Episode Overview
He dipped his toe in the home services industry (carpet cleaning), but Ryan Kettering realized his skillset was helping other contractors find customers and market share. As owner of Prolific Brand Design, he delivers brand-design solutions to businesses nationwide.
Kettering thinks logos and websites are important. But he believes real success comes when a company best articulates its unique authenticity to customers and employees.
“The best marketing companies are the best branded companies,” he says.
Kettering meets with business owners to help them discover who they are and what they do best. When management can nail down those answers–and it’s different for everybody–that’s what has to be presented as the brand.
“Your brand is what people say about you, but your branding is [when] you try to coordinate and [communicate] that,” he says.
One of the best ways to achieve superior branding is to “double down on who you are,” Kettering says.
There’s no other company like yours, he believes.
“What you want to do [is] create your experience around something people can't replicate, which is who you are at the core,” Kettering says.
For example, Delta Airlines can’t be Southwest. And nobody comes close to being the car company that Tesla is.
“When you discover what makes you different, take action,” he says.
There aren’t a lot of new ideas on what differentiates companies today–but the goal is to be clear and articulate about something you do best.
And that’s your brand, Kettering says.
Ryan Kettering recently joined ServiceTitan’s Jackie Aubel on the “Toolbox for the Trades” podcast, which included Kettering’s thoughts on:
[04:35] How Kettering got into graphic design and branding
[08:53] What a good brand looks like
[14:07] How Kettering works with clients to create a brand
[25:09] How service entrepreneurs should think about branding
[34:16] The importance of getting your core belief right
To hear more stories from the trades, subscribe to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or anywhere you get podcasts.
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