Today, we talk to George Bryant, whose contribution to the Brand Builder Summit was viewed as the most impactful and helpful by the entrepreneurs in the audience.

So without further ado, here is the go to guy that everyone goes to! The OZ behind the curtain: George “the middle name moniker” Byant.

Side Note

Wine with Wyan comes back in 2019 — subscribe on YouTube and Facebook!!!

Key Takeaways

[4:50] Ryan introduces the newly monikered: George “The OZ” Bryant!

[6:59] What does it ethical scaling look like on a tactical level?

● Paid media strategy

● Affiliate marketing strategy

● Massive amounts of influencer campaigns — building long term relationships

● Email marketing — George’s favorite: people just don’t know how to use it though!

● Organic traffic — his #1 play space: no, you didn’t miss the boat.

● Amazon strategy

Basically, the tactics are all about figuring out all of the places where you can meet your customer.

[7:46] Personally answering 11 000 DMs is something Goerge will still do.

No matter how much you complicate it, or how many times it’s been done before, or what formula you’re using, business is business and at the core of it is a customer. That is the relationship that gets to be built: anything that doesn’t serve that isn’t necessary.

That means that when you show up in a space, create content that your customers like and engage with, you have to meet them there: you need to respond and build that relationship.

Devil’s advocate [12:22] Hank asks how this applies to his sock puppet company.

People don’t buy from brands, they buy from people.

Imagine if you take away the Internet and shoot back to brick and mortar companies... to be competitive you have to build those relationships. The better you do that, the more your customers self-identify, the higher your price-point can be, the more you can scale. It still applies in the digital world!

[15:50] Do you need to find the balance between building a relationship and playing the numbers game?

Considering 82% of marketing is done via word of mouth, you should only give people positive things to say about your brand.

No means no, Hank, don’t shove your sock puppets in people’s throats — instead, hear their no and find the give: build the relationship make them like you even if they don’t buy from you!

[24:27] Ryan always pictures “scaling” as a big thing, but George sees scale as a more micro endeavour: you can only scale one person at a time.

When working with a brand, find one influencer and dial in their micro audience, you can then duplicate this process with multiple influencers, generating scale.

[27:57] We tend to wait for the 10k or million fan influencer to shout us out, and we ignore the existing advocates of our brands: the 100 people with 10k fans who are already selling our products to all of their cousins!

[28:38] The problem with influencer marketing is that everyone is trying to solve it with the same solution, not realising that each influencer is different and wants different things, but all are looking for mutually beneficial relationships.

[31:00] Ethically scaling means focusing on the customers, and actually doing what you say you will do. If you build your business around mutually beneficial, long term, 2-way relationships, customers will follow you and your product will get legs.

Only promise what you are willing to fulfill. And do what feels natural to you.

[34:54] The transaction is nothing more than building a connection, the product is a bridge.

There are 3 things people need to change anything in their life:

1. Permission: storytelling for self-identification

2. Safety: built through the touch points that build a relationship

3. Accountability: when they buy, do what you say you will

[38:43] Sock-puppet-Hank wonders how to make the transition from what he used to do, to ethical scaling and relationship building?

Ask the customers. Get to know them, visit their social, what are they saying about you?

Mic Drop [44:46] If you try to build a tower on a faulty foundation it will crash every time. The foundation has to be a relationship with your customers that is not predicated on their credit card.

[46:00] People can find George on Instagram @civilisedcaveman.

Thanks for listening!

Mentioned in this episode

Capitalism.com