New year clarity
T.E.A Break - 017
Let me start this week's T.E.A Break by wishing you a very Happy New Year.
How many times have you gone on holiday and found yourself gaining clarity that otherwise alludes you?
It’s happened to me once again this week, as I’m taking a well-deserved break while the office is shut.
Now, I wasn’t planning on writing a T.E.A Break newsletter this week, but I’ve had one of those ‘aha moments’ while relaxing on the beach, so thought I’d share it with you.
Regular watches of our content will have heard me talk about the BACKBone of Digital Marketing.
It’s a name/concept I came up with some years ago that allows me to effectively communicate how a business can establish its reliance on what I call the ‘four pillars’ of digital marketing.
As a reminder, they are:
B - Buy
O - Own
N - Nurture
E - Earn
The four pillars make up B.O.N.E and I likened that to BACKBone, with the thinking being a business needs a strong ‘backbone’ to survive and thrive online.
If it’s a new concept to you, let me briefly explain it. I believe a small business has just four ways to grow online;
What I like about this philosophy is that it’s easy to understand and future proofed as all channels, and platforms can easily be grouped into one of these four pillars, regardless of the latest fad or innovation, as has been evidenced over the years.
I’ve used the BACKBone concept hundreds of times when talking to clients, prospects and guests on our podcast.
But I knew I had something even better in me and have felt for a while now that it needed an upgrade.
After almost 20 years consulting small businesses on digital marketing strategy and more than a decade running an agency I’ve seen and heard it all.
I’ve made countless notes and scribbles with ideas of how I might change the BACKBone concept to better reflect today’s digital marketing realities for small businesses, but none have stuck.
Alas, day two of my holiday, I’m sat on the beach my mind wandering, as I look out on the blue ocean in-front of me.
Here is what went through my mind…
“It always starts with brand, I always ask about brand as knowing a businesses online brand equity is vital, as it helps establish a baseline from where we’re working.
Email. That’s another key channel I always ask about and advocate every small business should be doing to stay top of mind with their target customers.
Side note: We're seriously considering introducing email marketing as an Evergreen service this year. We have already canvassed our existing clients about this and many expressed an interest, so watch this space.
Then there is the big one of course. Paid Ads. Google Ads. Meta Ads and all of the other paid media platforms small businesses are using to generate leads and sales.
The next biggest source of leads and sales for most small businesses is referral. Those all-important word of mouth recommendations.
So it’s really;
B - Brand
E - Email
A - Ads
R - Referral
So BEAR!!
That’s it. That’s the next evolution of the BACKBone."
It further simplifies BACKBone into what I know are the four big drivers of leads and sales into most small businesses.
BEAR. It’s so easy to remember as well. It just works. It's perfect.
***I excitedly jump up and run to my wife who is in the pool with our son***
“Harriet, I’m changing the BACKBone into BEAR!”
领英推荐
Harriet: “You what? Anywayyy… can you go get me the sun cream for Henry please.”
I’ll tell her all about it another time, in fact she can read this along with you, as she’s subscribed to my newsletter as well.
I love BEAR, it’s precisely what I’ve been trying to articulate for months, without luck. Day two on the beach and hey-presto the calm provides clarity.
You can expect to see me talking about BEAR a lot in our content in 2025 and now you’ll know how it came to be.
New year challenge for you
Look at your own data to see what BEAR is telling you? Group your traffic, sales or leads into the four pillars of Brand, Email, Ads and Referral sources, as best you can. It won't be exact, but you'll get a rough calculation.
Do this for all of 2024, then repeat for 2023. You can take it a step further and break this down per quarter to really unearth some interesting trends, if you so wish.
When thinking about growth for your business, it's incredibly important to know the lay of the land as it exists today. BEAR will tell you this.
It will show you what 'role' your Brand is playing.
It will show you how reliant your business is on paid ads.
It will show you what areas of marketing you have overlooked.
It will show you how these channels/platforms have changed over time.
And so much more.
BEAR, like with the BACKBone is a simple, yet extremely powerful way to better understand your online business.
If you would like my help in calculating this for your business, hit reply and we'll get a call booked in.
Remember, never underestimate the power of allowing your mind to wander.
I’ve still got a few days of this holiday, so who knows what else I’ll come up with...
The office has been shut this past week and the team are taking a well deserved break from our content schedule (we're back open today with some of the team in), so below I've once again included our most recent content, as you may have missed it during the build up to Christmas. Enjoy!
T.E.A Talks: How We Cater Creative to Clients
"We create ads in a variety of different ways depending on how a business is set up. Some have showrooms, others have retail stores, while many transact online only. How do you get the best possible creative regardless of your business type? Find out in our latest T.E.A Talk, where Darren shares his top tips."
Available now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, as well as our blog.
Grow with Evergreen: ￡15m Fragrance Brand is \ ￡3m on Meta & Only ￡70k on Google
"This podcast episode is our 'Christmas Special' for no other reason than it was so much fun to create. Some truly jaw-dropping moments as you've read above. The result of this one-hour recording has had a dramatic impact on this business and it's a great listen/watch, so please be my guest and enjoy over the festive period."
Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as our blog.
Evergreen Uncut: Behind The Scenes of Our Christmas Ad
"We recently created a Christmas ad and in our last Evergreen Uncut of 2024, you get to come behind the scenes as we take the idea, and turn it into our Christmas masterpiece.
As we all make our new years resolutions and tell ourselves this year will be the best one yet, lets remember to be thankful for what we have and who we have around us.
2024 was a tough year for a lot of business owners, myself included, but we got through it. We always do. The best thing you and I can do is take those learnings from last year and be bigger and better for those experiences in 2025.
I'm off to join my wife and son in the swimming pool, but before I hit send on this email, let me take a moment to remind you that now is the perfect time to begin with the end in mind.
Wishing you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2025 ahead.
Aaron
PS. I have one favour to ask. Please share this newsletter link with one person you think will benefit from reading this - thank you.