Inbound Marketing Blog

Best Places to Work in Idaho 2016

Last year, Jillian and I attended the Best Places to Work in Idaho ceremony for the first time. We felt proud to be surrounded by so many incredible local employers, and we were buzzing with anticipation (and maybe a little wine).

Autumn Kersey of Treasure Valley Children's Theater began calling up winners from our category. Believe me, we were so honored to be there, we would have been thrilled to be called up first to accept the 10th place award. With each winner that wasn't us, our eyes grew wider. 10th, 9th, 8th, 7th--and these were amazing companies we respect and admire! We couldn't believe it when Autumn announced her "friends in downtown Meridian, Tribute Media" for 5th place.

Years ago, in a different life, I was a sales manager in a different industry. I had ten sales associates working for me in outside sales. We won some and we lost some.

Whether we won a deal or lost a deal, I would ask my sales rep to debrief. I wanted to know how it all worked out. I was always much more interested in the reasons we lost deals than the reasons we won deals.

In that highly commoditized industry, more often than not, the reason for losing a deal came back as, "We were too expensive."

That always frustrated me; not because we were over-priced but because the sales rep didn't understand that price is only one part of the buying decision. It's usually not even the most important part.

As a recent college graduate, I’ve found that one of the only downsides to “real life” is sitting in a chair all day. I found when I first started my job that when 2 o’clock rolled around, I’d realize “my brain can’t brain” anymore. I quickly realized that I couldn’t keep things as they were; otherwise, I would underutilize precious time by allowing myself to lose brain power. To combat this, I came up with a few ways to upset routine and allow the creative juices to keep flowing.

We have a philosophy here at Tribute Media- client success is our top objective. When I meet with a client, I want to learn about them, their business, their business goals and objectives, and how we can assist in making those goals and objectives come to fruition. We do not take on an account unless we are confident we can help our client be successful. At times, that could mean turning someone away. In order to maintain the level of integrity that we all believe in at Tribute Media, we have determined that a few prospects would not be a good fit, and ultimately declined the opportunity to work with them.

The Internet is filled to the brim with opinions. Whether you're on Facebook, Twitter, LindedIn or even Instagram, you'll see it. Yesterday, I saw a nasty comment on a woman's Instagram post. She has lost over 60 pounds, and still has a lot more she wants to accomplish. Someone had an opinion about her and her progress photos, and unfortunately, he shared. "That is disqusting why are you posting this keep it to yourself, nasty!" was what she got to read after clicking on the little comment popup on her Instagram.

Having a personality in business is a challenge that every company has to face. People aren't only interested in products or services; they are interested in confirmation and assurance. Confirmation that they made the right choice in choosing your business, and assurance that they are in good hands.

One struggle with business is that it can often feel too much like well... business. I have noticed that people would often rather have a good time in both work and social settings.

As a social media marketing manager, I had the opportunity to interact with customers on a daily basis. I never saw a single customer face-to-face, so one could assume that I didn't have much a relationship with the customers. But, I had both unique and great interactions with practically everyone I talked to.

During my many, many years as a professional in the work place, I often wonder in amazement at the complete disrespect and lack of integrity some businesses promote. When leaving elementary school for good, I naturally assumed the days of "liar, liar, pants on fire" were over. Alas, I was wrong.

Maybe everyone has forgotten what professional integrity mean. Lets review. Professional integrity can be best stated as the uncompromising adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character and honesty.

What is a SWOT analysis? It is a fundamental concept in a start-up company and directly affects the marketing plan and demographics being targeted. SWOT is simply the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats to your specific business.

When it comes to running a business some things can only be learned through experience. When your new business grows by leaps and bounds overnight, nothing can prepare you to navigate that kind of rapid company expansion quite like being in the trenches. Through our own journey in growing a company from zero to twenty, we have a couple good lessons worth sharing:

We believe that nurturing the relationship with our customers is a crucial part of growing a successful business. Reputation and customer service are a must in the age of technology. An unhappy customer can share their opinion through social media and negatively affect your business. It is important to create an excellent experience for your customers to help develop your company’s relationship with them into love. Customer service isn’t a focus for a lot of businesses. This is your opportunity to stand out. Win them over and make them fall head of heels in love with your business. Here are the 10 steps to get you there.