Author: Samantha Pyle

Meet the Team: Chris Song

Moving others emotionally, sparking meaningful change, and serving his community, are a few of Chris Song’s favorite professional responsibilities. As Green Apple’s PR & Content Strategist, he shapes and delivers clients’ stories to their target audiences, driving quantifiable results in ways that stay true to our clients’ brands.

Chris is a first-generation American from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a Vanderbilt University graduate with degrees in Human and Organization Development and Political Science. With a history in political communications, healthcare marketing, and public relations, Chris most recently spent two years working for Metro Nashville during one of the most challenging times in the city’s (and world’s) history. After being introduced to Samantha Pyle, Green Apple’s Owner and Chief Strategist, and connecting with the team, he instantly knew that Green Apple was his next career move. In addition to the immediate team chemistry, the exceptional work and passion of Green Apple undoubtedly sold him.

Chris is most excited about bringing his 15 years of expertise to Green Apple clients, telling their stories with purpose and sharing them in ways that make a measurable difference.

Living in Nashville for nearly two decades, Chris resides in East Nashville with his wife Lisa, their two children, and their black lab. Outside of the office, Chris enjoys fishing and gaming, as well as cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals and the Vanderbilt Commodores. His other hobbies include diving into DIY projects and listening to 80s and 90s music featuring a dramatic key change. Green Apple is delighted to welcome Chris Song to the team, and we are eager to see the stunning results he creates for our clients.

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4 Ways to Identify Your Ideal Client

You’re scrolling through your feed and see someone wearing an outfit that you admire. While you love it on that specific person, you know deep down that you wouldn’t be able to pull it off quite as well, or maybe even at all. Finding the right client is similar to finding the right wardrobe—they must be the right fit. So, even when a new client is enticing, it’s important to determine whether they’re aligned with your business goals. To make it easier to choose where to invest your efforts and which clients are the best fit for you, here are four ways to identify your ideal client.

1. Start with What You Have

Start by looking at the clients or targets that you already have. These individuals already trust and utilize your brand and are a suburb foundation to build your client base. What qualities do these individuals possess? What are their behaviors or characteristics? Research your audience’s demographics, interests, needs, purchasing habits, challenges, etc., to develop a client persona and begin your search.

2. Discover and Target Your Desired Audience

Advancing one step further, consider distributing a client questionnaire to your most beloved clients, buyers, followers, etc. Once you have detailed information from them directly, you can target similar or lookalike audiences. You’ll be delivering products or services to people who will enjoy it most, plus you’ll be working with more of your favorite type of people—win-win. Sample questions can include:

What do you like most about our product/service?
Where are your problem areas in the X industry?
What does your typical day look like?
What made you choose us over X?
What social channels do you prefer?

3. Establish and Drive Solutions for Problem Areas

Once your initial research phase is complete, you will have an accurate idea of your audience’s primary problem areas. Since your goods and services are most likely a possible option for these individuals, you need to highlight why you are the best solution. Your messaging is key when it comes to communicating with your ideal customer. Accentuate their pain points and emphasize how you can resolve them. Incorporate your targeted messaging in your marketing materials, social networks, website, advertising efforts, and other places where you communicate to your audiences.

4. Compare and Align Your Values

When determining if a client is right for you or not, aligning your values is an additional way to identify individuals who fall within your niche. If you strongly believe in your values, don’t ever feel like you should compromise to gain business. As a company, you must clarify your values at the beginning. If the potential customer doesn’t respect or have similar values to you, that’s okay. In most cases, the individuals or companies with more aligned principles are the ones who result in long-term relationships. While someone else may be able to achieve particular looks (or have specific clients), you have just as much range with your unique culture, staple talents, and specialized approaches that they won’t venture. The people who align the best with your business are the ones who will stay, just like your staple wardrobe pieces that you wouldn’t dare trade.

Identify Your Ideal Client with Green Apple

Green Apple Strategy helps businesses effectively build their brands and market toward their target audiences. We’re ready to help you establish your values, reach your goals, and develop strategic campaigns. Schedule a consultation with us today and get started.

Hiring a Marketing Agency: The 7 Questions You Should Ask

Searching for the right marketing agency is a process. We understand—there are a lot of options. How can you know which one is the best? Like any relationship, they need to earn your trust, and you want to feel confident before selecting the right one. Before you grant them the power of connecting with your audience, spending your marketing funds, and accessing your client information, you need to feel assured in your decision. To make the process easier, we assembled the top seven questions you should ask your contenders before hiring a marketing agency.

1. What Are Your Industry Specialties?

Are you a B2B or B2C company? Do you have a niche? While some marketing agencies don’t promote specializing in one area, discussing their most popular industries or projects is worth mentioning. If you want to improve SEO, and the agency focuses primarily on media relations, be sure to keep your goals in mind and not settle if you want an agency that has more experience in your current priorities.

Having conversations about common client types also allows you to ask if they are currently working with any of your competitors. Knowing possible conflicts of interest at the beginning will prevent potential development or implementation roadblocks that could negatively impact your service.

2. How do you Communicate with Clients?

One of the greatest benefits of working with a marketing agency is having insight into marketers’ perspectives. However, you want to be sure that these suggestions and ideas are being effectively communicated with you.

Even if you’re new to agency business, you have an idea of how often you need updates or what your communication preferences are. Asking for reporting and dialogue habits will help determine if that’s what you want in an agency partnership. Most agencies will listen and correspond to your preferences. That being said, it will be helpful if your priorities align. That way, both sides are comfortable, resulting in more effective processes and results.

3. How Much Will This Cost?

Yes, talking about money can be uncomfortable. However, these conversations are necessary early on to determine your options. You don’t want to go with the least expensive option because they’re the cheapest, and you also shouldn’t proceed with the most costly if there’s no valid reasoning.

Describe what you want and ask them what that range looks like, but continue to dig beyond that. Determine how pricing is structured, what resources they’ll utilize, what percentage goes toward efforts vs. billing, etc. Once you have the numbers you’re looking for, compare with a few other finalists and determine what seems the most valuable to you.

4. What Do I Own before Our Contract Ends?

There are some instances where the client does not own any of the content that the agency developed for them. This could include photography, graphics, coding, or other branded resources that you may assume are yours. It is imperative to discuss this information upfront so that you know exactly what you are agreeing to. Just in case the relationship or project goes awry, you want to know what is legally yours to avoid issues.

5. Who Will I Be Working with Directly?

Building a foundation with your leading account holder(s) is beneficial for communication, expectations, and trust. Asking who you will be working with allows you the opportunity to research the individuals on LinkedIn and discover their professional background, including experience and longevity. While newer executives shouldn’t be discarded, it may give you peace of mind to find senior team members who will assist you with your account.

6. Can I see Your References?

Just like when you’re shopping online or deciding on a restaurant, reviews and photos give you what you need in your decision-making process. In your agency decision process, request case studies, testimonials, and examples that they find valuable. If ROI is important to you, ask specifically for projects with metric-centered results, like audience growth and CTA conversion. If you’re re-branding or need graphic design assistance, focus on visible transformations, like logo or website portfolios.

7. What Are Your Expectations of Your Clients?

Is there a limit on revisions? Are there certain times that are off-limits? When is an appropriate turnaround time for approval? Talking about expectations for you as a client helps you distinguish how much or little you want to be involved or if your priorities coordinate.

At the end of the day, you’re the client, and they are working for you. If their expectations aren’t reasonable for you, don’t settle. There are plenty more fish in the sea.

Bonus: Ask yourself: What does my gut say?

We sometimes tend to ignore gut feelings, and we usually regret that. Maybe an agency looks good on paper, but you lack the chemistry with your account executive. Don’t dismiss your intuition, even if your brain is thinking something else.

Throughout the process, you’ll learn the agency’s values, culture, and leadership, and you will quickly find out if there are certain details that you can’t get past. Trusting your instincts will only lead to better opportunities.

Thinking About Hiring a Marketing Agency?

Hiring a marketing agency involves many factors, and it can be daunting signing the dotted line. We want you in the right marketing hands just as much as you do. Green Apple Strategy helps companies strategically tell their stories and successfully implement their goals through our comprehensive set of services. Schedule a consultation today. We would love to see if we’re the right fit for you!

Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Nines Bring Peace to Your Team

“The Peacemaker.” When you hire an Enneagram Type Nine, you’re hiring a teammate who is incredibly gifted with natural interpersonal skills. Type Nines are some of the most supportive, playful, and level-headed people you’ll ever meet. Although they have a difficult time with assertiveness or conflict, they will learn to thrive in an environment where communication and respect are encouraged. Once they become familiar with someone, that’s when their true personalities shine. Beyond bringing peace to your team, here are a few more unique characteristics that Type Nines bring to your marketing department.

They are Excellent Listeners

Type Nines are thorough. When you assign a project to a Type Nine, you can count on them knowing exactly what you want by the end of the conversation. They appreciate the details, whether that’s in conversations or tasks, and they want to help in the best, most organized way possible. They care about the needs of who they’re speaking with and connect with people in an organic way.

They Play Devil’s Advocate

Maybe the best thing about Type Nines is that they can see every situation from all perspectives. When asking for their opinion, expect to receive an honest and well-thought-out answer. Despite their dislike of conflict, Type Nines won’t simply agree to agree. When you’re presenting a marketing plan, Type Nines will be some of the best team members to notice the pros and cons, possible objections, and potential opportunities—hello, PR skills! They have a core standard of being open-minded and having a 360 point-of-view scope.

They Are Supportive

While Enneagram Type Twos are dubbed as the “cheerleaders,” Type Nines are also especially supportive toward their teammates (and anyone else in their circles). Type Nines are habitual mediators. They have the special ability to make others feel heard and can successfully communicate those feelings, ideas, or needs to others (just make sure they’re expressing their own needs as well!).

Type Nines will make your clients feel cared for and right at home. The genuine personalities of Type Nines are never in question, making their advice and actions tremendously trustworthy. Their commitment will leave clients and teammates knowing that their projects are in good hands.

They Will Make Everyone Feel Included

You don’t have to worry about Type Nines stealing any credit. These individuals will be the first to bring in (and recognize) other team members who they know have the right skills for a project. They’re remarkably skilled in making others feel valued and creating a space of peace. Because of Type Nines’ ability to see stories from every side, they are less judgmental than other types, creating a more inclusive environment where others feel comfortable being themselves. In collaborative sessions, they intuitively encourage results with a more productive creative space—no idea or question is ever wasted; it’s all a part of the process!

When working with a Type Nine, always be sure to return the favor and ask for their feedback. They may not be the first to speak up in a meeting or brainstorm session, but when they voice their thoughts, their ideas are important and valid, and you will want to hear them.

Ready to Spice Up Your Marketing Strategy?

Green Apple Strategy is a full-service marketing firm made up of creatives, strategists, writers, designers, and more who are ready to take your marketing plans to the next level. Contact us today to schedule a consultation. We’re ready to transform your goals and ideas into effective, measurable strategies.

How to Generate More Google Reviews

In a world where word of mouth and consumer feedback guides the decision-making process, Google reviews are critical when it comes to driving business to your company. As if a positive response from current customers isn’t enough, these testimonies can also go beyond their original purpose and be doubled as free marketing content for your other platforms. Who doesn’t love a twofer?

We’ve sourced some helpful directions on how you can generate more Google reviews, today. Let’s get started.

Understand Google My Business

To begin with, be sure your business is registered and that you have taken all of the necessary steps that are needed for someone to be able to leave a Google review. Already have that under control? Great! If not, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered here.

Ask Directly

The answer is always no if you never ask, right? If you know or realize that a customer is satisfied with their purchase or service, simply ask them if they could leave a review about their experience. You can also use your social media accounts to invite people to leave a review, this isn’t as direct as an in-person request, but is still beneficial if you have a loyal and engaged audience.

Make It Easy

When you’re asking for a review, you’re asking for someone’s personal time. In order to make the reviewing process as simple as possible for your customers, plan out a user-friendly process that will quite literally take them one minute of their day.

Here are a few methods to try that save consumers time:

Texting or emailing a direct link after their purchase
Utilizing a survey platform, such as Typeform or Loyalty Loop
Creating QR codes that lead directly to your Google Review page

Utilize Your Platforms

Strategically place and plan where to include a review request. You can encourage your customers to leave reviews without being pushy.

Digitally: Incorporate your Google review links in your email signatures, website, or landing pages.
In-person: Use QR codes in your waiting rooms, check-out counters, or menus.

Ready to Plan a Reputation Management Strategy?

If you need more help creating your digital PR strategy, we’re ready to help you build your new marketing plan. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

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3 Action Items to include in your Holiday Marketing Plan

As the weather is slowly cooling down, the holiday season is quickly approaching. It always kind of sneaks up on you, doesn’t it? This year, your company can take advantage of the seasonal magic in the air and start designing your holiday marketing plan early. We’ve shared a few ways that you and your team can stay ahead of your competition by incorporating a few new elements into your marketing plan.

Curate Email Campaigns

Email marketing is one of the best ways to keep a potential customer engaged. Email is also one of the most influential ways to drive business and earn ROI (especially with Millennials). Plan and strategize your email content including specific promotions, engaging graphics, and the timeline that these should be distributed. Be sure to create a sense of urgency to make customers act fast (and be proud of their quick decision-making skills).

Design Festive Freebies

Whether content is available to current clients or is an incentive for new subscribers, free resources are always appreciated. Who doesn’t love free, valuable information? Add some holiday cheer to the mix to make it even more captivating. Think about your goods or services and customize some themed content that will help your customers solve a pain point.

Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Shareable “good to know” information
Holiday checklists
Interactive illustrations
Expert advice for the season

Show Your Appreciation

There’s nothing quite like receiving a corporate token of appreciation—you feel like your business truly matters. Spend the time to learn what your customers would genuinely value (even in a virtual world) and invest in the relationship.

The holiday season is also an incredible time to give back to your community or international nonprofits that your organization admires and supports. Utilize social media to raise awareness for the causes that your business believes in, and encourage your audience to help, strengthen and give back to others.

Ready to Implement?

Feel like your marketing plan involves details you’re not sure how to implement? Contact us today to schedule a consultation and give your customers what they want this holiday season.

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How to Write a Case Study that Brings in Business

On your list of marketing goals, building trust with your audience should be somewhere near the top. As most customers will not consider working with you without thoroughly vetting others’ experience with your company, customer reviews are your first step. But, what if you want to take it a step further? That’s where case studies come in.

Case studies are some of the most beneficial assets that your company can have in its marketing toolbox. Not only are you featuring a positive experience with your company, but you’re explaining to your audience exactly how that customer benefitted—with statistics, quotes, and visual elements. To help you build your next case study, we’ve put together a few things that you should consider along the way, including how to get started and how to use it to attract new leads. Here’s how to write a case study that you’re proud of.

First, What is a Case Study?

A case study is an in-depth response project that allows you to highlight your business, products, or services and your real-life customers to share their experiences.

The opinions and stories of customers have incredible power over your prospects. Based on what people see or hear about a brand determines what judgment they have or what action they will, or won’t, take. Over time, by incorporating positive and genuine feedback into your various marketing strategies, you will gain more customers and drive more revenue.

Where Can I Use a Case Study?

You can use (and reuse) your case study in numerous forms that will attract your ideal client. The beauty of case studies is that it’s not what you are sharing about your service or product, it’s about what others are sharing, automatically creating an element of storytelling.

Prove to potential customers that you have what they need by accentuating positive evidence through your:

Website: Often, your website is the primary location where potential consumers research information. By supplying helpful and authentic testimonials, you can help attract your ideal audience.
Marketing Collateral: When creating your collateral pieces, use statistics or quotes found from the study to build your credibility.
Social Media: You can design engaging graphics by utilizing takeaways or numbers found in your study.
Videos: Videos on all social platforms are becoming more and more popular each day. Repurpose your study results into movement creations with animated infographics, typography videos, or testimonials.

Where Do I Start?

You first want to determine the purpose of your case study. In most cases, the purpose is to demonstrate how a common issue of your target audience is solved. An efficient way to determine what these issues are? Ensure your entire team is actively collaborating to compare existing or potential problems.

After establishing the purpose, other key elements you want to implement are to:

Find the right candidate: The person or company you choose to focus the study on makes or breaks your case study. Choose someone who is willing to (enthusiastically) provide you with all the necessary information.
Emphasize your product or service: Be sure to let your audience know exactly which services or products you utilized in the case study. This way, they will become more familiar with your brand, and which features they are initially interested in pursuing.
Be creative with your visuals: Did you help with a business’ website? Did a client have a transformative impact? Include content, photos, or screenshots of the candidate results to make the case study easier to follow and more attractive to view.
Display numerical results: Numbers don’t lie, so it’s important to incorporate the “hard” facts into your final study. Present your impressive stats with pride, there’s a reason people like you and others should know that, too.

Build a Reputation Management Strategy with Green Apple Strategy

Interested in taking your case study to the next level? Green Apple helps businesses like you improve their marketing strategies. Contact us today to schedule a consultation. We’re happy to learn more about you and help you accomplish your desired marketing goals.

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Meet the Team: Kayla Reyes

After reading the job description and noticing Green Apple’s client-centered approach, Kayla Reyes immediately knew that the Assistant Client Relations Specialist role at Green Apple was a perfect match (while discovering our greeters didn’t hurt either!). As an Enneagram One, she thrives in a structured and organized environment, and since the position called for this type of work style, joining the Green Apple team was a clear choice. Working closely with Olivia Cooper, Kayla will serve our clients by implementing strategic visions and capitalizing on new opportunities.

While Kayla was born in Kansas City, Missouri, she moved to South Florida at a young age and was homeschooled until her sophomore year of high school, when she began her associate’s degree journey (yes, while in high school!). She earned a bachelor’s degree in 2018 with a business management major and an entrepreneurship minor. She explains, “At such a young age, 16 years old, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to major in yet, but my college guidance counselor suggested business, and I’ve been loving it since.” She especially enjoys being an expert in marketing and entrepreneurship.

After graduating, Kayla married and relocated to Cookeville, Tennessee, where she learned the ins and outs of content writing and social media management. Two years later, she and her husband moved to Nashville, where she was hungry for more opportunities to grow her knowledge and skill set, leading her to Green Apple! Kayla says she’s looking forward to bringing a positive attitude to our team, as well as “intense organization and attention to detail.”

Kayla loves to spend time with her high school friend-turned-husband and their two sweet Golden Retriever-Labs, Comet and Harvey. Around Nashville, Kayla enjoys working out at HOTBOX, browsing the best shops, and eating Baja Burrito tacos. She loves quality time with her friends and family, reading, audiobooks, and video games. Another true passion of Kayla’s is traveling—she has visited four countries and half of the States, and she hopes to plan another international adventure soon. We are excited to welcome Kayla to the Green Apple team and know that her ambition, strategy, and principles will help deliver quality results to our clients.

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Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Eights Lead Your Team

Do you have an Enneagram Type Eight on your team? If not, it might be time to, as they are certain to be a force of nature who leads your team toward growth. Named “The Challenger,” a Type Eight is usually self-confident, decisive, willful, and can even be confrontational at times—which they can often use to their advantage. When they’re at their best, Eights are protective and resourceful, which makes them exceptional leaders. To help you determine the best place for an Eight on your team, here are the qualities that make them stand out.

Type Eights are Not People Pleasers (In a Good Way)

You’ll never hear Type Eights being called pushovers or people pleasers. Their determination to get the job done, the right way, will steer them to say “no” when necessary—even if it’s the unpopular choice. An Eight’s passion and drive will lead the way, allowing them to make tough choices for the good of the team. If you ever worry that your team will be taken advantage of, send in your Type Eight to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Type Eights Gain the Respect of Their Teams

When you hire a Type Eight, expect them to rise through the ranks quickly, as Eights have a commanding presence that makes them natural leaders. They are usually the first to step up and protect their team while also finding ways to boost everyone’s confidence. Because of their strength, Eights typically find their way to the front of the pack, effortlessly gaining the respect of their peers along the way. It’s wise to put this person in a position where they can fight for you, so to speak, as they may feel bored or underutilized in more behind-the-scenes roles.

Type Eights are Self-Starters

While some need external encouragement and motivation, Type Eights draw from their passion to motivate themselves. You’ll find that even when you think their workload has slowed down, Eights are three steps ahead of the next move. Every team needs an Eight because those are the leaders who will work their hardest, even when you aren’t checking in on their progress.

Types Eights are Courageous

One of the primary characteristics that sets Eights apart is their courage. They will never back down and will be running full-steam ahead when others feel like giving up. The benefit of having this type of personality on your team is that their energy rubs off on their team members, giving everyone the motivation to come together and get the job done.

Ready for a Marketing Team that Will Move You Forward?

Our team enjoys learning more about each other through Enneagram Types and Culture Index surveys to ensure that we communicate and work together effectively. In the end, this is all to improve our clients’ marketing strategies and use our small team to garner big results.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Our team is happy to sit down with you to discuss your goals and how we can help you achieve each and every one of them.

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A Marketing Agency’s Review of LoyaltyLoop

With several options for survey platforms competing for your business, which one is the best for your business? The right answer for your team depends on your specific needs. So, to help you during the decision-making process, we would like to share our experience with the survey platform LoyaltyLoop.

LoyaltyLoop is a common tool used by both B2B and B2C companies to better understand their customers’ opinions about their service and improve the customer experience. You may have used one of its competitors, such as Qualtrics (formerly known as Survey Monkey) or Delighted. Or, perhaps, you’ve never used a customer survey platform before and are just getting your bearings.

Wherever you are in the process, we hope that this review of LoyaltyLoop will help you make an informed decision. We spoke to our Senior Client Relations Specialist, Olivia Cooper, to learn more about the pros and cons of this software.

Pro: Simple and User-Friendly Interface

We have found LoyaltyLoop’s interface to be user-friendly and straightforward. Still, we understand that we as an agency might have a different view of what is “user-friendly” because we use these types of tools regularly. For clients who aren’t well-versed in marketing lingo and processes, we believe that it will also be an intuitive experience. When asked her opinion on LoyaltyLoop’s ease of use outside an agency environment, Olivia replied, “For clients who are using this type of platform for the first time and want to log in and have the experience be as clear as possible, this interface will be great for them too.”

Pro: Quick and Professional Customer Service

Another benefit of using LoyaltyLoop is the platform’s quality customer service approach. Olivia notes, “I’ve had good experiences with their customer service. They’re always quick to solve our needs, and they follow up regularly on projects we’re working on.” Any time you’re using software essential for business growth—especially one you’re paying for—you want to be sure that you can reach out for help if needed. LoyaltyLoop is an excellent option for good customer service.

Con: Basic Customization Options

One element that our team hopes LoyaltyLoop will improve over time is its customization options for the survey and follow-up emails sent to our clients’ customers. Olivia notes that she wishes “there were more customization options for the communications sent out through the platform.” She went on to give an example for added context: “We use LoyaltyLoop’s follow-up email templates to send after someone completes a survey, but the customization options to design the email are pretty basic right now. However, even with those basic options, these emails are very effective,” she adds.

Though the basic customization is a drawback, it does not affect the effectiveness of LoyaltyLoop’s customer communications. We’ve found this platform to be a beneficial tool for our clients looking to build trust with their customers and improve their customer service.

Want to Improve Your Customer Service?

Your customer survey strategy can be a powerful tactic to add to your marketing efforts. Our clients use these types of strategies to monitor and improve upon their NPS scores, customer service tactics, and the overall customer experience.

We can help. Want us to join your team? Contact us today to schedule a consultation. We are happy to sit down with you to discuss your goals and how we can walk alongside you to achieve them.

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