brandUP Your Business Podcast
Hey, I’m Matt Jackson, and I’ve been through the highs and lows of building brands that make an impact. On the BrandUP Your Business Podcast, I take you along on my journey and sit down with other entrepreneurs to share the secret sauce of branding, marketing, and sales that actually works.
In each episode, you’ll hear real stories, fun conversations, and actionable tips to take your business from zero to hero. If you’re ready to level up your brand and learn from the best, this is the place for you!
Let’s turn your business into something unforgettable. Tune in and join the fun!
🌟 Connect with us: brandupyourbusiness.com
Want to learn all about branding? Check Out Our Book on Amazon brandUP Your Business: Elevate Your Business With Branding
brandUP Your Business Podcast
Episode 9: Foundations First: Building Your Unstoppable Brand
What separates an unstoppable brand from one that fades into obscurity? Matt Jackson cuts through the noise and delivers the honest truth about brand foundations in this illuminating episode of Brand Up Your Business.
Drawing from personal experience, Matt reveals how he transformed his pressure washing company from "just another guy with a truck" into a trusted brand that connected emotionally with customers. The journey wasn't straight or simple - it required getting crystal clear on purpose, developing brand heart, embracing visibility, and maintaining rock-solid consistency.
"Your brand needs a heart," Matt emphasizes as he shares the pivotal moment when he shifted focus from merely cleaning driveways to helping people create beautiful spaces they could feel proud of. This emotional dimension transformed customer relationships from transactional to loyal partnerships.
Matt doesn't shy away from the challenging aspects of building a brand. He candidly addresses the fear of criticism that holds many entrepreneurs back: "If nobody's criticizing you, you're not pushing hard enough." This perspective shift helps reframe negative feedback as evidence you're making an impact.
The episode dives deep into understanding your audience through detailed personas, identifying pain points and desires, and crafting messaging that resonates. Using examples from his own business transformation, Matt demonstrates how audience research directly shapes effective branding decisions.
Perhaps most valuably, Matt dispels the common misconception that content should showcase your business. "Content is about solving problems, not showing off," he explains, sharing how his engagement skyrocketed when he focused on addressing customer challenges rather than posting pictures of his equipment.
Whether you're just starting your business journey or looking to reinvigorate an established brand, this episode provides the blueprint for building a foundation that withstands market pressures and connects authentically with customers. Subscribe, leave a review, and share with other entrepreneurs who need this valuable insight!
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What's up guys. Welcome to brand up your business podcast. I'm your host, matt Jackson, and today we're diving into a chapter that's a real game changer when it comes to branding and business growth. This is episode nine, and we're talking about chapter two from my book, brand Up your Business, which is all about building your brand foundation. Buckle up, because this one's gonna be a real rollercoaster, filled with real lessons, some hard truths and, yes, a lot of laughs along the way. So if you've ever felt like your brand is just floating out there with no direction, this episode's for you. All right, so let's jump into it now.
Speaker 1:Chapter two of my book, called your Brand Foundation, the Blueprint to Building an Unstoppable Business, sounds fancy, right, but before we start throwing around words like unstoppable, let's talk about why most people never get to the unstoppable part. Spoiler alert it's about building your brand foundation, and most people totally get that wrong. You see, when I first started my business, I had no idea what I was doing. I'm talking, running around doing a million things, but no clear focus. My brain was all over the place. I thought it was just about pressure washing. I was like I can clean driveways, so that's my brand. But what I didn't realize was that I was missing the most crucial piece of the puzzle the foundation. So this first lesson in today's episode without a strong foundation, your brand will crumble. I'm not talking about your logo or even the color palette. It goes way deeper than that. Your foundation is built on clarity and purpose, and if you don't have that well, you'll just be another guy with a truck and a pressure washer. So let me tell you the story.
Speaker 1:About three years ago, I was in a situation where I felt like my business had hit a wall. I was stuck in the weeds, working day and night, but I wasn't getting the result I wanted. It wasn't until I got crystal clear on my brand, purpose and values that everything started to shift. I sat down, wrote down exactly what I wanted my business to represent not just cleaning driveways, but helping people create beautiful, clean spaces. It wasn't just about pressure washing anymore. It was about giving people a sense of pride in their homes or businesses. It gave me a brand heart, and that's your second lesson. Your brand needs a heart. Your values, your mission, your why, that's what connects with people. Sure, people might need a driveway clean, but when you speak to their emotions, their desires and their values. That's when they become loyal customers. They don't just see you as a service provider, they see you as a partner in creating the vision they have for their space.
Speaker 1:So as I'm building this business, I'm starting to feel like I'm onto something. Things are moving forward, but I'm still not there. I'm still getting pushback from potential clients, still struggling to get noticed. And that's when I realized brand visibility. That's the next big lesson. It doesn't matter how good your brand is if nobody knows about it. Your message has to get out there.
Speaker 1:And here's what the emotional roller coaster kicks in. You see, we all get excited about our businesses, but when you start putting yourself out there whether it's on social media, through ads or your community you're putting yourself out there for criticism. Remember, when I first started posting on social media, I was terrified. I thought what if people think I'm just selling to them? What if they think my posts are cheesy? And then I got to the first negative comment and let me tell you I thought it was the end of the world. I was like I'm done, they hate me. But here's the kicker and the third lesson haters mean you're on the right path. If nobody's criticizing you, you're not pushing hard enough. It took me a while to realize that, but now, every time someone leaves a negative comment, I laugh. It's just part of the process. But let's get back to visibility. You've got to put your brand out there consistently.
Speaker 1:That's when I started seeing the true value of having a content strategy. It's not about posting for the sake of posting. It's about creating content that speaks to your audience's problems, desires and pain points. So here's the little secret what most entrepreneurs don't realize is that content is not about you. It's about your audience. They don't care about what you're doing. They care about how you're solving their problems. This is something I had to learn the hard way. At first I was posting all these pictures in my trucks of my team, thinking people would love it and it's great and all, but it wasn't solving any problems. It wasn't connecting with my audience's emotions. So I reworked my entire content strategy. I started sharing more stories. I shared my journey, not just the business journey. I shared the struggles, the wins and, of course, the lessons that I learned. That's when things really started to click. Lesson four content is about solving problems, not showing off.
Speaker 1:I could talk about branding for hours, but let's wrap this with one last powerful lesson, and this one's big. I'm talking about consistency. If there's one thing I've learned about building a brand, it's that you can't just show up once and expect results. Your brand has to be consistent in everything you do your messaging, your content, your customer service, your website, etc. If you're inconsistent, your audience won't know who you are and they won't trust you. Now, look, I know that's a tough pill to swallow. It means that you've got to be on top of your game every single day. But let me tell you, once you start showing up consistently, that's when the magic happens. That's when the people start to trust you, and trust is the foundation of every good brand. All right, we're almost at the end of this ride right here.
Speaker 1:But before I let you go, let me leave you with one final thought. Building a brand isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. You're going to have your ups and your downs, your victories, your failures, and your memories and moments where you feel like throwing in the towel. But the key to building a successful brand is sticking with it, learning from your mistakes and always showing up for your audience. So if you're feeling overwhelmed, like you're not sure where to start, don't worry, you're not alone. I've been there and guess what? I'm still learning every day. The most important thing is that you start and you keep moving forward, one step at a time. So what we're going to do here is break into the second chapter of that book. Give you guys some game. So let's talk a little bit about chapter two in more depth Knowing your audience inside and out.
Speaker 1:Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touch points. Jonah Sachs. In today's world, where every company is struggling to find its unique position, the one-size-fits-all approach does not work. To be unique and remarkable, your brand has to be targeted to speak to the right people your audience. It is absolutely imperative to know your audience in and out when developing a brand that will engage, build loyalty and drive growth. This chapter will help you learn how to perform audience research, to build customer personas, to define audience pain points, desires, and how to use the information to develop messages that will speak to your target customers effectively.
Speaker 1:Let's get started. The importance of audience research. Audience research is the foundation of any successful brand strategy. Before we can create a product, a marketing campaign or brand identity, you must first know who you are trying to reach and what we care about. So, for example, we're going to talk about what I did with Matt the driveway guy here. At Matt the driveway guy, we knew how to target our audience, because it would be homeowners in Greenville, south Carolina, who valued a clean and well-maintained exterior.
Speaker 1:To really understand our audience, we did more than just guess. We spent time talking to our clients about their needs, whether it was cleaning a driveway, patio or fence, and what frustrated them of other services. This research shaped our customer centric approach, focusing on affordability, reliability and top notch results. We quickly realized that communication and customer service was a pain point. We were able to provide the same level of cleaning service, but with a modern twist. That wasn't being done in our market. We took the knowledge of my previous sales experience and social media skills to create something the area hasn't seen before.
Speaker 1:So why research matters? Understanding your audience is about more than just guessing what they might like. It's about gathering real, actionable data that tells you who your ideal customers are, what challenges they face and what motivates them to make decisions. Without this research, you risk creating a product or message that misses the mark, which can lead to wasted resources and lost opportunities. Audience research isn't something that can be done once and forgotten either. It's a process. As your company changes and your market changes as well, you need to make sure that you're still in sync with your customers' needs and wants.
Speaker 1:Here's some types of audience research. The two main types of audience research are qualitative and quantitative. So, if you guys remember anything from school, qualitative research is the collection of data in the form of a focus group, discussion, interviews, social media, etc. The goal here is to gain an understanding of the attitudes, behavior and perceptions of the consumers. It helps you understand the why of consumers' behavior regarding particular products or service. We also have this quantitative research, so this involves the use of surveys, analytics and customer demographics to come up with measurable and quantitative findings. It tells you the way your customers are and what they do and where they are. Qualitative and quantitative research gives you a holistic view of your audience, allowing you to build a brand that truly speaks to their needs and desires, Creating detailed customer personas.
Speaker 1:So once you have conducted audience research, the next step is to turn insights into actionable profiles. Customer personas Personas are semi fictional representations of your ideal customers based on data, research and insights that help you visualize your audience as real people, making it easier to tailor your products, messaging and marketing strategies. Creating a customer persona involves compiling key details about your target audience. Here's a simple framework to help you get started Demographic information. These include age, gender, income level, education, occupation and the location, among others. This is the first level of customer's identification. You can use it to know the customer's basic characteristics Psychographics. What are the customer's values, interests, lifestyles and opinions? This is useful for going deeper into their motives and wants, goals and challenges. What are your customer trying to achieve and what obstacles are they facing? Understanding their goals and their challenges will guide you on how to position your brand as the solution.
Speaker 1:Buying behavior how does your audience make their decision on what brand to choose? Does the audience prefer shopping physically or are they likely to buy from an e-com store? Are they influenced by reviews or referrals? In which ways does your audience engage with brands? Through social media, emails, website or physical contact? This assists you in determining that your marketing strategy. For example, if you're targeting busy working moms who value convenience, your persona might look something like this. Our typical customer persona includes the following Homeowners with prides these are the people who take pride in their homes and want their exteriors to reflect that.
Speaker 1:They're often in their mid-40s to 60s with disposable income for home improvement. Busy professionals they're professionals who don't have time to take care of cleaning their driveways, but want a clean, welcoming space when they come home. They value efficiency and quality. And then there's first-time homebuyers. These are new homeowners looking to make their property shine without spending a fortune. They appreciate advice and guidance from experts like us. By developing detailed personas like this, you create a clear and accurate picture of the target audience, helping you make more informed decisions about your brand. So how do we use these personas to inform decisions? Personas should be the heart of every decision made for your brand, whether it's a new product or marketing initiative. When you're creating new content, designing a website or coming up with a new product, it's important to ask yourself the following question how does this reflect in the needs and wants of my personas? Now that you've created detailed personas, it's essential to dig deeper into their pain points, desires, expectations. This is where we move from broad generalizations to specifics that can directly influence how you shape your brand's messaging and offerings.
Speaker 1:Pain points what keeps your audience up at night? Understanding your audience's pain points is critical for positioning your brand as the solution. Audience's pain points is critical for positioning your brand as the solution. Pain points are the specific challenges, problems and frustrations that your audience faces on a daily lives or work. For example, our clients often struggle with finding trustworthy service providers. They expect clear pricing, no hidden fees and work that is done right the first time. We address these pain points by offering upfront estimates, guaranteeing our work and making the entire experience, from booking to the actual cleaning, easy and stress-free. Our clients would be frustrated when they couldn't reach a contractor from the past due to poor communication. By identifying these pain points, you can create solutions that address your audience's struggles, whether through your product, service or content.
Speaker 1:Desires what does your audience long for? In addition to understanding their pain points, you must recognize what your audience desires. Desires are the positive outcomes or aspirations that your customers are seeking. These can include achieving success in their career, not having to worry about cleaning their homes, improving their health or lifestyle. Building a legacy for their career. Not having to worry about cleaning their homes, Improving their health or lifestyle, building a legacy for their family, gaining more time and freedom in their personal lives. Desires often align with your brand, values and vision. By understanding them, you can craft messages that inspire and motivate your audience to take action.
Speaker 1:Expectations what do they expect from your brand? Today's consumers are better informed and more assertive than their counterparts of the past. This means that there are certain expectations that consumers have when it comes to interacting with brands. Understand these expectations, help you meet or exceed them, which builds trust and loyalty. Some common customer expectations include quality, in other words, they want to buy quality products and or services that meet their requirements. Transparency Audiences will want to know who they're buying from. Their values, sourcing and business practices are important. Customer service is key to building a loyal customer base, since fast and effective customer service is important. And then consistency your brand should be cohesive in both the communication and interaction that you provide to the customers.
Speaker 1:It is crucial to identify your audience's pain points and their desires and their expectations, so you can develop a brand that will meet, if not surpass, the needs and wants of your target audience. So how do we use insights to shape our brand messaging? It's time to take all this knowledge and use it to develop your brand messaging in a way that your brand communicates with your audience, and it's important to design it in a way that would appeal to the audience's needs, wants and values. Align messaging with audience values. The messaging should always be in the way that reflects what the audience's values most in life. For instance, if your target market is concerned with the conservation of the environment, your messaging should be focused on the conservation of the environment. If they value convenience, your brand messaging should highlight how your product or service makes their life easier.
Speaker 1:When addressing your audience's pain points in your messaging, position your product or service as the solution Instead of just selling features. Show how your brand solves real problems. For instance, a fitness brand could emphasize how their product helped their customers save time while still achieving their fitness goals. Create an emotional connection. This implies that it's not enough to use logic and messaging, as people will buy into more of their emotions they feel you understand. You should use your own insights to create narratives that will speak to your audience's wants and dreams. If you're a wellness brand, your messaging might focus on the quest for a better life through health. For a luxury brand, it would be the aspect of exclusivity and the premium feel associated with the brand. So we want to use clear calls to action. Lastly, we want to make sure that your messaging takes the recipient to a well-defined call to action. Whether it's to buy a product, sign up for a newsletter or engage in social networks, your audience should know what to do next. Always make sure the call to actions you provide are very clear and pertinent to the audience needs and wants.
Speaker 1:When I first launched Matt the driveway guy, I was excited to dive into branding, but I quickly realized that I was doing it without fully understanding my customers needs and wants. My first logo was a little too generic and my marketing materials felt like a one size fits all solution. I knew my exterior cleaning services were high quality, but I wasn't sure how to communicate the true value to my customers. Cleaning services were high quality, but I wasn't sure how to communicate the true value to my customers. That's when I decided to start gathering more feedback. I began asking clients two simple questions after every service what made you choose Matt the Driver Guy over other companies and what part of our service stood out to you the most?
Speaker 1:I remember one customer, mr Harris, a middle-aged homeowner who had a long stained driveway that had been neglected for years. He told me I've been putting this all for a long time, but I just couldn't find a company that I trusted. You showed up, you were on time, your truck looked professional and when you were done, it looked like a brand new driveway. I felt like I could count on you. The feedback hit me like a ton of bricks Trust that's what people were looking for. It wasn't just about getting the job done. It was about showing up, being reliable and delivering results that made homeowners feel secure in their choice. I began to notice similar sentiments across other customers as well. Many were saying things like I want to make sure the company I hire is reliable and I appreciate that you don't just clean the driveway, you care about making it look great.
Speaker 1:With these insights, I realized that my branding needed to reflect more than just cleaning driveways. It needed to focus on reliability, trust and the peace of mind that came with hiring Matt the driveway guy. I took this feedback and redesigned our branding messaging to highlight the professionalism and dependability that our customers were clearly valuing most. Once we were crystal clear on all of our customers we were looking for, we could target them with crystal clear calls to action. So, in conclusion, knowing your audience inside and out is the cornerstone of effective brand development. By conducting thorough audience research, creating detailed personas and understanding the pain points, desires and expectations, you can craft messaging that truly speaks to their needs. When you understand your audience, you're not just guessing about what they want. You're actively providing the solutions, experiences and value they're seeking.
Speaker 1:In this next chapter, we'll explore how to translate these insights into brand identity, and then into a brand identity that resonates and connects with your target market in meaningful ways. So if you're feeling overwhelmed, like you're not sure where to start, don't worry, you're not alone. I've been there and guess what? I'm still learning every day. The most important thing is that you start and keep moving, one step at a time. So all right, folks now. That's a wrap for today's episode. Remember your brand foundation is everything clarity, purpose, visibility and consistency. That's the blueprint for building an unstoppable business. Take these lessons, apply them to your brand and watch how everything starts to shift. If you've enjoyed today's episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button, leave a review and share this to anyone that could benefit. And, as always, we'll see you next time on Brand Up your Business Podcast.
