Introduction to Josh Weber
Hey everyone and welcome to today’s show where we have Josh Weber on the show. Josh is a Co-Founder of Big Red Jelly, an agency that combines top-notch branding and website design with powerful online tools to grow businesses.
Josh lives by the rule of being great at things that don’t require talent, like showing up, being proactive and exceeding expectations. With a deep love for creativity and building, Josh has grown his company from scratch in 2017 with his brothers Zach and Ben to a digital agency known for efficiency, creativity and results.
Josh has been a Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business Alumni and 2022 Utah Marketing Professional of the Year. He’s loved building Big Red Jelly on the principles of applied creativity, efficiency and real results in digital marketing.
Download Our Free SEO Guide Here!
Who is Josh Weber?
Josh Weber is a brand builder and digital marketing expert with a weird background and perspective. Born in New Zealand, he moved to Utah with his family when he was 7 or 8. He’s been in love with the area ever since, it’s where creativity, technology and hard work collide.
New Zealand Roots and Utah Growth
His accent may have gone, but his love for Utah as a place for entrepreneurs, business owners and creatives remains strong. This place has shaped his approach to business and creativity.
From Digital Marketing to Brand Building
Interestingly, Josh’s journey into brand building wasn’t linear. Big Red Jelly started as a full service digital marketing agency but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a pivot and now they focus on branding.
“We started as a full service digital marketing agency and we didn’t have a niche. Looking back at that, it’s like, man, if I could shake young Josh by the shoulders and go, dude, there’s an easier way, I promise,” Josh says.
The Pivot to Branding
When COVID hit, a third of their clients had to close their doors within two weeks. This was an opportunity for Josh and his team to pivot and niche down. They realised they always loved the bits of business that came before marketing and advertising – the branding and building of online experiences.
“We kind of reverse engineered all the way back to, we’re a brand agency at the end of the day,” Josh says. “We’re really trying to evangelise… Really trying to make brand, brand positioning, brand strategy, practical, hands on, anyone can do it.”
Current Projects that Excite Josh
Integrating AI into Branding
Josh and his team at Big Red Jelly are currently focused on incorporating AI into their branding process. They’re exploring how AI can enhance their proven brand process and accelerate various tasks.
“We’re leaning full on into AI,” Josh enthuses. “That’s my one point of advice for anyone listening. If you’re worried about AI or I don’t think you should be worried, I think you should just use it. Lean into it, use it, use it, use it.”
Practical Applications of AI in Branding
Josh provides a practical example of how they’re using AI:
“We might take a client through our brand proven process. We have 10 chapters that we go through, and then we come up with a brand strategy or brand guide. You can now give that guide to an AI tool. We can train it using that guide and say, now give me a hundred social media templates, five blog outlines, skins for all the… and then it just goes, boom.”
This approach allows their creative team to focus more on strategy and high-level creative work, rather than spending hours on repetitive tasks.
Tactical and Strategic Branding Advice from Josh
Josh offers several key pieces of advice for businesses looking to improve their branding and online presence:
1. Use the Venn Diagram Exercise
Josh recommends using a Venn diagram to clarify your brand positioning. Draw three circles:
- What can your business be the best at?
- What are your competitors best at?
- What does your ideal customer actually want?
“Find out what that is. Bullet point that out, write it out and play in that zone,” Josh advises. “Do it with your employees, do it with your customers, do it with your co-founders or partners, and that will lead the way for so much more.”
2. Map Your Customer Journey
Josh emphasizes the importance of understanding and optimizing your customer journey:
“Draw out your customer journey… When was the last time that you’ve drawn out on the whiteboard or a piece of paper from start to finish? What is the customer journey with your brand?”
He suggests breaking it down into three main phases:
- Top of the funnel (acquiring new customers)
- During the experience (what happens when they interact with your business)
- After the experience (follow-up, nurturing, and retention)
3. Implement Anniversary Outreach
Josh recommends using a CRM to set up anniversary outreach to past customers:
“Reach out to your previous customers clients at their year mark or the month mark or six months. Put the, that anniversary, whatever that is.”
He suggests framing this outreach as a review of their needs, rather than a sales pitch:
“Hey Josh, it’s been a year. Can you believe it’s been a year since we put in that bathroom? It is time to review your plumbing needs.”
4. Ask for Reviews Consistently
Big Red Jelly has over 500 five-star reviews, which Josh attributes to a systematic approach:
- Create a process for asking for reviews at multiple touchpoints
- Use different platforms and communication channels (email, text, in-person)
- Don’t limit review requests to paying customers – ask after providing value in any form
5. Leverage Strategic Partnerships
Josh advises finding strategic partners in your industry:
“Align yourself with strategic partners. Find win-win win situations… Try to find a strategic partner in your space where it’s a win-win win.”
Where Does Josh See the Future of Branding Going?
Josh is optimistic about the future of branding, noting a shift in how businesses perceive its importance:
“I think because of social media and honestly younger generations who demand authenticity and transparency and values within companies, I think companies big and small now are starting to wake up and say, ‘My brand is the perception that my customers have of my company. It’s their gut reaction to my company. Therefore, it’s everything.'”
He predicts an increased emphasis on creative and strategic aspects of branding, with more companies actively working to build and maintain their brand identity across all touchpoints.
Josh also notes the growing importance of a strong brand in the age of AI-generated content:
“If you have a well-known brand, you’re more likely to get those referrals and get that trust value instead of just content that answers questions, you get that trust that comes with it.”
How to Get in Contact with Josh
If you’re interested in connecting with Josh or learning more about his work, you can:
- Find him on LinkedIn – he’s “the bald one” among the Josh Webers.
- Visit the Big Red Jelly website at bigredjelly.com.
Josh is always open to having brand conversations with anyone, no strings attached:
“Connect with me on LinkedIn and I love to honestly sit down and have just these brand conversations with anyone. No strings attached. Just say, ‘Hey, tell me about your business. Tell me about who your customer is.’ I’ll push back. I’ll ask some questions maybe that you haven’t asked yourself, but I hope that just having that conversation will be helpful.”
Josh’s Extra Bits
Mentorship
What advice would you give to your younger self? Josh says:
I would spend more time with, I’d reach out and be vulnerable in asking for mentors in the space and spend time with them and just pick their brain. Same as asking your customers what could be better, you could probably avoid a lot of headaches and speed up your growth.
Books
Josh recommended two books for business owners and entrepreneurs:
- “The Goal” (by Eliyahu M. Goldratt)
- “Unreasonable Hospitality” (by Will Guidara)
He loved “Unreasonable Hospitality” so much.
If you could go back to your younger self and give advice, what would that be?
Josh gave his younger self two pieces of advice:
- Seek out mentors: “I would spend more time with, I’d reach out and, and, and be vulnerable in asking for mentors in the space and spend time with them and just pick their brain. Same as asking your customers what could be better, you could probably avoid a lot of headaches and speed up your growth.”
- Align with strategic partners: “From a practical standpoint… align yourself with strategic partners. Find win-win win situations. I was lucky enough to sit down with a couple big agency owners when we were younger agency and we just partnered well with them ’cause we did what they didn’t do and they did what we didn’t do. And their size and growth just pulled us to the next level.”
What books, podcasts or leaders do you currently follow?
Josh mentioned two books:
- “The Goal” – Josh is reading this one. (The full title is “The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement” by Eliyahu M. Goldratt)
- “Unreasonable Hospitality” – Josh just finished this one and said “probably gotta be one of my favorites. I loved it.” (The full title is “Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect” by Will Guidara)
No podcasts or leaders mentioned.
Conclusion
Josh Weber’s journey from full-service digital marketing agency to brand-building only agency is a lesson for all entrepreneurs and business owners. Understanding your brand, mapping the customer journey and using AI and strategic partners is the playbook for businesses to win in today’s digital world.
By focusing on the basics of branding and adapting to new tech and market demands, businesses can build stronger relationships with their customers and grow sustainably. As Josh says “Obsess over your brand… everything from your customer service to your sales to your marketing to your content will either build your brand or break it down.”
Get started. or grow.
0 Comments