Why should your ideal customers choose your brand over the competition? That’s the most important question every person on your team should be able to answer — in a single sentence. Your ideal customers have hundreds of options to solve their pain points and can find them in seconds using Google or ChatGPT. Meaning, you need to present a clear reason why they should buy from YOU. And that’s where the problem lies. Most B2B service founders (and marketers, for that matter) don’t know what...
7 days ago • 5 min read
I trained Claude to ideate and write emails for my client. And it’s just as good, if not better, than what I would write. (Never in a million years did I think I would ever write that sentence) The emails are written in their voice, pulling from their expertise, and follow their content strategy to attract and convert their ideal customers. Now, an AI guru would tell you to copy a prompt and use it to get the same results. That sh*t makes me sick 🤮 Because Claude (or any AI) requires more...
14 days ago • 12 min read
Branding is psychology applied to business. The more you understand how the human mind works, the easier it is to attract, convert, delight, and keep the people you want to work with. Let me give you a concrete example. As you read this article, you're developing a perception of Shft Agency. Maybe you think we're intelligent, entertaining, or able to make complex concepts simple. Maybe you think we're bland or too wordy. Maybe you wish you could be like us. Those thoughts about us are shaping...
21 days ago • 4 min read
There's one question I ask every client before we start working on their brand strategy: "Who do you want to lose as a customer if we get this positioning right?" As a founder, that's not an easy question to answer. No one likes losing revenue. It feels like a punch to the gut when trying to grow your business past low seven figures into high seven or low eight figures. But I love it ask it, and I live for the uncomfortable silence that follows. Because that question assumes you've been...
28 days ago • 3 min read
Your message can make or break your brand. Now, don't get me wrong, a brand is far more than just a message. It's the feeling people have about your business based on every interaction with your business. But how you communicate says a lot about your business. Take these messages, for example: "We leverage synergistic frameworks to drive transformational outcomes at scale." "Professionally Trained and Managed Lead Specialists for your real estate business." "Orchestration as Precise as the...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Most B2B service companies I talk to still rely on referrals to land new clients. Take a vacuum pump manufacturer we worked with. Their website was from the early 2000s (each page was just a wall of text), they had no marketing in place, and most of their clients came from recommendations. It's not a bad place to be when you're just starting out. But over time, referrals dry up. Because referrals rely on someone else thinking about your business at the right time and having the information on...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Your brand needs systems. The right systems help ensure that every interaction an ideal customer has with you — from your content and offer to sales calls and emails — creates the same perception. No systems = no consistencyAnd no consistency = no solid brand Building systems is building a brand. But what systems should you build? And how do you know if they are built correctly? Let's dive in. Three Brand Systems You Should Build Here are the three systems we build for every client — all...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Proof is essential for building trust and converting your ideal customers. You need it to back up your branding claims, show prospects that you know what you're doing, and position your brand as an expert in the market. The more proof you have, the better. But most founders and marketers see 'proof' and think client logos, testimonials, and case studies. While those are needed to establish proof, they are considered low-level proof. Self-reported, self-generated, and biased. Think about it —...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Your brand is created by every interaction someone has with your business. Every call, email, post, demo, website visit, form completed, onboarding, fulfillment, deliverable sent, offboarding, customer service inquiry, invoice sent... It all creates the perception people have about your business, the perception that we call a brand. Yet, most B2B service businesses never map out their brand experience. They'll drop money on campaigns, logos, and a website, but wing it when it comes to...
2 months ago • 3 min read