Creating Awareness for Industry Leaders

 

IN HER WORDS

“It’s invaluable to have someone I can trust with our marketing. That’s not my job, it’s not what I do. I know bbr wouldn’t steer me somewhere they wouldn’t go themselves. Bonnie understands me and knows how to communicate with me. That’s essential, because that’s what we do with our clients.”

Donna Grindle, Founder & CEO

CHALLENGE

Atlanta-based Kardon provides HIPAA, security and privacy consulting, which founder and CEO Donna Grindle readily admits is not exciting. With only four team members, Grindle calls her operation not just a small company but a micro company. And while she considers herself a good consultant and teacher, she is not a marketing professional. Shortly after starting the firm, Donna realized she needed to find someone to help figure out how to market something as exciting as HIPAA.

Marketing HIPAA was a challenge not only for Grindle, but bbr, who had never worked in the HIPAA space. “Healthcare, and specifically HIPAA, was not necessarily in Bonnie’s wheelhouse at the time, but she was willing to learn it,” Donna said.

SOLUTION

The bbr team dug in to understand the HIPAA environment, researching competitors and trends in the industry. “And then she just took off,” Grindle said. “She continues to learn and grow with us.”

First up was the initial marketing plan, including a website. Grindle has the technical expertise to make a website work. “But I don’t know what it should look like or what words should be there. bbr identified keywords, and I’d say I hate them giving her more industry-specific terms. She was then able to turn it into something you can actually read and understand.”

Grindle quickly admits bbr has ebbed and flowed with Kardon as its grown. Within two weeks of creating the initial plan,  Grindle came back with an unanticipated opportunity, and bbr shifted course quickly to adapt.

A more recent project involved creating an “out-of-the-box” advertising campaign to target oral surgeons seeking HIPAA consulting.  “bbr sent me this crazy ad, saying she knew it was pushing the envelope. The visual was guy with hideous teeth saying, ‘I brushed my teeth last year, so I’m all good, right?’ to drive home the point that like HIPAA, you can’t just do it once and be done. But everyone knows us due to our ad now!” Grindle said. “People got it; it really stuck. It was shocking in a humorous way, which is my style.”

RESULT

bbr recently rebranded Kardon and created a brand new website too. Grindle noticed an immediate uptick in website traffic because of the new design and enhanced SEO.

“People really know our branding,” Grindle said. “It’s that recognition that you can’t put a dollar amount on. But the minute someone sees my card, they know our name. We’re small but we now have a national reach.”

“HIPAA consulting very complicated, and you can’t just become a privacy and security person overnight,” she said. “To have someone come along with us on that ride and adapt and evolve with us have been invaluable. She knows where we want to go and what we want to do, so I can’t imagine taking the journey without her.”