A year’s worth of planning on one page
How to summarize your marketing vision into a tool you will use Having a great product or innovative service will help to stand out in a crowded space. Growing your business and becoming an industry leader is the next step. Entrepreneurs often get caught up in the busy-ness of running their business instead of setting time aside to set goals and plan ahead. Marketing might get pushed to the side of the desk or even worse, happen in a haphazard way – dabbling here, spending a bit of time there, not understanding what is generating the best value for their time. This reactive pattern continues, then at year-end, all they have is anecdotal evidence or someone’s gut ideas as to what marketing has achieved for the business that year. Sound familiar? What if you could boil down an entire marketing plan for the year onto one single page? Would you make time
Confidence-Building Tools that Move Ideas into Action
Game-changing communications skills Brands created with purpose have inspiring stories to tell. Beyond selling a product or service, these types of brands may have a purpose focused on improving society, making lives easier and healthier, or tackling an environmental problem. Often, it’s easy to frame an elevator pitch around what you do, but this misses the chance to connect with people at an emotional level. Strategic marketer Simon Sinek’s research shows how companies that ‘start with why’ instead of ‘what’ are more likely to succeed and build strong, trusted brands. With the right confidence-building tools, business leaders can reframe how they communicate purpose, moving their ideas forward into action. “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” Simon Sinek, Start With Why Sharing brand purpose confidently helps attract and connect with the ideal target audience. Once they learn about the brand’s purpose and connect with it, consumers are more likely to engage and trust these brands. Effective communication skills and
Why Become A Certified B Corporation?
Building a global economy that uses business as a force for good In 2015, Seeds Consulting became a Certified B Corporation. A growing network of businesses across the globe, ‘B Corps’ are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. It’s a standard that will not only guide the company forward as it grows, it is a beacon that pulls like-minded businesses together and sends a signal to target customers that we’re serious about using business as a force for good. [bctt tweet=”‘Whistler-based Seeds Consulting is now a Certified B Corporation, joining 150 Canadian brands “] As a curious kid who asked lots of questions, my aunt thought I would become a lawyer as I had a deep sense of what was just and fair. At my first job, I learned that business was not always what it
Whistler-based Seeds Consulting Announces Partnership with 1% for the Planet
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: Barbara Friedsam 1% for the Planet barbara@onepercentfortheplanet.org +1 (802) 496-5408 Whistler, British Columbia, December 16, 2015 — Seeds Consulting, a marketing and communications consultancy, has joined 1% for the Planet (1%), pledging to donate 1% of annual sales to support non-profit organizations focused on sustainability. ”Signing on to 1% for the Planet shows that Seeds Consulting has a strong commitment to investing in sustainability efforts,” says John Tashiro, Interim CEO. “They’re using business as a tool to engage and motivate their stakeholders while partnering with environmental organizations that complement their brand. We’re excited to welcome Seeds Consulting to our global network.” “At Seeds Consulting, we work with many passionate business leaders who play as hard as they work in British Columbia’s beautiful outdoors. Focusing our charitable giving through 1% for the Planet on environmental causes that are close to home not only aligns with our values and
Build Authentic Holiday Experiences
How to live your brand this holiday season On the busiest day in the American retail calendar, over a million of REI’s most loyal brand advocates are choosing to #optoutside and play in the outdoors instead of shopping on Black Friday. The outdoor retailer has closed every one of its 143 stores on Friday, so that the co-op’s employees can have a paid day off to head outside. This move may cost them millions in lost revenue for the short term, but members will take notice that it put purpose before profit, and that will really resonate with REI’s core customer. While tweaking seasonal campaigns to grab a piece of the holiday spirit, how about adding a dash of your brand’s authentic purpose and personality? What will make the giving season a little warmer and fuzzier, while creating a buzz with your target audience? Share Authentic Stories When people put
Lean on Me: Support for Small Business Owners to Navigate the Road Ahead
Lessons from the Whistler Open Forum Getting an enterprise off the ground is a great accomplishment. Once a business venture gets traction to grow or become a market leader, entrepreneurs are often faced with a crossroad. When business owners are uncertain which path to choose, advice and mentorship can break down barriers and offer clarity. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are cornerstones of the Canadian economy. According to a BDC study, successful SMEs have a few things in common: these businesses innovate, ask for outside advice and have a plan to measure progress. The entrepreneurs behind the most successful SMEs don’t figure everything out on their own, they often reach outside of their core team, circle of friends and family to find unbiased and industry-specific support for the next phase of their business. During Small Business Week, the Whistler Open Forum showcased these local leaders to share personal stories of how mentorship