Build Your Brand With Marketing Expert Elizabeth Barry

Meet the Brand Therapist

Meet Elizabeth Barry, a founding member of the Hoboken Chamber of Commerce's Women in Business Council. Since forming the strategic marketing firm Elizabeth Barry & Associates in 2006, Elizabeth has succeeded in helping hundreds of clients discover the right brand message for their business. Elizabeth knows how to highlight the best companies in a number of fields including dance, fitness and wellness. Her industry newsletter NEXT GEN Insider reaches over 30,000 artist members nationwide every Thursday. Also, a founding member of the TEDxGotham lecture series, Elizabeth loves reading about and discovering leaders who inspire her.

Tell us Elizabeth, what skills do you use to succeed as a strategic marketer?
You have to be a good listener. In strategic marketing we're really listening for and looking for the red flags that clients can't pick up on their own because they're wearing so many hats and too close to their business. To be a good strategic marketing consultant you have to look for those loopholes and listen for answers that your clients are saying that you can provide solutions for.

How has the marketing industry evolved over the past 10-15 years?
First off, websites have evolved. Lots of our clients are coming to us from having spent thousands of dollars with a designer for a website that doesn’t really work that well. When they begin working with us, they realize the value of customer service and quality in each step of the way, in addition to the fact that we’re a tri-fold agency. We have a marketing and business web division that also has two other departments, graphic design and programming. To get the results from a product that lasts, all three must be included in a 2012 website.

Marketing in general has evolved with social media. There's so much more being thrown at us. Not just with television or radio, but now it's Facebook and Twitter, video marketing, blogging, mobile marketing etc. For our company it's a good position to be in because we help clients navigate through each of those mediums with expert advice and execution.

You're right, there is a lot of information out there these days. So then what's the future of marketing?
The future of marketing is owning up to your brand's story. It's figuring out who are, so that you're different from your competitors out there. We're in 2012, and we just got out of a recession. Many of the people who were let go from their companies are now looking to become entrepreneurs themselves. What you're going to see is a greater pool of entrepreneurs. Be smart and savvy on how to use all those tools that are out there, but most importantly own up to your brand story and stand out from the rest by thinking outside the box.

Why is branding important?

It defines who you are. You can tell a quality, lasting brand from the lesser valued ones instantaneously. For me branding is cool. I live and breathe it. I go to bed with it and I wake up with it. I have coffee with it every morning. Branding is having integrity with whatever it is that you're selling or providing. What you put into it, is what you get out of it. It’s right there in black and white. Customers are not dumb. They’re very savvy and they can tell if you’re quality or not; and that makes a difference in today’s society. People google, customers care about who they work with and what they’ll get in return. Quality and customer service are a huge part of branding in 2012.

Hoboken has a lot of brick-and-mortar businesses. It is also home to many professionals who maybe work out of a home office. How would you advise each of those types of business about marketing themselves?
It depends on how savvy they are and how outside of the box they can be. If you're a brick and mortar on Washington Street, there could be twelve other companies just like yours, so you have to communicate loud and clear, but also creatively about why customers should shop with you. Just as a person who doesn't have a brick and mortar space would have to think outside of the box to draw customers in. Each one of those types of businesses have obstacles that they need to overcome; and they can do it by being creative.

Take my company for instance. I've been hosting free marketing talks every quarter for the past year and a half and that's my form of advertising in Hoboken. That's how I think outside the box to communicate my ad messaging- by providing a service with free tips and advice. We bring in a nice crowd every time filled with attendees who are inspired and motivated. Everyone takes home a meaning or two that’s their very own and we have returning fans as well. Whether they hire us this year or next year or not, or they talk to ten people about the event- it’s worthwhile to inspire people. That's how we do it without having a brick and mortar place. I’m also a huge fan of the Chamber of Commerce and attend many of their events. They’re great for networking.

You're a visible presence in the world of dance. What inspires you about that?
I've loved it since I was little. What inspires me now about dance is the fact that I know all the people on television, and in the hit movies, all the choreographers that are behind the scenes of the tours, of the Justin Biebers and the Beyonces. I have them in my cell phone, I build their campaigns, I hang out with them and I know their personal triumphs to get to where they're at. They’re my friends. I was a Marketing Director at Dance Magazine, then a top selling sales representative at over 13 different dance magazines in NYC. After that I put myself in a position where I launched the first strategic marketing firm for dance, and then the first email magazine for dance. The dancers that I know consider me a good friend and a positive role model in the field and that truly inspires me. 

Yes indeed. Now tell us about living in Hoboken. Where can you find the best meal in the Mile Square?
The best meal in Hoboken? Augustino's!

Where do you go when you want a fun night out on the town?
I go to Dino & Harry's. I like to sit and have a good glass of wine and listen to the piano. That's my good time.

What's your favorite time of year in Hoboken?
I really like going out by the water in the summer and just looking at Manhattan and admiring how big it is. I also appreciate the fall walking down Park Avenue or Bloomfield Street. It's so pretty.

Being that Hoboken is the birthplace of Frank Sinatra, what's your favorite song by 'Ol Blue Eyes?
Summer Wind AND The Way You Look Tonight too. You can't just have one.

Ha! You can have more than one if you want, Elizabeth. You've done so much to help so many businesses succeed that you deserve it!
 
Be sure to talk to Elizabeth for your marketing needs. You can visit her website www.EB&Associates.com, email her at eb@EBandAssociates.com or call 201-217-6608. If you're into the arts, please sign up to become a FREE member of her artist products, www.NEXTGENinsider.com. And be sure to keep checking the Women in Business Council blog to see which Hoboken success story is featured next!