Every startup founder seems to share one fear: that someone will steal their business idea. In this podcast, Gerard will discuss why having your business copied can be a good thing. If someone wants to copy your startup idea, it means it's desirable and validated by the market. Build a strong brand to defend your early-mover advantage and stand out from the competition.

Good products fail all the time – when they’re not marketed properly. In this episode, Gerard discusses how a product’s success depends on a combination of factors, including effective marketing. You can't kid yourself into thinking a better product is all you need. Instead, understanding your customers, building a strong brand, and using the right marketing techniques to reach them is the best way to establish your product in the market.

There’s one thing that so many startups miss when first getting started: being small can be a big advantage. In this podcast, Gerard discusses how acting like a big company can often cause customers to avoid interacting with you, and presenting yourself authentically can be one of the biggest drivers of growth for small businesses.

What sounds more successful: a company that tricks you into wanting their product, or a company that’s been steadily providing a useful service since 1972? In this podcast, Gerard discusses how marketing is often misunderstood as a means to trick customers into buying a product or service. However, effective marketing is actually about understanding the needs and desires of the target audience, highlighting the unique benefits of a product or service, and building trust and relationships with customers. Honesty and transparency in marketing are core tenants that will always result in beneficial customer relationships.

Ever tried to cancel your gym membership and just ended up frustrated? Did you then tell everyone you met about how crappy the gym was? In this episode, Gerard explores why making it easy for customers to leave can actually boost your success and help build a high-quality user base. In a world full of grabby gyms and Netflix-style “are you sure you want to cancel” emails, this surprisingly innovative strategy is a breath of fresh air for customers.

What sounds better: marketing that loudly bludgeons you over the head with its message, or something that calmly integrates into everyday life? In this episode, Gerard discusses how the best marketing is subtle and unobtrusive, seamlessly blending into daily life. Native and experiential marketing techniques are less annoying, more enjoyable, and builds trust and credibility with target customers.

Is having the lowest price really the selling point you want? In this podcast, Gerard discusses the ways that startups can focus on creating value for their customers instead of competing on low price, which can lead to perceptions of poor quality, low profits, and a race to the bottom. By creating value through high-quality products, excellent customer service, and unique features or benefits, startups can distinguish themselves from the competition and command better market position.

What do we do when an AI can just write all our content for us? In this podcast, Gerard discusses the importance of personality and authenticity in content creation in a world dominated by AI, and how infusing personality into your writing through tone, voice, humour, anecdotes, and stories can make it relatable, memorable and engaging for the audience. Plus a few personal examples from Gerard’s 2022.

Venture capitalists want growth, but why do they so often ignore their investments’ marketing strategies? In this episode, Gerard discusses why venture capitalists undervalue marketing for start-ups, highlighting its importance for attracting customers, establishing a brand, driving growth, and ensuring long-term success. He'll cover all the reasons why VCs should pay more attention to the marketing strategy of the companies they invest in.

Are the fundamental principles of marketing still relevant when there’s a new platform every week? Find out in the first Fractal Podcast episode of 2023. Start-up business owners, don't get caught up in the hype of new marketing technologies. In our latest podcast episode, Gerard reminds us that the basic principles of marketing, like identifying your audience’s needs and desires, will always be relevant and effective. Tune in now to learn how to effectively reach and engage with your audience in the digital age.

In this 5 minute podcast, Gerard talks about how everyone utilises marketing on a surface level from day to day basis without realising that there is much more to marketing than meets the eye. Using the marketing framework AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire & Action), Gerard breaks down the common mistake of focusing only on driving awareness to  companies/brands rather than what really drives the goals that companies are aiming for.

In this podcast, Gerard talks about the idea people often believe that, 'the perfect product will sell itself'. Using the market introduction of sliced bread as an example, Gerard expands on the importance of market positioning and realigning to ensure that your product, no matter how perfect, is marketed correctly and to the right people.

In this podcast, Gerard from Fractal discusses the importance of understanding and knowing what to prioritise when it comes to marketing in the context of your business goals and time frame. Through the lens of Gerard’s years of experience in SEO he emphasises the fact that businesses and founders should be validating if investing time and money early into SEO is the right path for them. He advises the importance of utilising other avenues of marketing to confirm this and to optimise your website's relevance and power before considering an SEO expert.

Gerard from Fractal goes into great detail explaining the Danny Kruger effect and how this effect seeps into the marketing and business world. He outlines the importance for Founders and Business owners to be proactive and vet so-called “experts” through acknowledging their background and experience rather than trusting what is being said at face value.

Often marketers get a bad rap as a result of the belief that they are good at convincing people to do things they don't want to do. However, good marketing is about driving change and making people aware of better alternatives. If done correctly, marketing can help improve people's lives by providing quality efficiency and better outcomes. In this podcast, Gerard delves into the impact of what good marketing can do. As long as marketers can look back and say that they’ve genuinely helped someone move to a better position, then they are doing their job well as a marketer.

In this episode of the 5-minute podcasts, Gerard from Fractal explains the challenges when facing social media and trying to stand out from the crowd. Through examples and experience working with start-up companies. Gerard describes the importance of audience engagement and  listening to customers, rather than being one of the many businesses who are the loudest with little to no interaction.

In this podcast, Gerard from Fractal talks about the importance of properly positioning your company in a way that delivers a concise and direct message towards your customers. He discusses the fluffy style of marketing that has seen recent uptake which in turn has now left customers confused. Leaving them to try to sift through vast amounts of information to piece together what companies actually do. Through clear examples and anecdotal story telling Gerard explains the way to address this problem and encourages that companies be clear with their messaging.

“The best marketing tricks you need to know before you start marketing”. In this short 5-minute podcast. Gerard from Fractal discusses the power of Information Gap Theory and how you can best implement this marketing practice into your own copy writing and marketing. From good examples to bad, Gerard goes into depth dissecting Information Gap Theory providing some blueprints on how you could start writing them today.

Just like all thumbs are fingers but, not all fingers are thumbs. All advertising is marketing but, not all marketing is advertising. In this short 5-minute podcast, Gerard from Fractal dissects the crucial details between properly defining what is advertising and what is marketing. Gerard delves into the importance of marketing and not pigeon holing it as just advertising but, a whole range of business practices stemming from branding, messaging, positioning and many more. Gerard tackles the often-common misconceptions perceived by consumers and business owners in order to showcase the pivotal role that marketing plays for each and every business.

Did video really kill the radio star? In this short 5 minute Podcast, Gerard from Fractal Marketing discusses the many reasons why short podcasts are a perfect way to organically grow your start up business and view it as an extension of your marketing mix. Expanding on the nuances of podcasting, Gerard goes into further detail showcasing the many positives of podcasting. From it's low barrier to entry, affordable equipment and software all you need is a little time and commitment. Which is perfect for startup business founders who have a little bit of extra time on their hands. If you want to learn more about the benefits that podcasting can bring to your business, be sure to tune in.