Chatting with Bob & Annette Jenkins of Let Your Love Grow

We sat down with Bob and Annette Jenkins, founders of Let Your Love Grow, to discuss their organization and ongoing efforts with Paradigm. Read on for two perspectives on the same partnership. 

What’s the message of Let Your Love Grow? How do you share it? 

BOB: Let Your Love Grow is an environmentally safe solution for returning cremated remains to the environment. It’s about as simple as you can get. Right now, we rely on word of mouth, referral and social media.

ANNETTE: We also market to the funeral industry, in both human, pet and afterlife care such as crematories, cemeteries and funeral homes.

How has Let Your Love Grow evolved over the years?

BOB: Let Your Love Grow actually started out as a way to memorialize a pet that we lost. We found the market for it, started selling it to consumers and then selling it into the industry. It’s just kind of grown from there — now it’s available in five different countries. 

Before working with Paradigm, what were some of the marketing challenges your organization faced?

ANNETTE: It’s a relatively new line of product so it’s always difficult to introduce something that different. Plus, there’s so much unknown about what we do. People have made assumptions over time. On television, people just toss ashes to the wind and think they’re doing something ecologically safe. In all actuality, they are not. Addressing misconceptions has been a big hurdle. 

BOB: [Targeting an audience proved challenging], as the consumer is truly our best market, but also the most difficult and expensive market to go to. I believe Paradigm has really helped us elevate ourselves into that market.

Why did you choose Paradigm as your agency?

BOB: [We chose Paradigm because of] the compassion they showed toward our product. We interviewed three or four companies, but Paradigm invited us in, sat down and interviewed us. It wasn’t just about getting our business. [Their interest] was genuine and that appealed to us more than anything — I think they saw it as much of a challenge as we did. 

ANNETTE: They took the time to understand exactly who we were, what we were trying to achieve and how we could set a road map. Everybody really has been great to work with. I can’t say we’ve really had any bumps along the way — we’ve always been able to find a solution fit for everybody. 

How have we helped you address challenges through marketing so far?

Brand Marketing 

BOB: We don’t really have a product to scale against, because we’re so unique. We don’t fit in a cremation category or the burial category — we’re kind of in between. Paradigm has helped us define who we are without worrying about being in a category.

Website Redevelopment

BOB: E-commerce was a big challenge for us. When [you] switched [us] over to Shopify, that made our website much easier to navigate and allowed us to keep track of things. Now, we get lots of compliments on our website. It’s easy, clean, inviting and engaging. 

Paid Advertising

BOB: [Historically,] we’ve struggled with social media marketing. We’ve tried Amazon, Google ads…we’ve tried all these things but never really gained traction until Hannah said: “Let’s try Pinterest.” Now, we’re getting the clicks and the notice so I’m happy with it. 

A lot of businesses struggle with search engine rankings. What made LYLG decide to jump in on SEO?

BOB: Your guidance. We had a list of keywords when we set up WordPress — back then, [the strategy] fit. But once we went to Shopify and started getting activity, [we wondered] how we can use [SEO] to be better? 

ANNETTE: It’s not our area of expertise. We leave [keyword research and implementation] to [Paradigm], because you are experts. We can talk about products all day long, but when it comes to technology…let’s just say we’ve learned a lot.

How do you see your marketing strategy evolving in the future?

BOB: We have a solution for cremated remains — but now we’re also developing a system for body composting. We need to figure out how to integrate this new technology while we still maintain the core Let Your Love Grow brand.

ANNETTE: We’re evolving with the industry. As it moves to more ecologically-friendly alternatives, we’re right there. But how do we reach new markets without freaking [our audience] out? 

BOB: If something new comes along, we’re willing to give it a shot. We don’t have any blinders on [marketing] because this is how our business has to run. I think that’s where Paradigm has excelled — we would have never thought to go to some of the places that Paradigm has recommended.

What’s one piece of wisdom from our partnership that you would share with others?

BOB & ANNETTE: Paradigm is not just a service we’re paying for — we view them as a true partner to our company. We look forward to the challenges ahead, because we know [Paradigm] knows how to face all the challenges and platforms out there today. It’s just a level of trust that’s very important to us. 

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