The Small Business Big Marketing Podcast with Tim Reid 366 - UGG Boot’s founder Brian Smith shares how this iconic brand began.
The iconic UGG Boot brand was founded by surfer Brian Smith in 1978 - it’s now a billion-dollar brand, but don’t be fooled … the early days were tough, until Brian made one small pivot.
We cover plenty of ground in this chat including:
- How to build a brand that connects
- The importance of focussing on niches
- The power of listening to your customers
- He even gets a little woo-woo on us
- Plus Brian shares the moment when UGG Boots went from a struggling footwear
business run by a couple of salty surfers, to something so much greater - in fact, it’s now a multi-billion dollar brand, although Brian no longer has anything to do with it. I touch more on that after the interview.
Here’s what caught my attention from chatting with Brian Smith, founder of UGG Boots:
- “You can’t give birth to adults” - this applies not only to the growing of a business, but also the growing of a marketing strategy. Too many business owners have an expectation that the minute they launch a marketing initiative whether it be a podcast or an advertising campaign or whatever, that it must generate immediate ROI. Be patient!
- Niche down - Instead of going national with the successful surfer advertising campaign, I love how Brian chose to identify other niches and embed the UGG Brand that way. When it comes to creative marketing concepts, one size doesn’t fit all, so it’s worth spending quality time getting your message right for each niche.
- Have a guiding instinct - for Brian goosebumps are his way of knowing whether something is right or wrong. For me, I get this feeling deep within my gut. The challenge is to honour it. To actually have the courage to listen to it. That’s the hard part!
But the marketing gold doesn’t stop there, in this episode you’ll also discover:
- Why & how to use screen capture technology
- How to use holidays to sell more
- And we revisit a past episode in which I spoke with a high-performance coach about, well, high performance!
Links & Resources mentioned:
- Brian Smith’s personal site
- UGG Boot’s website
- How to use screen capture technology
- How to increase sales during the holidays
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