Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Threes Move Mountains


“The Achiever.” If you’ve met an Enneagram Type Three, they likely left a lasting impression on you. They’re the dreamers and the doers who are running the show, making sure that they’re always moving forward, making the world a better place as they go.

It comes as no surprise that Green Apple’s Type Three is Samantha Pyle, Owner and Chief Strategist. She is always looking for the next step, brainstorming ways to advance Green Apple and our clients and putting those ideas into motion.

We asked Sam how her Enneagram traits inform her success as a marketer. Here’s what we learned.

Read More: Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Twos Strengthen Relationships.

Type Threes Are Self-Assured and Confident

The ability to listen to your internal voice and know that you’re making the right moves for the right reasons is invaluable. That assurance is what makes Threes such wonderful marketers and leaders—they have a vision, and they trust themselves to make it happen. You will find yourself trusting them, too, as they prove time and time again that they can move mountains.

Samantha explained, “My self-assurance makes me great at business development, attracting employees, and entertaining clients. It also gives me the confidence to know that, no matter what, everything is going to work out, and we will grow and flourish. We will get the clients we are supposed to have, and we will do great work.”

Type Threes Are Ambitious and Driven

For Sam, “failure is not an option.” A Three’s ambition is unmatched. Their innate motivation to achieve and thrive pushes them to always be “three” steps ahead. You’ll notice that Threes are continually finding ways to exceed the expectations of those around them. For the Owner and Chief Strategist of a marketing agency, that’s the recipe for success.

“I’m always driven to grow the company and provide work with new clients or by growing our client relationships for my employees. I am motivated by success and will not take no for an answer,” she said.

Type Threes are Committed to Their Work

You might describe the Threes in your life as workaholics. When they begin a project or a relationship, they are all in and committed to seeing it through to the end. Many Threes find themselves as driven entrepreneurs, as their relentless drive pushes them to build their businesses and do the same for those around them.

“I am always working and always thinking of the next idea or a better way to do something. I am always thinking with my marketing hat on and constantly jot down ideas to help advance Green Apple or our clients. This is something an entrepreneur thrives on. This is a great trait for growing business.”

Type Threes are Authentic Role Models

Threes understand the rewarding feeling of achieving more than you ever thought possible, and they want to share that feeling with the world. When they’re thriving, that’s when Threes know that they can change the lives of others. 

“I love taking care of my employees and serving as a mentor to them or members of the community whenever possible,” she concluded.

Ready to Partner with a Proactive and Ambitious Marketing Team?

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. Are you looking to see what full-service marketing can do for your brand? Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation.

How to Improve Remote Employees’ Morale

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Remember those “water cooler” chats that you once had with people in your office? 

You would stand in the common area and catch up on what you did over the weekend or share the scoop on that new restaurant you tried last night. Although those conversations seemed insignificant at the time, the interactions boosted morale and made your team feel connected. These moments, among others, contributed to team morale in ways that may seem difficult to maintain when you aren’t physically together. 

Green Apple has been a virtual team since March of 2020, and we’ve learned a lot along the way about keeping everyone happy, collaborative, and engaged. Based on what we’ve learned along the way, here are a few of our tips for improving your remote employees’ morale.

Create Opportunities for Connection

Keeping your team connected and communicating is crucial when working remotely. Even when you can’t be together, you can create out-of-the-box ways to bring your team members closer together. We encourage you to get creative! 

A few of the ways that we stay connected include:

  • Daily Zoom meetings to discuss work and personal topics
  • Virtual happy hours and lunches
  • Increased use of collaboration tools, such as Basecamp
  • Group text chains to share photos, videos, and stories
  • Sharing recommendations for books, podcasts, shows, and movies
  • Virtual team-building exercises

If your team is located within driving distance, and it’s safe to do so, plan team outings to help everyone have shared experiences. For some inspiration, the Green Apple team’s most recent team outings were taking a boat tour in a Kentucky cave and visiting a Tennessee vineyard. Even as a remote team, we enjoy finding opportunities to make memories together. 

Send “Happys” to Your Team

Everyone loves a surprise. Even a small gesture, such as a handwritten card or a $5 coffee gift card, can brighten someone’s day. Recently, we’ve been loving Thnks, a platform that allows you to send thoughtful gifts of gratitude with just a few clicks. Remember that even a quick message of appreciation to your team can make all the difference.

Encourage Positive Language and Kudos

We say “thank you” often and freely at Green Apple, and it’s one of the things that gives our team a positive glow. Showing gratitude to those around you doesn’t take much effort, and it fills your workday with good vibes and warmth. Some might think, “well, they’re just doing their job,” but it’s still important to thank them for what they’re contributing to your team. When people feel appreciated, they feel a stronger sense of satisfaction and purpose in their work. 

Remind Team Members to Take Time Off

When work and home collide, you may notice your team taking less time off. One of the advantages of remote work is that schedules become more flexible; however, that can turn into a disadvantage if employees begin taking fewer vacation days because they can balance work with personal matters. Encourage your team to take time to completely unplug from work so that they can come back refreshed and prevent burnout. 

Maintain an Open Door Policy

Open communication is an essential piece of the employee-morale puzzle. Encourage your team members to express their challenges and worries, as they may otherwise harbor frustration. If you feel that someone on your team is feeling down or overwhelmed and they aren’t reaching out, it could be a good time to set up check-in meetings with individual employees to give them a safe space. Even when all is well, your employees may benefit from consistent communication to ensure they’re feeling balanced and supported.

There are a multitude of ways that employers can support their remote team members. Most importantly, though, your team wants to feel connected, appreciated, and heard by you. 

Want to Improve Employee Morale?

Green Apple can build an internal marketing program that allows you to support employees while sharing your company’s message to help your team connect with your vision. Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation.

Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Twos Strengthen Relationships

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“The Helper.” If you know an Enneagram Type Two, you know that their helpful spirit inspires everything they do. They will be the first to lend a hand, listen to your needs, and build a strong relationship with you.  I’m Green Apple’s Content Marketing Specialist, and I just happen to be the Type Two on our team! In this article, I’ll explain how the Type Twos on your marketing team use their helpful, sensitive souls to meet your customers’ needs. Read More: Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Ones Accelerate Your Strategy

Type Twos Are Detailed Listeners

If you are talking to me, I am listening to you. Type Twos tend to pick up on the energy of others because we want to identify their needs. Some might call this “people-pleasing,” and, to an extent, that’s what it is. However, we want to make sure that you are well taken care of and comfortable whenever you’re around us.  In a marketing context, that means that your Type Two is listening intently to coworkers and clients, trying their best to understand how they can improve the situation. You can be sure that they’re taking note of your tone, facial expressions, and what you say. Not in a creepy way, I promise! But rather, Type Twos want to gauge how you’re feeling and ensure that you feel heard and get what you need. 

Type Twos Thrive on Being Needed

A Type Two can often base their worth on how needed they feel. This motivation can drive them to seek out new ways to allow people to rely on them. You may find that the Type Twos in your life are the first ones offering to pick your dog up from daycare or bring a casserole when you’re sick. Because I want people around me to feel like they can rely on me, I often identify ways to be more helpful to coworkers and clients. Type Twos will often offer their time for whatever you need; this may look like volunteering to take a call or researching ways to boost business. However they can, a Type Two is actively looking for a way to support you. 

Type Twos Are Warm and Welcoming

As I mentioned, Type Twos want you to feel comfortable—above all else. I’m a Type Two with a Wing Three, so that makes me the “Hostess.” I’m always aware of what others might need around me, so I will try to offer whatever I can to make you feel welcome. Most often, that’s a hot cup of tea.  This trait is incredibly useful in marketing because when people are comfortable, that’s when they connect. That’s when you can really discover their “why,” their passion. People tend to become more vulnerable and show you a side of themselves that you may have not otherwise seen, which is perfect for finding the heart of a story to build engaging content. 

Type Twos Make Relationships the Most Important Thing in Their Lives

Our welcoming nature makes it easier for Type Twos to build and cultivate relationships. This is true both personally and professionally. When we’re connecting with clients and helping them connect with their audience, that’s when we’re at our peak. It’s indescribably rewarding when we make a new connection or begin building a unique bond, and doing that for our clients is the best part of the job. Above all, you can always be sure that you are a Type Two’s priority because your relationship with them is what matters most. 

Ready to Build Stronger Relationships with Your Customers?

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.  Are you looking to see what full-service marketing can do for your brand? Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation.

How to Get Your New Hire Up to Speed with Company Culture

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We all need someone in our corner. Someone to go to bat for us, to vouch for our character and pure intentions. In the business world, you need an entire team of these people on your side—your internal team.  You might be thinking, We already provide a livelihood for our employees—of course they’re on our side! Sure, money is an instrumental source of encouragement for employees; however, company culture has been proven to be the most significant influence on employee engagement and productivity.  Internal marketing is a brand-building strategy to embrace as your company strives to build brand awareness and strengthen employee trust. Remember: external marketing efforts are only as strong as the confidence and sincerity demonstrated by the employee pitching these services. Here are a few helpful ways to immerse new hires in your company culture to create a productive and cohesive work environment.

A Personalized Experience

The process of job searching, applying to a company, undergoing the interview process, and then accepting a new position, is a very personal experience resulting in life-altering effects in a person’s professional and personal life. Any given employee has different reasons for seeking a position at your company; it could be their dream job that they have used significant resources to finally reach; it could be a much-needed source of income after a time of unemployment; it might even be a complete career-pivot to a new industry in which they’ve been building confidence to take the leap. Whatever an individual’s reasons for accepting a position at your company are, it should be clear that they deserve a personalized onboarding experience, (i.e., not just a quick review of a one-size-fits-all Powerpoint to be reviewed alone in a meeting room). A new hire should be celebrated. They should be individually introduced to other team members, specifically noting who might be a direct resource to them throughout the training process.  Have a virtual team lunch, or maybe send a company-wide introductory email. Your new hire should leave their first day on the job feeling that they are part of something personal and special.

Incorporating Storytelling in your Company Culture

Write down your company’s origin story and share it often. Your employees need to know why leadership is passionate about the work they do, why the quality of their work matters, and why the primary motivating factor of the success of the business is not just monetary. The heart of most every business is the well-being and happiness of the customer—their satisfaction and confidence after conducting business with your company.  Engaging with and improving the lives of other people should always be the foundation of your company’s vision and mission statements. These statements, along with the company origin story, should be regularly referenced within employee onboarding, employee reviews, company-wide email, and social apps.

Employee Trust = Employee Engagement

It’s a no-brainer that the more an employee feels seen and valued, the more engaged they become with the company goals, often becoming brand ambassadors as they speak about the job they enjoy at the company that supports them within their daily interactions.  So, how do you establish this beneficial symbiosis between employee and company? Communication! Specifically, creating multiple two-way channels of management-employee communication is key.  New hires should be able to immediately identify the multiple channels of communication to leadership that are available to them. These channels could take many different forms including:
  • Regular quarterly reviews in which feedback is encouraged
  • Weekly check-ins, especially during the first 6 months of employment
  • Encouraging communication via social apps such as Basecamp or Slack
No matter the mode of communication in place, feedback should always be encouraged during the employee onboarding process. This is a fool-proof way to immediately establish trust with new employees. Internal marketing might initially sound like an extra step or a redundant effort, but we assure you that creating a company culture in which employees feel valued and proud is worth the time and effort. Not only will internal marketing efforts improve productivity rates, but employee retention and satisfaction rates will be organically shared on employee social media and daily interactions. Are you looking to make an internal marketing plan for your business? Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation.

3 Ways Marketing Can Enhance Your Company Culture

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Corporate culture has arguably always been important. But as many business leaders are beginning to recognize, it is actually becoming more important as the modern workplace continues to evolve.

  • 88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success. (Source: Deloitte).
  • Employees’ overall ratings of their company’s qualities are 20% higher at companies with strong cultures. (Source: CultureIQ).
  • 90% of employees at winning company cultures are confident in their company’s leadership team. (Source: CultureIQ)

And while culture has become an increasingly important factor for employees, it is also on the top of mind for business leaders as well.

  • Companies with strong cultures saw a 4x increase in revenue growth. (Source: Forbes)
  • Being named a Best Place to Work is associated with a .75% stock jump. (Source: Glassdoor)
  • 82% of business leaders believe that culture is a potential competitive advantage. (Source: Deloitte)

Everyone in your organization makes hundreds of decisions that affect the business every day. Culture determines the quality of those decisions.

So, what does this have to do with marketing?

3 Ways Marketing Can Enhance Your Company Culture

While marketing might not be responsible for many of the factors that impact culture —  it can have a direct impact on creating certain aspects and taking your current culture to the next level.

Because of the unique place it sits within your organization, here are three ways marketing can enhance your company culture:

  • Supporting and re-casting vision. Leadership is responsible for casting the vision, but it’s not something that should happen once. Companies with positive cultures are constantly reminding employees of the vision employees are working together to achieve. Marketing can support this effort by using your expertise to help identify which messages will stick with your audience, your employees, and developing creative ways of keeping that vision in front of employees.
  • Learning and development: Continual learning and personal development are two big factors in employee satisfaction. Because marketing is often at the forefront of changes in the industry or updates to a product, you can play a valuable role in keeping employees educated on the latest trends worth noting.
  • Connection and collaboration: Marketing can help people stay connected — especially as more and more employees start working remotely. Whether it’s something incredibly simple like managing an internal employee Facebook group to share updates or putting together a more formal employee engagement plan, your marketing team can lead out in enhancing communication and collaboration between employees.