Brand & marketing
.Eighteen years of it, at Nespresso, Aesop and Tupperware, and I don't particularly love leading with any of that. People go oh wow, fancy, and then we're having a different conversation than the useful one.
What those years were worth
One sentence, in the end. Tupperware, Nespresso and Aesop look like three unrelated companies until you strip them back far enough, and then you realise that they all operate on one thing: the magic behind the demo.
Tupperware
Somebody fills a Tupperware container to the brim with water, snaps the lid on, and holds it upside down over someone's head. Then drops it on the floor. Faces light up around the room before anyone has said a single thing about the product.
Nespresso
The capsule drops, the machine purrs, and you watch coffee come through the spout. Then you stand there a moment longer than you need to, just for the smell of it.
Aesop
Someone who works there washes your hands for you, slowly, at the basin by the door. Nobody has ever done that for you before. You leave having been taken care of, and that isn't even what you came in for.
The demo does the convincing. Nothing else needs saying.
None of them invented that on a whiteboard. It was already what they were, and somebody had to notice it and say it plainly so the rest of the work could line up behind it.
Most businesses already know what makes them worth choosing. It's just very hard to see from inside.
That's the part I'm good at, and it's the same thing I do in a coaching room. These days I work with SMEs, small teams where marketing sits on top of somebody's actual job, and I'm hoping to work more with women who are running their own businesses.
Myth debunked
Everyone usually comes to me and asks for content. More posts, more emails, a newsletter, something regular on LinkedIn. Which makes sense, because content is the visible part, the bit you can point at, the bit that feels like progress.
But it's actually the last thing, not the first. Before any of it goes out, four things have to be clear:
Most founders can answer all four. They've just never had to say them out loud in one go, and until they are said the content has nothing to hold onto.
It does need to be clear, because nobody on the other end is going to do that work for you. People aren't sitting there piecing you together. They have a problem, they'd like it solved, and they'll pay for that the moment they can see you're the one who solves it.
Then you put something out, watch what lands, and adjust from there.
In practice
"We need more content."
→
Who it's for, and why they'd care.
"The website needs a refresh."
→
What the first five seconds have to say.
"We should be doing more on LinkedIn."
→
Whether the people you want are even on there.
"The brand feels a bit tired."
→
What you're already known for, said out loud.
"Nobody's converting."
→
What someone is choosing between when they choose you.
The offer
S$1,500
One hour with you.
Written review inside a working week.
An hour with you, then I go away and look at what you've got: the site, the socials, whatever numbers exist, what you're selling and who you're selling it to. You get a review back within a working week, with details of what's getting in the way, and what I'd do about it in the order I'd do it.
It's yours to use however you like. You can pass it to whoever runs your marketing immediately or sit on it for some time. But of course, I'd prefer it if you didn't sit on it.
If you'd like me to build the thing afterwards we can talk about that separately, and hopefully most of it can be set up so it runs on AI and your team just makes the decisions.
Where you stand
What's working, what isn't, and what's just sitting there costing you time.
The thing in the way
Named plainly, in one or two sentences you can repeat to your team.
What I'd do about it
In the order I'd do it, with the reasoning, so you can hand it to anyone.
What I'd leave alone
The things not worth your money this year. Usually the longer list.
How it works
We sit down, usually with whoever else is closest to the work, and I ask questions. Somewhere in the first couple of conversations the thing underneath tends to surface, and more often than not you'll recognise it the moment I say it back to you.
Sometimes that's a relief and sometimes it's mildly annoying, because it usually sits further back than anyone was hoping and takes longer than a website refresh. Either way you'll know what you're dealing with, which is worth more than another quarter of guessing.
Six questions about the business and what's going on. Ten minutes, and the honest answers are more useful than the tidy ones.
Free
Within two working days. Either it's something I can help with and I'll say so, or it isn't and I'll point you toward someone who can.
Free · no obligation
This is where the S$1,500 is paid, and paying is what holds the slot. I'll have read everything properly before we sit down, so the hour is yours.
S$1,500
Inside a working week. What's getting in the way, and what I'd do about it in the order I'd do it. Yours to keep either way.
Within 5 working days
A few things I'm not
I don't do SEO or paid media setup, so if that's what you need I'll say so early and point you to someone better at it than me.
If you're after a new logo, I can probably provide some tips but I'm not a designer. Those tips can go to a designer that you hire.
And I don't sit inside businesses. I'd rather think it through with you, hand it over properly, and let you get on with it.
Start with the hour
A few questions so that when we speak I already know something about you, and we can use the hour properly rather than spending it on background.
I read every one of these myself. If I'm not the right person I'll say so and try to point you somewhere better.
Sending this costs nothing. The S$1,500 is only paid once we've booked the hour.