How to Choose Your Next Marketing Partner: A Recovery Guide After Being Burnt

Today we're diving into something that's absolutely critical for brands right now. We're talking about how to build a brand that doesn't just survive, but absolutely thrives in this new AI era.  And I'm not talking about just using ChatGPT to write your Instagram captions faster – though that's part of it. I'm talking about a fundamental shift in how premium brands need to think about visibility, authority, and customer connection in 2025 and beyond. Here's the thing: The rules have changed. Completely. The way people discover brands, the way they research products, the way they make purchase decisions – it's all being disrupted by AI right now. And if you're not adapting, you're essentially becoming invisible. But here's the exciting part – and this is what we're unpacking today – premium brands with small teams actually have a massive advantage right now. We can move faster, we can be more authentic, and we can build deeper connections than the big corporate behemoths trying to figure all this out. The framework I'm sharing today is deceptively simple: Show up like a media company, but deliver like a tech company. And because I know you're running on the smell of an oily rag – as we say here in Australia – I'm going to show you exactly how to do this efficiently, without needing a six-figure budget or a team of 20 content creators.   Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals, I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together HERE By booking a Free Growth Strategy https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk   Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Youtube  

It's October, which means we're about to be hit with the annual consumption tsunami. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Then straight into Christmas panic-buying. And somewhere in all of this chaos, your customers – the ones who chose your brand because they care about quality, sustainability, conscious consumption – they're feeling pressured. Pressured to spend for the sake of getting a deal. Pressured to consume for the sake of consuming. It's the whole disposable goods, instant-gratification, fast-food and fast-fashion mentality playing out in real time. And here's what really gets me: Is this the world we want to live in? Is this the world we want our kids to grow up in? Where everything is about faster, cheaper, more disposable? Where local boutiques disappear one by one while Amazon rules everything? I certainly don’t.  And the data backs me up – sustainable, purpose-driven brands are growing 64% faster than alternatives. Your customers want to buy from brands that share their values. This isn't just the right thing to do – it's good business. So in this episode, I'm going to show you how purpose-driven brands can absolutely dominate this season without compromising their values, without manipulating their customers, and without training everyone to only buy on discount. I'm calling it Green Friday to Green Christmas. And it's about so much more than one long weekend of deals.   Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals, I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together HERE By booking a Free Growth Strategy https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk https://productpreneurmarketing.com/q4   Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Youtube  

Over the past few weeks I've had several conversations with brand owners who have used the exact same word to describe their experience with previous marketing agencies or coaches. That word is "burnt." And I don't mean slightly disappointed or a bit let down. I mean properly burnt. As in, lost significant money, wasted months or even years of time, and worst of all, lost confidence in their ability to make good decisions for their business. Here's the uncomfortable truth: the digital marketing industry is absolutely full of providers who over-promise and under-deliver. It's an industry where it's relatively easy to set up shop, throw around some fancy terminology, show a few cherry-picked case studies, and convince business owners to hand over their hard-earned cash. There's also a very common practice that I see repeatedly – agencies that have fantastic sales people who paint these amazing pictures of what's possible, but then once you sign on the dotted line, you get handed over to an inexperienced junior account manager and your actual marketing work gets done by cheap offshore staff who've never heard of your brand before that morning. It often ends up being a complete "set and forget" scenario. The agency focuses all their energy on making their monthly reports look as glowing as possible, talking up metrics that don't actually matter to your bottom line, and completely glossing over the poor results or the complete lack of results. It's almost like gaslighting, honestly. Meanwhile, the agency is dancing all the way to the bank with healthy profit margins and zero accountability for the actual outcomes. So if you've been through this kind of experience, I want you to know that what you're feeling is completely valid. The frustration, the sense of being taken advantage of, the worry about making the same mistake again – all of that is completely understandable. If you've been through this kind of experience, this episode is specifically for you. We're going to talk about how to rebuild that confidence, how to develop a framework for making better decisions next time, and most importantly, how to spot the difference between genuine expertise and slick sales tactics.   Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals, I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together HERE By booking a Free Growth Strategy https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk   Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Youtube  

Want to see what happens when you stop wasting money on marketing to the wrong customers? We were burning through our ad budget on Meta, showing skincare ads to everyone and anyone. The problem? We were in one of the most competitive categories online, customers couldn't try before buying, and we were accidentally running campaigns that repelled our ideal buyers – simply because they were ads we could see working for many other brands. Sound familiar? That's when we worked with Dr Ross Honeywill to apply his NEO framework – a psychology-based approach that targets customer mindset, not demographics. In this podcast episode, Ross joins me again and, together, we pull back the curtain on exactly what we implemented at Indagare Beauty. No fluff, no theory – just the real strategies, the mistakes we made, and the actual numbers. This isn't a polished success story. It's the messy truth about transforming how you attract customers in a brutal market. If you're tired of high acquisition costs and attracting customers who don't stick around, this episode breaks down what actually works (and how you can do it too!)     Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals, I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together HERE By booking a Free Growth Strategy https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk    Dr Ross Honeywill's book, 'Being Neo'  https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/form/jQXswEMo2Q7ueArFKzmi     Dr Ross Honeywill's Neo Video http://www.therightcustomer.com/neo-video    Dr Ross Honeywill's Book: Being NEO: Embrace Your Inner NEO and Change the World https://www.amazon.com.au/Being-NEO-Embrace-Inner-Change/dp/0645752916     Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Youtube  

Many brands are haemorrhaging money on the wrong customers, often without even realising it. While marketers obsess over age groups, income brackets, and geographic data, they're missing the fundamental psychological divide that actually determines buying behaviour.  Today's guest, Dr Ross Honeywill, has spent many years uncovering why traditional demographic segmentation fails so spectacularly – and what smart businesses should focus on instead. Dr Honeywill is a consumer psychologist and the architect behind the NEO (New Economic Order) framework, a research-backed approach that segments customers by mindset rather than demographics.  After surveying hundreds of thousands of consumers and working with major brands like JB Hi-Fi and David Jones (back in their heyday), Ross has proven that understanding whether your customers are emotion-driven NEOs or price-focused Traditional buyers can be the difference between explosive growth and costly customer acquisition disasters.  For example, his work helped transform JB Hi-Fi from a small music retailer into a retail giant, with 80% of their revenue now generated by just 40% of their customer base – the NEO segment. Whether you're struggling with high customer acquisition costs, low lifetime values, or feel like you're constantly competing on price, this episode will fundamentally shift how you think about who your customers really are – and why getting it right matters more than you ever imagined.   Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals, I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together HERE By booking a Free Growth Strategy https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk Podcast Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-281/   Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Youtube  

It's 2am and you're lying awake, mind racing through endless to-do lists, wondering if you've invested everything into a dream that's slowly becoming a nightmare. Sound familiar? You've created an incredible product – something you know could change people's lives – but somehow the customers aren't beating down your door.  You're working every night and weekend, straining relationships, watching your savings disappear, and starting to wonder if maybe everyone was right when they said you were crazy to try this. The worst part? You thought having the best product would be enough. In this episode, I'm sharing a story that will change how you think about building a product-based business forever. It isn't about talent, funding, or even market timing. It’s something much more fundamental that many productpreneurs completely miss. If you've ever wondered why some brands seem to effortlessly attract devoted customers while others struggle to get noticed, this episode reveals the uncomfortable truth about what separates million-dollar brands from failed dreams.  More importantly, it shows you exactly what to do about it. Because your vision can become your customers’ newest obsession – but only if you understand the real game you're playing.   Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals, I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together HERE By booking a Free Growth Strategy   Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Youtube  

Here's a challenge for you: go to any brand's website in your category and read their "About Us" page. Then go to their competitors and do the same before comparing them all to your own. I'll bet you that 80% of them sound very similar.   "We're passionate about quality." "We use only the finest ingredients." "We're committed to sustainability." "Our products are handcrafted with care."   Blah, blah, blah. Everyone says this stuff. It's become industry wallpaper – technically there, but completely invisible because it's everywhere.   Here's the problem: when you're trying to stand out in a competitive market, competing for the same customers, your story isn't just marketing content. Your story IS your differentiation.    So if YOU want to be the brand that is absolutely crushing it in your category, you need to figure out how to tell stories that are impossible to replicate because they're authentically, uniquely yours.   In this podcast episode, I'm sharing the Strategic Story Framework that transforms boring brand positioning into compelling narratives that your customers can't resist.       Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals, I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together HERE By booking a Free Growth Strategy   Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Youtube  

Here's a sobering statistic that'll make you rethink everything about your Black Friday strategy: 80% of Black Friday customers never purchase from the same brand again.    Let that sink in for a moment. Four out of five people who bought from you during your biggest sales event of the year will never come back.   But here's the thing – it doesn't have to be this way. How do you ensure those new customers don't just disappear into the ether, never to be seen again?   In this episode, I'm going to share a framework with you that transforms Black Friday bargain hunters into your most valuable long-term customers.    Because here's what most brands get completely wrong – they think Black Friday is about sales volume. But for premium brands, Black Friday should be about customer acquisition. The real money isn't made during the sale; it's made in the months that follow.   I'm going to walk you through what I call an "Advocate Activation Framework" – a systematic approach to turning one-time Black Friday buyers into passionate brand advocates who not only buy repeatedly but become your most powerful marketing asset.   Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals, I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together HERE By booking a Free Growth Strategy   Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Youtube  

What if I told you that the most successful Black Friday campaigns aren't about slashing prices by 80% or screaming 'EVERYTHING MUST GO!' in bright red text? What if the real winners are the brands that actually increase their perceived value during Black Friday whilst everyone else is racing to the bottom?   Here's what most ecommerce brands get completely wrong about Black Friday: they think success is only possible with massive discounts, which equals damaged brand equity, razor-thin margins, and training your customer-base to only buy during big discount sale events.    But there's a massive opportunity here that most premium brands are completely missing.   I'm sharing an overview of the 5-pillar framework for running a premium Black Friday campaign that protects your margins, elevates your brand, creates momentum beyond the weekend, and most importantly – doesn't contribute to that discount burnout that killed sales for so many brands last year.     Subscribe & Review In iTunes Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes! Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favourite part of the podcast is. Thank you!   Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Youtube  

Today, the final episode in this mini-series, we're tackling something that every brand thinks they're doing, but honestly? Most are getting spectacularly wrong.  And frankly – I’ve had so many conversations in recent weeks where pretty much every single brand is making this mistake. We're talking about true omnichannel marketing in 2025. Most brands think they're doing omnichannel because they've got a website, an Instagram account, maybe they're on TikTok, they've got email marketing happening, and if they're really fancy, they might have a physical presence somewhere. Chuck in a chatbot and boom – omnichannel, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. True omnichannel in 2025 isn't about being everywhere. It's about being everywhere seamlessly. And there's a massive difference. If your marketing is giving more multi-channel chaos than seamless experience, you definitely need to tune into this episode! I’ll show you how to create one seamless customer journey that flows beautifully across every single touchpoint and how to make sure every brand interaction helps your audience fall in love with your brand and products so much that the price becomes almost irrelevant, just the cost of falling in love. Book a free eCommerce growth strategy session ($297 value) here: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk-2