I Know Branding Is Important – But How Important Is It Really? With Guest Branding Expert Lauren Kuchta (EP 38)

Lauren G: Welcome to The Biz Doctor Podcast, my love letter to business owners the world over. I’m your host, Lauren Goldstein, award-winning business consultant and advisor whose fondly nicknamed the business doctor by my clients. My clients call me the business doctor because I help business owners who are burning the candle at both ends, diagnose what is actually keeping them stuck in and buried under the day-to-day of their business, and then formulate a business treatment plan to help them adjust their business and team to fit.

And most importantly, support them in having what I call true entrepreneurial freedom. If you’re ready to look at your business in a different lens and elevate yourself out of the business operator in he trenches 24 7 to visionary business owner and leader who can take a breath vacation and have more fun making an impact with your business, then grab your favorite beverage and your ear.

And let’s dive into our latest episode.

Have you ever looked at your branding or marketing and wondered why you just can’t get where you wanna go? Like it should be  easier to reach the clients you want and for them to find you, but it feels like you’re missing something other business owners have figured out. While that gut feeling of missing something is what we are gonna talk about.

Welcome back to The Biz Doctor Podcast. I’m your host, Lauren Goldstein, and I am beyond excited about today’s show because I have special guest Lauren Kuchta joining us here in the studio to talk about something I see trip up a lot of business owners branding. It’s gonna be an episode you do not wanna miss, especially if you’re even the teeniest bit aware that you’re branding and marketing might be selling your business.

Lauren and I are gonna jam on why branding matters, why business strategy must drive marketing strategy and not the other way around, and how operations and C-suite teams can best partner with marketing to drive the best results. I personally have struggled with branding and marketing in the past. And I see a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs struggle with it too.

So my hope is that today’s episode will give you some valuable tools and perspective shifts that will allow you to wield the mighty  powers of branding and marketing to reach more people and have a bigger impact with your business. Before diving into today’s power packed episode, let me properly introduce you to my guest here in the studio.

Lauren is a strategic marketer, downright obsessed with the customer journey. Prior to starting her own branding agency, No Vacancy agency, she led high-touch brand development, program development, and national sales strategy for three of the top 15 property management companies in the United States.

Through supporting these real estate companies, she has been responsible for leading client marketing relationships with major, institutional and high net worth investors, including JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, true America, and Cardone Capital. She started her career in formative client, strategic and account expansion for advertising agencies.

Lauren has served a wide sector of brands from brand name, power tools, convenient stores, major healthcare providers and technology companies. Notable clients include lg, Qualcomm, Remington, power Tools, and UnitedHealthcare. No vacancy supports companies with brand development and positioning primarily in the real estate, hospitality, and co-working sectors.

The agency is aptly named, built to support brands, avoiding spoiled inventory and avoiding no vacancy. Bottom line, Lauren is going to help us demystify branding and marketing so we can bust through the next level of our business. Welcome to the show, Lauren. 

Lauren K: Thank you for having me, Lauren. I’m so excited to be here.

 Lauren G: Me too. I am especially excited because I feel like this is a topic that really trips up a lot of businesses. So before we dive into the three topics for today, I would love for you to share a bit more about your story, how you got into this work, and the impactful work you’re doing with businesses and business owners now, so our listeners can get to know you a bit better outside of your bio.

 Lauren K: Yeah, Absolutely. I started my career really being a bit of a Swiss Army knife, if you will, for marketing, and quickly started to realize that I really enjoy branding in particular. I believe that the other methodologies of marketing really suffer and, and they’re not quite as impactful when you don’t have the right foundation in place.

Um, and I think in, in life, in business, in marketing, having that foundation allows you to do your best work possible. Um, so really being rooted in brands that connect to the customer, um, is what really can drive success in sales for businesses. So getting that first step right, with having a solid brand is just so vital.

Um, as far as the work that I’m doing today, as you mentioned in the introduction, I have my own agency, no vacancy agency, that’s really focused on making sure that businesses are set up for success with their branding in order to drive. The best results with their business possible. Um, so specifically really focusing on the real estate industry, hospitality, co-working industries, um, businesses that have ideally both a digital and physical storefront, uh, but certainly have clients that are in other sectors as well, where they don’t have a physical storefront and are more so looking to drive product and sales online.

Um, but effectively love, love, partnering with folks that have a story to share that have businesses that they want to. And interesting problems that they’re looking to solve with marketing. 

Lauren G: I love that. I love that. I think that’s where we, we overlap with the problem solving. You do it from the front end and branding marketing perspective.

I obviously do it from the back end operational and team. So I’d love to kick us off with diving a little bit deeper into what you were talking about just a few moments ago about why branding really matters. You know, I know branding is important, but how IOR important Is it really? 

Lauren K: The, the short answer is both vary and sometimes can be evaluated a little bit too closely, and, and I want to explain that further.

So why branding matters. You think about businesses that have had so much success in the world. Think about Coca-Cola or Apple. There’s no way that those companies would’ve had the recognition with their customer base if they didn’t start by first. Designing and defining the idea of their brand. They’ve been really intentional about the logo that they use.

They’re really intentional about the tone of voice that they deploy in their advertising, the font selection that they’re using, the color palette that’s rounding it all out. Um, how they’re messaging their customers, what they stand for. If that wasn’t in place, those businesses would have not anywhere near the success that they have.

So is branding important? Absolutely does A company that’s looking to grow, that’s looking to increase revenue, need to have a solid brand that communicates effectively and draws in the customers that they’re trying to attract. Yes. But, uh, Lauren, the conversations you and I have had before is sometimes it, it, it seems that businesses almost get to a point where they can overthink it and there can be a little bit of analysis paralysis with branding.

And I know that probably sounds ironic coming from a brand marketer, but the answer is, is branding important? Absolutely. Without question, without fail, but branding needs to be partnered and supplemented with a full stack marketing strategy. So you could have the best, most beautiful, most powerful brand in the world.

But if you’re not getting your message out there, if you’re not investing in a solid paid advertising strategy, if you don’t have proper PPC in place SEO strategy for your website, if you’re not active on social media or driving partnerships, then you can have a beautiful Corvette that’s just parked in the garage.

Mm. So is it important? Yes. But is it, is it everything? Is it the only success factor for marketing? Absolutely. 

Lauren G: Oh, there was so much, so much juicy goodness in there. And you know, something that I think I struggled with when I was first starting out is the difference between branding and marketing. Cuz so often they’re looped together, but they’re really very different.

Right. So tell, absolutely. Tell us a little bit about what, like what is the difference between branding and how is it different than. 

Lauren K: Yeah, well wanna start with a, a little bit of a story. So I was actually having a conversation with some acquaintances the other day and they asked me what I do, and I bear in mind I’m in a full suit and stilettos as I’m having this conversation , uh, with these folks.

And they say, what do you do? And, and I say, I own a branding agency and I live in Austin. No vacancy is Austin based. And, uh, they asked, oh, you branding like, you, you brand cattle . Um, and I was, I was really honored that they, they saw that possible for me, . And we got into, we got into a conversation. I said, oh my heavens, no, I, I branding as an ID for a brand as in logo development, uh, tone of voice, photography, style.

I’m, I’m, I’m trying to ex. Describe to them what branding is, and I realize that if, if I’m speaking to another marketer and I say, I do branding, it’s like, got it. Instantly. They understand the intention behind that, but to folks or where marketing isn’t their core focus. That distinction can be really challenging for them.

Mm-hmm. . Um, so what branding is, is developing that logo, the graphic design, the idea of a brand, the consist, the consistency, the, the set of guidelines, um, for how the company is positioned graphically and also through tone of voice and. . So that’s everything from, again, design of logo, design of the supporting elements.

As I mentioned, how the brand is expressed on your website, on collateral, on social media. So it’s the intentionality for the voice and the styling versus a, a marketing agency that may be is specializing in digital marketing or social media management or search engine optimizations is more so looking.

What are the different vehicles that the brand needs to be positioned on to drive the most traffic, whether that’s organic traffic or cold traffic, in order to increase sales for the business? And both things need to be firing on all cylinders in order for a proper marketing strategy to be really effective for a business.

So imagine a scenario. I have quite a few clients that are in the real estate. Imagine a scenario where they’re investing really heavily in paid search. Their property is listing really high within the search engine results, both hopefully because they’re, they’re paying through for it through ppc and also they’ve invested in SEO from a more organic, uh, side of things for their website.

So they’re, they’re doing a great job getting traffic, getting eyeballs on their. But imagine that the user arrives at the website and the photography’s poor, it’s stale, it’s low resolution, or it doesn’t capture all of the capital improvements that have been made to the building. Maybe it’s a, value engineered building where it’s was built in the eighties or nineties, but had a big capital infusion and so the building’s gorgeous, but the logo and the brand ID is dated and looks like it’s still stuck in the.

And in that scenario, even though you’ve driven the customer to the website, what you’re leaving them to engage with is a super subpar experience. And so without having that right investment in branding, your sales are going to suffer. Uh, so I often get the question, does branding? Is branding? Does branding impact.

The answer is yes, branding impact sales, but it doesn’t necessarily drive it. And, and it can, as your brand has more affinity as you become a major player, you become a Coca-Cola, you become an Apple, you become a Patagonia, where you have that recognition. Um, but in early stages that that brand strategy has to be coupled really, really heavily with, with a full stack marketing plan in order to be successful.

Lauren G: Thank you so much for drawing the lines of demarcation between the two of them. And if I am, if I’m following this correctly, it would be the equivalent of, um, me choosing between two equal businesses and then going to one website and feeling like I’m stuck in the eighties versus going to another very, very comparable brands.

But the other one feeling like, in this decade, or they’re up to date or their customer experience is better. Cuz what I’m seeing and what I’m hearing is that people are, and buyers are getting smarter and smarter. So they’re gonna go do the research before they get on a call or book a consultation or engage with your business.

They’re gonna go look at your brand on social, on your website, talk to other people, maybe look at Google. And so it’s almost like your brand is, um, I don’t know, like a calling card or a way to establish credibility, um, or relevancy in, in the very noisy online world. Do I have that right? 

Lauren K: You have that perfectly.

And I would also add to that consistency. Mm-hmm. . So you want your brand to be communicated in similar styling across all of those different channels that you’re mention. because you want them to really get to know you. They want to understand your business against that noisy, competitive set that you’re referencing.

Um, so imagine if Coca-Cola had a blue logo on the background of their website and on their LinkedIn they had green, and then everywhere else in the world they have read, that’s going to be super confusing and it’s going to be harder for the customer to recognize that same brand when the communication of it isn’t consistent.

So in particular for a lot of early phase businesses is where you see that they get stuck, where they’re not utilizing the same components really consistently across their channels. And even frankly, even for some mid-size businesses where they’re not really invested in brand in a thoughtful way, you can see where that messaging isn’t consistent across channels and they’re doing themselves a disservice because it’s harder for the customer to recognize.

depending on, uh, what aspect of the marketing stack they’re visiting them within. 

Lauren G: Interesting. That makes me also think about something that I talked, uh, about on an earlier podcast of. Episode with, uh, guest expert, uh, Mike Michael Rodrick. When we talked about referability, it sounds like referability and brand actually go hand in hand, and the more consistent your brand is, the easier and more referable it will also be.

And it, and even one step further, it sounds like maybe that’s actually going  to make you stay top of mind more so than somebody else. True. 

Lauren K: Absolutely. and brand, when you think about it, I mean, marketing, branding, these are, these are both really ambiguous terms, but a lot of your brand is what you’re known for and how you show up with the customer too.

So I would also add that into the equation. Uh, if you’re not very responsive to your customer, if you’re not meeting them at their service needs, you’re going to have most likely poor reviews, poor feedback that shows up online, and that’s going to contribute to how the brand is seen and, and experienced as well.

Um, so all of these different components of your marketing strategy really work together. , but you want to make sure that you’re invested and you’re focused on multiple aspects of it. So it’s not quite as simple as just saying, I’m driving a lot of traffic to my website. It’s also being thoughtful about the customer experience once they get there.

Lauren G: Hmm. So fascinating. And is this like a chicken and the egg scenario where, you know, maybe branding first, maybe marketing first, or is it. Really wanna focus on branding first and then marketing? Or is there a third component here that’s actually missing and is the first step to this? 

Lauren K: I would say for new businesses that have no branding established, and they equally do not have a marketing plan in place, you can certainly be working on both functions at once, but having the two talk to each other, so if you’re building out a budget for a new.

You would know that you have some, what I would call below the line costs, branding being one of them of, Hey, just as a cost of building this business, I need to establish and determine what the brand is and how it’s communicated. And you could be doing that in a simultaneous effort of starting to build out your marketing plan, of starting to decide where do I need to be featured online?

How much do I need to invest in those different channel? What all needs to be included when I’m considering how to market my business? And depending on the type of business you have, that could be so many different things. It could be, if it’s a, a business that has a physical storefront, think about your, your curb appeal.

Think about interior design. There are many aspects that go into how that, how that company is presented through its market. Uh, so it can certainly be both at once. It doesn’t have to necessarily the chicken lead, the egg. Um, but I would say the most important part is that they remain connected. Mm-hmm. . So as, as a company might change, for example, maybe a new product line is introduced, or if it’s a, what’s referencing real estate, if it’s a capital improvement that’s made, you just want to be sure that both aspects are being updated with that inform.

So if you have a say that you have a property that’s just invested in major capital improvements, you would want to have that demonstrated through your brand. You would want to really narrow in on how you want to talk about and communicate those product improvements. You would want to have visuals. You would want to have videography.

Maybe it’s even. Matter port footage of that improvement, but you would also want to make sure that those materials were being referenced and utilized in the paid advertising that you’re running. So you would want them updated on your website. You would want your paid digital agency to have access to those files to make sure that the communication of those changes is prevalent everywhere.

Same, same thing for a social media strategy as well. You would want to have your social media. In lockstep about how you’re communicating about that, that improvement for, for your brand or for your company? So less chicken or egg and more so working in concert. It’s the collaboration more than anything that I want to emphasize as just being, being really vital.

Lauren G: And speaking of being in locks lockstep in connection, something you and I actually jammed about a few weeks ago was, um, how operations is such a key player with making sure that your branding and suc and marketing is a success. And in addition, you know, really understanding how and why business strategy must drive marketing strategy.

So you wanna talk a little bit about that? 

Lauren K: Yes. Oh my goodness. This is one of my favorite soapbox topics, especially speaking with someone such as yourself who has. A rich understanding of the core business strategy. Uh, I often have found in, in corporate settings that marketers have a really bad reputation for asking a lot of questions, , and I think that sometimes operators are driven a little bit crazy by that.

Where there there’s this expectation of, oh my gosh, marketing. Why aren’t you just running ? Why? Why do you need to slow down and ask questions? . And the reason that that a marketer is doing that is because they’re seeking first to understand. So if I don’t understand the core goals of a, of a client, if I don’t understand how they’re trying to grow their business, if I don’t understand what markets they’re really focused on, if I don’t understand changes to the product really well, or how from a product perspective they’re wanting to differentiate from their competitive, Then I’m likely not going to be very successful at presenting the best brand strategy to achieve those results.

Uh, so really a, a ideal partnership between marketing and operations is, is a close one, is one where we’re fed a lot of information, that we have access to customer demographic information that we need, that we have a really, really clear line of sight into where the business is wanting to grow. So that we’re making the correct recommendations.

So it should never feel like there’s a, an a isolation or a disconnect between those two business groups. You really want them to kind of be BFFs. 

Lauren G: Yes. Yes. I, um, I’ve experienced this myself and so I love that this is one of your soapbox boxes that we’re standing on. I also think it illustrates a bigger, I don’t know, awareness that sometimes when we look at early stage businesses, a lot of the success has been because of the sole service provider growing and kind of, for lack of a better word, just grinding it out versus when you’re really leveling up and you’re getting into gross stage or scaling stage.

It’s so critical to shift from a reactive business to a proactive business and really get clear on that strategic visioning and that strategic goals, the data, you know, knowing your numbers. Because where I see my clients struggle and where actually, you know, I struggled in the beginning was when we were still figuring things out in the beginning, or even if you have a proven product and process.

But you’re not really dialed into your metrics and your KPIs and all of that and your messaging. Then it makes marketing roi, R O T I, and all the work that you guys do. Really hard to say, yes, this is making a difference. Cuz it’s kind of like you’re, you’re trying to hit a moving target. Would that be fair?

Lauren K: Oh my gosh, absolutely fair. Absolutely fair. But yeah, it’s having that clarity upfront of where we want to go and also defining what success looks like. So if we’re not attaching back to those really grounded, rooted operational numbers and KPIs of what success looks like, then it’s really hard for a marketer to find their footing, um, and, and understand if they’re being impactful.

But unfortunately too often we sometimes find that marketers are, are called upon to lead the strategy for the business overall, where it should be the other way around, where we’re getting really, really clear on revenue and growth goals and then we’re priming the correct marketing strategy to be really supportive of that.

And marketing is incredibly creative. And I, I think there’s also, there’s often the commentary of, ugh, what you do is just, it’s, it’s just fun. I just wanna do the fun stuff like you. And I think that a lot of folks don’t realize that proper marketing is really grounded in, in data. It’s, it’s being a little bit of a data nerd.

It’s that perfect balance between art and science where yes, you’re obsessed with the visual id, but at the same time you’re getting to. Your customer, you’re getting to understand what’s working for them and what isn’t at, at what point in the customer journey they’re falling off, understanding their preferences, really understanding the customer, not only at a deeply analytical level, but also understanding based on that, based on their segment, how they think, feel, and behave, and really creating creative work that is, is suited for that specific audience type.

Um, yeah, it’s, it’s interesting where yes, is marketing fun, is marketing color, is marketing creativity. It it is. But, uh, there’s also a, a deeply, deeply analytical sense to it that that partnership with operations typically provides when done well. Yeah. 

 Lauren G: Yeah. And I think there’s also this, well, I see, I see two, two parts to this.

One is I see the marketing agencies. are a lot of fluff and not a lot of impact that I think I’ve given a bad name to agencies. Um, and then I also see where businesses are struggling and hire marketing and branding as like a last ditch effort to like revive a struggling business. And I, you know, I had this conversation with a client a few days ago where I said, listen, the truth is that revenue is a lagging metric.

like you, you can’t look at your revenue and be like, yeah. It’s like great. Um, I mean sometimes you can, but most of the time it’s a lagging metric. So when your, if your revenue is struggling, like you need to go back several months to figure out like what was that inflection point? What are the, what are the symptoms that you’re seeing in revenue pointing to as a root cause?

Cuz I’ve seen. You know, businesses that honestly just had a few operational tweaks that would’ve solved the revenue profitability thing. Go and spend. 20, 30, $40,000 on marketing. And while the marketing was great, it didn’t have the impact that a business owner was looking for because it didn’t actually address the root.

And so something that I really appreciate about you with your problem solving is you kind of wear two hats. And when you’re working closely with operations, I think you can actually nip that in the bud, which is a huge benefit to working with. 

Lauren K: Well, thank you for saying that. And I, I think it definitely comes with practice and it comes with a really, really heavy appreciation for the work of operations.

Um, and depending on how a company is structured, sometimes operations is owning the sales process too. And so with, with regard to you saying, you know, some folks think, Ugh, we just need a flashy marketing campaign to come in and save the day. Sometimes I’ve found that the lead volume can even be. But it’s just that the leads aren’t being nurtured or there’s some sort of breakdown in the customer experience, or there’s a breakdown in the expectation of the customer of what they’re wanting to receive versus reality.

And that’s where that operational experience gets to be revised. Um, so sometimes it can be, uh, I would call it like a little bit of Botox. Instead of thinking that you need, you need an entire. You need an entire facelift. And again, I, I think I surprise folks sometimes. I’m that marketer in the room that’s saying, oh my gosh, please don’t spend more money.

Actually, please spend less. Get your bearings, get your in order, get the customer experience dialed. Utilize your bank of your bank of leads that you have at your disposal instead of feeling that you need to over-invest because in so doing, if you don’t have the right operational experience to support sales and to support delivery, More marketing is actually just putting gasoline on a dumpster fire.

Mm-hmm. . Yeah. Yes. So it’s preach sister, preach . Yes. Yes. But that’s, that’s why conversations with you, for me are so fun because you, what you do is you offer so much clarity to businesses. But you’re also providing that same clarity to partners that are in the room. So again, marketers are going to be able to run the fastest for you when that clarity is established in the business and they know where you’re going and where you’re headed.

And yes, marketing can be so creative and can bring that creative energy into the room, but it’s a lot easier to be creative when that sandbox is first established because other. You’re, you’re shooting in too many places. Um, rather than applying that degree of focus, 

Lauren G: Absolutely. And I, I just, I wanna go back to something you said because this is one of my sandbox moments, , where I hear business owners go something like, I just, I wanna double my business, or I wanna grow, you know, the business 10%.

And I, I have this memory in my mind where I was doing a whiteboard session during a diagnostic with a client, and she just kept coming back to, I just wanna double the business. That’s my goal. So I finally said, Let’s just step this out. And so I, I stepped it out of, you know, her current operations and what that would mean if she went from X customers to X customers.

And I said, okay, tomorrow you get 200 customers, what’s gonna happen? And she looked at me and she went, oh shit.

And I was like, do you now understand why I’m trying to tell you that? Like, , I am a hundred percent down for you doubling your business and operationally speaking, there are a few things we need to get sorted out in your Yeah. Deliverability to actually support that. Cuz I think sometimes where I really struggle with branding and marketing partners.

And CEOs who are just gung ho on revenue is they get really stuck on this, like the seven figure business or the eight figure business or, and they’re chasing after numbers on the front end. Whereas what I specialize in is backend revenue. So keeping more of the money that you’ve already made and also having that money work for you by having more lifetime value of your customers, or not having concentrated risks that are leaking that revenue.

Revenue cliffs were your, you know, you’ve nothing left to give to your customers. And so what I love about when you’re talking about you. Don’t spend more money, let’s, let’s address this, or let’s figure out what comes first. It’s, it’s creating a huge win-win for businesses and I really wish more marketers and branding agencies did that because I think that it, I don’t think, I know it would drastically change how people in this space operate and also how business owners relate to branding and marketing.

Lauren K: Hmm. I think some of that is fear-based. I think some of that is a knee-jerk reaction to let’s just increase spend. Instead of taking a pause to say, hang on a second, can the campaign be optimized in some way? Is the, are the correct brand assets in place that are going to appeal the type of customer that we’re seeking to achieve?

And even what you were just sharing there, What you’re speaking to is how can we, how can we keep customers on the back end and retain them and create loyalty? And my brain goes to, well, let’s invest in how they’re actually experiencing the company or the product. So, mm-hmm. , hang on. Don’t go and pump a bunch more money into your outbound marketing, but start to think instead about how can we create a really powerful experience for customers?

How can we create, listen. Customer feedback, surveys and reputation management are one of, on the subject of soapboxes is another soapbox that I have of, we need to listen to what the, what’s working for the customer and what isn’t, make those corrections. And then we find that retention referrals come a lot more easily and naturally, uh, versus feeling that you just need to continue to acquire that really early stage customer.

So, mm-hmm. . Yeah. I love, love, love when there’s a strong partner. With the operations team, and, and again, the word that I go back to again and and again is just, is clarity. Uh, where marketing can move really, really quickly when that clarity is in place. And to that point, when, when I’m reviewing creative strategy with clients, it’s really easy to get them to make decisions quickly when everybody in the room is agreed upon what the goals are and who that core customer.

And it’s funny where a lot of clients want to make a decision about creative kind of putting on their own hat of what they like. Um, so imagine that, you know, I’m sitting in the room with a high institutional bank, um, likely someone that’s in a very senior executive position. They’re later in their career, they’re the decision maker for this brand.

And they’re making a decision about a brand that’s being built to appeal to a twenties, 30 something , uh, customer that’s living in a, a big metro. And so they’re applying the logic of what do I like and what appeals to me instead of thinking about what is going to attract the customer base that’s going to drive sales and revenue for the.

and so it becomes a, one of my kind of favorite cheeky things to say to a client when they tell me that they don’t like something is, oh my gosh, thank goodness, because. This wasn’t built for you . Um, yeah, but it’s, yeah, so it’s when you can really have, have those conversations with ops or with the decision maker in the room where the strategic goals are really clear, you’re continuing to bring them up at every single phase of the creative review.

You’re super, super clear on who it is you’re trying to attract. What the goals of the business are. Then decision making becomes really, really clear, easy, and even fun because there’s just so much alignment on what the entire, what the entire team is seeking to achieve. 

Lauren G: Oh, I love all of that. And another place where we’re really aligned is I have the four seeds of a high performing team and a high performing business.

And the first one is clarity. Yes. And that’s really why I do the diagnostic work that I do with businesses is because if you don’t take a moment and actually get to that clarity, then all the work you’re doing could be, you know, taking you in the wrong direction. Now you said something a little bit ago that, that I wanna come back to cuz it sounded like they’re, you were talking about how sometimes it’s just a few things in branding our marketing, that they can, they can change to make a big difference.

So, you know, what are those low hanging pieces of fruit that you often find with clients that, you know, maybe some of our listeners could go into their business today and, and, and pluck those pieces of. 

Lauren K: Yeah, one, one that’s highly relevant to me. I, I had an intake conversation a few days ago with a client and they’re really underinvested in photography, uh, both product photography and more campaign based kind of sexy hero photography that you would typically find, like, for example, in the homepage of a website, they’re at a position with their business where they’re very invested in their current packaging.

So as much. The little marketing branding fairy and me would love to apply some fairy dust to their packaging. They have told me that that just doesn’t make sense for the business at the moment. They’re really invested. It’s printed, it’s available, it’s in place. They need to run through it. So I’m looking at opportunities where I can make tweaks in areas that can still be supportive of what they have running already.

Uh, so low hanging fruit in this example is the product photography. Feels really stale. And so when I’m looking at competitors in their space, their product photography is typically staged like in a vignette where maybe they’re, maybe the entire product line is staged together. It has an interesting background, it has an interesting presentation.

Um, this particular product, you don’t want to just see outside of the box or the bottle. You want to see what, what it would actually feel like. Um, start to really sense it. And so some of that can be expressed in a really meaningful way through videography, through photography. And so if somebody already has a brand that’s set and it’s printed, it’s in play, they’re not at a point where they want to make a pivot.

Sometimes it’s just getting creative about how we can play with some of those really supportive elements. This particular product is sold on their website. It’s, it’s sold, uh, through Instagram advertising. It’s sold on Amazon, and so, All of a sudden you’re making a 10, $15,000 investment in new product photography, but you’re using that product photography in so many different areas, and so you’re not necessarily saying, Hey, I need to redesign the logo.

I need to reset the entire brand ID at this exact moment in time. But you’re looking at how can I get creative and think laterally? Some other elements that are contributing to the look and feel of my brand, that one just need to be updated because they’re stale. They’re not presenting the product in its best light, but it’s also giving it some energy, some flavor, some fun to really be able to distinguish the brand and stand out against the competitive set.

So I again, and again, whether it’s a real estate client, whether it’s a client that has a digital storefront and a more product based business. I am still floored that in now year 2023, folks have not invested properly in photography and videography. It’s, it’s, it’s almost just overwhelmingly shocking how much I see that even for some mid, mid to large size clients,

Lauren G: Yeah. I love all of this. And, and the photography piece is actually really relevant cuz as some of you may know, we have a family business and, and something that my, um, amazing marketing. Manager Katie has, has been telling us for a while is the photography and videography of the business really needs to get redone, especially in today’s day and age where everything is consumed by video, I mean, reels are, are dominating right now, but the struggle and the, and the reason I bring this up is I’ve seen in businesses that have been around for a long time, you know, this particular, our family business has been around for almost 40 years.

there’s this idea of, well, it’s been working before, so why, why are we gonna change? Why are we gonna invest? Or, you know, sometimes it’s just a matter of why, like they, they built a business in a different time, and so trying to get them to change direction, change the ship, and see the value of things. . You know, on one hand for an e-commerce store, photography is very important, but on the other hand, we bless my dad, we cannot get him to understand why a 32nd reel answering a question not fully is important, right?

He wants a 10 minute video about this question so he can make sure it’s complete, when in reality that’s, that’s not what people are looking for. So when you’re, when you’re sitting in a room or you’re working with a business that’s been around, a long time and has what I call business barnacles. Hmm. How do you, how do you navigate getting them on board with things that might seem foreign or, um, superfluous to them?

Lauren K: Yeah, it’s definitely a lot of education and, and I think when you were describing that example with the family business, just because it’s working, working and optimized and fully expressed are. Very different things. Yes. So sometimes it can be, whether it’s a, a brand new client that’s still gaining confidence in the power of branding or it’s teaching an old dog some new tricks.

It’s, it can be showing some incremental changes with branding showing, saying, Hey, let’s look at your, your ppc. Let’s look. How it was performing prior to enhancing it with these new assets versus after it’s showing them, Hey, you know, you certainly can’t promise exact results, but can show similar results from other clients that are maybe in similar sectors or, or ideally same sector and showing that before and after story.

Some of it unfortunately though, does come down to a bit of trust. It comes down to really showing a client, Hey, I’m gonna take you through. Let’s talk about your, your, your top competitors. Let’s have a little peak at what they’re doing. Which in today’s area with everything digital is pretty darn easy to do.

It’s pretty easy to be a little bit of a digital spy and see what others have in place. Um, and really kind of taking a discerning focus to say, okay, compared to that competitive set, how are we performing? What kind of, what kind of video are they producing? What is the styling of their photography? How is that going for them?

And kind of comparing and contrasting a little bit in that way too can be helpful. Really sharing with a client where they might be lagging in, investing in, in some of those resources. 

Lauren G: Hmm. Great. I I love that and I love the trust. That’s, that’s definitely a component that, that I lean on as well in my operational and teamwork, especially when business owners, you know, are not the expert in marketing or branding or operations.

Like, it’s really, you gotta, you gotta build that trust and. Show them that it’s, that it’s safe to let go and, and put their baby into somebody else’s hands, um, even if it’s for a little while. Um, so going back to to talking about competitors, you know, I, I don’t think anybody can deny that our technological landscape is getting noisier and noisier and noisier by the day.

Like, I think I read somewhere that the amount of content we create in one day is more than like our predecessors created in centuries. So, How do businesses carve themselves out to stand out like with their niche in this very saturated tech world or even markets? 

Lauren K: Yeah. And that’s where I get so excited to be a brand marketer because we get to have a lot of influence over who gets the share of the attention.

Um, so much of it comes down to that tone of voice to how you’re approaching an impactful video or photo of, of assets for a particular brand. That’s what is really differentiating when you think of a lot of different business. They offer very similar things, but it comes down to how the product is presented to the customer that makes the meaningful difference of what you buy.

For example, I have a Thera gun at home. I couldn’t even tell you what the names of the other massage guns are because I’m so not attracted to them. And even as a brand marketer, I know that I get caught up in packaging. I know that I get caught up in the presentation of a. But I also really, really appreciate beautiful design, and that’s a factor into how I’m making a purchasing decision for, for myself, for my home.

I’m being really thoughtful about that presentation. So, is Thera Gun versus another less expensive massage gun different with regard to the product? Maybe, maybe not. And, and, and that’s where. The inner Reddit nerd probably comes out of really looking and scouring through reviews, and, and product testimonials and, and comparing products in that way.

But so much of our purchasing decisions are driven by the subconscious, and we’re attaching to that messaging. We’re attaching to that visual strategy, the design of a product in order to inform where we spend our dollars. And, and also the philosophy of the business too. I mean, it. That long ago that Tom’s shoes was one of the first cause, cause businesses that emerged on the scene where when folks realized, oh my gosh, I can buy a pair of Tom’s shoes and then another is purch is, is is given to someone in need.

That marketing campaign is what really lifted that brand off the ground in a really powerful way. Um, so it’s, it kind of goes back to a conversation thread that we were having a little bit earlier about the synergy between. Operations and marketing. Ideally, there’s something interesting about the business in addition to the beautiful branding that’s happening that the marketing strategy can attach to.

So in the case of com, uh, I can’t use words in the case of Tom’s shoes, that’s attaching back to that philosophy that they wanted to be known as a brand that was really giving, giving back in a meaningful way. Pat Patagonia had a campaign where they said, Hey, actually don’t buy this. because think about the waste, um, that you’re expelling when you do that.

Do you really need that? And so that, that particular holiday season for them wasn’t as impactful with sales, but overall their brand affinity overall increased dramatically from making that decision. So how mm-hmm. , how you, how you differentiate it. See, yeah. It’s, it’s, Part, part, the presentation of the brand, the packaging, the company itself.

But a lot of it has to do with the decisions that you make about how you want to show up in your space that are bigger than marketing and branding. But marketing and branding are just the vehicle for delivering that message out to the world. 

Lauren G: Hmm. I love that. I love that. in your agency. I feel like you wear kind of two hats, the branding and the marketing, which I don’t think is the norm.

And so tell, like, this is kind of my last question to bring us full circle of, you know, tell me when businesses should have a branding agency or should they have a marketing supplier, you know, it’s a digital agency, social media, et cetera. Should they have all three? Should they have two? Like where, where, what would you recommend for business owners who are in that growth stage of really trying to get to the next level?

Lauren K: Yeah, great question. And beyond any avoidance of doubt, no. Vacancy agency is firmly focused on building out brand assets, brand id. For clients. Um, I, I happen to be that, to kind of, to truly take us full circle. I mentioned at the top of the call that I consider myself a Swiss Army knife. That before mm-hmm.

I became really, really focused on branding. In particular, I was running full stack, full service marketing plans for clients and, and thank goodness that I did, because I think that strategic perspective, that data-driven perspective that I’m able to offer to. I wouldn’t have generated that if I was just focused on the look and feel of the work that we’re driving.

Uh, but I, I believe that if a business is really trying to be in growth mode, I would recommend that they partner with a branding agency to really round out that foundation to, to really carefully look inward and evaluate, Hey, do I, do I have the right logo? Do I have the right brand Id? Do I have the right assets to support the growth that I’m looking for?

Because then when you go to partner with a digital agency, they’re going to take those assets and run with them. They’re going to utilize them in all of your paid and cold traffic generation for your business. So in a perfect world, I would say that you’ve, you’ve thoughtfully built out the brand with a partner that’s really, really focused on the presentation, the look and feel of your brand, the messaging strategy.

But then you have a separate partner that is really, really highly focused in the latest algorithm changes on Google, and, um, looking at different automation that could be available to empower your PPC strategy. Really, really finding a partner that just totally geeks out on the digital side of things, but equally having another partner that’s focused really solely on the presentation of the brand in, in my opinion, is what’s going to yield the best. 

Lauren G: Hmm. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for differentiating and shedding some more light on that. I mean, wow. I mean, I think personally you broke my brain in the best possible way in, in shifting how even I view branding and marketing and really shedding light on how impactful branding is and how it works with marketing and operations.

Um, and as much as I could jam. As you know, for hours, , I’m gonna start wrapping us up and I know that we covered a lot, but tell me, are there any last nuggets that you wanna give our listeners that we didn’t cover that you’re thinking to yourself sitting there? Ooh, I really want to say this. 

Lauren K: Hmm. I think just with regard to branding, if it’s, if it’s at all feeling uncomfortable or unfamiliar, it’s having that confidence to.

Get a second opinion or perspective and just gut checking it. Businesses change and grow and you want to make sure that your brand assets are still in service of that customer that you’re looking to achieve. I mean, marketing is pretty simple when you think about it. It’s reaching the right customer with the right message at the right time.

And so if you think that isn’t happening and it’s time to make a tweak or an adjustment, it’s having having the confidence to say, Hey, to, to your point, Lauren, when you were saying, when you were referencing a client that said, Hey, this has been working, why would I change it? Well, it, you would change it because you’re looking to grow past where you’ve been.

Hmm. So taking that reflection point to pause and say, Hey, as my business continues to grow and change, do I have the right set of materials to get me to where I want to go? Something that I believe is important, and I know sometimes folks get uncomfortable when you have to spend money to make money, but that’s, that’s the realistic space that you’re in when you’re reflecting on whether or not it’s time to invest in updates to a brand or, or really, really going gangbusters on on a new brand.

Lauren G: Hmm. Dang, that was such a, that was such a great nugget. And what I’m taking away from this is there are cases, where it’s set it and forget it. Like yes, let’s say Coca-Cola. Yes. But there’s also giving yourself permission and grace to evaluate and change. And you know, some, somebody once told me that there’s actually, which I’m sure we can talk about on a, on another episode, but there’s actually three brands.

There’s the company brand, the product brand, and your personal brand. Mm-hmm. and getting all of them to work together. , um, I think really illustrates that nugget cuz like my personal brand has changed a little bit over the years, but in terms of my company, my product brand, those really haven’t changed.

And so I think what I love about that nugget is, um, like I say, business is a living, breathing thing. And I think there’s a fine line between tweaking because you’re just like trying to figure it out and you can’t leave something alone versus strategically changing something to get to the next.

Lauren K: Absolutely. And first, having that clarity, having a partner like yourself to get clear on where the business needs to go, and then having that, that thoughtful pause to say, okay, is my marketing, is my branding setting me up for success to get me to where we now want to go and grow? So I love, love, love getting to have a partner like you in the room that is first taking that step with the client because honestly, it makes my.

Kind of a walk in the park, if I’m honest. Yeah. When? When that’s first Established.

Lauren G: Well, you’re welcome. Um, , can I take you, can I take you everywhere? Can you be my new polly pocket?

Lauren K: Uh, yes. I would love that. You can be my hype girl. And just tell everybody, uh, what, what we’re up to. Um, .

Lauren G: All right, so last question I’ve started asking, I guess, what is a book that you think every entrepreneur should read and why?

Lauren K: Hmm. Great question. Something that has been really impactful for me is Atomic Habits by James Clear. Mm-hmm. . Cause I started to realize, I think in my head there was no room to optimize. Kind of going back to what we were just chatting about, of feeling like, Hey, what I’m doing is working. Why do I need to make changes or shifts?

And I have found that adjusting some small routine in my life and even embracing the idea that things could become easier, could beco, could, that I could operate in a way where I have more ease and play in my life has been pretty revolutionary. So I think looking at habit stacking, looking at is my time as completely as optimized as possible?

Where can I. Small changes and adjustments that become really big ones, really, that become really big changes, has revolutionized how I live my day-to-day. 

Lauren G: Hmm. I love that. Such a good book. And something a, a really great point that I wanna drive home is sometimes people buck against operations because they’re like, oh, you’re, you’re like, limiting my flexibility.

When in reality, when you have the systems and structure and f. Of the business. It actually allows you more flexibility, which I know sounds counterintuitive.

 Lauren K: You’re probably Yes. Think thinking what I was, I was that person. . Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.  Amazing. I was that person who resisted structure, but I think it was my inner creative that was trying to come out.

to the point of being a brand marketer of saying, I want to look at at the color and the play of everything and thinking, I don’t want to be put in a box. But realizing that that structure is the thing that keeps you sane, keeps you accountable, makes your days feel just so much more ease. I was going to say ease.

I don’t even think that’s a word, but just It is now. It is now. So much more useful. 

Lauren G: I love that we’re trademarking it. Easeful. 

Lauren K: Easeful businesses. Yes. Yeah. Well, cheers. Cheers to an easeful 2023, my friend. Amen. Amen. 

Lauren G: All right. I know our listeners are gonna wanna know how to get in touch with you, connect with you, soak up more of your brilliance.

So tell them how best to get in touch with you or where you would like them to. 

Lauren K: Yeah, so the best, most direct way to find us is by visiting no vacancy.agency on the interwebs. We have a contact form. Feel free to mention Lauren’s podcast and we would be happy to hook you up with a complimentary consultation and get to know you and your business.

Hmm. 

Lauren G: I love that y’all take her up on this cuz she is a wiz. And I mean, if I can leave you with like one nugget. . If you can find ways to make attracting and connecting with your audience and the people you wanna make an impact with, easier do it. And one of those ways is by working with Lauren. So highly, highly recommend.

All right, Lauren. Well that is, that is it for us. Thank you so much for being on the show. It was such a pleasure to soak up all of your knowledge.  

Lauren K: Thank you for having me. And again, cheers to 2023. 

Lauren G: Amen. Amen. All right everybody, that is it for this week’s episode. Thank you so much for listening in. If anything we shared sparked something in you, we’d love to hear from you.

So let’s connect, tag or DM me on Instagram at it’s Lauren Goldstein or LinkedIn, wherever you hang out on the interwebs. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast. You’re the first to get notified when our next episode is live and ready for. Thanks so much for listening.

Until next time,thank you for listening to The Biz Doctor Podcast. Now I like to say that friends don’t let friends WebMD your business. So if you’re wondering what your next steps could be, here are some options for you no matter what. Head to the show notes or to my website, golden key partnership.com for some impactful resources to support you getting out from under your business.

That’s also where you’ll find the links to learn more about our services and how we support business owners just like you, who are ready to make the successful jump from business operator in the trenches to visionary business owner with more freedom and flexibility. All that info is on our website, so pop on over to learn more or get in touch.

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