The Thoughtful Entrepreneur Josh Elledge of UpMyInfluence.com

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the founder, President, and CEO of https://www.engagency.com/ (Engagency), Jason Perry.
Engagency is a company that creates a personalized marketing experience that actually works for large corporations. Josh and Jason explore what works well in customer engagement today. Jason shares that what works well is creating a user experience that is the ‘path of least resistance’ for all of your market. Now matter what field you’re competing in, your end goal is keeping your customers engaged for the lifetime of your relationship with them. You need to organize the user experience so that it shaves off annoying extras and things that detract from the experience for consumers.
There’s also been massive progress when it comes to market testing and experimentation. These studies help companies discover why their audience buys and how to engage with them more. Jason also shares that “engaging” is really just a matter of staying relevant and top of mind to your audience.
Jason also explores some consumer trends and how businesses engage today with their audiences. The most obvious trend right now is personalization marketing, which is very popular. Jason shares that artificial intelligence is coming into play for marketing firms, too. The work that goes into correlating data points for market research manually is both expensive and extensive, but companies that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to sort this data are ahead of the curve. Jason predicts that in the future, A.I. will be able to create images and ads on its own (maybe in real time!) His hope is that the future of artificial intelligence and personalization marketing will benefit the consumer and create positive business relationships for companies.
Engagency tends to work with enterprises and companies that average over a billion dollars in revenue annually, with a large customer base. They come in,clean up, and organize these companies and the end result is a complete digital transformation. Engagency puts their clients at ease and gets things working and functional.
Jason also shares some best practices on how to engage better with your customers. First of all, make a phone call to a good, reputable hosting company. You want to invest in good online performance early on so that it’s not an obstacle as you grow. You also want to invest in a security suite, especially if you’re in a regulated industry. Keep it simple, protected, and responsive. Keeping it simple is the play right now, so don’t overthink the engagement process. Hire a great designer who captures your vision and start with these few best practices to pave the way for the future.
Learn more about Engagency at their website https://www.engagency.com/ (https://www.engagency.com/).
Check out Engagency on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/engagency/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/engagency/).
Check out Jason Perry on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpengagency/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpengagency/).
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!
More from UpMyInfluence:
✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast.https://upmyinfluence.com/guest ( Schedule HERE).
✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures.https://upmyinfluence.com/b2b ( Learn more here).
✅ Check out our freehttps://upmyinfluence.com/1 ( Authority Transformation Masterclass).

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to the founder and CEO of https://www.giftpocket.com/ (GiftPocket), Brooke Yokam.
GiftPocket is the app that manages all of your gift cards for you. Brooke started GiftPocket when she was just 12 years old! GiftPocket solves the everyday (and ever pervasive) problem regarding losing your gift cards. Brooke shares that 10% of all gift cards purchased are never used – this is simply money lost. Keeping track of your gift cards has now been made easier than ever through the GiftPocket app. Gift cards are the number one requested gift in the country, so organizing them can only help ease your everyday life. Filing them away in bags and drawers only guarantees you’ll lose them.
In the digital age, sending gift cards digitally is really the way that makes the most sense. GiftPocket allows you to add your gift card to your virtual wallet and it will generate a code for scanners at stores. Your gift cards are all neatly kept and maintained, without the fuss of keeping track of plastic cards and in your wallet or around the home.
Brooke shares her story and how she became inspired to solve this problem. A childhood experience turned into Brooke’s journey to building GiftPocket.
A fun feature? On GiftPocket, you can exchange gift cards for others! There’s about 3,000 brands GiftPocket works with that you can choose from. You can also accumulate GP Points, GiftPocket’s in-app currency, to purchase other gift cards to add to your wallet.
Brooke explained how her platform connects brands to gift card buyers (something they’re not legally allowed to know otherwise.) GiftPocket offers a fresh network of buyers to brands in an innovative way.
Every brand is different, Brooke shares, and all have their pain points as to why gift cards go unused. GiftPocket is an aggregator of various brands, and they’re streamlining using gift cards, which always benefits the customer.
Using GiftPocket is as easy as downloading the app and adding them to your virtual wallet. Brooke shares that she’s always seeking new users and loves to do demographic research on college campuses.
Brooke shares a final nugget – the lifeblood of their platform is local businesses and vendors. They love giving brands that platform on their app and they appreciate reaching new customers by partnering with these brands.
You can search for GiftPocket in the App store and Google Play!
If you’re interested in connecting with someone on the GiftPocket team, go https://www.giftpocket.com/reach-us (here).
Learn more about GiftPocket at their website https://www.giftpocket.com/ (https://www.giftpocket.com/).
Check out GiftPocket on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/giftpocket/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/giftpocket/).
Check out Brooke Yokam on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-yoakam-71a1b413a/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-yoakam-71a1b413a/).
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!
More from UpMyInfluence:
✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast.https://upmyinfluence.com/guest ( Schedule HERE).
✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures.https://upmyinfluence.com/b2b ( Learn more here).
✅ Check out our freehttps://upmyinfluence.com/1 ( Authority Transformation Masterclass).

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the CEO of https://bunkerlabs.org/ (Bunker Labs), Blake Hogan.
Bunker Labs is a national nonprofit organization that works with veterans and their families to help them start their own businesses and pursue their dreams. They run three small cohort based programs for their veteran entrepreneurs.
Blake shares thoughts on how you need a mission-focused mindset to succeed in business and entrepreneurship can be just the calling for veterans and military families. Blake shares some entrepreneurial wisdom and says to have grit and be resilient. You’ll make mistakes and encounter gray areas, but military veterans are built with the grit needed to enter entrepreneurship.
Bunker Labs wants to rally smart thinkers and civic leaders around veteran entrepreneurs to help these companies grow and thrive. Blake also shares that you don’t need to get started with a lot; an idea, some research, and the determination and willingness to succeed are all it takes to start.
Josh and Blake also explore how these veterans can use the grit they learned through their military service and translate that into successful entrepreneurship. Blake shares that if you have that grit and drive, go and join their community. He shares that taking action, showing up, and connecting with one person is truly how you can make a difference. Networking, especially in the veteran entrepreneurial space, is a major way these businesses grow. Help other veterans grow their businesses, and they’ll help you grow yours.
Josh also shares some wisdom to other veteran entrepreneurs like himself. He stresses that if the resources are there for you because of your military service, take them! Don’t let pride hold off any growth or networking that’s in your best interest (or your business’s.) Blake explains that networking is vital, and veterans are the business owners and entrepreneurs people want to connect with because they’re also business leaders.
The three main programs Bunker Labs facilitates are the Veterans in Residence program, the CEOCirlce Growth program, and the Ambassador program.
Blake shares where Bunker Labs intends to grow and how they will continue to offer amazing experiences for their members. He shares the visions behind his programs and which business owner is fit for each program.
Blake also reminds us that it’s not about offering charity to veteran entrepreneurs – these are simply remarkable leaders that you’ll want to work with. If you’re not a veteran, you can do your part and help just by looking for connections in the veteran space.
Learn more about Bunker Labs at their website https://bunkerlabs.org/ (https://bunkerlabs.org/).
Check out Bunker Labs on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/bunkerlabs/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/bunkerlabs/).
Check out Blake Hogan on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakehogan/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakehogan/).
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!
More from UpMyInfluence:
✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast.https://upmyinfluence.com/guest ( Schedule HERE).
✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures.https://upmyinfluence.com/b2b ( Learn more here).
✅ Check out our freehttps://upmyinfluence.com/1 ( Authority Transformation Masterclass).

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to Andres Moran, the General Manager and VP of https://www.wunderkind.co/ (Wunderkind).
Wunderkind is a software/SaaS that helps their clients convert website visitors into customers. Their team creates one-to-one messaging to pull leads further into the conversion funnel.
Once you take the action and show you’re invested in the consumers’ interests and send them these messages, you're much more likely to create a sale. This can be done through triggered emails or text messages. Wunderkind also uses unique ad formats that are behaviorally triggered so ads aren’t intrusive or interrupting to consumers.
Josh and Andres also explore what sets Wunderkind apart. Almost every E-commerce company uses triggered emails, but they’re only able to do that if the user actually has a website login and didn’t checkout as a guest. Wunderkind can identify if a company has permission to send a user who visited a website triggered emails – if so, you can reach far more consumers who visit your website later on with these emails, no sign up necessary. This type of marketing subtly guides the consumers through products that fit them and what they’ve expressed interest in before on an online storefront.
Tech and insight leverage is vital, and that’s what Wunderkind can offer their clients. Wunderkind also doesn’t track you across websites – they only look at what you’ve liked in a specific store. Wunderkind is very privacy compliant and they are buttoned-up when it comes to data privacy.
Wunderkind has worked with countless major brands and they’ve accomplished these milestones by having performance guarantees that Wunderkind themselves drive. These promises change the tone of a sales conversation and their social proof further speaks to their authority in their space.
Josh and Andres also explore when a company should consider working with a SaaS company like Wunderkind. They set this threshold at about 4 million in revenue annually for their E-commerce offering.
Andres also explains that Wunderkind has used custom store frameworks in the past, but they’re actually steering away from that as they move into 2022. From a coding perspective, keeping uniformity is key.
Brands don’t typically love to offer discounts on their items since it devalues the brand, but Andres explains that context is everything. If you offer a starter deal to get your consumer hooked on your brand, you won’t struggle to keep repeat customers and you won’t devalue your brand that way.
If you’re interested in trying out a Wunderkind demo, get in touch with their team https://www.wunderkind.co/resources/get-a-demo/ (here).
Contact Andres Moran via email at andres@wunderkind.co
Learn more about Wunderkind at their website https://www.wunderkind.co/ (https://www.wunderkind.co/).
Check out Wunderkind on LinkedIn athttps://www.linkedin.com/company/scalewerks/about/ ( )https://www.linkedin.com/company/bewunderkind/?originalSubdomain=mz (https://www.linkedin.com/company/bewunderkind/?originalSubdomain=mz).
Check out Andres Moran on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andresmoran/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andresmoran/).
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!
More from UpMyInfluence:
✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast.https://upmyinfluence.com/guest ( Schedule HERE).
✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures.https://upmyinfluence.com/b2b ( Learn more here).
✅ Check out our freehttps://upmyinfluence.com/1 ( Authority Transformation Masterclass).

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the author of The E5 Method, https://toddbrown.me/ (Todd Brown).
Todd also does work in the marketing world, helping entrepreneurs that are looking to grow from 1 to 10 - 12 million in revenue and are also looking to do it on the back of effective direct response marketing.
The E5 Method is a process for engineering the front-end customer or client acquisition marketing campaign that almost any entrepreneur can use to predictably source buyers from paid media. Todd breaks this down further.
There are five stages, the first being the examination stage. This is all about examining your prospects, competitors, and products they’re selling. You need to know what your goals are, your major pain points, and then you also assess your competitors. When you engineer your own campaign using the E5 method, you’re developing a campaign using a superior, irresistible, no-brainer offer (a SIN offer, according to Todd.)
Todd also stresses that differentiation is key. If you allow your product or service to commodify, your price points are dependent upon market value. There are two main ways to differentiate your offer – one is having a USP (unique selling proposition), the second is how your product or service works to deliver results consumers care about. This is a unique “mechanism” that diversifies that brand, according to Todd, and why examining competitors is so important.
From a strategic perspective, you have to differentiate, but where the E5 Method sets itself apart is how it tactically applies those strategies. The way that many entrepreneurs try to differentiate themselves is typically ineffective. The truth? Commerce has changed and what used to be valuable points of differentiation aren’t as valuable now. Tactically, what you do to differentiate yourself is more effective. Identify your company’s unique mechanism (how it delivers the results you’re promising and how it’s different from your competitors) and leverage that to set yourself apart in your vertical.
At the end of the day, educate your audience about your company’s mechanism and describe how you are truly the best solution on the market. This is how you position yourself with a key differentiating factor to consumers.
What consumers care about is that they don’t necessarily want an improvement, they want something new that can replace an old system or product. When you can demonstrate to your market that your product or service works in a unique way and prove that, you have adequately differentiated yourself. You’re offering to replace an old method, not improve upon what’s existing.
Check out The E5 Method book online, learn more about Todd Brown and his work, and check out Todd’s bio at his website https://toddbrown.me/ (https://toddbrown.me/).
Check out The E5 Bundle online at e5bundle.com
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!
More from UpMyInfluence:
✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast.https://upmyinfluence.com/guest ( Schedule HERE).
✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures.https://upmyinfluence.com/b2b ( Learn more here).
✅ Check out our freehttps://upmyinfluence.com/1 ( Authority Transformation Masterclass).

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with the Director of Events at the https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/ (Social Media Examiner), Phil Mershon.
Social Media Marketing World is an annual event in San Diego, California. This conference is an industry event led by the Social Media Examiner. They teach advanced skills and industry insights at this conference and they welcome cutting edge experts to speak at the event. This is a place where marketers can learn and connect. People come from all over the globe to attend this conference.
Social Media Marketing World started in 2013 and has gone on each year (except for one during the COVID-19 pandemic) since its creation and has only grown and attracted more attendees every year.
Josh and Phil also explore how the pandemic has affected physical gatherings and conferences. Josh talks about the differences between learning online/on social media and learning in a physical environment.
A good instructor provides an excellent learning experience and a way to keep the attention of the audience longer. There’s no way you could keep someone’s focus for a long period of time through a digital medium. Physical conferences and well conducted educational experiences are how people learn long form skills from others.
Phil also talks about the ideal speaker. High-level speakers are informative, helpful, put service first, and love interacting with the audience and conference-runners. Phil says he believes in the power of networking and the power of culture, and he wants to invest in speakers and connections that add to culture. Conferences feel gross when it feels self-serving and that everyone is there just for themselves. In marketing (and really and vertical, for that matter), you need a safe, open, culture-driven space to explore new ideas and forge industry connections. Beyond that, you can keep your education in your space up to date by attending conferences that educate with a cutting edge.
In 2022, Social Media Marketing World will feature new sessions not seen in previous years, including major sessions on TikTok marketing (which has skyrocketed in popularity since 2020.) There are also some shocking revelations about what platforms are declining in popularity, too. This is just part of what Social Media Marketing World does to keep the industry up to date each year. Learn more about the conference below!
If you’re interested in attending the Social Media Marketing World conference, get tickets https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/smmworld/register/ (here).
Learn more about the Social Media Examiner at their website https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/ (https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/).
Check out Social Media Examiner on LinkedIn athttps://www.linkedin.com/company/scalewerks/about/ ( )https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-media-examiner/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-media-examiner/).
Check out Phil Mershon on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/philmershon/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/philmershon/).
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!
More from UpMyInfluence:
✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast.https://upmyinfluence.com/guest ( Schedule HERE).
✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures.https://upmyinfluence.com/b2b ( Learn more here).
✅ Check out our freehttps://upmyinfluence.com/1 ( Authority Transformation Masterclass).