Motivating Mum

I was recently listening to Kylie Oliver of the Geelong Advertiser talking about contacting the media and she said something really interesting; to, if possible, send mail to a journo as opposed to emailing. Even better, send the letter with a little something to make it stand out.

Kylie Oliver, Geelong Advertiser

She assured us she wasn’t just looking for sweets or freebies but looking out for us. There are thousands of emails bouncing around every day and how many of us get mail anymore? Other than bills, that is.

She was so right! Something so simple and yet many of us have forgotten that we have a great service available to us that can get our pitches to journos and media, with very little competition – and we can make it stand out way better than a capitalised subject line.

I then received a letter in the mail from Big 4 Bellarine that confirmed my fast-changing beliefs.

This wasn’t a media release – it was an invitation to an event – but how many of us even rely on email for that? I know Big 4 Bellarine could have, I certainly wasn’t expecting their beautifully branded and presented invitation in the mail.

But boy, when I received it, it played a big hand in leading me to decide these are a professional business, serious about building their presence and not afraid to spend a little to money to ensure a good return. I was sold. On receipt of one letter!

So yes, it takes time to put these things together and yes, it costs money but it’s worth it! Pick and choose where you want to make your mark and start licking stamps.

Cheers! Alli x

Take a look at this pic below:

Photo taken by fave Instagrammer of mine, @wolfmanchu

Would you give money to this man? I instantly knew I would when I saw it and I also know the person who took the picture did too.

Do you know why? Because he has bridged the gap between himself and his ‘target market’ by using humour. He has ensured we connect with him.

He also differentiated himself from others by offering something in return – a laugh. Something original and, by the looks of the message, relevant too. He didn’t pressure, badger or make people feel sorry for him – often the go to for people begging.

Pretty good lesson in business, don’t you think?

Cheers, Alli x

p.s. would you have donated? Leave a comment below as I would love to know.

Walking through my local supermarket recently and something jumped out at me from the shelves. So much so that I had to stop and take a picture. Can you see what I saw?

Now I don’t make cakes (although I am partial to eating them) and I don’t even have a product-based service but Donna Hay has done such an amazing job of packaging her cakes that I couldn’t help but stop and admire the clever work.

So, what was it about these products that stood out for me?

1. The choice of block colour I thought was inspired. Not only does it make the boxes stand out amongst all the other many-coloured items but, when stacked side-by-side, it makes it a brand to contend with. It completely draws the eye.
2. The simplicity of design and choice of colour not only represent Donna Hay perfectly but to me, makes the product look like a better quality product. I would also expect it to be higher priced.
3. I haven’t taken notice of that many cake boxes before but don’t they all seem to follow the same design/colouring? As if there is a cake box rule? It’s taken Donna Hay to realise that there are no set rules to follow and it’s all about thinking outside of the…er, box!

And the lesson us mums in biz can take from Donna Hay?

Well, you can have exactly the same product as everyone else but sometimes it only takes packaging to make you really stand out. If you know the places where your products will be sold/displayed – or even if you have dreams – then visit those shelves, take a picture and then figure out how your product will pop.

Cheers! Alli x

It seriously is a case of life imitating art at the moment. I recently wrote a post called Experience Trumps Assumption after watching an episode of Oprah and now it’s The Amazing Race Australia I’m getting my reference material from!

So I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the messages people use as reference for their business interactions and how these can affect they way we do things – and even come across to others.

Take The Amazing Race Australia. There was a couple who’s motto was Focus, Believe, Achieve and they rolled it out probably 15 times an episode (or so the editors would have us think). Great motto right? Positive, go getting. But, in this situation, focus, believe, achieve meant they were so focussed on winning their motto led them to do it at all costs – at the expense of others in the race.  

Again, no problem right? It’s a game and you should try and win at all costs. I completely agree that this is as valid a way to win a race as any – but the outcome was that they turned all the other contestants against them in their attempt to achieve their goal and it was actually the other contestants that ended up being instrumental in having them ousted from the game. In the end, their motto bit them on the butt.

My learning from this was that it’s okay to have a message guide you but you need to be sure that it fits the situation you’re in. Anyone who has seen The Amazing Race knows the best way to win is build friendships and help each other out. If you’re going to go out on your own in the way this team did – you’d better be sure that you win every time.

So, how does this fit business? Well, my question to you is what messages are guiding you and do they fit what you’re trying to achieve? Let’s say we’re talking about selling kids shoes and your aim is to sell shoes. A mother’s aim is not to buy shoes – her aim is to provide her child with footwear that will last, will protect her child’s feet etc.

Knowing this, you can determine that your message will be that you want to make sure that all kids in Australia have hard-wearing shoes that protect their feet. Using this message, you can then develop marketing, pr, social media messages – hell, you can become an expert in children’s feet and how best they can be protected and reach a mother so much better.

And who would you rather buy from? Someone who’s aim is to sell shoes or someone who is as interested in your children’s feet as you are?

I have another example, this is from the UK. I know of a business who’s stated aim was that they wanted to help mums in business. But when it came to refunding an event they had to cancel they informed a mum that the refund had been prioritised at the bottom of her long to-do list. What message do you think was really guiding this woman?

So I guess, what I’m trying to say is really think about the message/s you’re using to run your business. Sometimes we haven’t even thought about it and may be shocked to find it isn’t in keeping with the brand we’re trying to project. Make sure it fits with the market you’re targeting and make it from the heart.

And yes, I do watch too much TV!

Cheers, Alli x

Image provided by SmokedSalmon

When I started Motivating Mum four or so years ago I had never heard of branding, let alone SEO, social media… you get the idea!

For those of you in the same position as I was, branding is what a person thinks and feels about your business. It’s kind of a tough one as it’s slightly intangible but an example would be that I feel that Coles is clean, has better quality items and is expensive and Woolworths is more down-market and cares more about price savings than aesthetics.

Now this isn’t necessarily true of these businesses but because of how they present themselves to me this is what I feel about them and this is how I interact with them. If other people feel the same, then they will choose Woolworths on price and Safeway for a nicer shopping experience, where money isn’t an option.

So, how to create a brand for your business?

1. Determine the problem your product/service solves and the target market this appeals to.

2. Research what your market needs to think or feel about your business to enable them to feel it is for them i.e. affordable, trustworthy, eco friendly, luxury? (Just choose one main market to focus on – if you choose more than one your brand can be confused as you try to be all things to all people i.e imagine if Tiffanys tried to attract a different market by introducing a rewards card).

3. Pinpoint your values (you can do my quick values game here) and ensure they are reflected in what you’re trying to achieve. The closer your brand is to your values, the easier it will be to communicate as it will come naturally.

4. Develop keywords for your brand to keep you on track. The more natural these keywords are to you, the easier you’ll be able to ensure they permeate through all you say and do. Some of Motivating Mum’s keywords are approachable, affordable, friendly, always willing to help.

5. Break down all the ways in which you communicate with your market i.e. website, flyers, business cards, social media, logo, your general manner, your dress, even your signature sign off. Do they reflect your keywords? For example, one of my keywords is friendly and my email sign off is always a Cheers! with a x. When deciding everything from colour of your website to the profile pic on your bio, compare them to your keywords and ask yourself ‘Does this say (insert keyword here)?

6. Complete reviews every now and then to ensure your business is saying what you think it is. Often, people can believe they are projecting one brand, when in actual fact, the target market is receiving another message. And continue to review your target market also – something like the credit crunch etc might change your messages to them.

In a world full of competition, there aren’t many things you can use to differentiate yourself but brand is certainly one of them. Develop a brand that goes straight to the heart of who your target market are and what they want and you could be hugely successful.

Cheers! Alli x