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...

Subscribe to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@brandingdeepdive?sub_confirmation=1
 

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/

Today we’re talking to Sam Caron. Sam runs an agency that brings your brand’s strategy, identity, and messaging to life.   

In this episode we dive deep into personal branding, positioning, brand archetypes, rebrands, Sam’s personal journey into posting on social media and starting a branding agency, and much, much more. This is one of the most technical episodes we have in terms of really understanding what a lot of the buzzwords in the branding space actually mean.  

Whether you’re interested in branding or you run a small business and aren’t sure what branding is, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. When building your personal brand, don’t get too focused on the visuals. Put yourself out there and connect with people 
2. When thinking through brand archetypes, it’s not as simple as my customers are ruler archetypes so my brand will be a ruler archetype. You have to think through which archetype can serve your customer’s archetype

Sam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesamcaron/
Sam's Website: https://samcaron.be/

Today we’re talking to Kristi Mitchell. Kristi is a marketing strategist that specializes in helping soloprenuers and small businesses with their digital marketing. 

In this episode we dive deep into the marketing funnel, how to measure results of your marketing efforts, the jobs to be done model, and much more.  

If you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing with your marketing, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. Marketing funnel - Take a look at your marketing strategy and see where you have gaps in taking people from unaware to paying customer 
2. Jobs to be done model - Understand who your target audience is, talk about their pain points and frame it as a job to be done - this will attract your target audience right to you

Kristi's Website: https://www.kristimitchell.com/

topics discussed: 

• Context/My story
• Who should/shouldn’t start a podcast
• Why I started a podcast
• Types of Podcasts
• Podcast as a hobby vs business
• Branding Deep Dive Pivot

With the introduction of Twitter Blue allowing people to get verified by paying $8, impersonation accounts have been popping up. One of the companies hit with impersonators was Eli Lilly and Co. where an impersonator tweeted claiming Insulin was free. The resulting backlash cost the company an estimated 20 billion dollars in market cap. 

The team discusses the implications of this and Elon Musk's twitter takeover in general. 

Today we’re talking to Mohammad Turaani. Mohammad owns and operates a barber studio in Canton, Michigan and is involved in youth programming and teaching. 

In this episode we dive deep into Mohammad’s journey to become a barber, opening up his own studio, getting clients, running multiple instagram accounts, and much more. 

Key Lessons:

1. If you’re operating multiple social media accounts, you have to be very clear about the target audience and messaging for each account. 
2. Sticking to a color theme can be a powerful way to remain top of mind for your customers. 

Links:
Mohammad Turaani Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mohammad_turaani/
Barber Turaani Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barber_turaani/
Booking page: barberturaani.booksy.com

Our Producer Momo joins the show to analyze the impact of Adidas dropping Kanye and what lessons we can learn from the incident. 

Key Lessons: 

1. Customers nowadays want the brands they buy from to share their values
2. When Crisis hits, acknowledge the issue and overcorrect

Link to YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/WETWgJCIeDs
Branding Deep Dive Website: https://www.brandingdeepdive.com/

Today we’re talking to Pieter Limburg. Pieter is the founder and CEO of Mobilo, the smart business card. By simply tapping your Mobilo card on a new contact’s phone screen, all of your contact information will appear right on their phone. Pieter has had his fingers on the pulse of technology since the 90's, he’s started multiple companies and has taken on 3D printing and RFID.

In this episode we dive deep into Peter’s entrepreneurial journey, the different types of innovation, how Mobilo got their first customers, and much more.  

Key Lessons:
1. Start with the problem, don’t start with a product - it’s important to really hone in on the problem you’re solving before you start building 
2. Validate demand quickly and cheaply - set up a landing page and run ads to it to see if people are willing to pay money to solve the problem. By validating demand quickly, it’ll allow you to make sure the money you spend building out the product will have returns. 

Links mentioned: 
https://www.mobilocard.com/

Our producer Momo joins us to dive into the scandal that is shaking up the chess world right now where Magnus Carlsen has accused Hans Niemann of cheating. And most recently Neimann sued Carlsen for $100M. 

Key Lessons:

1. People will pay a premium for the best - Carlsen is in position to sell his app for upwards of $50 million because he is known as the best right now
2. Once you lose trust its very hard to get it back

Today we’re talking to Tim Fitzpatrick.  Tim is an entrepreneur with a passion or developing and growing businesses. After college he co owned a wholesale distribution company which he helped grow an average of 60% before the company got acquired. In 2012 he started Rialto Marketing. Rialto marketing works with B2B professional service firms to accelerate revenue growth and attract more ideal clients by running their marketing for them. 

In this episode we dive deep into the marketing fundamentals. What is a marketing plan, how do you come up with one, how do you know it's working, why is it important to have a plan. 

If you feel like your marketing strategy is throwing spaghetti against a wall hoping something will stick, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:
1. It's important to have a plan and stick it out to see the results. Don’t give into shiny object syndrome and hop from opportunity to opportunity before seeing any results 
2. Your messaging should be about how you help your customers, not about yourself

Links: 
Free Marketing Resources: https://rialtomarketing.com/branding-deep-dive
Rialto marketing: https://www.rialtomarketing.com/ 

Today we’re talking to Lisa Staff and Deevo Tindall.  Lisa and Deevo are award winning photographers who came together to start Sprout connectors which is a full service creative agency with a focus on social media management and content storytelling. They help small businesses strategically use social media to grow their brand. 

In this episode we dive deep into the principles behind developing your own brand and voice on social media. How do you actually put yourself out there and get past the mental barriers that come with the territory? 

If you’ve been sitting on the sideline waiting for the perfect moment to start putting yourself out there, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:
1. Don’t give into comparisonitis - develop your own voice
2. Leverage the power of collective consciousness - surround yourself with people on the same mission as you and you’ll be surprised how much you’re able to grow compared to trying to do it all alone

Links:
Sprout Connectors: https://sproutconnectors.com/
A little Impolite Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-little-impolite-a-podcast-for-those-who/id1360851323 
Lisa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisastaffphoto/
Deevo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fusionphotog/

Today we’re talking to Asad Patel. Asad has been involved in running brick and mortar businesses since he was a child. Amongst other things he’s run a clothing store, a cell phone store, and a food truck.

In this episode we dive deep into the various businesses that he’s been a part of and the branding lessons he’s learned along the way. 

Key Lessons:

1. Brands are shortcuts for decisions - When looking at members mark products, people don’t even look at the price and make comparisons because members mark is established as the generic, cheaper brand
2. Speaking in the language of your customer will help you build trust

Asad's Podcasts
The Straight Path Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5oR7C6sgD992ikfsyA5Z2P
Kahani Apni Zabani: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PXmHv3dKtzL7zuZfKKYWU

Today we’re talking to Ali Ahmed and Muhammad Tariq. Ali and Muhammad recently started a farm and meat processing services company called pure natural halal. For years they’ve visited local farms to perform the Udhiya (ritual islamic animal sacrifice), and they found themselves dissatisfied and disheartened at the lack of quality services being provided. Because of that, they decided they were going to do something about it. 

Their mission is to bring the prophetic standard of excellence back into Udhiya process and back into farming in general. Last year they started off by sacrificing 40 udhiya animal Eid. This year they’re slated to do anywhere from 150-200 animals. 

In this episode we dive deep into how they got started, what it is they’re actually doing, how they’re approaching running their business and marketing, and much more. 

Key Lessons:
1. The best way to differentiate yourself is to solve a problem that no one else is solving
2. Don’t underestimate the role of experience - Ali and Muhammad have been doing this for years before they officially started a business. This allows them to really hit the ground running. 

Links:
https://www.purenaturalhalal.com/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purenaturalhalal/

Reagan ‘Frank’ Mackrill is a Brand Identity Designer from Sydney, Australia. His branding consultancy G’day Frank works with clients around the world to develop their brand identity and brand experiences. Specifically working with those in tech, health & wellness, as well as home & living industries. He’s a husband, father of 2 kids, Star Wars fanboy, podcaster and is a designer with 15 years of experience. 

In this episode we dive deep into the definition of branding, demographics and psychographics, running a business, and much much more. 

Key Lessons:

1. Take the time to understand both the demographics and psychographics of your target audience. This will help with making sure you’re positioning your product or service in a way that actually serves the target audience’s wants and needs. 
2. There’s always going to be people that don’t value branding; don't let that get to you. Everybody still benefits from branding, subconsciously or not 

WEBSITE:

gdayfrank.com

SOCIALS:

Instagram: @gdayfrank   /   https://www.instagram.com/gdayfrank

LINKEDIN:

Reagan Mackrill / https://www.linkedin.com/in/reaganmackrill/

Today we’re talking to Brian Rafferty. Brian is the Global Director of Business Analytics and Insights at Siegel+Gale. Siegel+Gale is a global brand experience firm. They partner with the world’s leading corporations, nonprofits and government organizations to build brand experiences that are remarkably clear and unexpectedly fresh. In other words, simple. For 10 years they’ve released an annual report on the World’s Simplest brands. This year’s report surveys over 15,000 consumers in 9 countries, across 25 industries, covering over 800 brands in total.  

In this episode we dive deep into the world’s simplest brands report, why its so important to keep your brand simple, how big corporations with multiple business units like google and amazon stay simple, why Apple never really does well on the world simplest brand reports, how to strike the balance between digital experiences and human experiences, and much more. 

If you feel like your brand is way too complicated for your consumers, you’ve come to the right place.

Key Lessons:

1. Simplicity pays - since 2009 a stock portfolio of the publicly traded simplest brands in the global top 10 has outperformed major indexes by 1600%
2. You don’t need fancy design to be simple, you need to make it easy for your consumers to understand what your promise is and then to over deliver on that promise. The reason apple doesn’t rank highly is because people have high expectations of simplicity from apple and they don’t always live up to that promise. 

Links:

• Siegel+Gale
• World's Simplest Brands Report
• Siegel+Gale Linkedin
• Siegel+Gale Instagram

Today we’re talking to Zain Siddiqi. Zain Siddiqi is the owner of WHEREUBEAN coffee which is a coffee shop in Phoenix, Arizona and he is the president of Traversing tradition which is an online publication dedicated to examine modernity through a Muslim Lens. 

Zain started out at Whereubean coffee by picking up some shifts as a barista and in 2020 had the opportunity to become an owner so he knows the business in and out. 

In this episode we dive deep into how to separate yourself as a small business, how to drive traffic to a brick and mortar business, getting employees bought in, reviews, and much much more. 

Key Lessons:

1. Employees at small businesses are more bought in when they see the owner’s work ethic and have a good curriculum for them to learn
2. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get your name out there - take advantage of the local scene

WHEREUBEAN COFFEE - https://www.wubcoffee.com/

Traversing Tradition - https://traversingtradition.com/ 

Today we’re talking to Fred Joyal. Fred is an entrepreneur, speaker, business advisor, and #1 Amazon Bestselling author. He co-founded the most successful dentist referral service in the country, 1-800-DENTIST, which, in his 30 years as CEO, generated over $1 billion in revenue. 
 
Fred started as an extremely shy person, too timid even to make a phone call, and transformed himself into someone who has done stand-up and improv comedy, spoken to audiences of 5,000 or more, met dozens of celebrities, and by being bold, found love, joy, passion, and success. 

In this episode we dive deep into what boldness is, how people can develop the boldness muscle, managing teams, Richard Branson, and much more. 

Key Lessons:
1. Boldness can be developed by intentional practice 
2. Lead as an influencer, not an authoritarian

Fred’s book Superbold: From Under-Confident to Charismatic in 90 Days: https://amzn.to/3IG0mWy

Fred’s website: https://fredjoyal.com/ 

Today we’re talking to Sina Port. Sina is a brand strategist who has worked with Startups, Entrepreneurs, and global Corporations on purpose-driven brand campaigns to create stand-out content and authentic communication with their customers, partners, collaborators, and communities.

She is also the host of the award-winning podcast Shared Diversity where she shares the unique experiences of women founders and entrepreneurs who use the power of diversity in business, branding, and womanhood.

In this episode we dive deep into diversity, purpose marketing, developing relationships, why it's important to build your personal brand, seeking out data to drive your decisions, and much more. 

Key Lessons:
1. You attract what you reflect - Take ownership of your brand. Don’t be afraid to share the values and the impact you want to have. This will help you attract opportunities in line with those values. 
2. Not having a following is not an excuse for not collecting data. Everyone has a community that they can seek feedback from - ask yourself what do people regularly ask me? Ask your friends what do they go to you for. Use this feedback to set your content creation or product development up for success. 

Sina's website: https://www.sinaport.com/
Sina's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sinaportofficial/

Today we’re talking to Shaahin Cheyene. Shaahin has a story that is straight out of a movie (which is in the works by the way). At 15 he created Herbal Ecstasy, then went on to be a pioneer in the vaping industry and for the past decade he’s been selling products on amazon and teaching others how to create winning products. Shaahin is a master at creating products and building businesses. 

In this episode we dive deep into wantreprenuer culture, achieving unreasonable success, separating yourself from the competition, transformational experiences, and much more. 

Key Lessons:

1. You can’t teach hunger but you can develop it through discipline and seeking discomfort
2. We hire people to execute on systems

Email Shaahin at Darkzess@gmail.com with the subject line “Deep Dive” to get Shaahin’s Amazon Mastery course for free. 

Shaahin’s website: fbasellercourse.com  

Shaahin’s book - Billion: How I Became King of the Thrill Pill Cult - https://amzn.to/3oUdmjK 

Shaahin’s podcast - Hack and Grow Rich: https://www.youtube.com/c/HackGrowRich 

ALIM Summer Program: https://www.alimprogram.org/summer-program.html

Today we’re talking to Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans. Ustadh Ubaydullah is the resident scholar at the American learning institute for muslims and teaches for numerous programs and organizations both in the Chicago area and nationally.

In this episode we dive deep into what shapes our perceptions, why Ustadh Ubaydullah wears the clothes he wears, what brands represent to a people, and much more. 

Key Lessons: 
1. Your judgement concerning something is really just an extension of how you conceive of that thing. How you conceive of something is really just an extension of your experience with that thing. 
2. Branding is happening whether you like it or not. The perceptions we have were carefully constructed by someone else - its important to understand and be aware of that

Today we're talking to Parthi Loganathan. Parthi is a former google product manager turned serial entrepreneur and currently is the CEO and founder of letterdrop.com

In this episode, we dive deep into the rise of product management, the importance of distribution, collecting data for startups, and much more.

Key Lessons:

1. Distribution is becoming more important than product 
2. Startup Founders must keep an eye out for problems

Find out more about letterdrop at https://letterdrop.com/

Today we’re talking to Safwaan Mir. Safwaan has spent a lot of time thinking through and trying different career paths and he has a lot to share from the journey. He recently went through a career change from data and analytics to product management and went through the whole recruiting and interview process with several big companies. 

In this episode, we dive deep into how to set yourself apart, how to connect with people on LinkedIn, and the role that brand play on your resume. 

Key Lessons:
1. Start shooting your shot - find people in the positions you want to be in and figure out what you need to do to get there
2. Your resume gets looked at for less than 15 seconds. Having brands that are big in the industry you’re applying to on your resume will increase your perceived value in the eyes of recruiters. If you don’t have the brand names you need to employ a different marketing strategy 

Today we’re talking to Issa Ghaleb. Issa has been an athlete pretty much his whole life. He was a wrestler, he’s trained the bodybuilding route, and for the past few years he’s been an avid CrossFit athlete. He is also an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer.

In this episode, we dive deep into the perception of CrossFit, what makes CrossFit different from your average gym, building community, and some projects he’s working on. 

Key Lessons:
1. Community is about caring and investing in each individual
2. Passion only gets you so far, you need to have a plan to go with your passion

The podcast was featured as one of Feedspot’s ten best customer loyalty podcasts! Check out the full list: https://blog.feedspot.com/customer_loyalty_podcasts/

DP Knudten has worked on some of the biggest brands in the business, including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Great Wolf Resorts, and much more. He’s the author of Nonfiction Brand - discover, craft and communicate the completely true completely you brand you already are, and co author of the best selling ROTOMA - the ROI of social media top of mind. He also hosts two podcasts with the same names as the books - the nonfiction brand podcast and the rotor podcast. 

In this episode, we dive deep into what branding is, why branding is important, how to discover your own non fiction brand, and much more.  

If you don’t know where to start with your personal brand or you feel like you have to tell a bunch of fake stories to build your brand, this episode is a must listen.  

Key Lessons:
1. Understand and communicate who you are, what you do, how you do it
2. At networking events, find open C formations and avoid closed circles

DP's website: https://dpknudten.com/

Abdul Mannan and Ahmed Cheema reflect back on key lessons from all podcast episodes in 2021. 

Today we’re talking to Dr. Aaron Ahuvia. Dr. Ahuvia is the brand love guy. He’s is the Czarnecki Endowed Professor of Marketing at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a popular keynote speaker. He is the world’s leading expert on brand love, a topic of rapidly growing interest among companies looking for long-term customer relationships. His book, The Things We Love, explains the psychology behind brand love, and it has been named by Amazon as one of the best 20 business books for 2022. Dr. Ahuvia conducted the first scientific studies of brand love some 30 years ago and continues to lead research on this topic. A Stanford University study ranked him in the top 2% of all scientists worldwide, and he has hundreds of press appearances, including being a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Dr. Ahuvia works regularly with Google and has spoken about brand love at leading companies, including L'Oréal, Samsung, Maybelline, Procter & Gamble, Audi, General Motors, Microsoft, Ford, GfK Market Research, and many others.

In this episode we dive deep into why we love brands, techniques for actually making people love our brand, his perspective on how Apple develops brand love, and much more. 

If you want your customers to fall in love with your brand, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. If you want to get people to love your brand, you need to employ personification
2. If you want to develop brand love, you have to get serious about it. Start measuring it.

Links:

• Website: https://brandlovecentral.com/
• Book: https://brandlovecentral.com/book/
• U of M Dearborn Marketing Program: https://umdearborn.edu/cob/graduate-programs/degree-programs/ms-marketing

Chris Blauvelt is the CEO of LaunchGood which is a crowdfunding company based out of Detroit MI. For those that don’t know, crowdfunding is a way for people to fund their ideas through the power of an online crowd, also known as ‘backers’. 

As an Entrepreneur,  Chris saw the power of crowdfunding to help entrepreneurs like himself so he created LaunchGood: a global muslim platform built to leverage the power of crowdfunding to support great ideas. 

In this episode, we dive deep into how LaunchGood broke into the already saturated space of crowdfunding,  why a company might pivot from their original vision, how to attract talented people on a shoestring budget, and much more. 

Key Lessons:

1. The founder nuance - stubborn to external forces, willing to pivot for customers
2. Be relentlessly resourceful - get what you want with what you’ve got

Launchgood website: https://www.launchgood.com/

Amanie Mheisen is the creative behind Not Your Basic Batch in Canton, Michigan. If you are looking for awesome pastries, Amanie has everything you're looking for. She has mouth watering custom pastries you can’t get in your local supermarket. 

In this episode, we dive deep into how Not Your Basic Batch was started, using social media to grow your business, the impact of collaborations, and much more. If you have a product or business that is in the direct to consumer space, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Free samples - people want to try before they buy
2. Understand and Use Quality Cues - think about what signals quality in your space

Not Your Basic Batch Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notyour_basicbatch/ 

Sifu Harun Raja, owner and lead instructor of Raja Martial Arts joins the podcast to discuss branding a martial arts academy. 

Sifu Raja has been in the business of teaching people martial arts for over 12 years and he has seen ups and downs. In this episode, we dive deep into his story, pivoting during covid when gyms were shut down, attracting and retaining talented instructors, and much more. If you are a teacher, coach, or providing any type of service to individuals, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:
1. Actions speak louder than words 
2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Raja Martial Arts Website: https://rajamartialarts.com/
Raja Martial Arts Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RajaAcademy/
Raja Martial Arts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rajaacademy/

Peter George joins the show to discuss effective communication. Peter is a public speaking coach and trainer, he specializes in helping executives, attorneys, entrepreneurs, and professional speakers be calm, confident, and credible® every time they speak in public — whether they’re presenting in meetings, appearing in court, or speaking on stage. 

Throughout his childhood, Peter dealt with a lisp and a stutter and as a result grew up shy and introverted, avoiding communicating with others as much as possible. 

When he got into the business world he realized how important the ability to communicate was and sought out help. Now he credits his public speaking coaches for much of his business success. 

Over the past 17 years, Peter has helped professionals from around the corner to those in Fortune 100 companies develop into speakers who understand how to craft and deliver presentations that engage, persuade, and inspire, ultimately helping them increase their impact, influence, and income.

We go deep into public speaking, transitions, body language, communicating concisely and much more. This episode is a must listen for anyone looking to build their personal brand and communicate more effectively. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Start with understanding who you’re speaking to and the result you want. 
2. Public speaking is about what you can take away

Peter's Website: https://petergeorgepublicspeaking.com/

Mahir Huq joins the show to discuss the branding of board games. Mahir recently got his hands on a new board game called Machinate and in this episode we get into how this new board game is looking to shake things up in a market dominated by conglomerates. 

We dive deep into the resurgence of board games, building a community, the structure of the board game industry, trading cards, NFTs, and much more. This episode is a must listen for anyone looking to generate word of mouth for their brand. 

Key Lessons:

1. Think about how you can create organic, memorable experiences. Board game creators have reverse engineered how to give their customers unique, memorable, fun experiences every time they play. This is the recipe for word of mouth
2. People buy into brands that they feel reflect their personality. 

Machinate Website: https://www.machinate.io/

Adam Sinkus is the managing director of my roofing SEO, which is a company that works with home services business on building out their digital strategy and enabling them to be found where their customers are looking for them. Adam is also host of the winning tactics podcast where he is dedicated to providing actionable insights to small and midsize business owners from the experts that are using them. 

In the episodes Adam shares the blueprint on how to set up your business’s online presence. We get into SEO, finding your Niche, what a good call to action looks like, how to measure success in marketing campaigns, and a whole lot more. This episode is a must listen for anyone looking to build their presence online. 

Key Takeaways:

    1. Be on all platforms, don’t have to be active on all platforms
    2. SEO strategy starts with figuring out what people are searching to find your competitors. People are searching for answers to their problems, not you specifically. 

Check out Adam:
My Roofing SEO: https://myrooferseo.com/
The Winning Tactics Podcast: https://thewinningtactics.com/

Zar Syed is the owner of Mechanic one, an automotive repair shop in Canton, Michigan. Although automotive repair is not usually associated with good branding, Zar has made a conscious effort to change this perception, and the results show. Mechanic One has been featured in Ratchet and Wrench, a leading magazine that covers the best in Automotive Repair and has been selected four years in a row for the best of Canton Awards for Auto Repair shops. 

In this episode, Zar gets into the nitty gritty of his approach to auto repair, advertising, and dealing with negative reviews. If you’re a small business owner, this episode is a must listen

Key Takeaways: 
1. People are willing to pay for good service
2. Effective Advertising is about reaching your target audience where they are

Zar Syed is the owner of Mechanic one, an automotive repair shop in Canton, Michigan. Although automotive repair is not usually associated with good branding, Zar has made a conscious effort to change this perception, and the results show. Mechanic One has been featured in Ratchet and Wrench, a leading magazine that covers the best in Automotive Repair and has been selected four years in a row for the best of Canton Awards for Auto Repair shops. 

In this episode, Zar shares tons of wisdom about leadership, operating a business, customer service, knowing your audience, and much much more. He’s been running auto repair shops for over a decade and is extremely generous with what he’s learned. This episode is a must listen for anyone that wants to improve their customer service or just grow their brand in general. 

Key Takeaways: 
1. You don't need permission from anyone to provide value to the world
2. Don't be afraid to ask people for reviews

J.D. Power ran a survey seeing how much car customers enjoy their cars and Dodge tied with Porsche as the most appealing brand. Yasser joins the show to discuss what is driving this appeal. 

Article being discussed: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2021/09/15/dodge-porsche-most-appealing-jd-power/8340108002/ 

Key Takeaways: 
1. Stop focusing on stat sheet comparisons
2. Think through all the customer touch points and how you can differentiate yourself from the competitors

Atiq Warraich, Web Program Director at the Department of Energy joins the podcast to discuss website content management. Atiq has been in the web space his entire career and has helped small one person businesses all the way to giant organizations develop their web presence. In this episode we dive into some of the best practices he's learned through his years of experience on understanding what users are searching and creating solutions based on that data. 

Key Takeaways:
1. Take the time to invest in content creation and content management 
2. There is a three step formula for creating a useful product/website: 
Step 1 - understand analytics to see what problems customers are facing
Step 2 - build solutions
Step 3 - get feedback to see if the solutions are working

Disclaimer: all opinions expressed are solely our own and do not express the views or opinions of any employers

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Today we’re talking to Valentin Radu. Valentin is a Customer Value Optimization evangelist and international speaker, defining a new category and helping retailers grow. 

He’s the CEO & Founder of Omniconvert.  Omniconvert helps eCommerce companies find hidden gems in their data, improve Customer Lifetime Value and Customer Retention & deliver personalized customer experiences across all channels.

He’s also written a book about customer lifetime value called The CLV Revolution coming out on September 20th 

In this episode we dive deep into  what customer lifetime value and customer value optimization is, why the old methods of spending unlimited money on customer acquisition doesn’t work anymore, how to actually improve your customer lifetime value, and much more. 

If you have customers but can’t figure out how to make a profit, this episode is a must listen. 

Key Lessons:

1. It’s not enough to simply know your customer acquisition cost, acquisition costs will always go up. In order to run a truly profitable business you need to understand how to maximize customer lifetime value. 
2. Customer Value optimization is about understanding who your customers are and why they purchase your products. Understanding this, allows you to take customers from apprentice to soulmate. 

Links:

• The CLV Revolution Book: https://theclvrevolution.com/
• Website: https://www.omniconvert.com/ + https://academy.omniconvert.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentinradu/

ALM is the first muslim interest fraternity in America, and our guests on this episode are Shaheer Ali, Hammad Fazlani, and Bilal Ayub who have all been a part of the ALM leadership team at different points in the journey. 

The story of ALM is unique because most organizations spend a long time trying to get visibility and brand recognition and by the time they get there they have already experienced the ups and downs of the journey. ALM quite literally stumbled on to the scene with major media coverage from the beginning and had to learn and adapt very quickly. 

In this interview the ALM leadership team is extremely transparent about the pros and cons and the thought process behind the decisions they’ve made. This episode is value packed for anyone interested in building an organization from the ground up. 

Key Takeaways: 
1. People join people, not organizations
2. Listen to your customers/audience and see why they are joining you. There often is a disconnect between what the founders/marketing team thinks and the reality of why people are coming. 

Singer Vehicle Design is a company that does resto-mods on 1989-1994 Porsche 911 Coupes or Targas. These resto-mods cost upwards of $400,000 each. Yasser Mushtaq, a big fan of Singer, joins the show to discuss how this company effectively positions themselves as the go to resto-mod company for this very niche market. 

Key Takeaways: 
1. Find your niche
2. Charge a premium

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:20 - Introduction to Yasser and Singer
04:55 - What is a resto Mod
06:15 - Find a Niche market
10:52 - Personalization is a good way to differentiate your product/service
12:38 - Why do they only work on those specific porsches?
16:20 - What separates Singer from other Resto Mod companies
20:20 - Methods for finding your niche
24:10 - How do you create trust with your niche market?
26:35 - What allows you to charge a premium for your product/service?
30:00 - Why you shouldn't use the lowest price as your differentiator
34:25 - Why did Top Gear not actually drive the car?
37:15 - Singer also makes watches?
39:25 - Pricing Strategy
46:50 - What would Yasser like to see done at Singer
48:44 - Yasser's favorite Brand (New Balance)
50:19 - Outro

Intel recently released an ad campaign where the mac from the original I'm a PC and I'm a mac ads is now considering PCs. Mohammad Nadeem joins the show to discuss why Intel is going after Apple and what lessons we can learn from a branding/marketing standpoint from this campaign. 

Key Takeaways: 
1. Know your target audience 
2. If you're playing on a character from the past, make sure you keep their personality consistent 

Timestamps: 
0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Introduction to Mohammad Nadeem
3:10 - The new Intel Ad campaign and the original campaign
13:30 - Crafting your narrative 
15:50 - Why is Intel going after Apple?
18:58 - Initial thoughts on the new Ad
20:10 - Will this attention lead to an increase in sales?
25:17 - Why the new ads didn't hit the way the old ones did
29:55 - Live Roleplay of creating an ad campaign
40:05 - How desperate intel is
41:00 - Apple's relationship with processors (intel and samsung)
46:40 - Key Takeaways

Jaraad Huq and Yosef Siddiqui join the show to discuss branding lessons from the NCAA march madness tournament. 

Key Takeaways:
1. Find ways to get people bought into the story
2. Create a platform where Cinderella stories can happen