Nick Sharma says companies that pursue short-term profits at the expense of their brand face long-term hurdles. They often rely on advertising to drive sales, but struggle when costs become prohibitive.
His agent, Sharma Brands, advises the opposite. First, create a positive name identity. Affordable acquisition and maintenance follows.
He and I recently talked about brand strategy, successful companies, and more. The entire audio of our conversation is embedded below. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Eric Bandholz: Please tell us about yourself.
Nick Sharma: I run Sharma Brands, a growth agency. We primarily focus on pre-launch brands and brands with more than $30 million in annual revenue. Our main areas of expertise are website development and customer acquisition and retention.
Companies that succeed over time are strong brand recognition. When I see them, logo Thanks to their consistent and intentional brand activities, you immediately feel something. Brand awareness is more than just your website and advertising. What matters is how people talk about themselves and whether it causes a positive reaction.
Many brands that are thriving today invest in building their identity through creators and influencers. On the other hand, brands that focus solely on performance and marketing struggle, even if they achieve significant sales through advertising. For example, one of our clients has over $100 million in annual revenue, but relies too heavily on meta advertising, making it difficult to attract customers.
Bandholz: What channels are these brands finding success in?
Sharma: The key is to find a way to become part of that culture. Some brands are great at showcasing their products on TV, while others send thousands of products to creators every month. Creators create topics. Some brands may host national events or work with YouTube influencers to be the face of their campaigns. This type of content-driven marketing Improving brand awareness.
A great example is Waterboy, an Austin-based workout hydration brand with a prominent presence on TikTok. Their ads are successful because people are already familiar with the brand through organic content and short-form videos. This recognition means you don’t need to lead customers through a funnel to build trust; trust is already there.
Brands without this level of recognition, especially those with less than $10 million in annual sales, face significant challenges. They struggle to grow customer acquisition and maintain low cost-per-acquisition without ensuring their product fits the market. If you haven’t established a recognizable brand, it’s difficult to rely solely on paid media.
If you’re just starting out, you may be able to reach $100,000 in sales using Metafunnels, but you’ll need solid brand equity to scale beyond that becomes difficult. Building a brand is like paving a road. You don’t necessarily have to spend money on reach or billboards, but it’s important to associate positive emotions with your brand. Performance marketing is about the cars on the road. If you don’t build brand awareness first, it’s a tough road and you’ll end up paying a higher CPA.
Nutrition bar company David Protein is an example of a brand we support that got it right and succeeded. They launched with a strong brand presence, engaged content creators, produced many products, and generated buzz. They flooded the market with influencers talking about their products, which led to successful launches.
Bandholz: Did they have such a relationship before?
Sharma: Surprisingly, that’s not the case. As far as I can tell, a lot of their success comes from cold support, just reaching out to creators and saying, “Hey, here’s something new.” Novelty also played a role. Their bar was 150 calories and 28 grams of protein, which caught people’s attention. This site converts very well. We also opened a TikTok shop with a flash sale on the same day. This was interesting. So they got a ton of social proof in the first 48 hours on their TikTok shop, which also helped. We also had a major podcaster talk about the product, but we don’t know if it was through a paid partnership or a personal connection.
Showerhead brand Jolie is another great example. They have invested heavily in content creation, focusing on native content that fits the platform. They work with various creators who use their content as advertising. Next, Jolie performs some light retargeting functions on Meta to capture demand. They are generous with their influencer programs, sending products to creators who don’t have huge followings but are influential within their friend groups and local communities.
One of the benefits of Jolie is its subscription model. Every quarter, customers receive an easy-to-replace filter for their showerhead. Subscriptions are their branding — Look and feel better with a showerhead with a filter. Canceling your subscription means going back to being an unfiltered version of yourself that no one wants. This angle is a major reason for the low churn rate.
Bandholz: Let’s talk about website design. What seems to be converting well?
Sharma: After all, speed is the most important factor. a slow site It means losing customers. Additionally, user experience is also important. I like to think of websites as brick-and-mortar stores. The hero section on the home page is like the exterior of your store. It’s the first impression people get before entering a store. A collection page is like the inside of a store, and a product detail page is like a customer picking up a product to take a closer look. .
Many brands treat conversion rate optimization as simply changing a button color or tweaking text, but it’s more important than bridging the education gap. You want your customers to feel stupid for not buying your product. For example, David Protein’s website analyzes the cost per gram of protein to show that it is the most affordable option compared to its competitors. This comparison not only justifies the purchase but also increases conversions.
If you have a great product, direct comparisons with your competitors can be very effective. But such comparisons can backfire because if your product isn’t great, customers will find a better alternative. I once launched a beverage brand that was supported by athletes, but the taste wasn’t great. Despite marketing and high profile support, it struggled after launch as customers did not enjoy the product. No matter how good your branding and marketing is, if your product doesn’t deliver, you can’t rely on repeat purchases.
Bandholz: Where can people follow you?
Sharma: my website is Nik.co. my podcast is limited quantity. you can find me @Mrsharma With X.
