The Revenue-Focused Marketer

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Transcript

0:10:
Hello and welcome to another episode of the revenue-focused marketer where we discuss anything and everything related to marketing as well as data.

0:18:
I’m your usual host, Hershey, and today I’m incredibly excited to introduce a guest whose name keeps popping up in every serious marketing conversation.

0:28:
She’s a powerhouse when it comes to marketing strategy, leadership, and coaching.

0:33:
So, welcome to the show, Amber.

0:35:
I am so thrilled to be here, Hershey.

0:37:
Thank you for having me and what a great name you have.

0:40:
We’re so excited to have you here today.

0:43:
Just a little bit more about Amber, she has spent decades helping organizations grow through strategic marketing, demand generation, transformation initiatives, and she’s currently the marketing expert as well as the founder, and she’s running her company that’s called Far Beyond Marketing.

1:01:
So, Amber, before we dive into everything that’s super serious in marketing, what’s one non Marketing thing that you’ve been geeking out on lately.

1:10:
One non-marketing thing that I’ve been geeking out on.

1:13:
OK, so I am a forever learner.

1:15:
I always want to be the student in the room.

1:18:
So I just finished reading the Mel Robbins book Let Them, and it was absolutely life transforming.

1:25:
So I am a total audiobook geek.

1:29:
Every time that I get an audiobook credit pop up on Audible, I’m like, what am I buying now?

1:33:
So.

1:34:
geeking out an audible.

1:36:
I’m also a coffee snob, so I am always down for a nice hot cup of coffee.

1:42:
, yeah, so anytime someone wants to talk nerd, talk analytics, and drink a cup of coffee, I’m your girl.

1:48:
Perfect.

1:49:
I just had my cup of coffee, so I’m so sorry I can’t join you for another one, but love that we have that in common.

1:56:
And let’s start diving deeper into our topic here today.

2:00:
Before we go into the nitty.

2:01:
of marketing.

2:02:
I do want to learn more about your journey and for our listeners here, how has your journey really been and what kind of brought you to, you know, starting your own company and kind of being this expert in marketing?

2:13:
Yeah, my journey began from the school of hard knocks.

2:16:
We grew up very, very humbly.

2:18:
My father is a tradesman and my mother actually had 3 business degrees and so they were entrepreneurs.

2:24:
My grandparents were also entrepreneurs, so I guess you could say it was kind of in the blood.

2:29:
So I grew up really appreciating freedom and really valuing business and the power that business brings to people, families, organizations, and really just economics as a whole.

2:40:
So I grew up in a family business where performance was everything, and so learning how to make the phone ring, learning how to collaborate with other people, understanding the nuances of working with people that you might not like, you might have to love them because you’re family, but you might not like them, you know, this is just part of it.

2:58:
So that was, that was a big part of my early journey and then actually pivoted over to music for a while and lived in Europe for many years and loved training and singing and experiencing just the worldwide culture that there is.

3:14:
I think it’s so important to appreciate other perspectives and other cultures and how business impacts us globally, not just here in the US, , and then I had the privilege of Starting my own business back in 2013 and selling it to private equity.

3:29:
And so after a stint in private equity and understanding the benefits and value of private equity, I really wanted to bring my holistic experience back to entrepreneurs and help them to achieve their goals so that if the goal was to go from, you know, a great startup company to form independence for a family, fantastic.

3:51:
We can help you do that.

3:52:
Or if the goal is to get you from 6 figures to 7 figures, let’s get you there.

3:56:
Or if the goal is to prep you and your systems for an acquisition, we can do that too.

4:02:
So I think really having the background of understanding business and the whole evolutionary process that a business goes through from startup to acquisition is what impacts the way that my team and I do business today and how we serve others and coach them and setting up their market.

4:17:
That’s wonderful.

4:18:
Thank you so much for.

4:19:
During your journey and giving so many details.

4:22:
It’s great to kind of, you know, really learn about you and what kind of led you to, you know, being where you are today.

4:28:
, I was really intrigued by the Europe travel.

4:31:
I love traveling myself.

4:33:
And what was maybe, you know, your favorite country?

4:36:
I would say, what was the, like, you know, maybe a perspective that most people in America sometimes don’t think about that you gained just by, you know, your travels.

4:47:
OK, so favorite countries plural, cause I cannot pick just one.

4:52:
I, I feel that Right, let’s see.

4:55:
I fell in love with the cities of Budapest.

4:58:
I, I thought it was just a wonderful time.

5:01:
I also loved Prague, so.

5:04:
Those were great experiences for me.

5:07:
I also really enjoyed Jerusalem, spent some time there in Israel.

5:11:
Experiences that Americans don’t appreciate.

5:15:
You know, I think in the West, I think in the West, we are conditioned to work, work, work, and then die.

5:23:
Constantly achieving, right?

5:26:
Yeah.

5:26:
I don’t think there’s enough perspective on Balance on introspective, attentiveness to who we really are, our unique voice.

5:35:
I think there’s a lot of imposter syndrome, especially when it comes to the business world.

5:39:
From a global perspective, what I learned from my travels was that everyone has value, that there are intrinsic ideas that lead into the nuances of business that we should stop and pay attention to.

5:53:
That it isn’t just a 9 to 5 grind, that there is beauty, that there is art, that there is culture, that all of these things feed into not just what we do, but how we do it.

6:05:
And the Italians have a saying, when I was singing opera in Italy, the Italians have a saying called the chiaroscuro, which means the light in the dark, and you need the balance of both.

6:16:
And so I.

6:16:
I think when you have that balance and you appreciate that, it it bleeds into the rest of what you do.

6:23:
And that’s what we try and do it far beyond.

6:24:
We really want to support our clients in such a way that we appreciate the good with the bad.

6:31:
I mean, we tell our clients what not to do in terms of marketing as much as we tell them what to do.

6:36:
We’re like, you don’t want to do that.

6:37:
Don’t do that.

6:38:
Spend your money worth it.

6:40:
No, I love that.

6:42:
I think that’s such a huge important aspect.

6:45:
I, I, for my own personal journey, it wasn’t until I decided to be a digital nomad for a bit that I realized like there’s so much more out there in the world that you want to explore.

6:55:
Like there’s so many different cultures.

6:57:
You can learn so much by just, you know, changing your environment.

7:01:
And in the US sometimes it’s hard for us to kind of, you know, see outside that little bubble, not a So on, but the big bubble that we’re kind of living in, yeah, yeah.

7:14:
So I kind of love that you know you’ve put yourself out there and you’ve got the opportunity to really see different perspectives because diversity just not just in terms of like, you know, different places, but also diversity and thought is so important, especially when you’re building constructive teams and teams that are kind of built for success, right?

7:34:
Hugely important.

7:35:
I mean diversity of team is so important.

7:36:
We have team meetings every week.

7:38:
I have about 20 people that are in our company right now, so we’re, we’re a small company, right?

7:43:
But everyone in our company has a voice and we have project meetings, project manager meetings where we really dive into the details of what our clients’ current needs are and any bottlenecks, etc.

7:54:
But then we have a team meeting every week and every single person has a voice in that team meeting.

7:59:
We’re gonna talk about the problems.

8:01:
We’re gonna talk about the solutions.

8:02:
I’m we’re gonna gripe.

8:03:
We’re gonna bitch.

8:04:
Like whatever it is.

8:05:
But I encourage everyone on my team to bring their unique voice and perspective to the table.

8:10:
I love that.

8:11:
I think that’s so important just to, you know, get those unique opinions.

8:14:
It really helps you expand and grow and like kind of grow outside that bubble.

8:18:
So I have a lot of respect for that.

8:21:
I think since you have been in this space for a while now, what would you say, what’s changed the most since those early days when it comes to marketing?

8:30:
Oh my gosh, I’m gonna date myself a little bit here.

8:34:
So when I was doing marketing early on, print was one of the biggest ways that you did marketing, right?

8:41:
It was this thing called the Yellow Pages.

8:44:
I don’t know if people remember this, but it was this big books, right?

8:48:
The phone number, the phone numbers, yes, exactly.

8:53:
And so we were huge into print.

8:56:
So, but you know, that really impacted the way that I Strategically chose how to market because print is not dead today regardless of irregardless of what people say.

9:06:
There is a strategic advantage with the data science that we have now available to us that we did not have available back in the day.

9:14:
But when I was doing marketing and all you could do was blanket an area with a magazine or a postcard or a billboard or a radio ad, it was very much a broad spectrum aspect and market.

9:27:
now and the evolution of where we are today with the beautiful data science, AI hyper targeting, cookies, non-cookies, real-time learning algorithms.

9:40:
I mean, I can nerd out for days about the strategic advantages that marketers have now if we will harness the power of AI and really think about how we can hyper-focus and hyper target and I talked about that in my international bestselling book, right?

9:55:
It’s not just about targeting.

9:57:
It’s about putting the right message at the right time in front of the right customer.

10:02:
That is the recipe for successful art.

10:04:
That’s huge.

10:05:
And I like to joke about this all the time.

10:07:
I was like, when we graduated from college, we didn’t have Chad GPTs or anything like that.

10:13:
So I can’t even imagine, like, you know, going back in those times and, you know, having the ability to just use AI like we had to go to real libraries and open books.

10:23:
And you know, so the entire world has really, I would say evolved and so rightfully his marketing and, you know, definitely the switch from print to, you know, now being able to really focus on the metrics that matter.

10:38:
A lot of people, I think there’s been conversations that I’ve been having constantly is even though marketing has evolved so much, there are people that still consider marketing primarily a cost center and not, you know, something that.

10:52:
drives revenue.

10:53:
So for folks that are, you know, still exploring that perspective, what advice do you have for them?

10:59:
How does one shift that mindset and how do you really make marketing, you know, or make others believe that marketing really is an investment and it kind of, you know, leads you to the revenue that you want.

11:11:
Yeah, so I think one of the common temptations of business operators and decision makers is that when you see your business going down, you cut your mark.

11:20:
Marketing out of a fear and that is basically cutting your legs off from underneath you.

11:25:
Marketing should not be the first thing that gets cut.

11:28:
I like to tell people that marketing is the gasoline that goes into the engine of your company.

11:34:
If your company were a car, sales is the engine.

11:37:
But when you stop putting marketing into the gas tank, then you’re stalling that car out.

11:42:
Yes, marketing will always be a cost center.

11:45:
All right, that’s just where it shows on the P&L.

11:49:
smart strategic marketing in alignment with operational goals, that is how the company will grow.

11:57:
BizDev, when you have a combination of parallelism between biz deev operations and marketing underneath the strategic plan, then that is where you win.

12:09:
Marketing that is a cost center without benefit is a tactic-based marketing where we’re literally throwing it up against the wall and seeing.

12:17:
If it sticks, going, well, I think we should invest $5000 in Google ads.

12:21:
Why?

12:22:
How did you arrive at that conclusion?

12:23:
Or, well, I feel like we should probably go on social media.

12:27:
Why?

12:28:
Are your customers there?

12:29:
Do you know for a fact that they’re there?

12:31:
So I’m huge about developing a strategy, a go to market strategy, a customer demographic profile, cross-referencing that with the top revenue generating products or services of a company, and then building a strategy.

12:45:
of underlying tactics that will support the growth of the business.

12:50:
That is how you avoid looking at marketing as just a stand-alone cost center and as an integrated element department with the business as a whole.

12:59:
Sorry, soapbox much, but it’s true.

13:01:
No, those are facts and thank you so much for, you know, stating them because I think it’s really important to focus on this perspective.

13:09:
I think you mentioned strategy when we were talking about this and I do want to understand, like, you know, when you walk into a new client engagement or a coaching session, what’s the first thing you really look at to understand their marketing maturity?

13:23:
Like, and you know, maybe you can tell us about some examples where you were able to utilize that marketing strategy to really turn around an organization and their results.

13:33:
Yeah.

13:33:
So the first thing I look at is the leadership.

13:36:
And so we sit down and we say, tell me about your business.

13:39:
Where are you stuck?

13:40:
What your goals.

13:41:
Let’s look at the business holistically, right?

13:44:
Let’s have a conversation.

13:46:
So that’s the first thing we do is we look at the business operationally and where the goals are, and then we back into how marketing can support those goals, and then we further back into what like what we talked about a few minutes ago about what tactics, services, strategies will support those goals.

14:04:
So yes, what, what I like to do is take people through my foresees of effective.

14:08:
Marketing.

14:08:
What I find Hershey, is that there are some foundational elements that are consistently missing from most businesses.

14:16:
Foundational element number 1 is clear copy.

14:20:
Can that business succinctly and clearly say this is who we are and this is what we do, and these are the problems that we solve.

14:27:
You would be shocked how many businesses cannot do that in 4 seconds or less and certainly cannot put that on a website.

14:34:
You know what I mean?

14:35:
Yeah, 1000.

14:36:
I’ve seen websites where I can scroll through the entire homepage and not really know what they’re trying to sell here.

14:43:
Like it looks great, but what am I here for and what am I trying to, you know, buy here?

14:49:
So I definitely, yeah, why are my Google ads not working?

14:52:
Because no one knows what the hell you do.

14:54:
Yeah.

14:55:
Yeah, I know.

14:56:
Exactly.

14:56:
So first thing we do is we look at it foundationally and we say, what is your messaging and can we clarify.

15:02:
verify it so that people understand whether or not they need your services, right, and attract the right customer.

15:08:
The second thing that we do is we take them through a branding exercise and we say, OK, do you have standard branding in place?

15:15:
Do you have a brand standard?

15:17:
Do you have hex codes?

15:19:
Do you have standard logo usage?

15:21:
Are you adhering to it?

15:23:
Or do you just look like a scattered mess?

15:25:
Because if you do, sorry, it’s just like a first date, first impressions are everything.

15:30:
Yeah, no, not dating a slob.

15:32:
Sorry, it’s not gonna happen.

15:34:
Your company can’t look sloppy.

15:35:
Make sure you’re buttoned up and you look really, really good.

15:39:
So that’s the second thing we do.

15:40:
No, impression first impressions are huge, right, and especially if you open up a page that looks like kind of messy, doesn’t really have those color combinations going in for them, that really confuses you.

15:52:
Honestly takes away the trust factor, right, especially when that’s the first you’re hearing of them or that’s the first product you’re seeing.

15:59:
If you don’t have that like trust created from the branding, it’s a huge disappointment.

16:04:
Oh my gosh, and then you see them advertise in a magazine or a billboard and you’re like, well, that looks disgusting, like, ew, no, definitely, yeah.

16:13:
The third thing we do is we take them through the customer demographic.

16:16:
We say, OK, who is your customer?

16:19:
And it’s not who you think it is just because you say we serve these customers, these are the people that love us, unless you’re backing that up with a financial statement that is showing that those customers are buying the products and services that you’re selling, that’s not your customer.

16:35:
The customers are the ones that are buying from you.

16:38:
So the key is to align your call to action, your products and services, and your marketing to those ideal customers so that you can get more of those ideal customers because birds of a feather flock together.

16:52:
So speaking to them clearly and effectively and then attracting more people who will appreciate your products.

16:58:
Services.

16:58:
So we do an in-depth customer demographic to say what’s the psychographic?

17:03:
What’s the demographic?

17:04:
What’s the motivating factor for them doing business with you?

17:07:
These are all the elements that have to go into defining your customer audience, and then you can go after them online or in print or wherever you’re wanting to go, but you gotta know who they are first.

17:17:
Yeah.

17:18:
You know, getting the ICPs right is like so important.

17:20:
And a lot of time people miss that, especially when they’re like a newer business, I think, or they get it wrong, I think in their head, because they’re still experimenting and they really don’t know.

17:31:
I have seen cases where, like, you know, the product’s great, but you’re just selling to people who don’t need it.

17:38:
Yeah.

17:39:
, so that can really make or break the product sales.

17:42:
I even saw it with like, I think I read it somewhere about Google those glasses that they had, which kind of work as a phone.

17:50:
They could have been selling it to like manufacturers that can’t really use their hands while they’re busy, but they were selling it to like day to day, like, you know, just to someone who has a phone and has the bandwidth.

18:01:
They’re not going to be using it.

18:03:
But when you start selling the same product to the manufacturing section, it’s a huge hit.

18:08:
Yes, it is, it totally is.

18:11:
That’s right, but you’ve got to hit the mark, like you said, you got to hit the mark.

18:15:
Yeah.

18:16:
It’s true.

18:16:
What’s the 4th 1?

18:17:
I know you said 4 C’s.

18:19:
We, we’re at 3, I think.

18:21:
Oh, sure, yeah, I wanna hear the 4th 1 now.

18:25:
The 41 is what I refer to as channel management, and it is a loose term.

18:29:
Channel management has different definitions based on the industry that you’re in, but we’re not in the business to turn them and burn them.

18:36:
We want to successfully serve our clients again and again and again.

18:40:
So what upsell strategy do you have?

18:43:
What cross-sell strategy do you have?

18:45:
What options do you have in place so that you are retaining your clients?

18:49:
Because it’s so much less expensive to retain a client than To go get a new one.

18:53:
So again, talking about marketing, yeah, I mean, like, how are we gonna serve you again and again?

18:58:
Our company name is far beyond marketing.

19:00:
We want to do more than your marketing.

19:01:
We want to give you marketing dashboards.

19:03:
We want to give you analytics.

19:04:
We want to help you strategize for how you’re gonna get 10X, you know.

19:08:
So you’ve got to be able to provide that consistent value to your clients so that they will stay with you.

19:14:
Yeah.

19:15:
No, that’s real talk.

19:16:
I think it’s so important.

19:17:
A lot of the times people We’ll just focus on getting that new client.

19:21:
And then, you know, they kind of forget about retaining the client that they do have.

19:26:
So it’s really important to be able to focus on that aspect.

19:29:
We did kind of talk here about, also, I loved before I move on, I loved your four C’s.

19:35:
I was really hooked on and really wanted to know all of them for my own self.

19:40:
I’ll send you my book.

19:42:
Yeah, that’d be lovely.

19:44:
I’d love to like I’m definitely.

19:45:
hooked and do want to learn more in depth for sure.

19:48:
I think talking about the last aspect we did here, you mentioned analytics and like, you know, going beyond just marketing and adding those dashboards, getting the analytics that you need.

20:00:
So I don’t know if you know, but the growth we’re really into marketing analytics, right?

20:04:
We’re utilizing AI to really do that.

20:06:
We want to eliminate the need of having data analytics or like data scientists.

20:12:
, kind of on board in teams with marketing.

20:15:
We want to be think chat GPT, but now you can just really get all those results for your analytics, for all those dashboards.

20:23:
You don’t even have to create them anymore.

20:25:
You just get snippets from the, you know, the dashboards that already exist based on your data.

20:30:
So we’re definitely like, you know, in the hype of focusing on those analytics and kind of stepping away from vanity metrics.

20:39:
Because a lot of people are still stuck in the cycle of like, oh, I got these many likes on my post, or like, you know, this is the amount of views I got, but that’s not really converting to revenue, right?

20:51:
So what are, what are your thoughts on that?

20:53:
I’d love to.

20:54:
Well, first of all, I love that you use the term vanity metrics.

20:58:
I wish more people were so self-aware to understand that vanity metrics do not indicate.

21:06:
Revgen or ROI.

21:07:
So thank you, Hershey.

21:09:
like two words to my heart.

21:11:
Love that love that you said that.

21:13:
Yes, 100%.

21:15:
, my other thoughts in terms of just AI and in the analytics.

21:19:
Look, it’s here to stay.

21:20:
You better get used to chat GPT and you better get used to real-time analytics and data because if we think that technology is slowing down, we are lying to ourselves.

21:29:
Technology and analytics are gonna help us do our job better.

21:32:
Faster, more effectively, 100%.

21:36:
And the analytics, it’s like that old adage.

21:39:
Numbers don’t lie.

21:41:
Numbers are objective.

21:43:
They’re neither good nor bad.

21:44:
They just are.

21:46:
OK?

21:46:
So analytics are the same thing.

21:48:
And so I would rather know what’s working.

21:51:
I would rather know what’s not working so that I can then make informed decisions.

21:57:
I don’t believe that AI is going to , ruin the lives of marketers or solo prunes.

22:04:
I believe that those who endorse it and, and use it and harness it will become better at their individual crafts.

22:11:
And so for that reason, analytics and AI are going to help to uplift the quality of what we do.

22:18:
So yeah, I, I think it’s incredibly important.

22:20:
I think that the more analytics you apply to your decision making as a strategic marketing advisor.

22:27:
and decision maker, the more value you bring to any organization.

22:32:
So harness it, own it, love it, and make it work for you because analytics and AI will never replace the strategic value that a critically thinking leader will bring to any organization, right?

22:44:
They just make it.

22:45:
Yeah.

22:46:
No, I love that you touched upon this, and I think we can kind of move on to our next segment here.

22:52:
AI is a big, big talk lately.

22:54:
Right?

22:55:
G AI has made AI so accessible for us that everybody’s now able to touch it, like utilize it.

23:02:
A lot of people are still scared and of course, there’s so much uncertainty when it comes to protecting your data, where it’s being used and the ethical concerns are real.

23:11:
But for a lot of people, they are still hesitant, like, especially like SME business owners, still scared to experiment with technology and specifically AI, right?

23:22:
So what advice would you have for people who are just starting out with technology?

23:26:
Well, one advice I would have is for your lights not to go off in the middle of your because your office doesn’t think that you’re here.

23:32:
Sorry about this.

23:33:
I would say partner with someone that you can trust.

23:36:
You don’t need to be rogue in this and you don’t need to go it alone.

23:39:
There are plenty of people out there who can support your goals, your vision, and to help you to embrace AI at the level of your own comfort.

23:49:
So, So yeah, I would, I would say make a list of ways that you think that AI is going to help your company and then network and find someone that you can discuss it with and feel comfortable partnering with, and then integrate it at a pace that you are comfortable with.

24:04:
Make AI work for you.

24:05:
You don’t have to be a slave to it.

24:07:
It works.

24:08:
No, definitely.

24:09:
And a lot of people keep, you know, thinking like, is AI here to stay?

24:13:
What does the future of marketing really look like with AI?

24:17:
So I know it’s still uncertain.

24:18:
There’s still a lot of like, you know, focus, I think lately since Salesforce and a lot of these bigger companies are investing in this agentic AI has become the new hype right now.

24:29:
But what are your thoughts on, like, you know, future of marketing and what do you think it looks like the next 2 to 3 years?

24:35:
I think the next 2 to 3 years are gonna show an increased reliability and dependency on AI.

24:41:
I think AI is going to change the pace of marketing.

24:45:
I think it’s going to help us to hyper target those segments that we talked about before.

24:51:
I think that as marketing leaders, we actually are well positioned to influence the direction that we want AI to have on our industry if we will be proactive enough to do so.

25:03:
No, I think that’s so valuable.

25:04:
A lot of times people just focus on adapting to what the shift is instead of taking charge and actually navigating that ship.

25:13:
So I think that’s an.

25:14:
incredible point and I think there’s a lot that we can really do in making that difference.

25:19:
I do also want to talk about like, you know, CO and like search.

25:23:
The way we search is like, you know, adapting now.

25:26:
I know there was a time when just Google it was like, you know, everybody’s go to phrase, and now it’s I’m lately seeing it like, let me ask my GPT and see what it says or like, you know, perplexity.

25:39:
There are so many different tools that are coming out there.

25:43:
I know.

25:43:
Google is still like, you know, I’m still the main one and like still the focus area, but it’s something that may or may not change in the future.

25:53:
So what are your thoughts on like, you know, the future of search?

25:57:
I think the future of search is absolutely going to be evolutionary and a lot of that is going to depend on consumer behavior, right?

26:05:
We’ve seen search evolve from Yellow Pages to the implementation of a cell phone to the Integration of Google Business profiles to when we had massive websites, you know, that were basically replacing our business cards.

26:20:
I think search is going to become more targeted geographically.

26:24:
I think that SEO we’re already seeing a massive shift from data dependency on blogs and on websites to more of an integrated Google Maps and Google Business profile.

26:37:
So I think it’s gonna become more micro and less and less macro.

26:41:
If that makes sense.

26:42:
Search is going to become instantaneously mic.

26:44:
Yeah, no, definitely.

26:46:
, I also do want to talk about like, you know, , I guess the future of design and development, right?

26:52:
I’m seeing tools that can literally take what idea you have.

26:56:
I think Rele was the tool I experimented with and within like less than 10 minutes, I had a working prototype of what I wanted a random app that I thought about 2 seconds ago to look like.

27:08:
So it’s kind Like everything’s happening at such a crazy pace and you no longer need to, like, you know, even be someone who can code to develop an application.

27:20:
So what are your thoughts on, you know, how this is going to mold those who are working in the design industry or those, you know, focus on development?

27:29:
Well, I mean, it’s going to put the world at their fingertips, right?

27:32:
I mean, the more that they embrace it, the faster they’re going to be able to work.

27:36:
I also think it’s going to open it up to a wider variety of people who are going to be less dependent upon as a succinct skill set that we used to only believe a certain people could do, right?

27:48:
I mean, now, like you said, with this, with this platform you used, you can develop an app in half the time and half the cost.

27:54:
It is going to impact the variety of products and services that are brought to the market for sure.

28:00:
I think that’s huge, right?

28:01:
A lot of us were hesitant, I think especially for like small and medium sized businesses.

28:06:
This is a great.

28:07:
Opportunity because you don’t need a lot of budget anymore to be able to really, you know, do the things that like these bigger companies are doing.

28:15:
If I want to create an ad today, I can use GPT to do it.

28:18:
I don’t have to hire a photographer, videographer, someone to edit it, right?

28:23:
It’s a lot like I’ve been seeing some ads that are made within minutes from just, you know, using different effects on different AI tools.

28:31:
So I think that’s definitely, you know, crazy and fascinating to see that change.

28:37:
Yes, I know we are sort of coming towards the end of our session here today, so I did want to ask for people that are, you know, still early in their marketing careers or businesses that are, you know, not probably like still small and medium sized.

28:52:
When do you think is like, you know, a good time for them to start focusing on the non vanity metrics, start focusing on the ROI aspect, and like, you know, what advice would you have for them?

29:04:
Immediately, immediately take.

29:06:
The emotion out of it.

29:08:
There are so many things that we are tempted to do based on our own emotions.

29:12:
Logic pushes us forward.

29:14:
Emotions pull us back.

29:15:
So as you are early in your career, I think it’s really important for you to identify what your passions are for certain, but then also look at what the benefits are of harnessing into a niche.

29:30:
Know where you want to become an expert and allow yourself the gift.

29:36:
Of educating and spending time in that certain area.

29:40:
For businesses that are starting up, do the four C’s from the beginning.

29:44:
Start with the end in mind and have a strong foundation for your marketing, because if you will come out of the gate with an annual marketing strategy, with an idea of your calls to action, with consistent branding and clarity of your message, you are light years ahead of your competition because you’re not cobbling it together, you’re coming out with a plan.

30:04:
So all Always start with a plan.

30:06:
That’s wonderful advice.

30:08:
Amber, this has been such an incredible session today.

30:11:
You’ve just been sharing so much gold with us for folks who want to level up their marketing strategy and get leadership coaching, where can they really connect with you?

30:21:
Yeah, go to my website, farbeyondmarketing.com or Ambergage, that’s G A I G E.com.

30:27:
We are actually opening up our first ever marketing mastermind with me.

30:32:
It’s going to start in June.

30:35:
We’re limiting it to 10 people, so we will meet once a month for 90 minutes, and we will be going through my 4 Cs of effective marketing.

30:43:
There will be homework, nothing major, but, , we are limiting it to 10 people.

30:47:
So if you’re interested in signing up for that, just go to our website and say I want in the in the marketing mastermind.

30:52:
That’s wonderful.

30:53:
Thank you so much, Amber, for being here today, or for sharing your stories, sharing your thoughts and insights.

31:00:
I know I learned a lot from you and I’m sure our listeners will too.

31:04:
, for the listeners that did, you know, listen to this episode, we would love to get your thoughts and you what did you really take away from this.

31:13:
So don’t forget to tag us, Amber and me on, you know, LinkedIn and share your favorite takeaways.

31:18:
Until the next time, stay curious and thank you again once again, Amber, for joining us today.

31:23:
It was my privilege.

31:24:
Thanks for having me, Hershey blessings.

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