This article previously appeared in the Grand Rapids Business Journal on September 29, 2017.

Peanut butter. Jam. Bread.

Besides a craving for a sandwich, do you think of certain brands when you think of these products? Does Jif or Smuckers pop into your head? Companies invest millions into advertising, so their brand is top of mind at the time of a buying decision. They want you to be loyal to their brand, regardless of the cost of their product.

According to Forbes, brand loyalty is the tendency for customers to favor one brand, consistently, above its competitors for goods and services, even when new purchasing opportunities appear. Companies depend on brand loyalty or awareness to influence a consumer’s buying decision.

Enter the millennial generation. Brands = corporations = distrust. Simply put, millennials don’t give a hoot about your brand.

If you are hoping to resonate with the generation born after 1980, then you need to up your game before your competition does. It’s not impossible to build loyalty among this large population that has dollars to spend, but it does take a very strategic approach that may be different than tactics that have worked for you and your brand in the past.

Integrate the ideas below and watch your engagement soar:

User-generated content

Millennials want to hear from people their own age, authentically. They don’t care what the older generation thinks or recommends — they care what their peers say, do, wear and think. They can also tell when something is contrived to gain their attention. Find the right people who really love your products and work with them to share content that is honest and engaging.

3 stars or 4 stars, it matters

Millennials are avid readers of reviews and opinions. They want it real and unedited — and they want it online. Companies need to invest heavily in digital and market with the customer, not to them. What is your plan for addressing a negative review? Are you making it really easy for customers who love your products to share that with others? Strategy here makes all the difference. Entire brands have died, because people shared negative experiences.

Get creative

This is the selfie generation. They love to be seen and heard. Meet them where they are — social media (Snapchat, Instagram and more), mobile, online. You get the picture. Leverage the creativity of your team to create new and innovative ways to share your products and create real conversations.

To quote a recent Inc. article: “Millennials may not trust corporations, but they do trust each other. And they love to share.”

My favoritist (I know it isn’t a word), time of the year is Christmas. I love everything about the holiday season – the gift wrapping, decorations, parties, food, gift-giving and more. While everyone around me is super irritated that retailers are rolling out the holiday marketing, I could not be more excited.

As a small business, the holidays are a great time for us to get creative with our marketing. Here are my recommendations for making the most out of the holiday season. Also, it is already October so you need to get cracking on the planning.

1. Blogging. Publish a gift guide that is specific to your industry. Even if we aren’t in the consumer goods industry, 8THIRTYFOUR still loves to give recommendations on what is the hottest in professional gifts. Last year we focused on Grand Rapids’ businesses. 
2. Greeting cards. It isn’t cliche’, so don’t say that. Work with a designer to capture your company brand in a holiday greeting. If you really want to stand out from the heaps of cards businesses receive, then consider a Thanksgiving or New Year’s mailer.
3. Give back. Pick a local charity, cause or create your own. Engage your clients and give them the opportunity to partner with you. For example you could do a gift drive or sponsor multiple families in need. Coordinate all the logistics and make it easy for your clients to participate if they choose to.
4. Gifts. As a small business we invest in client holiday gifts every year. Pick a theme like “Made in Michigan” or “Made in Grand Rapids” or “Holiday Cocktails.” If you don’t have time to coordinate, then work with a local company like, Russo’s International Market to create a custom gift basket.
5. Party! Host a get together for clients, partners and employees. Pick a date and time that is going to be convenient during the busy holiday season. Maybe instead of afternoon or evening, you host a breakfast with all of the fixings.

These are some pretty easy ways to engage in the holidays, if you feel like getting even more creative then give us a call. We like to think big, like real big.

Recently Anheuser-Busch released a statement on the NFL ‘kneeling’ controversy and in 110 or so words said absolutely nothing.

At Anheuser-Busch we have a long heritage of supporting the institutions and values that have made America so strong. That includes our armed forces and the national anthem as well as diversity, equality and freedom of speech.

We proudly employ over 1,100 military veterans and we work every day to create an inclusive environment for all of our employees. Because only together can we achieve our dream of bringing people together for a better world.

We have many long-term sports partnerships, including our NFL sponsorship, and while we may not agree on everything, we still believe in the power of sport to bring people together and overcome their differences.

Other well-known companies such as Bose, Papa Johns, Ford and Nike also released generic statements. Check them out in this Business Insider article.

While I don’t fault these companies for towing the line and making the choice to not alienate sections of their customer base, I do think it is time for them to actually say or do something.

Whether you make a choice based off your company’s core values or you reach out to your customers to decide how you should react; just do something.

Anheuser-Busch reached out to customers for their feedback by setting up a toll-free number that allowed the public to call in and voice their opinions. These calls will undoubtedly be the decision maker on whether they pull their sponsorship of the NFL or not.

A brand needs to make the decision that is best in line with their culture, because if you don’t stay true to that then everything suffers. Let’s face it, you will never make everyone happy and the surest way to fail is to try and do just that.

What do you think?

Phew…this weather…am I right?

I am beginning to think sweating is my new way of life.

The weather certainly seems to be symbolic of where we are as a country right now – chaotic, confused and heated.

Business & Brand Activism

8THIRTYFOUR is a progressive agency, that is something we have never shied away from, and we find it important to take a stance on issues we believe in. Hell yes, Colin Kaepernick and all of the other NFL players should be kneeling. We will take this stance any day.

This isn’t always common practice for businesses, as it can, in some instances affect your revenue stream.

However, the impact on revenue can be a positive one, if done appropriately.

NFL, Racial Injustice, Bathroom Laws, and More – When to Take a Stand?

When is it appropriate for a business to take a stand? A Fast Company article on brand activism made the following points:

• When brands take action on issues their customers care about, it fosters an emotional connection.
• Brands understand the value of following their employees’ lead on issues, both because it helps with retention and recruitment directly and because being known for running a respectful, thoughtful workplace.
• Taking a stand is polarizing, and could turn off or even drive away potential customers who don’t agree with you.
• It’s important for companies engaging in brand activism to be seen as leaders in their industry, not followers.

As a business, this is an important conversation to have internally. We are experiencing an incredibly divisive time in our country and this is leading to more businesses such as Apple, Starbucks and Target issuing public statements on the “bathroom law”, LGBTQ rights, marriage equality, racial injustice (NFL dialogue) and more.

I’m not sure businesses can afford to stay quiet. What do you think?

You’ve heard the saying “evolve or die”, well it couldn’t be more true. If you are a business you can’t continue to do things the same way year after year because you’ve always done it that way. No one cares what you want or what makes you comfortable, if you don’t put your customers front and center you won’t have a business to run.

Take Toys R’ Us for example, the company just declared bankruptcy which has taken a lot of us (ok, me) by surprise. I don’t have kids, so I haven’t kept up with the retailer as I have no need to buy toys…besides checking out the latest in Star Wars action figures. So…the news came as a surprise to me until I started reading the reasons behind it.

1. The company was resistant to e-commerce. To this I say, know your audience. If I was a mom, there is no way in hell I am bringing my kid into a toy store when I can easily order it online and avoid the inevitable temper tantrum.
2. All of your competitors are in the digital space, refusing to compete is just idiotic. If you want to compete with Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc. then you have to be in the space they are in.
3. Brick and mortar is becoming extinct, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for it but it can’t be the only facet of your business.
4. If your audience is moms or young familes then you need to consider their lifestyle, buying patterns – you know do the market research.
5. A quick look at the company’s social media revealed that there are a lot of rogue Facebook pages out there. It would appear there is no company wide policy for individual stores. On top of that, several posts all publish at once, there is no strategy around it. On September 15th, 3 posts went live at 9:00 a.m. – how the hell does that make sense?

The company had so much opportunity to get it right. I mean you are a TOY STORE, what could be more fun to market? I’m talking video, charity outreach, Facebook live, Instagram, Pinterest, influencer outreach, celebrity endorsements…the jingle “I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys R’ Us kid…” still plays in my head.

Toys R’ Us needs to grow up and fast. I hope they can turn this around.

The definition of core values according to dictionary.com is the below:

Core values are the fundamental beliefs of a person or organization. … Core values also help companies to determine if they are on the right path and fulfilling their goals by creating an unwavering guide.

Just this week we rolled out 8THIRTYFOUR core values. As we move into our 10th year, it is important that our small team is on the same page on what the agency embodies and what our approach is.

I’ve never been one that thought defining a vision or core values was important, honestly it sounded pretty cliche’ to me.

Here is why I was wrong:

1. If your staff doesn’t know what you stand for, then how are they supposed to embody it? For example, one of our core values is “We are not assholes.” That means we go above and beyond for our clients, are respectful of each other, approach each day with a positive attitude and go out of our way to make others feel welcome.
2. Our tagline is “It’s About You.” We do a great job communicating this to our clients as an outward facing message, however the message you communicate internally is just as important.
3. Core values build camaraderie. We asked each staff member to display 8THIRTYFOUR’s core values at their desk. It serves as a reminder of what is expected and what their job performance will be measured on. If an employee doesn’t live and display those core values then you know there is an affect to the overall culture.

Core values have given 8THIRTYFOUR a measurement for all future employees and clients. Once you have your core values defined then you can build the rest of your plan for a year, 5 years and 10 years.

Is it too easy to land a job? And I am not talking about those companies that do 6 hour interviews – that is ridiculous and I am not sure how it is legal.

When you first meet someone they say first impressions are everything, however I really think the second, third, fourth and so on are more important. When interviewing someone, they most often can present themselves well for an hour and usually another hour at the second interview. What really matters is how the person will perform once hired. I’m not telling you what you don’t already know.

An interesting idea was presented to me the other day about job “tryouts.” What does this mean? Well, as explained to me, the individual is given 3 months to perform the job duties as outlined, with very specific and clear measurables that need to be completed or achieved each week. At the end of 3 months they are evaluated on all of those metrics.

As part of this, you have the option to start the person at 30 hours a week versus full time and then they would work their way into full time. Instead of celebrating a person for being hired, you celebrate the individual for earning their place at the company and showing their true value.

Some of the benefits of this approach:

• If an employee truly earns their place at the company, they feel invested.
• Expectations are very clear and milestones give the employee something to work towards and achieve.
• There is no sense of entitlement. They are not entitled to the job, unless they earn it.
• Turnover is reduced.
• The employer truly gets to know the employee before they are offered a full time spot at their company. Many times an individual looks great on paper and in reality they are not a fit for your culture.

I’m not saying this is the right approach, I just find this concept very interesting.

What do you think?

I’m sure I have written on this before, but I don’t care. It’s my blog and I’ll write if I want to.

My firm of 10 years just moved into a new office space, launched a new logo and is undergoing a restructure as it relates to how we operate. It is scary as shit.

Is it like this with all business owners? You only see what you are doing wrong? You can’t seen your way through to the other side?

I carry this baggage around with me and it is exhausting. I’m working through it, I’m not an idiot – I know it isn’t healthy. If you are a business owner and happen to be one of the 33 people that subscribe, then listen up:

1. You are stronger than you think you are. Life keeps throwing curveballs and you adapt.
2. Failure is part of your story. Unfortunately, your stage is much bigger and you have an audience. Show them the grace in which you handle adversity. You got this.
3. You are not unique. There are others out there with your same issues, struggles and worries. Maybe this gives you little comfort, but it sure as hell makes me feel like I’m not alone.
4. Respect yourself. Be nice to you. It’s ok to have a bad day, but get your ass up and fix it the next day.

If you need more reassurance, you can bribe me with wine.

I made the decision to go see a business coach/counselor/therapist – whatever you want to call it….and it was the best. Granted, I’ve gone once but I’m clearly already cured. Jokes aside, I’ve written plenty of times about feeling alone as a business owner.

It took a swift kick in the ass by my managing director to go to the appointment. I mean, I could keep whining on my blog or I could do something about it. Trust me, I seriously considered the first option.

Here is what I want you to remember:

• Ask for help. Whether it is your leadership team, your mom, your dog – it doesn’t matter. Just ask.
• It’s ok to go talk to someone. It’s even better if they are a trained professional.
• Listen to them. If they tell you to get a hobby – then maybe try cooking, reading or wine. If they tell you to get a personal assistant – then do it.

Also apply here.

Let me repeat, it is ok to ask for help.

Is gratitude lost in todays society, never to be found again? Am I jaded in thinking that younger professionals want things handed to them without first working for it? It would seem the self-worth of millennials is much higher than others perceive it to be. Is this anyone else’s experience?

I want to share a few pieces of advice for young professionals from an old 38 year old.

1. See a need and fill it. Don’t wait for your boss or work buddy to ask for help, offer. If they need something and you are able to help, then do it. Think of others before yourself. This doesn’t mean you become someones doormat, it means you make yourself irreplaceable. A well-rounded professional is self-aware and observant of those around them.
2. Say thanks. I don’t care if it is the minuscule thing, say thank you. A server takes you order, say thank you. You are praised by a colleague, boss or whomever – say thank you. Those two words are so powerful and should be the most used in your vocabulary.
3. Self-reflect. Recognize and acknowledge the opportunities that have been afforded to you. It is so hard as human beings to not take things for granted. Some of the worst bosses I ever had, taught me the most valuable professional lessons. Really reflect on where you are in your career, the culture you exist in and the other individuals around you. Being reflective and thoughtful can save you a lot of headaches in the future.
4. Learn by example. Who in your company or professional circle do you admire or wish to emulate? What has been their career path? Find out their story, the hard work they put in to get where they are and then learn from it.
5. Be patient. You will not know everything overnight and you are not going to be a leader by saying you are. That isn’t how it works, wouldn’t that be nice if it was? I have spent the last 10 years of my life growing 834 and I failed a lot and pretty spectacularly, if I do say so myself. Before 834 I had 2 great jobs and 2 really terrible jobs. I learned from both and better understood my capabilities and weaknesses.

What is most important for young professionals is perspective. Your first job out of college is your opportunity to prove yourself and work your ass off. You will not be handed anything, you will not be coddled and there will not be “safe places” where you can feel feelings.

Regardless of how great you think you are, it isn’t your opinion of yourself that matters. It is how other professionals and management see you and that, is completely up to you.