The Home Service Expert Podcast
Navigating the Digital Marketing Landscape with Kick Charge Creative
Fri, 16 May 2025
In this conversation, Dan Antonelli & Ryan Redding delve into the critical role of branding, digital marketing, and the long-term investment required for effective SEO. The conversation also highlights common misconceptions about the process of creating unique brand identities and the operational challenges businesses face in their growth journey. They emphasize the need for businesses to invest adequately in marketing channels, to leverage data for decision-making, and to engage with their communities through grassroots efforts. Don’t forget to register for Tommy’s event, Freedom 2025! This is the event where Tommy’s billion-dollar network will break down exactly how to accelerate your business and dominate your market in 2025. For more details visit freedomevent.com 00:00 The Responsibility of Branding 03:02 Kick Charge Creative's Evolution 06:06 The Importance of Digital Marketing 08:58 SEO vs. PPC: The Long Game 11:53 The Power of Branding in Home Services 15:00 Creating Unique Brand Identities 18:09 The Process of Effective Branding 21:00 Common Misconceptions About Branding 23:54 The Impact of Branding on Business Growth 26:57 Operational Challenges in Business Growth 29:51 The Philosophy Behind Responsible Branding 32:20 Building A-Plus Teams and Effective Marketing Strategies 39:55 The Importance of Branding and Community Engagement 40:04 The Role of Logos and Intellectual Property 44:54 The Power of Grit and Adaptability in Business 51:32 Leveraging Storytelling for Customer Loyalty 59:16 The Mindset Shift After Rebranding
Chapter 1: Who are the guests and what is Kick Charge Creative?
Chapter 2: Why is branding considered a serious responsibility?
You are playing with someone's livelihood when you design their brand and you need to treat that responsibility as such. And I think that that's the part that makes me a little bit sad about some of the stuff that we're seeing happening in the industry as far as branding or people that are selling branding services. Some of them just are not qualified to be doing it.
The person that wrote that check to you is expecting you to know how to do your job because you have the potential to really affect their business negatively if you do it wrong.
Welcome to the Home Service Expert, where each week, Tommy chats with world-class entrepreneurs and experts in various fields, like marketing, sales, hiring, and leadership, to find out what's really behind their success in business. Now, your host, the home service millionaire, Tommy Mello.
Before we get started, I wanted to share two important things with you. First, I want you to implement what you learned today. To do that, you'll have to take a lot of notes, but I also want you to fully concentrate on the interview. So I asked the team to take notes for you. Just text NOTES to 888-526-1299. That's 888-526-1299. And you'll receive a link to download the notes from today's episode.
Also, if you haven't got your copy of my newest book, Elevate, please go check it out. I'll share with you how I attracted and developed a winning team that helped me build a $200 million company in 22 states. Just go to elevateandwin.com forward slash podcast to get your copy. Now let's go back into the interview. All right, here we go, guys. Welcome back to the Home Service Expert Podcast.
Today, I got a couple of buddies in town that I owe a lot to. I got Dan Antonelli and Ryan Redding here. They're experts in branding, marketing, SEO, graphic design. Ryan is a CMO at Kick Charge Creative. Dan is the founder CEO of Kick Charge Creative as well. Dan is the president and chief operating officer of Kick Charge Creative, an award-winning New Jersey-based...
brand agency that specializes in helping home service businesses refine themselves and stand out with disruptive brands. Dan is a nationally recognized speaker and an expert on home service branding with several books on branding to his credit, including Building a Bigger Small Business Brand and his new amazing Amazon bestselling book, Branded, not blanded. Then I got Ryan Redding here.
He's an expert in SEO, PPC, LSA, web design, and digital strategy. Ryan has built a reputation for delivering real, measurable results in an industry where marketing is often misunderstood. He's been an instrumental driver of multi-millions of dollars for businesses across U.S. and Canada and is a trusted voice on marketing leadership and operations of the home service industry.
It's a pleasure to have you guys in the studio today. Thanks for being here, brother.
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Chapter 3: How has Kick Charge Creative evolved to include digital marketing?
Yeah, I'm excited. There's nothing better on the planet than talking about marketing and branding. For me, that's the favorite thing. And you guys got a pretty big announcement here. Why don't you tell the listeners what's going on with Kick Charge and some of the new updates?
Sure. Yeah. So we, you know, for I mean, this is our 30th year. So we have been doing branding for a really long time, branding, traditional graphic design services. And, you know, the missing piece of our puzzle was really digital marketing. And we wanted to really have that as part of our core offering so that we could really, truly offer something that was all in one.
So you could get your branding, you get your trucks, your brochures, your billboards, your valve packs. And then also have a killer branded website that not only was beautiful from an aesthetic point of view, but also functioned well from a digital marketing perspective.
And Ryan comes from Levergy, which is a really well-known and respected digital marketing company that specializes in home services. So for us, it was a natural acquisition to really compliment our services. And now what's beautiful about is, you know, soup to nuts, we can handle everything.
I love it. Ryan, what are your thoughts?
I mean, it's okay, I guess. I mean, the reality is, like, from the marketing side, right, it's so important because Google is such a big gorilla to make anonymous companies kind of stand out. If they all look the same, sound the same, are named the same. So anytime we would have a chance at Leverage to join with a kick-charge brand, it was just so much easier to get the lift we were hoping for.
So now that we're actually pulled together, it's just a game changer. It's been a ton of fun to do this.
Yeah. Yeah. So again, it was just nice to, instead of having like a generic website where someone just literally slaps your logo on the top of it and it feels kind of like everyone else's website, except maybe changing the color of the buttons and things like that. Now, like the brand that we design can live and breathe in that environment.
And not only just the aesthetics, but the voice of the brand is something that we can build into the websites as So super excited about it. It's just, you know, really something that I think doesn't really exist right now as far as having that cohesive, you know, look of all the touch points. So everywhere that customer is interacting with your brand, they're getting the same message.
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Chapter 4: What distinguishes effective digital marketing in home services?
Yeah. I mean, you guys did A1Garage.com's website and, you know, it's killer. And I know that you kind of used other companies to help with that. And now it's all in-house, which is huge. What I like about what Ryan does is, is you measure everything. You've got all in-house people. You don't... Most... I'd say 90% of people are subbing out to India. They're subbing out to the Philippines.
You've got an in-house team. You care. You understand not only organic, which is important, and what people view your brand at, but you understand all the other elements. PPC, LSA, Google My Business. And you guys are a one-stop shop. And, you know, you put your name on the line. And you're willing to deliver. And you show the results. And...
Guys, if you want to, we're going to give you a link in here to go look at all the different companies that have worked with Dan over the years. And really, you add Ryan to it, and these numbers will double. Not only does the conversion rate help Dan, but the average ticket goes up, and the cancellation rates go down, and people will apply to you that you didn't think would ever come.
Your door will be knocked down. But here's where Ryan comes in. Your cost per lead will go down exponentially, and that's where you win. A lot of people, if you got one van, no one's ever going to really see it. You can't be everywhere with one van, so you got to be digital marketing. Ryan, what do you think separates...
The marketing you guys do from, you know, there's a lot of big companies out there. I'm not even going to name them, but I never, there's not a lot of happy clients from them.
There's not. And I think in part because for a lot of people, digital marketing feels like snake oil. Like you don't know, you get missing information or wrong information from a bunch of different people. There are bad operators. I don't think they all are. One of the things that we've taken pride on is we take a lot of time to educate people.
the companies we work with on what they should expect with PPC, what they should expect with SEO, so that there's just – I want them to know more from a managerial level. I don't expect them to manage a PPC campaign on themselves. Like that's not fun for anybody.
But I do want them to understand it from a managerial level, how to make decisions about it, so that when we come back in three months, six months, 12 months, 24 months and go, look, hey, we have an 80 to 1 ROI that we can mathematically demonstrate here. They understand what goes into that and actually trust the numbers.
So it becomes one of those things where when you're honest, when you're transparent and you pull people along, it makes it a whole lot easier to not feel like you're in the dark, you don't understand what's happening. So, yeah, being able to stand behind those results and upskill the knowledge of the company to process is really, really frigging important.
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Chapter 5: Why is SEO a long-term investment compared to PPC?
Sometimes more. And a lot of people quit. They punch out. They're like, I can't keep writing these checks. But the ones that stick it out, like month nine, they make 2K. Month 12, they make 45K. The companies we've been working with for four, five, six, seven years, without exception, are making in excess of 80 to one ROAS. Without exception on organic. Those are not year one results.
And I think a lot of people don't want to put themselves in that delayed gratification. PPC, for all the things I hate about it, it is really good about targeting people. Right. So you get this instant thing that's happening, but all you're buying is clicks. There's no loyalty. There's nothing there. It's just very, very high cost of acquisition, very, very low ROI.
That's like a rat race I want to get people out of fast.
I got a lot of questions for Dan here too. I was looking at my numbers last – Q4 of last year. And I was spending $800K a month minimum on PPC. And I looked at my SEO, which you guys are going to be helping with dramatically. And I'm sitting there going, I'm only spending $10,000 a month. Now I'm spending $25,000 a month. I'm going to start spending a lot of money.
And people are like, I know I'm not going to get instant results, but do you understand even 25,000 is what one to 32 times? Because if you go to 800,000, like people understand, and I know AI is changing, but you got to be everywhere. Like if you're going to build a big business, if you just want to get your business to $500,000 profit, just do paid.
Like if you just want to be ordinary and never build anything worth anything, um, Because I guarantee when I look at your business and I find out you're not paying yourself and you're underpaying your managers, your business is worth nothing even at $500,000. Like when I walk through it. But, Dan, tell me a little bit about why branding is so crucial. I believe this.
I was $30 million when I found you. Now we're $300 million, 10X since I rebranded. And that wasn't – it feels like it was six years ago.
Yeah.
But talk to me about why branding is so crucial for the home service industry and home improvement.
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Chapter 6: How does branding impact customer perception and business growth?
How big of a mistake is that when you put all these accolades and no one even knows what your brand is?
Yeah. I mean, people forget that when you're thinking about the truck, you want to think about it as if it was an actual billboard. So if it was a billboard and you're driving by that billboard on the highway at 60, 70 miles an hour, how much time do you have to process what you're being presented? A couple seconds. So what can I put on there that is sticky that they will remember?
And that's most important. And that's the single most important thing is your brand name, right? Because the it's easy for them to contact you if they know your brand name. They're gonna find you on Google, right? They're gonna just type in your name. That's why people get hung up on, hey, I need to have a big phone number on my truck. And I always laugh and I say, you know what?
Listen, the bigger your phone number, the weaker your brand is. Because really, when was the last time you took your phone out and you literally dialed digits to contact someone. You don't do it that way, right? So half the reps that we do today don't even have a phone number because it's not relevant. It's not really that important. And it's not a call to action, that truck.
It's something, again, meant to live in someone's mind for when they need service later on.
The best thing you do, the only thing I've ever done is snap a picture real quick. And either way, I'm going to look up the company and see if they got good reviews regardless.
Exactly. So people say, hey, let me put my QR code on the side of my van. Really? So what? I'm driving next to you and I'm going to scan the QR code? Oh, well, it's for when I'm parked. Again, how many people at that very moment need your services? So we don't believe in huge QR codes, putting them on the side of vehicles. It's not a call to action. It's meant for building your brand.
It just takes up the real estate. So you've worked with a few thousand companies to brand them or rebrand them. How do you identify and implement the key branding elements that align with each client's specific audience and values?
So, you know, research is a big part of it. Right. So what are your competitors? What does the market look like? Right. So you look at what's happening already in the marketplace. How long does that take? I mean, it takes it's not it doesn't take a long time, but you have to really go in and look and see where the opportunity is. And that's where the thought process comes in.
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Chapter 7: What is the process for creating unique and effective brand identities?
And so when, if you just think it's a logo, cool, just have your teenage daughter do something like that's fine, but that's not persuasion. That's not nudging. That's not Dan always describes as like living rent free in their brain. Like that is, that is a really powerful effect that not just anything does. So I think a lot of people stop short at just the logo.
They don't really incorporate it in the culture. They don't really incorporate it in the marketing message, the brand promise, and the actual experience that customers have. Yeah, I think that's probably one of the biggest misconceptions, I'd say.
I think when people say or they hear how much it costs to actually get a real brand and they're like, that much and they'll say something like for just a logo. And if your mindset is it's just a logo, then you really truly have no understanding of branding and what that will do for your business and how will it affect everything across your channels.
That's why you mentioned earlier about the lifeblood of your business. And this is the area that you want to save the most amount of money on. This is the area you want to skimp on is your brand really. And then these are the same people that are really upset with how much it costs them every month to buy leads on Google.
So these are the same people whose booking rate sucks and their close rate sucks and their average tickets suck. And all those things are related to brand. It's all connected. So it's kind of I think that misconception about what a logo is and not understanding that a logo is just a piece of that brand. It's the foundation for it for sure.
Like you get that piece wrong and none of your marketing channels are actually gonna perform well.
Yeah, I sometimes, like when I'm talking with clients or people at a show, I'll usually ask the question, like, okay, close your eyes and think about a luxury car.
Yeah.
Right? What is it? So for them, they'll name something like BMW or Mercedes, whatever, right? It doesn't matter. Cool. What does it feel like? What does it smell like? And every time, these people can, like, recall these sensory expressions. Right. Even if they don't own a BMW, even if they don't own a Mercedes, they can recall what it feels like, what it smells like. That is the power of brand.
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Chapter 8: What are common misconceptions about branding and its value?
And it's really...
upsetting to me to see because again you're playing with somebody's livelihood the person that wrote that check to you is expecting you to know how to do your job and if you don't know how to do your job don't get in the business because you have the potential to really affect their business negatively if you do it wrong and one thing i hate to see is when someone's gotten a brand done by someone and then i have to go redo it because it wasn't done right the first time and i think about all that all the effects that that's had on their business
And it's definitely something that that makes me sad to see when when someone doesn't treat it with that same care that we take. And, you know, I think that, you know, if people respected that responsibility that are performing these services, they would look at that differently.
That's why it's so important that when we partnered with with Ryan, that we partner with somebody that shared that same philosophy as far as understanding that the work that he does in digital marketing is that same exact philosophy.
And you're going to get results. I mean, what I like about what Ryan does is... He shows you the work and it's not, there's so many ways to look at something and disguise it. Like I can show you, you rank for a keyword. That's a long tail keyword very quickly that no one's searching, but you know, it's results oriented, reverse engineering, how to get huge results.
Hey guys, quick thought for you before we get back to today's episode. What would you do if the phones at your business just stopped ringing? No leads, no calls, nothing coming in. Most people would panic, but I've got a system that ensures this won't happen. It keeps your phones ringing even when marketing slows down. Here's what my top guys do on every job.
They get good reviews on Google, Yelp, Nextdoor, and Facebook. They put up yard signs. They talk to the neighbors. They even figure out who runs the HOA. Basically, they turn one job into 20 new leads before they back out of the driveway. That's what happens when you hire A-plus players and put the right systems in place.
If you want to learn how to build a team like this, sign up for the live webinar I'm hosting with my managing director, Jim Leslie. We're breaking down three moves you can make to keep the phones ringing and double your growth in 2025. No BS, just the real stuff that works. It's happening May 21st, no replays.
So join our Facebook group, The Home Service Expert, if you haven't already, and keep an eye out for our announcement about the webinar. All right, back to the episode. All right, Ryan, as a marketing consultant, what are some of the most impactful decisions you've helped contractors make? that have significantly improved their bottom line.
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Chapter 9: What operational challenges do businesses face in growth and marketing?
except seeing that logo seeing that truck wrap what do i feel about what i might get if i chose to hire you right so i think that people again are misunderstanding how the logo is supposed to function and what it really is meant to do but it's meant to make people feel something it's meant to make people expect something right so the more generic you are with your brand the more it looks like everybody else's brand then i think you're just like everybody else and there's no no real logical reason for me to choose you over someone else at that point
But if I could look at a brand and I have a high expectation of what I might get as a service, that's when you know your logo and your brand is doing what it's supposed to be doing at that point.
So with Kick Charge, you guys do the logo, the brand, the color palette. Talk to me a little bit about the trademark and the copyrights because this is something that my lawyers – I spend a lot of money defending, but I'm winning every time.
Yeah. So listen, you invest in your brand. It's something that is your intellectual property, and you want to take the steps to protect it. So we always recommend our clients file a formal trademark on their logo, submit it to the – You got people that – Yeah, we have lawyers that work with our clients that handle it. It's not even a lot of money. It's like $1,500 to get it all set up.
But that means that literally no one in the country can ever use your branding or your brand elements or take pieces of your brand and basically try to steal it and use it as their own. I mean it happens sadly quite often. Probably most of me. Yeah, I mean we saw yours recently get done and we've had a lot of our clients unfortunately get sold or have their brand sold to other people.
Like imagine that. Like imagine someone sold your logo to another company. That other company didn't know it. They wrapped five trucks and then they get the cease and desist. Think about how expensive it is to fix that. So people sometimes say too, again, oh, let me get a logo on Fiverr. Let me go on a crowdsourcing site and get my logo.
Well, when they rip off someone else's brand and then you start using it and putting on everything you own, you think Fiverr is going to reimburse you? No. So again, there's risks in doing some of those things, but it is really important to protect your intellectual property.
I see all these wannabes that have tried... Look, I love the people that come for shop tours, and at least they did something. I just don't think there's a substitute for... And I say this because, like, dude, I've been talking you guys up since the day I got rebranded. The employees have pride. and I call them my coworkers, but they show up, they walk in differently.
They show up to my client's house differently. They ask for reviews differently. People apply differently. Like, for what I paid, and it's just, I just don't think people really understand until they do it. And you've got, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to do a second podcast, Jason Buehler, some of the people, Amanda, Ken Goodrich.
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