A Brand-Driven Approach to Inbound Agency
Key Takeaways
- Product innovation moves too fast to compete solely on differentiation - brand storytelling provides lasting positioning
- Cross-disciplinary teams of 5-9 people managing 2-5 clients with individual P&L responsibility create accountability
- An 8-week client onboarding process that starts with connecting the client's vision to agency services sets the foundation
Tiffany Sauder, president of Element Three, an Indianapolis-based marketing agency, joins the show to discuss how a brand-driven approach strengthens inbound agency work.
Brand Meets Inbound
Tiffany has a finance degree that gives her a unique business-focused perspective. After Element Three struggled to differentiate itself for its first five years, becoming a HubSpot partner and leaning into inbound provided structure. But Tiffany is careful to maintain equilibrium between brand storytelling and the mathematical approach of inbound, emphasizing that agencies should focus on client benefits using “you get” language rather than “we have.”
Team Structure and Accountability
Element Three operates with a 45-person team, all Indianapolis-based. The agency organizes around cross-disciplinary teams of 5-9 people, with each team managing 2-5 clients and carrying individual P&L responsibility. This structure works best with fewer, larger clients and creates clear accountability at the team level.
Client Onboarding
The agency’s 8-week onboarding process starts by connecting the client’s vision to the agency’s services. From there, the team gathers independent marketplace feedback, conducts customer interviews and competitor analysis, tests messaging in the marketplace, and requires leadership openness to being wrong. Tiffany points to Airstream travel trailers as an example - their marketing focused on adventure discovery rather than product features, creating an emotional connection that transcended the product itself.
Cultural onboarding for new employees includes mentorship and welcome boxes with office lingo. Annual reviews measure employees against defined values, ensuring culture remains intentional as the team grows.