Proven business growth strategies from one of Australia's best founders

Introducing a new product or a business to the market can be hard and frustrating for new entrepreneurs. It is vital to have an eye for opportunities and be able to use it to leverage and get the approval of consumers.

We’re back with Mark Livings of Lyre’s Spirit Co, whose mission is to change the way the world drinks. Since the previous interview with Mark, Lyre’s has reached tremendous success locally and internationally, racking up 21 distributors across the globe. Today, he’s here with us to talk about the challenges in scaling, as well as the most effective growth and marketing strategies.

Just like the first interview, you’ll get tremendous business and marketing insights and know-how from this episode. Make sure to tune in to find out how you can also scale successfully.

About Our Guest:

Mark Livings is the founder of Lyre’s Spirits Co, a globally distributed non-alcoholic spirits brand. He is also a co-founder of a diverse portfolio of businesses in the FMCG/CPG industry across marketing and advertising, logistics and fulfilment, consumer brand creation, as well as print and merchandise production. He is the Director of the Aussie Founders Network and an Executive Board Member of the Queensland Olympic Council.

The Secrets To Successful Scaling

The Growth Of Lyre’s

Only six months into their journey, Lyre’s had already entered New Zealand, US, and UK markets PLUS 17 other international markets.
Finding their “Goldilocks’ zone” distributor has been formative to the brand’s growth.
From January 2020, Lyre’s will be available in Sainsbury’s UK.

The Long Road Versus The Short Road

The long road: You find a distributor, and then wait to get a meeting. After that comes the presentation, negotiation of price, until you get to the contract.
The short road: Optimizing the network of investors.
Through the short route, they were able to present Lyre’s to Sainsbury’s Future Brands team.

Having The Right Mindset

“Meetings can change the destiny of your business as you run them.”
You have to tell your story and show your passion.
The centrepiece of every entrepreneur’s presentation should be improving the customer experience.
Quantify the opportunity and show how your brand fits into the changing landscape of consumer behaviour.

Three Biggest Wins

First: Bagging multiple awards for the quality of their product.
Second: Forming a partnership with Amazon.
Third: Putting together an incredible team.

The Importance Of Networks and Relationships

Never forget to water the garden of the network. Introductions are formative to business success.
Mark’s number one tip: start early. “Do it often with high-quality people that share your vision and principles.”
Be empathetic with the people to whom you’re selling.

The Business Journey

Getting people to repurchase your product is highly dependent on the quality of your product.
Become an advocate; create an emotional connection with your brand.
Forming an online community and using incentives can move people to advocacy and turn them into absolute rabid fans.

Language In The Industry

They named it “Lyre’s Spirit” because people are familiar with the word, and it is associated with the high intensity that you associate with beverages.
Technology and human languages simultaneously evolve.

Growth And Marketing Strategy

Mark’s number one growth strategy is the distributor model.
Their resolve is to only sell their products in channels where alcoholic products are available.
They focus on helping the media articulate and using brand ambassadors to educate what their products are.

The Challenges In Scaling

You can’t be inflexible in adapting to different markets.
Localise your brand, but keep it consistent.
Keeping the company’s vision

Keeping Yourself Together

- Build systems and processes that alleviate the number of hours spent on scaling the business.
- It is vital for everyone in the team to support each other.
- Recognise limits as well.

Resources

Our previous interview with Mark Livings

You can reach Mark on his LinkedIn profile.

Get your non-alcoholic spirits today at Lyre’s website – use the discount code SBBM15
*Offer available until stated otherwise. Lyre’s reserves the right to cancel offer at any time. Discount is not available on online gift vouchers, all gift sets/bundles or sale items. Promo is one-time use and cannot be combined with other offers. Lyre’s general promo code terms and conditions apply. Promo code required to be entered at checkout (as advertised)

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This week’s Monster Prize Draw winner:

Andrew Simpson of My Health Team – a team of high performing physiotherapists, podiatrists, exercise physiologists, psychologists and dietitians all working in sync to help you fix your pain, all under the one roof.

This week’s podcast sponsor:

This mind-expanding episode 489 of The (award-winning) Small Business Big Marketing Show is brought to you thanks to Your Ultimate Marketing Resources List.

Thanks also to Charley and the team at Valher Media for putting this episode together.

If something in this episode of Australia’s favourite marketing podcast piqued your interest, then let me know by leaving a comment below.

May your marketing be the best marketing.