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Podcast

Tim Murphy
Branch Basics


Jonathan talks with Tim Murphy, the CEO of Branch Basics, in our latest episode of Conquer The Noise. The conversation covers Tim’s early career in the beginning of the show and then focuses on how he and the team at Branch Basics handled supply chain and customer demand during COVID, as well as the importance of educational content.  

Tim grew up in Minneapolis and worked in marketing at General Mills before eventually starting and then selling a startup that made frozen food. Shortly after he sold it, he met the founders of Branch Basics, soon after becoming CEO. 

At the onset of COVID, they had a huge surge in subscriptions so they stayed in close communication with their manufacturers and suppliers. After being classified as an essential business, the next challenge was making sure they had enough stock. They were dangerously close to running out and had to make a hard decision. Tim says they have a “razor/razor blade” model with their kits. Customers buy a kit once with all of the bottles and a concentrate and then get the refills as needed or on subscription. They decided to pull the kits so there was enough product for their current subscribers/refill customers and did not accept new subscriptions.

They did not scale back marketing during this time and increased their efforts to capture emails so that they can continue to communicate with interested people and let them know once items were back in stock. Educational content continued to roll out and is a big part of their brand. Their social media channels are where they engage with their community and as a result, get incredible engagement. They get so many questions about non-toxic living that they structured marketing and customer service departments in a unique way. Content includes posts that go beyond cleaning to talk about how toxic environments impact sleep and other parts of their life. 

As the episode closes Tim talks about how it’s important that you start with yourself in your entrepreneurial journey. Ask yourself why you are starting the company, and in there you can find something you’re passionate about. Give back efforts shouldn’t be siloed and need to be baked into the business for real impact.