MAP IT Marketing

Rachel’s SUBSTACK

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Apr 13, 2023

00:49:44

I once swore I’d never run a free challenge. And here I am, with two completed and done at the time this podcast goes live.

I blame my amazing client Sheryl Takayama, who is part of The Content Masterweb. As part of our coaching, I want my clients to explore any part of content marketing they need, and Sheryl wanted part of her activity to include a challenge.

Sheryl’s a weightloss coach, specialising in helping people thrive on a low carb lifestyle. Her challenge was based around sharing photos of food, trying recipes and winning food as prizes.

My challenge was on how to best use chatGPT - and was a fair bit more intense! (The challenge I’ve just run recently was on Tiktok and also intense. I’m sure it’s a marketing thing!)

Problem was, though I knew how to do it in theory, I had always avoided running one myself. As a coach who leads by example, something had to give.

So in February of this year, Sheryl and I both ran a challenge for our own businesses in the same week. This week happened to be a few days before a catastrophic Cyclone hit large areas of New Zealand.

In this episode, we share what went well, and what didn’t. We talk about our decision to continue on in a time of stress, and what impact the challenge had on our business.

We also share what we’d do differently next time.

If you’ve ever thought about running a challenge, or have and it didn’t go as expected, this is our honest take, or learning and advice for you as you make that call.

In this episode we cover:

Why challenges can work
What was happening the week of the challenge
What we loved about the experience
What we found tricky
The results and impact to our business
What we’d do differently the next time
How we’d compare a challenge to other types of activity.

Important Links

Connect with Sheryl

page.com/tiktok-for-business-challenge-MAY-2023">Come to Rachel's free TIKTOK challenge May 2023

Become a part of the MAP IT Marketing facebook group

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Apr 06, 2023

00:29:15

If you don’t know this deep inside your soul, if it’s not something you think about when you create your content, you might end up talking to the wrong sorts of people, or letting your ideal customers go to someone else

I was that once! I struggled to really own what I do for my clients. This was a mix of under valuing what I do best, taking my particular skills for granted, being too scared to narrow what I did, and having huge mindset issues around my own value.

It was also partly not having quite the right offer sorted that fitted both my skills and what the customer really needed.

Once I dug deep into working out what the customer really needed (and wanted, but wants don’t get the yes like a need), then everything changed.

We talk a lot about customer avatars, and needing to get a clear picture of who we need to sell to. And yes, you need to know who your ideal client is really well. But we also really need to know and understand ourselves and what we sell too

Plus - we’ll talk about imposter syndrome and why we need to hit that on the head.

So this episode is all about you. Why you, how it needs to be you, and what will happen if they don’t choose you. Because all of that will help you work out what you really need to say to your future customers.

In this episode we cover:

Why we need to understand our customer first
What working through this process might do to your business
Why you?
What social proof counts and what doesn’t as much
What people need to hear about your offer
Why you’ve got to get uncomfortable to get the good stuff

Important Links

Rachel’s SUBSTACK

page.com/be-the-face-of-your-business-checklistcklist/">Download OUR free Face of your Business checklist

Your Budget is not their Budget - with Natalie Coombe

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Mar 30, 2023

00:49:11

What’s actually holding you back from seeing your business succeed the way you wanted to?

Have you fallen into the trap of working more, and never seeing growth? Or paying everyone else in your team but not yourself? (I did that once), or just forgotten that it’s ok to make money from a business you own and run?

Natalie Coombe is a pricing expert, specialising in working with women in business, paying themselves what they are worth, and growing profitable small businesses.

For our 100th episode she walks you through how to modify and change your mindset, talks about why it can be so hard to shift our thinking, and why we need to shake off the barriers of generational attitudes about making money.

This is the second time Natalie has been on the MAP IT Marketing podcast, and it was my reward to have her back on episode 100 to share her wisdom with you all. Let’s get working on our money mindset!

(and yes, if you are male you can 100% listen too :) )

In this episode we cover:

Why women in particular can struggle with money mindset
How to create steps to seeing the “bigger dream” picture
What generational blocks we might be carrying around
Why it’s really important to not be scared of budgets
How to create a business you really want to have
Why a successful business doesn’t mean you need to be “always on”
How to grow it your way.
What Natalie Coombe can do to help your small business.

Other podcasts about Pricing to Listen to

What happens when you start charging what you are worth?

Important Links

Connect with Natalie

Become a part of the MAP IT Marketing facebook group

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 23, 2023

00:18:38

What are strategic alliances and do you need them for your small business? How do they work, and what makes a good one?

In this episode of MAP IT Marketing we walk though one of the most powerful marketing strategies of all, and it’s one that anyone can use, it’s not based around digital marketing and it can help your business continue to grow effectively.

A strategic alliance can help you extend your network, increase the coverage of your marketing and make getting new customers a breeze. The key is choosing the right partners.

In this episode we walk through why it’s better to work together than be ultra independent, how to find the right mix of businesses to be aligned with, whether it needs to be a two way arrangement, or if one way is just fine and whether money should exchange hands under this arrangement

I’m going to share with you what types of strategic alliances we have, my personal rules for who I align with and the positive impact they’ve had on my business. (Plus how I’ve built them without compromising my own values)

Whether you already have some on the go, or think this could be a very good move indeed, then learn how to make these really work for your business. Let’s get ready to build an alliance!

In this episode we cover:

What a strategic alliance is
Who you could build them with
How to work out the best way to manage them
Whether there should be a financial arrangement
What to do if it all goes wrong
How to maximise the benefits
Why this needs to be considered as part of your marketing strategy

Important Links

Rachel’s SUBSTACK

page.com/be-the-face-of-your-business-checklistcklist/">Download OUR free Face of your Business checklist

How Primrose and Co moved from markets to selling in stores

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Mar 16, 2023

00:55:04

When it comes to products on a shelf, what makes someone buy yours (unless it’s a firm favourite they buy all the time” is going to start with the packaging.

Make it something your target market loves, and they’ll even perhaps be shifted from the same old favourite buy, and choose to check out your range instead.

Designing packaging is an art, and so much more goes into it than “I love that font, and that’s my favourite colour.”

Laura Feavearyear, founder and director of Creative Jam has been responsible for the packaging design for brands such as Dose and Co, Lemon Fresh, Dr Feelgood, and Frula Beauty. Her agency specialises in FMCG brands, and packaging design.

What makes Laura’s story so interesting is the rare eye condition she was born with that has left her partially sighted. This has helped her refine designs to make them stand out amongst your competitors.

Laura is so well informed about what it takes to move into Supermarkets, what they are looking for, and the process. In the episode we talk though what you need to be aware of if you are looking to make that move, what to do when deciding on what your packaging should look like, and why it is a good idea to start a regular Supermarket browsing habit.

I was blown away by Laura’s knowledge, and insight in this episode - we could have gone on for hours! If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to be a successful brand, what to think about when it comes to product design, and what the process for getting into supermarkets is, this is the episode for you.

In this episode we cover:

What you need to know about product design in the FMCG space
Why you need to do your competitor research
When it’s the best time to do product photography
The timeframes for getting your product ready for scale
How you would work with a packaging designer
How to work with Laura and Creative Jam

Other podcasts about Linkedin to Listen to

Pepper and Me - with Cherie Metcalfe\

Important Links

Connect with Laura

Check out Laura’s Work on Instagram

Become a part of the MAP IT Marketing facebook group

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 09, 2023

00:24:28

The first time I got a Virtual Assistant it bombed. It wasn’t the VA’s fault. It was 100% mine.

I knew I needed one, but actually my head and systems were too much in disarray to make it work. I felt their expectations pulling on me, and when I did brief them, I wasn’t able to get the levels of work I wanted from them.

The bad news was it wasn’t their fault. The good news is, I fixed it.

We now have a completely remote team that includes a couple of Virtual Assistants and team members who also need structured guidelines and work. For us to grow as a business we needed to learn how to work best with a team that wasn’t always in the same office.

One of the first things we recommend small business owners do is prepare to get one to two Virtual assistants. For us, we've got our NZ based kiwi marketing admins, and two VAs as well. Together this incredible group of people make it possible for us to get our work done, serve our clients and help with some of the more “admin-y” marketing tasks.

In today’s episode, we walk through what I recommend to do before you get a VA, what to look for, and how to ensure the working relationship stays positive and effective.

We’ll also cover what I’ve learned from working with both offshore and NZ based Virtual Assistants, and why we use both. I’m also going to share how we keep on top of all the tasks and how using VAs, and our inhouse admin (remotely based) has helped me become more organised and on top of things as a small business owner

In this episode we cover:

Why it’s a good idea to start using a VA
Why we use both Domestic and off shore VAs and admin support
What to look out for in a VA. (And should you have more than one?
What we recommend to people who want to get started
What mistakes I made the first time through.
What we do now that reduces meeting time and confusion
What the effect of using VAs has been on my own levels of organisation

Important Links

Rachel’s SUBSTACK

page.com/be-the-face-of-your-business-checklistcklist/">Download OUR free Face of your Business checklist

How Primrose and Co moved from markets to selling in stores

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 02, 2023

00:59:55

For makers and creatives, there's a huge shift that needs to be made when we start to commercialise our art and creations. It’s one thing to create an original, prepare things in small batches.

It’s another thing entirely to think about how you could take what you’ve invested, designed, made and turn it into something that could be mass produced and distributed beyond a market stall.

Anneliese Jozefek owns Tikitibu, a distribution company with a difference - she’s not just a distributor but a coach, strategist and advisor for small business owners who are makers. She’s got an initiate sense of what will or won’t work in the marketplace, knows what you might need to give up to get your products in stores and what you can gain in replacement.

If you’ve ever wondered what you need to know about going big, and scaling up your business as a maker, then this episode is for you.

Anneliese cares for her clients with a passion, wanting them to grow and succeed. Her advice is hard won, hard learned and intensely practical. Her advice is well worth a listen. She offers consulting on creative development, product development and manufacturing and is also open for submission for product distribution.

In this episode we cover:

The TIKTITIBU story and how they are different from most distributors
What you need to be ready for when looking at business growth as a maker
How to look at your products in a new and more marketable way
The common barriers to growth as a maker
The benefits from productising your creations

Other podcasts about product based businesses to listen to

Pepper and Me - with Cherie Metcalfe

Important Links

Connect with Annaliese

Become a part of the MAP IT Marketing facebook group

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 23, 2023

00:31:26

While this podcast is offically all about marketing a small business, the truth is that one of the reasons so many of my clients struggle (and perhaps you too) is because there’s a whole heap of time and energy poverty caused by that juggle of parenting, and running a business

The tightest timesqueeze is most definitely in the first five years of your child’s life - and it cna make fitting all your business tasks in tricky, including your marketing.

Over ninety percent of my clients are mums, and many of them have children yet to start high school. So I wanted to share with you some of what I’ve learned in the 22 years of being a business owner and parent.

Before I was a marketer I worked in ECE and with parents of children under five, and was also a single parent for eight years from a starting point of three children aged 5, 3 and 8 months old. Through that time I was self employed and then ran businesses.

My children have only really ever known me as a small business owner. It’s both been awesome and really tough. For them and for me

I developed a bunch of “hacks” and coping strategies that made it easier to get the ‘best of both worlds” although I struggled to get the time for me and my own needs balanced into the mix.

In this episode I share a little of my story of what parenting is like now, what we’re headed into and what it was like raising three girls solo while running my business. I share some of the things I did to make it simpler and help us stay close as a team.

In this episode we cover:

What parenting looks like now with one at home, in her last year at school
What it used to be like as a single mum of three, running a business
What the benefits of me running a business have been for our family
The moment I learned you need to ask for help
What you can do to get the “juggle” right
The one thing you need to do for you every day
How to make the juggle easier for you.

Important Links

Rachel’s SUBSTACK

page.com/be-the-face-of-your-business-checklistcklist/">Download OUR free Face of your Business checklist