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What if growing your business had less to do with changing your brand and more to do with knowing exactly who you serve? Could narrowing your focus actually help you compete with bigger companies that have larger marketing budgets? Are you building systems that make it easy for potential clients to find and connect with you?
In this podcast episode, Brandon Shurn discusses why knowing your audience matters more than rebranding with Bruce Law.
Podcast Sponsor: POP Consulting
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Meet Bruce Law
Bruce Law is the President and Founder of Sprout Marketing. With a 40-year marketing career that began on Madison Avenue, Bruce has become a leading expert in brand building and sales, helping organizations ranging from startups to established enterprises accelerate growth. He has directed marketing initiatives for major brands such as Intel and Lever Brothers, as well as mid-sized companies like Little Giant. Since founding Sprout Marketing in 2002, Bruce and his team have supported more than 350 companies, launched over 1,000 products, and generated more than $1 billion in additional revenue. A sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to business publications, Bruce began his career at Ogilvy Advertising in New York City and is also an avid adventure traveler.Visit Bruce Law is the Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
In This Podcast
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Why Bruce started Sprout
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The biggest branding mistakes founders often make
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How can companies compete without marketing budgets
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Final takeaways for listeners
Why Bruce started Sprout
I started Sprout because a lot of my friends, 25 years ago, were in venture capital, and they had these early-stage companies that they’d invested in. They couldn’t find the right marketing talent, and to find and hire a marketing executive was very expensive. As I was talking about the issues that they were facing … I asked, “What if [I] were to help you out on a part-time basis, and I could be their acting chief marketing officer?” … And they said, “Perfect!” (Bruce Law)
Bruce quickly got five clients, filled up, and immediately had to expand his business.
He realized that many start-ups don’t have the funds to hire full-time help from the get-go, and he offered a solution: discounted, high-value professional services for up-and-coming businesses.
We started with the lower cost, really efficient, just-the-right amount of marketing they need when they’re young, from senior talent that has been there before, so they’re not guessing, and we grow them over two, three, four years, and then they can hire their full-time person! (Bruce Law)
The biggest branding mistakes founders often make
One of the biggest mistakes that Bruce sees people make is that they think, “If I can change my brand, I will be successful.”
Fixing your brand is not the key to a successful business. Branding can contribute to your success, but it isn’t the full source. You can break marketing down into three main buckets:
1 – The Foundation, where the brand sits
2 – Plumbing, how the business connects with the outside world
3 – The outreach, where you go into the market and bring a “wave of water” into the business
So, you need to answer these three questions:
- Who are you talking to?
- What are you going to say?
- How is it going to show up?
So, you know, branding has to roll all of those things together in a way that is compelling to who you are talking to. That is the beginning of the story, and then you’re just adding chapters to the book … And people will really start to be involved and get involved with your brand. (Bruce Law)
How can companies compete without marketing budgets
Bruce’s best answer on how to compete when you’re up against competitors that can outspend you in the marketing department is to narrow down.
It’s time to focus in on either a core segment, like an audience you can get to or focus in on, or a geography, right … Because as soon as you narrow your geography or your target, your costs go down. (Bruce Law)
When you niche down on either a location or an ideal client demographic, paradoxically, your marketing costs go down, because you know exactly what, with whom, or where to focus the bulk of your marketing budget.
Final takeaways for listeners
1 – Know who you are talking to. Know your audience, because most companies only have a general idea, and they don’t really know. That is a way for you to get ahead.
2 – Secondly, most companies miss the plumbing – they miss the catchment of interested clients. Be sure that your company is easy to get hold of for your clients.
3 – Layer your successes, rather than just trying to add things that half-work on top of one another.
Useful Links:
- Work with us
- Visit Bruce Law is the Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Check out these additional resources:
- Group Practice Conference Part 3: Why Revenue Doesn’t Equal Profit | GP 330
- Practice of the Practice Network
- Group Practice Launch
- Group Practice Boss: www.practiceofthepractice.com/grouppracticeboss $149 a month
- PoP Group Practice Owners Facebook Group
- Free resources to help you start, grow, and scale
- Work with us
- Practice of the Practice Network
Meet Prof. Brandon Shurn
Brandon Shurn, Ph.D., LCPC, LMHC, AFC®, NCC, is a licensed clinical professional counselor and the founder of EmPower Me Holistic Counseling, a fully virtual Maryland-based practice. He’s also a full-time professor in Seattle University’s online Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. With extensive experience launching and directing university training clinics, Brandon now focuses on helping therapists design and grow impactful, sustainable practices. Outside of his work, he enjoys fitness, yoga, Wing Chun, golf, reading, and spending time with his family and dogs.
Visit Empower Me Counseling, and connect with Brandon on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Email him at: brandon@practiceofthepractice.com