Schaefer Marketing Solutions
Schaefer Marketing Solutions is a privately-held marketing consulting, keynote speaking, and publishing business operated by founder Mark Schaefer, serving Fortune 100 enterprises (including Adidas), conference organizers, and individual marketing professionals through books, a long-running podcast, workshops, retreats, and an AI advisory product.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersLouisville, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Schaefer Marketing Solutions does
Schaefer Marketing Solutions is a privately-held, founder-operated marketing consulting, keynote speaking, and publishing business established in 2008 by Mark W. Schaefer and based in Louisville, Tennessee (operating address Louisville, KY, registered in Tennessee). The company monetizes Mark Schaefer's personal brand through five primary revenue streams: (1) global keynote speaking and corporate workshops, (2) marketing strategy consulting for Fortune 100 enterprises and growth-stage companies (Adidas is explicitly named), (3) book royalties from ten Amazon-distributed marketing titles, (4) the annual Uprising marketing retreat and the Maven-hosted Personal Branding Masterclass cohort, and (5) podcast sponsorships on The Marketing Companion, which has accumulated 2M+ downloads across 331 episodes over 13 years.
The company's core product surface is a portfolio of content and service offerings rather than proprietary software. Its only AI asset is MarkBot, a custom text-based AI model trained on Mark Schaefer's body of work, positioned as an always-on advisory product. Distribution relies on the {grow} blog (15+ years of continuous publishing), the podcast, a free email newsletter, and active profiles across Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Slideshare, and Facebook. Customer segments are horizontal: enterprise marketing teams seeking keynotes and strategy, conference organizers booking speakers, and individual marketing professionals purchasing books, hourly coaching sessions, and cohort courses. Pricing is opaque for speaking and consulting; books are sold at standard Amazon retail pricing; hourly coaching is offered pay-as-you-go.
The business has no disclosed institutional funding, no subsidiaries, no parent company, and operates as a solo practitioner model with occasional contractors. The most significant recent structural change is the January 2026 transition of The Marketing Companion podcast to new owner and host Sandy Carter after a 13-year run, alongside productized AI expansion through MarkBot and new book releases on AI-era marketing.
Schaefer Marketing Solutions firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Schaefer Marketing Solutions
- Legal name
- Schaefer Marketing Solutions
- Website
- https://businessesgrow.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Schaefer Marketing Solutions is a privately-held marketing consulting, keynote speaking, and publishing business operated by founder Mark Schaefer, serving Fortune 100 enterprises (including Adidas), conference organizers, and individual marketing professionals through books, a long-running podcast, workshops, retreats, and an AI advisory product.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Schaefer Marketing Solutions industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marketing Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Management Consulting Services (54161), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Book Publishers (51313)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA), Consultative Selling & Discovery (EDABABAC)
Keywords
Where Schaefer Marketing Solutions is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Louisville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Schaefer Marketing Solutions business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Speaking Engagements: Keynote speaking at conferences and corporate events worldwide. Mark is described as the 'highest-rated speaker in his category' with a 'funny and high-energy presentation style.'
- Marketing Consulting: Strategy consulting engagements with global brands (mentioned: Adidas) and startups. 'Instant Marketing Advice' hour-long coaching sessions available for anybody.
- Book Sales: Author of ten bestselling marketing books sold through Amazon. Books include 'Audacious', 'KNOWN', 'The Content Code', 'Cumulative Advantage', 'Marketing Rebellion', and others.
- The Uprising Retreat: Annual intimate marketing retreat focused on concepts and skills for marketing leaders to 'conquer what is next.' A premium, exclusive learning experience.
- Personal Branding Masterclass: Six-session live coaching class for personal branding, hosted on Maven platform.
- Podcast Sponsorships: The Marketing Companion podcast features sponsors including Brevo (email marketing) and Semrush (SEO/AI search tools).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Instant Marketing Advice - One-hour coaching session |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Schaefer Marketing Solutions product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Schaefer Marketing Solutions is a sole-proprietor advisory practice run by Mark Schaefer that delivers keynote speaking, strategic marketing consulting, executive workshops, and one-on-one marketing coaching to global enterprise clients. The firm additionally sells a catalog of more than a dozen business books, an online Personal Branding Masterclass, and a proprietary AI assistant (MarkBot) for individual marketers and teams.
Product overview
Schaefer Marketing Solutions is a marketing consulting and speaking business operated by Mark Schaefer. The company offers a portfolio of services including keynote speaking, marketing strategy consulting, corporate workshops, and personal branding coaching. Content offerings include the {grow} blog, The Marketing Companion Podcast (with over 2 million downloads), and a weekly newsletter. The company also provides an AI product called MarkBot — a custom AI model trained on Mark Schaefer's work. Mark Schaefer has authored ten best-selling marketing books covering topics including social media, personal branding, content marketing, and AI in marketing. The company hosts The Uprising, an intimate marketing retreat for leaders.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Keynote Speaking High-profile stage keynotes delivered by Mark Schaefer for global enterprise events, conferences, corporate offsites, and association meetings on topics including AI, personal branding, platform-era marketing, customer-centricity, and belonging to the brand. Sold to enterprise marketing, communications, HR and events buyers.
- Marketing Strategy Consulting Bespoke strategic marketing advisory engagements for senior marketing leaders at global brands, covering positioning, audience strategy, and AI-era marketing transformation. Sold to enterprise marketing and brand leadership.
- Instant Marketing Advice Pay-per-hour coaching service that gives individual marketers and leaders direct access to Mark Schaefer for answers to specific marketing questions. Sold to individual marketers, consultants, authors, and team leaders.
- Personal Branding Masterclass Structured online course on the Maven learning platform that teaches individual marketers, authors, consultants, and creators how to become known in their field using Mark Schaefer's personal-branding frameworks. Sold to individual professionals.
- The Uprising Multi-day immersive marketing retreat organized and curated by Mark Schaefer bringing together senior marketers for shared learning and collaboration. Sold to individual marketing professionals and select enterprise attendees.
- Corporate Marketing Workshops Bespoke in-house corporate workshops and team-building programs including the gALES team-building workshop and DEI culinary team-building offering, tailored to the buying organization's themes and leadership objectives. Sold to enterprise HR, marketing, and people teams.
- MarkBot Proprietary custom-built AI assistant that operationalizes Mark Schaefer's marketing frameworks and content into an on-demand advisor for users. Sold to individual marketers and teams needing on-demand guidance.
- Marketing Books Catalog A catalog of more than a dozen business books authored by Mark Schaefer covering marketing strategy, personal branding, customer-centricity, AI, and influence, distributed primarily through Amazon and other book retailers. Sold to individual readers, students, and marketing professionals worldwide.
- The Marketing Companion Podcast Long-running marketing podcast distributed on major podcast platforms that supports content marketing, audience building, and podcast advertising revenue for the firm.
Quantifiable outcome
- 2+ million podcast downloads over 13 years
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Schaefer Marketing Solutions
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Schaefer Marketing Solutions technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Schaefer Marketing Solutions partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Sandy CartercoreSandy Carter, described as 'the legendary' marketing professional, is taking over as owner and host of The Marketing Companion podcast beginning January 2026. Mark describes Sandy as 'probably the most connected, wise, and generous marketing pro that I know' and 'absolutely the right person at the right time.'
- Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)minorPodcast sponsor for The Marketing Companion. Brevo provides email marketing tools and automation. Listeners receive 50% off first three months using code COMPANION.
- SemrushminorPodcast sponsor for The Marketing Companion. Semrush provides AI search tools and SEO optimization platforms.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Schaefer Marketing Solutions competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Seth Godin: Seth Godin is a broader, more established marketing author and speaker with altMBA and Akimbo programs—a more scaled incumbent serving overlapping audiences of marketers, entrepreneurs, and enterprises.
- MarketingProfs: MarketingProfs is an established training and events business serving marketing professionals with courses and events—an incumbent competitor in the marketing training and education category Schaefer addresses.
Direct peers
- Brian Solis: Brian Solis is a digital transformation keynote speaker, author, and former analyst who sells books, keynotes, and enterprise advisory—an adjacent personal-brand business targeting the same enterprise marketing buyers.
- Dorie Clark: Dorie Clark is a personal branding author ('Reinventing You', 'Stand Out'), Duke Fuqua faculty member, and keynote speaker—offering a near-identical mix of books, keynotes, executive coaching, and online classes.
- Jay Baer (Convince & Convert): Jay Baer runs a marketing consultancy, speaking, and content business (Convince & Convert) targeting CMOs with books, keynotes, and advisory—directly comparable to Schaefer's offering mix and customer base.
- Marcus Sheridan (The Sales Lion / They Ask, You Answer): Marcus Sheridan built a personal-brand speaking and consulting business around content marketing and trust-based selling, with books, keynotes, and a masterclass model that closely mirror Schaefer's portfolio.
- Mari Smith: Mari Smith built a personal-brand business around Facebook/social media marketing through books, keynotes, and online courses, directly comparable to Schaefer's social-media-focused speaking and training.
- Ann Handley: Ann Handley is a bestselling marketing author ('Everybody Writes'), keynote speaker, and content marketing educator with a similar personal-brand business model anchored to books, keynotes, and workshops.
- Joe Pulizzi (Content Marketing Institute / The Tilt): Joe Pulizzi pioneered content marketing thought leadership with books, the Content Marketing Institute, and a speaking/training business—operating in the same niche with the same author/speaker revenue mix as Schaefer.
Emerging players
- Neil Patel: Neil Patel runs a digital marketing education and tools business (NP Digital/Ubersuggest) overlapping with Schaefer's audience on SEO, content, and AI marketing—though anchored to SaaS tools rather than pure advisory.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Customer concentration
Schaefer Marketing Solutions social profiles
Digital presenceSchaefer Marketing Solutions financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Schaefer Marketing Solutions leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Schaefer Marketing Solutions funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Schaefer Marketing Solutions M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Schaefer Marketing Solutions
What does Schaefer Marketing Solutions do?
Schaefer Marketing Solutions is a sole-proprietor advisory practice run by Mark Schaefer that delivers keynote speaking, strategic marketing consulting, executive workshops, and one-on-one marketing coaching to global enterprise clients. The firm additionally sells a catalog of more than a dozen business books, an online Personal Branding Masterclass, and a proprietary AI assistant (MarkBot) for individual marketers and teams.
Is Schaefer Marketing Solutions a public or private company?
Schaefer Marketing Solutions is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Schaefer Marketing Solutions founded?
Schaefer Marketing Solutions was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Schaefer Marketing Solutions based?
Schaefer Marketing Solutions is headquartered in Louisville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Schaefer Marketing Solutions make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Speaking Engagements are the primary driver. The others are marketing Consulting, book Sales, the Uprising Retreat, personal Branding Masterclass and podcast Sponsorships.
Who are Schaefer Marketing Solutions's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Seth Godin and MarketingProfs. Direct peers are Brian Solis, Dorie Clark, Jay Baer (Convince & Convert), Marcus Sheridan (The Sales Lion / They Ask, You Answer), Mari Smith, Ann Handley and Joe Pulizzi (Content Marketing Institute / The Tilt). Neil Patel is listed as an emerging player.
Does Schaefer Marketing Solutions have an API?
No public API is recorded for Schaefer Marketing Solutions.
What industry is Schaefer Marketing Solutions in?
Schaefer Marketing Solutions's product category is Marketing Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHACAG, Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAHADAA, Corporate Strategy Advisory. Its NAICS code is 541613 and its SIC code is 8742.