We were lucky to catch up with Heather Frechette-Crowley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Root Marketing was born out of 22 years of working for others and an entrepreneurial spirit I didn’t know I had.

My parents owned a small business, but I had no interest in being an entrepreneur. My father’s advice that, ‘You’ll never be truly happy until you’re your own boss,’ just didn’t resonate.

I was on my own path where the harder you worked, the higher you climbed—or so I thought.
Like everything, Corporate America has its good and bad sides, and during my 20+ years in corporate marketing, I experienced both.

Knowing I could count on a certain amount of money each month gave me peace of mind. There was a sense of stability and safety until there wasn’t.

Over the years, I saw entire creative departments let go due to corporate restructuring and felt the impact of mergers and acquisitions. I watched colleagues, once deemed essential, fall victim to the latest reduction in force. Some of these reorgs were linked to changes in the marketplace, but often there was no rhyme or reason.

I learned that in the 21st century, no matter how high on the ladder you climbed, there were no guarantees. So, I did what most young go-getters do; I constantly searched for the next great opportunity.

I changed industries, worked for businesses of different sizes, and held leadership and independent contributor roles, but couldn’t seem to find what I needed. It was all the same game, just different players.

In 2018, I was the director of product marketing for a company owned by a private equity firm. We were fast approaching the end of our holding period and as my CMO shared, the PE firm was aggressively shining the apple to entice potential buyers. During this process, my role was eliminated.

When my CMO, who I greatly respected, shared the news over Zoom, I simply nodded. I wasn’t angry or honestly all that shocked. In fact, my boss was concerned about how well I took the news. I explained that I had been thinking about going out on my own and felt like this was God’s way of pushing me out of the nest.

Over the next year, I devoted myself to networking. I was fortunate enough to be mentored by a group of women who, years earlier, had been where I was. I credit them with showing me that there was a way forward and that it was worth the effort.
In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if Root Marketing would work in the way I needed. I wasn’t solving a unique problem or providing anything groundbreaking. But as I continued to talk to business owners and better understood their current marketing options it became clear there was an opportunity.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In elementary school, I was the student teachers referred to as a ‘social butterfly,’ and as I got older, I fell in love with creative writing. When it came time for college, I leaned into my strengths (i.e., writing and talking to people) and majored in marketing.

I help service providers nail their brand messaging and then use that messaging to create content that connects with the right audience. Many service providers suffer from the curse of knowledge—they’re experts but have a hard time creating content that resonates with their audience.

As a Certified StoryBrand Guide, I use a proven framework to clarify my clients’ brand messages and implement them through website copy, email campaigns, and lead generators.

My proudest moments are when clients say things like, ‘I’ve been trying to figure this out for eight years, and you did it in a week!’ or ‘You sound more like me than I do!’

I understand how hard it is to trust someone outside your business with your brand voice. That’s why I spend time getting to know each client and their specific goals and challenges. Agencies often rely on quantity to cover overhead and ad spend. Root Marketing is lean, so I rely on quality.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Building A StoryBrand by Donald Miller changed the way I approach marketing. His narrative method is brilliant in its simplicity! When I later became a Certified StoryBrand Guide, having access to his framework and the StoryBrand community gave me a confidence boost.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

As trite as it sounds, I think the best way to build brand loyalty is to really listen to a client and do good work. I send a monthly email with marketing tips and try to stay connected by commenting on clients’ social media accounts and sending individual emails when I come across something relevant.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rootmktg.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/root_mktg/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RootMktg/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherfcrowley
• Youtube: @rootmarketing44
• Other: https://marketingmadesimple.com/Heather-Frechette-Crowley

Image Credits

Elisabeth Waller