Porter Consulting's video capabilities are designed to stand out in a crowded media landscape by crafting authentic, story-driven content that resonates with audiences. Unlike cookie-cutter approaches, Porter focuses on uncovering the "Why" behind a client's story, connecting on a deeper, human level. Their end-to-end services include concepting, storyboarding, scripting, production, and post-production, all handled by a highly experienced team. Jim Braden brings Hollywood storytelling expertise to create compelling narratives, Sheena Morgan ensures seamless production while building trust with clients, and Matt Jaime leverages two decades of video production experience to deliver polished, on-budget results. Together, they bring over 50 years of collective expertise to produce impactful, memorable video content.

Customer award programs are powerful tools for loyalty and engagement, but they can be resource-intensive. Porter Consulting simplifies the process with expert program design, seamless execution, targeted marketing, and data-driven insights. The result? Higher participation, faster ROI, and a standout customer experience—all while freeing up your team to focus on core priorities.

A successful customer award program requires a clear strategy across key steps: defining objectives, building a structured program, and creating an engaging promotion plan. Implement a smooth nomination and voting process, track data for insights, and plan a memorable award ceremony to celebrate winners. Post-program, gather feedback and plan improvements for future success. Following these steps helps foster loyalty, showcase customer achievements, and highlight your brand’s value.

A well-implemented customer award program can significantly elevate your brand by showcasing your customers’ success stories and deepening engagement, loyalty, and retention. In a competitive tech landscape, these programs foster stronger relationships, enhance visibility, and encourage user-generated content. Recognized customers often share their achievements, creating organic promotion and building credibility. Additionally, award programs generate valuable insights that inform product development and drive business growth. By celebrating customer success, brands can position themselves as industry leaders.

Customer award programs are a powerful way to recognize and celebrate your best customers, strengthening emotional connections and fostering loyalty. It’s not just about handing out trophies—it's about creating memorable experiences that leave a lasting impact. At Porter Consulting, we specialize in designing engaging, unforgettable award programs that enhance customer relationships and boost positive brand associations.

Economic uncertainty, exacerbated by layoffs and business closures, impacts the workforce profoundly. Layoffs.fyi reports significant job losses in the tech industry, with larger companies shedding thousands of employees, raising concerns for smaller businesses. Workforce dynamics rapidly changed due to the pandemic and the rise of automation, leaving remaining employees anxious about their job security. Despite these challenges, businesses prioritize employee relations through clear communication, flexibility in work arrangements, and access to mental health resources. These strategies foster productivity, engagement, and well-being, vital for navigating uncertain times. Contractors offer specialized skills to propel companies forward amid ongoing projects, ensuring minimal disruption. Incorporating these strategies enables employers and employees to navigate the evolving workforce landscape with confidence and resilience.

The hi-tech industry is undergoing significant changes, emphasizing the need for flexibility, specialized skills, cost-effectiveness, and adaptability. Due to the impact of the pandemic and rapid technological evolution, hi-tech companies increasingly rely on contractors to supplement their shrinking workforce. This surge in demand for short- and medium-term contractors stems from the necessity to acquire specific skills for evolving technologies. Hiring contractors offers financial benefits as they are not entitled to benefits like health insurance or retirement plans, enabling companies to scale based on demand. Contractors provide flexibility and specialized skills in areas like cybersecurity, cloud computing, data analytics, and AI, allowing companies to swiftly adapt to changing project requirements. IT contracting roles have seen a significant increase in the past two years, with nearly 90% of enterprises planning to maintain or increase budgets for contractors. Porter Consulting can assist with short- and medium-term contractor needs, aligning with the evolving workforce requirements of hi-tech companies.

Achieving success in your organization is like managing a fantasy league team. In tech, assembling the right team for projects is crucial, and contractors play a key role. Contractors act as on-demand specialists, ready to contribute for the duration needed, matching specialized skills strategically. They offer flexibility in the unpredictable world of tech projects, scaling up or down hassle-free. Unlike full-time employees, contractors are budget-friendly, handling their own expenses and leaving extra cash for tech companies. With a diverse talent pool, contractors add a local touch to global projects. Clear communication through well-drafted contracts ensures smooth collaboration between tech companies and contractors. In the tech industry, contractors are the utility players, bringing professionalism, humor, and flexibility. With the right contractor, every tech project can be a success story in the making!

With the post-pandemic workplace resembling a consulting environment, shorter-term engagements are preferred for specific project needs. Companies can evaluate consultants' work, potentially hire them as permanent employees, or continue working with them on different projects, making this approach advantageous in the transient employment landscape. In this article we explore the shift in high-tech companies towards hiring consultants over full-time employees, and the benefits of doing so.

The marketing landscape is ever changing, especially now with the introduction of AI technology. As we look towards 2023, it’s important to stay on top of the trends to maximize your marketing efforts and assess the advantages of utilizing AI technology in your marketing strategy.

Navigating the technology hype cycle can be challenging, especially for individuals or organizations looking to launch new technologies. With these tips, you can make informed decisions about when and how to position new technologies you bring to market.

As the economic waters become more turbulent, job #1 should be to recession proof yourself now. This ensures you stay in the boat. It will still be a rocky ride, but at least you are still in the game. Second, you should consider getting help to push your current and future projects across the finish line. There will be choppy waters ahead and you still need to drive marketing projects, so consider trusted independent contractors to flexibly scale up your business.

This blog series kicked off with Going Back to the Basics. So many marketing trends, so little time. We touched on four key focus areas: Branding and messaging, developing collateral and content, knowing your audience, and positioning sales for success...

The right references, at the right time, can help your sales teams advance their conversations with prospects. Are you successfully optimizing your portfolio of reference assets to maximize their value to sales, effectively targeting the purchasing stage your prospect is in...

Gartner’s Future of Sales research report predicts that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur via digital channels, with 72% of marketing budget currently going to purely digital channels. What does this mean? Your targets are spending more time...

Kim Glover, customer reference marketing professional and consultant with Porter Consulting sat down with David Sroka, CEO of Point of Reference to discuss some best practices for implementing and working with customer reference databases. David shares some great...

Are you a Reference Manager in need of a software tool to help you track and report on reference candidates, projects, and assets? While there are many different tools available to choose from, they all fall under three main categories, and each come with their own pros and cons...

2022 is here – and with it comes the bombardment of blogs and emails telling you about marketing and sales trends. I promise you this isn’t one of them. This is about getting back to basics, setting yourself up for success, and using marketing to drive sales and revenue...

You’ve spent a ton of time putting together marketing collateral for your company, which includes a healthy supply of customer references. Now your company is going through a rebrand. Maybe this just involves a company name change. Perhaps your company is being...

Is enhancing security in your containerized environment high on your priority list for 2022? If not, it should be, because containers are becoming a primary target of attacks due to the powerful credentialing used to run their applications. Having a way to pass secrets...

Participating in customer reference programs delivers value to your customers as well as your company. Here’s how—and why it matters.Whether you are building a new customer reference program or running one that is well-established, there’s a question that may...

Best practices drawn from decades of combined experience will help your customer reference program quickly reach orbit—and deliver results.Customer references establish credibility, bring your company’s value proposition to life, and help your sales and marketing teams engage with...

Your company probably already has a bustling customer reference program, keeping you familiar with the traditional collateral options: slide decks, case studies, solution snapshots, and technical papers. These options get the job done. But, we believe there is...

Marketing managers use several tools for converting prospects into buyers. If your business is not using customers to tell compelling stories about your services, you are missing out on one of the best tools you have.Here are four reasons why customer references are...