EP 267: Leveling Up With Customer Feedback with Mighty Networks Gina Bianchini

The Nitty-Gritty:

  • How Gina Bianchini has been leading a slow & intentional brand evolution at Mighty Networks
  • Why customer feedback has been the key factor in how the brand (and product) has adapted
  • How the Mighty Networks team is using an online course to gather more customer feedback and create a plan for the future of the brand
  • What led to leveling up the Mighty Networks visual brand in 2019

[smart_track_player url=”https://media.blubrry.com/profit_power_pursuit_a/content.blubrry.com/profit_power_pursuit_a/What_Works_267_Gina_Bianchini.mp3″ social_gplus=”false” social_linkedin=”true”]

Brands evolve.

Sometimes brands evolve naturally—think Dunkin’ Donuts changing their name to Dunkin’ to reflect the fact that more people think of them as a coffee place than a donut place.

Sometimes brands evolve… unnaturally—think Weight Watchers changing their name to WW because, well, I’m not sure why other than they’re trying to stay afloat as more & more people care more about health than weight loss.

The reason that brands evolve is that a brand is only as strong as its reputation in the mind of the customer.

A company doesn’t—can’t—have sole ownership of a brand.

A brand is what the customers believe it is.

Yes, a company can influence a brand’s reputation and story—but it doesn’t own it.

Brands are co-created with the people who engage with it.

This month, we’re examining how brands are built.

No, we’re not talking about where to get a logo done or what color scheme to use on your website.

We’re talking about how the people you care about—your customers, clients, and prospects—remember your business.

We’re talking about the story you tell about what you do, why you do it, and who you do it for.

And we’re talking about what it takes to define a reputation and a presence when there are so many things competing for the attention of our people.

Over the course of this month, you’ll hear from Martinus Evans who is redefining what it means to be a runner with his podcast 300lbs And Running and his community, the Slow AF Run Club. You’ll hear from Stasia Savasuk about how her journey to discovering her personal style taught her about establishing a personal brand. And you’ll hear from Alyssa Catalano from Studebaker Metals about how what you offer defines your brand.

But today, we’re kicking things off with Gina Bianchini from Mighty Networks.

Now, as you probably already know, Mighty Networks is a sponsor of What Works. Plus, we’re proud users of their community-building and course delivery software.

And, as such, I’ve seen the Mighty Networks team go through a careful brand evolution over the last 3 years.

In fact, Mighty Networks brand evolution is a perfect case study in co-creating a brand with the people who engage with it and that’s exactly what I wanted to talk with Gina about.

Gina and I chat about what’s stayed the same and what’s changed over the last few years as Mighty Networks has grown and grown. You’ll hear about Gina’s light bulb moment, how building a community for Mighty Networks users helped her see how people were really using the software, and why she decided to build an online course. Plus, you’ll hear how all of this learning helped Mighty Networks create a stunning new visual brand, in-house, in less than 1 week.

Now, let’s find out what works for Gina Bianchini.

[smart_track_player url=”https://media.blubrry.com/profit_power_pursuit_a/content.blubrry.com/profit_power_pursuit_a/What_Works_267_Gina_Bianchini.mp3″ social_gplus=”false” social_linkedin=”true”]

What Works Is Brought To You By

Mighty Networks powers brands and businesses – like yours! – that bring people together.
With a Mighty Network, online business owners just like you can bring together in one place:

  • Your website
  • Your content
  • Your courses
  • Your community
  • Your events online and in real life
  • And charge for them…all while building YOUR brand.

Visit mightynetworks.com to see more examples of brands bringing people together and taking their businesses to the next level.

Cover of What Works book by Tara McMullin

Read More

EP 299: How To Design Your Own Sales System

EP 299: How To Design Your Own Sales System

This week, I’ve got 4 more stories to share with you from small business owners who have intentionally done things their own way when it comes to sales and selling. They’ve found what truly works for them–even if it bucks the prevailing wisdom or would make a bro marketing expert role his or her eyes.

These stories come from business coach Ashley Gartland, marketing expert Amy Lippmann, designer Mel Richards, and work reinvention coach Lydia Lee.

Listen for how they incorporated these same considerations into finding their own unique sales systems. They designed their systems with personal values, strong relationships, reduced anxiety, and agency in mind.

EP 298: Creating A Less Harmful Sales System with Wanderwell Founder Kate Strathmann

EP 298: Creating A Less Harmful Sales System with Wanderwell Founder Kate Strathmann

This show is called What Works for a reason.

Sometimes it’s a declaration: this is what worked for this small business. And often, it’s a question, “What works?”

Today’s episode is very much a question, many questions, really:

What works when it comes to selling when you want to avoid manipulative or exploitative practices?

What works when your values conflict with many of the best practices of selling online but you still want people to buy your stuff?

What works when it comes to sales in a business that is actively anti-racist and anti-capitalist?

And even more bluntly: Can you even sell things without causing harm or perpetuating harmful systems?

My friend Kate Strathmann is the founder of Wanderwell, a bookkeeping and consulting firm that grows thriving businesses while investigating new models for being in business.

Recently, Kate took a bit of a detour from how she’s used to building her business, which is 90% referral based and fueled by deep relationship- and community-building. She decided to offer a small group program called the Equitable Business Incubator as a way of exploring anti-capitalist business practices and how they apply to the small businesses we’re building.

To fill the program, Kate need to sell differently.

Which led her to asking the question: Can you even sell things as a anti-capitalist?

While that might not be your specific question, I have a feeling that you too have wondering how you can effectively sell your offers without causing harm, perpetuating harmful systems, or damaging relationships. And that’s why I knew Kate and I needed to explore this topic on the show.

This is a conversation about what a kinder, less harmful sales process could look like—and it probably contains more questions than answers. But I’m confident those questions can help you find the answers that are right for you and the sales system that you want to build to make your business stronger.

We start out by defining what we’re really talking about when we talk about capitalism and anti-capitalism. Then, Kate shares how the Equitable Business Incubator came to be and how she ended up selling it. And then we dig into what makes many of the sales formulas and best practices being taught today problematic—and how to think differently to create your own alternative practices.

Now, let’s take a look at what works for creating less harmful sales systems!

EP 297: Selling A New Program With Proof To Product Founder Katie Hunt

EP 297: Selling A New Program With Proof To Product Founder Katie Hunt

Today’s guest is Katie Hunt—who is a member of the former group and serves the latter group.

Katie is the founder of Proof To Product, which helps creative entrepreneurs run and grow thriving product-based businesses. She works with designers, illustrators, and artists to help them develop in-demand product lines and get them sold in stores all over the world.

Not long after the pandemic threw her business and the industry she serves for a major loop, Katie and her team launched Proof To Product Labs to provide a completely digital, ongoing support opportunity for business owners when they needed it most.

And that launch was a smash.

Katie and I get into all of the nuts and bolts of how she adjusted the offer to meet the moment and how she warmed up her audience before the campaign, as well as the exact mix of emails, podcast ads, and social media content she used to sell the offer when it went live. We also talk about how she sees the sales system evolving in the future and how the offer has been received now that people are using it!

What Works offers in-depth, well-researched content that strips away the hype of the 21st-century economy. Whether you love the podcast, the articles, or the Instagram content, we’d love your support