We are marketing professionals who partner with clients from a broad spectrum of businesses. We have diverse backgrounds, but pawn is our niche because we have unmatched experience in this unique industry.
We are all about campaigns, connections, and content. There are three unique pieces to our business:
A Professional Network that connects owners, employees, vendors, and other stakeholders through low-key high-value events. Membership is attainable at less than $10 per month.
A Comprehensive Marketing and PR Agency that offers retained services to a small number of discerning clients.
A blog and content swap that serves as a resource to the industry and showcases our campaigns including Pawnshopdata.com, ShopSmallSustainable.com, and (coming soon BestofPawn.com). We see thousands of unique visitors every week, making our site a relevant and comprehensive resource to the industry.
How we’re different: There’s a lot of buzz in the pawn industry right now around the term “marketing” and lots of experts who are competing for attention by making noise or creating confusion or feelings of inadequacy just so they can position themselves as the solution.
That’s not how we do things.
We adhere to the highest professional standards in business.
We spend our time celebrating your business and impacting the bottom line instead of making you feel lousy about yourself or your understanding of things.
We maximize our client’s investments in digital channels by blending them with public relations as well as traditional and in-store marketing.
Based on our experience and expertise, we understand marketing comprehensively in the scope of business, not just the digital shiny objects that all the cool kids are chasing.
We follow best practices instead of hacks and tricks or workarounds. We don’t put your human customers through confusing and cumbersome robot funnels.
We know that communications with customers in any form, including texts and DMs, should be straightforward and focused on the customer’s need instead of cutesy and confusing shticks.
Any tactics or platforms that we recommend are based solely on the client’s needs. That’s important because you need to always trust that your marketing isn’t limited by what your provider has a vested interest in selling. As the old saying goes, “if all I have is a hammer, he’s always gonna sell me the nail.”
We never markup ad costs (if your budget for Facebook ads is $750 per month, for example, then you get exactly $750 in ads from Facebook without markups, app charges, or referral fees).
We never give or take kickbacks or referral fees from others. If someone recommends our work, it’s not because we have a shady deal with them or trade referrals, it’s based solely on the fact that we’re good at what we do.
The Pawnbroker Network allows us to introduce operators to vetted vendors in a fully transparent and level playing field where they can connect on a personal basis and compete for business based on merit and their ability to truly impact the bottom line of your business.
We don’t teach life skills plus also marketing stuff.
We aren’t limited to a one-tactic approach.
This isn’t our side-hustle.
We’re not learning on anyone’s dime.
The bottom line: We’re different. We aren’t trying to revolutionize an industry. We just aim to tell its story.
We are all about campaigns, connections, and content.
THE AGENCY: Our agency offers strategic guidance as well as done-for-you marketing services for which we charge a monthly retainer.
THE NETWORK: We are proud to offer the industry’s first and only professional business network that is aimed at connecting stakeholders who want to improve the public’s perception of the pawn industry. It’s the only group that we know of which is purely aimed at connections. There are no sales pitches, no cliques, no keyboard warriors, and no kickbacks for referrals (surprisingly common in our tiny industry).
It’s a fast-growing tribe of people who, like us, want pawnshops to succeed because we sincerely believe that communities need them.
First, instead of trying to work with any and all, we take an innovative approach to the specific types of clients we work with—vetting them not by industry, but by values.
The clients that we end up working with are a lot like us:
- They are the best in their field.
- They have big visions and are never satisfied.
- They care deeply about their reputations and obsessively over-deliver.
Our clients aren’t the type of business leaders who take chances with their brands.
They don’t play fast and loose with their advertising.
They’re picky. They trust our advice because they know our recommendations are based on dozens of successful campaigns and events.
They value a professional organization that can help them implement best practices in modern marketing and are looking for a comprehensive approach to marketing that’s administered by professionals.
Second, the fact that we blend strategic consultation with done-for-you execution.
Our scope of service is customized to fit each of the clients we work with and covers tactics across the marketing spectrum: digital, traditional, PR/community, and advocacy. We help them build a strategy that their teams can confidently and consistently execute for the long term.
We start by establishing baselines, then work to make sure they’re fully implementing all of the cheap-and-free tactics that we’ve seen work in pawnshops and other small businesses before we rush to spend their money on ads.
When paid advertising is right for them, we partner with specialized experts on each tactic including Google Certified advisors and Facebook Marketing experts…because nobody wants to pay for someone’s learning curve.
Finally, we are uniquely positioned to help them build positions of trust in their communities and industry through professional PR and Community Relations
We aim to help our clients manage their reputations both online (like with customer reviews) and in real life with real humans who can impact their bottom line.
In one interesting example, we worked with one pawnbroker to get involved in their local Chamber of Commerce. He went from having never networked at all to becoming a community leader, growing his business and revenue through his new connections with fellow small business owners.
Now, that’s a unique approach to true reputation management!
Public relations (PR) provides a way for small business owners to gain positive publicity for their business.
According to PR Newswire, “A consistent public relations program will help build general awareness of your product, service or brand. This visibility also tends to make your business appear larger and more established than it may be, which may help you secure partnerships, customers, and funding.”
This isn’t achieved by only keyword-stuffed press releases on digital outlets. Rather, PR must be balanced with earned media pieces with reputable news sources.
There’s more to media relations than press releases and there’s more to press releases than hype and SEO.
We aim to build relationships with reputable media and other influencers in the communities where our clients do business.
Finally, in the rare but high-stakes instance of a communications crisis, our clients know that we’ll help them navigate their way through a challenge with experience and expertise. Whether that’s a call in the middle of the night, jumping on a plane to be on-site, or coaching them through the steps to let them know we have their backs. Their stories are important to us and everything to them.
We’ve learned pawnbroking from the best.
We have over 20 combined years working in the industry. Now, we actively manage the marketing of some of its most influential business leaders, spearhead its most engaged network, and travel across the country learning everything we can about new opportunities for this historic industry.
Cyndee Harrison, Principal: About ten years ago, in the middle of a successful career at a Marketing & PR agency, Cyndee and her boss were driving to a client meeting when he suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, there’s THAT pawnshop! Let’s go in!” Cyndee walked into American Jewelry and Loan, met the Gold family, and ended up working for them for nearly six years as their Director of Marketing and Operations—including while they were the stars of the global reality hit, Hardcore Pawn. She’s been working in some capacity in pawnbroking ever since.
Erika Brooks, Senior Vice President: A proud Fort Worthian with a love for meeting planning, Erika was born and raised in Texas where she graduated from Texas Christian University with a BS in Political Science. After spending many years in Marketing and Corporate Communications in the aviation industry. From 2007 until 20011, she worked at NPA in 2007, spearheading the Pawn Expo and National Pawnbroker magazine.
Our client relationships are based on proactive communication and accountability.
It’s simple—we meet monthly to examine business goals, talk about what’s working, and identify opportunities. We talk about the marketing and communications plans for the next 30- 60- and 90-days. We set goals and identify roles.
Then, we get to work. We post to social media, execute tactics, pitch stories to media featuring clients as subject matter experts, and work in tandem with their team to fill in the gaps in their marketing and help connect their people and systems to their marketing.
No, we aren’t limited to pawn. While we work with pawn operators and numerous vendors in the industry, we also onboard clients from other industries including jewelers, secondhand retailers, and others.
It’s easy—now that you understand more about how we work, we can schedule a quick call to find out more about your specific business goals and ways that we can help you meet them.
Send us an email or give us a call:
Cyndee Harrison
editor@pawnbrokernetwork.com or 313-410-2343
Erika Brooks
erika@pawnbrokernetwork.com or 817-522-2556
You can also schedule a free Brand Assessment on our calendar.
We hear these stories all the time:
“I hired a marketing person but they didn’t work out.”
“I let an employee start managing our social media and now they’re either on their phone constantly or spending half the day making up a post on Canva when there are things here at the shop that really need to get done.”
“We have an employee who has a great talent for marketing and I’d love to let them handle it, but they need supervision but I just don’t have the bandwidth or knowledge .”
“There are certain parts of marketing that we totally get. There are others that we just feel lost.”
“My team comes to me with ideas for marketing all the time but it’s not in my wheelhouse to decide what to invest in. They get frustrated and I miss opportunities.”
“Every marketing person we hire tells us something different and it feels like we’re all over the place.”
“I have someone that’s doing a great job with our marketing, but I want them to have some support with fresh ideas and maximizing what they’re doing for us.”
We get it.
We can create a scope of work that connects your business vision to your marketing goals, empowers your team to fulfill that vision, and connects your systems and people to the marketing.
And our retainer is usually a lot less than what you’d pay an entry-level employee.
We can serve as your project managers too!
Planning a special event or campaign? Need media training for your team? Want help integrating live stream selling events into your store? We are happy to quote your project, just get in touch!
Each of our clients works within a unique scope of work that fits their specific needs. We are multi-faceted professionals who are knowledgeable about marketing tactics across the spectrum.
Plenty of marketers and talking heads will try to fit your business into their comfort zone. The butcher is always gonna try to sell you some bacon. The problem is that these one-dimensional experts aren’t able to objectively help you prioritize your marketing goals because they don’t get paid unless you spend money on the tactics they want to manage for you.
That isn’t the case with us. Because we have an agency approach, we are able to work to fulfill your vision. We also have a wide network of advertising professionals who help us support our clients whenever we need to call an expert.
One of our clients came to us because they were moving to a new location. We started with a new logo and outdoor signage, carefully managed the address change on their Google and other online listings, worked with them to inform their audience, gave art direction for their window graphics, and alerted local media to the move. Next, we’ll plan their Grand Opening Event.
Another client called on us because their website was owned and operated by someone else, their employees were each doing their own thing for social media, and they knew they were missing opportunities. We facilitated on-site and webinar training for their team, put a cohesive social media plan in place, managed the launch of a new WordPress website that they own and control, and are now working on Store Marketing Playbooks for each of their locations so that we can launch Google and Facebook ads on their behalf.
If you’ve heard the term ‘cookie cutter’ used to refer to our blogs and campaigns, then we’d like to say thank you for noticing that we talk about the same topics across the spectrum of our blog, as well as in messaging for our clients.
That’s not a cookie-cutter approach, that’s the creation of relevant messaging that trends.
And we’re awesome at it.
Our campaigns have put our clients at the forefront of relevant topics that create positions of trust. We’ve led campaigns that normalized shopping at pawn stores (#pawnshoproadtrip), raised consumer awareness on the risks of buying fake designer goods, sustainable shopping, and referral marketing (#ImYourPawnbroker).
When those messages are picked up by others, it helps build a movement that will eventually grow momentum that shifts the public perception of the entire industry.
That’s why we are proud to offer the industry’s first and only *FREE* content swap—so that any pawnshop that wants access to informative articles for their audience can have access to them and customize them for their own use (because who wants to pay a thousand bucks for a blog post?). Check it out, we’d welcome your submissions!
We stand behind our work. We deliver on our promises.
Should any of our efforts fail to meet your needs, we will work to make it right. Period.
We are fully licensed and insured in the state of Michigan as an LLC entity.
We work with industry partners in many ways including:
- As retained clients who use us as their agency of record
- Membership in The Pawnbroker Network and full access to our events and networking opportunities
- Advertising and sponsorship opportunities
Our crisis communications support is reserved for retained clients.
If you have a concern, we recommend contacting your state or national trade association. We also have an informative blog post on the topic.
We work with a long list of industry experts who can offer insight for your news article, podcast, or tradeshow.
Get in touch today to collaborate with us! Text or call 313-410-2343 or 817-522-2556 any time.
You bet–drop us a line at our contact page!
If you asked a dozen pawnbrokers about radio, cable, billboards, newspaper, and other traditional advertising you’d get a dozen different opinions.
We understand that pawnshops are unique businesses and what works in one or two stores may or may not work in yours.
We work with our clients to layer messaging so that their advertising investment is maximized. We can help you evaluate options, manage your budget, or measure ROI on any advertising option.
