Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Cynthia Maselli and she is with The Brand Strategist. Welcome.

Cynthia Maselli: Thank you so much, Lee, for having me on.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Can you share a little bit about the brand strategist? How you serving folks?

Cynthia Maselli: Absolutely. So the brand strategist is an agency, and the agency is focused on servicing clients with brand identity, website design and business and brand consulting.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Cynthia Maselli: Well, it all started when I was a new mom, and I was having a conversation with a friend of mine, and we were talking about some business things, and she just suddenly said, you know, Cynthia, I think you really should start an agency because you tend to give all your advice for free. And at that time, I was pretty overwhelmed with just being a new mom and figuring all of that. But I had heard of that before because my husband had actually encouraged me when we first started dating. And he said, you know, I think you should have a marketing agency one day. And I just thought, I don’t know. I mean, it sounds great in theory, but it’s a lot of work and commitment. I’m not sure if that’s the direction I want to go. And so now, all these years later, here I am. And I’m so grateful because it’s been such a fun adventure, quite honestly, being able to help business owners and then also getting to do what I love, which is a mix of business and branding.

Lee Kantor: Now, since branding brand is in your name and strategy is also in your name, can you talk about the importance of brand nowadays, where it seems like we’re in a climate with marketing that, um, it’s in flux a little bit and it’s changing so rapidly. Can you talk about the importance of brand?

Cynthia Maselli: Absolutely. Well, I think one of the most important things about brand and branding is to actually know what it even means. Words are often used interchangeably, especially in branding. And so I would say that the first thing is to understand that a brand is really the perception that your target audience has about your business or company or services, and branding is the ongoing process of how you continue to execute your brand and the perception that you want. It’s so important to know what branding is because it isn’t the foundation of a business. The business structure, the core services or products and everything behind the scenes that you don’t necessarily see. If you’re a consumer of, you know, a know, a specific company or you love a certain product, you don’t really actually know what’s going on behind the scenes. And that’s often what I have some really great conversations with my clients about. I really want to make sure that they have the structure and the foundation in place, which is, quite honestly, what inspired the brand. The iconic Brand Blueprint, which is my consulting level workbook that I created, because what I found is that through the years, my clients were missing gaps in their businesses that were quite common, and I noticed this as a pattern.

Cynthia Maselli: And I realized that, you know, quite honestly, most entrepreneurs don’t start off with a business degree, and many of them kind of end up having a business, kind of like the story that I just shared about my own. And so they’re not often equipped with the things that they need to have, and they tend to try to piece it together, which, you know, it’s very admirable. And I think all of us do when we don’t. There wasn’t a kit, I guess, essentially. Centrally, and I wanted to really come alongside of entrepreneurs in that kind of a way and be able to create at least a starting point, that blueprint. And that is essentially what my book is all about. And it’s been helping entrepreneurs, which has been such a great joy for me to hear with the feedback and to see the differences that it’s making in businesses.

Lee Kantor: And the company’s brand is something that is going to happen, whether they’re proactive about it or not. Right? Like, people are going to have opinions and thoughts and, um, and they might think the brand is one thing when the people in the company might think the brand something else, and it’s important to be proactive about it and not just let kind of, um, the world decide what your brand is, right? You should have some say in it if you want to be successful.

Cynthia Maselli: Yes. So there are a few things that I even listed out in the iconic brand blueprint, and that is building Brand trust. It’s not just the visuals which we refer to as brand identity, where you think of immediately the logos, the colors, the fonts, the visuals, the tone, and even the copy or the language that you use. But it’s the consistency as a company, internally and externally. It’s the brand personality, it’s credibility. It’s establishing that credibility with those that are working with you behind the scenes and also those that are purchasing from you. It’s transparency, um, with a company, with your products, with your services and it’s customer service. And that is something that I cannot emphasize enough, is it’s really what the people are saying about your brand, your products, your services, or who you are. If if you’re the one that’s interfacing with the public, um, it’s word of mouth that really still is to this day, the best form of marketing.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, how did you get to be so passionate about this subject matter. Did you is this something that you kind of grew up learning, or how did you kind of become the expert that you are about this? Did you have a mentor? How did you get to where you’re at?

Cynthia Maselli: I didn’t have a mentor, but I just became really passionate as I have had all these years of experience working behind the scenes. You know, before I had my own business, I was working for other businesses, from small businesses, start ups to an international corporation, and I really could see the difference that it made behind the scenes and how things would run. And, you know, at this point I can pretty much I don’t want to say I know what would happen in the future to a business, but I think there are strong indicators of the future of a business. Just by observing how an owner runs their business and how things are set up, or lack thereof, um, to even just the interactions that people are having with the business owner or with a company. Um, if you’re really looking to be in the business game for the long haul, there are so many important factors that come into play. And I think that maybe even today, culturally, there is more of a romanticism behind starting a business and having a business. Then there is an understanding of what that actually entails and what success really means.

Cynthia Maselli: And of course, success is going to be defined differently by everyone. Um, but for the most part, I think success would it would be safe to say that everyone who’s in business to some degree is interested in, of course, having a revenue and, um, increasing that year by year. Uh, you don’t go into business thinking you’re going to lose money because there would be no appeal to that. And so you really try to do your best. And I have found that with just my background, um, with business and marketing and advertising and also, uh, a degree in psychology, all of those things kind of come into play because businesses really come down to the consumer behavior and the perception. Again, it’s what a brand is actually all about. It’s how someone views or perceives a company, a business, or even an owner of a business. And that’s why we have conversations now about, um, just your own personal brand and who should have a personal brand. And what does that even mean? Or what does that entail?

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re developing the brand or building it out and communicating it, how important is it to articulate the why, the true north behind what you’re trying to accomplish and what you do?

Cynthia Maselli: I think it’s important to really convey your mission and your vision, because it is what becomes a relatable piece for a business or a business owner to connect with the audience. As a business owner, you’re really trying to connect with your target audience, which first needs to be identified as to why are you going into business? It’s not just if you’re passionate about a product or service, but what is it that can be a game changer that maybe someone else is not doing already? And with so many products and so many services, it really it really does matter. And so, you know, for example, my business, there are many out there that are designing websites that are designing brands. Um, but a couple of the things that I focus on, of course, is customer service, the experience that my clients have with me, the process that they have while walking through what can sometimes feel very overwhelming to someone who isn’t familiar with, you know, all of this brand conversations and what do I actually need? And I think that’s, uh, figuring out what it is that your target audience really needs and then conveying or communicating to them why you’re being able to offer them something that isn’t already in existence or already out there, or how you’re doing something better than maybe a competitor of yours, um, to be able to show them why it is that they need to trust you and, you know, purchase from you and build your brand, um, trust at the end of the day.

Lee Kantor: So if you were to advise somebody right now listening, what is some low hanging fruit they can be doing to kind of make their brand a little better?

Cynthia Maselli: I think one of the most important things is really evaluating your business structure. And if you have one, um, did you kind of just, you know, throw stuff together, uh, because you had a great product or idea for a service, and your business is kind of hanging by the seams. You know, if if there was to be exposure behind the scenes, what does it look like? What does it communicate about you as the business owner? And, you know, if you have goals for the long term, uh, for the big vision, how are you going to be able to sustain where you’re at right now to that point in time? Because every business will face challenges inevitably, whether it’s internally or economically. And there are factors that we can’t control. And so, um, evaluating how is my business set up number one. And number two is what are people saying about my business today? Um, sending out a survey, finding out what are people saying about your products or your services or about your business. And I think you can if you have employees that are working for you. I think that’s a great place to start, is how healthy is the environment where they’re working? Um, what are the things that they’re saying because they’re your first brand ambassadors, really.

Cynthia Maselli: They’re the ones that are having conversations about their job and their experience working with you. And then I would say, um, maybe a third one would be have an assessment done about the brand image. And so that would come down to your website. Um, is it easy to navigate, uh, is there an appeal to your target audience, your brand identity? Did you kind of just put it together. Did you have someone do it professionally? Is it still in alignment with your mission, your vision, the long term goals and, um, being able to kind of start there? As a few of you know, the examples really does go a long way. I think that once, many times that once we’re an entrepreneur, you just kind of get caught up in the rush of just having to get things done, that sometimes the most important things seem to be so small and as though we don’t have enough time for them. But really, they can be big game changers.

Lee Kantor: Can you share a story that, uh, about maybe one of the the clients that you’ve worked with and a lot of our audience are business coaches and in and around the coaching world or, you know, um, professional services primarily. Um, is there a story you can share in that area that demonstrates maybe how you were able to help someone? Don’t name the name of the organization, but maybe share the challenge they had when they came to you and how you were able to help them get to a new level?

Cynthia Maselli: Yes, absolutely. So my favorite stories are when a client comes to me for one service, and typically, of course, it’s going to be website or brand identity, and we end up working on other things internally in their business. Because when I’m walking clients through the process, whether it is for a redesign of their website or a new website launch or even their brand identity, I will send my client a questionnaire and it’s asking specific questions because I want to get to know their business. I want to get to understand their vision. Um, it’s easy for me to do the design part. I can easily just, you know, whip something up if you will. But at the end of the day, it needs to align with their business and their goals for their business. And so quite often, um, they, they start to realize that they haven’t thought about certain things, um, until we start having conversations. And so I’ve worked with clients multiple times where they start off with thinking that they need a new brand identity, they need a rebrand, or they need a new website. They need to redesign their website. But then they discover that there were other missing gaps. Um, there was one example where I was working with this client, and they started to realize that in their partnership, um, they didn’t have the clear communication that they thought they did.

Cynthia Maselli: And so there were unspoken misunderstandings that weren’t causing any issues, but they would down the line unless they began to address them early on. And so it was a really great experience to just be a part of that and be able to watch that unfold in real time. Um, because they became stronger as business partners. Um, because at the end of the day, again, a brand is great, but there are honestly a lot of brands out there that Maybe would even come to mind for even someone who’s listening right now. And it has baffled them, thinking, how in the world are they making so much money but their website is awful, or their packaging is not even that great, and they could even be comparing their own business to that said business. Um, but at the end of the day, perhaps the word of mouth is so strong that people will overlook those things. Um, because it isn’t all about the visual perception as much as it is sometimes, let’s say a product, if you have a house cleaning product, maybe you don’t really care what the packaging looks like as much as you do.

Cynthia Maselli: Is it effective? Is it doing what it’s promising to do? That’s why I’m willing to pay X amount of dollars for it. And at the end of the day, you’re sharing it with a friend and you’re saying, hey, you know what? Have you tried this product out? It’s great. And in that conversation, there’s no mention about maybe how you would prefer a different color of the packaging, or maybe the logo could have been better or their website’s not that great, but at the end of the day, if you’re sharing those links and people are going there, clicking it, adding it to their cart and purchasing it, that’s, you know, that’s the dream. You want your clients to just be able to go and purchase without hesitation. So everything working together, including the brand, it’s the goal is to just make it something that is a no brainer for your target audience to just go, you know what, I want to go ahead and just try this out. I want to go ahead and purchase this. And then hopefully the delivery and the execution of what they’re expecting will match their initial perception of your business or your product or your service, and they’ll continue to share about it or purchase it.

Lee Kantor: So who is the ideal client for the brand strategist?

Cynthia Maselli: We love working with entrepreneurs who are ready to get their hands in the creative process with us. Um, we’ve had experiences where clients come to us and they kind of just want everything done, which could be easy, but at the same time, the whole purpose of even just launching the brand strategist is really for the intentional business owner who understands perhaps, that they don’t know everything. Um, and they know, but they know that they need something or they’re starting to see the missing gaps. They’re starting to see or hear, hey, you know what? I might need to rebrand, um, my website, or I might need to expand my website. I might need to update this or that. And they come because they know that they don’t have all the answers. They’re looking for some professional experience. Um, people in the industry might my team and I, um, we have experience and we’ve been working with hundreds of clients at this point in time. And so what we focus on is really listening to our client and taking what it is that they’re saying, but also kind of filling in those gaps of maybe things that they’re just not aware of. And so education is a big part of the process with my clients. I really like to walk them through the process of not just what their goal is, um, for that project, but also just educating along the way.

Cynthia Maselli: Because whether they come back later for something else in their business or they need someone else because maybe they’re expanding in a different, um, form or capacity that I may not be able to help them with. At least they’re empowered and they’re equipped to know a little bit more than when they started working with me. And so, um, whether they’re a new business owner, they’re launching a business for the first time. Maybe there’s someone that’s been running their business for a few years, and maybe it’s time for that rebrand. Um, or they’re in a, in a point in their business where they just maybe can’t figure out what they need to do, but they know that there’s something missing at that point. Um, it would be more consulting, but, you know, focusing on the services around brand identity, website design and the consulting. And of course, I love connecting people. So if there is a service or something that someone is looking for, and if I don’t offer it because there are a lot of other services out there, whether it’s designing for email marketing or it’s SEO, etc., I always love connecting people with the trusted professionals that I know do a really good job at what they’re an expert at, and I love being able to help out people with referrals as well.

Lee Kantor: And so you mentioned the kind of the way you deliver the services, a combination of coaching, consulting, but you also have, um, kind of a book that they can do on their own.

Cynthia Maselli: Yes. So the iconic brand blueprint is really for, I would say, business owners between 1 to 7 years, um, whether they’re launching and they have no idea where to start, this is kind of your business kit, if you will, or if maybe you are considering a rebranding your business and you’re not really sure where to start. This book will cover all of the things. Um, and again, as I’ve mentioned before, a lot of the business owners really don’t have an idea what they need when they start out. So they’re kind of figuring out along the way. And this book was really inspired from working with business owners from different stages in their business and discovering that it’s actually quite common, um, in, in terms of the questions that were being asked. And so I realized, you know, I think I haven’t found a resource out there that really covers everything that I cover in the iconic brand blueprint. And so it was something that is accessible to anyone just by going to my website, the Brand Strategist, and being able to purchase it just in case someone’s not ready to work with me yet, or someone just trying to figure out what it is that they need. My hope is that they will be able to have a really good starting point with this book, and it’s reusable. So whether you’re building one business and you’re going to be reusing it for years to come because it’s it’s kind of like your, your brand and business Bible, if you will, um, or you’re going to launch a new business, at least you have this book that will be able to help you time and time again.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or the team. Is the website, is that the best starting place?

Cynthia Maselli: Yes. The brand strategist Dot would be the best place. And then you can also find us on at the Brand Strategist on Instagram.

Lee Kantor: Well, Cynthia, thank you so much for sharing your story today, doing such important work. And we appreciate you.

Cynthia Maselli: Thank you so much, Lee.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.