Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

6 ways entrepreneurs can learn from mistakes

As entrepreneurs we have so many expectations of what owning a business is going to be like. While it’s important to set goals, you also have to ground those goals in reality. One of the realities of running your own business is that you will make mistakes – either large or small, so it’s important to be prepared to learn from those mistakes so you can grow and be successful in the long-term.

There are so many stats out there that talk about how so many small businesses fail within the first five years… blah blah blah… I get it. Starting and building a business is hard. For most people, it’s one of the hardest things you will ever do. For today, I want to focus on the positive side of things so you can avoid becoming a statistic that instills fear in people.

So how do you prepare yourself to learn from those mistakes? Here are 6 things you can do to make sure you are getting ready for long-term success instead of just short-term failure.

LEARN FROM OTHERS’ MISTAKES

While it’s important for you to make your own mistakes, you also shouldn’t ignore those that have come before you. There are plenty of stories of entrepreneurs who have full on failed or made a very public mistake and then come back to succeed in the long-term. While not every story will apply directly to your situation, you should look for the following things:

  • What was the fallout with customers?
  • What steps did the business take to overcome their challenge?
  • What did the founder do?
  • How long did it take for the business to react if it was a very public PR nightmare?
  • How did competitors respond? Did they capitalize on the failure? Did they acknowledge it or not address it at all?

A lot of entrepreneurs have shared their stories publicly, but you can also have more personal discussions with a mentor, coach, or industry peer who will share some of the challenges they faced as they launched and grew their business.

Use this knowledge as a roadmap for yourself to at least create some sort of contingency plan.

SET YOUR EGO ASIDE

This is a tough one. You have put so much into running your business that it becomes a part of you. Accepting that your business (and you) may not be perfect can be a challenge for many entrepreneurs. First of all… Stop taking failure so personally. If you let it get personal it will stop you from succeeding.

However, this is also a reminder that you don’t know everything. None of us knows everything. And not every idea is a good idea! Surround yourself with people who will challenge you and the way you think – not people who just capitulate and say yes to everything. It’s OK to ask for help and it’s definitely OK to change your mind to incorporate new ideas. You would be surprised how your business will shift and grow if you let it. That means getting out of the way.

FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WRONG

If something does go wrong – and it will – have a plan in place. Earlier, I mentioned a contingency plan. That just means that you have identified things that may go wrong and identified steps you will take if they do. Get specific. Have specific processes in place that you can use without hesitation when you need them.

As part of your contingency plan, you should always debrief to figure out what happened. Here are some questions you should ask yourself:

  • What was I trying to do when things fell apart?
  • What happened? (Get specific and go over the details.)
  • Could the mistake have been avoided? (Identify specific actions that led to the mistake.)
  • What can I do differently next time – if anything? (Identify a different approach if it could have been avoided.)

SET SPECIFIC GOALS

Goal setting… SMART goals… You hear people talk about it all the time. The problem is many entrepreneurs don’t do it. Or they may do it, but it’s just an exercise on paper and it’s not put into practice. There are so many workshops, business development programs, and entrepreneurship accelerators out there that can be extremely valuable. What I find is that a business will go through these programs and then not implement anything they learned.

Reality check. Any strategy you build and implement needs to be based on the goals you set for yourself. Writing them down and then not revisiting them regularly is like putting counterfeit money in a piggy bank and expecting to be able to pay for things with what you have saved.

Do the work. Implement it in your business.

CELEBRATE EVERYTHING

One of the things I talk about a lot is the fact that entrepreneurs need to get in the habit of celebrating EVERYTHING. Progress is progress, no matter how small. When you celebrate the small wins, the big ones seem even better. Plus, the feeling of accomplishment will drive you forward to keep reaching for your goals.

EMBRACE CHANGE

For some people, change is just a way of life. For others change is something to fear. As entrepreneurs, we need to learn to embrace change and get comfortable with being uncomfortable because things sometimes change daily.

When things don’t go right the first time, we need to change our approach.

 

While mistakes and failures can be scary as entrepreneurs, if we approach them in the right way, they can make us stronger over time – and help our businesses grow. 

 

Candace Huntly is the Founder at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in media relations, influencer marketing, organic community engagement, content, and adapting strategies for any sized business – large or small. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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4 ways to be successful while giving up brand control

So, here’s the thing. You may invest time – and a lot of money – into your brand development and marketing strategy. But when it all comes down to it, branding is really in the eyes of the beholder; it’s all about your customers’ and potential customers’ perception of your brand. Like it or not, where many brands are most successful is when they give up a bit of control and allow their brand and marketing efforts to evolve as their audience gets to know them better. So, if you don’t put the right foundational work in and if you don’t listen to what your customers want, your branding and marketing strategies may not be as successful as you like.

That’s the magic. Give up control.

I am not saying you should completely abandon all planning and strategy. I am saying you need to set up the proper foundations to create opportunities for your target audience to discover what is so amazing about you on their own.

LEAN INTO SOCIAL MEDIA CULTURE

I spoke a bit about how customers want stuff and they want it now. It doesn’t mean that customers are more demanding than before, it means that we are so used to the spontaneous conversations and connections we have on social media that it has become a way of life. If you are trying to create a successful marketing strategy to build brand awareness and connection, you need to fully understand that social media culture and incorporate those behaviours into your strategy. Things will evolve and they will do so quickly. You also have the opportunity to have amazing dialogue with your customers that can lead to YOU discovering things about your brand that you hadn’t thought of.

DON’T BE AFRAID OF FEEDBACK… AND CHANGE

It can be scary to get real feedback from people about your business. It can feel like a personal attack if that feedback is negative. However, it can also create exciting growth opportunities for your business and open you up to unexpected, but amazing, change. As you are setting up the foundations of your business make sure you build audience listening into everything you do.

A great example of a brand that wasn’t afraid of change – and maybe stepping out of their comfort zone – is Holy Crap Cereal. This Canadian company used to be called Hapi Food. Over a decade ago, a customer tried the product at a farmer’s market and exclaimed, “Holy crap… this is amazing!” Sales weren’t taking off when the product was called Hapi Food, but after that customer response inspired them to change their brand name, things really exploded.

LET YOUR CUSTOMERS TELL YOUR STORY

One of the best ways for people to hear about you is from your customers (word of mouth marketing). In case you were unsure about that, studies show that 90% of consumers will trust a brand more if it has been recommended by someone else – whether they’re a stranger or not. When your customers talk about your brand and the experience they have with it, it can also result in five times more sales! But what does this mean for you? Well, it means that you need to give your customers the freedom to talk about you and even encourage it. You can encourage this by developing loyalty programs, launching User Generated Content campaigns and contests on social media, and even doing influencer marketing.

TREAT YOUR BRAND GUIDELINES AS JUST THAT

When you develop your brand – logo, name, colours, messaging, goals, all of that – you should have clear guidelines set out in terms of how you want to be presented to the world. Remember that once you put something out there it’s harder to control how it is perceived and sometimes the best thing you can do is evolve. I always like to say that a messaging document is a living, breathing document. You should revisit regularly to ensure it still reflects how you want to be perceived, but also where your brand is today. Sometimes things that made sense five years ago no longer make sense today.

 

Put the work in. Develop your brand. Develop the foundations of your business. But do it in a way that allows your business to grow and adapt over time. In the long-term, you will be more successful this way. 

 

Candace Huntly is the Founder at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in media relations, influencer marketing, organic community engagement, content, and adapting strategies for any sized business – large or small. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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How to build a great customer experience in 2022

Regardless of how big or small your business is, customer experience is an important aspect of what you should focus on when it comes to making meaningful connections with your audience. It’s the whole process your customer goes through from start to finish when they interact with your business. From that initial research to interacting with your sales team, to purchase and follow up customer service, and everything in between. Every. Single. Touchpoint.

While there are certain things that are out of your control, it’s important to set yourself up for success – which means a great customer experience that creates happy customers and loyalty. And, just like your social media strategy, you can’t just “set it and forget it” because your approach needs to change along with changing customer behaviours.

Here are a few things to remember as you are setting up the best possible customer experience in 2022.

Customers want it… Now!

Let me start by saying that you need to set boundaries as a business owner. You can’t be available 24/7. It’s not healthy. On the flip side of this, we live in a world where your customers are used to instant gratification. We get packages delivered within 24 hours. We can call up a food delivery service and have a gourmet meal delivered immediately. Heck we can even have a coffee delivered from our favourite coffee shop. And don’t even get me started on communication. Sometimes, if I don’t get a response from someone within a few hours I wonder whether they are OK or not. So what does that mean for your business? Well, for starters, the 24-hour turnaround for response times is likely too long. You need to find ways to check and respond to your emails more than once first thing in the morning. You also need to find efficiencies throughout the purchase process so things go smoothly and your customers get their purchases delivered as fast as possible.

Don’t bother hiding anything

We’ve been through a lot digitally in the past few years. Privacy issues and data breaches are common topics of discussion. But even more than that, your customers are more aware of all the tricks businesses used to use to hide things like surprise fees and unexpected restrictions on what happens after the purchase. In 2022, part of your job is to be as transparent as possible. The old saying “honesty is the best policy” is really the way to go. Not only does it help you build stronger relationships with your customers, but you really also don’t want to get caught in a deception. It will only end badly for your business. And while you’re at it, make sure you are taking good care of your customer data so they don’t have to worry about any security issues.

Make digital a top priority

The world went digital in the past couple of years – even the people who hate digital – because we all had to. While we’re all eager to get back to face-to-face, don’t forget the killer digital strategy you put in place. (And that’s all I’m going to say about that!)

It’s not too late to invest in e-Commerce

To sell online or not to sell online… Is that really the question? If you’re on the fence about eCommerce you should probably just go ahead and do it. But remember that any strategy you build and implement for your business should always be based on your customer behaviour. If you have customers that are finding it hard to buy from you because you don’t have an online store set up, then it’s definitely time. If you know your target audience hangs out a lot online, then it’s definitely time. And it’s not too late to get started.

Build community and environmental impact into your strategy

Your customers want more from you. They want to know that you share the same values and beliefs they do. They want to know that you’ll stand for the same causes they do. Remember that the impact you have on your community and the environment can’t be an afterthought. You need to weave it through all of your planning and all of your strategies otherwise it’s temporary.

Your customer experience starts from within

This isn’t a fortune cookie or anything, just fact. If your whole team isn’t on board with your vision for the customer experience you are creating, it will never work. Ever. Employee satisfaction, employee mental health, diversity within the workplace, creating a safe working environment. All of those things will not only affect how your team interacts with customers, but they will also affect how your customers perceive you.

There you have it. These are a few things you need to focus on to create the best customer experience in 2022. 

​Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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Long-term customer relationships: What happens after the sale?

You made the sale. Time to celebrate and move on… right? Honestly, that’s one of the biggest mistakes most business owners make. If you build your business with this mindset, you are missing out on the long-term growth that most businesses need to survive. You’re just hopping from one customer to the next. That’s high effort and a recipe for major burn out.

So what are you supposed to do? Focus on building long-term customer relationships. Think about what happens after each sale. You did the work to get someone to your website or to your shop, but the growth part of business happens after someone chooses you for the first time.

The consumer purchase process

While your target audience may be different from other businesses, overall, most of your customers will follow the same process to make their purchase decisions.

  1. Need recognition
  2. Information search
  3. Evaluation of alternatives
  4. Decision & Purchase
  5. POST-PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR

The last step in the consumer purchase process is post-purchase behaviour. That’s where the magic happens when you’re looking for long-term growth. In this stage, your customer decides whether they are happy or not with their purchase. And tied to that, they decide whether they want anything to do with your business long-term – either as a returning customer and/or a valuable brand advocate who refers friends and family to you and leaves positive reviews online. The actions you take as a business can either lead to these things, indifference, or – worst case scenario – product returns/refunds and negative reactions and reviews. This stage is where you focus on establishing great customer relationships.

5 ways to take post-purchase service to the next level

Proactive communication

The post-purchase email. It’s part art form, part practical follow up. Overall, it’s your chance to find out how you did, keep your customer posted on shipment and tracking, provide incentive to come back and shop, and generally build the foundation for a great long-term relationship. The thing to remember is you shouldn’t overlook asking for things in these emails. You want a review on social? Ask for it. You want to have them fill out a quick survey to find out how their experience was? Ask for it. Don’t make your customers guess what you want.

Another way to look at it is communication that allows you to just touch base with your customers. A quick reminder that they may need to replenish or replace their purchase is a great reason to reach out. The Body Shop is great for this. They send a reminder email when they estimate you would need to repurchase.

Build loyalty into your strategy

Your customers want to feel appreciated. They need to know that you value their business. A great way to do that is to build some sort of loyalty program into your long-term planning. You don’t have to create an elaborate loyalty program to make it work for you. Offering things like a VIP sale to your recurring customers and early access to a new product launch can easily be done by sharing links. You can also create a referral program or even a points program that leads to discounts. And, when in doubt… offer free samples and even new product recommendations based on previous purchases or customer profiles. I have been purchasing product from Beauty Club Outlet since I got detailed product recommendations for my hair type. Personalization works.

Make using your product/service easy

Your customers are more likely to reach for their recent purchase or use it over and over again if they know how to use it properly. Sharing how-to content that lays things out clearly will eliminate any questions or confusion. Equally important to how to use something is how to care for it long-term. Certain products will last longer if you take care of them properly, so make sure your customers know how to prolong the life of their purchase.

Make it easy for returns/exchanges

This one may make some business owners fee uneasy. It seems a bit counter-intuitive, but things don’t always work out when a customer buys something. Your customers will remember if you provided an easy solution and they will more likely come back to buy more from you in the future. This will also reduce post-purchase anxiety if your customers know you are on their side.

I should note that not all products/services can be returned or refunded. There does have to be a limit. If someone returns an almost empty bottle of product and says they didn’t like it, offering a refund doesn’t seem right. However, if someone bought the same product and it made them break out into hives after 1 or 2 uses, it makes sense to work with the customer to find a solution.

Listen to what your customers have to say

ACTUALLY listen. Listen to all the good and bad feedback that you get. Ask questions to see where you can improve. Ask questions to see what you are doing right. Your customers will stick around if they feel like you care what they have to say.

The work doesn’t end when they click the purchase button online or swipe their credit card at your store. If you are truly looking for long-term growth and profitability, you need to focus on what happens after the sale to figure out how to build a great marketing strategy. And marketing is always about building great customer relationships.

 

Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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How to overhaul your marketing content with a great blogging strategy

We made it to week two of 2022 and most of us fall into three categories:

  1. You have set goals for the year, and you’re excited to be taking the first steps to achieving them – because you have a plan.
  2. You have set goals for the year, but you’re already feeling really overwhelmed with the pressure you put on yourself to succeed – likely because you don’t have a plan in place that supports your growth.
  3. You have already abandoned all planning you may have done – it’s much easier to fall into the status quo whether it worked or not.

While the past couple of years have been challenging – and exhausting – for most business owners, that doesn’t mean you should avoid planning or challenging yourself to try something new this year. And you can even try something that will make your life easier. I am a huge fan of working smarter not harder. We should all strive for that. It doesn’t mean you are lazy or cutting corners. It means you are putting things together like a puzzle to create a bigger picture – your overall plan. For your marketing, that means finding efficiencies to make everyday tasks that much easier. When it comes to your marketing content a great blogging strategy may be the answer you are looking for to ease some of the pressure.

Here are 5 steps to help you leverage a blog strategy to take your entire content marketing strategy up a notch.

Step 1: Identify your marketing channels

I always start with what I WANT and then get to what I NEED (AKA what I – or my client – can handle). Create a list of your desired marketing channels. Make sure it’s based on your customers and where they like to interact with brands. Once you have that list, CUT THE FLUFF. This means prioritize your list from most effective to least effective based on factors like:

  • Does my audience use this channel?
  • Are my competitors successful on this channel?
  • Has this been effective for me in the past?

Then you have to figure out what you can handle based on budget (time, money, team skills) and start cutting from the bottom of your list until you can manage what you have left. You have to remove your personal emotions from this because what you want might not be what you need at this point in time. And remember, just because you’re not doing it now doesn’t mean you can’t add on to your strategy later!

HOT TIP: Blogging should be included in your list!!! You can adjust the frequency to meet your budget needs.

Step 2: Identify your blogging personality

It’s a given that your brand identity should be tightly woven throughout your blog content. However, when it comes to blogging, you can adjust your content based on your strengths. Not all blogs have to be written – and sometimes it doesn’t even make as much sense to write out a blog like this one. For example, if you are a chef, you could do photo stories with short descriptions instead that showcase a great recipe or food and beverage pairing. You could do a video blog or even audio (hello podcasts have exploded in recent years!). A blog is meant to showcase your brand, your expertise, YOU, so you can make it fit your needs.

Step 3: Build an editorial calendar

This is a secret pleasure of mine. An editorial calendar is a schedule that outlines dates, responsibilities, blog topics, and themes. I usually work 3 months in advance. It’s not always easy to do because it means sitting down and planning in advance. However, this step will make your life sooooo much easier. I know there are fancy content planning platforms, but I like a good old-fashioned spreadsheet. I break my editorial calendar down into monthly themes (you could also do quarterly or seasonal depending on your business and the type of content you are creating). Once I have monthly themes, I set the publish dates for our weekly blogs, assign a team member to write for the week, and assign a topic for the week.

SIDE NOTE: Figuring out your topics in advance means you don’t have to waste time each week trying to come up with a topic!

Step 4: Carry the themes and topics over to your other content platforms

This is where your blog starts to wield its power as the centrepiece of your marketing content. Your thematic and topical structure can drive your social media content, promotional content, Whitepaper topics, email newsletters, free eBooks, and the list could go on. The foundations you create for your blog strategy then become the foundations for your entire marketing strategy.

Step 5: Create content that can be repurposed

Whether you look at this as Step 5 or Step 4 B this is where you start to put together content for your blog. Write for your blog first and then let that content help you populate your other platforms. A well-thought-out blog can turn into at least one social media post (but usually multiple!), an email newsletter, gated content to help collect emails, a media angle to pitch, and more.

You could also create what’s called evergreen content that is content that can be referred to much past the publish date. You can read more about evergreen content here.

For more tips on blog writing itself, check out these blogs here, here, and here.

I talk about blogging for business a lot. I am a huge fan. And it’s because it works, and it can make your life much easier when it comes to marketing content.

Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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9 things you need to do to get your business ready for 2022

December is here and that means that 2022 is coming fast and furious. As the year comes to a close, it’s important to take a moment to look at how you are going to approach the new year. Here are 9 things to consider that will help you shape your 2022 business strategy!

#1: Reflect on how you had to change things up this past year

While 2020 was tough, 2021 didn’t back down. Most businesses had to adapt even further this past year. As we are all eagerly anticipating settling into a new normal, you need to look back and take note of the changes you implemented – not only in your marketing, but also in your business operations – in 2021.

#2: Be honest with what worked and what didn’t in 2021

I feel like a broken record every year when I talk about how to move forward into the next year. But I am going to say it over and over again, and then I am going to say it again… Before heading into the new year you need to look back and see what worked and what didn’t. It’s important to be honest with yourself so you can move forward knowing the pros and cons of everything. Everything you do should be a learning opportunity.

#3: Set your 2022 business goals

New year, new goals. Of course, you need to have long-term goals that look beyond a year, but setting shorter term goals to work towards in 2022 will help to keep you on track. Focus on setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) so you can really identify when you are successful. It also helps you to track your progress along the way. If you don’t set SMART goals and you just set vague goals that don’t have timelines, you’re wasting your time.

#4: Set Relevant goals

Part of setting SMART goals is to make sure they are relevant. That means that they need to be relevant to your business and the needs of your customers. Work towards goals that will help you grow.

It’s also an important reminder that your goals should be purpose driven in a way that goes beyond your product features. While you need to bring in money, you should also remember that your customers are looking for brands to be loyal to.

#5: Get your contingencies in place (We see you pandemic…)

I don’t think I need to remind you of how much you have had to pivot and adapt over the past two years. You don’t need to prove to anyone that you are a superhero, but you have proven you are resilient. Get your contingencies in place. We never know when a global pandemic will hit or when disaster will strike. Contingency planning doesn’t mean living in fear of what could happen. It means that you have thought about it, put it down on paper, and you can put it away in a drawer in the back of your files (and mind) until you need help.

#6: Meet your customers’ expectations

You need to tailor your customer experience from start to finish. That means identifying the ways their behaviour has shifted over the past two years. While we discussed shifting behaviours at the beginning of the pandemic, we’re now in a weird grey area where things are opening up, we have vaccinations, and now businesses are trying to establish some sort of normalcy and consistency. But you have to remember that your customers are also in the same state of mind. Some of your customers have fully embraced life opening up and others are still extremely cautious. You need to find a happy medium to build an experience that all of your customers will enjoy.

#7: Make sure you’re working well across channels

We live in a multi-screen world with a lot of distractions. Your customers are scrolling Instagram while they are watching their favourite TV shows. They’re working while listening to podcasts. They’re grocery shopping online while streaming a movie. You need to know how your customers are consuming content so you can build a strategy that will have the most impact. It needs to be seamless across all channels to create a consistent experience for your customers.

In addition to consistency, building a strategy with multiple channels in mind means you can find efficiencies to make your life a whole lot easier!

#8: Continue building your digital strategy

For many businesses, 2020 and 2021 was either the launch of a new digital strategy or a full overhaul. So many businesses built websites and launched on social media. The reality is that your customers are now accustomed to the digital world. Regardless of in-person activity resuming, the only way we’re getting away from a digital world is if the internet somehow shuts down or we lose power and are thrown back into the dark ages. Figure out where your audience hangs out online and be there. If you launched something new in the digital world this past year, look at the data and figure out what content performed best for you. Chances are video stats were on fire…

On the flip side of things, learn how to say no. Building your strategy doesn’t necessarily mean adding a bunch of social media platforms. You can also add to your strategy by creating more content that resonates with your audience – like writing more blogs every month or adding an extra post or two to your social media platforms. Remember that you don’t need to be everywhere, but you do need to be consistent and engaging on the digital channels you choose to use.

#9: Identify new opportunities to explore

And last, but certainly not least… Find new opportunities for 2022! If business is going well, don’t rest for too long because you always have to be thinking ahead. If business is not going well, are there opportunities that might take you out of your comfort zone? Maybe you are missing out on something really amazing because you are afraid to take that first step.

At the risk of sounding like I am telling you to make New Year’s Resolutions (I have mixed feelings about those…), make 2022 the year you push yourself to go further, grow bigger, and get closer to your ultimate goals.

 

Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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Can a small business survive without social media?

Can your small business survive without social media? I would answer a verrry tentative maybe. While there are pros and cons to getting active on social media with your business, you need to make sure that you are making the right decision for you and what you want to accomplish in the long term. With over 4.2 Billion active social media users, this is a major marketing tool and a decision you shouldn’t take lightly.

Let’s talk about some of the good, the bad (… and the ugly?) about social media and whether you should use it as a tool for marketing your small business.

Pro: Solidify your brand presence

Having your customers and potential customers remember who you are when it comes time to make a purchase is half the battle in business. Maintaining a consistent social media presence helps to keep your brand top of mind. It also give you the opportunity to create brand consistency across multiple communication channels and create opportunities for more people to discover you – almost 90% of marketers agree! With the consistency and active online presence, it also helps to legitimize your business – no matter how big or small you are.

Pro: Makes it easy for your audience to connect with you – and find new customers

Social media is live and active 24/7. So it gives you the opportunity to connect with your audience outside of “traditional” office hours. You can connect with a broader audience anytime, from anywhere. And if you’re selling through social media, that means that people can buy from you 24/7 as well. Did you know that, for almost 75% of consumers, social media influences their ultimate purchase decision? Social media followers are constantly looking for high quality content from the brands they follow (not high quantity!!).

Pro: You can build better relationships with your customers

Once someone is a customer, you still have to work at keeping them as a customer. Social media helps you to engage with your community regularly. The nature of social media is to be social, so you there are plenty of opportunities for 2-way dialogue. You can even run your customer service channel through social media without using a fancy software installed on your website. Make sure that whatever conversations you’re having, you take the time to learn about your customers and what they want from you. It can actually lead to customers spending 40% more in the long run.

Pro: There is something for everyone, so you can tailor your strategy

There seems to be a steady stream of new social media platforms to choose from (hello, TikTok) – but it’s also OK to stick to the tried and tested ones that have been around for a “long” time (think Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc). Your audience likely isn’t active on all social media platforms, so you don’t need to be either. Pick and choose based on where your customers hang out and what you can handle. No point in biting off more than you can chew!

Pro: It’s easy to keep an eye on your competitors

You always need to be aware of what your competitors are up to – not so you can copy them, but it’s a great way to see what is working and not working in your industry.

Pro: It can help you stretch your marketing budget further

Remember, social media isn’t free. Time is money and you do need to invest time into content creation and engagement. HOWEVER… It is a lower cost marketing tactic than many others out there. In fact, it can allow you to stretch your marketing budget pretty far while competing with some of the larger brands in your industry.

Con: It’s not the only marketing out there, so you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket

You should try to build a marketing strategy that has some variety and helps to connect you with your customers in different ways. Here are just a few suggestions:

  • Create a loyalty program
  • Start a referral program
  • Traditional PR
  • Conferences and events
  • Focus on creating content for other channels (dust off that blog!)
  • Email marketing
  • In-store promos (but keep in mind that even if you have a brick-and-mortar location over 90% of customers have visited because they saw you online.)

Con: People can be mean on social media

No explanation really needed, but we all know that a certain level of anonymity can attract the trolls.

Con: It can be easy to get sucked into hours on hours of scrolling

So many entrepreneurs I speak with say they don’t have time for social media – that they always end up spending multiple hours a day on each platform, which takes away from running other aspects of their business. If you are one of the 47% of business owners who say they manage their marketing on their own, then social media can seem daunting. While this can happen, it can be prevented with careful planning. There are so many scheduler platforms and other tools that can make your life easier. Also, it helps to schedule your social media time – and stick to it – to keep you on track during the day.

Con: It’s easy to get caught up in the wrong numbers

We’ve talked before about vanity metrics on social media. Remember that your success is NOT determined by how many followers you have. What matters is the quality of interactions you have with customers and potential customers. It’s all about shifting your perspective and building your strategy accordingly.

As you can see… I am very pro social media. Used in the right ways, it can be a very valuable resource for your business to help you grow. Of course, there will always be that one outlier where social media just doesn’t make sense… but you have to ask yourself what you want to accomplish with your business and whether or not social media can help you get there.

Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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5 questions to ask about your holiday marketing strategy

I usually start thinking (and talking) about the holiday marketing pretty early. I love everything about the holidays and planning for the holidays (except maybe the obsession with pumpkin spice everything that starts in the fall… 😬). I’ve already started receiving gift guides via email! The holidays, regardless of what you celebrate, are all about cozying up to stay warm in chilly temperatures, spending time with friends and family, having those moments of stillness and peace… And all of those consumerism moments that happen in between. As marketers, you can’t ignore the fact that gift giving has become a huge part of the holiday season, but you also can’t ignore the fact that all of the other things are equally as important. As a brand you need to find the right balance of emotion and sentiment vs. trying to make the sale.

So, as we head into a busy (and still pandemic weird) holiday season, it’s important that you plan out your strategy so you are prepared for things that might come up. Here are a few questions you should start asking:

What has worked well in the past?

You should always start with what you have tried before. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from what worked and what didn’t work. You can actually learn more from what didn’t work than what did work! Sit down and note what your strategy looked like last year. Have a look at some of the data associated with your strategy. If something worked well, then consider doing the same thing this year. If something didn’t work well, then you want to make sure you steer clear. Try to figure out where you went wrong so you don’t duplicate it this year with your holiday marketing efforts.

What does your customer want?

Customer behaviour should drive your holiday marketing strategy. Period.

It has been a tough year for everyone mentally, emotionally, and financially. Last year, I found that there was DEFINITELY some really early holiday cheer on social media, and I think it was because people were grasping at something good to distract them. I have a feeling that this year will be no different. Brands need to take cues from their customers to figure out the best time to go all in on holiday marketing. You should also be listening to conversations on social media and sensitive to your audience’s purchase behaviour. If you find that a lot of your customers were hit hard financially during the pandemic, they may be spending a little less this year. There may also be a segment who is shopping earlier than normal – either to get it done or they want to spread out the costs rather than do it all at once. A key factor for the holidays this year will be online spending since a lot of people still haven’t gone back to in-person shopping. Have a peek at this blog to see some consumer trends for this year’s holiday season.

Do you have pandemic contingencies in place?

Let’s be real. Regardless of how “over” the pandemic you are, we’re not out of the woods yet. And even if we were, there are a lot of your customers who won’t feel comfortable going completely back to normal any time soon. You need to make sure you maintain (or establish if you are newly opened) a safe and comfortable shopping experience for everyone. That means going above and beyond government safety guidelines in some cases and clearly communicating your guidelines to your customers so they know what to expect. You should also be ready for anything unexpected that comes up in terms of diminished capacity or temporary shutdowns.

Click here for more info on holiday marketing during a pandemic.

Am I too focused on sales rather than emotional connection?

It can be really easy for brands to just jump from one seasonal sale to the next without a care in the world for what it is doing to their brand. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Last Minute Christmas Sale, Boxing Day… I mean Boxing Week… New Year’s Sale… You made the sale, right? Well, what happens after that sale is over? Are those customers continuing to buy from you because they believe in your brand or are they always just hunting for the next sale, whether it’s you or your competitor?

You need to invest the time and effort into building solid, loyal relationships with your existing customers and with any new customers you attract. This could mean a few different things such as:

  • Assessing or re-assessing your value add
  • Establishing a stronger brand story
  • Establishing clear brand messaging
  • Creating a content-first marketing strategy
  • Developing a loyalty program

Regardless, your brand has to be worth more than the next sale that discounts your products and services.

Do I have everything covered?

Well, you don’t know what you don’t know. But here is a checklist that could be helpful in preparing you for your holiday marketing strategy: Free Holiday Marketing Checklist

If your holiday marketing planning is tripping you up and you’re not sure where to start, book a free 20-minute consultation with me and let’s get you on the right track!

​​Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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3 Secrets to not letting social media get overwhelming

Social media can get overwhelming for the best of us. From building a strategy to creating content, daily engagement, keeping up with trends, and everything in between, there is a lot to manage.

While some brands have a full team of social media experts and content creators to keep the wheels turning, a lot of small businesses and solo entrepreneurs struggle to find the time to build and execute a successful social media strategy. And sometimes even figuring out what a successful strategy might look like can be challenging if you don’t quite understand all the ins and outs of social media.

It can be easy to just give up when social media gets overwhelming. However, here are three things you can do to help ease that overwhelming feeling and get your social media strategy on the right track for your business.

#1: Only do what you can handle

I have said it before, and I will say it again a thousand times over… You don’t need to be on every social media platform. You don’t have to start up on a new platform just because it’s new… You can have a successful social media strategy with just ONE social media platform. You can only do what you have time to do, and it is better to pick ONE social media platform and be great at it than be on five social media platforms and be mediocre at all of them.

The best thing to do in this case is figure out where your audience hangs out and create a prioritized list of those platforms with the most important at the top and the least at the bottom. Figure out what your time and financial budgets are and then start cutting from the bottom up. You should make sure you are keeping the highest priority things on your list and cut out the things that are lower priority. That way you can get the best return on your social media efforts. (You could even do this for your whole marketing strategy!)

#2: Schedule your social media time

When it comes to social media and community engagement, it can be easy to get sucked in. Before you know it, you’ve been scrolling through social media for hours without a purpose and you haven’t gotten to the million other things you have to get done for the day. The response to this is usually any mix of panic, guilt, feeling like you have accomplished nothing, and a vow to never have this happen again. Most people either keep doing the same thing or just avoid engagement altogether. On the one hand it keeps eating into your day and you feel like you never have enough time to get things done and on the other hand you are not using social media to be social (as it was intended!). Both outcomes can be incredibly frustrating.

I suggest building your social media time into your schedule. If you are batch creating content, do it the same time each week. For engagement, build it into your morning routine. I find that mornings are a great time to get this kind of thing done because sometimes the day can get away from you and you might forget. The other thing is that you don’t need to do hours of engagement every day. Schedule 15 or 20 minutes and scroll through social media with a purpose. When that time is done, then close it down. If you can spare more time than that, then do it. But the point is that you don’t need to be on there hours a day – unless you have that kind of time!

Note: you should make sure you are at least checking once or twice every day to respond to new comments and messages!

#3: Hire an expert when you need it

There is no shame in asking for help. Most of us have our strengths and it’s very hard to not have weaknesses. You either need to educate yourself (and I am talking about more than watching a 10-minute video) or you need to find someone who can fill that skills gap for you. While some people are great at figuring things out on their own, you also need to consider how long it will take to learn things yourself and how much it might cost you.

If you are having some trouble and are at the point where you are making this decision, it’s best to do a cost-benefit analysis to help you make the decision. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense to try to do it all on your own!

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Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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Canadian Small Business Women, in partnership with Volition, presents 2021 Young Entrepreneur’s Pitch Conference

August 29, 2021 – We are thrilled to announce that we will be partnering with Volition for a second year to present the 2021 Young Entrepreneur’s Pitch Conference. 

This virtual conference is taking place November 20, 2021, and will showcase women-lead companies across Canada in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) space. Building on the success of the 2020 Young Entrepreneurs Pitch Conference, you can expect a variety of panel discussions and workshops from industry experts, as well as speed networking, a vendor hall, and pitch competition.

While all are welcome to attend the conference, pitch applications (opening this fall) will be open to young entrepreneurial women (aged 19-45) in the CPG industry, from across Canada. All applicants will gain access to a Volition Pitch Bootcamp, and audience members will have the opportunity to cheer on and vote for their favourite Finalist pitching at the Pitch Conference.

“Last year, we were honoured to partner with Volition to bring our dreams of hosting a pitch conference to life. The success of last year’s event was evident in the responses of our pitchers, speakers and guests. This year, we are back together again and the theme is Consumer Packaged Goods. With the expertise of hundreds of pitch competitions under their belt and our conference producing history, this year’s event will not disappoint. I am looking forward to hearing this year’s pitch submissions!” 

– Dwania McLarty-Peele, Founder Canadian Small Business Women 

 

“We are so excited to be working with CSBW yet again to support and advance Canadian women in business. This past year put incredible strain on CPG companies–and women-led businesses in particular–as they have had to juggle shifting demands, supply chain issues, employee needs, and intense and variable growth patterns. We have seen such innovation and some really amazing new companies emerge this past year, and want to provide space to acknowledge, celebrate, and support this sector and the young women within it.” 

– Melanie Ewan, Managing Partner Volition 

 

If you are interested in getting involved as a partner, sponsor, or speaker, and are looking for more information, please reach out to info@canadiansmallbusinesswomen.ca

 

For conference details: https://canadiansmallbusinesswomen.ca/2021-young-entrepreneurs-pitch-conference/

 

Canadian Small Business Women was created to provide a place for aspiring Canadian business women to find the necessary resources to take their business from the planning stage to a reality. We also provide business directory, event information, and advertising opportunities for existing Canadian Small Business Women. Through our blogs, social media pages and our related articles, we hope to connect our experts to aspiring and current business women of Canada and provide the information needed to take their businesses to the next level.  We are proud to have delivered over 40 conferences serving over 5000 guests worldwide!

4 reasons not to give up on your digital marketing just yet

Now that everything is opening up, business is going to look VERY different than it has in the past year and a half. During the pandemic, digital marketing strategies were a lifeline for so many businesses. So what happens now that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Don’t give up on the digital strategies that you built!

Here are four reasons why you should maintain the digital footprint that you created at the beginning of the pandemic. It’s not time to give up your digital marketing just yet.

#1: Your customers won’t all have the same comfort level

While patios are packed and long line ups are still forming at certain stores (Homesense, we’re looking at you), not everyone is as eager to rub elbows with strangers. The pandemic might be physical, it also affected people psychologically. And there are people who are more comfortable getting “back to normal” at a slower pace than others. Those tactics you put in place like online ordering, curbside pickup, optional shipping, etc. are still things that some of your customers will want to take advantage of – and they are still very much active online.

#2: You invested time into building it

Starting anything new can be daunting. If you have spent the past year and a half driving online engagement and creating great content to build awareness, why give all of that up? Sure, it’s a bit of extra work, but why not create more efficiencies instead of throwing it all away? For example, how many times have you checked out a brand’s social media only to find they haven’t posted in a year… Don’t be that brand.

#3: Digital strategies can be cheaper to execute

With so many businesses cutting back costs, marketing budgets are still getting smaller and smaller as the reality of opening sinks in for many. Let’s be honest… A well-executed digital event will likely cost you much less than a well-executed in-person event. You will be able to cut back on venue costs, food costs, etc. However, there are certain ways for you to keep costs down, go digital with your events, and still get people out and exploring. You just have to get creative with your approach!

#4: You don’t want to be caught off-guard again

If there is one thing we have all learned in the past year and a half it’s that anything can – and will – happen. As a business owner, you need to try to anticipate what could happen and put supports in place to ensure that risks won’t affect you or, if it does, it will have minimal impact on your business.  No one (unless you are a disease specialist) could have seen something like this coming. And even if you did see something like the pandemic coming, it would have been hard to know in advance how much it would have affected businesses. In Ontario, there were businesses that were closed to in-person sales for the better part of a year. For many, introducing a digital aspect to their operations meant staying open rather than shutting down. Because there is so much uncertainty regarding what could happen right now, it is better to mitigate your risk.

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Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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6 ways to come up with unique marketing ideas

Marketing has been a “thing” for a long time. The big question is how do you keep everything fresh? How do you keep coming up with those million-dollar ideas? (Or at least hundred- or thousand-dollar ideas that will get you to where you want to go. And it’s not just coming up with marketing ideas, it’s coming up with unique marketing ideas to showcase your brand in the best possible way.

If I am being honest, you can make ANY marketing idea unique by adding in a little bit of flare and brand personality to it. But if you are really stuck, here are 6 ways you can come up with some unique marketing ideas. Use these methods as the foundation and build from there!

Create a challenge

EVERYONE wants to go viral. Period. However, there is no magic formula to make that happen. What you can do is try to create content that will entertain and encourage your audience to interact with your brand. A great way to encourage interaction is to create a social media challenge. It seems like there is a new challenge popping up on various social media platforms every day. Why not create one for your brand?

It’s rarely obvious where challenges originate, but you can make it a bit more brand specific and include your product or service at the core of the challenge. Doing this will mean that your branding will be the focal point of any consumer videos or images to come. One of the most memorable challenges like this is the #VogueChallenge where creators posted their own mock-up magazine covers. Also consider the #InMyDenim challenge that Guess did for inspiration.

Not everyone has a ton of money to throw into ads to boost visibility, but remember that even if you have 20 people participate and half of them buy from you because of it, then it can still be successful!

Build exclusivity with a limited access offer

Exclusivity will often foster a feeling of FOMO (Fear of missing out) in people. If you are nearing the launch of your business, consider doing a limited launch where only a certain number of people have access to your product or service. (Hello, Clubhouse, we’re looking at you…)

Another way to create exclusivity even if you are past the launch phase is to create VIP access for your most loyal customers or those that have signed up. VIP access could include things like early access to a new product launch or access to premium level services free of charge for a certain period of time.

Share your expertise

I am a big fan of doing thought leadership in a strategic way. I don’t think that every business owner is cut out for a place in the media spotlight, nor is every business a great fit for something like that. However, there are so many things you can do to build a thought leadership strategy to establish your footing as a go-to, trusted expert in your industry. What really matters is when customers trust you enough to buy from YOU and not your competitors. Your thought leadership strategy could include things like blogging, social media, speaking engagements, media relations, and guest posts. The goal is to share so much information that you are bordering on uncomfortable. Chances are if someone wants to go the DIY route, you likely won’t change their mind right away. And someone who wants to hire you will know that you know your stuff if you share what you know.

Riff off other campaigns

Taking an idea that you already know works and making it bigger, better, or just adding a little more personality is a great way to recycle old ideas. There are a few different ways you can do this:

  • Your own ideas: Refresh your old ideas with new content or even a different approach.
  • Competitor ideas: Make them your own by adding your brand personality into the mix and speaking directly to your customers. It’s not about copying an idea it’s about taking the framework and making it uniquely you.
  • Other industry ideas: Adapt an idea from a completely different industry to your product or service.

Have a little bit of fun

OK, this one isn’t really a tactic, but more of a nudge to showcase your personality a bit and have fun with your marketing. When you think about it, viral marketing content most often goes viral when it is entertaining and a little bit out of the box. Where your marketing will truly shine is when you can step into your own brand character and connect with your audience when you are being uniquely you. So be silly, show those funny behind the scenes team conversations, and share your celebrations.

Find a mentor

Again, not really a strategy, but finding a mentor is definitely helpful when you are looking to build up a strong marketing strategy. I have been lucky to be both a mentee and a mentor at various points in my career so far. Having someone you can bounce ideas off of is priceless. Find someone who just “gets you” and your business. They will ask you the questions you need to be asked and help you fill in the blanks where you need to. In improv theatre, there is a game called “Yes, And!” where actors are not allowed to shoot an idea down. No idea is a bad idea. Every statement is always met with “Yes, and…” followed by adding something more to the idea. It is always full of excitement because it builds and builds. A great mentor relationship is like a rousing game of “Yes, and!”

Coming up with new and unique marketing ideas can be challenging, but if you approach it in the right way, you can make the process work for you. When it doubt, don’t get discouraged. You don’t need to come up with something people have never seen before, but you do need to create a marketing strategy that has your unique brand stamp on it.

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Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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Top 4 things to NOT cut from your marketing budget

A couple of weeks ago I talked about how you can cut from your marketing budget without losing momentum… While it’s never good to cut out marketing completely, sometimes you just need to tighten things up until you have more money to play with. If you are considering cutting your marketing budget, as you are making decisions on what to cut out there are certain things that you really just shouldn’t cut out of the budget.

Here are four things that you should not cut from your marketing budget.

Channels that are working

This should go without saying, but if you know something is working to bring in new customers, find any way you can to keep it going. After you have done your marketing audit and prioritized your marketing tactics, it should be clear what is working and what isn’t working. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And, I should add, don’t cut it out.

I was talking to one entrepreneur who actually said to me that they know if they stop blogging the leads they are getting will stop coming in, but because it was the biggest expense below payroll they were considering stopping. When you are going through a rough patch, you want to invest in the things that will help to get you out of it. You should also not just cut for the sake of cutting.

Digital presence

If the past year has taught us anything it’s that you need to have SOME sort of online presence. While social media may not be the right thing for you, you do need to at least have something like a website to act as an information hub. You need somewhere for people to learn about you and see that you are a legitimate business. It also gives you a chance to showcase your expertise and tell your brand story in a controlled way. We all know that once it’s out there on social media, in the media, with influencers, or even with customers, you have to give up a bit of control when it comes to your brand and the messaging you have developed.

Audience engagement

Ongoing dialogue with your audience (aka customers and potential customers) is important. If they have no way to interact with you then how are they supposed to get to know you? Not only that, your interactive channels can also serve as effective customer service channels. Any marketing strategy you implement for your business should be designed to build relationships with your customers. And to do that you need to be able to have a 2-way dialogue. It’s those interactions that create intrigue and let people get to know that brand personality.

Expertise

There are a few different resources that come into play when it comes to your business. Expertise is one of them. If there is something you don’t know how to do yourself, it makes sense to hire someone to do it for you. The alternative is learning how to do it, but then you have to invest both time and money to learn – and it can take time to become an expert. In these situations, you need to weigh the cost against the benefits of each option. Where your marketing strategy is concerned, there are so many different skillsets that go into building and executing a successful strategy that it can be hard to be able to do everything. Figure out what you can handle and work with an expert to get the rest done. The right expert will help you figure out a great middle ground. It should never have to be all or nothing.

If you’re looking to have a big impact with your marketing, but you just don’t have the budget, don’t give up. You can make smart choices when cutting into the budget!

 

Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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Privacy Law – Part II

 

Please see Privacy Part I to learn about the basics of privacy law, personal information, handling personal information, and how to assess if your business is complying with the privacy laws. If your business handles any personal information (including anyone’s name or email address), you should be thinking about your privacy responsibilities now.     

Privacy laws in Canada are not all the same: some apply to all organizations that engage in commercial activities (including charities and not for profits when they sell, barter, or lease membership lists, for example), while others do not have a commercial requirement to be applicable, and some are limited to just one type of personal information (such as personal health information). 

In this blog, we focus on how privacy laws apply to businesses, and specifically, to  businesses that collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of a commercial activity.  It does not matter what size your business is.  What matters instead is: whether or not you handle personal information, and if you do, whether you are handling it in accordance with privacy laws.

Today’s blog was co-written by Karen Yamamoto, a commercial lawyer in Montreal specializing in privacy and technology law and the Co-Founder of Executive Counsel Group – Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/karen-yamamoto-905ba9a

 

1)      What is the risk to my business if I don’t comply with Canada’s privacy laws? Are there penalties?

If you wait to comply with privacy laws, penalties may be imposed for violations.  The penalties for privacy law violations differ based on jurisdiction and the type of offence.  For example, under current Quebec and federal privacy laws, the maximum penalties range from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on the circumstances.  In fact, privacy laws are in the process of being overhauled, and some of the proposed changes could see penalties go as high as 5% of global revenue or $25 million Canadian for serious violations. 

 

2)      Example of violations of privacy laws.

 

Here are three examples of how small or medium businesses could violate privacy laws:

 

          a)  No proper privacy policy in place: The Recruitment Consultant who could not answer her customer’s questions.

Jane is the owner of an architectural firm in Saskatchewan and hired Armanda, an HR consultant, to handle the recruitment of new junior architects for the firm; Armanda reviewed resumes of several people through her consulting business’ email system. 

Jane became curious about how Armanda’s company was handling the personal information of the candidates in her system.  Jane asked Armanda for her privacy policy.   Armanda had one; she had copied it from her friend who had a business selling logoed golf shirts to companies.

Once Jane read Armanda’s privacy policy, Jane became quite concerned.   The policy did not seem to cover resumes, salary information, addresses, family information, or how candidates’/clients’ personal information would be protected.  Instead, it spoke about “protecting credit card information of customers.” 

Armanda had just copied a policy that applied to a business totally different from her own. Jane then asked Armanda what specific steps Armanda’s business took to protect personal information, and what Armanda would do if a job applicant withdrew their consent regarding the use of their personal information. Armanda was only able to say, “we keep all client information confidential.” 

Is Armanda’s approach enough? Unfortunately, no. She does not have an applicable policy, she seems to confuse confidentiality with privacy, and she does not seem to understand that once consent has been withdrawn, she is generally required to stop handling the personal information of a person.

Not having a privacy policy or procedures in place can be a breach of privacy laws.  Under Canada’s privacy laws, the HR consulting business could face penalties, especially if there was some kind of data breach.

 

           b) Not obtaining a “meaningful consent” when required: The small tech company who shared a mailing list.

A small tech company in Ontario collects personal information from users including name and sensitive banking information.  Express consent is obtained (via an opt-in “click” on its website) to collect and use the information for the purpose of “providing the software product”. 

The tech company also shares this information with affiliate business partners (for joint marketing efforts).  But their website does not mention this.

Consent remains key under Canadian privacy laws.  This Ontario company breached privacy laws.  You cannot get “meaningful consent” if you don’t tell people what you are really doing with their personal information.  “Meaningful consent” means that individuals understand:

  • What personal information of theirs you are collecting;
  • With whom you are planning to share the personal information;
  • Why you are collecting their personal information; and
  • The risk of harm to the individuals and other consequences of the collection, use or disclosure of personal information to which they are consenting.

 

        c) No data breach reporting process in place: The Dentist’s office that did not report a breach.

A dentist’s office in Manitoba gets hacked.  Only one individual’s personal information (financial and sensitive medical information) was accessed.  Given that security was tightened immediately after the incident and only one person was involved, the IT administrator decided nothing further was required to be done.  The dental clinic had no data breach reporting process in place and as a result, IT did not inform anyone else of the breach.   

Actually, the dental business could face penalties.  Why?

Because in most provinces, an organization must record any loss of, unauthorized access to or unauthorized disclosure of personal information resulting from a breach of security safeguards or from a failure to establish those safeguards.  If there is a real risk of significant harm to an individual because of the breach, notice would have to be provided to the individual and the applicable Privacy governmental authority and in some cases, other organizations.  Failure to do all of these things

could result in penalties.

 

3)      I copied another website’s privacy policy and put it on my website, does this cover the issue for my business?

Having a privacy policy is only one small aspect of privacy compliance.  Other requirements include (to name a few):

  • Did you get proper consent from the individual whose personal information you have?
  • Have you trained your employees on the proper handling of personal information?
  • Do you have a process or system to record all data breaches?
  • Do you have proper contracts in place? For example:
    • With employees: to ensure that they will protect the information that they handle?
    • With suppliers: to ensure that they will (for example):
      • protect the information you share with them, in the same way you would;
      • use the information only for the permitted purposes; and
      • allow you to audit them to ensure compliance.

Copying a privacy policy is not a good idea for many reasons (as we saw in one of our examples above):

  • you may violate copyright laws by copying someone else’s work!
  • your business’s privacy policy is supposed to describe in writing your business’ actual personal information handling practices.
  • someone else’s policy may not be in compliance with the privacy laws of your jurisdiction.

 

4)      If I have a privacy policy on my website, do I also need an internal company policy on privacy?

Yes, you still do! These two do different things.  Generally, a website privacy policy describes how your business handles the personal information of website users and/or customers.  The internal policy, on the other hand, tells employees how their personal information is handled by their employer and how employees in turn should handle the personal information of others. 

 

5)      I want to do the right thing.  How do I actually know if my employees and company systems are adequately protecting Canadian privacy laws?

“Doing the right thing” here depends on the facts of your situation.  A company that only collects a customer’s name and phone number will have very different obligations compared to a company that collects, uses and shares sensitive personal health and financial information via a third-party platform provider. 

“Doing the right thing” usually involves a due diligence privacy audit to identify any gaps and risks. If identified, you may then need to obtain special software, implement more robust safeguards, create policies and processes and/or train staff. 

 

6)      At this stage in my business, I don’t think I can afford to hire someone to do an assessment of my business data privacy needs and risks.  Are there any DIY options?

There are excellent free resources for businesses available on the Internet.  A good first step would be to do a self-assessment for privacy law compliance using tools such as the one on the Canadian Privacy Commissioner’s website: https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-laws-in-canada/the-personal-information-protection-and-electronic-documents-act-pipeda/pipeda-compliance-help/pipeda-compliance-and-training-tools/pipeda_sa_tool_200807/.

 

7)      What is GDPR? I keep hearing about it.

GDPR is a big topic and is beyond the scope of today’s blog. It stands for the General Data Protection Regulations. 

The short answer: If your business is handling the personal information of individuals in the European Union, and at least one of the 3 scenarios below applies to your business, then GDPR may also apply to your business.  In that case, meeting the standards of Canada’s privacy laws may not be enough. 

GDPR would likely apply to your business if:

  • You are established in the EU and process personal information in the context of your business activities;
  • You process personal information in connection with your offering of goods and services (even without charge) to individuals in the EU, for example, through your website or mobile app; or
  • You process personal information in connection with the monitoring of behavior of individuals in the EU, for example through the use of cookies on your website or mobile app to collect the IP address or other personal data from individuals.

GDPR is considered to be the toughest set of privacy laws in the world.  However, as we noted above, some privacy laws in Canada are under review and could follow in the footsteps of the EU and GDPR and create one of the strictest data protection regimes in the world.  Stay tuned!

 

8)      Additional resources

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/about-the-opc/what-we-do/provincial-and-territorial-collaboration/provincial-and-territorial-privacy-laws-and-oversight/

There are many elements of privacy that an SME should be aware of including: how to obtain consent, how to train your employees and when to report data breaches to authorities.

If you have any questions, reach out to Karen Yamamoto, an experienced Privacy lawyer, directly at kmy@ecglegal.com.

 

 

Amee Sandhu has been a business lawyer in Ontario for 20 years.  She created Lex Integra Professional Corporation in 2019 and focuses exclusively on business law and corporate ethics.  

The purpose and contents of this blog is to provide information only, and it does not constitute legal advice.  Reading this blog does not create a solicitor-client relationship between the reader and Amee Sandhu, Lex Integra, or any of the guest lawyers who co-write these blogs.

 It is recommended to engage (hire) a lawyer if you require or are interested in legal advice.

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8 ways to cut down your marketing budget

It’s no secret that the marketing budget is the first thing to get cut when revenues go down. It’s ironic that marketing is the one thing that will help you build awareness and get your product or service in front of the right people to buy it. In a perfect world, you should actually be spending more money when revenues are down so you can find new ways to connect with your audience.

In reality, most businesses are working with a finite budget and you have to find ways to stretch it as far as possible. So what happens when you actually need to cut down your marketing budget?

Here are 8 things you can do to cut down your marketing budget without losing everything you have already worked hard to accomplish.

Do a Marketing audit

You should never start by making cuts. You need to start by looking at what’s working and what isn’t working. This is something you should do every year so you can start fresh, but it also helps in times where you need to figure out where to save money.

Start by writing down all of the different marketing channels you have. Once you have that list, look at the metrics associated with each channel to see how well they are performing. Take note of the customer flow – from the point they learn about your brand to the point where they click buy. Identify the things that are helping you reach your overall goals and the things that aren’t.

Ask your customers

Unless you are starting from the very beginning, chances are you have at least a few customers. Ask them what attracted them to you in the first place. Ask them what they want from a business like yours when it comes to marketing. Equally important to finding out what made them make their final decision to buy is what was holding them back (if anything).

While you are at it, why not ask them where they like to get their information and hang out online. It will give you a better picture of your audience and how to connect with them on a deeper level.

Focus on what’s trending in marketing

While it can be hard to keep up with everything that is going on in the world of marketing, try to take advantage of things where you can. For example, now that video has become “the future of content,” try building it into your strategy.  Or if a platform is favouring certain content over other types, consider adding that to your strategy where possible. Instagram Reels are a great example of this. Not only does the platform favour this type of content, if your audience is on Instagram they are likely watching Reels on a regular basis already.

Adjust your target audience niche

Make sure you are trying to reach the right people. Sometimes we can get ourselves off track thinking that we are marketing to the right audience, when in reality, there may be someone better we can connect with. This may require you to have a deeper look at your brand strategy and the buyer personas you have created. If you haven’t created those things yet… better late than never!

Create efficiencies across channels

BIG fan of this one. One of the reasons so many small businesses struggle is that the strategies that are being created are all separate pieces. If you are a solo entrepreneur or you are operating with a small team, then you will likely wear many different hats. It can be hard to stay on top of things. So, you have to work smarter, not harder with your marketing strategy. A great example of this is writing your blog content with your social media content in mind. One blog, written in the right way, can translate into multiple social media posts.

Focus on a referral or loyalty program

So nothing is ever really free, but word of mouth is pretty close to it. If you have to cut back on your marketing spend, why not get your customers who love you to spread the word? While it might cost you a discount or product for giveaways, you could also expand your customer base with your existing customers acting as brand ambassadors. Keep it simple. Don’t over-complicate it. You don’t need fancy technology to run a great referral or loyalty program!

Prioritize and then cut things

If you are, in fact, cutting things from your strategy, take everything you learned from your marketing audit and your conversations with customers and organize your list of marketing channels/tactics. Put the most effective ones at the top of the list and the least effective at the bottom. You also need to consider factors like timing. If you are looking to see faster results, then consider putting the longer-term strategies lower on the list.

Once you have your prioritized list, cut the things that are towards the bottom – or at least put them on hold (if they are long-term strategies).

Work WITH your agency

Find an agency or freelancer that understands tight budgets. There should always be a way to make it work to stretch your budget further. A great option would be to create a bit of a hybrid workflow situation where you can do some of the work and your agency can do some of it. That way you can cut back your budget, but not stop everything completely. And you still have the support of an expert team to help you get things done at a smaller budget.

If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that entrepreneurs can pivot – and we will pivot and adjust until there is nowhere to go anymore. The challenge is finding ways to work within your parameters. And that sometimes means cutting your marketing budget. So before you just blindly slash everything and burn the business you love to the ground, have a deeper look into where you should be cutting to do it with purpose.

 

Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

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Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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