Nov. 2, 2020

How Brand Advocates are Created by Successful Companies Worldwide with Andrew Deutsch

How Brand Advocates are Created by Successful Companies Worldwide with Andrew Deutsch
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconYoutube Music podcast player icon
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconYoutube Music podcast player icon

In this episode, host Eric Dickmann interviews Andrew Deutsch. Andrew is a multilingual global strategic marketing and sales consultant who has successfully driven business growth in more than 100 countries.

His company Fangled Technologies is a strategic marketing consultancy with services including Fractional CMO leadership, in-depth research beyond the financials for M&A, in addition to total branding and go-to-market strategy creation.


Eric Dickmann can be found on Twitter @EDickmann and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/edickmann and my website https://ericdickmann.com

Andrew Deutsch can be found online at https://fangledtech.com on Twitter @Fangled_Int, and Facebook @FangledInternational

Episode Summary: The episode summary can be found at https://fiveechelon.com/brand-advocates-created-successful-companies-s3e5/

If you'd like to contact us with feedback or guest inquiries, please visit:
https://fiveechelon.com/podcast

For more information about Virtual CMO strategic marketing consulting services, visit The Five Echelon Group at https://fiveechelon.com

Episode #36

Send us your questions or comments

Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!
Start for FREE

Marketing Automation with HubSpot
Try HubSpot’s all-in-one marketing software to simplify campaign management and drive new leads.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

WEBVTT

00:00:00.073 --> 00:00:02.803
andrew welcome to the virtual CMO podcast.

00:00:02.863 --> 00:00:04.514
Thanks so much for joining us today.

00:00:05.083 --> 00:00:05.924
Hey, glad to be here.

00:00:05.953 --> 00:00:06.703
Thanks for inviting me.

00:00:07.134 --> 00:00:12.683
You know, it's funny, that's called the virtual CMO podcasts, but we actually have two virtual CMOs here today, which is great.

00:00:12.714 --> 00:00:14.573
virtual CMO, fractional CMO.

00:00:14.624 --> 00:00:15.153
CMO.

00:00:15.204 --> 00:00:16.673
demand, whatever you want to call us.

00:00:16.884 --> 00:00:18.743
It's great to have some company on the show.

00:00:19.493 --> 00:00:20.364
Yeah, I was going to rename it.

00:00:20.393 --> 00:00:22.763
CMOs are us, but someone told me that was taken.

00:00:22.824 --> 00:00:23.693
Yeah, that's funny.

00:00:23.724 --> 00:00:24.294
That's funny.

00:00:24.294 --> 00:00:34.804
So I would love to hear, as we start out, just to give the audience a little bit of a background on yourself and how you came to start up a fangled tech, your consulting company.

00:00:35.914 --> 00:00:36.124
All right.

00:00:36.204 --> 00:00:37.103
originally the.

00:00:37.207 --> 00:00:37.866
Do age group.

00:00:37.990 --> 00:00:45.850
And I began my work years ago in central Florida, and then 10 years working in growing the business in the South of Brazil.

00:00:46.631 --> 00:00:51.820
And when I came back to the States, A troll had taken my name and registered it.

00:00:51.890 --> 00:00:53.060
then why did it hurt me for it?

00:00:53.841 --> 00:01:00.470
So at that same time I had gone to work for, one of my clients is as part of their company for a period of time.

00:01:01.070 --> 00:01:11.870
And decided when I came out, rather than fight with the troll and go through all the legal, I needed to come up with a clever name that really said who we were and, you know, got the brand recognition that we would want to going forward.

00:01:12.531 --> 00:01:17.971
So it was a conversation with some of the folks that we're working with and you know, what kind of a company are you.

00:01:18.281 --> 00:01:20.021
we're not new fangled cause we really do.

00:01:20.021 --> 00:01:20.501
What's great.

00:01:20.561 --> 00:01:23.200
We're not old fangled because we're moderate and we deal with it.

00:01:23.471 --> 00:01:24.941
So we're right in the moment we're fangled.

00:01:26.171 --> 00:01:26.501
And.

00:01:27.191 --> 00:01:28.361
Became Fangled tech.

00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:38.471
We were talking just before the broadcast started about the importance of a brand story and the ability for a brand to be recognized.

00:01:38.501 --> 00:01:43.010
And I've had a few guests on the show that, they'll wear a certain color.

00:01:43.010 --> 00:01:51.710
I had a nice lady on the show and she wore a pink scarf every time that she was doing a public appearance and another one at word green dress and a guy that wore a purple shirt or a tie.

00:01:52.191 --> 00:01:58.873
And it's nice to have something about your brand that's recognizable so that when people see you, they, equate your brand with you.

00:01:59.804 --> 00:02:00.463
Absolutely.

00:02:00.493 --> 00:02:05.144
And the thing is, everyone says your brand needs to be memorable, but memorable for the right things.

00:02:06.284 --> 00:02:08.283
You know, you don't want to be remembered for.

00:02:08.734 --> 00:02:12.633
The kinds of things that destroy brands you want to be remembered for the great work that you do.

00:02:13.024 --> 00:02:14.913
And the problems that you solve for your clients.

00:02:16.144 --> 00:02:16.864
That's so true.

00:02:16.864 --> 00:02:21.554
And I really want to get into that a little bit more with you because, we're both seasoned veterans.

00:02:21.554 --> 00:02:28.283
We've been around the game for a long time and in marketing, there's quite a breadth of skill that's out there.

00:02:28.283 --> 00:02:35.854
There are a lot of companies that tend to hire in young people, right out of school to manage their social media or whatnot.

00:02:36.364 --> 00:02:42.873
And oftentimes we also see that marketing is a function that is given off to another executive within the organization.

00:02:43.264 --> 00:02:45.274
A VP of sales and marketing.

00:02:45.574 --> 00:02:55.924
how do you look at the range of experience that's out there and really what differentiates somebody with experience in marketing with somebody who maybe doesn't have that season skill?

00:02:56.574 --> 00:02:58.824
it's something that I've been talking about quite a bit lately.

00:02:58.883 --> 00:02:59.243
The.

00:02:59.644 --> 00:03:09.663
there's a, an issue across the boards, outside of our field and in the U S and abroad now where folks value someone's confidence far more than their competence.

00:03:10.503 --> 00:03:15.533
So you get a kid right out of school who studied marketing and has a good understanding of it.

00:03:15.954 --> 00:03:18.294
But at the end of the day, what they really have as a tool kit.

00:03:18.834 --> 00:03:19.913
They know about SEO.

00:03:19.943 --> 00:03:22.283
They know about all of these pieces that are tools.

00:03:22.734 --> 00:03:27.324
The true seasoned marketing guys are the ones that recognize tools change every year.

00:03:27.683 --> 00:03:36.554
But the core of marketing is understanding how to build a strategy to really go back and say, who are our customers?

00:03:36.554 --> 00:03:37.364
What do they look like?

00:03:37.364 --> 00:03:38.294
What's their persona?

00:03:38.294 --> 00:03:38.984
What did they want?

00:03:38.984 --> 00:03:40.633
What are the problems that we can solve for them?

00:03:40.933 --> 00:03:41.774
Do I have one type two?

00:03:41.804 --> 00:03:42.794
I various types.

00:03:43.243 --> 00:03:49.674
And then really understand who they are, where they are, how to reach them and how to truly solve the problems that you now know that they have.

00:03:50.963 --> 00:03:56.364
Just because you use social media in your personal life, doesn't mean you're an expert in social media, right?

00:03:56.933 --> 00:03:57.294
Yeah.

00:03:57.324 --> 00:04:06.544
And it's fascinating to me, like for example, you'll come across somebody who will tell you, I know I'm successful in marketing because I can drive 200,000 people to a website a day.

00:04:06.993 --> 00:04:10.274
I can get someone 30,000 followers within a week.

00:04:10.783 --> 00:04:11.443
And you go, okay.

00:04:11.443 --> 00:04:13.454
But what does that do for you?

00:04:13.813 --> 00:04:16.334
Are those followers, people who could do business with you?

00:04:16.634 --> 00:04:19.144
Are you interested in vanity or prosperity?

00:04:19.473 --> 00:04:24.244
And most of my client work is in that, in the industrial sort of niche market space.

00:04:24.754 --> 00:04:29.944
So if you were to ask me, would you want 30,000 connections on LinkedIn?

00:04:30.454 --> 00:04:35.434
I would say, it depends are the 30,000 connections people who I can benefit, or we can do business with me.

00:04:35.733 --> 00:04:40.384
Or am I going to be trying to look for quality content out there and have to filter through all the garbage?

00:04:40.413 --> 00:04:41.103
I don't want to see.

00:04:42.423 --> 00:04:43.894
It has to be target.

00:04:43.894 --> 00:04:45.634
It has to be strategic in what you do.

00:04:46.653 --> 00:04:47.434
I love that phrase.

00:04:47.434 --> 00:05:01.533
You use a vanity versus prosperity because yeah, followers are relatively easy, but getting somebody to open up their wallet and actually buy something to spend money on a product or service is an entirely different proposition altogether.

00:05:01.713 --> 00:05:05.314
And I think many times people don't realize the challenge that you've got there.

00:05:06.213 --> 00:05:06.514
Yeah.

00:05:06.514 --> 00:05:11.463
And you know, I've tried at the supermarket to pay for my food with connections and they don't, they won't take it.

00:05:11.673 --> 00:05:14.043
They won't take my likes, my connections, any of that stuff.

00:05:14.434 --> 00:05:15.213
They want cash.

00:05:15.514 --> 00:05:16.264
It's so true.

00:05:16.293 --> 00:05:20.824
Cash is the currency that drives the world, not likes and followers, right?

00:05:21.004 --> 00:05:21.663
Absolutely.

00:05:22.264 --> 00:05:22.923
Absolutely.

00:05:23.134 --> 00:05:33.843
So there's this huge differentiation in skills within the marketplace, but at the same time, we're also seeing this move towards a lot of outsourcing towards more use of freelancers.

00:05:33.963 --> 00:05:40.744
I think there was a time when you would just go to an agency and they would be a one stop shop for everything.

00:05:40.954 --> 00:05:44.553
And agencies still have an incredibly important role to play.

00:05:44.704 --> 00:05:47.134
But now I think your choices are more diverse.

00:05:47.134 --> 00:05:49.684
you can have a bunch of different people working on your behalf.

00:05:49.713 --> 00:05:51.334
How do you see the landscape.

00:05:51.853 --> 00:06:04.814
we are not an agency and I make it clear that we're not, I have nothing against there's some real, like you said, some really good agencies out there, but many times I would say nine out of 10 clients that we take on are people that have been burned by agencies.

00:06:05.233 --> 00:06:08.264
there's all of these sort of what I call creepers in the fees.

00:06:08.564 --> 00:06:10.903
They agree, Hey, we're going to put together a print ad.

00:06:11.384 --> 00:06:18.704
And by the time they're done the project management fees are 10 times what the I'm exaggerating, but much higher than what the actual costs should have been.

00:06:19.064 --> 00:06:23.894
Or you go to the agency and they tell you, Oh, we've got a person who specializes in your field.

00:06:23.894 --> 00:06:28.634
And the reality is no one there has ever worked in your industrial sector before understands it.

00:06:29.293 --> 00:06:39.803
So rather than the way we do where we've got about a hundred different freelance people that we've been using for years, we build a team specific to the strategy and specific to the needs of the customer.

00:06:40.103 --> 00:06:42.334
With folks that are relevant within that area.

00:06:43.624 --> 00:06:51.334
But I think you also highlight another point is that there was a benefit in the agency model where you turned everything over to them because.

00:06:51.934 --> 00:06:54.634
They were also an ultimate point of responsibility, right?

00:06:54.634 --> 00:06:57.553
They were the person that you had a lead at the agency.

00:06:57.553 --> 00:06:59.863
And you could go to, if you didn't like something or something was wrong.

00:07:00.043 --> 00:07:02.803
When companies engage with a lot of freelancers.

00:07:03.343 --> 00:07:06.704
Then there has to be somebody who's coordinating that effort.

00:07:06.733 --> 00:07:10.783
Otherwise everybody's just off doing their own thing and there's no strategy.

00:07:10.783 --> 00:07:13.754
There's no continuity in what they're doing.

00:07:13.903 --> 00:07:19.004
And I think that's another way that roles like you and I play with a virtual CMO, fractional CMO.

00:07:19.124 --> 00:07:21.584
You still need somebody driving the bus.

00:07:22.004 --> 00:07:23.004
And that's what we do.

00:07:23.454 --> 00:07:28.463
But the difference is if in an agency model you've got the person running the agency.

00:07:28.463 --> 00:07:31.584
Sometimes they have a sales team who goes out that thinks that they know marketing.

00:07:31.853 --> 00:07:35.033
But they're really about just getting more and more out of it out of the customer.

00:07:35.303 --> 00:07:39.324
It's almost like an interior decorator situation where you're going to decorate your home.

00:07:39.324 --> 00:07:45.184
So you talk about a plan and before long, every napkin you buy for your house has a commission for them.

00:07:45.184 --> 00:07:48.564
Anthe design is more based on what furniture they get the best commission on.

00:07:49.254 --> 00:07:53.603
Whereas with what we do as a fractional CMO, we're part of the team.

00:07:53.874 --> 00:07:59.184
It's like having a part time employee with sea level credentials, who's there to build the strategy.

00:07:59.514 --> 00:08:01.584
So the responsibility is with that person.

00:08:01.973 --> 00:08:06.223
But the difference is: us fractional or however else you want to call it.

00:08:06.463 --> 00:08:11.593
We have a pool of people that are already vetted that we know what they're going to charge.

00:08:11.593 --> 00:08:12.524
We know how they work.

00:08:12.553 --> 00:08:14.264
We know what the project is.

00:08:14.824 --> 00:08:18.033
and we're used to working with them on projects specific to that customer.

00:08:18.603 --> 00:08:21.124
So there's no additional project management fees.

00:08:21.124 --> 00:08:27.543
Cause that's what we're doing in our monthly fee for the days or the number of hours that we've negotiated for.

00:08:28.113 --> 00:08:34.774
And when there's additional services and agency, when they outsource, they can double, triple whatever they're being billed.

00:08:35.073 --> 00:08:35.254
In.

00:08:35.254 --> 00:08:41.573
In my case, we actually show the invoice of what we're paying and there's a standard markup for us to manage that project.

00:08:42.144 --> 00:08:54.604
But at the end of the day, we own the project that the freelancers, if a freelancer screws up for us, we're on the hook, not the freelancer they're on the hook with us, but we were responsible to it just as if we were an employee of the company.

00:08:54.831 --> 00:08:56.240
Yeah, I think that's so important.

00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:03.464
And you know, I really want to get back to this statement that I made earlier because I see it so often and I'm sure you run into it as well.

00:09:04.124 --> 00:09:08.864
So many companies will come back and say, I already have a VP of sales and marketing.

00:09:08.864 --> 00:09:11.624
Why do I need to have somebody in a separate role?

00:09:11.624 --> 00:09:15.224
Just for marketing, isn't marketing, a function of sales.

00:09:16.663 --> 00:09:17.053
Yeah.

00:09:17.264 --> 00:09:24.323
Again, at other most common question that's asked and the reality is marketing makes it so that sales can happen.

00:09:24.783 --> 00:09:25.833
we understand.

00:09:25.833 --> 00:09:40.293
And we use the data that we get from sales to understand the customer a little bit better and the performance and otherwise, but to truly understand the total scope of the market to generate the leads to look at where is the low lying fruit, all of the analysis that's involved.

00:09:40.624 --> 00:09:52.203
In where to go to market new regions, being able to hone the messaging to create the materials, even building the CRM systems in conjunction with the sales team.

00:09:52.594 --> 00:10:00.813
So that the CRM is something that they can use and like to use as opposed to an administrative nonsense thing that drives them nuts.

00:10:02.264 --> 00:10:22.484
And I think that this also dovetails nicely into the conversation just on leads in general, because what I often see is when marketing is wrapped up underneath the sales function, everything is leads, but there's more to leads than just going out and going to the magic, lead bank and just purchasing some leads.

00:10:22.754 --> 00:10:27.543
There's awareness that drives interest that then begins to build demand.

00:10:27.543 --> 00:10:33.293
And it's a nurturing process where you have to take these leads and mature them before they can move over.

00:10:33.563 --> 00:10:42.571
And I think oftentimes when it's a sales function, there's the temptation to skip all that and say, where can I just quickly find some leads there?

00:10:42.571 --> 00:10:43.711
There's no quick solution.

00:10:44.280 --> 00:10:49.620
Yeah, there isn't but there, there's a lot of sales guys that have grown up with that kiss or kill sort of mentality.

00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:52.171
If I don't get it on the first run, go away.

00:10:52.530 --> 00:10:57.750
One of the big programs that we've built for many clients is exactly what you just called out a lead nurturing program.

00:10:58.291 --> 00:11:07.380
So for example, there was a, engagement that I was involved with that was selling a product through dealers and leads were coming into the website, hundreds and hundreds a day.

00:11:07.831 --> 00:11:10.831
And someone would just by zip code, send it out to the dealer and let it go.

00:11:11.201 --> 00:11:13.841
the question at hand, and this is where marketing comes in.

00:11:13.841 --> 00:11:15.880
Is, are the leads being handled?

00:11:16.030 --> 00:11:18.671
Are they actually contacting these people who said they're interested?

00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:20.500
Are they getting into the dealership?

00:11:20.561 --> 00:11:21.971
Are they selling the product?

00:11:22.270 --> 00:11:27.610
And if they do buy, are they buying theirs or are the leads that you're sending, enhancing your competitor?

00:11:27.701 --> 00:11:28.691
Who's also on that lot.

00:11:29.380 --> 00:11:33.850
So we built a lead nurturing program where the leads were first qualified.

00:11:34.421 --> 00:11:38.951
And a personal touch occurs and then introducing them to that dealer network.

00:11:38.951 --> 00:11:39.941
And then later.

00:11:40.291 --> 00:11:46.740
after the engagement, they were supposed to be able to follow up and gather all of that data to better know the performance of their dealers.

00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:53.950
When it comes to that, demand generation and building sort of a real funnel to attract new leads.

00:11:54.279 --> 00:12:03.460
Do you see in your experience that many companies truly don't have a good handle on what their unique value proposition is, what their true differentiators are.

00:12:03.700 --> 00:12:05.620
And instead it's price and features.

00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:07.360
Absolutely.

00:12:08.289 --> 00:12:10.539
I would say nine out of 10 companies.

00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:14.559
The first question that we always ask is tell me who your ideal customer is.

00:12:15.070 --> 00:12:17.049
And nine out of 10 times nobody can tell me.

00:12:17.629 --> 00:12:19.250
and when the 10th they can.

00:12:20.090 --> 00:12:21.860
When we dig into it and look at it.

00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:23.870
It's not who they thought it was.

00:12:24.289 --> 00:12:25.309
So I'll give you, I'll give you an example.

00:12:25.309 --> 00:12:33.649
We were involved in the steel drum industry for a number of years, and they were as an industry that this particular company was talking about.

00:12:33.649 --> 00:12:36.860
The fact that the drones were made of steel, they were tested in house.

00:12:36.860 --> 00:12:40.850
They had in house authorized government testing for DOD and transportation.

00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:42.860
They had high quality.

00:12:43.070 --> 00:12:49.070
All of this was there, their entire pitch, everything they were pitching is table stakes.

00:12:49.370 --> 00:12:52.190
These are all of the basic requirements just to be in that industry.

00:12:52.669 --> 00:12:54.769
If you want to sell steel drums.

00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:56.659
You have to be able to test in house.

00:12:56.690 --> 00:12:57.799
You have to do all of those things.

00:12:58.279 --> 00:13:02.049
So we dug in and started to talk to the top customers in the past.

00:13:02.049 --> 00:13:02.379
Customers.

00:13:02.379 --> 00:13:04.120
Why do you do business with this company?

00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:06.370
Number one response.

00:13:07.070 --> 00:13:08.110
Because Ithey answered the phone.

00:13:09.309 --> 00:13:10.509
Number two response.

00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:18.659
Cause when me as the buyer screw up or we get a run on a product, they're the only ones who can turn around and get them to me immediately.

00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:20.009
Other companies could take a month.

00:13:20.669 --> 00:13:21.419
Number three.

00:13:21.929 --> 00:13:25.049
At my salesman's in touch with me all the time and I can reach them anytime I want.

00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:34.740
Number four was when they screw up and they have a defective product, they own it and fix it within a day or two, not, we have a process.

00:13:34.769 --> 00:13:36.240
It'll be a month before we get back to you.

00:13:36.450 --> 00:13:41.679
So the entire reason that people were doing business with them had nothing to do with the quality of the product at all.

00:13:41.897 --> 00:13:44.836
It was, they met and exceeded all of the standards in the market.

00:13:45.173 --> 00:13:52.907
they were huge because people liked them and they got the service and resolved that the personal problems that buyers have in that industry.

00:13:53.616 --> 00:13:57.697
so obviously all of the messaging had to change the very differentiators they thought they had.

00:13:57.817 --> 00:13:59.527
First of all, it didn't differentiate anything.

00:13:59.886 --> 00:14:01.657
And second had no meaning to the customer.

00:14:01.869 --> 00:14:07.509
what you've really touched on, there is something that I'm such a firm believer in and it's this.

00:14:07.647 --> 00:14:09.447
Understanding of pain points.

00:14:09.447 --> 00:14:18.197
It's understanding how a particular product or service is actually going to solve a problem that is going to address some sort of a pain that the customer's having.

00:14:18.407 --> 00:14:21.376
Not what it does and all the capabilities that it has.

00:14:21.376 --> 00:14:24.047
Like you say, a lot of times that just ends up being table stakes.

00:14:24.226 --> 00:14:27.466
Chances are your competitor's products do very similar things.

00:14:27.797 --> 00:14:34.456
But how are you uniquely suited to solve a customer's pain points or a problem that maybe your competitor is not?

00:14:34.606 --> 00:14:35.657
And would you just describe her?

00:14:35.657 --> 00:14:38.297
A lot of service differentiators had nothing to do with the product.

00:14:38.596 --> 00:14:40.216
Yeah, it's it had nothing.

00:14:40.216 --> 00:14:41.147
I'll give you another example.

00:14:41.147 --> 00:14:45.547
Years ago, I was tasked with the U S manufacturer of sofas of upholstered goods.

00:14:45.937 --> 00:14:48.366
They were looking to get into the South American luxury market.

00:14:48.817 --> 00:14:53.136
And in the U S when you go buy a sofa, a real high end thousands of dollars sofa.

00:14:53.466 --> 00:14:55.177
They'll show you the inside of the sofa.

00:14:55.206 --> 00:15:00.037
They show you the Springs and how many directions it was hand tied in Brazil.

00:15:00.037 --> 00:15:03.157
You would talk about that and the consumer would go, I don't give a crap.

00:15:03.256 --> 00:15:03.647
literally.

00:15:04.157 --> 00:15:05.236
That means nothing to me.

00:15:05.267 --> 00:15:06.317
I want to know if it feels good.

00:15:06.317 --> 00:15:10.517
When I sit in it, I buy a sofa with my butt was the most common thing that I heard.

00:15:10.817 --> 00:15:13.096
I want a fancy, beautiful fabric.

00:15:13.096 --> 00:15:14.027
I want it to look nice.

00:15:14.027 --> 00:15:16.937
I want it to be comfortable and I want to be able to tell people I imported it.

00:15:17.746 --> 00:15:18.976
That was what mattered.

00:15:19.067 --> 00:15:23.956
So all of the collateral that existed in the U S for selling those sofas was useless in Brazil.

00:15:25.576 --> 00:15:37.966
I'm so glad you segwayed into this, because I really do want to leverage your experience working with global brands and talk a little bit about that, because I think that's a challenge as we become an increasingly global economy.

00:15:38.366 --> 00:15:47.506
businesses want to open up in new markets, but it's not as simple as, translating your content from English to French or the German.

00:15:47.907 --> 00:15:50.277
there's a lot of culture that's involved in this.

00:15:50.277 --> 00:15:53.246
And the term I always like to use is cultural translation.

00:15:53.456 --> 00:16:00.236
Just like you said, the same sofa here versus Brazil, but the way the consumer bought it Was very different.

00:16:00.246 --> 00:16:01.866
that's just a difference in culture.

00:16:01.866 --> 00:16:03.697
That's a different dish in buying behavior.

00:16:04.086 --> 00:16:10.657
So I'd love to hear about your experience and advice that you give businesses as their thinking to expand into new markets.

00:16:11.466 --> 00:16:14.616
The most common thing we encounter with a company that wants to go global.

00:16:15.187 --> 00:16:17.346
Is, Oh, we're already exporting so we know what we're doing.

00:16:17.496 --> 00:16:18.756
You say, okay, where are you selling?

00:16:19.086 --> 00:16:25.386
And it's always the same pattern countries that speak English first and folks that we met at a trade show who reached out to us.

00:16:25.836 --> 00:16:27.397
that's the model that we always get.

00:16:27.927 --> 00:16:37.856
and it's, I won't not to be insulting to another country, but I've been at a trade show where people have come up and said, I am the number one distributor of that product in my entire country.

00:16:38.366 --> 00:16:39.777
Tell her it's nice to meet the number one guy.

00:16:39.777 --> 00:16:40.767
You take their business card.

00:16:40.767 --> 00:16:41.517
They walk away.

00:16:41.787 --> 00:16:45.447
Next guy comes up by the end of the day, you've met seven number ones.

00:16:46.287 --> 00:16:48.746
So it, which is mathematically interesting.

00:16:48.746 --> 00:16:51.537
Cause I, I know people who are into math there has just exploded.

00:16:51.537 --> 00:16:52.106
There can't be that.

00:16:53.116 --> 00:16:56.886
but at the end of the day, you really have to understand globally.

00:16:57.086 --> 00:16:59.667
what are your true competitors in the market?

00:16:59.726 --> 00:17:02.996
Not just the product that you make, but what your product may be replacing.

00:17:03.567 --> 00:17:08.517
When I was with, Avery Dennison in the strategic tapes, they were high performance tapes industry.

00:17:08.876 --> 00:17:11.067
People would say, who you're competing against 3m?

00:17:11.457 --> 00:17:11.727
You say?

00:17:11.757 --> 00:17:12.027
Yeah.

00:17:12.057 --> 00:17:13.346
3m as a competitor.

00:17:13.586 --> 00:17:15.866
So with tape, who else do you compete with?

00:17:15.926 --> 00:17:18.267
You can pay with nails screws.

00:17:18.787 --> 00:17:20.376
you compete with clamps.

00:17:20.737 --> 00:17:23.257
You can meet with all of these other things that hold things together.

00:17:23.916 --> 00:17:33.396
So in the global market, you may think that you've got a solution that works globally, but it culturally isn't a fit similar in South America, we did a viability study.

00:17:33.636 --> 00:17:34.777
We're under sink waste.

00:17:34.807 --> 00:17:36.997
Disposal's you know, like InSinkErator and things like that.

00:17:37.836 --> 00:17:44.666
And, it had no place in the market as far as we could tell, because the reason people have those is because they don't want to clean slop out of the drain.

00:17:45.237 --> 00:17:46.676
But anyone who had the money.

00:17:47.186 --> 00:17:51.747
To be able to afford one of these products also had a housekeeper maid cook or otherwise.

00:17:52.196 --> 00:17:57.386
And they typically didn't care if that person stuck their hand in the drain to clean out the slop.

00:17:58.166 --> 00:18:08.336
So it became, the only reason to have it is the bragging rights and the more we talked about them and try to figure it out, we looked at what it would take to move the market.

00:18:08.817 --> 00:18:15.297
And you would have to sell many units to be able to pay the educational part of creating a demand where demand doesn't exist.

00:18:17.007 --> 00:18:19.926
And, I think it even goes beyond that.

00:18:19.926 --> 00:18:24.817
You'd take a look at, translating content, maybe just on your website or whatnot.

00:18:25.207 --> 00:18:34.297
Even in other English speaking countries saying things a certain way is going to be a dead giveaway that you are not really a local merchant.

00:18:34.297 --> 00:18:39.636
You're not somebody that's the established in that country, or even some of the imagery that you may use.

00:18:39.636 --> 00:18:43.326
It may seem off because it just doesn't fit in with the culture.

00:18:43.336 --> 00:18:44.537
there's a lot to it.

00:18:44.636 --> 00:18:45.386
Absolutely.

00:18:45.717 --> 00:18:50.576
And that's why like a group like ours, we have resources and about a hundred different countries now that we can reach out to.

00:18:51.297 --> 00:18:58.557
So it, depending from the network of my working overseas for all these years, depending on where we're going, we bring expertise in from those markets.

00:18:58.856 --> 00:19:06.067
Cause the blind spots, no matter who you are, I've been at this for 30 plus years and I've worked in a hundred and something different countries.

00:19:06.527 --> 00:19:07.037
I have.

00:19:07.967 --> 00:19:11.517
Lots and lots of blind spots that have to be taken care of by bringing professionals.

00:19:11.547 --> 00:19:13.166
People who know more than me into the project.

00:19:14.826 --> 00:19:26.606
how then do you you take all this, that we've talked about, you talk about lead, nurturing, you talk about, having the right kind of messaging, differentiated value propositions, really understanding who your customer is.

00:19:26.646 --> 00:19:28.896
you package all this stuff up together.

00:19:29.287 --> 00:19:33.876
Where do you think many companies are making the biggest mistake today?

00:19:34.866 --> 00:19:42.277
The biggest mistake is not going back to their brand story and understanding who their customer is and what are the problems that you can solve for them.

00:19:42.547 --> 00:19:45.067
What are the challenges that they have and how can you be their hero?

00:19:46.207 --> 00:19:52.457
in and the other mistake is at the other end that after you've sold, at the end of the day, what do we do?

00:19:52.457 --> 00:19:54.257
We want people to know who we are.

00:19:54.737 --> 00:19:59.807
See our products, buy them, love them and tell everyone and become an advocate for that brand.

00:20:00.136 --> 00:20:00.946
That's what we want.

00:20:01.336 --> 00:20:02.656
That's what marketing is about.

00:20:03.017 --> 00:20:05.267
The sales team is involved in part of that.

00:20:05.626 --> 00:20:07.727
But most companies stop the follow through.

00:20:08.086 --> 00:20:10.727
We made the sale next and it's wait a minute.

00:20:11.037 --> 00:20:14.126
you just lost that resource.

00:20:14.336 --> 00:20:17.727
That's going to bring you 10 more customers who have 10 friends that want to buy.

00:20:18.086 --> 00:20:23.916
So what do you do in terms of your business and how do you build a strategy around that so that everyone who does business with you.

00:20:24.277 --> 00:20:25.237
Becomes an advocate.

00:20:25.457 --> 00:20:27.797
think about some of the major brands, the apples of the world.

00:20:27.916 --> 00:20:39.136
They come out with a product nobody's ever had their hand on it, and people are lined up around the corner to buy it because they have an army of advocates for that brand that will believe that whatever they do is going to be fantastic.

00:20:39.777 --> 00:20:43.777
In the trailer industry, Airstream people all their lives.

00:20:43.987 --> 00:20:44.676
Oh my God.

00:20:44.676 --> 00:20:45.487
They have an Airstream.

00:20:45.517 --> 00:20:48.067
That's the premiere and in a pull trailer.

00:20:48.576 --> 00:20:53.166
But at the end of the day, if you take one apart, in my opinion, there are no better than the other ones that are out there.

00:20:53.676 --> 00:20:54.876
But they have such an army.

00:20:54.876 --> 00:21:03.906
They would have to screw up for a lot of years before their brand got turning, because they spend a lot of their time really building that brand loyalty, that brand advocacy.

00:21:04.686 --> 00:21:09.906
So the homework upfront has to be done and you gotta follow through all the way past sale.

00:21:10.356 --> 00:21:12.096
So that those people are still sticking around.

00:21:13.037 --> 00:21:14.267
and loving what you do.

00:21:14.416 --> 00:21:15.527
And becoming those advocates.

00:21:15.557 --> 00:21:15.916
That's right.

00:21:15.946 --> 00:21:21.406
And you know, Apple is a very overused example in marketing just because they do so many things.

00:21:21.457 --> 00:21:32.257
But they are one of the few companies that I would say as an exception, they can talk about a new button that they've added or a new feature that they've added and people would genuinely get excited about that.

00:21:32.477 --> 00:21:44.297
because they've done so much work already to establish their value proposition that now people are interested in how little things are enhancing that where I think a lot of other companies, they have not laid that foundation.

00:21:44.567 --> 00:21:47.326
And so focusing on those kinds of things is a mistake.

00:21:47.326 --> 00:21:49.426
They have to establish their value proposition first.

00:21:49.846 --> 00:21:55.896
And if you could build that tribe of advocates, think about when some of these companies come out with a new product it's on the morning news.

00:21:56.406 --> 00:21:56.797
right.

00:21:57.027 --> 00:21:58.136
all that free publicity.

00:21:58.676 --> 00:21:58.916
Yeah.

00:21:58.946 --> 00:22:01.646
And the other end of it, which is more in that creative space.

00:22:02.027 --> 00:22:11.207
imagine what the day that burger King decided to stick a slice of bacon in there Sunday did to their business, every news show in the world, they're trying to kill us and people lined up for it.

00:22:11.567 --> 00:22:14.747
And the little Caesar's put how many pounds of bacon on a pizza.

00:22:15.287 --> 00:22:25.376
And became relevant again, it was a company that was on the downfall disappearing those kinds of stunts, they get you the free media also create buzz and advocates.

00:22:25.406 --> 00:22:29.906
the bacon industry, people walk around with bacon t-shirts when was bacon, a status symbol?

00:22:30.207 --> 00:22:30.987
they were clever.

00:22:31.717 --> 00:22:32.946
think about prunes.

00:22:33.757 --> 00:22:34.686
Nobody would eat prunes.

00:22:34.717 --> 00:22:37.386
That's what kept grandpa regular what they do.

00:22:37.446 --> 00:22:41.946
They created an entire strategy around calling them dried plums and how cool that healthy they were.

00:22:42.457 --> 00:22:43.777
And now young people alike.

00:22:43.807 --> 00:22:45.126
Everyone eats dried plums.

00:22:45.156 --> 00:22:46.086
Nobody would need approval.

00:22:46.207 --> 00:22:47.047
Hate to take, to say it.

00:22:47.047 --> 00:22:47.797
It's the same thing.

00:22:48.636 --> 00:22:51.896
All of those are great examples of how you build a brand.

00:22:52.280 --> 00:22:58.310
and create advocates for it because you understand why people don't buy it, why they do and what are the benefits?

00:22:59.421 --> 00:23:03.320
I love this whole concept too, of the brand story, because that is so important.

00:23:03.320 --> 00:23:12.471
And we live in such a visual a time right now, where there are so many great opportunities to create visual content, to support that brand story.

00:23:12.921 --> 00:23:16.040
And I'd still see so many businesses missing the opportunity.

00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:19.871
there's a product actually that I use, but I was evaluating it.

00:23:20.020 --> 00:23:22.121
And it was a product that helped you make videos.

00:23:22.570 --> 00:23:25.661
And I went to their website and they didn't have any videos.

00:23:26.020 --> 00:23:33.201
And I thought, this is awfully odd for a company that helps you make videos not to have any videos, because I really wanted to see the product in action.

00:23:33.230 --> 00:23:34.671
To me, that was just a huge miss.

00:23:36.260 --> 00:23:36.621
Yeah.

00:23:36.621 --> 00:23:36.861
Yeah.

00:23:36.951 --> 00:23:38.510
It's amazing.

00:23:38.570 --> 00:23:40.070
how many people don't walk the walk?

00:23:40.250 --> 00:23:43.101
It's there's an expression in Portuguese that the.

00:23:43.401 --> 00:23:44.570
Is it usually the barbecue.

00:23:44.570 --> 00:23:46.010
You cook meat on a metal spit.

00:23:46.681 --> 00:23:50.641
and they joked that the blacksmith's cooks is coaxes on a wooden spit.

00:23:50.784 --> 00:23:58.503
That you know, he doesn't have, he doesn't have, he's so busy with what he does that he doesn't even have time to do for himself and show what he does.

00:23:59.644 --> 00:24:00.094
Yeah.

00:24:00.604 --> 00:24:09.874
It's amazing to me, how so many companies miss that as they grow their business, high tech companies with websites that look like a word page.

00:24:10.564 --> 00:24:12.453
It doesn't make any sense.

00:24:12.544 --> 00:24:13.233
too much tax.

00:24:13.233 --> 00:24:13.443
Do you know?

00:24:13.443 --> 00:24:16.114
You can tell a story, but you don't want to make it your life story.

00:24:16.144 --> 00:24:17.314
You've gotta be succinct.

00:24:17.314 --> 00:24:18.364
You've got to get to the point.

00:24:18.574 --> 00:24:31.243
You've got to very quickly help people understand what's your, brand differentiators, your value proposition is, you know, and before we wrap things up today, I would also love to get your thoughts on automation tools.

00:24:31.243 --> 00:24:35.683
I know you mentioned, you know, some marketing automation, CRM, both hugely important.

00:24:35.683 --> 00:24:37.723
I think in the marketing space.

00:24:38.023 --> 00:24:40.453
Oh, what do you look at when you're talking to your clients?

00:24:40.453 --> 00:24:44.473
What kinds of things do you recommend to say these are really must have three organization.

00:24:45.005 --> 00:24:58.904
Again, I don't have a must have for any, it depends on what their needs are and what the strategy is, but one of the, like in a CRM, for example, when you've got guys that are putting out multiple proposals, There should be automation to remind them the proposals out for followup.

00:24:59.505 --> 00:25:07.765
There should be automation for; tasks and for activities campaigns, lead generation lead nurturing programs.

00:25:08.305 --> 00:25:09.625
There's a million different pieces.

00:25:09.625 --> 00:25:16.494
where I think a lot of companies miss is that they automate in such a generic way that people feel like they're being treated by a robot.

00:25:17.164 --> 00:25:21.424
many automation programs backfire because people see them as a cost cutter.

00:25:21.454 --> 00:25:31.345
They see it as a time saver, but no matter what anyone says that personal touch is still an absolute requirement in being able to build brand advocates.

00:25:32.035 --> 00:25:33.025
you know, it really depends.

00:25:33.055 --> 00:25:40.015
there's lots of crazy marketing automation programs that I've seen out there that have all the whistles and bells and alienate the customers.

00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:41.059
I think that's true.

00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:43.970
I would probably take it one step further than you do.

00:25:43.970 --> 00:25:44.450
I.

00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:50.119
I'm such a believer in CRM, because I think we've all experienced times.

00:25:50.119 --> 00:25:54.339
when we call into that call center, they have no idea that we called in a week ago.

00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:57.250
They have no idea that we have an outstanding service issue.

00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:03.700
You've gotta be able to know how your customers are interacting with your organization and what people in your organization are doing.

00:26:04.029 --> 00:26:06.789
And you've got everything from free HubSpot out there too.

00:26:06.789 --> 00:26:09.789
Very expensive CRM platforms from Salesforce and others.

00:26:10.150 --> 00:26:17.349
It's an investment, but if you can get people using it, I think it can be a great, aid to your organization in your customer service.

00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:27.440
Yeah, we could do an entire other podcast conversation on how to build really positive CRMs at the sales team loves the first one I ever used.

00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:28.849
This was a long time ago.

00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:33.589
It was an electronic babysitter that made sure that, we could be watched.

00:26:34.190 --> 00:26:38.930
And then if we got fired or quit, they had all of our secret sauce.

00:26:38.930 --> 00:26:40.220
That's what it was to the sales team.

00:26:40.619 --> 00:26:43.829
it was not a way to make us better as sales folks.

00:26:44.250 --> 00:26:47.759
And it was designed by a finance guy and an it guy.

00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:49.259
not interactive.

00:26:49.690 --> 00:26:54.789
A properly done CRM is like having two or three virtual assistants working for you every day.

00:26:55.299 --> 00:27:01.450
And a crappy CRM is what wastes your entire Saturday, because you've got to update the darn thing because the boss said, so.

00:27:02.257 --> 00:27:02.752
That's right.

00:27:02.752 --> 00:27:05.573
And it's all about the data to junk data in junk data out.

00:27:05.573 --> 00:27:08.542
It's gotta be good data and everybody has to be using it consistently.

00:27:08.962 --> 00:27:09.232
Yeah.

00:27:10.042 --> 00:27:10.403
Yup.

00:27:10.942 --> 00:27:11.482
I've done.

00:27:11.512 --> 00:27:15.593
I've done multiple implementations over the years and it's really.

00:27:15.962 --> 00:27:18.512
when it's done right man, it's fantastic.

00:27:18.873 --> 00:27:20.673
And when it's done wrong, it's a nightmare.

00:27:22.222 --> 00:27:26.643
Andrew this has been so great to be able to talk shop with somebody who does the same thing that I do.

00:27:26.883 --> 00:27:35.643
And I would love for you to be able to share with the audience or how they can get in touch with you, how they can find fangled tech on the web, in any social media channels that you use as well.

00:27:36.032 --> 00:27:36.393
Sure.

00:27:36.423 --> 00:27:38.823
We're a first of all, we're obviously we're on LinkedIn.

00:27:39.303 --> 00:27:41.343
You can find me by my name on LinkedIn.

00:27:41.673 --> 00:27:43.752
And our website is fangledtech.com.

00:27:45.306 --> 00:27:47.645
And also we do, an interesting program.

00:27:47.895 --> 00:27:52.965
I give about an hour of my time a week, sometimes a little bit more with what I call the pick my brain sessions.

00:27:53.625 --> 00:28:01.766
So if somebody has a marketing concept and just wants to talk it through to see if there's a fit, they can reach out to us and we can schedule those.

00:28:02.155 --> 00:28:08.336
And basically it's a 30 minute period of time to talk through what they're doing and see if we're the right fit.

00:28:08.336 --> 00:28:10.675
Or if we refer them to someone else out there.

00:28:10.741 --> 00:28:13.009
To help move forward in their brand story.

00:28:13.076 --> 00:28:16.915
or their streets, their strategy or whatever it is that they need to do to grow their business.

00:28:17.695 --> 00:28:30.465
I think that's important because, as you discussed before, there are people who've got expertise and B2C expertise in B2B expertise like you have in global industries or specific segments of, industries out there.

00:28:30.586 --> 00:28:33.405
And so it's important to find somebody that's a good match for your business.

00:28:34.276 --> 00:28:34.816
Absolutely.

00:28:34.905 --> 00:28:39.615
And there's a big difference in the B2B marketing world, as opposed to the consumer market.

00:28:39.915 --> 00:28:44.355
What we do is very different in just now in this point in time.

00:28:44.806 --> 00:28:49.935
Industry and manufacturers in the commercial space are starting to understand that marketing is more than a sell sheet.

00:28:49.965 --> 00:28:52.036
That brochure and a box of donuts.

00:28:53.536 --> 00:28:53.685
Yeah.

00:28:53.746 --> 00:29:00.586
Just think of all these businesses that have had to cancel their, their trade show, marketing plans, and that used to be the staple of what they would do to generate some leads.

00:29:00.586 --> 00:29:02.836
So yeah, things have changed pretty drastically.

00:29:03.016 --> 00:29:07.635
I will make sure that we put all of that in the show notes, both here on the live stream channels.

00:29:07.905 --> 00:29:11.175
And, when the podcast is released, this has been a great discussion.

00:29:11.175 --> 00:29:13.665
I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today.

00:29:13.905 --> 00:29:15.826
And there's been a lot of great information shared here.

00:29:16.365 --> 00:29:16.905
Absolutely.

00:29:16.905 --> 00:29:17.746
I enjoyed it very much.

00:29:17.776 --> 00:29:18.645
Thanks so much for inviting me.

00:29:18.645 --> 00:29:19.185
This was great.