Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Bain.
Brandon, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
For 9 years, I ran business development for a small Italian network security company here in the United States. With little to no budget, we were always forced to be creative and efficient with our resources (both financial and time) since we were only a 2-person operation. As a result, I was able to learn how to create effective marketing and brand development and our little organization grew each year until the time I left to form Because Marketing.
I knew there are a lot of companies just like us that either
a) Didn’t have the funds to hire a big marketing firm
b) Didn’t want to hire a full-time Intern that would be making their first mistakes on their dime
c) Don’t have time to do it themselves.
So I created a company that is comprised of a small staff of C-level professionals that have extensive experience in a multitude of phases of Marketing/Branding/Business Development.
I was inspired by Simon Sinek’s piece about “Companies that operate from a core ‘Why’ tend to be successful” and began to write a philosophy of my own. I realized that it’s not the “Why” which is most critical (anyone can ask themselves that question, rather the “Because”, or the answer which guides companies to increased levels of brand loyalty.
At that time, I was also exploring Cause Marketing which is traditional, “The collaboration of a non-profit (501C3) and a for-profit organization to raise funds or awareness for a cause”. By this classical definition, it is virtually impossible for small businesses to utilize this marketing tool (despite its incredible power to generate loyalty) because it requires an immense amount of administrative overhead and contracts required. I decided that SMB can adapt elements of cause marketing to brand their own Purpose to create high levels of Brand Evangelism.
It only made sense to call my business Because Marketing; To find your “Because” and to “Be-Cause-Marketing”. Since then, we’ve helped dozens of companies quickly and efficiently generate marketing campaigns that generate an ROI and drive brand loyalty.
Has it been a smooth road?
The challenge for a solopreneur getting started in a new industry is that you don’t know what you don’t know. I believed that in order to acquire clients, I’d need to “throw the marketing book” at prospects and prove my industry knowledge (keep in mind my target audience is Small-to-Medium sized businesses).
Spouting-off all of the various marketing tools & techniques only served to further confuse my prospects, not impress them with my understanding of the industry.
It wasn’t until I was able to clearly articulate a roadmap for my clients with defined goals was I able to close more business.
My lesson: It’s more difficult to simplify a service to its core essence than muddle it with concepts. Those that can take complex ideas and translate them to ordinary (non-industry) professionals will have a decided advantage. People absolutely want to know that you’re competent and hard-working, but more importantly, the pitch serves to provide an audition for what it will be like to work with you moving forward.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We don’t take on every client for the simple fact that it helps us keep our own marketing budget down. By limiting ourselves to 80% capacity, we are able to deliver an incredible service to our clients that win their evangelism and referrals. More importantly, it helps us to take pride in our work and maintain a work/life balance that keeps us sane.
We specialize in helping SMB grow their businesses, in many cases with marketing tools, and sometimes without. Early on, I discovered my talent is in business development and only later on marketing. I jokingly tell my clients, “I’m a business optimization strategist masquerading as a marketing guy.”
We help companies where they need it, whether it’s developing a website, automating/nurturing leads, developing/refreshing brand, merchandising, pricing strategy…we sort of develop a close partnership with our clients and spot areas of inefficiency and implement systems to remedy that.
What we do differently?
We don’t lock our clients into long-term contracts. By working month-2-month, we ensure that we’re working hard to earn our clients’ business each and every day!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Houston is a fantastic city for small and medium-sized businesses of all industries. There’s an unbelievable amount of consistency in its economic development, people are generally friendly so there’s no slamming the door in your face, the cost of living is low so start-up capital can be used efficiently and it’s one of the most culturally diverse cities in the country.
There’s also a lot of square footage available which lowers cost of real estate compared to other large cities. This can help a fledgling company get into the right space at the right price.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BecauseMarketing.net
- Phone: 713.855.6022
- Email: Brandon@BecauseMarketing.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/because.marketing
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeCauseMktng
- Other: https://youtu.be/aiVmxq_P8fM
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
