Ponderings From The Perch

When you think about leadership do you want to flop down on a therapist’s couch and begin rattling off a string of worries and woes? We’re not crying. You’re crying. CEO and Little Bird Momma Priscilla McKinney and Ben Dueck, President/Founder of Cantera Leadership and a Gallup certified CliftonStrengths coach, join forces to talk about the principles of leadership, leadership qualities, and a laughably small step you can take in leadership.  No pressure on leaders but 70% of the success of your teams rests on leadership. A huge factor in— get ready for the buzzword!—employee engagement rests on leaders in the organization.  Employee engagement converts to: Profitability  Productivity Client Retention Client Sucess The principles of leadership transform and translate into the metrics we, as business leaders, love to see. That’s why empowering leaders to know and identify their employee’s skills, knowledge, experience, and natural talents are vital for success. If you haven’t heard of CliftonStrengths

What sets apart one research company from another? Each company will actually give you the same answer— quality. As Inigo Montoya says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” We’re going to have to second that motion, Montoya. It’s inconceivable! Join Little Bird Momma Priscilla McKinney and Tony Cheevers, the Customer Success Officer with Researchscape International, as they dive into current trends and pet peeves when it comes to the world of market research.  One of the biggest trends Cheevers points out is that market research can have an accessibility gap where buyers feel like their requesting data from a black box that magically appears from behind a Wizard of Oz curtain. As he says, “It's not really a tool that's accessible. So I'd like to see some disruption in that area to make something that's more available, more accessible and more affordable across a broader spectrum.” And that’s what Researchscape International set out to do by creating a digital storefro

What do a Thanksgiving turkey and social media strategy have in common? If something is worth doing once in a big way, then you should pull it apart to use it again in different ways. Thanksgiving day turkey transforms into turkey sandwiches on Friday, and a turkey casserole on Saturday. A blog post becomes the script of a podcast episode, which turns into pull quotes for social media! Voila!  CEO and Little Bird Momma, Priscilla McKinney, and Executive VP, Ashley Le Blanc, have prepared a feast for your social media strategy on the Ponderings from the Perch podcast. Even better? There are two downloadable free resources that make the perfect pairing on our website— the oh-so-delicious Top Tips to Crush it Social Media resource guide and the Social Media Content Calendar download. Grab a plate because we’re dishing up all the juicy tips on how to build up your sphere of influence on social media. Step one of social influence? Take the stress out of social media. Anxiety, stress, and not knowing what to pos

So…you have this business. But are you curious about how you’ll find your way to what’s next? Does it involve a payout? Do you know your number? Oh, there is so much to talk about and Damon Pistulka joins us on the podcast today to address some of the pressing questions around prepping your business for growth and ultimately, a profitable exit.  What can you do to help ensure your business is ready for sale?  What do I need to change now to get my team engaged to meet my goals?  Why do only 25% of businesses get sold? What are the metrics I need to understand to increase the value of my business in 24-36 months?  What is different about selling to a private buyer, your employees or even a private equity firm?  What conversations should I start having to prepare my business for sale?  But before you can think about an exit, there are key things to think about to maximize that moment. Take it from a business brokerage expert and listen in for these important conversations about digital transformation,

If your goals aren’t written down, they’re just hopes and dreams. Goals take strategy, and one of the best strategies on the market is SMART goals.  CEO and Little Bird Momma, Priscilla McKinney and Executive VP, Ashley Le Blanc talk shop about SMART goals and they break down S-M-A-R-T with cheerleader levels of exuberance. SMART goals is a system that is not only strategic but is repeatable. Nailing your goals this year is great, but achieving all your goals for the next five years? Now, that’s fantastic. “S” stands for specific. Instead of thinking in vague, lofty, idealistic terms get nitty-gritty with your goals. Get as specific as possible. Use numbers. Put a number on a “good” salary bonus - an actual number of new clients you want to onboard each quarter. Go ahead and make numbers your new BFF. “M” stands for measurable. If you can’t measure it, then you won’t be able to accurately track your progress. Plus, the beauty of measurement is that it gives you all the glorious possibilities of celebrating

NFTs, cryptocurrency, and the Metaverse oh my! Oh the good ol’ days when we were only dealing with lions, tigers, and bears. Now, we’re on a whole new level. We here at Little Bird Marketing are eager to share this episode of our other podcast, Digital Transformation Sucess, with our dear listeners here on Ponderings from the Perch. Join CEO and Little Bird Momma, Priscilla McKinney, and President of Berlin Cameron, Jennifer DeSilva, as they pull back the curtain on the world of digital transformation and uncover a veritable treasure chest of resources and connections.  Jennifer DaSilva is a seasoned integrated marketer with 20 years of experience working on Fortune 500 brands. As president of WPP boutique creative agency Berlin Cameron, Jennifer has spent the last 15 years managing key accounts like Coca-Cola, Heineken, Lexus, and Capital One. Moreover, she is a champion of entrepreneurship and is the founder of  LLShe, a Berlin Cameron division that empowers female entrepreneurs through connections and cr

Struggling to write quality content to drive revenue? Hate staring at a blank page knowing you need to just get on with it? Know what it takes to write compelling content?  Curious what the pros know that keeps them producing on quality blogs?  Once upon a time, our CEO and Momma Bird and host of this podcast, Priscilla McKinney used to write every blog that left Little Bird Marketing. That is not scalable. We talk to a lot of companies having scaling problems. Probably at your company you have bandwidth issues when it comes to getting content out the door. And we know it’s not just about good quality writing, but you have to think strategically for SEO ranking and still carry the brand voice throughout all you do.  We get it. It’s hard.  We can create your content for you, but in this episode, Ashley Le Blanc and Priscilla discuss key considerations for success if you still want to try your hand at blogging. We work hard to bring you relevant marketing hacks as often as possible. But in this episode, we

CivicScience is pushing the boundaries to transcend traditional market research practices. Our Momma Bird, Priscilla McKinney, was able to steal Trevor Farris, SVP of Sales & Marketing at CivicScience, for a can’t-miss discussion on the most impactful factors shaping the future of market research. Right now, you may find yourself asking, “What does transcending traditional market research actually mean?” Well, you can find the short, yet tease of an answer in these show notes, but you’ll have to press play to get the full picture.  As most of us know, inflation is a current, nationwide issue, leaving no person, industry or project unaffected. In this episode, Trevor and Priscilla discuss what the rise of inflation means for traditional market research and how CivicScience utilizes a modern approach to gauge customer sentiment. “We're allowing people to opt-in directly with our widget that sits on hundreds of publishers out there. We're going first party pulling direct customer sentiment into the way that we

Whether you have already written a book and don’t know how to break into the publishing world, or still have a book inside you and don’t want to go to a surgeon to have it surgically removed, this episode is for you. Meet Miles Rote, Author Strategist at Scribe Media. Miles, through Scribe Media, helps entrepreneurs, executives and experts write, publish and market their books. In this episode, host, CEO (and Author!) Priscilla McKinney and Miles discuss the obstacles facing would-be authors on their path to publishing.  According to Miles, one of the biggest misconceptions about putting a book into the world is based on outdated modes of creation and distribution.  “I think often when we think about the publishing world, we’ve done it through the lens of how it was always done in the past, through traditional publishing. All of that has changed.” In that past paradigm, the feat of producing the actual material for the book, either by writing or hiring a ghostwriter was an already laborious step, followed by

You’re invited to sit down and pour yourself a glass of champagne as Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird and CEO of Little Bird Marketing has her favorite guest back on to talk shop. On the agenda today is a romp with Executive VP, Ashley Le Blanc around how to spend money to make money - on digital ads, that is.  Creating amazing targeted content plans with strategic SEO is a long term plan. Building authority is the ultimate goal to win online ranking to get your content found organically. You have to be patient. But sometimes that is not in the cards for clients and based on their KPIs, sales and revenue goals one way for a quicker win is to engage an expert to create a winning online digital ad plan. While we’re building organic reach, often we find it helpful to get some paid search going and generate web traffic, lead generation and close some sales.  With almost $500 billion being spent in 2021 alone for digital ads, there is a lot happening in this space. But there are a lot of people out there happy to

Have you ever wanted your customers to spend twice as much money with you? In a compelling study, Capgemini found that users who feel a connection to a brand spend twice as much money as those who don't. Priscilla and Leighton made a pact during this episode not to bury that important statistic, and here it is right at the top. Huzzah! We've been trained to hear the word "branding" and think about color palettes and typography choices. In reality, branding is a much broader subject that extends beyond visuals to encompass a wide range written, spoken and visual communication both internally and externally. In this episode, Momma Bird and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with VP Leighton Cordell about what makes a good branding strategy and how it facilitates the aforementioned "connection" to brands. Some of the components discussed include consistency, flexibility, emotion, and employee involvement.  Small birds namedropped in this episode:  William Clift (the beautifully designed stairs with the LBM Core Values

Lord of the Rings. The Godfather. BACK TO THE FUTURE. Who doesn't love a good trilogy?  In the third episode of Flight Patterns with Fieldwork, CEO and Momma Bird Priscilla McKinney talks with Fieldwork Webwork/Fieldwork Anywhere President Crystal Majik about the past, present and future of research. Crystal started with Fieldwork in 1998 and has worked in the Denver, Schaumburg and Network offices. Fieldwork was already doing virtual qualitative research long before the pandemic, but the sudden global shift pushed online capabilities to the forefront. Crystal discusses the shared priorities between online and in-person research - which effectively culminates in adequately preparing respondents and moderators for a successful research experience. This shift, like most, is subject to additional levels of complication when tech enters the fray.  "You can't expect somebody to show up 5 minutes before a scheduled interview and participate through technology they've never used before and be at ease with it," Cryst

Flight Patterns with Fieldwork continues! In this episode, Little Bird CEO and Momma Bird Priscilla McKinney and Fieldwork’s Vice President of Corporate Services Aryn O’Donnell discuss how Fieldwork cultivates and nurtures relationships with clients. Fieldwork is famous for its research venues - this is no surprise, because their facilities are 1. gorgeously and meticulously designed for in-person research, and 2. prominently located in most major cities across the US. Undeniably, that's a pretty solid foundation, but it only scrapes the surface of what Fieldwork actually does. Through the earliest and scariest days of pandemic shutdowns, Fieldwork was able to rely on their decade-plus experience in online research to continue meeting client and respondent needs. When safety permitted a return to in-person research, Fieldwork not only led the charge, but also acted as a megaphone for the industry, sharing developments to strengthen face-to-face market research for everyone, including their competitors.  If yo

A rising tide lifts all ships. When the going gets tough in business, it takes a special kind of leader to reach out in the spirit of collaboration, using creativity and action to forge a path forward. Sarah Kotva, Executive Partner and VP at Fieldwork is that kind of leader.  Flight Patterns with Fieldwork is a special miniseries hosted by Momma Bird Priscilla McKinney to showcase a selection of leaders at Fieldwork, Inc., qualitative research recruitment and supporting service experts. Fieldwork’s ethos of sharing ideas, collaborating, and being a resource for the market industry was put to the test when the pandemic caused a series of global closures and restrictions on in-person research. They responded by becoming a knowledgeable resource and advocate for the entire industry.  Sarah Kotva began working with Fieldwork as a project manager in 2000, and has risen through the ranks to become Vice President. Her long tenure is notable, but also indicative of the loyalty and opportunity for growth that is perv

Fledgling. Novice. Greenhorn. Tenderfoot. Noob. We have a lot of words for people who are trying things for the first time, and generally, the more words there are to describe a thing, the more prevalent and complex that thing is. This issue presents itself in two common ways in the market research industry: 1. A steady stream of new researchers entering the field, and 2. A continually shifting landscape full of new methodology, new technology, new objectives and new(ly reduced) budgets. Researchers everywhere are being asked to do more with less, and for many, the prospect of doing everything themselves seems like the only option. But it's not. Meet Edward Staples, Senior Director of Business Development at Prodege. Edward has been in the insights industry since 2006, and has worked in both qualitative and quantitative research, including trackers, concept testing, in-person and online across a broad client base including finance, travel, CPG, QSR, apparel, retail and more. At Prodege, he helps leading brand

It’s no surprise there has been a scramble recently as companies adapt to economic conditions and ever-changing consumer behaviors. Rapid inflation has meant that consumers are becoming more critical of their spending– putting pressure on companies both big and small. So what can brands do to adapt and ensure the best shopper experience and most effective brand strategy moving forward? We’re LIVE from IIEX Austin with a familiar face, Anne Stephenson, shopper insights expert and founding partner at Explorer Research. Anne sits down with Momma Bird, Priscilla McKinney, to discuss the future of retail in the face of the largest inflationary increase in 40 years. They dive into the different forces and factors that brands need to take into consideration when trying to navigate these unstable times and shopper behaviors. Listen in as we take a look into how shopper insights can help brands navigate the future of retail. "With inflation, brand loyalty is really being tested as far as where the breaking point is fo

Writing a book is hard, luckily, you don't have to do it alone. CEO of Scribe Media, Jevon McCormick sits down with Momma Bird, Priscilla McKinney to discuss what it takes to move forward on your path to authorship. Whether you need coaching, a ghostwriter, or marketing to spread your message, Scribe is there to assist you along the way. Listen in as we (hopefully) convince you to take that leap and finally write that book you've always dreamt of.

Research is great. Consumer insights are great too. But at the end of the day, if those insights aren’t being leveraged strategically to create lasting business and consumer impact, what’s the point? With consumer needs continually shifting, it’s become more important than ever to be mindful and strategic when it comes to consumer behavior research. "In order to make insights more impactful and make projects last, we need to be more mindful and strategic in the work we're doing." Scott Sabin Joining Priscilla on the Perch is Scott Sabin, Senior Manager of Customer Loyalty and Insights of Health & Wellness at Walgreens. Whew, that was a mouthful. The point? He's an expert worth listening to.  Through his years in the insights industry, one thing has remained the same– his mantra to ensure that the consumer and customer’s needs remain at the heart of everything he does. So how does Scott execute this customer-centric mindset to drive impact for both the business and the consumer? Tune in to discover Scott’s

Joy /joi/noun: a feeling of great pleasure and happiness In the last few years, it’s been hard for many to “find the joy” in life. Given the pandemic has put the stability of every sector of our lives to the test, it’s not hard to see why. But what if we told you there’s a science behind living a more joy-filled life?  Joy connoisseurs Debby Schlesinger-Hellman and Andrew Cannon join Priscilla on the Perch to discuss all things “joy.” Debby and Andrew are on a mission to inspire and empower people to live more joy-filled lives. So much so that they’ve built an entire brand around “The Art and Science of Joy.” You’re in for a treat with this episode as they explore the recipe for joy and how it impacts company culture, self-empowerment and our overall outlook on life. Looking for more joy-filled content? Check out The Art and Science of Joy Podcast!

Grab the balloons! Pop the champagne! It’s time for a mindset shift about LinkedIn, and it’s a FUN one. Long gone are the days when you viewed LinkedIn like it’s a ho-hum social media platform. It’s a fabulous cocktail party! And you’re invited! CEO and Little Bird Momma Priscilla McKinney is here to help you make a vital mindset shift about LinkedIn. Get ready to take a BIG step toward building social influence in a way that is meaningful for your business goals and your career objectives.  All too often, people engage with others on LinkedIn in a manner that is atrocious and completely inappropriate. How many times has someone sneakily tried to enter your LinkedIn life by hiding their intentions: “Hey’ I’m just trying to expand my network,” and then BAM! They’re moving in for a hardcore sale. That’s the equivalent of someone walking into a party and shouting from the door: “Hey! I’m over here! Who wants to sleep with me?” When you consider LinkedIn a cocktail party, you can better spot and avoid faux pas