MARKETING SOUL meets DATA BRAIN
An interview with Joanne
Question: What do you love most about your work?
Answer: Marketing IS as exciting as everyone thinks it is … it’s also exhausting.
I know I landed here, in the creative world of marketing, because it lets me use my talents naturally.
In marketing, there are always new designs ideas, innovative ways to create opportunity in the market, and life is much easier with great digital tools. Marketing sparks my inner creative soul, but creating visually appealing content also requires looking at that same art 100 times → and that’s exhausting.
Project management takes commitment. I learned quickly that my attention to detail let's me push forward each new view of the same design.
Okay, so I’m a bit of a geek, who likes to color. That fits into the definition of being a marketing guru, doesn’t it?
“Marketing IS as exciting as everyone thinks it is.
It is also exhausting.”
”
Questions: What Inspired You To Start Your Own Business?
Answer: Back in my banking days, my colleagues would bring me ‘the marketing manager’ to visit at customer appointments. I was on the team that started ‘small business banking’ and on these appointments I learned that business owners love to chat about their brand and their business marketing ideas. And they wanted to talk about new trends in marketing.
In 2000 or so, during my corporate life at Fifth Third Bank, I was visiting business owners to feature them in a corporate banking ‘testimonial advertising campaign.’ After chatting about the project, I always asked to tour the facility.
During that tour the owner was asking for some ‘free marketing advice.’ They couldn’t afford to keep a full-time marketer on staff. There was a huge need for on demand marketing.
You have to work with businesses the way they want to. Period.
That’s when I started noticing the trend - small business needs access to marketing —> and wanted insights on marketing tactics - why they work and why they don’t. I recently spoke at a solo-preneur summit that was designed around small business marketing starters.
There has always been marketing for hire from plenty of project freelancers OR big marketing agencies (with teams that could work on the project alongside a hefty fee). I remember some of the advertising agencies we interviewed wanted to pigeon hole us into their service model. That just didn’t work. And it doesn’t work for business owners either.
No SINGLE firm could provide affordable one-stop-solutions. You have to work with businesses the way they want to. Period.
It felt natural for me to service this niche with quality marketing, and delivered in a way small business can afford.
Besides, I get to merge my creative soul with my data brain. I like being my own boss AND doing the work like content writing. It’s a people job where I help owners make decisions based in data.
Question: What Should Most Marketers Understand About Their Role in Todays Online World?
Answer: Numbers Don’t Lie. Really Great marketers love data! In any aspect of marketing today, analytics are easy to access. The best marketing decisions and most successful campaigns use data. Data is used to measure results, sure, but data ties into the creative process too.
Data gives us the insight into how to structure your strategy. For example, the analytics can determine which target audience to focus on during a particular stretch of time. That ‘audience persona’ will drive the creative. We use different images to target soccer moms buying your product versus say a savvy professional, who is short on time. Need content ideas.
What’s the next hot trend? We can identify DAILY NEW ONLINE TOP SEARCH Trends. Daily! That’s just astonishing information at your fingertips.
Analytics will also justify your marketing budget or sell that big project to the boss. If it’s clear that your business is reaching consumers with a particular investment, its worthwhile to continue on that path. Data tells us that. Don’t stop what’s working.
“Even with the tech boom, where everyone has a computer in their pocket, we are all still reading.
So lets craft great content that is relevant. This can work wonders for your business.””
Then there’s writing. Writing NEVER goes out of style. And I love to write. Even with the tech boom where everyone has a computer in their pocket, we are all still reading. That means someone is writing . . . and I hope it’s me.
So let’s craft genuine content that is relevant. This can work wonders for your business. Coming up with messages that align with your clients is rewarding and fun! Did I mention I love writing and now I have an excuse to do it everyday (nearly).
Question: What Else Makes a Great Marketer?
Answer: You need to Like People! Marketing is about connecting with audiences <— that’s all people. Understanding buying decisions and human psychology helps drive marketing strategy. I get to work alongside creative people every day. And because I am a geek, and following my husbands philosophy of being a life-long learner, I get to learn from my fellow creative souls.
Relating well to people let’s me be a successful on demand marketer. Our human dynamic is NEVER boring. That lens gives me a flexible approach to work with dynamic teams, I understand everyone adds value. We get to work together to generate marketing ideas and make long time connections. Collaboration with you and your co-workers is an essential part of what I do.
There are humans amongst all this marketing technology! How cool is that!
Learn about those who helped us get here on the Credits Page.
Creative at her core ...
Question: Why Should Clients Choose You?
Answer: Our Purpose is to Deliver WOW! I mean come on, that’s a big statement. How many marketers said they can wow you? But part of that secret sauce is because I like to do things the way that’s best for clients. I don’t have to sell what’s best — because the clients goals come first. As owner I get to work the way clients want to (and that’s rare).
Why us? Because We’re Daring. It’s daring to say choose our firm, but because we provide both on demand marketing support and online marketing services - that is all that we do.
The original idea was to create a firm of marketing experts who could service business owners. Over the years the firm has evolved, but we never lost sight of our customer. We evolved to add focus on empowering women in the design and tech spaces. Along side these leaders, everything we do is centered on the fundamental goal: getting you customers. And that is always the best business marketing solution.
ABOUT JOANNE KLEE
Joanne Klée provides on demand marketing as an independent Chicago Based Marketing Agency since 2005.
As a marketing agency and technology partner, she works with clients to drive great revenue-focused results & connect them closely to customers.
Joanne is creative at her core and makes marketing easy for business owners. As an AWARD WINNING marketing professional she has a unique background working on both the client and agency side.
In Real Life Photo, An Interview with Joanne Klee
What a CV won’t tell you . . .
THE INNER GEEK
Joanne graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northeastern Illinois University. After starting her corporate career, she was appointed one of the youngest officers of the bank at 25 years old, and finishing her corporate career as Marketing Assistance Vice President. Joanne has led marketing departments at high-growth financial institutions. Her experience spans from exciting million-dollar retail advertising campaigns to low-cost grassroots initiatives. As a corporate project leader, she maintained a financial profit and loss (P&L statement) + developed return on Marketing investment (roMi) protocol. All her marketing initiatives need to make solid business sense and align with business goals. Shortly after leaving her corporate career she started her firm Joanne Klee Marketing, and never looked back.
INTERESTS
Joanne has traveled around the world: 4 continents, 7 countries, 45 states (and counting). She can say something in over a dozen languages + mówię po polsku + hablo un poco de español. Her talents include on and off stage roles in several theater productions, including set design and seamstress work. She loves the work she does because it expresses her creative side (seriously, she is left-handed).
. . . Read the CREDITS page to learn more about how Joanne developed her unique approach to business.
ON DEMAND MARKETING
Joanne always worked on the ‘client side’ of the business. Partnering with Marketing and Advertising Agencies digging into the growth goals & generating ideas. Now as owner of her marketing firm, she aligns her marketing with the clients brand. She developed her on demand marketing service because she understands business owners in small business and corporate. As your marketing partner she can assess goals and budgets and act as your fractional CMO, and the “temporary” marketing department.
Her wealth of experience gives business owners access to marketing + manage business opportunities.
EVENT MANAGEMENT EXPERT
Yes, there is one more niche that Joanne provides. She has managed dozens of events for business clients because her project management experience helps to make sure that EVERY DETAIL you ask for gets included in the final event. What’s more, Joanne applies her marketing skills to the event invitation, posters, banners and much more. It’s a unique custom event package that Joanne creates for your event.
Joanne Klee Marketing is an independent women-owned business. We are a provider of marketing and event management services since 2005.
CORPORATE MARKETING ACCOLADES
‘TESTIMONIAL’ ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
In her corporate tenure, Joanne's marketing insights and influence brought to life a “client testimonial” advertising series & campaign to increase brand exposure for the corporate division (serving businesses with $20+ million in annual sales).
DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN
Increased quarterly account growth. Her unique award-winning 3D direct mail campaign for small business ($5-20 million in annual sales).
THE RESULT //
A 1,500% roMi, a first ever achievement for the bank (that is not a typo: 1,500% has two zero's).
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Joanne's corporate tenure included her role as Mergers and Acquisitions marketing liaison at growth-driven financial institutions. Her experience includes the opening of a whirlwind 50+ de novo retail locations in two years.
GO TO MARKET STRATEGY
Joanne served as Marketing Manager for the M&A team and Joint Ventures, partnering to develop the “Go To Marketing Strategy” from building brand awareness to ‘drip campaigns,’ and 'unique events' drawing high customer traffic, alongside revenue integration.
THE RESULT //
The fastest arrival-at-profit for the new de novo's.
A Little Bit More ...
WHAT THE CLIENTS SAY ...
" ... thank you for being such a steady yet firm force the day-of. I really appreciated your honesty coupled with your understanding ..."
WORK WITH ME ...
For information on getting started, solutions we provide, our document storefront, or ... you get the idea.
CREDITS …
It takes a village ... Joanne shares in the credits details about those who helped make her dream of owning her Northwest Side Chicago Best Business Marketing Firm possible.
OUR FIRM PHILOSOPHY ...
Joanne Klee has received numerous industry awards + accolades + recognition for her marketing expertise, leadership and partnership. Learn more about how it started . . .
PAY IT FORWARD
“Always pay it forward.””
MENTORSHIP
Joanne frequently gives opportunities to those entrepreneurs who show excellence in their work.
Joanne continually mentors entrepreneurs because she remembers the early years of her career. Through trials and tribulations, the stumbling blocks became wonderful life lessons. She created opportunities and learned that "you keep going and don't stop before finding success."
Are you a catalyst for change, with great ideas, and data to support them? If you are smart, energetic and assertive you can make something here. Contact Joanne... let's get started.
VOLUNTEER WORK
Costume Designer and Seamstress: “Suessical the Musical.” Chicago Public Schools, Onahan Elementary School, 2014. See the final costumes here (it's 100 costumes ...whoa) and the design process here. Thanks to the Parent Volunteers who completed "Costume Kits."
Amateur Entomology Presentation: “Insects Are All Around.” Chicago Public Schools, McPherson Elementary School 2015; Chicago Public Schools, Burr Elementary School 2016. Available on YouTube "Insects are All Around."
"Annual Block Party" Organizer Extraordinaire.