The Business of You with Rachel Gogos

Customer delight is instrumental in cultivating robust client relationships, fostering loyalty, and nurturing repeat business, thereby driving heightened client satisfaction and business expansion. In this microsode, Rachel is joined by Jenna Evans, the Brand Concierge and Account Manager at The brandiD, to explore the pivotal role of customer delight in business triumph.

Jenna’s approach underscores empathy, active listening, and personalized communication, recognizing the imperative of comprehending each client's unique needs, preferences, and communication style. Moreover, the significance of personal and engaging interactions, coupled with thoughtful gestures such as personalized gifts, cannot be overstated in enhancing customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, customer delight contributes to employee satisfaction and engagement by empowering team members to take ownership and deliver exceptional service, fostering a culture of commitment and accountability.

While quantifying the ROI of customer delight presents challenges, its substantial impact on The brandiD's success is undeniable, evident in elevated client retention, increased referrals, and bolstered brand reputation. 

Investing in customer relationships and consistently exceeding expectations holds enduring value for sustainable business growth. Find out how it’s done…

Quotes

"First and foremost, I listen and I make sure that I understand as clearly as I can from their perspective, what they are experiencing, and then I evaluate how I can help them either solve problems or navigate through a challenging time, or listen to what excites them and what motivates them. And then I find ways during our experience to accentuate those things so that they feel heard and seen."

"So we had another client that came in. And we were just going to do some light refreshing to her website, and we ended up working so well together with her and her team that we built a friendship and a really solid relationship. And throughout that relationship  I would bring up, “we offer marketing services, you know, retainer services. Have you ever thought of growing this part of your website?” So I will interject thoughts that are appropriate for them and for their business. That really would make an impact because it's authentic."   "Jenna is the best shopper of unique gifts online. So, we always find a way to to thank [referrals] with something that might be special to them."

"As a business owner, I can spend an hour with a client and it can get costly when you have a scope of work. So I think that prioritizing that when you are budgeting a project, knowing that will add value to the relationship and have that client come back to you and do more work with you. You factor all those things in when you're estimating your project or the price of your product and know that it is a very important part of your longevity and your customer’s experience."

What makes a truly iconic brand? Few people are better qualified to answer that question than Neil Barrie, the branding expert behind household names like Pinterest, Peloton, and Airbnb.

Neil Barrie founded the TwentyFirstCenturyBrand agency in 2018 and works with many of the world's most innovative brands, including Headspace, Bumble, and Depop. From 2021-2023, the company grew revenue by 70%.

Originally a failed rock star, Neil has led the development and growth of top-tier brands including Disney, The Grammys, and Unilever. Throughout his career, he has used his platform to make the advertising industry better and has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Fast Company, and The Guardian.

Landing Your First Client

How did Neil and his co-founder land Pinterest as their very first client? A lot of it had to do with personal branding and the reputation they’d built for themselves in the industry. 

From the beginning, Neil was intentional about doing things for free for influential people, with the expectation they would one day recommend TwentyFirstCenturyBrand. He and his co-founder held workshops for venture capitalists and offered to help them with their portfolios. 

It also helped that they had a clear mission for their company (to build influential twenty-first-century brands) and a strong point of view on what made an iconic brand: it had to be purpose-led, community-driven, tech-enabled, and narrative-based. 

Neil and his co-founder came out of the gate with a clear thesis. They published white papers on their four-part framework that helped companies see the value in branding. Their strategy paid off–Pinterest took a chance on the new agency and TwentyFirstCenturyBrand’s client list has only grown since.

Ingredients of an Iconic Brand

Branding can be broken down into two sides: input and output. Output is your brand reputation or what other people say about you when you’re not around. Input is everything you put into the brand: your vision, your purpose, and the experience you create for your audience.

When asked about the future of branding, Neil says there are three factors entrepreneurs need to consider: profit, purpose, and people. After the turmoil of the last few years, profitability is more important than ever. Purpose is your vision and “people” refers to how you rally your community around that vision. To build a truly influential brand, you need to balance all three factors.

Enjoy this episode with founder Neil Barrie…

Quotes

“Most tech companies are leaving money on the table because they mistrust branding.”

“It’s tough to get business when you’re starting out. From the start, community and doing things for free for influential people with the expectation they would recommend us was a big part of our strategy.”

“Out of the gate, we acted like we’d been around for 30 years and hoped that sense of confidence and conviction would be infectious.”

“Vulnerability is required if you’re going to build a proper brand.”

“You need to invest the time in figuring out what you stand for, what you are, how you’re going to codify that into your experience and so on.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

TwentyFirstCenturyBrand website: https://twentyfirstcenturybrand.com/ 

Connect with Neil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-barrie-29488aa/ 

A Colourful View From The Top: https://www.amazon.com/Colourful-View-Top-Twenty-One-Extraordinary/dp/1408715791 

“Consumers are paying much more attention to the personal brand of executives or leaders of companies before making a buying decision.” - Rachel Gogos

Personal branding for business executives is crucial in today's crowded marketplace and digital landscape, impacting hiring decisions, company culture, talent attraction, and consumer buying behavior.

When executives invest in their personal brands, they're not just boosting their own visibility; they're also strengthening their businesses.

Consistency is key here, meaning regularly creating authentic content that reflects your unique voice and values.

Even with time constraints and tech challenges, executives can get support from companies like The brandiD to keep their branding efforts on track while staying true to themselves. 

While building a personal brand takes time and effort, the payoff can be huge.

Learn how to use personal branding to become a leader in your field and drive your organization forward…

Quotes:

“This is a long term game, building your personal brand. It is not something that happens overnight.”

“More than ever, I think people, customers, clients, students, you know, consumers of any kind are paying much more attention to the personal brand of executives or leaders of companies before making a buying decision.”

 “It's always original content, always original thoughts from the leader themselves. And we're just the people that help bring it to life, help put the words out there.”

If you’re looking for creative ways to sell more without being salesy, building a strong brand reputation is the key. 

Laura Bell Main is the Co-Founder and CEO of SafeStack, an online education platform offering flexible, high-quality, and people-focused secure development training for fast-moving companies. She and her co-founder have built a brand reputation as global leaders in secure software. 

Laura is the co-author of Agile Application Security and Security for Everyone. Her work has been featured in international publications including WIRED and MIT Tech Review. She has presented at BlackHat USA and RenderATL, as well as leading international software development and cybersecurity conferences.

Transition From Service-Based to Product Business

Laura’s business began as a consultancy. The first few years of SafeStack were dedicated to validating their framework and serving high-growth companies. 

When Covid hit in 2020, those companies made drastic budget cuts and Laura and her co-founder started looking for creative ways to solve the same problems at a different price point. As the product side of the company took off, they decided to separate and sell the consultancy. 

Now leading a team of 12, Laura is CEO and also the head of sales and marketing–which looks completely different now than it did in their service-based model. 

Brand Marketing and Creative Sales Strategies

SafeStack’s target audience is software developers, who Laura says are resistant to traditional sales techniques. Instead, she and her co-founder have focused on building their brand reputation. Through speaking at conferences and high-quality content, they do as much as they can to build that reputation before starting a conversation with the customer.

Another effective strategy has been creating opportunities to speak with their customers one-on-one, whether that’s at an in-person event or interacting with them online. They use just enough automation to keep people moving forward through the sales process, but not so much that it feels impersonal.

Approaching the conversation with empathy is key. Laura starts by talking the customer through their frustrations, helping them identify their biggest challenges before presenting a solution. She always gives the customer plenty of opportunities to ask questions. 

After a customer starts using the product, Laura and her team are always on hand for support. They help leaders identify who’s engaging and who may need more encouragement. For SafeStack, it’s not just about adopting a new software but changing the entire team culture.

Enjoy this episode with founder and CEO Laura Bell Main…

Quotes

“I moved between some really exciting organizations, but what stayed the same was I was always really curious…I was always pressing buttons and saying, ’I wonder what happens if I do this?’”

“I don’t sit around for a long time and say ‘This is going to be very hard’ and stop.”

“Software takes an entire team of people and all of these roles to build, and all of those people need to be involved in keeping it secure.” 

“Culture change for a software is really difficult. We can’t change it on our own, but we can make it easy for a leader to grow a program so they can change it.”

“This is the year of getting out of my own way and caring a bit less about what other people think.”

“When do I invest in the company brand and its name and put myself behind that label versus when do I lead with my brand, and how can they support each other?”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Laura’s website: https://www.laurabellmain.com/ 

SafeStack website: https://safestack.io/ 

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauradbell/

Ready to take your website strategy to the next level? 

Incorporate dynamic elements like a blog, podcast, or e-commerce store to drive strategic growth for your business.

Expanding your content creation efforts with a blog or podcast can be a powerful marketing tool, provided it reflects your passion and resonates with your audience.

Considering e-commerce integration? Imagine showcasing your products directly on your site, bypassing third-party platforms like Amazon. The potential for revenue generation and brand expansion through merchandise sales is enormous.

Dive into your website analytics to glean valuable insights into your audience's behavior and preferences. Use this knowledge to refine your marketing strategies for optimal results.

Join us for actionable advice and strategic insights on updating your website for business growth and brand development. Whatever your next step may be, let's navigate the path to success together…

Quotes

“You can't outsource your podcast in the way you can outsource your blog by having somebody ghost write for you.”

“We added the podcast several years into the business, it's a way really for me to come out from behind the business brand a little bit.”

 “The podcast was the modern day version of marketing our business a little bit more, while sharing the founding stories of really cool people.”

“We've been getting some great clients from our podcast. So it can certainly be a great business builder.”

“It really depends on what you're going to enjoy doing more as the creator or as the owner of the business. And also what you think is going to resonate more with your target audience.”

“I think you just have to have fun creating the content, you don't want to add one more thing to your plate unless it's really going to bring you joy.”

“The big advantage of having the shop live on your website and selling your own goods (versus having an affiliate shop, let's say through Amazon or another third party tool) is you can make more money.

From making cabinets in Northern California to helping women across the country build the kitchens of their dreams, Camille Fina knows what it takes to turn a brick-and-mortar shop into a successful online business.

Camille is a kitchen designer and cabinet maker with over 35 years of experience. Through her online program Kitchen Remodel Rockstar, she’s helped thousands of women learn how to talk to contractors, develop a detailed budget, and create a design plan for their dream kitchen. 

Camille is also the host of the Kitchen Sink Podcast and the creator of the Carpentry U Scholarship Fund. Every year, she donates $100,000 to women and girls who want to work in the trades. 

Know Your Customer

From day one in her cabinetry business, Camille knew exactly who she wanted to serve. While most cabinet makers work with builders and market to men, Camille decided to target women and sell direct-to-consumer. Specifically, she wanted to work with “regular families” – the ones who couldn’t afford to spend $75,000 on kitchen cabinets but still wanted the job done right. 

Camille zeroed in on $12-20k kitchen remodels, a sweet spot that was faster, easier, and more profitable than the larger projects her competitors took on. She developed a sales strategy that spoke to her target market and the business quickly took off.

Transitioning to an Online Business Model

As Camille’s 50th birthday approached, she felt it was time for a new adventure. She decided to launch a podcast to share what she’d learned from decades in the kitchen industry. The show was a success, and it wasn’t long before she had women contacting her from out of state for help with their kitchen remodels.

Since she was serving the same target audience, Camille applied the strategies that worked in her cabinetry business to the podcast. She used Facebook ads to drive traffic and started selling virtual kitchen design packages, helping clients plan, measure, and assemble their dream kitchen. 

And if they need cabinets as well, Camille proudly ships nationwide.

Enjoy this episode with entrepreneur Camille Fina…

Quotes

“Without customers, you don’t have a business. It’s that simple.”

“My marketing brain started thinking, ‘I wonder if I could design a kitchen for someone in Georgia.’ Could I apply the things I do in my regular world?”

“I wanted a way to be there digitally without being there physically.” 

“There were a lot of failures in there that didn’t work. But enough of it worked to keep me going.”

“Everything I’ve ever done in any business, I’m always trying to make an impact. I’m always trying to change the industry in some way–it’s personal to me. The kitchen design industry for me is personal, with women and empowerment and not getting taken advantage of.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Camille’s website: https://kitchenremodelrockstar.com/ 

Send Camille an email: [email protected] 

There is nothing more powerful than owning real estate on the internet superhighway

In today's digital age, a well-crafted website is not just an option but a necessity for modern entrepreneurship and brand development. It serves as the cornerstone of your online presence, offering a platform to showcase your offerings, engage with your audience, and drive business growth.

Understanding your target audience, maintaining professionalism, enhancing user experience, and implementing effective marketing strategies such as copywriting and lead generation are pivotal steps in crafting a compelling online presence.

While considering the costs associated with website hosting, development, and maintenance, it's crucial to recognize the long-term value of your website as a potent marketing tool.

Investing in a website isn't just an expense; it's an investment in the future success of your business.

Let's embark on the journey of unlocking the power of your online presence together…

Quotes:

"Your website is truly like your modern day business card."

"At minimum, you need at least a one page website."

"If you're selling a product, the first thing everybody does is Google that person or that thing and want to learn more about who is behind it."

"Your about section doesn't have to be your entire resume, but  you want to share enough to establish your credibility, your reputation, your know-how about the thing that you're doing or selling."

"You just want to make it super simple for people to take that next action."

"In the event that a website visitor is not quite ready to do business with you or purchase from you, but they are curious about you and just want to stay in touch and get to know you better, have an opt-in and a way to capture their email addresses."

"Sara Blakely, one of my favorite founders of all time, says ‘A website should be a central hub for your brand, an extension of your business that is available 24/7 worldwide.’ That is absolutely the truth. There is nothing more powerful than owning real estate on the internet superhighway."

If there’s a formula for becoming an industry leader, Sara Connell has cracked it. From struggling to make $20,000/year to six figures and now a multi-million dollar company, she’s sharing a behind-the-scenes look at her strategy–and how you can replicate her success.

Sara is a bestselling author and founder of Thought Leader Academy, where she helps coaches, writers, and entrepreneurs become published authors and in-demand speakers. She’s been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The View, FOX Chicago, NPR, and Katie Couric. 

Sara’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, and Good Housekeeping. She’s the author of five books and has been nominated for a national book award and ELLE magazine Book of the Year.

The 5-Part Strategy for Thought Leadership

Sara’s 5-part strategy for thought leadership begins with writing a book. Being a published author is an instant credibility boost, regardless of your industry. After the book is written, then it’s time to craft a signature talk. Sara helps many of her clients become TEDx speakers and monetize their speaking for additional income.

The next step is community building–growing an engaged audience around your book and speaking topic. That’s followed by the transformation phase, or as Sara calls it, “monetizing the mission.” In this stage, she helps her clients increase their prices and transition from one-on-one client work to a one-to-many model. 

The last and most important part of the strategy is leadership. Sara offers mindset support to help her clients embody their identity as a leader.    The 3S Framework

To create compelling thought leadership content, Sara recommends using the 3S Framework:

• Story: Your origin story and the reason why you’re doing this work.
• Situation: A statistic, study, or fact that demonstrates the current situation. This should include stakes (or what will happen if the situation doesn’t change).
• Solution: How you’re going to solve the problem.

Enjoy this episode with founder and bestselling author Sara Connell…

Quotes

“I prioritize mindset and faith above everything. To me, if I have to choose between strategy and the mindset work, that’s where it all happens. That’s where all the magic happens because that’s the identity–when we step into the greater version of ourselves.”

“Everyday I woke up and said, ‘What does the 7-figure CEO do?’”

“It’s about leading a movement. The book is a piece and a portal to your movement, to attract clients, to open doors for speaking engagements and the media…but ultimately you’re leading a movement.”

“So many people want to do a book to tell their story and they’ll write a great book, but it doesn’t give them the book outcomes they want. So we start with the outcomes…and reverse engineer the outcome.”

“Instead of informational content, we coach people on how to create transformational content.”

“The average American adult has an attention span of 2.9 seconds. So if our content doesn’t magnetize someone within 2.9 seconds, they’re moving on.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sara’s website: https://www.saraconnell.com/

Connect with Sara Connell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraconnellauthor/ 

Send a DM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraconnell/ 

Bestselling Book Bootcamp: https://www.saraconnell.com/bestselling-book-intensive 

Crisis is inevitable, touching every aspect of life. Yet, it's how we face it—with empathy, support, and teamwork—that truly matters.

Within your team, it’s important to balance short-term crisis management with long-term organizational stability, which means you need to build a supportive and understanding workplace culture.

It’s important to extend the same support and empathy to clients during their crises, reinforcing your company's ethos and adding personalized connection.

Then, you need personal coping mechanisms during a crisis. What’s really helped me is that I feel very called to my work and it’s such a personal outlet in turbulent times.

Life is full of peaks and valleys - make sure you maintain perspective and resilience.

Quotes

“It's a roller coaster, and just ride it, you're going to be scared s***less sometimes, and you're going to be super happy other times. And you have to just remember that when you are in that low point that there will be a high point.”

“Work has always been an outlet, like a very positive outlet for me, because I feel like my work is really a vocation more than it is a job.”

“Whenever there's a valley, there's always a peak.”

“The more we close ourselves off to hurt, the less likely we are to also experience those high highs because I think those two extremes are actually very much connected to one another”

“I have just had a very deep belief that everything happens for a reason in life, the good or the bad. Typically, there is a positive outcome at the end. It might be a while, but there is.”

What if you could get paid to grow your email list?

According to Adrienne Hill, hosting a virtual summit is one of the best ways to expand your network and add new email subscribers–all without spending a dollar on ads.

Adrienne is a Project Manager with experience managing multi-million dollar launches for Fortune 500 companies. As the Founder and CEO of Build A Life By Design, she’s channeled her corporate expertise into building her own brand and helping other entrepreneurs thrive online. Through her courses, coaching programs, and done-for-you services, Adrienne helps entrepreneurs activate Social Media Sales Machines so they can scale their business to 6-figures and beyond.

Why Summits?

With her background in project management, Adrienne viewed summits as the simplest way to launch her business. Instead of relying on one person (herself) to get everything done, she realized she could leverage a large group of people to create something even more powerful.

In her first summit, Adrienne brought together 20 contributors to share their expertise through an interview series. As the host, everyone who signed up for the free event went straight to her email list. She was able to grow her inbox by 1,000 people in just two weeks. The other contributors also walked away happy, having grown their list by dozens or even hundreds.

Adrienne begins planning her summits three months in advance–but once the planning stage is over, promotion is surprisingly easy. With 20 contributors all required to promote the event to their audience, you have the opportunity to reach thousands of new people.

Use a Summit to Fuel Your Live Launch

A core part of Adrienne’s summit strategy is the VIP ticket: a low-cost offer for attendees to upgrade their tickets and enjoy more summit resources. This keeps the event profitable and allows her to make anywhere between $10-94k on each summit. She then puts a portion of that revenue away to spend on ads during her next live launch.

Adrienne has found her sweet spot to be hosting four summits a year. In between those events, she runs paid ad campaigns to continue growing her email list. Then when it comes time to launch, her list is full of warm leads.

Enjoy this episode with CEO Adrienne Hill…

Quotes

“To me, the art of sales is learning to put someone else’s needs above your own.” 

“People who are okay with the status quo and they like having a job with the nine-to-five security and all that stuff, they think entrepreneurs are right out of their minds…we’re comfortable with a level of risk they would never be.”

“The thing about summits is people either don’t know they exist at all or they’re highly misunderstood…but just like any business strategy, if you execute it well you’re going to get great results.”

“I don’t want to sit there and hustle myself to death on social media and hope something sticks.”

“It’s a great business-building tool and it’s also a great networking tool.”

“You never need to run ads to a summit. It’s 100% organic, 100% free, zero ad spend. That’s one of the things I love about it.”

“In the entrepreneurial world, every time you have a failure, every time a lesson comes in or something falls apart, you grab those learning moments and treasure them. Because that’s exactly what you need to improve your performance.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Claim your virtual workshop seat: https://www.socialsalesmachine.com/VLL_free

Visit Adrienne’s website: https://www.buildalifebydesign.com/ 

Connect with Adrienne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienne-hill-coaching