Today we’d like to introduce you to Roberto Martinez.
Hi Roberto, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey started in 2016 when I started a marketing agency focused on digitizing diverse small businesses. It was a direct response of my burnout working for multi-billion dollar companies that didn’t focus on the community they served. Additionally, I saw how much my entrepreneurial, parents and neighbors struggled to adopt tech and digital tools for their businesses. These two reasons, coupled with my passion for serving, were why I decided to launch a digital marketing company aimed at bridging the digital divide and scaling diverse local businesses through digital and operational tools.
To scale my new company and broaden my reach, I leveraged my relationship with tech companies, governmental agencies, and universities to reach small and diverse businesses.
In 2017, I became Google’s California Digital Coach and have trained over 10,000 small businesses on how to use Google digital tools and services at no cost to the business.
In 2021, during the pandemic, I became an Entrepreneur in Residence for the City of LA, launching LA Optimized. I helped raise $250,000, in partnership with tech companies and banks, to help small businesses digitize over 300 businesses in LA at no cost to the small business.
In 2022, we also supported the LA’s Delete the Divide Program, which provides free consulting services to help countywide companies receive free technical assistance services to help them increase online sales.
Last year, we partnered with Wells Fargo, launching the Digital Communities Program, a program that digitizes over 100 small businesses online so they can increase online sales.
Through my journey, I’ve also partnered with UCLA, Stanford, CSULB, USC, and other colleges and universities to provide technical assistance training on marketing, social media, SEO, branding, and, most importantly, online monetization.
As of 2023, we’ve launched our CRM tool, SMRTS, which uses AI technology to help businesses make impactful business decisions to increase sales and leads.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My biggest obstacle has been positioning the agency as a small business marketing agency while remaining profitable. We continue to service our small business community leaders, yet the price point they can pay is often below the market rate. As a result, our growth has been slow as we try to offset costs by partnering with tech companies and government agencies that can provide grants to small businesses to cover costs.
Two great partners in this mission to service small businesses have been Google and Wells Fargo. Both partners help us provide free resources to our local business community. But the work isn’t done. We have to consistently partner with financial institutions, cities, counties, and universities to partner with us so we can keep providing free resources to our small business community.
Aside from strategic partners, we pride ourselves in servicing the small business community by offering competitive pricing. We understand that the market rate is often a price point that our small businesses cannot afford in the short term. As a result, we not only provide below-market rates for digital services, including e-commerce website creation, social media management, and SEO, but we also ensure we provide a return on investment by tracking the marketing campaign’s success.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Braven Agency was founded to level the playing field and bridge the digital divide for small businesses by providing digital marketing solutions that drive revenue and sales. To ensure success, we created a proprietary software tool, SMRTS, that tracks the success of our marketing campaigns.
We have four key competencies. The first is delivering best-in-class digital marketing solutions and competitive pricing. These include marketing strategy and communications; digital presence in the form of e-commerce website creation, video, and social; SEO/SEM; email marketing; design and content creation; and public affairs.
We also develop digital marketing programs for cities, states, counties, and nonprofit foundations servicing small businesses. We have partnered with the City of LA, County of LA, Wells Fargo, MoCaFi, ICIC, and others to provide small business programming. Successful programs include LA Optimized, Digital Communities Program, and Delete the Divide.
We also provide speaking and coaching services to help raise awareness of the free and paid programs for small businesses and train small businesses. I have spoken at various events and conferences, including speaking on behalf of Google, Facebook, Shopify, Intuit, Univision, Stanford, and USC.
A key business service is SMRTS, a CRM success-tracking software that uses AI to track digital marketing campaigns and provide recommendations on how to improve marketing campaigns for industry and sector-specific companies.
Key Facts
We have helped digitize over 1,000 SMBs since 2017 and provided technical assistance and training to over 10,000 small businesses on digital marketing tools and solutions.
I also raised $250,000 in donations during COVID-19 and used the funding to pilot LA Optimize, which provided free digital marketing services to businesses in LA.
Since 2022, we have provided over $750,000 in in-kind services to small businesses in LA.
We are excited to roll out SMRTS to general marketing in Spring 2024 so businesses can track their marketing campaigns’ success and receive recommendations on how to best improve their marketing in their industry or sector.
Braven Agency specializes in scaling small businesses to increase sales and leads using a range of digital marketing, operational, and AI-enabled software services.
Our mission is to grow diverse SMBs and organizations. Our purpose remains true: to bridge the digital divide by working with organizations and SMBs nationwide.
We take the most pride in our capacity to deliver measurable results to our clients. By blending creativity with analytics, we’ve assisted numerous businesses in reaching their marketing objectives and enhancing their return on investment (ROI). The satisfaction of our clients and their success stories serve as a testament to our expertise and commitment.
We want your readers to know that Braven Agency is not just a marketing agency; we are partners in business journeys and success stories. Our team of passionate professionals is committed to understanding your business inside out and creating customized marketing solutions that work.
We also will work diligently to secure free resources through our partners to enhance your online presence, engage with your audience, or increase sales.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
When I founded the agency, I departed a Fortune 500 Company and consulted for a highly profitable general market agency because I wanted to create a company that supports my local small business community. It was one of the most significant risk I’ve ever taken. Success was not guaranteed. Most of my mentors correctly predicted that small business owners wouldn’t be able to afford digital marketing solutions due to the high price points. Still, I knew there was a need, and I was passionate about helping.
A few years later, COVID hit and we pivoted our business model not because it was lucrative but because we felt we needed to help our business community sell online when they weren’t able to. It was a huge and painful shift that caused growing pains and almost bankrupted the company. Yet, it was the right thing to do, and we were able to help over 300 businesses during COVID while remaining net positive.
To me, risk goes hand in hand with entrepreneurship. We embrace risk to deliver value to the communities we serve. Greater risk often translates to greater rewards. It is not just hard; it is damn near crazy to devote yourself to something that fails 90% of the time. That is why I love and respect the entrepreneurial community. They are risking their all to create a better future for themselves, their families, and the communities they serve. As my peer mentor would say, “Sometimes you have to jump before you’re ready or you’ll never jump”.
Pricing:
- Free 30 min Business Consultations: https://bravenagency.com/free-
consultation - Free Logo creation and branding w/ Website Creation or Enhancement
- Nonprofit Website: $3500
- Branding & Logo: $550
- SEO Startup Plan $350
- Paid Ads Setup and Management: $1000
- Free SMB City Programming Consultation
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bravenagency.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bravenagency/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BravenAgency/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravenagency/mycompany/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bravenagency
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bravenagency6033
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/braven-agency-long-beach
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robthemarketer/
