Bad Marketing Sucks

Paul Sterett & Chad Richards
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Business
  • Updated Weekly

We are on a mission to eradicate bad marketing. One business at a time. Hosted by Paul Sterett and Chad Richards.

  1. 02/16/2024

    Elevate Your Marketing: Building Strong Relationships for Higher Margins

    Episode 16 Elevate your marketing strategy by understanding the profound impact of building strong relationships. Paul and Chad talk how cultivating genuine connections fosters sustainable growth and success. Learn how prioritizing authentic relationships with customers, partners, and stakeholders can drive higher margins and propel your business to new heights. Embrace the power of connection and witness the transformative potential it holds for your brand’s longevity and prosperity. Unlock the key to sustainable growth and elevate your marketing efforts by nurturing meaningful relationships built on trust, loyalty, and mutual understanding. https://youtu.be/xa7m0s6ezrk?si=9NtVreI6eaexQyV1 Transcript 00;00;00;00 – 00;00;04;04 Speaker 1 Paul? How we doing, man? 00;00;04;05 – 00;00;06;19 Speaker 2 Oh, fantastic. Jed Richards, how you doing? 00;00;06;21 – 00;00;08;11 Speaker 1 Doing good. Glad to be back. 00;00;08;13 – 00;00;09;20 Speaker 2 Oh, it’s good to be back with you. 00;00;09;21 – 00;00;20;22 Speaker 1 Tell me your thoughts on the power of relationships in business and how that relates to, a business’s margins. 00;00;20;24 – 00;00;49;17 Speaker 2 So your margins are squarely in your relationships and how strong your relationships are. So, you know, we’ve talked before about our customers, listeners, customers live in two spaces. They live in a relational space, in a transactional space. And so before they become transactional, that’s when we have the opportunity. Very few people take this opportunity, but we have an opportunity to build a relationship with our customers. 00;00;49;19 – 00;01;14;03 Speaker 2 And by, you know, when we talk about building relationships as being visible and communicating with them in a way that they can actually receive, what we’re talking about in that space, if we do that, well, when they go to make a purchase and they have a relationship with us, price is going to be a factor that is further down the list. 00;01;14;06 – 00;01;35;08 Speaker 2 If they if they don’t have relationship with us, like say they have a need, what are they going to do? They’re going to go they don’t have somebody, they don’t have a go to company. They’re going to go to Google. You’re going to search put in their search query and they’re going to get a list of businesses trying to figure out how they’re going to solve this problem that they have. 00;01;35;11 – 00;01;51;20 Speaker 2 Yeah. And so on. That list, if they all are equal in relationship and, you know, being known to that person, they’re very likely going to just go, that price is going to be the most important thing because there’s nothing else to differentiate that list. 00;01;51;26 – 00;01;52;07 Speaker 1 Right. 00;01;52;10 – 00;02;18;11 Speaker 2 And so when we, talk about increasing our profit margins, our relationships with the customer are one of the first places to start. Yes. And most people don’t do that. So here’s an example that I like to use is if, you need to move something like the other day, I moved a dresser upstairs, which is. 00;02;18;16 – 00;02;19;08 Speaker 1 In your house. 00;02;19;08 – 00;02;24;13 Speaker 2 In my house. the front steps and the stairs up. you know, it’s miserable. 00;02;24;14 – 00;02;25;22 Speaker 1 Ibuprofen. Okay. 00;02;25;22 – 00;02;47;27 Speaker 2 Yes. But, you know, if I’m going to find help to do that, I’m going to call you. In this case, it was Rafi. And, we we have a really strong relationship. We’re good friends. Yes. Was the immediate answer. I’ll be right over. And so we got that. We got the thing up there. So and it’s going to stay there. 00;02;47;27 – 00;02;50;01 Speaker 2 Oh because if you’re listening we’re not moving yet again. 00;02;50;01 – 00;02;51;04 Speaker 1 Those are some stairs man. 00;02;51;05 – 00;03;10;23 Speaker 2 So but let’s say that you were Rafi are not available. And I have to go to another person that I have a relationship with, but not as strong as with with you. Then I’m probably going to call James and say, hey buddy, can you come help me move this dresser. I’ve got some beer. You know we can enjoy afterwards, you know. 00;03;10;25 – 00;03;30;15 Speaker 2 So that, that next layer out cost me a little bit more to get this help. Sure. But if he’s not available, then I’ve got to call Tony, and I’m like, hey, dude, I really need some help. Yeah, but I got some beer and pizza, right? So it’s going to cost me even more to get there. Sure. So it’s not much different when we’re looking at businesses that are trying to to, to get customers. 00;03;31;00 – 00;03;43;10 Speaker 2 and the cost of what it takes to get that customer and then not just a cost to get them there, but then what they do with, you know, beat you up on price and. Yes. And making that purchase. 00;03;43;11 – 00;03;44;04 Speaker 1 Right. 00;03;44;06 – 00;04;07;17 Speaker 2 The stronger the relationship we have, the easier it is for them and the faster they’re going to be to select us. Yes. And price is going to be lower on the list of things that are priority. No, no, it’s always got a price. Buyers. Oh, sure. But if we’re doing things, well, if we’ve got a good strategy in place and we understand what our customers are doing. 00;04;07;20 – 00;04;15;09 Speaker 2 Then building those relationships in the right way are going to increase our profit margins. I absolutely don’t know anybody who doesn’t want to do that. No. 00;04;15;10 – 00;04;31;08 Speaker 1 Well yeah. I mean they should be doing that. And so I think the margins are where the power is. Yeah. you know, it just kind of. I had a story here, something, I went through this recently, and it’s it’s really right in this wheelhouse. So about a year ago, I was looking to buy a thermal scope. 00;04;31;11 – 00;04;50;24 Speaker 1 for my hunting needs. And I was looking at one in particular that was not out yet, and I liked it and wanted it. And I called the company that I had seen that one that was not necessarily the most prominent company, but they were the ones that resonated with me the most because of how they went about addressing these different scopes and how they explained them. 00;04;50;26 – 00;05;11;04 Speaker 1 so, I found them on the podcast and went to a website and finally called and they were like, look, man, it’s not out yet, you know? But it’s coming. We don’t know what exactly when, but we’ll let you know. Well, fast forward a year. And I thought, man, you know this thing. Well guess what? It came out and, they sent me a notification and said, hey, you know, someone let you know it’s here. 00;05;11;04 – 00;05;33;19 Speaker 1 So I called and I talked to, a salesperson there at the company, and he said, hey, yeah, we do have it, but let me talk to you for a second about another one that’s out as well. Yeah. You know, two different scopes in the same ballpark, a price, right? Yeah. And he went through all the different, features and benefits and all the things that were really important to me when making such a larger purchase. 00;05;33;20 – 00;05;46;14 Speaker 1 Right? Yeah. and he spent a while with me, you know, discussing this, and I didn’t push me, but I purchased the one that he, didn’t recommend, but the one that he brought to my attention. 00;05;46;20 – 00;05;49;05 Speaker 2 He made a video where he made another option. 00;05;49;10 – 00;06;05;24 Speaker 1 Of another option. and so they they sent it to me overnight. Pay for the insurance. and when it came, they got a notification and they sent me an email said, you know, you’ve received your scope. It’s been shipped. If there are any issues or any problems, please let us know ASAP. 00;06;05;24 – 00;06;06;03 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00;06;06;03 – 00;06;12;27 Speaker 1 So we can address this. Okay. Could I have gotten that scope somewhere else for maybe a little bit less money? 00;06;13;05 – 00;06;13;22 Speaker 2 Guarantee it. 00;06;13;22 – 00;06;23;10 Speaker 1 I feel pretty confident that could, you know, 3 or 4 or $500. Okay, great. But at the end of the day, it’s just the process. And the way they made me feel. 00;06;23;10 – 00;06;23;28 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00;06;24;00 – 00;06;36;18 Speaker 1 they were my go to gas for scopes. Yeah. You know, and and they will continue to be. So if I ever have anyone or hear anyone talking about wanting a thermal scope, I’m going to say, guys, listen. Yeah, this is where you need to go. 00;06;36;19 – 00;06;39;12 Speaker 2 And what did you do, 10s after you got off that phone call? 00;06;39;17 – 00;06;56;17 Speaker 1 Oh, I contacted you and said, man, you called. These guys are great. And here’s the thing. And again, I mean, I think that this is talked about so much in such a mystical, magical way that, you know, and it makes people think, oh my gosh, I mean that what are we talking about? I mean, this is some kind of an elusive object. 00;06;56;18 – 00;06;57;04 Speaker 1 No it’s not. 00;06;57;05 – 00;06;58;12 Speaker 2 No it isn’t. 00;06;58;13 – 00;06;59;06 Speaker 1 It’s simple. 00;06;59;13 – 00;06;59;28 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00;07;00;03 – 00;07;14;29 Speaker 1 It’s just taking the time to communicate and talk to people one at a time. Yeah, and make them feel validated. Make them understand what’s going on and make them want to do business with you. Yeah, well. 00;07;14;29 – 00;07;32;18 Speaker 2 Look, that’s what building relationships are. If we go to a party or we’re out and we’re meeting somebody new and, we start to to see what coming out commonalities we have. Sure. You know, where are you from? If you’re from the same city, what school did you go to? Hey, do you know this guy? Yeah, I know that guy. 00;07;32;20 – 00;07;56;10 Speaker 2 Do you believe what he did in high school? You know, we star

    17 min

  2. 02/09/2024

    Cut the Fluff – Build Stronger Customer Relationships

    Episode 15 In the dynamic world of marketing, the mantra “go big or go home” often takes center stage. But what if the real secret to success lies in the finer details? Join Paul and Chad as they delve into the intricate art of building stronger customer relationships on this episode of the Bad Marketing Sucks Podcast.  Discover why cutting through the fluff and focusing on the little things can be a game-changer in the relational phase of marketing.

    21 min

  3. 12/07/2023

    Enough with the Pitch Slap

    We have reached our boiling point. Just can’t take it anymore. It is time to stop the Pitch Slap. No more terrible pitching 10 seconds after a new LinkedIn connection is accepted. Enough is enough. It only make companies who use this tactic look like jerks. Just a bad marketing and sales approach. https://youtu.be/BUcer5Oo0wI Click on the Transcript to see full Transcription: Transcript CLOSE Transcript Paul (00:00): Chad, so we got a hot topic today. Chad (00:03): Oh man. I’m waiting on this one for a while. Paul (00:05): So we’ve all experienced this. No one likes it. Why people continue to do this. I just don’t know. I don’t know that I have not found an answer yet. The problem that we face is the pitch slap. Chad (00:20): Yes. It’s terrible. Paul (00:21): About two seconds after somebody connects with you on LinkedIn, Chad (00:24): Bam. Bam. My dms are full of it. Yeah. Pitch slap. Yeah. Paul (00:30): I can’t take it anymore. Chad (00:31): Yeah, I know. It’s terrible. And I relate it to, it’s similar to the dating world, back when we were all dating, and it is very similar to asking a girl on a date, right. The connection request, and then you take her out and it’s like, Hey, you want to get married? Paul (00:50): Yeah. Just right away. And she’s like, let’s Chad (00:52): Go. Can you imagine the look you would get or the response you would get on that? Paul (00:57): Yeah, and it’s not just like a little bit, I get paragraphs, I get Chad (01:04): Thesis, novel Paul (01:05): Essays, whatever you want to call it, but plenty of them explaining Chad (01:10): Everything that they do. Paul (01:12): I had one the other day that I thought, I’m going to give this a shot. I’m going to connect. Seems like a worthwhile and about, I mean, at least they waited like 12 minutes and then got five paragraphs and I actually responded and said, man, I was just really hoping for a connection and not to get pitched ride Chad (01:33): Away, just treat me like a human. My thing is how do you know what someone needs until you figure out who they are and what they’re about. I mean, you’re just spraying and praying. Warm Paul (01:46): Up conversation at least. Yeah. At least learn a little bit. My favorite of all favorites is, you know what? I can help you get 20 to 25 new ideal customers, and we did this for four or five different agencies last week. I’m like, oh my gosh, Chad (02:01): Really? Paul (02:02): You figured out my ideal customer by looking at, oh wow, Chad (02:07): My goodness. Paul (02:08): Yeah, Chad (02:08): You should be paid a lot more for doing this. Paul (02:11): Exactly. But they got a deal. They Chad (02:13): Going, it’s crazy. And it is becoming a bigger issue. And I think one of the things that we see a lot just in general is, and it’s not just people, although people are brands, but it’s also companies. They’re talking at customers and not talking to customers in a way that resonates Paul (02:38) : Without a doubt. Chad (02:39): And it becomes just like Charlie Brown’s teacher, wah. It’s a little Paul (02:46): Bit, Chad (02:47): And then they wonder why they struggle being able to grow as a business and to continue in the trending up with their business and brand. Paul (03:03): It just doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t. Is there something that we’re missing that they have enough of a success rate? I don’t know. The thing though is if it is successful, if they’re actually able to bring on business like that, how many idiots out there? A lot are responding. And Chad (03:21): I would just have to think that going into 2024, I mean, aren’t we at a place in society where maybe we did go through that phase where people were more open to that type of pitch, so to speak? Maybe. But don’t you think we’re kind of getting back a little bit trending back towards more personalization and Paul (03:45): I hope Chad (03:45): So reaching out to people and treating ’em like humans. Paul (03:49): Well, I mean, if you’re saying from a standpoint of what you and I are seeing, I think that what you and I are seeing, we’re being more selective with the people that we connect with, particularly on LinkedIn. And so by virtue of that, we’re calling out what we see from the people who are really trying to be superficial, that are trying to be more gimmicky. I mean, I hope that that’s outside of what the algorithm is feeding us and what we’re engaging with. I don’t think that is necessarily the case based on the number of spam messages I get, not just in LinkedIn, but in my email as well. Chad (04:30): It’s all the same. But wouldn’t you think that at some point that people would start to realize that this is really not effective? Paul (04:39): I would think so. Start making change. The volume by which I see ’em is Chad (04:44): The biggest part. The frustrating ones for me are the ones that you get the connection request and then I guess they’d got an automatic Paul (04:50): Deal. Yeah. Oh, there’s a lot of automation, that’s for Chad (04:51): Sure. And then it kicks into your dms and it’s like, Hey, and they go through this long spill. It’s like, well, if I’d have known this, I wouldn’t have connected the Paul (04:58): Poems really get me. Have you gotten a poem yet? Yeah, Chad (05:01): I’ve gotten a Paul (05:01): Poem, gotten poems and song lyrics. They just really touch my heart and they bring Chad (05:07): A tear to your Paul (05:08): Eye as I delete them. Yes. They really do. They bring a tear to my eye as I delete ’em and laugh as I walk away. Chad (05:15): I just wish that, and I know that it’s difficult to call people out on it in a way that without hurting their feelings, but I’m getting to the point where they’ve kind of almost not hurt my feelings, but they’ve kind of offended me. Paul (05:30) : Yeah, it’s just a waste Chad (05:31): Of time. So it’s getting to a point to where it’s a waste of time, but you want to call it out and say, Hey, look, why not treat me like a human? I was hoping that this, Paul (05:42): So there’s a question, what does it mean to be human on LinkedIn? Because I guarantee you, I guarantee that there are a section of people that reach out to both of us that think that they are and they’re coming across as not. So is it something that we are perceiving differently or are they taught just an unfortunate, bad way to go about it? Chad (06:09): What does it mean? That’s a great question. I don’t know. I think we both kind of came from an era where there was, in the world of business, it’s more Oh yeah, for sure. So we still try to carry that over into this digital world, and it’s difficult at times because you are talking through a computer, but you have to remember that the person on the other side is a human Paul (06:42): Well, hope Chad (06:42): So. They have feelings. They bleed. They live the same life we do. I mean, it’s the same world. I mean, it may be different. Their life may be a little bit different, but we’re all people. Yeah, Paul (06:53): Exactly. Chad (06:54): So I don’t know. I guess it really, it goes back to maybe your generation in a way. That’s a good question. I don’t know. I just know that we come from, I wouldn’t say old school, but kind of a little Paul (07:12): Bit. Yeah. Obviously Zoom is helpful, but man, I tell you, there’s some days where I’m just zoomed out. Yeah, I know. I mean, I’ll talk to you on the phone. It gets old, but I can get zoomed out pretty quick. Yeah, Chad (07:26): It gets old Paul (07:26): Quick. Actually become a term now. Zoomed Chad (07:29): Out. Zoomed out. Yeah. Yeah. It makes me think of a rifle zoomed out. Exactly. But yeah, it’s an issue. But I just wish that in talking to people, and especially with brands and companies, how to reach their ideal customer in a way that resonates with them. And it’s more than just, you’ve got to have the right tone. You got to use the right messaging. But what happened to birthday cards and anniversary cards? Oh, yeah. What happened to the things that, the personal touch? Paul (08:12): Well, I think it’s twofold. I think you have some people who maybe not be as familiar with that. That’s why there are some people that we follow on LinkedIn that are advocating for those types of things, and people think it’s earth shattering, but they just may not have been exposed to it. Not everybody, like my Godmother, before she passed away, I mean, she would literally at the beginning of the year, would buy birthday cards for everybody. I mean, she had ’em ready to go. Not everybody’s like that anymore. So you’ve got people that aren’t familiar with it as well, but there’s also a factor of what if a company is just not aware enough to gather that information and observant to gather that information Chad (08:56): Well, but every company should be wanting to differentiate themselves Paul (09:02): A hundred percent. I agree. But there’s some planning oftentimes to be differentiated. True. And if we are not thinking ahead to say, well, what information do we need to gather? What do we need to observe in order to do something unique like that, then if they don’t have that information, then it’s kind of hard to do something. Chad (09:24): It’s kind of hard to do it if you don’t have it. I mean, I noticed that some companies will send an email when your birthday, if they happen to know that when your birthday is maybe a Valentine’s or Easter or something. And it’s good. I mean, it’s obviously standing out a little bit more than the average, but if they would take it one step further and gather the information up front and just say, Hey, listen, just, and I know everybody’s not going to do it. Paul (09:52): No, they’re Chad (09:53): Not. But for the on

    22 min

  4. 11/23/2023

    Street Art in Marketing

    David Speed’s journey has taken some interesting turns over the years. Of of them is pioneering street art in the Marketing world. While he is all in on exploring neon pink, he has some great perspective on how to use art to stand out. Follow David and his art: Linkedin Instagram https://youtu.be/sS9uJWAEcXI?si=WJXPKnTh5ytwUHb8

    34 min

  5. 11/16/2023

    Two BIG Mistakes Businesses Get Wrong in Marketing

    Of the many things a business can do wrong with their Marketing, Jeremy Mace shares two of the big ones he sees as problematic. Jeremy has a lot of experience with a wide variety of disciplines within the marketing and branding world. His two big mistakes he sees businesses make are not allocating enough budget and lack of attribution. Glad to have Jeremy on Bad Marketing Sucks! https://youtu.be/uWsq63HUVlg?si=h5j0RNyAMM5ag7IB Connect with Jeremy on Linkedin Click on the Transcript to see full Transcription: Transcript CLOSE Transcript So, Jeremy, welcome to the band Marketing Sucks show. How you doing today? I’m doing great and I love the name. It’s awesome. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. We we enjoyed ourselves. Glad to have you today. Tell us a little bit about yourself. You’ve got a long history of branding and marketing in the area in Georgia. Yeah. I mean, the Augusta, Georgia area in particular. Tell us a little bit about your background and who you are. Sure. I, I think by you’ve got a lot of history means you’re old. So I’ll I’ll take that. As you know. It’s all right, Chad. I think you are. You’re maybe least a little bit older than I am, possibly. No, I’m not. You’re all I’m a little bit older. And Paul is older than all of us. really? Wow. Well, there you go. So look at that. You got him. The kids. I have the. Yes, I’m older than all of you, man. So you can see that I’ve got a bunch of comic books, posters and stuff in my office and I love all that. And I wanted to be a comic book writer and a producer. And so that’s what really got me started in the whole gig. And I borrowed some money from my grandparents in the early nineties or mid-nineties and tried my hand at running a comic book company and promptly lost all the money because we had bad marketing. Right. So there’s a testimonial right there. Probably ought to have some good marketing, probably ought to have some business experience beyond being 19 years old. So that was also kind of a downside. I also realize that comic book writers and artists, like 99% of them are struggling and it’s not an easy road to go and only a few of them break out. And I found out that even the guys that were making, you know, writing Spider-Man and the X-Men back in the nineties weren’t hardly making any money because they worked for Marvel. So it was just unless you had a big screenplay take off or something, you were you were going to be stuck. But I did realize that I loved putting the books together. I liked the fonts, I liked the colors, I liked publishing, I liked being in front of people telling the story of why we had put made the comics together. My dad had been in sales, so sales and marketing was kind of in my blood. And then the graphic design and the artistic side came into play and that that meant that I could make more money on the side doing graphic design and that type of stuff than I could ever trying to do comics. So comics became a hobby and I still love it. It’s fun. I’ve worked as a graphic designer for the Apart Agusta Apartment Finders Guide. Way, Way Back is how I got my first gig. Really enjoyed doing that. Yeah. You’re dating yourself here? yeah, man. And well. And then there was this thing called the Internet. I’m not sure if, you know, Al Gore created it back in the mid-nineties and after and yeah, after Al Gore did that, we decided that we probably ought to learn how to use it. So I taught myself basic HTML, CC and at that point, you guys remember flash websites, Macromedia Flash. Yeah. So I learned how to do flash, built some websites. I had an upside business go in that I quit the apartment Finder’s guide, started my own business with my brother, makes graphics that continue to grow. And when you’re when you’re doing freelance and back in the day, I guess I’m more of a generation X kind of guy. If somebody asks you to be able to do something, the answer is yes, right? And I think nowadays there’s this whole kind of millennial and generation Y that’s saying, you know, you know, stay in your lane and only do one thing and maximize it. And I just don’t have that. I’d rather jump around. If somebody asks me to do something, I’m going to tell them, Yep. And I’m going to figure out how to make that work. And so I would I would learn how to do advertising, I’d learn how to do banner ads, I’d learn how to build websites, I’d learn how to to put together a marketing plan. I’d learn how to put together a, you know, a branding strategy. And over over the years, I did pretty good, built up a business and then was bought out by Taxslayer. So Taxslayer is a great local company in Augusta and Evans and worked there for a few years, then went back out on my own and worked as a book cover designer for Amazon.com, which was really fun and got to got a few other artists and paid them to do some of the work. So ended up outsourcing a little bit of that. That was great. And then in 2008, I there was this great Web property called MySpace. I don’t know if you guys are familiar with that. Yeah, Yeah, he was a big MySpace. I honestly I think I think my MySpace is still Yeah I think it is it might exist Jackson is here we got like 7 million I think we got like 7 million notifications stuck in it. Chad, you know you had a MySpace. Yeah, I think it’s right next to my Hotmail account. Yeah, exactly. His his his profile picture is Michael Jackson Thriller. But anyway, go ahead. Well, I was using I was using, you know, MySpace on Netscape Navigator and back in the day. But back in 2008, Facebook had just come along and Twitter was in its infancy. The social media was really getting started and there were no real digital agencies in Augusta. And so I had a guy come and say, Hey, would you like to create a I think you’d be great to run it. Will you will you want to partner together? And let’s create a digital advertising agency? And we did. And the most awesome thing was we were working for the traditional agencies at the time. We there were lots of them in Augusta and we were doing their digital work. So we would do social media strategy, we would run Google ads, we would do all of that. And over the next ten years, between 28, 2018, all of the work that we had done, we would do a good job. We would end up getting more ad spend. And all of those larger agency said, Why are we paying these guys to do it? We need to hire our own. So it was over time we became a we in the integrated traditional agency in consulting, and then they all integrated digital and now everything’s digital. And yeah, that’s one of the things I was going to talk about, like, what’s the difference in nowadays, you know, marketing now versus marketing then Like what? What are the changes I’ve experienced? Yeah, that’s probably the big one is traditional needing digital and digital needing traditional. They’re merging together. But where I see the separation happening is between marketing and advertising. Those things are pulling further apart. Whereas the, the branding in the marketing is congealing into one thing and advertising’s almost its own baby. And the people that are really good at advertising aren’t necessarily really good at branding and marketing. And you need you need both on your team. Obviously you got to have people that do both and there are agencies in town and organizations that have both. But it’s rare that you’ve got a one man show that can really kind of do it all. Yeah, so that was it then. I sold that company in 2018 to a local development company, was more focused on software development and they wanted advertising and marketing to be a part of their team, worked there for several years and then more recently have focused on a really cool ministry project where we’re building a discipleship app and we’ve got some different opportunities for it. And so my world has really changed. I’ve done everything from being a creative director to graphic designer to a sales guy to leading teams of creatives and, you know, all those things. So how’s that, that do it? Yeah, well, I love that. I love that leads me right into my next question. Based on your your your experience here, in your opinion, where do you feel like most businesses go wrong with their branding marketing? Okay, I’ve got it’s two things. First off, is budget, second is second is attribution. So budget and attribution of budget a little bit. What are your what are your thoughts on that? Nobody spends enough. Nobody spends enough. Not the they do eventually. You mean initially? Well, yeah, they have to. Yeah, initially. So that’s a that’s a great point Paul. They the the thought is is we’re going to create this great product or you know, we’ve got a restaurant, it’s going to be so good. Everybody’s just going to come and show up or we’ve built this app and people are going to use it once and it’ll just spread like wildfire or we’ve, you know, we’ve got this business and they’re going to find out about us and word of mouth is going to do it. And even with word of mouth marketing in today’s world involves marketing automation. So email marketing is falling underneath that, communicating to your clients. You’ve got to have a website, you need to have a content strategy. There’s just a ton of that and that all takes time and money and nobody wants to put that in. And so they, they undercut it and then they find themselves in a hole that they’ve got to reinvest to dig themselves out of. And if they would go into it with the right mix, you know, look at that 20% of your operators going into marketing, that’s a big number for a lot of people. I can’t imagine that it would take that. But the successful businesses time after time are the ones that are are investing in that budget. So that’s that’s my think thoug

    28 min

  6. 11/09/2023

    4 Times Your Brand Needs Help

    Lots of business owners focus on getting started with the bare minimum. When it comes to branding it shows. I this episode, Chad and Paul talk about 4 times your brand needs help. If you are just starting out, take the time and build your brand well. You’ll make a lot more money and spend less on marketing. If you did not put the work in from the beginning, there has never been a better time to create a better foundation for your brand. https://youtu.be/7NbMOIKD0AE Click on the Transcript to see full Transcription: Transcript CLOSE Transcript Paul: All right. Plenty of time. Chad: Yeah. Paul, how you doing, man? Paul: Chad, I’m doing fantastic. Chad: Good. Paul: I’m going to do something different this episode. I’m going to see if I can get through it without coughing my head off. Chad: Man, that’d be a miracle, wouldn’t it? Paul: Having an intermission. Chad: Yeah. Paul: An unplanned intermission. Chad: That was hilarious. Yeah, man, you got to do what you got to do. Paul: The real question is though, who watched the YouTube video long enough to see that happen? Chad: I don’t know. That’s a good question. I’d love to know. I think somebody did, because I saw a comment on there about whether it was COVID or the flu bug. Paul: Oh, that’s right. Chad: So somebody did. Paul: At least one. We got that down. We got that down. So you have a topic today that you want to talk about, and it is surrounding brand evolving? Can a brand evolve? Does a brand evolve? Chad: That’s an interesting question. Paul: Yeah. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’ve seen some clients where they’re like oh, we got to change your logo every four or five years. I’m like, I’m not sure how I feel about that. I mean, Pepsi has changed their logo before, but not dramatically. Chad: Yeah. I mean, they’ve made some changes. I mean, there are times when I think it is necessary. The biggest thing, I think, is that a lot of businesses will just put everything to bed. The website’s been completed. They’ve got their manifesto, they’ve got their color fonts, they’ve got their logo and everything, and they just put it to bed, and they operate for a good eight to 10 years, sometimes longer. And they just think that hey, we’ve done it. It’s been accomplished. And they may be following that brand, and they may be expressing it very consistently across every department and all of their outreach and everything. But over time, things change. There could, technology changes. I mean, there may be times where you might need to modernize it based on new technology, which could involve your colors and your website, at some point in time, needs to be updated potentially. Paul: So you’ve got four things here that we can go through. So I think you’ve already started on the first one. Chad: Yeah, that’s the first one. Paul: Repositioning or reshifting, I think I see where you’re going with this because I think a lot of people will do certain things they feel checks the box, but it’s not really strategic and it’s not really a brand. And then they do some, they actually try to position. Is this is what, you’re going with that. Chad: Yeah. Well, sometimes you have to shift to appeal to maybe a new target audience. Maybe some things have changed within the organization. You might want to differentiate yourself from competitors in a way to stand out more. So yeah, there are those times when you need to go back and revisit that. Paul: So would you say that’s a brand evolving or is that a brand going back and doing the work they should have done to begin with? Chad: That’s a great question. It just depends. I mean, if you are trying to, so let’s say you have a competitor that comes on the scene and they’re starting to look like you. They’re trying to mimic you a little bit. Yeah. I mean, I could see where you might need to make some changes and it could simply come from just not addressing it and doing it right the first time. I mean, I’m not saying that it’s not. And then you also have, there are times when you could be expanding into new markets, especially from an international standpoint. Paul: Yeah. Okay. So that’s an interesting point there. Chad: Yeah. I mean, you’ve got different culture, you’ve got different language, and at that point you have to go back through and probably change some of your messaging to resonate with that culture. And you need to go back and revisit that at that point. Paul: So that makes me think of a recent episode we had with Sergio Terrez, and he was talking a lot about that, the way that the Hispanic community is poorly marketed to because businesses just don’t understand the culture. They think that Google Translate is enough and it’s just not. And that also reminds me of another brand that is based in Japan, and they have just a different way that, they actually have some mascots that are different than they would ever have in any other country. Chad: Yeah. Is that Daikin? Paul: Yeah, Daikin. That’s the one. That’s the one. I guess that’s the second point. So new territories. Chad: Yeah. So when you say mascots, they’ve got, so it’s something that is really… I guess when you say mascots, that’s more known in Japan than it would be in the US or any other parts of the country. Paul: I can’t remember exactly what that mascot is or that icon or whatever it is in Japan. But I know that, I believe it was last year and I think they’ve rolled this out by now, they developed a butterfly for the United States, because that fits more. Obviously in Japan, I only know this because of my teenage daughters, but anime is just different there than it is here. Chad: How it’s expressed? Paul: Yeah, exactly. So again, maybe like this brand evolution, or is it brand expression? Different places need- Chad: Different parts of the world. It just needs to be expressed differently, something that resonates more with the culture. Paul: And they could probably get that wrong pretty quickly. Going back to what Sergio was saying about just the Hispanic community. A lot of people get that wrong really quick. Chad: Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean like he was saying there’s different ways of speaking the language, and if you don’t get it right, it’s not going to resonate. You’re not going to reach them in a way that they’re going to remember you or feel your message or understand you in a way that they want to do business with you. Paul: In a way, he’d make you look like an idiot. Chad: Yeah, right. Exactly. Yeah, I enjoyed having Sergio on. That was really some good information that a lot of businesses tend to forget about. Paul: Absolutely. Chad: I think they try to do it from a way that, like he said, just pull someone in who speaks Spanish, and maybe it’s someone in the office or something. It’s not done in a way that just really resonates. Paul: Yeah, there’s a big difference between, and we said in that episode, I have a degree in Spanish, but it’s been a long time since I’ve actually spoken in Spanish on a consistent level. Chad: I was trying to get you to speak it around here a while back, and it’s like well, I don’t know. Let me kind of go back and think about this a little bit. I need to brush up here. Paul: Let’s go to Veracruz. I’ll order for all of us in Spanish. Chad: Tamales. Paul: We will eat like kings. We’ll eat like kings. Chad: Okay, Paul: So we’ve got reposition, reshift. We’ve got expansion into new territories that we’ve talked about. So the next point is a brand refresh. Tell me what and when does a brand need a refresh? Chad: Well, I mean, technology changes over time. So you’ve got to keep up with that, with the modern technology. And again, it could be that your colors don’t match up with who you are anymore. It could be that, obviously the website, I mean you’ve got to go back and you cannot just, you know this, we can’t just build it. It can be as robust as you want it to be originally. But you can’t just say, okay, well that’s done and let’s just move on, and 10 years go by and this site is just hasn’t been addressed, updated, or anything. I mean, you can’t. That’s not smart. Paul: And that really is something that I would say the vast majority of businesses right now suffer from is it’s the checkbox, we’ve got the website. And you talk about going back and making sure your colors represent you now. Those types of things are really, again, going back, they probably weren’t done well the first time around, and then you check these boxes and these days, if you’re not addressing your website and doing something proactive every single month to add some- Chad: What about just content? Paul: Just something to make it alive. You’re going to be dinged on your authority score. Now, of course, Lisa can talk a lot more than that than we can, but it is one of those things that, yeah, check a box. We’ve got a website. We built it 15 years ago. It’s pretty good. We’re fine. Chad: That’s great. Yeah. I mean, it works. Paul: Or does it? Chad: Well, I mean, it’s functional in their minds, but at the end of the day, it’s not really functioning the way it needs to be. Paul: Missing out on a lot of opportunities. Chad: Missing a lot of opportunities. And I think a lot of this is, again, business leaders, owners, get so busy doing what they do day in, day out and providing for their customers. It’s easy to forget. Paul: Of course it is. Chad: I mean, you’ve gone in your house before and hit your TV and you had to maybe update an app. I mean, those things are prompting you to do that, but your website’s not going to send you anything and say hey Paul, hey Chad, it’s time to reboot this thing. It’s just not hitting you in the face.

    20 min

  7. 11/02/2023

    Lurking Brand Killers

    There are some lurking brand killers out there all business owners need to be aware of. Overlooking simple actions to take in your branding and marketing can hurt you and your business in a major way. Aligning the promises you make in your advertising and marketing with your team is critical to actually deliver on your promises. https://youtu.be/h2NbgeXqHFE

    25 min

  8. 10/26/2023

    5 Ways to Market to the Hispanic Community more effectively.

    Lots of businesses want to market to the Hispanic community. Lots of businesses are doing it wrong. Sergio Terreros joined Chad and Paul on this episode of Bad Marketing Sucks to share 5 ways businesses can be more effective in their marketing. Sergio on Linkedin https://youtu.be/SlCUplaNivU?si=03ER-GUybrP-LSMm

    23 min
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About

We are on a mission to eradicate bad marketing. One business at a time. Hosted by Paul Sterett and Chad Richards.

Information

  • Creator
    Paul Sterett & Chad Richards
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2023 White Hart Insight LLC
  • Show Website
    Bad Marketing Sucks