Wayfind Marketing Live

In our current series on Wayfind Marketing Live, we've talked with several business owners about their experiences navigating the unpredictable waters of 2020, but on Friday we turn our attention to the nonprofit arena.

Nonprofits that generally rely on fundraising events have had to think through creative ways to continue raising awareness and financial support through virtual means. This is a challenge that our friends at Spreading Sunshine have taken head-on.

We are proud to welcome our friend Diane Smith, Executive Director of Spreading Sunshine, to the show this week. Spreading Sunshine is a Memphis-based nonprofit that serves chronically ill children and their families by providing practical, spiritual, and emotional support during a child's extended hospital stay. In this episode, we talk with Diane about what it's been like to navigate the ongoing demands of support-raising, as well as, continuing to serve this high-risk population in the midst of the pandemic.

Imagine that you were planning to launch a mobile app in 2020 to make in-person networking events more productive for business owners, sales professionals, and other business leaders. Then imagine almost every in-person event getting canceled due to the pandemic.

I'd like you to meet Robby Yates who been living this all year. Robby started The Follow App in 2019 and planned to launch it this year when COVID struck. In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, Robby shares what it's been like developing and launching the app this year and how he's been able to shift his strategy to stay relevant in a Zoom-soaked world.

Did you know that you can harness the power of story to grow your business? There are seven straightforward ways that you can use the age-old principles of storytelling to craft memorable marketing messages.

In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we continue our series on Navigating Opportunity by sharing the five storytelling principles you can act on right away to set your marketing on a successful course in 2021.

Are you taking advantage of all the opportunities to market your business online? With more people working remotely, the potential for profitability in digital marketing is skyrocketing. From new ways to use video in your marketing strategy to changes in content marketing and search engine optimization, we could all be doing more, but what is the best next step for your business?  

The tourism industry has been rocked by COVID-19, yet one small business owner has found a way to keep pressing forward through these challenging times. In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we're joined by Carolyn Michael-Banks, owner and operator of A Tour of Possibilities. As the only touring company in Memphis offering regularly scheduled African American History tours, Carolyn is navigating opportunities to pivot her business in creative ways. She shares about the adjustments she's made and the unexpected opportunities she's discovered along the way.

This year has presented us all with a myriad of challenges no one could have planned for or predicted. Amidst the uncertainty, one thing is sure—we will never be the same.

But what if, in the midst of it all, there was an unexpected opportunity?

As we round the corner into Q4, let's flip the switch on the negative narrative of 2020 and focus on the opportunities set before us. These opportunities may not be obvious, but if you look closely you may discover untapped potential and profitability in places you never expected.

In this episode, we continue our new series: Navigating Opportunity. Over the next several weeks we'll be interviewing business owners who are successfully navigating these challenging times and making the most of unexpected opportunities to grow their businesses. We are so excited to bring you these stories and hope that you will be inspired and encouraged to press on as you plan for the new year.

A lot of people are ready to throw in the towel on 2020, and understandably so. No one would argue that this year has not gone as planned for anyone. But what if some of these unexpected detours could actually become pathways to profitability? It takes a great deal of optimism and courage to take the road less traveled, but we know a team of entrepreneurs who did just that. Despite the pandemic, they saw an opportunity, counted the cost, took the risk, and their businesses—and their lives—are better for it. And best of all, they're making other people's lives better, too.

Marketing your business may feel like a heavy lift, but it doesn't have to be a struggle. We want to help make marketing easier for you, so in this episode, we reveal our favorite tips, tools, and marketing hacks that can save you time and relieve some of the burdens you may be experiencing. If you've ever felt like there must be an easier way to do marketing, we can help! 

Show Notes: 

Content Tools:

Co-Schedule Headline Analyzer

Ever wonder why some blog posts seem to generate a ton of interest while others go unnoticed? There is actually a formula to writing blog posts that can win more leads for your business, and we are sharing the specifics of how to do it in this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live. If you're ready to start writing but aren't sure how to organize your thoughts, watch for ideas to help you get the words from your brain to the screen.

Let's face it - a lot of social media content out there stinks like moldy cheese left in a dorm room refrigerator. So in this Livestream, we're talking all about social media - how to plan it out, what tools to use to create great images, how to create a social media calendar, and more. We'll give you all the social media secrets that will keep your social media smelling better than the ribs at the Rendezvous (for our non-Memphis folks, that's a fantastic BBQ restaurant in Memphis).  Watch here on YouTube or download the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor.fm, or just about any other podcast platform out there.  It'll be the most profitable 20 minutes of your week!

When you're planning a road trip, you don't guess which roads to take and hope you make it to your destination. So why would you take that same approach when it comes to marketing your small business? If you're not sure what to do, or if you have more questions than answers, it's easy to get lost in the details and feel like you're spinning your wheels.  

If you're ready to get more traction with your marketing, check out this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live. We are blazing through some of the most frequently asked marketing questions we receive from small business owners and offer answers to help you create a marketing road map that gets you where you want to be.   

Most business owners we talk to see marketing as something they need to do, but they'd rather not spend the time doing it. After all, marketing can be really challenging and time-consuming. But it's hard to grow a profitable business without it. If you have questions about how to make marketing easier, we have good news for you. In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we open the show to our viewers to answer your marketing questions.   

If your marketing is only focused on winning new customers, you're missing out on one of the easiest ways to grow your revenue base. One of the biggest mistakes I see businesses make is, once they win a customer, they move on to winning more new customers and stop nurturing the new relationship they've just won. It's always more profitable to market to your existing customers who already know you, like you, and trust you, than it is to go out and just get new customers. 

In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we unpack the idea of marketing to your current customers and lessons learned about the value of creating great customer experiences from Steve's days as a franchisee at Chick-fil-A.   

Tune in for a conversation about how to create great customer experiences that are memorable and sharable, as well as, how to calculate the lifetime value of a customer and increase that number over time. 

Does marketing your business feel like throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what will stick? Haphazard marketing tactics randomly thrown together won’t produce sustainable results that grow your business. Good marketing starts with a strategy that matches tactics to each stage of the customer's journey.

In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we share eleven marketing tactics that operate in-step with the way your customers buy for bigger results and maximum ROI.

Have you ever wanted to create a marketing plan for your business, but just weren’t sure where to start? A strong foundation will win you more business, but you won't get very far by charging forward without a plan. You need a marketing roadmap that establishes your audience, your goals, your "why," and your message.   

In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we'll discuss four questions you can answer to give clarity and direction to your marketing strategy.   

1. Who is your customer? 

2. What are your goals? 

3. What makes you different? 

4. What's your one-liner?

Do you know what it takes to move prospects from know, to like, to trust? Marketing isn't just about making sales and closing deals. It's about building trust-based relationships and that can take time. If we're only focused on selling we run the risk of losing credibility and trust with our customers which may unintentionally damage the relationships we're working so hard to build.   

In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we are diving into part two of our series on how to create a one-page marketing plan. We give you actionable ways to build trust and loyalty between you and your customers and talk about why both time and timing matter, how to communicate intentionally and with empathy through each stage of the buyer's journey, and how to turn new customers into loyal, raving fans.   

Show Notes: 

Are you tired of marketing that just doesn't work? It's easy to get frustrated. There are a gazillion marketing choices, and there's just not enough time to figure out which ones are best for your specific business. If any of this resonates with you, be sure to tune into Wayfind Marketing Live for our new series: How to Grow Your Business With a One-Page Marketing Plan. In this episode, we introduce the concept of a one-page marketing plan and begin to talk through the process of building a strong foundation for marketing your business that will reduce your frustration and maximize your ROI.

Wayfind Marketing Live is based in Memphis, TN, and hosted by Steve Phipps and AnnieLaurie Walters. Steve is the founder and president of Wayfind Marketing. He shares his years of experience guiding business owners by sharing simple and practical marketing tips and stories that will help you grow your business. AnnieLaurie brings her communications and PR experience to offer additional insights into how you can communicate more clearly and win more customers.

Cranking out new sales isn't always as hard is it seems. On this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we talk about three simple and powerful things you can do to generate more business sooner rather than later.   

Resources mentioned in this show:

Win More Leads with These Three Things

Winning new customers is a lot like dating. If you ask someone to marry you on the first date, there's a good chance there won't be a second one.  Many businesses miss the chance to win a new customer because they ask too soon ("will you marry me?") or they ask in some vague, hinting, or unclear way ("I like getting coffee with people, don't you?"). On this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we'll teach you how to avoid these mistakes and share effective ways to ask your prospects and customers to commit without coming off vague or too strong.

Wayfind Marketing Live is based in Memphis, TN, and hosted by Steve Phipps and AnnieLaurie Walters. Steve is the founder and president of Wayfind Marketing. He shares his years of experience guiding business owners by sharing simple and practical marketing tips and stories that will help you grow your business. AnnieLaurie brings her communications and PR experience to offer additional insights into how you can communicate more clearly and win more customers. 

Marketing to your customers is like taking them traveling. It requires a lot of trust, which is at the heart of every decision your customer will make. If they don't trust you, they won't do business with you. So if you're not building trust in your conversations, on your website, and through all your marketing activities, you are probably losing business. In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we discuss how to weave messages of trust into every aspect of your marketing.   

Wayfind Marketing Live is based in Memphis, TN, and hosted by Steve Phipps and AnnieLaurie Walters. Steve is the founder and president of Wayfind Marketing. He shares his years of experience guiding business owners by sharing simple and practical marketing tips and stories that will help you grow your business. AnnieLaurie brings her communications and PR experience to offer additional insights into how you can communicate more clearly and win more customers.

What kind of first impression does your website or sales pitch make on potential customers? Does it wow them and keep them dialed in or is their brain telling them it's time to think about something else?

In this episode of Wayfind Marketing Live, we talk through the process your customer's brain goes through to decide if your business is relevant (so you win more deals) or irrelevant (lost opportunities) for their needs.

Wayfind Marketing Live is based in Memphis, TN, and hosted by Steve Phipps and AnnieLaurie Walters. Steve is the founder and president of Wayfind Marketing. He shares his years of experience guiding business owners by sharing simple and practical marketing tips and stories that will help you grow your business. AnnieLaurie brings her communications and PR experience to offer additional insights into how you can communicate more clearly and win more customers.

Do you know the three phases every one of your customers goes through before they become your customer? If you don't, you might be missing out on sales opportunities. Or at the very least, you may find that your marketing activities aren't getting the results you were hoping for.

On today's podcast, we introduce the three phases so your marketing sales activities can start generating more wins.

1. Curiosity - your prospects want to know who you are and what you do
2. Enlightenment - they want to know how you solve their problems
3. Commitment - you need to invite them to take the next step in the sales process

Getting clarity on these phases and learning how to communicate in each of these steps will be like strapping a rocket onto your sales and marketing.

Wayfind Marketing Live is based in Memphis, TN, and hosted by Steve Phipps and AnnieLaurie Walters. Steve is the founder and president of Wayfind Marketing. He shares his years of experience guiding business owners by sharing simple and practical marketing tips and stories that will help you grow your business. AnnieLaurie brings her communications and PR experience to offer additional insights into how you can communicate more clearly and win more customers.

Good marketing should result in leads that become customers, but we often see marketing efforts fall short of producing the expected results. The good news? There's a simple way to fix it.  In this podcast, you will learn how to create downloadable content that generates leads, craft emails, and structure sales letters that actually work.  

Right now, every customer opportunity matters. And your website plays a big part in helping you win those new customers.  In this podcast, we share six website fixes you can make so you don't lose those opportunities. Whether you're focused on survival or you're trying to position your business for new growth, each of these will help; and it won't take a rocket scientist to implement.  

Here are the six fixes: 

1. Clarify - make sure your headline and main image answer three critical questions so it can pass the grunt test. 

2. Show - use great images to help your site visitors know how you make their life better. We'll talk about one type of image that makes a huge difference. 

3. Guide - position your brand as the guide who helps the customer (the hero) win the day by using your product or service. We'll discuss the two essential characteristics of the guide. 

4. Prove - show your prospects that you can solve their problem. But it won't be your words that matter; it's someone else's. 

5. Explain - give your visitors a clear path to move forward. It's as easy as 1-2-3. 

6. Invite - ask for their business. We'll show you one simple change you can make to win more business.  

Does marketing your business depend on getting out and attending networking events and activities? If so, you're not alone. Many of us are having to reinvent how we network and meet people since almost every in-person event has been canceled.

I'm willing to bet that no one has ever said they love feeling confused. Well, there was that one guy I went to school with, but other than him, people don't like confusion. More importantly, your customers and prospects don't want to be confused, especially when it comes to figuring out how your business can make their life better Because, as the saying goes, if you confuse, you lose.

But clarity will win every time. Especially when it comes to marketing and sales. And if your brand can clearly communicate with your audience, you can outrun your competitors and win more customers. And clarity is essential in our current economy.

In this episode, we discuss three ways to clarify your marketing message and keep your customers engaged. End the confusion, grow your business, and watch your competition disappear in the rearview.

Links mentioned in this show: 

Our current events have forced each of us to ask a ton of questions about our business: How to keep it afloat? How should we help our customers? How do we sell without sounding like a jerk? We are also painfully aware of the flaws in our business and are working like mad to keep things running.

It's time for a sanity break!!

There's more noise and clutter on social media and our inboxes than ever before as more people are working from home and using digital channels to communicate. Which means it's easier than ever to ignore your emails and marketing messages. So how does your business stand out from everyone else? How do you get your message across so customers listen and respond?   In this episode, we discuss three critical things that every business needs to win more customers. We will also walk through the three stages every customer goes through so you can make better marketing decisions.  Grab a pen and paper or your favorite note-taking app and jump in!

Wayfind Marketing Live is based in Memphis, TN, and hosted by Steve Phipps and AnnieLaurie Walters. Steve is the founder and president of Wayfind Marketing. He shares his years of experience guiding business owners by sharing simple and practical marketing tips and stories that will help you grow your business. AnnieLaurie brings her communications and PR experience to offer additional insights into how you can communicate more clearly and win more customers.

This is the Wayfind Marketing podcast, a recording of a live podcast we host on YouTube and Facebook each Tuesday and Friday at 12 pm.

COVID-19 blindsided us. Some were prepared for this kind of event, but many were not. So what do we do now? How can we be better prepared for next time?

This is the Wayfind Marketing podcast, a recording of a live podcast we host on YouTube and Facebook each Tuesday and Friday at 12 pm. 

Here's a question we've heard (and asked) a lot ever since the Coronavirus implications have rained down on our economy: how should I be marketing my business in the middle of everything that's going on with COVID-19? In this podcast we discuss:

• How to determine what your customers need now vs. two weeks ago.
• How to adjust your marketing message based on the current climate so you're communicating tactfully and empathetically.
• Staying visible so you're top of mind.
• Thinking for the long term so you're in a good position as when things turn around.

Wayfind Marketing Live is based in Memphis, TN, and hosted by Steve Phipps and AnnieLaurie Walters. Steve is the founder and president of Wayfind Marketing. He shares his years of experience guiding business owners by sharing simple and practical marketing tips and stories that will help you grow your business. AnnieLaurie brings her communications and PR experience to offer additional insights into how you can communicate more clearly and win more customers.

We all have a ton of questions right now as we try to figure out how to move ahead with our lives and our businesses. Join Bob Willumsen and me as we discuss four ways to make the most of what's happening because of COVID-19. Bob is an executive coach with The John Maxwell Team and has some great insights from his years of executive and pastoral leadership.

Wayfind Marketing Live is based in Memphis, TN, and hosted by Steve Phipps and AnnieLaurie Walters. Steve is the founder and president of Wayfind Marketing. He shares his years of experience guiding business owners by sharing simple and practical marketing tips and stories that will help you grow your business. AnnieLaurie brings her communications and PR experience to offer additional insights into how you can communicate more clearly and win more customers.

The world has entered into uncharted waters. As businesses shutter and Americans hunker-down, we talk about navigating small business and marketing through the chaos and into the new normal. This is episode one. Stick with us to learn more. Our heart is to encourage and equip you to stay afloat on the sea of change.