Prior to opening its doors in 2008, Group 7even founded Michelle Andres had spent her storied career in major cities and at large agencies, including FCB Draft (Chicago), Young & Rubicam (Detroit), and KCS & World (Chicago). When she and her husband returned to NWI to raise their family, Michelle noticed a gap in the market. Andres stated, “There weren’t agencies that could do all a company’s marketing from A to Z under one roof. I wanted to fill that gap and offer Chicago-level talent to the businesses of NWI.” .

Is TikTok becoming the main platform for marketing?

In the world of technology, testimonials are an amazing wat to grow your company by word-of-mouth marketing. Sharing what your clients or customers have to say about your company can be very insightful to a potential new client or customer.

A global pandemic was a nightmare for many marketers. With in-person meetings halted, agencies that thrived on relationship marketing were posed to take a heavy hit. How could you nurture existing client relationships (or build new ones??) if you couldn’t even be in the same room together? Surviving the pandemic meant holding on to existing clients and building brand value. Group 7even was able to do just that. We had to step back and understand the impact the pandemic would have on each of our clients. Because we work with a variety of different kinds of companies, we had to adjust accordingly. We braced for significant shifts in strategy and stepped up our digital marketing game. This allowed us to continue to promote products, even if services paused. We identified where we could focus energy, expertise, and funds to provide the most value to every client. By being transparent and flexible, G7 communicated new approaches crucial to keeping our clients while ensuring they kept THEIR customers. What did they need most? What did their customers need most? How could we make sure those needs were met? Michelle Andres, President of Group 7even, noted: "The pandemic presented so many unknowns for the companies we work with. We were very fortunate to have clients that listened to our advice to continue marketing (albeit in different ways with different budgets) to stay connected with their customers. Additionally, we helped our clients navigate changing their business models to focus heavily on digital sales whenever possible. For our clients, the beauty of having G7 as their agency partner was their ability to focus on the other challenges the pandemic presented to their businesses while we handled everything marketing-related. I’m really proud of all of our clients. With no exceptions, all of our clients battled through unprecedented times and came out even stronger than before." By being prepared and proactive, we survived the pandemic unscathed. We also positioned our clients to stay afloat, recover and thrive.

Top of mind awareness is pretty self-explanatory…..and vital.

The first brand that comes to your mind when a specific product is mentioned, is probably your favorite, and probably for a reason: IT’S GOOD!

(Or at least the marketing is.)

Coffee? Starbucks.

French fries? McDonalds

Movies? Netflix

Phone? Apple

Top of mind awareness should be a priority for any business. Being top of mind means that consumers not only remember and recognize your brand, but they think of it first over your competitors.

Take tissues, for example. When you need one, you probably ask for a Kleenex. But Kleenex is just one kind of tissue. See how that works? They are so top-of-mind when it comes to their product, that people literally refer to the actual product by the Kleenex name.

There are a few key components that are vital to achieving top of mind status for your business:

Your business must stand out, connect emotionally and be consistent if you want to attract and retain customers.

Being visible is key to being top of mind. No one can remember you, use you or share about you if they can’t see you.

An emotional connection with your target audience forms a relationship between your consumer and your brand. By resonating with your audience on an emotional level, you become more memorable. Being memorable puts you two steps ahead of your competitors in the top of mind marketing game.

Consistency builds trust. Businesses with an inconsistent presence in their marketing fall behind quickly. You must stand out strong and stand out often.

Yes, your product must be good.

But at the end of the day, if no one knows about it, it doesn’t matter.