Bobby Gillespie is a brand growth consultant, author of the forthcoming book “Build Your Brand like you Give a Sh*t,” and the Founder and Principal at Propr Design, a Baltimore-based B2B brand growth agency, built on a gritty work ethic and innovative ideas that deliver unmatched results. Bobby and the Propr team advise on and implement strategies that help B2B brands scale through better positioning, messaging, design, web, and marketing. They measure ultimate success by enabling and empowering their clients to succeed without them.
Bobby recommends giving up any growth hacks and gimmicks as they permeate the business world, and rather do what is best for your brand and your customers. The first step is to get you to commit to a simple mindset. When you are your authentic self, you have no competition because no one can compete with you in being you. Bobby explains that when you think about who you are and you break it down, those are the core elements that set the foundation of your brand. When you are not there to make decisions, your team needs to know what decision to make, and he helps you to do that.
Bobby helps you find the core values of your business and make them actionable. For example; making decisions on hiring people that share and appreciate your values, and engaging with customers that share the same values. He helps with your brand’s tone of voice, personality, and any creative expression of the brand. Whether through design, writing, and interfaces where you want to put parameters around because, without those appropriate parameters, there is an infinite number of potential solutions. Those need to be tightened up then the creativity can become innovative after deciding what is best for the brand, and what is right for you, and putting that personality and tone of voice in it makes it tangible, practical, actionable, and tactical.
The brand architecture will be built over time as you bring on new products and services. Always think of how they fit under the core brand and how you will scale accordingly. Bobby takes you through a very strategic process in terms of understanding the situation and how it can align with your business goals. Mapping out customers using an empathy mapping process that IBM developed years ago on fax machines back in the day. They have taken that process and applied it to understanding these customers. Finding out what the gains and pain points are and what you are trying to accomplish. Bobby’s team differentiates by really owning their personalities, being who they are, and being unapologetic about it.
In this episode:
[02:31] Growth hacks do not work to get instant results but can be used as motivation.
- If you know anything about marketing and building brands you’ll know it’s a long game.
- Overnight success is just smoke and mirrors.
[05:53] Bobby explains how companies articulate their authentic selves.
- Commit to a simplicity mindset.
- When you are your authentic self, you have no competition because no one can compete with you in being you.
[09:00] Putting parameters around your brand’s tone of voice and personality.
- Getting into the creative expression of the brand, design, writing, interfaces, etc.
- Decide what’s best for the brand and make it tangible, practical, actionable, and tactical.
[11:26] Companies that have multiple products should roll up their values into major core pillars.
- A big challenge for really smart people with no brand experience to ask.
- Scaling and building brand architecture happens over time, bringing on new products and services to fit under the core brand accordingly.
[15:40] Deciding to sell to Amazon, Target, or Walmart, or sell directly to consumers.
- Take a little bit more time expanding your brand and building your awareness.
- A famous case study in Harvard Business Review about toys losing their business by using Amazon as a distribution channel.
[19:03] Bobby explains how big retailers are marketplaces.
- Giving up convenience in the short term takes control of your brand.
- The strategic process of understanding how a situation can align with business goals.
Watch the Interview:
Learn more and reach out:
- LinkedIn: Bobby Gillespie
- Website: Propr Design
