We make a variety of decisions every day. Things as small as what to eat for breakfast or as big as strategic decisions that impact your work all share something in common: the choices you make are impacted by your values. They inform the choices you make, the way you make those choices, and the experiences you have after the fact. Some of you may have gone through corporate coaching where you identify your personal values and work through how they influence your decision making process. Today, we’re looking at your company’s values and the importance of both knowing and sharing that core essence of your organization with your audience.

We’ve talked about the importance of communication during a crisis, but what about communication as an everyday part of your marketing strategy, particularly when the regular in-person opportunities are less frequent or non-existent due to a pandemic? As we adjust back from 100% remote work to variations of normalcy, it’s clear that business as we know it is changed. Thus, you have the opportunity to assess your communication strategy with your consumer’s new needs specifically in mind. How do they make decisions? What do they need to know in order to sign up for your services? What do they truly care about? The more you understand the inner workings of your audience, the more powerful your strategy and communication will be. 

Your website is a critical gateway and often the first impression that customers have of your business. In a single moment, your website has to convey what you do, how you do it, what you value, why you’re different, and why your prospective customer should want to continue a relationship with you. What exactly makes a website good? To answer that question, you must deeply understand the purpose of your site and the way your customer thinks. Then, use the power of analytics to inform your strategy to success. In this week's blog, we dive deeper into the things that make a great website and ways you can use analytics to help you reach your goals. 

Work from home has given organizations an opportunity (albeit forced) to see if a different model could be managed and even offer greater efficiency. As many parts of the US are talking about how and when to reopen for business, many organizations are starting to bring their non-critical workforces back in office and in person, which poses an important question that you, as a leader, can now ask yourself: is this the most effective move?

For most of us our current work experience is busier and more challenging than ever. With huge portions of the workforce now working from home, many tried and true ways of doing business have been eliminated altogether. As a result, your organization may have made more unplanned changes in the last two months than it has in the last two years. If your company didn’t have strong remote culture in place before the pandemic hit, it may feel like you’re building a car while simultaneously driving it at 65 miles per hour down the highway. Which is why what I’m about to say may feel overwhelming, but stay with me: It’s time to look at your Marketing Toolbox through the lens of our current state-of-affairs and, if needed, make changes. Taking the time to look at your toolbox, refresh it, or build new necessary pieces will be a key part of your success in the coming months. Here’s what you should consider.

Have you ever had a project that stays on your list for significantly longer than you’d planned? With the plethora of items on your to do list, some things will fall to the wayside. For many companies, the website becomes one of the “it can wait” items, and sometimes it ends up in the “wait” pile for years. Developing a website takes time and resources. Once it’s done and launched, and you’ve finished celebrating that you no longer have to review copy, it remains the same. Perhaps you update content as services shift, or post blogs, but the overall design and platform remain - sometimes much longer than they should.

The coronavirus pandemic undoubtedly surprised the world and has left most individuals and companies adapting each day as the reality of the viral threat progresses. Work as we knew it has changed and has forced most of us to adapt quickly to a remote working environment. This is stressful; both for leaders and for teams. Communication is perhaps no more important than in times like these. Good leadership in crisis can turn unsettling feelings of fear, discomfort, and skepticism into ones of comfort, camaraderie, trust, and loyalty. So how can you create a communication strategy that is authentic and supportive and leads to a more effective team and work environment?

You’ve heard these mantras many times before:  What’s on your bucket list? Dance like nobody is watching. Do something that scares you. Life’s a journey so enjoy the ride.  Think outside the box.  Clearly this is something we value in our culture.  And yet, for many people, risk aversion can be a crippling barrier to extraordinary experiences, innovation, or growth. 

In a world clearly trending toward greater acrimony and isolation, how do we most effectively tolerate, embrace, and even cherish diversity? Over the past year, I have seen a number of organizations struggle because of the cultural differences across teams, projects, and hierarchical relationships. And in most cases, these challenges are amplified by a growing societal mindset that deemphasizes adaptability and understanding. So how do we convert our worldview from one in which we see others as barriers to our success to one that finds synergies in diversity?

What is YOUR indispensable skill? You do a lot of things well, and maybe some things extraordinarily well. But what makes you irreplaceable? Whether you are looking for a new job, a promotion, or a new contract, being able to effectively communicate the answer to this question is critical to your success and the success of the company you support. Additionally, it provides insurance and security in your current job. This question, though, has two parts: (1) What is that unique ability, knowledge, experience, talent or even philosophy that will set you apart from all others, and (2) Is that skill of value to your intended audience?