‘Being authentic means sticking to your values and purpose’, says Highland businesswoman
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With International Woman’s Day taking place on March 8, we are sharing stories of inspiring business women across the Highlands and Moray.
A Highland woman is passionate about having authenticity at the heart of everything she does, including her business.
Jennifer Macdonald-Nethercott is the founder of Strath Communications, a marketing business that helps clients get in front of the right customers. She does this by encouraging them to focus on
personal branding and ensuring that her client’s values and purpose are funnelled into any marketing that goes out to potential customers.
She said: “It’s so important to have your own values and purpose in your branding and what you put out there both online and offline. Those values and purposes need to reflect what you want as they are your guiding light in business.
“Authenticity will come across when you are yourself and people will resonate with this. Being your true self will attract the right clients and business that you are looking for and means that this is aligned to your purpose and values and means you will enjoy your business.”
For Jennifer, people shouldn’t be afraid of letting their personality shine through when speaking about their business. Being able to market themselves in a relatable way will provide more trust for
customers and allow them to build rapport.
Jennifer’s own values include sustainability, meaningful connections, and championing female entrepreneurs.
She said: “I want to bring sustainable thinking into all the marketing I do for clients; to ensure that people’s businesses are future-proof; and I help businesses by marketing effectively to their customers with maximum impact.
“I also want to inspire young girls and women that running your own business is a viable career path. Being a business owner in a rural area I can show that you can grow your own business, fulfilling the economic potential for yourself and your area.”
Jennifer has provided her top tips on how people should market themselves and their business:
- Know what you want to achieve personally and professionally and set your goals for the year ahead
- From this you’ll be able to create the marketing plan with the actions you need to take everyday, week and month to market both yourself and your business
- Be consistent - so if you decide you can only post on social media once a week then do this and stick to it
- Is the language you’re using reflecting you, your brand and attracting the right customers to you? We call it tone of voice but ideally, you want to be writing as you talk as this is how your customers want to hear from you.
A business that stands out from the crowd also includes asking customers about themselves, according to Jennifer.
She said: “Ask your current customers about themselves, so you can find out more about who they are, how you’re helping them, what other problems do they have, and be sure to listen to them.”
