Dwayne Harmon
Dwayne Harmon is a marketing expert and a leader in his business community. He is the owner of Metanoia Marketing and Business Consulting. Dwayne and his company lend their various skills to a variety of companies who are struggling with marketing and sales issues. His business focuses on digital marketing, brand building, and content management. He also has a great deal of expertise in sales funnel development and is able to help companies convert their leads to revenue.
Dwayne Harmon learned from education and doing, giving him a good working knowledge of the business world. He believes that intellectual curiosity has brought him to where he is today, and he credits his ability to adapt with helping to expand his horizons.
Dwayne Harmon built his skills over his active career, beginning with a position at a small marketing firm in Jacksonville, Florida. He worked for bigger and bigger companies as time progressed, gaining the knowledge to grow organizations. He calls himself a “battle-hardened” marketer, meaning that he is ready to take on the challenge of any size when working with a client.
Dwayne Harmon will continue to be an important part of his industry, offering his expertise to help businesses build their best marketing strategies. With innovative thinking and the determination to succeed, he is prepared to make a huge impact in the marketing arena.
What are your favorite books?
My favorite books are The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and Hooked by Nir Eyal. I have always been interested in Malcolm Gladwell’s ideas about business. His book details how ideas catch hold with the public and become parts of pop culture. Many of my clients are trying to make their ideas into household names, and I have been able to take direction from this book in different ways. When I first read The Tipping Point, I was skeptical about its message, but I came to understand that the book could make a big difference in the life of the average marketing professional.
Hooked is another great book for marketing professionals. It details how to build products that are habit-forming with the public. This means that the market need for the product is enhanced by people wanting to share in its success.
What’s your favorite film?
My favorite film is Unforgiven. It is a classic Western with a complex plot. I have always been interested in the Wild West, and I feel that the Western is a genre that deserves to come back. Clint Eastwood was amazing in this movie, as in many others. The story tends to be darker than many other Westerns, but I feel that it is realistic in the historical context.
Describe your typical day.
One of the things that I love about my job is that no day is the same. I am always looking for new ways to meet the challenges of working with my marketing clients to make their dreams into reality. On any given day, I may be working at a client’s place of business, going over notes in my office, or touring a factory or retail establishment. I thrive on changing daily activities, and I believe that they keep me sharp as a marketer.
I can lay out the basics of my day for you. My typical day starts early. I like to be up by 6 so I can fully catch up on the news of the day before any clients call me. Having quiet time to myself in the morning is very important. I enjoy watching Fox Business, CNBC, and Bloomberg. My favorite thing to do in the morning, other than watching the news, is to go to the gym. I go three times a week, but I get up earlier on those days. I believe that physical activity is an important part of living a healthy life. You have to train for success both mentally and physically.
After I go to the gym, I typically catch up on the news. Around 7:30, I start checking my email. Typically, I have several emails that come in during the night. My clients frequently work odd hours. Sometimes my clients have major problems that they need me to handle immediately, but it is more common that they just want to ask me to tweak their campaign or to ask me a routine question. Client contact is hugely important to me as a consultant.
In the afternoon, I typically have strategy meetings with the Metanoia Marketing team. They frequently have ideas for me that will help optimize client marketing campaigns. I often consult with my clients about digital marketing campaigns, their sales funnel, client acquisition costs, with both inbound and outbound solicitations. I teach them about the best practices of digital marketing. I also help them build their company brand.
Branding is hugely important. Too many people think that branding only covers the company logo and tagline, but it goes well beyond that. Everything a company does is part of its brand. For example, imagine if a company damaged its reputation by treating customers poorly. That would infringe upon the effectiveness of their brand.
In the evenings, I tend to work until about 7:00. I have a healthy dinner with my family and spend time focused on them. I believe strongly in the power of work-life balance. I do take time off from work now and then to meet my family’s needs.
How could you improve your business?
Keep adding expertise in the form of talented employees. We are the sum of all or our parts at Metanoia Consulting. Having subject matter experts that can be wildly effective in their area adds so many benefits for our clients. We are digital and offline marketing experts. That’s because we have individual, field specific experts in every area.
What’s one piece of advice you can share with others?
The one piece of advice I would like to share with others is that you need to be passionate about your work. If you’re not passionate, you will not have the ability to influence others. Simply going through the motions of your job may be enough to keep you going when you work for someone else, but as an entrepreneur, you have to take the initiative to create your own success. When people are naysayers you have to be passionate enough to be a standard bearer.
