demo-10-24
demo-25-50
demo-50-100
demo-251
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
November 29, 2023
Hope your Thanksgiving turkey has finished digesting because you want to run (not walk) to our next Inside the Process with guest speaker Kelly Loudermilk. It’s all about how to build a culture of gratitude for your employees and customers — and it’s happening today at 9 a.m. PST/12 p.m. EST. Register for the Zoom here!
Hot off the SMB press this week:
STARTER PACK
No matter how you think of marketing, the basics generally boil down to the four P’s: product (or service — it’s just missing a significant letter), price, place, and promotion. And that last one is generally how your potential customers learn about your business in the first place.
Whether it’s through blogs, advertisements, or Google searches, promotion is all about getting your company’s name out there. The more promotional avenues you explore, the more eyes there are on your business — and if you can catch the right people’s attention, that can translate to more customers (and more sales).
And there’s one type of promotion that you may not be exploring: personal branding. More specifically, your employees’ personal brands.
Personal brands are an invaluable way to build your business’ visibility and credibility. Branding fosters trust through thought leadership, actionable advice, and like-minded camaraderie. And when people trust you, they’re more likely to believe your recommendations over the ads they may see online — that’s generally why affiliate and influencer marketing is so powerful. So, whether your employees build personal brands as a side job or for simple enjoyment, empowering your team to develop their own brands will only benefit your company.
👉 Want to establish some ground rules for your employees’ personal brand endeavors? Feel free to use our Personal Branding Policy template (created in collaboration with top LinkedIn influencer Brianna Doe), which outlines everything your team should know about what’s cool (and not so cool) to do when building their personal brands online. Make any edits that are important to your business, and it’s ready to share with your team.
Want more templates to help you build your business playbook? Check out our entire template archive of free, multimedia-enhanced, and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Get a demo.
SAY MY NAME
Personal brands will take a little work.
If you’re a business owner or leader with an online presence (who doesn’t, these days?), you have a personal brand. Even if your LinkedIn is practically bare-bones and your Twitter X account has a single tweet about “squirles” — your socials are how the wider world knows you, whether you like it or not.
So, if you’re going to be online, you might as well manage how you’re branding yourself. Especially since personal branding can positively impact your business — from building trust with your company’s target audience to presenting your company’s unique culture to potential customers and employees alike.
And while you may never reach Weird Al-levels of fame, you can still build a significant community of like-minded business leaders, industry acquaintances, and prospective customers — as long as you can avoid these common mistakes of building personal brands:
1. Forgetting to develop your value proposition.
When you think about your favorite LinkedIn creators, you might remember their thought leadership best — that’s probably why you follow them in the first place! But starting your personal brand the same way would be a misstep.
Like when building your company’s brand for the first time, you have to start with a brand strategy. Why should people follow you? Take the time to establish what unique value or perspective you provide before jumping into posting.
2. Being inconsistent.
Inconsistency isn’t just a matter of how often you post — it’s about how you’re presenting yourself. Are you posting with the same values and opinions every time? Are you writing in a friendly tone one week and then shifting to stern and serious the next?
Consistency builds trust — and inconsistency undermines that. Make sure that no matter how you engage with your personal brand, you act to match the impressions you’re creating.
👉 Learn more about common personal brand mistakes.
TRAINUAL TIPS & TRICKS
Did someone say “bulk”!?
Yeah, we did. We know that having bulk options in the app makes your Trainual heart skip a beat, so we added more. And this time, we’re giving you bulk actions on the Content page.
That means you can export, move, archive, and delete as many subjects as you can click — all at once. Is it the perfect time to get your Content page ultra-organized? We think so.
How can I manage subjects in bulk?
Head to the Content page and hover over any subject to make a checkbox appear on the left-hand side. Continue to navigate around your Content page, mark checkboxes for subjects you’d like to manage in bulk, and choose your action from the pop-up menu.
👉 Try bulk actions now. (New to Trainual? Get a demo.)
PREVENTING PROFIT PLUNGES
The only thing taking the “happy” out of this holiday season is the anticipation of a sink in sales that almost immediately follows the merriness and cheer. While it may feel like you have no control over the inevitable halt in sales momentum, you can actually take advantage of this period to implement a strategy that boosts sales in the long term. How? Here are 13 methods you’ll want to try:
1. Create a long-term sales plan.
When you lay out a long-term business plan (instead of focusing on monthly or quarterly strategies) you can plan around expected slumps. This gives you the headway for smart resource allocation, inventory management, and operational efficiency — helping you identify and mitigate potential risks and pivot quickly to unexpected challenges.
When writing your plan for the post-holiday slump, create it around your main goal of improving sales. That means you’ll likely include things like the pain points and objectives your customers are facing, the products and services you intend to push, and your projected costs and earnings.
2. Pivot to a post-holiday sale.
While your competitors may pull back on holiday offers after the season has passed, you can keep your holiday sales momentum running into the new year with discounts, sales, and limited-time offers. This gives you an edge over your competition to snag those customers who haven't exhausted their EOY budget.
🔥 Tip: There’s usually a lot less website traffic during the holidays, so you may want to consider directing marketing efforts towards social media.
3. Foster customer loyalty.
Since business might be a bit slower, it’s the perfect time to double down on your sparkling customer service and create raving fans of your company. It’s also a good time to invest in customer loyalty and referral programs, which can continue well past the slump.
