.png){kind=icon}
Forbes Agency Council member Stormie Andrews is CEO and founder of Yokel Local, an inbound marketing agency that helps businesses improve their online visibility on search engines, social media and the use of email marketing. With experience in inbound online marketing and selling techniques, Stormie was given the 2015-16 Member of the Year Award from the American Marketing Association. In June of 2016, Yokel Local became a Silver Agency partner with Hubspot.
How did your career as an agency executive take off, and what do you attribute your success to most?
I attribute our success to continually providing value and giving back to our local business community. I know it sounds clichéd, but it's true. We started Yokel Local in 2010 in Las Vegas. The U.S. economy was in shambles, and Las Vegas was at the epicenter of the housing crisis. We began Yokel Local with the idea of helping local businesses not only survive, but grow their business by compelling them to treat their online presence as an actual sales employee. If they had a good digital employee (a website), we showed them how to manage that employee to make it better. If they had a poor digital employee, we helped them manage that employee to become profitable.
Since day one, we have strived to provide guidance and assistance to help many small and medium-sized businesses succeed online. It's these business owners who have become our biggest advocates. This is what has allowed us to flourish, not only in our local market but in other parts of the country too. Last month, Yokel Local was recognized as the 2015-2016 Member of the Year from the Las Vegas American Marketing Association as recognition of our dedication to our craft.
How do you keep yourself creative and driven regardless of how busy you are day to day?
I'm always challenging myself to see the world through the eyes of others. Every single person on the planet has their unique way of seeing things. We all naturally compare any information we consume with our unique past experiences, beliefs and education. The better I become at getting out of my head and into the thought processes of others, the more effective I can be at creating messaging that resonates with people other than myself.
What do you see as the future of media strategy or advertising?
I see personalized, contextual messaging based on the customer. With today's technology, it's not hard to imagine a very near future where consumers of goods and services only see the right messaging at the right time. I think the leaders in our industry will be the ones who position themselves from the masses by embracing this philosophy and becoming more skilled at creating messaging that is hyper-focused on the right person at all times. It's messaging so precise that it compels consumers to believe that it was created specifically for them.
What is your best PR, marketing or advertising tip for businesses?
Always put strategy before execution. Period. I would start with the following: get with your team and identify exactly what your ideal client looks like; determine their challenges, goals, thoughts, concerns, objections and questions they typically have when it comes to your goods and services; focus on delivering a targeted message that addresses and speaks to them in every stage of the buying cycle.
