Branding Deep Dive with Ahmed Cheema – Détails, épisodes et analyse

The perception of the Detroit Lions have totally changed over the course of the last few years, and they didn't have to change the logo or make any tweaks to the colors etc. 

Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton just dropped some heat on social media...

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Summary:
In this episode we’re talking to Lauren Desouza. Lauren wears a lot of hats, she’s the host of Retain: the customer retention podcast, she’s an alumnus of Canada’s Next 36, and she’s the co-founder and CEO of ACE, a startup that uses AI to help people prepare for interviews and refining your communication skills. 

In this episode we dive deep into what retention marketing is and how to do it, the benefits of going through a founder development program, how to uniquely engage your customers, and much more.

If you want to learn more about customer retention or being a founder this episode is a must listen.

Key Lessons:

1. Customer retention isn’t copy paste. It’s not as simple as just implementing a rewards program because X company in your industry has one. See how you can uniquely serve your customers 
2.  If you’re nervous about becoming an entrepreneur or starting something, talk to entrepreneurs. It'll help you get over the hump and just get started. 

Links:
Gameball: https://www.gameball.co/ 
Ace Interview Prep: https://www.aceinterviewprep.io/ 

Today we’re talking to Scott Keyser, the Writing Guy. With the right words you can sell anything — a product, service, idea, or even a belief. But understanding how to formulate the right words is a riddle only few people understand.  Scott Keyser is one of those few.

A lifelong lover of the English language, Scott understands the power of words to move, bewitch and persuade. Since 2004 he’s helped over 5000 professionals find their voice, write Human and get the results they want from the words they write.

His clients include The Economist Group, all of the Big Four accounting firms, three international law firms and two barristers chambers.

Scott helped Ernst & Young to double its tender win-rate and increased an international outsourcing company’s tender win-rate from 14% to 71%, after just two days.

He’s the author of two groundbreaking books, winner takes all: on how to double your tender win rate, and rhetorica®. Wanting to share his secret with the world, he’s created a system of 15 persuasive writing techniques. They’re simple and they work.

In this episode we dive deep into why learning to write well is so important, how to find your voice, how to stop writing in passive voice, and much more. 

If you’re looking to improve your writing this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. Read your writing out loud - this is one of the easiest ways to make sure your writing is good
2. Give yourself permission to write more conversationally - imagine you’re explaining something to a friend. This will bring your voice into your writing

Links:
Write for Results: https://writeforresults.com/
Rhetorica: https://amzn.to/3KP19bz
Winner Takes All: https://amzn.to/3ZM0wDO 

Today we’re talking to Richard White. Richard is founder and CEO of Fathom.video, a free app that records, transcribes & highlights your calls so you can focus on the conversation instead of taking notes. 

Fathom was a part of Y-Combinator’s W21 batch, is one of only 50 Zoom App Launch Partners, and is one of a small handful of companies Zoom has invested in directly via their Zoom Apps Fund.

Prior to Fathom, Richard founded UserVoice, one of the leading platforms that technology companies, from startups to the Fortune 500, use for managing customer feedback and making strategic product decisions. UserVoice was notable for being the company that originally invented the Feedback tabs shown on the side of millions of websites around the world today.

Richard previously worked on Kiko, a company in the first batch of Y-Combinator, with Justin Kan and Emmett Shear who subsequently went on to found Twitch. Richard is passionate about designing intuitive productivity tools with delightful user experiences.

In this episode we dive deep into how to properly cold email, the benefits of working at a startup, when to monetize your startup, how to get and implement product feedback, the benefits of going through Y Combinator, and much much more. 

If you’re looking to build a startup, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. When you write cold emails, write directly to one person at a time. If it reads like it’s a bulk message, it will likely get deleted. 
2. Make sure you’re solving your customer’s problem end to end and not just one part along the journey. For Fathom this meant that the job wasn’t done until the notes from the zoom meetings were in the CRM. 

Fathom Website: https://fathom.video/

Today we’re talking to Stephen Houraghan. Stephen is a freelancer turned brand strategist and the founder of Brand Master Academy where he helps freelancers evolve into brand strategists using his proven system. His program has helped over 20,000+ students including clients that have gone from charging just a few thousand dollars to winning projects worth over $60,000. Stephen’s unconventional approach has transformed struggling agencies into highly paid and sought-after brands.

On his ‘Brand Master’ podcast, Stephen has interviewed leaders in the branding industry including Sunny Bonnell, Douglass Davis, Michael Janda, and Marty Neumeier.

In this episode we dive deep into how to evolve from freelancer to brand strategist, what brand strategy even means, why its important for businesses to invest in brand strategy, and much more. 

Whether you’re already a brand strategist or you don’t know what brand strategy even means, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. When it comes to positioning yourself as a brand strategist on social media, you can’t be talking about pixels and websites, you have to understand the craft, change the conversations you have with clients, and get into the nitty gritty of brand strategy on your social media 
2. The most fundamental brand strategy questions are: 1. Who are we for and 2. Why should they chose us over our competitors. When you’re building a brand, take the time get clear on your brand’s answers to these questions so you can communicate your message properly to your prospects. 

Brand Master Academy Website: https://brandmasteracademy.com/
Brand Master Academy YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandMasterAcademy

Today we’re talking to Seth Erickson. Seth is the Chief Mischief Maker for Storify Agency. Storify helps you understand the neuroscience and psychology of storytelling which has led to massive success for small and large companies. Seth also has a  bestselling book ‘How to Hack Humans’ which has received 2 awards and shows businesses the secret method used to get the most ADHD customers to pay attention. He’s on a mission to reduce the massive startup failure rate and create a positive change in the world by empowering companies to communicate more effectively.

In this episode we dive deep into why its so important to understand storytelling as a business, how to create content your customers will want to binge, how to use emotion in your storytelling, and much more. 

If you feel like your business isn’t telling stories effectively, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. Understand your brand archetype, don’t just use humor because you’ve seen another brand use humor
2. Get people to binge your content by using open loops - give people a cliffhanger at the end of each piece of content so they always want more

Links: 
Storify Agency: https://www.storifyagency.com/
How to Hack Humans: https://amzn.to/3U6jTpY

Today we’re talking to Swire Ho AKA The Promo guy. Swire runs Garuda Promo and Branding Solutions which specializes in helping businesses market themselves using promotional products. 

Swire is also the host of the Garuda Promo weekly podcast, The Small Business Show. He talks to various experts that will help small business owners become more efficient and successful.

In this episode we dive deep into how businesses can use promotional materials such as merchandise to drive customer retention, how to network, government contracting,  and much more. 

If you’ve been thinking about creating merchandise for your brand, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. Don’t just show up to networking events, have a strategy and follow up consistently
2. Develop mini advocates by thinking about the whole customer journey from before they even become customers, the experience they have as your customer, and after 

Garuda Promo Website: https://www.garudapromo.com/ 

Small Business Show Website: https://www.garudapromo.com/blog/the-small-business-show/ 

Today we’re talking to Scott Turman. He is the founder and CEO of BrightRay Publishing, an American company that offers writing and publishing services for founders, CEOs, celebrities, sports figures, politicians, and other professionals.

Scott has co-written two books. The first, Stop Getting Fu*ked by Technical Recruiters: A Nerd’s Guide to Negotiating Salary and Benefits and How to Build Your Brand with a Book: Establishing Yourself as a Published Expert.

Scott is a technologist, entrepreneur, and author. Prior to founding BrightRay Publishing, he wrote code and cryptographic systems for organizations like NASA, the US Department of Defense, Disney, and other Fortune 500s

In this episode we dive deep into how writing a book can give your personal brand a huge lift, what to write about, how to leverage your book to get the opportunities you want, and much more. 

If people always tell you that you should write a book, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. If you’re an expert or have some specialized knowledge, writing a book is a great way to build authority in your market and to build your personal brand
2. The book is simply the start, the rest is how you leverage it. Scott gave examples of getting creative with using direct mail to get his book and pitch into the hands of reporters and people he wanted to work with

Scott Turman’s Website: https://scottturman.com/
Brightray Publishing Website: https://brightray.com/

Today we’re talking to Rocky Buckley. Rocky works with experts, thought leaders, and influencers to shape their personal brand and package and monetize their expertise at a high price point. 

In this episode we dive deep into Rocky’s journey from being behind the scenes to putting himself out there, building community, monetizing your personal brand, and much more. 

If you’re interested in building your personal brand and getting paid for your expertise, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. You have a unique voice and experiences and only you can reach certain people. Don’t try to be someone else. 
2. Monetizing your personal brand is not as simple as just putting content out and money will start falling from the sky. You have to start with looking internally and finding your why, understanding your strengths, and then implement a proper business model that aligns with that. 

Rocky's Website: https://www.rockybuckley.com/