Hi, I'm Mel -
I turn marketing chaos into business growth
(and I stick around to make sure it works)
After 14 years of watching businesses struggle with marketing that doesn't deliver, I've learned something important: most marketing fails because it's built backwards.
People start with tactics—"I need a website!" or "We should be on social media!"—without first understanding what they're actually trying to accomplish or who they're talking to. It's like trying to build a house without a foundation. Sure, it might look good for a while, but it won't last.
Why I do this work
I started GRIT Marketing Co. because I was tired of seeing small businesses waste money on marketing that didn't work. Not because the tactics were wrong, but because they weren't connected to strategy.
Here's what I kept seeing:
Business owners hiring "experts" who delivered fancy strategies then disappeared
Companies jumping from tactic to tactic without ever building momentum
Teams getting overwhelmed by conflicting advice from every marketing guru on LinkedIn
Good businesses struggling to communicate what made them special
I realized there was a gap in the market for someone who would do both the strategic thinking AND stick around for the actual implementation. Because here's the truth: strategy without execution is just expensive paperwork.
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I won't hand you a strategy and run
Unlike typical consultants who deliver documents and disappear, I work side-by-side with teams as their marketing ally in the trenches. I don't just deliver strategies—I help build systems and develop capabilities.
I won't let you skip strategy
Want to jump straight to tactics? I'll stop you right there. I've seen too many businesses waste money on websites, social media campaigns, and email marketing that flopped because they skipped the foundational work. I won't be part of that.
I won't chase every new marketing trend
I stay on top of how marketing and buyer behavior are evolving—I read the newsletters, attend the webinars, and yes, I pay attention to what influencers are saying. But I filter everything through strategy and what actually works for your business, not what's getting the most buzz this week.
I won't give you cookie-cutter solutions
Every business is different, which means every marketing approach should be different too. While I start with proven frameworks and templates (because why reinvent the wheel?), I tailor every single element to your specific business, audience, and goals.
I won't overwhelm you with complicated reporting
You need a healthy mix of leading and lagging indicators that actually tell you if your marketing is working. All of our key metrics should fit on one slide—if we can't explain whether things are working in a simple dashboard, we're measuring too much or the wrong things.
THE PEARL METHOD™
I've developed a process that mirrors how pearls are formed—starting with something real (even if it's uncomfortable) and building value layer by layer.
1. GRIT GATHERING (Finding the truth)
We start with honest conversations about where you are, what's working, what isn't, and what you're really trying to accomplish. No sugarcoating, no wishful thinking—just truth.
2. LAYER PLANNING (Building the strategy)
Based on what we discover, we create a strategic foundation through buyer persona development, stakeholder interviews, positioning work, and messaging frameworks.
3. NACRE BUILDING (Strategic implementation)
This is where we put the plan into action—building content, systems, and campaigns layer by layer, always connected to the strategic foundation.
4. LUSTER TRACKING (Measuring what matters)
We track real business outcomes, not vanity metrics, and use that data to guide our decisions.
5. SURFACE REFINING (Continuous improvement)
Marketing is never "done." We continuously refine and improve based on real-world results and changing business needs.
My marketing philosophy
After 14 years of doing this work, here's what I believe:
Strategy before tactics, always
I don't care how excited you are about that new social media platform—if we don't know who you're talking to and what you want them to do, it's just noise.
Implementation is where strategy proves itself
Beautiful documents that sit in drawers don't grow businesses. I'm here for the actual work of building and maintaining marketing systems.
Consistency beats perfection
I'd rather see you post one valuable piece of content every week for a year than publish 20 posts in a month and then burn out.
Truth over trends
Your marketing should be built on solid research about your customers and market, not whatever some LinkedIn influencer said was "the future."
Systems over sporadic efforts
Random acts of marketing don't build momentum. Strategic, systematic approaches do.
Execution over theory
I'm not just an advisor—I'm your partner in getting things done.
