podcast

Branding or Marketing: Which Comes First?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? We’ve debated this question for generations, have we not? Thankfully, when it comes to branding vs. marketing, the answer is much less scrambled (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

Regardless of size or industry, successful businesses practice both branding and marketing. But it’s the order in which they approach them that really matters.

Branding first. Marketing second.

Branding and marketing are often interchanged but in truth they’re completely separate entities. Branding is determining who you are. Marketing is telling who you are. You must know who you are first, then you can tell who you are.

But what is a brand?

Your brand is not your product. It’s not even your name or logo specifically (although those develop through branding). Your brand is the whole of who you are, what makes your business (product or service) what it is. It’s the image of your business in the eyes of your customer.

In the third (episode 61) of our In Her Boots podcast series, Lisa Kivirist and I discuss the elements of branding, namely the Five W’s and an H—who, what, when, where, why and how. What is your business? Who is your target market? How do you want to be perceived? Answering these questions and more lays the foundation for your brand. They convey who you are.

Once you’ve examined yourself and determined your brand, you can then go forth and visually present your business. You can create your logo. Hang your sign. Begin your marketing!

Those Five W’s and an H

In the corporate world, much time and expense is used for brand strategizing. Small businesses commonly don’t have that luxury, but we can build a brand nonetheless. I’ve come up with a fun questionnaire to get you started. These are the same Five W’s and an H questions I ask new clients in our initial interview.

Once you complete the front side, flip the sheet over and continue asking and answering your own questions. Your goal should be 50 questions minimum! The more you brainstorm, the more questions come to mind, and the clearer you see your business!

Check out my questionnaire. It’s Free!

 

Marketing Beyond Your Comfort Zone

Okay, we hear this all the time: life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Like when you explore places you’ve never been. Or hang a shingle for your own business. Or, in my case, do a podcast for some of the coolest ladies ever.

That was me recently when I was interviewed by Lisa Kivirist, host of the In Her Boots Podcast. This is a great series celebrating the collaborative spirit of women farmers and, yes, I was a bit outside my comfort zone (who doesn’t cringe at the sound of their own voice?). But Lisa is awesome and her talented son, audio engineer Liam Kivirist made me feel right at home. It was super fun.

Lisa and I talked marketing—specifically marketing for small farms and women farmers. Both entities are unique and often find marketing to be outside their comfort zone. For some it’s a time constraint, for others it’s not in their personal nature. We discussed how marketing overall has changed and how we can adapt these new strategies to better fit who we are.

Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for each of these episodes!

Speaking of small farms and women farmers—last week my husband and I explored the cranberry regions of western Wisconsin. Neither of us knew much about this industry and we found it fascinating. While touring the Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center, a great place to learn all things cranberry, we asked where we could buy fresh cranberries (certainly the one and only item not in this well-stocked gift shop). We were directed just up the road to Wetherby Cranberry Company (ahem, strategic marketing happening right there, folks).

Wetherby Cranberry Company has been in business since 1903. It’s been owned by Nodji Van Wychen’s family since 1972. They’re one of the few farms—or marshes, as cranberry growers call their land—that sell their product independently rather than through cooperative giants such as Ocean Spray. I’m in awe of how Nordji promotes her cranberries.

Guess what I’m serving for Thanksgiving this year!

Wetherby Cranberries, Warrens, WI

 

Can You Really Make It in the Gig Life?

The Tea Shop Girls, by Laura Schaefer

It used to be freelancers were considered vagabond-ish, unfocused and perhaps even less qualified. Nowadays, we know this isn’t true. In fact, not only have freelancers gained the respect they well deserve, they’ve also become the fastest growing segment of today’s economy.

And they’ve gained a label for their self-employed lifestyle: The Gig Life.

In today’s podcast, I’m so excited to introduce Laura Schaefer, who for more than a decade has lived the gig life and is doing so quite successfully. Laura is the author of The Tea Shop Girls, The Secret Ingredient, the Planet Explorers Travel Guides for Kids and other books, feature articles and educational works.

Laura has great insight to living the gig life; what’s worked well for her and what she sometimes finds challenging. And most interesting, as a soon-to-be first-time mother, Laura talks about her aspirations for working after her daughter is born and coordinating her schedule with her husband, who also lives the gig life.

Here she is—Laura Schaefer!

 

A Chatty Introduction to the Gig Life

barn swallows on a wire in Wisconsin Things are so interesting in my yard right now. At night we’ve got a Barn Owl hanging out and screaming like a murderous woman. Apparently, this species of owls is a rarity and we’re privileged to have one in our area.

During the day, we have swarms of barn swallows perching on our wires. I love these birds. They’re particularly fascinating in August when they’re all aflutter with excitement and chattiness. I know they’re getting ready for their trip southward and every day I watch to see if they’re still here. Then, all the sudden, hey, they’re gone.

Every year I have a sense of melancholy when, once again, I’ve missed the birds’ departure (like, do I think they’re going to come and say good-bye?). It’s such a blatant reminder that summer has flown by and no matter how much I’ve accomplished, there’s always more I wished I’d done.

Like keep up with my podcasts. Remember, I was going to try doing one a month? Well, that sure fell by the wayside.

Just so I can say I’m sort of keeping up, here’s a short clip of the swallows twittering away and our windmill going ‘clunk,’clunk.’ Pretty exciting, eh? It’s to satisfy you until tomorrow when I have a really good podcast on the gig life—not really about birds, but well worth chatting about.

Not Necessarily a Lone Egg; Just Inspiring Recources

robin egg

Yesterday, I found this robin egg sitting in my driveway all by its lonesome. It was so tiny and pretty, I had to get a picture.

Then I found this interesting poster about work. Actually, it’s an advertisement for Citrix. I’m not necessarily endorsing Citrix (I’m not not endorsing it either); I just don’t know much about the company other than I like how the second “i” is upside down in its logo. That said, the poster is super and I have to re-post it as an item of inspiration. It’s attention-getting and eye-pleasing. It offers a ton of information— instead of an infomercial, we have a postermercial! And most importantly for the company, it successfully communicates that more and more people are working globally (with Citrix helping them do it).

Anyway, the creative challenge I assigned myself for today was to tie these two seemingly unrelated images together in a single blog post. Actually, it wasn’t that hard.

Working globally, either as an employee or an entrepreneur, usually means working solo. I admit I sometimes feel like a lone egg sitting in the driveway. Or on a fence post. Or in a home office. But that’s not too often. Nowadays there are so many online resources to keep global workers connected to whatever, wherever, whenever.

My favorite tools these days are podcasts and webinars— one of my favorite podcast series is by Ilise Benun, of Marketing Mentor. Granted both are produced with underlying self-promotion motives, but in turn they are hugely educational and, best of all, free! (Oops, I guess I do know a little about Citrix since the webinars I watch often use their oh-so-easy GoToMeeting.)

So check out this cool poster. And share with us the online tools your organization is using—c’mon, leave a comment!
Citirix, on mobile working

Old School Branding with Historic Architecture

Gaston School Gallery and SchoolGrounds Cafe, Cottage Grove, WI

Isn’t this most quaint, inviting schoolhouse ever? I’ve always admired this building as I’ve driven past on my way to Madison—its unique architectural lines, the cozy setting, and the decades of learning that surely transpired within its walls. You can imagine my excitement when in recent years it opened as the Gaston School Gallery–SchoolGrounds Cafe.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Eric Willman, general manager of Gaston School Gallery–SchoolGrounds Cafe, where he describes how historic architecture benefits their business and how they’ve used it to create a successful brand. The gallery and cafe are owned by David Morrow and Eric’s wife, Alissa, heads up the bakery department.

Eric’s conversation is fascinating! If you’ve been aspiring to set up shop in a cool, old building, you for sure want to hear what he has to say.

So check out this, my second podcast. And stop by their stunning shop at the intersection of Hwy N and I-94 (exit 244) in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. It’s a perfect way to wrap up Historic Preservation Month!

Expanding Into New Lines of Communication

close stitching of quilt by Chris Kirsch

Sometimes it’s hard to decide whether to be enthusiastic or envious. Like now…I pass along social media marketing advise to my client Chris Kirsch and she successfully runs away with it in ways that far surpass my own marketing.

I’m just kidding, of course. I’m so proud of Chris’ business savvy and I’m itching to pass it along. And because Marketing Mentor’s Ilise Benun extols the benefits of podcasting, I’ve decided an interview with Chris will spread her success and introduce a new communication tool for myself.

There’s just one problem: I sound like a dork.

In Marketing Mentor’s podcasts, Ilise always comes across as intriguingly poised. In our podcast together, Chris sounds delightful and I, well, let’s just say I’ve left myself room for lots of improvement. But that’s okay. This was so fun to do and there are so many interesting people out there to interview, I’m anxious to try it again.

So, here it is. The first of my audio podcast series, rough as it is. And let me introduce to you—Chris Kirsch!

Chris, to me, is foremost my friend and neighbor. We enjoy walking together several mornings a week, where we discuss business, faith in God and lots of other things. Hey, we’re talented, multi-tasking women—we can both walk and talk pretty doggone fast!

Chris is also one of my clients. A couple years ago I suggested she try blogging as a means of reaching out to her target audience. The tricky thing is, her audience generally is not considered to be users of social media.

No problem!

Here’s how Chris gets around that and uses blogging to bring further success to her business.

PS. The photo above is a closeup of one of Chris’ quilts. Okay, yes, I admit; I am envious.

PPS: I know so little about this podcasting. I’m looking for suggestions; so please, do share!