We are in a good spot as a business, but last year we hit some different obstacles and tension we hadn’t faced before.
After almost five years of hustling to get as much work as possible, we basically maxed out what we were able to do.
To grow, we needed to place and execute a 5-10 year plan, which is represented on a foundational level here.
Our Target Market
Geographic target market
We’ve worked with people from Florida to Seattle. We’ve gone up to New York State and Philadelphia. We’ve gone to Texas and have customers in England and Lisbon, Portugal.
We can work anywhere and serve companies anywhere, but in terms of our ideal customer base, we’ve outlined that these are companies based in the southeast of the U.S.
This doesn’t mean we won’t work with people outside of these areas, that’s just where the majority of our customers and the customers we want exist.
The idea here is that our customers would be a single flight or five-hour drive from where our core team is located. We value connection and so want the ability to meet with our customers in person.
There is also a mentality that you don’t necessarily need the New York City or LA-based agency. We’re not in New York or LA so it’s something we can play to our advantage there.
Demographic Target Market
In terms of job title, our ideal client is either a founder, owner, or C-level executive (CEO, CMO, CVO, etc). There have been very few times where someone else has brought us into the company.
Now, we work really well with marketing directors, but sometimes they can get worried or intimidated that we may take their job. That’s 100% not what we’re doing.
We don’t want that job. We’re there to support those people in their roles, but because of that little bit of tension, it’s rare that we come in at that level.
When a CEO or an owner, however, pulls us in and integrates us with their marketing team we’re able to show them we’re here to help in the pursuit of their goals.
Industry-wise, we’re looking at transportation, supply chain, logistics, manufacturing (including chemicals). Those are the spaces where we spend most of our time.
Size-wise, we generally look for companies that are operating with 10-50 million in annual revenue. That’s not exclusively who we serve, but it’s who we serve best.
The 3 Uniques
So we know who we’re trying to target, we know who we’re trying to talk to, but what are we telling them? What is unique about us? What makes our business unique that they can latch on to?
#1 — We get you
We’ve worked in and around your vertical, your industry, and our core vertical for a combined 15+ years. We know the opportunities and the struggles in your industry.
Even then, our first step in working with a new customer is to spend a lot of time studying their industry. We want to build a strategy that uniquely fits their specifications and opportunities.
A lot of companies want to jump right into the execution part but—for our content, growth, and digital clients—we have to do some type of strategic work first to make sure we’re aligned.
#2 — We get digital
The internet is where the HEARD team has been our entire careers. We’re digital natives who understand the platforms, culture, and general psychology of how the internet works from a consumer to a business.
We intuitively understand how to use the internet to make trade industries more money through growth and efficiency. It’s something we’ve spent a lot of time working on.
The people on our team have experience at the highest levels of the digital and ad industry, literally. When it comes to experience with high-end brands, we have the top team in the world.
#3 — We go the extra mile
If you’ve worked with our team, you understand this. Customer service is baked into our DNA. We’re all people-pleasers who ensure you get your money’s worth from us, sometimes too much.
We get our hands dirty to ensure your project is a success to our harm, if necessary. We’ve talked to a bunch of customers who affirm this.
