Elizabeth M’balu Oke winner of the Gwinnett Chamber Small Business Awards

Elizabeth M’balu Oke winner of the Gwinnett Chamber's Emerging Entrepreneur Award

Release Date: December 13, 2022

Gwinnett County (Metro Atlanta) Ga – December 13, 2022 – PivotPath President/Founder Elizabeth M’balu Oke won the 2022 Gwinnett Chamber “Emerging Entrepreneur” Award at the Small Business Awards, an annual program designed to recognize entrepreneurs and small businesses in the greater Gwinnett region.

The Gwinnett Chamber hosted the annual Small Business Awards this morning at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville. The program, presented by Atlanta Small Business Network, named ten winners among the best in the region for exceptional business practices and entrepreneurial excellence.

“Ninety-nine percent of all businesses in Georgia are small businesses, making this industry a critical component to the future of our economic health and well-being,” said Nick Masino, President & CEO, Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett. “We are honored to champion these amazing individuals and organizations through today’s program and want to congratulate the nominees, finalists, and winners on their incredible success this year.”

Rikki Klaus, producer for CNN, emceed the awards program, calling out each of the ten winners by name and category to come to the stage and receive their award.

Listen to “The Voice of Business Podcast” featuring interviews with the winners of our 2022 Small Business Awards HERE.

The program also hosted featured speaker Terri-Nichelle Bradley, Founder & CEO of Brown Toy Box, who sat down with Jim Fitzpatrick, President & CEO of Atlanta Small Business Network, to share her journey of success from start-up to one of Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2022.

This awards program comes on the heels of Gwinnett’s recent announcement on being named a five-star accredited Chamber through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce where it credited its members and investors, many of whom were present for today’s program, for their commitment and contributions that helped earn this designation for the non-profit organization. For more information on the Gwinnett Chamber and future events and programs, please visit GwinnettChamber.org/events. Photography by Kate Awtrey-King, Awtrey Media Group.

About the Gwinnett Chamber

The Gwinnett Chamber serves as the voice for businesses, facilitating quality job growth opportunities while enhancing the community’s
vitality and quality of life. The Chamber offers the metro Atlanta business community a wealth of growth opportunity by collaborating with
regional partners to drive economic and community development initiatives throughout Georgia. Through its fundamental objectives to
help create quality jobs and wealth, strengthen the community, and grow business, the Chamber serves more than 2,000+ member
companies in metro Atlanta while delivering innovative programs to connect businesses locally, regionally, and globally.
www.gwinnettchamber.org

Elizabeth M’balu Oke nominated for Gwinnett Chamber Small Business Awards

by PivotPath

Elizabeth M’balu Oke nominated for Gwinnett Chamber Small Business Awards

PivotPath President/Founder Elizabeth M’balu Oke has been nominated for the 2022 Gwinnett Chamber Small Business Awards, an
annual program designed to recognize entrepreneurs and small businesses in the greater Gwinnett
region.

Release Date: October 12, 2022

Gwinnett County (Metro Atlanta) Ga – October 12, 2022 – PivotPath President/Founder Elizabeth M’balu Oke has been nominated for the 2022 Gwinnett Chamber Small Business Awards, an annual program designed to recognize entrepreneurs and small businesses in the greater Gwinnett region. This year’s program will be held at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville on Dec.9 at 9:00 a.m. “I am so honored to be nominated for the Emerging Entrepreneur Award by the Gwinnett Chamber.”, Elizabeth stated. “I look forward to witnessing and sharing my growth and lessons learned with fellow entrepeneurs. This is only the beginning of my journey.”

Honoring individuals and organizations alike, designations will be awarded in the following ten categories:
• Community Contributor Award
• Culture Creator Award
• Emerging Entrepreneur Award
• Founder Award
• Launch Award
• Minority-Owned/Woman-Owned Small Business Award
• Small Business Award; 0-5; 6-24; 24+ employees
• Support System Award

“Small businesses account for ninety-percent of all business in Gwinnett and are a critical component to our thriving economy,” shared Nick Masino, President and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber. “We congratulate Elizabeth on her nomination and look forward to celebrating with them at this upcoming awards program.”

For more information on this event or to register to attend, visit GwinnettChamber.org/Small-Business-Awards.

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About the Gwinnett Chamber
The Gwinnett Chamber serves as the voice for businesses, facilitating quality job growth opportunities while enhancing the community’s
vitality and quality of life. The Chamber offers the metro Atlanta business community a wealth of growth opportunity by collaborating with
regional partners to drive economic and community development initiatives throughout Georgia. Through its fundamental objectives to
help create quality jobs and wealth, strengthen the community, and grow business, the Chamber serves more than 2,000+ member
companies in metro Atlanta while delivering innovative programs to connect businesses locally, regionally, and globally.
www.gwinnettchamber.org

PivotPath: 2022 Sponsor for Gwinnett’s Collins Hill High School

by PivotPath

PivotPath supports Gwinnett County's Collins Hill HS

As a Gwinnett County business sponsoring one of the state’s largest high schools, PivotPath aims to give back to the community where it began.

Release Date: September 27, 2022

PivotPath is proud to be the 2022 Gold Sponsor for Collins Hill High School Athletic Department. As a Gwinnett County business sponsoring one of the state’s largest high schools, PivotPath aims to give back to the community where it began.

“We live in Gwinnett County. PivotPath is headquartered in Gwinnett County, and my husband and I have two kids in Gwinnett County Public Schools,” said Elizabeth M’Balu Oke, PivotPath Founder and President. “It’s the community we live in.”

PivotPath’s sponsorship will help the Collins Hill High basketball and football teams succeed at their fundraising goals for this year. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Athletic Department, mostly for t-shirts to be rolled out at future games.

PivotPath is a minority woman-owned brand marketing and communications firm, and member of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

PivotPath and the City of East Orange — Sharing Stories, Building Place, Growing Pride

by PivotPath

City of East Orange

PivotPath is partnering with the City of East Orange to create compelling community branding to support inclusive, sustained development in the East Orange economy and community.

The Client

The City of East Orange is a storied, small city in the orbit of a global megalopolis, with all the possibilities and complexity. Its people and history are rooted deeply in the Black and immigrant experience. East Orange aims to capitalize on its strengths in the twenty-first century while preserving and enhancing its history and assets.

Based on initial surveys, East Orange residents express mixed feelings toward their City, from excitement and comfort to frustration and apathy. Like any city, East Orange has hidden gems and undeniable challenges. Balancing hope with practicality, fostering well-founded pride, and uniting residents, businesses, and civic leaders will all comprise elements of the partnership.

The Work

PivotPath will ensure the City of East Orange can promote its cultural, economic, and community potential through a new strong brand identity and effective City brand roll out.

Our primary goals include: promoting East Orange as a great place to live and work, unifying businesses and community groups behind a brand, and cultivating community pride. The core strategy will focus on cultivating a narrative of hope and momentum that builds on East Orange’s existing known and unknown assets and strengthens relationships with residents, businesses, and community groups. Key tasks will be identifying existing partnerships and assets, formulating a compelling and unifying brand, and crafting informative graphics and place-based storytelling.

PivotPath will draw on its experiences with cities and counties in urban and suburban America, especially cities that share some of East Orange’s qualities, such as DeKalb County, Georgia. Our team will utilize their worldwide experience in marketing and placemaking to shape a community brand that deserves national and global attention.

What’s HOT in Nonprofit Communication Trends?

by Caroline Miles

How to Communicate with your Non-Profit Organization (The New Trends)

Nonprofits have seen a significant change in their marketing strategies, communication, and fundraising since the pandemic impacted their organizations. They have been creative in planning their communication with others and what that will look like post-pandemic. Look to see What’s Hot in Nonprofit Communication Trends.

communicating with your team members effectively — University students talking to their teacher while learning the lecture over the Internet at the campus.

The Importance of Time Management for your Nonprofit

The pandemic took a toll on many companies in regard to planning the future of their business. Most goals were put on hold for a year or even longer. Companies are still apprehensive about planning due to the uncertainty of post-pandemic life. The company needs to manage its time efficiently so it can work towards completing the goals it did not get to finish before the pandemic. Employees and volunteers are also returning to the office after many months of working from home, which may come with distractions.

Virtual is the New Normal for Communication in your Nonprofit

What’s Hot in Nonprofit Communication Trends? A significant change in communication between organizations has been the use of virtual meetings. If it weren’t for zoom or FaceTime, most sessions would not have been as informative without face-to-face contact with people. Nonprofits have focused on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to market to people. Social media has become a place for all ages to stay up-to-date on the news and find entertainment for hours on end. Nonprofits are still strategizing on better ways to communicate with others since COVID restrictions are easing up around the world. However, they may still try to utilize some of the marketing and communication strategies they learned from the pandemic into the future of their organizations. This will allow them to reach a broad audience that supports their organization and mission.

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Top Tips to Creating Customer Loyalty

by Ella Nordell-Morris

Happy April and International Customer Loyalty Month!

International Customer Loyalty Month is an extremely important month for organizations and businesses to make an extra effort when creating a loyal customer base. Customer loyalty is essential to any business, as it can increase revenue, drive repeat business, and defend against competitors.

Continue reading for the top tips to creating and retaining customer loyalty.

Build better communication:

This tip may seem like a no-brainer, but communication is broad. Consider what elements of communication will help you reach your customers and maintain their loyalty.

First, your organization needs to be present for its audience. Communication efforts must be frequent and relevant to ensure that your organization, message, and products are not forgotten. You will achieve a loyal customer base when you consistently deliver valuable and enjoyable experiences to your audience. Demonstrate consistency in your communication through monthly newsletters, social media, events, promotions, and more. Consistent, positive, and valuable communication tactics will improve your customer relationships and increase loyalty.

Consistent communication is great, but without listening to your customers, your communication lacks value and meaning. Meaningful relationships that result in customer loyalty are built on effective listening. The best way to determine what your customers want is to listen. So, take the time to look at feedback, read reviews, and understand your customers’ points of view. According to Microsoft, 77% of consumers say they favor brands that ask for and accept customer feedback. Customers will show loyalty to you and your organization if you show loyalty to them and their points of view.

Create a customer loyalty program:

Creating a customer loyalty program is one of the best and most effective ways to increase a loyal customer base. Because loyalty programs are built around rewards and benefits, they prove to be effective when increasing loyalty and interest. According to smallbizgenius, 75% of consumers say they favor companies that offer rewards. People want to feel celebrated and seen. Customer loyalty programs help your organization highlight and reward customers that have been committed to your brand, and offer incentives to continue their commitment.

Customer loyalty programs can feature:

Games
Tier Systems
Points Systems
VIP Benefits
Hybrid Programs
And many more!

Though they differ in structure, all of these programs include benefits or rewards to incentivize loyalty to your organization. Consider researching the above customer loyalty programs to find out which one is most fitting for your organization.

Be authentic and transparent:

Your organization must be authentic and transparent to build strong relationships and gain loyal customers. People do not want to connect with brands that are impersonal or machine-like; they want a relationship with a brand that resembles a real person. Your authenticity shines when you share your values and mission to create a meaningful brand. According to the Corporate Executive Board, 64% of customers say that brand values are the #1 reason why they create a relationship with a brand. Being authentic and explicitly sharing and showcasing your brands values and beliefs will help your organization make loyal customers.

In addition to being authentic, your brand needs to be transparent and honest. Honesty is the best policy, even in business, so be upfront with your customers when things do not go as planned or a mistake is made. Customers will be loyal to your organization when they know that you are not hiding anything from them or deceiving them in any way. No one likes to be wrong or make mistakes. However, the truth is appreciated, and remaining honest with your customers will show them that you value their relationship, thus promoting loyalty.

Make life easy for your customers:

People tend to engage more when it requires little effort, so do not make your customers work hard to engage with your brand! Engaging with your organization should be effortless and enjoyable. A good experience will grow customer loyalty exponentially: according to PWC, 73% of consumers say a good experience is the main factor that influences their brand loyalties.

Be flexible and anticipate problems to make your customers’ experience easy and enjoyable. Be reasonably understanding of each customer’s circumstances so that their experience with your organization is as effortless as possible. For example, if you have a customer that was unable to adhere to your 30-day return policy because of the weather or being out of town, be understanding and flexible to their situation. By making it easy on them, you are making it easier for your organization to build customer loyalty and increase retention.

Though Customer Loyalty Month is during April, customer loyalty should be an effort that carries throughout the year! Creating loyalty takes time, so do not hesitate to ask for help. PivotPath is here to provide you with the best marketing services without the high costs of traditional agencies. Letting us take on some of the responsibility will help you put more time into what really matters: your customers and their loyalty and commitment to your organization.

Effectively listening to your audience is essential

by Ella Nordell-Morris

In marketing, it’s our job to communicate to our audience, inform them, and engage them, right? Yes, but there is more to it. As marketers, a large part of our job is listening.

Effectively listening to an audience is essential to the growth of any organization or business. It helps to cultivate relationships, build rapport, increase loyalty, and better direct development, leading to a stronger, more sustainable business. But, how do you listen effectively?

Continue reading to learn how to be an effective listener and why it will benefit your business.

Why you should effectively listen to your audience:

Build meaningful relationships-

Your audience and customers want to feel truly understood and heard. According to NewVoiceMedia, feeling unappreciated is the #1 reason customers switch away from products and services. By genuinely listening to your audience, you are shifting the communication from one-way to two-way, which promotes meaningful relationships.

Increase customer loyalty and retention-

Listening to your audience can help you create meaningful relationships, which can benefit your business in many ways. First, it helps your business increase customer loyalty and retention. When making a purchase or investment, 64% of people find the customer experience more important than price, according to Gartner. Your audience is more likely to remain loyal to your business if you listen to their feedback, and provide them with a relationship and experience that they value.

Build rapport that leads to referrals-

Another benefit of listening to your audience is building a rapport that leads to positive referrals. Customers are not afraid to share their business experiences with friends, family, and even strangers. With the unlimited reach granted by social media and the internet, a customer’s experience never goes unnoticed. According to Extole, 83% of customers are willing to refer after a positive experience with a business. The more you listen to your customers, the more they value the relationship with your business, which will make them more likely to refer others to your services or products.

Better direct your marketing efforts-

Many of us remember being told to listen with “ears open and mouths shut” so that we could learn in grade school. Although it may seem like a child’s lesson, it’s applicable to many aspects of life, including marketing. When you take the time to listen to your audience, you are able to learn more about them: their likes, dislikes, behaviors, and attitudes. This information can be used to better your marketing efforts, customizing them to your audience to get the best reaction and engagement. You can also implement direct suggestions or feedback from customers. This will help improve your business, cultivate meaningful relationships with your audience, and show that you care about their feedback.

How to effectively listen to your audience:

Take part in active listening-

First and foremost, it is important to understand the difference between listening and active listening. When someone chooses to actively listen, they focus on what the other person is saying and try to fully understand the other person’s point of view.

Active listening is essential when communicating with your audience because it helps to show that you are genuine and that you care about what your audience has to say. Actively listen by focusing on what your audience is communicating to you. If given the opportunity, repeat their communications back to them to ensure that you fully understand what they are saying. This will show your audience and customers that you are trustworthy and are invested in their ideas.

Participate in social listening-

Social media is a very important resource when it comes to effectively listening to your audience. Your audience will take to social media for a variety of reasons: to compliment, criticize, complain, or to ask for help. Because of this, social listening a very important thing for your organization or business to partake in.

According to Hootsuite, social listening is the process of monitoring social media platforms and channels for when anyone, especially your audience, mentions your brand, competitors, products, and more. By social listening, a business is able to gain insights into what their audience is thinking and understand what is being said about their brand.

Rely on analytics-

When businesses and organizations consult data, they are using trends in their audiences’ behavior to infer their audience wants, likes, dislikes, and needs. Analytics like website traffic, social media engagement rates, email open and click rates, CTA response, and many others are pieces of data that allow you to listen to what your audience wants.

Understanding the importance of analytics and using the data to listen to your audience will help your organization identify big-picture ideas that can influence other, more specific areas of your marketing strategy.

As shown, listening to your audience is vital to the success of your business or organization. But, listening takes time. PivotPath offers a wide range of services that work to effectively listen to audiences. Contact us today for a free consultation, so we can assist you in your listening efforts. PivotPath understands that listening leads to meaningful relationships, and meaningful relationships lead to growing success.