Ponderings from the Perch

“It can be easy to forget the motivation that ultimately all we’re here to do is to help people. And we help people by connecting supply and demand, as new opportunities emerge. So we work hard to fight against that. To remind everybody, every day: This is what we’re here to do. We’re here to help folks.” 

It’s impossible to overstate the impact that GreenBook Executive Director Leonard “Lenny” Murphy has had on the world of market research. In this episode, Priscilla talks to Lenny about some of the experiences that shaped his path, and the most exciting new developments in GreenBook and IIeX. One of those developments is the upcoming IIeX from April 23-25, which will be held in Austin for the first time ever. Leonard and Priscilla talk about what prompted the move, and hatch a plan to “Keep Austin Weird” during the event which is co-chaired by Priscilla and Will Leach.

Leonard discusses the vital role that content plays for GreenBook, how the agency shifted from a directory to a content creator, and eventually to a wide-scale content curator. He and Priscilla also talk about exciting new tech implementations, process innovation (Savio and Veriglif), and the validity of DIY market research.

Other topics include secret office codewords, wig-wearing birthday rules, comic books and Stranger Things. Check out the full episode for more!

Click here to read posts by Leonard on GreenBook Blog

Like what you hear? Let us know! Subscribe, rate and review Ponderings from the Perch on iTunes.

About our sponsor: IIeX North America is on April 23rd-25th in Austin, TX! Brought to you by GreenBook, this event is all about new ideas, new approaches and new connections in market research and insights. Join the brightest and boldest minds in market research, all under one roof. Register with the promo code LITTLEBIRD to save 20%!

Why is it important to stay on brand in all elements of design? What’s the most challenging part of designing specifically for content marketing? Will Little Bird invest in a memes department in 2019?

It was Priscilla's birthday, and Kahlief and Leighton said, "G'ahead and have a great trip... we'll handle the podcast for you!" Then they did it. In this episode, The Design Dojo - a.k.a. two of Little Bird's lead graphic designers - discuss the importance of graphic design for inbound marketing. Video, branding strategy, the GIF debate, and how the ideal buyer persona impacts the design process are all part of this short, feature-packed episode.

A great listen for both marketers and designers alike!

Don't forget to enter the Badass Women Giveaway before the month of March is over. Click here to enter!

Like what you hear? Let us know! Subscribe, rate and review Ponderings from the Perch on iTunes.

P.S. Check out some of our FREE resources on developing and utilizing your buyer personas. As Leighton explains, these are perfect for someone who knows what they're looking for, but doesn’t know where to start:The Perfect PersonaPriscilla Beats the Persona DrumThe Do’s and Don’ts of Buyer PersonasYou’re Reading This Because You Fit Our Buyer Persona

The last time Sima Vasa was on the podcast, it was for the Flock Stars WIRe miniseries. In this episode, she and Priscilla discuss how founding Infinity Squared Ventures allowed her to combine her knowledge of research with her entrepreneurial experience to help entrepreneurs scale for growth or for sale:

“Taking the emotion out of things and really looking at financials objectively, and saying, ‘okay, if I peel back the layers here, I have to be realistic in what I think I can sell this company for based on the financial story.’ And also historical, like - look, if you have a growth rate that’s amazingly, consistently, year over year just knocking it out of the park, I mean, there’s nuances to every scenario. But that’s kind of the base piece I think is really important for people to understand. I think the second thing is, If you’re going to exit, or even if you’re going to raise money, that management team has to be strong. Whenever you put money in, you want to know that there’s a team behind it that’s committed to executing against goals. And whether that’s a merger where you have an earnout, or if you’re actually just raising money to accelerate growth, that management team is so crucial.”

Sima will chair the upcoming Samplecon, a conference that brings together and celebrates the different parts of the data collection ecosystem. She says the event will have speakers on topics like blockchain and gamification, debates, and armadillo racing (yes, you read that).

Like Priscilla, Sima is also a podcast host (Data Gurus Podcast), and she and Priscilla share their favorite things about podcasting as well as catching up on favorite books, podcasts and apps.

Don't forget to enter the Badass Women Giveaway before the month of March is over. Click here to enter!

Like what you hear? Let us know! Subscribe, rate and review Ponderings from the Perch on iTunes.

About our sponsor: IIeX North America is on April 23rd-25th in Austin, TX! Brought to you by GreenBook, this event is all about new ideas, new approaches and new connections in market research and insights. Join the brightest and boldest minds in market research, all under one roof. Register with the promo code LITTLEBIRD to save 20%!

Over the pond and through the woods, to the Quirk’s Event we go! In this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, Momma Bird, Priscilla McKinney, recaps her time at the very first Quirk’s Event in London, England.

Tune-in as Priscilla and Ashley review the benefits of attending industry events and give out a few awards like Best Interactive Booth and Best Giveaway Item (spoiler: Priscilla also gives her own award for Best Pants).

This isn’t your average event recap. Listen in as Priscilla takes to the streets of London for a Bird on the Street segment featuring Quirk’s Event attendees. Guests share their favorite parts of the event and their personal insights on the future of MR.

"Research can be a very myopic type of business. If you’re in qual, you tend to be in a very narrow tunnel, and you don’t see how other people do stuff. And if you’re in the quantitative side, you have a structure of how you tend to write things. I think coming to these conferences and hearing people present and speak, you hear different perspectives. I have been blown away by the quality and insights that I’ve gotten from these speakers." - Susan Fader

In this episode, you’ll hear from:Sarah Kotva - Executive VP, Fieldwork Inc. & President Fieldwork Network-InternationalBob Ferro - Managing Director, Trusted TalentJanel Hagaman - Sr. Product Engagement Manager, AYTMSusan Fader - Insight Navigator at Fader & Associates Lance Streff - Sales Representative, Quirk’sJay Mace - Senior VP, MindfieldBecky Harris + Pete Hearn - Key Account Directors, Lightspeed ResearchNancy Hernon - President, G3 TranslateAttending an upcoming Quirk’s Event? In this episode, Priscilla gives a few tips for people attending an upcoming Quirk’s Events in Brooklyn and Chicago.

Like what you hear? Let us know! Subscribe, rate and review Ponderings from the Perch on iTunes. 

Ponderings from the Perch doesn’t usually get squeakquel episodes. However, when we heard that our friend Pam Didner had a new book, we were like, “Look who’s invited to the podcast now,” and also kind of like, “I still know this is going to be a great podcast!”

For those who don’t know, Pam is a sales, marketing & communication consultant, two-time author, prolific blogger, and global marketing speaker. She was also a guest of Ponderings way back in episode 39. Pam’s latest book, “Effective Sales Enablement,” is written for marketers to foster collaborative sales and marketing efforts. This time around, Priscilla and Pam quickly got back in the habit, discussing authorship, public speaking, the perils of marketing silos, and what marketers can do to better support their sales teams.

It’s a truly bogus journey.

Like what you hear? Let us know! Subscribe, rate and review Ponderings from the Perch on iTunes.

P.S. Props to anyone who caught all of our sequel references in this week's show notes.

About our sponsor: IIeX North America is on April 23rd-25th in Austin, TX! Brought to you by GreenBook, this event is all about new ideas, new approaches and new connections in market research and insights. Join the brightest and boldest minds in market research, all under one roof. Register with the promo code LITTLEBIRD to save 20%!

Lawn darts. Robotic gutter cleaners. In-car coffee brewers. These are just a few things that have enjoyed more commercial success than Google+.

Google’s social networking endeavor seemed poised to make big waves… something about their $719 billion in market capital lent a bit of credibility to the effort that turned out to be an almost immediate cricket-fest. The recent announcement that they would be pulling the plug on the sleeping giant wasn’t a huge shock to most people, but it’s not without ramifications.

In this episode, Priscilla McKinney and Ashley Le Blanc do a quick once-over on the cause, effects, and potential side-effects of G+’s upcoming journey upon the pale horse.

RIP, Google+. You were the Jar Jar Binks of social networks. We made fun of you so much, we started to feel guilty about it. Goodnight, sweet prince.

Social Media Resources:

- BLOG: 3 WAYS LITTLE BIRD MARKETING USES SOCIAL MEDIA TO EXPAND YOUR MARKETING MESSAGE

- BLOG: PRISCILLA’S 4 TIPS FOR BUSINESSES STRESSED BY THE NEW FACEBOOK ALGORITHM

- BLOG: EXPOSE YOURSELF: THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

- PODCAST: PRISCILLA AND ASHLEY TALK TURKEY, ROBOTS AND BLOGGING

- PODCAST: PRISCILLA GETS A NEW PONY

- DOWNLOAD: HOW TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS WITH FACEBOOK

- DOWNLOAD: PRISCILLA'S TOP 10 WAYS TO CRUSH IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

About our sponsor: IIeX North America is on April 23rd-25th in Austin, TX! Brought to you by GreenBook, this event is all about new ideas, new approaches and new connections in market research and insights. Join the brightest and boldest minds in market research, all under one roof. Register with the promo code LITTLEBIRD to save 20%!

Ready for a dose of the truth? In this episode, Priscilla discusses “messy brilliance,” inspiring confidence, and the power of truth telling with Women for One founder Kelly McNelis.

Women for One is a global community that empowers women to find and embrace their own voices, inspiring the confidence needed for them to achieve their dreams. McNelis’s journey has seen not only the creation of this community, but also the launch of the Truth Teller Tour, a series of courses, and toolkits aimed at the same goal:

“I just wanted women to be able to share their stories and as soon as I  intended to do that, and created a container for women to submit their stories for free, and really get out their experiences to the world so they can feel more connected and other women can feel less alone when they read it, It’s just resonated with society.”

Her book, “Your Messy Brilliance: Seven Tools for the Perfectly Imperfect Woman,” is set to be featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and O Magazine this year. Check out the full podcast for more in-depth stories, and a lightning round with Priscilla!

As mentioned in the podcast, Kelly’s favorite bloggers are Kris Carr and Kelly Notares. Oh, and don't forget to check out the Women for One Podcast!

Like what you hear? Let us know! Subscribe, rate and review Ponderings from the Perch on iTunes.

About our sponsor: Don't miss IIeX North America on April 23rd-25th in Austin, TX! Brought to you by GreenBook, this event is all about new ideas, new approaches and new connections in market research and insights. Join the brightest and boldest minds in market research, all under one roof. Register with the promo code LITTLEBIRD to save 20%!

EMAIL - an open line of communication between brand and buyer.

With this kind of direct contact, it makes sense that emails have remained a fundamental part of our marketing strategies for years. In this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, Priscilla hands the mic to Colton Harrington of Little Bird Marketing and he takes to the streets to interview everyday people about their email behaviors in a new segment we’re calling THE BIRD ON THE STREET.

Over the years, as people continued to receive more and more marketing emails, their behavior has shifted. As marketers, we keep adjusting our strategies to try and reflect these behaviors. But what are they?

Colton asks questions to uncover just that:

- “Is there a particular time of day you check you email most?”

- ”If an email uses your name in the subject line, is it creepy or more likely to make you open it?”

- “What’s the main reason you unsubscribe from emails?”

Learn more about how you can take your email strategy to the next level with our free resource, "9 Reasons People are Ignoring Your Emails."

Like what you hear? Let us know! Subscribe, rate and review Ponderings from the Perch on iTunes.

About our sponsor: Don't miss IIeX North America on April 23rd-25th in Austin, TX! Brought to you by GreenBook, this event is all about new ideas, new approaches and new connections in market research and insights. Join the brightest and boldest minds in market research, all under one roof. Register with the promo code LITTLEBIRD to save 20%!

Pretty much every business owner - either brick and mortar or online - understands that increased traffic doesn’t always equate to increased sales. In this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, Priscilla talks with Chris Dayley, a neuromarketer and A/B testing wizard with Disruptive Advertising, about the differences between search engine optimization and conversion rate optimization.

Dayley’s small testing and optimization startup, Dayley Conversion merged with Disruptive Advertising in 2016. He and Priscilla dive deep into the importance of asking the right questions, the differences between small and large business, and approaching potential clients with a mentality of abundance.

Bonus! Chris has put together a free A/B testing starter guide featuring recommended tools, first tests to try, and case studies that is available here!

Connect with Chris on Twitter, LinkedIn or Disruptive Advertising.

Like what you hear? Let us know! Subscribe, rate and review Ponderings from the Perch on iTunes.

About our sponsor: Hosted by GreenBook, IIeX Europe (February 18th and 19th) is all about new ideas, new approaches, and new connections in market research and insights. The event hosts the Startup Track and Insight Innovation Competition, bringing new, cutting-edge companies and ideas to the stage. Join the brightest and boldest minds in market research, all under one roof. Attendees will be in great company with speakers from Heineken, IFF, Samsung, and Danone. For the full lineup and registration details, visit the event site here. Register with the promo code LITTLEBIRD to save 20%!

Just like our old pal T.S. Eliot said, "last year's words belong to last year's language, and next year's words await another voice."  In this episode, Momma Bird - Priscilla McKinney and Little Bird Content Marketing Specialist - Ashley Le Blanc talk about greeting the new year with a swift karate chop, and ditching all those bad marketing habits you might have picked up through the years.

Want a sneak peek? Here's the overview of the tips!

1. Stop selling so hard. Learn about Priscilla's Rule of 15, which lays out a balanced framework for social posting that integrates sales without being annoying.

2. Stop treating social media like an afterthought. Short form content is an art form unto itself, and shouldn't be approached haphazardly, or shoved off on the nearest administrative assistant.

3. Stop pretending that "content" equals "blogging." Google looks at more than just the blog to determine your site's authority - think video and audio - and expand your content landscape.

[ 3a. If it's not an important topic to your ideal client persona, stop blogging about it. Pull reports. Analyze the data. Adapt. ]

4. Stop keyword spamming. You can't just cram a keyword between every other word in a blog and expect to get results. It was never a good practice anyway, now it's bad form and completely ineffectual. Just stop please. For more blogging tips, tune-in to "Priscilla and Ashley Talk Turkey, Robots and Blogging."

[ 4a. Don't put all your eggs in the backlink basket. Internal links build a better network for authority. ]

5. Stop winging it. Make a plan, and hold your content accountable to your organization and your strategy.

This episode is not just brimming; it's overflowing with actionable tips you need to implement to get your 2019 marketing plan whipped into shape. Shape it up. Set it straight.

Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review Ponderings from the Perch on iTunes!

More about this episode's sponsor:  IIeX Europe is just around the corner! This event brought to you by GreenBook is all about new ideas, new approaches and new connections in market research and insights. Join the brightest and boldest minds in market research, all under one roof. For the full lineup and registration details, click here. Oh, and register with the promo code LITTLEBIRD to save 20%!