Marketing Made Simple

With so much opportunity to connect with people, we are all struggling to be unique and break through the clutter of modern marketing.

Marketing can seem overwhelming and expensive; it doesn’t have to be. I can help you reach your short and long-term business goals without overwhelming your budget with uneeded services. 

Why communications?

Why you? Why now?

The days of operating in a vacuum are over; there is more competition and digital noise than ever before. Over 77% of American's having a digital device exposing them to over 4,000 pieces of branded content every day. If you aren't engaging with your potential customers in a meaningful way, you are a missing out. We have more access to data and analytics than ever before, making engagement and marketing a measurable expense. No matter the industry, there are better ways to separate yourself from your competition and effectively tell your story by building a strong brand, clarifiying your value, and telling your story to the right people at the right time using the right media.

 

The Process

Brand discovery

Assess your current communications

Design for the present, plan for the future

Organize internal communications to build "one" brand voice

Define your audience and connect with them

Build relevant messages to attract your best customers

 

Internal Communications

Before you can tell your audience why you matter in their life, you have to have an understanding of the current state of your communications. You need to build a strong foundation for your brand, which all other messaging and strategies will grow from. If you don’t have a solid foundation you are making life harder for yourself.
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COMMS ASSESSMENT

Assessing your current brand and communication efforts is the best way to chose a path forward when designing a communication plan to reach your goals. An assessment entails in depth assessment of the organization, leadership level interviews, and potential surveys. Information being assessed often includes but is not limited to:  content, social media, collateral, website, brand voice, and logo.

BRAND STRATEGY

Do you know your current brand, and does all your communications speak to that brand? Is your communication clear and consistant in order to align your brand with the appropriate value which your company or organization exists to provide? All branding efforts start within the organization and the people who work there. If you and your employees are unclear about your differentiation in the market, and sharing different messages, you are likely confusing your audiences.

CONTENT ANALYSIS

With 4,000-10,000 pieces of branded content coming across our eyes daily, you need to have effective content to engage your audiences and tell your story. A content analysis will evaluate all images, videos, letters, websites, social media, and collateral. Maybe your current content is engaging and evokes emotion and tells the story of your business or organization. If it doesn’t you are missing a great opportunity to  break through the noise and stand out.

External Communications

Once the foundation is set it is time to tell the world. Using time honored communication theories tied with modern practices, your audiences can be defined and targeted to get the maximum effect of your communicaiton and content strategies across various media.
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CONTENT STRATEGY

Content is all of the pieces of communication that pass your audiences eyes. The ways your audiences see, feel, taste, and experience your brand.  Content is used to elicit feelings, thoughts, tell a story, all while being engaging and visually appealing. This content needs to be in alignment with your brand strategy and can help change perceptions and increase awareness among your audiences.

CUSTOMER PERSONAS

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of communications is defining the receiver of the message. Customer personas, user experience, and journey maps are crucial in understanding how to reach your audience, at what time, on what media, with what message. We will be using these to maximize your brand touchpoints.  By clearly defning who your target audience is, we can use buyer behavior analysis to clearly define your audience and  increase message effeciveness.

ENGAGEMENT

With over 77% of the population carrying a mobile device in their pocket, you cannot neglect a digital strategy. Your target audience uses these devices in very specific ways that are unique to them. We can help you build best practices and current market data and research to create a dynamic framework of operating with various digital assets to reach the right audiences to reach your goals.

  Dave Wentzel | Owner & Strategist

I have always excelled in helping others reach their full potential. I believe in having a purpose to move and motivate people to make an impact on others. My purpose is to help my clients do their best work by helping them truly understand their product/services, and how to best communicate effective messages to specific audiences. My experience includes 10 years of high-level organizational leadership and project management experience in the United States Army, public relations experience working  for a member of Congress, and executive level management for a large foundation. I have also served on several non profit boards, and helped build one. I use my analytical personality teamed with my creativity to help clients better understand their business, thier customres, and how to connect the two.

I am energized by helping motivated and driven people who want to make an impact through their products, programs, and services. I am a driven and competitive problem solver, bringing my passion for process improvement and creativity to every challenge. The word “can’t” does not exist in my vocabulary.

 

My Story
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Not Everyone is a Fit

Not everyone can be the perfect client. I have had my share of clients who where just not a good fit. If someone immediately offers digital marketing as your silver bullet solution, they are full of shit;  you will wake up one day with your money missing with only flashy artwork to show for it.

Marketing happens in an ecosystem with a mix of integrated media strategies. If you only want Facebook likes and digital ads on the cheap, my services are not a fit for you. I start from the foundation of the brand and build the strategy from there.

I help brands understand who they are, what problem they are solving for their customers, and how to articulate it through appropriate media channels. 

I will help you understand your product and industry through a lens that will change the way you do business; you will walk away feeling energized knowing more about your perspective clients than ever before.

What Clients are Saying

” You have got our wheels turning in a way we haven’t thought of before. And it was so helpful to walk through so many different things. People have tried helping us with this stuff in the past but it never stuck in my brain. All this active practice actually has some of it making sense to me for once. You are great at connecting and making this whole process a lot more comfortable. Thank you! “

THiNQ Success LLC

“A major concern of our member has been the transportation infrastructure (or lack thereof) in Anoka county. Covering 21 very different municipalities within the county, we wanted to see if we could identify enough common ground among key stakeholders so we could better advocate for our region with a more unified approach. Despite the unforeseen COVID pandemic, Dave was able to manage the project and reach all deliverables within the projected timeline. Dave conducted research on 21 municipalities, interviews with key stakeholders across the county, and executed a county wide survey to gain perceptions of transportation and infrastructure from chamber members. Dave’s work provided a solid foundation for the MetroNorth Chamber to move forward with building a transportation coalition to empower the voice of Anoka County’s business community. ”  
Lori Higgins

President, MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce

“I selected Dave for a special project to create and publish the standards and conduct manual for the 2nd Brigade, 34th Infantry Division. This all encompassing document acts as a living policy, which impacts the conduct and discipline of over 3,000 Iowa National Guard Soldiers. Due to Covid 19, he worked remotely, so I did not give him much guidance or oversight on the project, just some simple direction and vision and let him loose. Dave made quick work of the project, and developed a great product that we will use to shape the future of our Brigade Combat Team. I extended his orders so he could build several other products that will be used to guide the career development of soldiers at all levels of the organization. I was extremely happy with his production and contribution to the Iowa National Guard.”  
Matthew Strasser

Command Sergeant Major, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa National Guard

“Dave completely changed the way my office communicates with our constituents. His understanding of reaching audiences of different generations and media consumption is unmatched from any consultant I have worked with in the past. He’s been a great asset to our office’s branding and outreach efforts.”  
Chris Hinton

Director, Waseca County Veterans Service Office

“As an entrepreneur trying to build my own photography business, I had a lot of questions. Dave was able to help me recognize the competative landscape in order to position myself and build a brand in a saturated market. I’m now successfully connecting with my potential clients, and able to enjoy the work I do without worring about finding customers.”
Jenica Haas

Owner/Photographer, Joy by Jenica

“Dave’s communication assessment of our organization really gave us valuable insights into ways to improve our communications both internally and externally. His internal communication survey of 100 of our employees gave us great data to get a pulse on the way we currently communicate with our employees and clients. “
Amanda Mackie

Executive Director, Minnesota Valley Action Council

The Blog

Step into my mind and see what I see. My blog is a place for me to collect my thoughts and share with my clients and the general public. I try to think creatively about modern communication topics and issues that my clients are facing. This is my creative space to write about whatever the hell I want to  write about. I hope you can stop by and get a behind the scenes look into the mind of the visionary!
Go to the blog

Book Reviews

Input is one of my character strengths. I found myself contstantly searching for clarity and knowlege on topics I was not completly competent in. This thirst for knowlege led me to reading an outrageous number of books! With a desire to share content and my experience with my clients, I decided, hell, why not do book reviews. In that moment, the book reviews were born!
Go to reviews

Exposures to Branded Content Per Day

Break Through the Clutter

With exposure up to 10,000 ads per day, it is hard to clear through the clutter to resonate with audiences.

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Second Attention Span (of a goldfish)

Grab Their Attention!

You have less than 8 seconds to grab your audience’s attention so you need to make an impact, not an impression.

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Increased Video Consumption Per Year

Media Consumption

Keeping up on trends isn’t easy. The way we communicate and consume media is constantly evolving.

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%

Of Americans Have a Smart Phone

Computers in Our Pockets

Phones allow us unpresidented access to potential customers. Target them and tell your story effectively.

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I would love to connect, learn more about your business/organization, and see how I can help you reach your business goals through effective marketing.