us rather than the other way around . But that “right way” can look and feel differently for different people. For me, I have recently decided to use it in a more intentional and mindful way.
When potential clients come to Prim’d Marketing for social media marketing they generally feel overwhelmed and frustrated about the time and effort they are putting into their social posts and feel unsure if what they’re sharing is having any impact on their audience and their business.
I explain to them the importance of being intentional and organized. We start with with a clear vision of who you are, who you are for, and why you are different (than your competitors). From there you can make a plan to organize what you are going to say, how you are going to say it, and why it is going to benefit others.
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So many clients at this stage will reach out to one of three people: a web designer, a graphic designer, or a photographer. But during this inflection point, a web designer, graphic designer or photographer is not the best person to help you. You need to be looking at the "foundations" of your brand not just that "outer layer."
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We talk about the importance of regularly working on your business rather than in your business a lot, but over the next few weeks we invite you to join us in a group exercise we are calling: ‘Learn By Becoming Your Own Customer.’
Learning new information and gaining more knowledge is power and once you have this knowledge you can do something productive with it. You may have heard the expression “growth happens during recovery” and this can be applied to how a slower workflow can allow you to get out of the weeds, analyze how your business appears to fresh eyes and grow as a result.
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The pace of life of a business owner or entrepreneur can move so fast that you feel like you are a circus performer spinning plates – keeping a number of sticks circulating so the plates keep spinning and don't slow down and accidentally smash.
The sticks can represent different aspects of your professional and personal life and the plates can be different tasks, commitments, clients, etc.
We are so focused on keeping everything moving at such a busy pace that we sometimes forget to slow down and grab those plates, stack them up and admire our piles of accomplishments.
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I have a bit of a confession to make. Yesterday during a meeting I was asked "what is positioning?" and I am embarrassed to say that I couldn't explain it without using the word "position."
So today I am going to give you a bit of 101 on what is positioning, how it shows up in your marketing, and why it matters.
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In a small business where you are the marketer, the prospector, the closer, and the account manager, it can feel like going out and getting new customers, "getting the word out," and building an audience are all the same things. But there is some nuance, and it's important to know the difference.
What is the difference between prospecting for new clients, and marketing to a new audience?
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Finding and owning your voice is kind of....terrifying. When we write things that feel meaningful, important or purposeful it is UNCOMFORTABLE. In fact, when I do my best work I still get this image in my head of everyone reading it, and then gentle shaking their head and muttering to themselves, "Oh cute, she's just figuring this out now." Or worse saying, "Why did I waste my time reading this? This is just verbal vomit." Yuck.
Writing for an online audience can feel exactly the same way. We want to "use our voices," but when it really comes down to it, being "seen" is hard. Being the one to raise our hands and say what we really really think can feel like we're standing naked. So most of us do one of two things: 1) We publish fluffy stuff that feels fake OR 2) We don't publish or post at all. These are obviously not great ways to create authentic and meaningful connections with your best clients and reader/followers.
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If you want the Instagram account you use on behalf of your brand to allow your audience to get in contact you, and get better analytical insights without using a third party app, then its probably time to switch to a Instagram business profile. Here is a couple of easy three step processes that will take your Instagram account to the next level in less than five minutes:
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Jenni here — and this week I want to address one of the most common things we hear from our clients: "I feel overwhelmed by marketing. I'm never in front of it. It's more like 'Shoot, I haven't posted something to Instagram in like 4 days.'"
Sound familiar? I thought so. If this is you, let me start by saying you are not alone. Sometimes marketing can feel like a wave coming at you, and if you're not prepared, it can feel like your legs are knocked out from under you. Or worse, that wave can pass you by and instead of grabbing a board on hopping on it, you're left standing there watching other businesses wave at you while they speed by. (Ok, please pardon my horrible surfing analogy). It's hard not to play the comparison game, it's hard to feel like we're on top of our marketing, it's hard not to be mad that we're not better at catching waves, or that waves don't come more often. If you have ever felt any of these things when it comes to opportunities and marketing, believe me, you are not the only one.
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Many of us think we know our best customers, but when it really comes down to it, you probably just have a general idea. And while a general idea of your customer is not a bad place to start (especially if you are in your first 2 years of business), as you grow, getting more specific is the key to getting more great customers (and fewer customers that are helping you pay the bills but aren't portfolio worthy).
To make sure you're marketing to the best customer for your business, you have to know who that person is. We have our clients go through an exercise of assigning their current and past client base to one of our four target customer categories. Through the process, you'll see trends emerge, and you can learn something about what customer you should be focusing your marketing on.
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