Hey Founder, you've gotten this far! Don't let branding and marketing be the reason why your business doesn't take off.
A confusing brand message is slowing down your growth and leading potential investors and customers to:
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Visit your website and quickly give up
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Purchase from your competitors
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Lose trust in your brand
What you do sounds complicated,
but it doesn't have to be.
If you're a startup founder or an incubator looking to support your founders - my program and services are designed to help you untangle the jargon and be understood by your audience.
Let's get to work!
Kareem from Tryps saw a 70% increase in web traffic and 2,000 new Instagram followers within 4 months
"It felt like we were living under a big marketing cloud. Liane lifted the fog for us. The Brand Clarity Program forced us to clarify how we talk about our product. It was a game-changer for us."
Sarah from Alli doubled her revenue every month since implementing changes from the program
"Our marketing was going above people's heads. Liane's brand clarity program pushed us to target a niche audience and nail down our messaging. We started working together through the DMZ incubator and have now brought her on as our fractional CMO."
Jaime from Worksimply made pivotal product changes based on insights that surfaced from clarifying his brand
"In the process of workshopping the brand, we realized what tweaks needed to be made to our core product in order to bring real value to our users. The program went beyond branding and addressed root issues in our product."
Services
CMO Support
***Booked until December 2023
Wishing you could hand over the strategy and team coaching to someone who could just *own it*? I work with your team to steer the ship back on track and coach them into becoming the marketing team you've been waiting for.
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Designed for: Startups and incubators
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Approach: Virtual or in-person sessions over Zoom
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Time commitment: Minimum of 3 months
You’re solving real world problems for people
Let’s make sure they really get it
Book a discovery call
& tell me about your pain points
A 30 min call dedicated to you telling me about your business. It will feel like therapy but I can't prescribe meds.
Strategize, Untangle, Edit
and Polish
I roll up my sleeves and dive into the nitty gritty of your business so that your branding and marketing start doing the selling for you.
Connect with customers and
grow your business
Feel confident speaking about your business and attract customers who understand your value from the jump!
Hi! I'm Liane
I bring 10 years of branding and startup experience to your door
I'm a two-time founder with a very special spot in my heart for entrepreneurs. I've been in your shoes, and I know what it's like to reach out for support and be met with a high level consultant who gives you 2 cents. What can we get with 2 cents? Nada.
I offer hands-on consulting for early startups who need guidance and accountability to complete one of the most imperative tasks - the branding and marketing for their business.
With 10 years of experience running my own marketing agency and almost 2 years of consulting for tech startups at Ryerson's Digital Media Zone (DMZ), I've become exceptionally passionate about helping technology founders get out of the weeds and tell a clearer, simpler story.
Brands who clearly communicate the problem they solve for the end user will win in the marketplace. I have a process that is tailored to help early startups win.
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My startup is not part of an incubator, can we still work together?Heck yes!
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What technologies do you use to run remote sessions?Zoom for video conferencing and screen sharing Invision for note-taking, brainstorming and wireframing Google Drive for file sharing and storage ChatGPT to write you a parting poem at the end of our work together
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What’s the time commitment for the Brand Clarity Workshop?Depending on your availability, we can complete the workshop in 2-4 weeks (meeting weekly for approx. 2 hours).
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Do you work in-person or virtually?I've designed my workshops and sessions to operate efficiently over zoom, however, I'm more than happy to meet you at your offices if you prefer to work together in person.
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Can you support the founders in our incubator?Absolutely! I'd be happy to walk through how we can set your founders up to succeed.
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What makes your approach more 'hands-on'?Rather than give you vague sounding tips or advice, I guide you through a series of strategic exercises that will help you and your team get clearer on your brand. I'm engaged in these exercises as much as you are. Brainstorming and contemplating what the best direction is for your company. I dive into your competitors and find out how you can differentiate from them and work with you to write copy and pull creative that will make you the obvious choice. Any templates provided for email or social media best practices are followed up with guidance on implementation and ensuring the content will work hard for you. I understand what it's like to wish that an external hire cared about your business as much as you do. My promise is that you will feel my energy and commitment more than your average consultant.
Why does it feel so hard to get your branding to feel *just* right?
You've got the 'the curse of knowledge'! You know way more about your product than anyone else - making it super challenging to objectively examine the clarity and simplicity in your communications.
I'll help you get just enough distance from your product and develop language and visuals that make your audience think 'where have you been all my life?'
Get a head start by answering 6 questions that will bring immediate clarity to your startup.
FAQ
Two-Time Founder
Co-founder of marketing/production agency est. in 2013 with successful exit in 2020
Incubator Consultant
Expert in Resident (EiR) at the DMZ, Toronto Metropolitan University
Storybrand Certified
Certified as a storybrand marketer, a proven marketing framework to drive business
Get clear on your customer's pain points
Find the right words to engage them
Feel good knowing you're doing it all 'right'
The Brand Clarity Program
This program is known for having lots of 'light bulb' moments. The series of foundational exercises will bring clarity to your brand and confidence to your team. I'll guide you through every step of the process and keep you accountable to ensure the critical work around your branding and marketing gets crossed off from your To-Do list.
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Designed for: Startups and incubators
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Approach: Series of virtual workshops over Zoom
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Time commitment: 3-4 weeks
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My startup is not part of an incubator, can we still work together?Heck yes!
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What technologies do you use to run remote sessions?Zoom for video conferencing and screen sharing Invision for note-taking, brainstorming and wireframing Google Drive for file sharing and storage ChatGPT to write you a parting poem at the end of our work together
-
What’s the time commitment for the Brand Clarity Workshop?Depending on your availability, we can complete the workshop in 2-4 weeks (meeting weekly for approx. 2 hours).
-
Do you work in-person or virtually?I've designed my workshops and sessions to operate efficiently over zoom, however, I'm more than happy to meet you at your offices if you prefer to work together in person.
-
Can you support the founders in our incubator?Absolutely! I'd be happy to walk through how we can set your founders up to succeed.
-
What makes your approach more 'hands-on'?Rather than give you vague sounding tips or advice, I guide you through a series of strategic exercises that will help you and your team get clearer on your brand. I'm engaged in these exercises as much as you are. Brainstorming and contemplating what the best direction is for your company. I dive into your competitors and find out how you can differentiate from them and work with you to write copy and pull creative that will make you the obvious choice. Any templates provided for email or social media best practices are followed up with guidance on implementation and ensuring the content will work hard for you. I understand what it's like to wish that an external hire cared about your business as much as you do. My promise is that you will feel my energy and commitment more than your average consultant.
Shoutout to my incubators!
When your startups succeed, you succeed. Let’s get founders the support they really need.
"Liane’s hands-on and collaborative approach as our brand and marketing consultant has been invaluable for startups she’s supported at the DMZ. Her expertise in helping tech founders navigate complexities in their communications and tell a clearer story has significantly contributed to their success, winning them more business."
- Abdullah Snobar, CEO of DMZ Toronto Metropolitan University
Common questions I get from startup founders
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I have multiple audiences, who should the homepage speak to?
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We’re building with AI - does the audience care to know more about the tech?
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My product keeps changing, should I hold off on making marketing changes?
Ask me all of your burning questions and leave the untangling to me!
The clients and founders I support
Power Hours
A 1-hour video session dedicated to providing you tangible feedback around any of your branding and marketing uncertainties. This is a rapid and focused session that leaves you with actionable ways to improve asap.
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Designed for: Founders and startups
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Approach: Virtual over Zoom
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Time commitment: 1 hour (can be extended)
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Cost: $200 per hour
Strategic Copywriting
Why does writing copy for our own businesses feel brain-bending? Finding the right words to explain a complicated idea is super, super hard. I use the Storybranding framework to produce clear and compelling copy.
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Elevator pitches
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Website copy
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Email campaigns
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Lead generators
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Pitch decks