Writings from Force 5 Basecamp

06/14/22

(June 14, 2022 – South Bend) Force 5 is pleased to announce that Keith Sayer has joined its team as Account Strategist / Content Creator. Keith has experience running B2B marketing efforts and content strategies in the Transportation, Enterprise Software, and Nonprofit sectors. He is a lifelong writer, as well as an expert in marketing technologies like marketing automation, CRM

05/17/22

(May 2022 – South Bend) Force 5 is thrilled to share that the first session of Brand Camp will be held on Friday, June 3, 2022, 8 am – 12:30 pm EDT. Brand Camp is a half-day training experience held at Force 5’s headquarters (1433 Northside Blvd., South Bend, IN 46615). Brand specialists will help participants gain a better understanding

03/23/22

by Deb DeFreeuw, President & Certified Brand Strategist You may have heard us say “WHO are you, WHAT do you do, and WHY does it matter” when talking about brand? The “WHY” refers to your BRAND SOUL. What exactly is “Brand Soul”? It is what drives your organization, what makes you unique. We helped develop a brand for a manufacturer

02/23/22

by Jim Ragosta, Director of Digital Strategy & Sales YouTube remains the #1 social media platform, and the #2 most visited website domain in the United States, only behind its parent company, Google. (SEMRush) If you want to build your brand, it’s a safe bet that you should be on YouTube, whether that’s with a paid advertisement, or creating content

02/03/22

by Deb DeFreeuw, President and Certified Brand Strategist We know that sustainability and eco-friendly are big buzzwords in our culture, and companies like Patagonia are champions of a circular economy. But what does this mean for the average business, who may or may not be directly connected to a market where sustainability is encouraged? You may know it’s the right

01/27/22

by Jim Ragosta, Director of Digital Strategy & Sales 2022 is going to be the year of your brand.  Times are changing, as are consumers like you and me. How we buy products, gather information, entertain, communicate, etc. all revolve around one thing, your brand. That’s all well and fine, but what do you need to do to make your

01/25/22

Deb DeFreeuw, President/Certified Brand Strategist Setting a Marketing Budget As we start our new year, I would like to talk briefly about typical percentages of revenue that should go be allocated towards setting your marketing budget. For small businesses (revenues of 5 million or less), a common rule of thumb is that B2B (business-to-business) companies should spend about 5% –

01/14/22

By: Dan Vukmirovich, Director of Creative Strategy Today we’re going talk about effectiveness, and what it means in your marketing. Two “M’s” …and maybe a bonus “M” to give you a little bit of marketing advice.  Effective Messaging in Marketing So the first M is Messaging. Are you being effective in your messaging, whether it’s on your website, in your

11/24/21

By Beth North, Director of Business Development “Being a woman-owned business has its challenges – but most worthwhile things do. Is it always fair? Nope, but if you surround yourself with the right people and apply some grit, anything is possible. I still believe that.” — Deb DeFreeuw, President, Founder, Owner of Force 5 This blog post is filled with

06/01/21

By Jeff Murphy Extraordinary customer service is a value that businesses are constantly aiming to achieve. As new technologies are introduced, new opportunities arrive that enable companies to assist their consumers in ways that were previously unimaginable. One recent breakthrough in online customer service has been the implementation of chatbots on company websites. This breakthrough has prompted many a question

05/12/21

By Deb DeFreeuw, President, Force 5 Recently I happened to shop at two different Martin’s Supermarkets in our area and each provided very different experiences. The different experience at each brought to light the importance of brand enculturation. Brand enculturation is making sure that the people on the team understand, believe and live the brand promise. Understanding the promise to

03/10/21

By Deb DeFreeuw, President – Force 5 This is a very deep and challenging topic – I have the typical stories of being the only female at a boardroom table full of men, being paid less for the same job as a man in the same role, etc. Many women have experienced this – some more than others. But to