Managing Virtual Teams to Stay Connected & Productive Remotely

Today’s work landscape looks very different from even a few years ago. The traditional office setup has given way to a new era of remote work. Green Apple transitioned into a remote office when the pandemic hit in 2020, and we have thrived as a virtual team. Our core team members currently live in Nashville, Tennessee and Charlotte, North Carolina. We have a large group of freelancers who we lovingly refer to as “The Orchard” and the majority of them live outside of our home base in Nashville, including a few in other countries outside of the U.S.

Despite the distance that separates us, we’ve found ways to stay connected. This blog post highlights some of the practices we’ve put in place that not only keep our team cohesive but allow us to flourish in an evolving work environment.

Tools for Productivity and Connection

We use several tools that are critical to helping us communicate seamlessly while also organizing our workflow and processes. Basecamp is a great collaboration tool that includes several essential communication features. Features we find helpful in Basecamp include message boards, to-do lists, file storage, scheduling, and real-time chat. We use BC to streamline workflows, track projects, and communicate with each other regarding specific projects. 

We find it most helpful to have tools that allow our team to collaborate in real-time, and Google Workspace is great for this. We use Google Drive for blog writing, Google Sheets for social content, and Gmail to communicate with our team and our clients. Google Workspace tools make it possible for us to work together with a colleague or a client even if we’re not near them. To keep the memes and gifs flowing, we keep in touch on a team Discord, and our Content Marketing Specialist recently began experimenting with Airtable for social media planning and deployment.

Zoom is our go-to video conferencing tool and we use it daily. While remote work offers incredible flexibility, it can be so helpful to meet for the occasional check in meeting to ensure our team is on track. The platform offers several membership plans tailored to different user needs so you can choose what will work best for your team and budget.

Bi-Weekly Team Meetings

Keeping your team connected and communicating is crucial when working remotely. The core team at Green Apple meets twice a week on Zoom for an hour to check in and strategize about the days, weeks, and months to come for our clients. We typically start off each call with some personal catch-up and stories, then dive into business. It’s not unusual for someone to toss out a “thank you” to a fellow team member or give kudos for a job well done. Our bi-weekly Zoom meetings also provide us with an opportunity to check in with each other to ensure everyone is feeling balanced and supported in their role. (By the way: if you’ve been feeling like your Zoom meetings run too long or feel disorganized, we gathered a few tips to help make them even more effective.)

In-Person Connection
Since most of us work and live in Nashville, we also schedule times to work together in person. We have a corporate membership at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, a dynamic, collaborative space where we can gather together in person. Whether it’s meeting up with the whole team or a quick face-to-face with just a few of us, having a designated place where we can work side by side is incredibly helpful. 

Our team also volunteers together! We’ve built a connection to our community through our volunteer partnership with Thistle Farms, an organization that supports women in need of housing, employment, and support. Our volunteer sessions there have also helped strengthen our bond as a virtual team. CEO Samantha Pyle also recently implemented Volunteer Time Off. VTO incentivizes giving back to the community by setting aside time and financial compensation for working at local nonprofits. When coupled with a company’s mission to create a thoughtful work environment, VTO can boost an organization’s reputation and culture. It’s certainly made an impact on all of us at Green Apple and continues to serve as a great bonding experience for our team.

Developing and Evolving As A Team

Green Apple’s partnership approach allows us to adapt our services for clients as their businesses evolve, and we’ve taken the same approach with our team. As the work landscape continues to change, we will continue to evolve alongside it. Being part of a virtual team provides all of us with an opportunity to redefine what it means to be cohesive and productive in the digital age. Remote work doesn’t have to be a barrier to success, it just needs the right strategies and tools in place. If you want a strong and connected team to audit your website, social media presence, or marketing approach, reach out to us. We’ll develop a bespoke strategy to highlight your brand and help grow your audience. 

It’s A Numbers Game: How Quantitative Data Drives Successful PR Efforts

Numbers don’t lie. For better or for worse, this rings true across brands and entire industries. At Green Apple Strategy, we rely on hard and fast data to tell us what’s working for our clients and show us opportunities for improvement. 

When it comes to small business public relations, finding relevant, quantitative data can take some work. After all, how do you measure feelings about your brand?

This post explores five ways numbers can help you build a favorable brand reputation while working toward increasing your small business’s chances of being featured in news and media outlets. 

What’s the difference between Public Relations and Marketing?

Public relations and marketing can often be confused by the general public. But as professionals, you and I know better. If you need a crash course in understanding the differences—and how public relations (PR) is great for business—stay tuned, and I’ll fill you in! 

Marketing typically involves some type of paid effort. Think advertisements, special events to get the word out about a particular product or service, promotional merch, and more. Whereas PR is exactly what it sounds like; building relationships with the public. In most cases, that will be your customers, community members, and decision-makers. 

Five Ways to Use Data to Get Noticed

The first step to getting noticed by media outlets is to actively make a name for your small business. PR tactics like posting on social media, authoring a blog or white paper, and speaking publicly about your business or industry create a connection with your audience and position your brand as a go-to industry leader. Here are five steps to grow your audience and improve your chances of being seriously considered when reaching out to news and media outlets.  

1. Grow Your Email List

Email can be a numbers game. The more high-quality email subscribers you have, the higher your open rates. What do I mean by “high quality?” Simply put, people who have opted in and have good email addresses. Strike a balance between staying top of mind and sending emails too frequently, which can lead to members of your audience unsubscribing.

Quantitative data can be helpful here, providing hard and fast numbers regarding open rates, bounces, and how many subscribers enjoyed your email messaging enough to click through.

2. Think Social

When planning your PR strategy for social media content, pay attention to your reach and engagement. Note how many followers are seeing your content as compared to how many followers you have. Next, note the percentage of likes, comments, and shares your content receives. Higher impressions and engagement rates will help your brand become better known within your community.

3. React Publicly

Is there a newsworthy or trending topic that relates to your industry? Establish yourself as a subject matter expert by sharing your thoughts and relevant experiences with your email list and on your social media accounts. The key is to remain professional, no matter how passionate you are about the topic.

Share your thoughts at times when your audience is already on social media to increase your reach and potential engagement.

4. Get Published

We’ve established that you have ideas, thoughts, and opinions to share on newsworthy content related to your field. So, why not craft that narrative into a story? But, instead of sharing it with as many print and digital newspapers and magazines as possible, cast a very intentional, strategic net. Yes, this is a situation where higher numbers will not do you any favors.

Think about who you know in the media business and start there. Or research publications relevant to your field and send them a well-thought-out email sharing your story idea. In this case, a narrow focus on the right outlets will drive more results than a mass approach. 

Another viable option is to self-publish by starting a blog. There are SEO benefits here too. Plus, you can get a solid count of clicks on a blog post to see how your content resonates with readers. 

5. Start Local

Here is where numbers and location can be on your side. You’ve done the work of building a social media following and a high-quality email list. You’ve shared valuable content with your digital community. Now, pitch your ideas to local media outlets. Be sure to share the numbers of followers you have and where you have already been published. Again, this helps to establish your brand as the subject matter expert, making it clear that you are THE best choice to speak on specific topics related to your field. 

Starting with local channels is a great way to gain experience with media appearances. Plus, there’s usually less competition when compared to larger, national outlets – a bonus when you’re getting started. 

Partner with a Professional Agency

Thankfully, it’s a myth that only large corporations can afford to bring on a professional agency. Our team is well-versed in understanding the needs and budgets of small businesses. We’d love to help you create a data-backed public relations plan that enables you to grow and connect with your audience. Contact us today to start the conversation!

How to Request Customer Feedback and Testimonials

woman in apron showing a tablet to a customer

When you run a successful business, your customers have stories and experiences to share about your company. Their feedback can provide valuable ideas for improvement and reassurance about what you’re doing right. But it can be difficult to access this valuable information without taking an intentional approach to collecting it. How can you ask customers for reviews in a way that’s efficient, effective, and provides the feedback you need? 

In our experience, it’s best to do so with a plan, armed with the right questions and tools to gather the data you need. This strategic approach can help your team make the most of customer feedback and that the information you gather does, in fact, help your business grow.
 

Make a Plan 

Before you ask customers for reviews, take some time to develop an intentional plan. The most important piece of this step is determining what you want to gain from gathering customer feedback: 

  • Are you curious about how a particular product is performing? 
  • Do you want to know if customers are happy with the service they are receiving? 
  • Are you ready to take action on a known customer pain point but unsure of where to start? 

Additionally, consider why you want to gather customer feedback. Is your goal to see how you stack up against competitors or to make changes to your product or process?  In other words, decide what action you will take with the data once you have it. Knowing what data you want to gather will impact how you ask customers for reviews.  

Ask the Right Questions 

Once you know what information you want, you can determine how you are going to ask for it. Asking the right questions is key to garnering the data you need for positive growth. 

For example, if you want to know about a specific product, craft open-ended questions that are specifically about that product rather than about the business as a whole. 

“Why did you purchase our nighttime moisturizer?” will get you more precise answers than “Why did you purchase our skincare?” Even “Did you like our skincare?” only yields a “yes” or “no” answer, which closes off the conversation as well as your ability to learn more about the customer’s experience. 

Finally, only ask questions that are absolutely necessary. Once you have a customer’s attention, it’s hard not to try and glean as much information as possible. However, you’re more likely to collect actionable data if you keep questions short and clear. Focus on getting the information you truly need instead of all the data you could ever possibly desire. After all, you can and should survey customers multiple times to get a broader sense of their overall experience with your business.
   

Choose the Best Tools

There are many cost-effective tools you can use to effectively ask customers to share their reviews. The ones that are best for your business will depend on your resources, both human and capital, as well as the demographics of the customers you want to reach. 

Email

Sending a follow-up email after a purchase or service is an effective way to engage customers. When soliciting feedback via email, use a strong, enticing subject line and consider offering an incentive for participating. Pay attention to your email signature, too. Sending it from a team member instead of “Customer Service” will yield better results and provide a personal touch. 

Social Media 

Sharing polls on social media is an effective, efficient, and even fun way to get your customers involved in sharing feedback. The polls that perform best are short, sweet and to the point. 

SMS

With higher open rates than email, SMS messaging is one of the most powerful ways to request customer feedback. Many people are never more than a few feet from their phone, meaning they will see your text in real time and may reply just as quickly. Several of our clients use survey platforms such as Loyalty Loop or Delighted to capture customer feedback after a service call or other customer interaction. These platforms also offer the opportunity to track customer satisfaction over time through a Net Promotor Score data point.

Feedback Buttons and Forms  

Customers may want to leave reviews on their own terms. To facilitate this, you can add feedback options to your website or blog. On a website, an easily accessible feedback form allows testimonials to be shared at any time. Similarly, placing a “Was this helpful?” button at the bottom of a blog post can tell you if your content is relevant to your audience. 

More Pro Tips

Your customers are your most valuable asset; without them, you don’t have a business. With this in mind, be sure to thank them for their feedback. And don’t be overly concerned about negative reviews. Addressing these in a polite and professional manner will demonstrate to other customers that you’re willing to engage when something goes wrong. Simple, effective communication can go a long way in turning an unhappy customer into one that gives you rave reviews. 

Get Actionable Customer Feedback That Works

Green Apple Strategy uses responsive, well-designed tools to help our clients gather and analyze essential data points. If you need more insight into your customer experience, our team can provide you with the right data to make key decisions. Reach out to us today to see how we can help you gather customer feedback in a way that positively impacts your business. 

How to Harness the Power of Storytelling in Event Marketing

Let’s be honest… it takes a lot of time, attention, and energy to plan and execute an event. The last thing you want is to waste your resources on an event that falls flat. After planning and executing dozens of events for clients over the years, we’ve learned some of the most important best practices for creating an effective and unforgettable event. Harnessing the power of storytelling is one of the foundational pillars of effective event marketing.   

Building your event around a compelling story is beneficial for several reasons. It makes promoting your event easier by creating a more intriguing hook for guests or media outlets. It unlocks creative ideas and opportunities to engage attendees. It is easier to promote, and it creates a more memorable experience for attendees. Ultimately, it enables you to connect with your audience on a deeper level.

How to Harness the Power of Storytelling in Event Marketing

Here are some specific tips and ideas that marketers can use to harness the power of storytelling in event marketing:

Start with a Strong Story

The first step is to come up with a strong story that will resonate with your audience. You need to decide on the core idea behind your event. The “story” of your event should be relevant to your brand, your values, and your overall blueprint for your brand story.

Here are a few questions to consider: 

  • What is the overall purpose of the event? What messages or emotions do you want to convey to the attendees?
  • What are the core themes or ideas associated with your brand or organization?
  • Are there any key moments or events in your company’s history that could be used to tell a story?

Make it Personal for Your Audience

Helping your audience see themselves in the story is an important factor. The events that resonate the most are ones that allow you to connect with the audience on an emotional level. When your attendees can see themselves in the story, they’re more likely to remember and enjoy the event.  

Creating an event that resonates with your audience can be challenging because so much of your attention is focused on your marketing goals. Taking time to ask these questions can help create an event that personally resonates with attendees: 

  • What is the target audience for the event? What are their interests and pain points?
  • What could make it a must-attend experience for your target audience?
  • How can you improve their experience or their life through the event.

Engage All the Senses

Visuals can be a powerful way to tell a story, but it’s equally important to think beyond visuals and incorporate elements that appeal to sight, sound, touch, taste, and even smell. In the iconic words of Marshall McLuhan, “The medium is the message.” The way you deliver your story determines its impact on your participants, so have fun with it! 

Here are a few ways you can create an “immersive experience” that supports the story you want to tell:

  • What emotions do you want attendees to feel during the event? 
  • How can you evoke these emotions using sound and lighting design or visual elements?
     
Real-World Examples of Storytelling in Event Marketing

Over the past few months, we’ve been able to design and implement several event marketing strategies for our Green Apple clients. Here are some examples of how storytelling has been used in their event marketing plans:

The Skylight Grand Opening Event: Sip & Sample 

After months of renovation, The Factory at Franklin wanted to create an opportunity for guests to explore the reimagined space and celebrate the grand opening of The Skylight—the new bar at The Factory at Franklin. We designed an event called Sip & Sample that highlighted The Skylight’s narrative of being a space for the community. We brought together new and current vendors of The Factory and invited the community to join us for this exclusive grand opening event.  

Crain Construction’s 90th Anniversary Celebration

Known for building relationships and structures that last a lifetime, Crain Construction wanted to celebrate their 90th anniversary alongside team members, former employees, customers, and industry partners who supported their growth over the years. By hosting the event at Prancing Horse of Nashville Ferrari Dealership—one of their most recent projects—we were able to create an immersive experience that celebrated the past while generating excitement for the company’s future. 

United Communication’s Project UNITE Celebration

United Communications is a local internet company making tremendous strides in providing high-speed internet access to rural communities across Middle Tennessee. They came to Green Apple Strategy looking for a way to celebrate a state-funded grant for their Project UNITE initiative. Every aspect of the event, including the location, speaker list, and food choices, was designed to demonstrate the company’s commitment as a local provider.

Let Green Apple Plan Your Next Event

Special events are a powerful tool that can be used to enhance your marketing goals. If you’re ready to develop a compelling story or theme for your upcoming event, ensuring a memorable and impactful experience for your attendees, we’d love to talk. Reach out to us for a consultation.

5 Questions to Consider Before You Start Planning for 2024

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from building hundreds of annual marketing plans, it’s that proper planning requires a disciplined approach that evaluates the past and looks toward the future. This approach enables you to learn from past successes and failures, understand the changing market landscape, and align marketing strategies with your overall business objectives.

Setting aside time to consider these questions can enhance every part of your annual marketing plan — from setting more attainable goals to thinking more strategically about your annual budget.
 

5 Questions to Consider Before You Start Planning for 2024

Here are a few questions we ask our clients to help develop their annual marketing plan: 

1. What lessons were learned from the successes and failures of the current year’s marketing efforts?

Developing a marketing plan can be challenging for a variety of reasons. You can’t expect to implement the same ineffective tactics and strategies and generate different results. On the other hand, what worked last year isn’t guaranteed to work again. 

That’s why it’s helpful to truly dig into what worked and what didn’t. For example, let’s say that you ran a marketing campaign last year that was very successful. What made the campaign so successful? Was it the target audience? The messaging? The timing? Once you know what worked, you can replicate or change those elements in future marketing campaigns.

2. What are the overall business goals and objectives for the upcoming year?

As a business owner or marketer, you know that your marketing plan should be aligned with your overall business goals and objectives. That’s why it’s so important to ask yourself this question before you start building your plan. 

This is where getting insights and perspectives from stakeholders across the company can be valuable. For example, if your company has a goal to launch a new division or product, you’ll need to invest significant marketing resources toward that effort. If you’re interested in building your team and hiring more employees, you could incorporate that goal into your marketing efforts. 
  

3. What are the main challenges and opportunities in the market that you need to address?

New technologies are emerging, new competitors are entering the market, and customer expectations are evolving. Discover what your potential customers might be thinking as time goes on before you start building your marketing plan.

By understanding these challenges and opportunities, you can adjust your marketing strategy accordingly. You might focus on developing more personalized marketing campaigns, or you might invest in new service offerings that can help you stay ahead of the competition.

4. How can you improve and ensure alignment between marketing and other departments within the organization?

In order for your marketing plan to be successful, you need to have alignment between marketing and other departments within your organization. Improving alignment between sales and marketing is an essential step. As you develop your plan for next year, be sure that your marketing and operations departments are working together to address any scalability issues. When everyone is working together in the same direction, you’re more likely to achieve your marketing goals and objectives.

5. How will you evaluate your efforts and pivot if needed? 

What are you going to do if your tactics fail or another opportunity arises? Knowing the answer to this question before you build your marketing plan can be incredibly helpful. It’s difficult to fix the plane if you have to build the instruction manual while it’s crashing. By building mechanisms for evaluation and adjustment, you create the opportunity to pivot your marketing efforts without abandoning your entire strategy.

Let Green Apple Strategy Help You Plan 

Need some help getting started on next year’s marketing goals? Check out this Green Apple guide to start planning!

Our team can help you build an effective strategy to help your brand achieve its business goals. Learn more about our process or connect with our team to start a conversation.