WEBVTT 00:00:02.330 --> 00:00:05.150 Welcome to the promo playbook, the podcast where 00:00:05.150 --> 00:00:07.650 suppliers come to win in the promotional products 00:00:07.650 --> 00:00:10.849 industry. We're your hosts, Lisa Faustik and 00:00:10.849 --> 00:00:13.910 Adrienne Barker, bringing you insider insights, 00:00:14.490 --> 00:00:17.170 expert strategies, and no fluff advice to help 00:00:17.170 --> 00:00:20.449 suppliers navigate the promo channel like pros. 00:00:21.250 --> 00:00:24.170 From marketing to distributors to mastering software 00:00:24.170 --> 00:00:27.370 onboarding, we cover it all. Whether you're new 00:00:27.370 --> 00:00:30.149 to the industry or ready to scale up, this is 00:00:30.149 --> 00:00:33.320 your playbook for success. Let's get started. 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:37.179 Hey everybody, welcome to this episode of the 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:39.960 promo playbook. We're so excited today to have 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:42.799 Gloria Lafont from Action and Marketing joining 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:47.179 us today. Gloria is a marketing agency that works 00:00:47.179 --> 00:00:50.320 on behalf of distributors to help them differentiate 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:53.380 themselves in the marketplace. So I'd like to 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:57.420 start by welcoming Adrienne and Kim, my co -hosts, 00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:00.380 and then turning it over to Gloria to give an 00:01:00.380 --> 00:01:03.240 introduction. Gloria, tell us about yourself 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:06.799 and the company. Hello everybody. First of all, 00:01:06.939 --> 00:01:08.879 thank you so much for having me here. It's an 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:12.640 honor to be talking to you guys and in your podcast. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:16.959 And I started a long time ago in marketing, in 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:20.159 the marketing industry. Back in the days of direct 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:24.500 mail, I learned all about direct response, advertising, 00:01:24.500 --> 00:01:28.590 and I found it absolutely fascinating. I loved 00:01:28.590 --> 00:01:32.969 how the concept is to target an audience and 00:01:32.969 --> 00:01:35.849 market only to them. You find the right audience 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:38.569 for your product and then only market to that 00:01:38.569 --> 00:01:41.489 group of people. So I thought that was very, 00:01:41.510 --> 00:01:46.189 very interesting. And when the days came of the 00:01:46.189 --> 00:01:49.010 internet and working on the internet and getting 00:01:49.010 --> 00:01:51.650 found and all that is exactly the same principle. 00:01:51.750 --> 00:01:55.680 To me, the principle has not changed. It's A 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:57.480 different medium, but it is exactly the same 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:01.739 thing. So I was a distributor and I had a marketing 00:02:01.739 --> 00:02:03.980 experience when I started my distributor company 00:02:03.980 --> 00:02:08.240 and I went to networking events. I went to all 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:10.979 kinds of places to get clients, which I did. 00:02:11.449 --> 00:02:14.610 And every time I met people, I also wanted to 00:02:14.610 --> 00:02:16.949 help them with their marketing outside of the 00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:19.090 promotional products and smaller companies didn't 00:02:19.090 --> 00:02:21.550 have a big budget for promotional products. Then 00:02:21.550 --> 00:02:24.949 it's a different target audience than the people 00:02:24.949 --> 00:02:26.930 that are going to buy products and that are worth 00:02:26.930 --> 00:02:30.409 having as clients, which I also found. So eventually 00:02:30.409 --> 00:02:34.289 I decided that I was going to sell the distributor 00:02:34.289 --> 00:02:36.370 part of the business and I just sold my book 00:02:36.370 --> 00:02:40.169 of business. And it was something that I was 00:02:40.169 --> 00:02:43.930 able to achieve because I had automated their 00:02:43.930 --> 00:02:48.909 order processing in a very simple way. I had 00:02:48.909 --> 00:02:55.229 a large clientele in the service industry, businesses 00:02:55.229 --> 00:02:59.590 like car repairs, plumbers. I had landscapers, 00:02:59.849 --> 00:03:03.039 painters. So those people consumed tons and tons 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:05.860 of t -shirts and they always order the exact 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:08.620 same thing the exact same breakdown in sizes 00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:12.919 there was no no mystery so i ended up because 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.860 they were busy i ended up creating a system where 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:19.199 they would just send me click here and put your 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:21.719 order in and then i will send them the link to 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:26.060 pay and that was it they got their order because 00:03:26.060 --> 00:03:29.439 i had that set up in that way where i Had removed 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:32.280 myself from the whole process. I was able to, 00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:34.199 I mean, of course I still deal with them. You 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:36.240 know, I still talk to them every once in a while. 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:39.699 And because you got to have maintained the relationship, 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:43.319 but the whole process, it was very easy to transfer 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:45.500 onto another business. And a screen printer ended 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:50.639 up buying my book of business for that. And so 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:54.199 then fast forward, I just decided to specialize 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:57.520 in helping distributors with advanced marketing. 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:01.740 Because I see a big need for this. I see a big 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:05.259 gap between the cookie cutter and the mass produced 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:08.240 type of marketing and the specialized marketing 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:12.159 that businesses need to at some point start to 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:16.500 apply. Great. Thank you for that insight. Really 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:19.860 appreciate it. So how long have you been working 00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:22.480 with distributors doing their marketing? When 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:25.730 did you sell your company? This would be around 00:04:25.730 --> 00:04:33.949 2014, 2015. I had a book of business in local 00:04:33.949 --> 00:04:38.670 businesses. I worked a lot with local nonprofits 00:04:38.670 --> 00:04:43.350 and arts related organizations. I still have 00:04:43.350 --> 00:04:49.370 a couple of clients in that field. I started 00:04:49.370 --> 00:04:51.990 also working with distributors. helping them 00:04:51.990 --> 00:04:54.209 out with different things until I decided to 00:04:54.209 --> 00:04:57.029 formally have a program because I didn't want 00:04:57.029 --> 00:05:00.689 to be another cookie cutter or tactical type 00:05:00.689 --> 00:05:03.709 of application marketing because to me you have 00:05:03.709 --> 00:05:05.649 to have a strategy behind things so I started 00:05:05.649 --> 00:05:10.250 kind of doing that and gradually in terms of 00:05:10.250 --> 00:05:14.509 defining all the services but around I think 00:05:14.509 --> 00:05:19.269 it was 2017 when I started really selling a program. 00:05:19.430 --> 00:05:22.029 You know, this is what we do and this is the 00:05:22.029 --> 00:05:25.230 results that you can expect from this. Okay, 00:05:25.250 --> 00:05:27.829 great. Thank you. I think one of the things I 00:05:27.829 --> 00:05:30.170 wanted to chat about and I'm going to invite 00:05:30.170 --> 00:05:33.529 Adrienne to sort of weigh in on this, which is 00:05:33.529 --> 00:05:37.269 the idea of distributors using marketing agencies 00:05:37.269 --> 00:05:40.589 that aren't familiar with the industry versus 00:05:40.589 --> 00:05:43.889 an organization like yours that is very familiar 00:05:43.889 --> 00:05:47.449 with the industry. Um, pros and cons, Adrienne, 00:05:47.470 --> 00:05:49.529 what are your thoughts on that? And you are on 00:05:49.529 --> 00:05:54.050 mute. Okay, so pro, I don't, okay. I'm going 00:05:54.050 --> 00:05:55.889 to go with the cons first because that's what 00:05:55.889 --> 00:05:58.310 enters my mind when I've talked to other people 00:05:58.310 --> 00:06:01.329 that have been dissatisfied. So I, you know, 00:06:01.329 --> 00:06:04.129 I'm coming from the LinkedIn position because 00:06:04.129 --> 00:06:07.509 that is where my glory is in the industry, uh, 00:06:07.529 --> 00:06:09.430 working with both distributors and suppliers, 00:06:09.610 --> 00:06:11.350 helping them with getting their marketing on 00:06:11.350 --> 00:06:14.610 the LinkedIn. Very difficult to work with someone. 00:06:14.860 --> 00:06:17.500 And that they understand the industry of marketing 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:19.660 is that they can say it they'll say oh i get 00:06:19.660 --> 00:06:22.040 it i understand i ordered bugs you ten years 00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:26.040 ago. It doesn't work like that so my only advice 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:30.459 i have. Is that if you are in the promotion products 00:06:30.459 --> 00:06:33.959 industry you know how confusing it could be you 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:37.540 understand that stick with someone that understands 00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:40.139 the industry the minute you try to go outside 00:06:40.139 --> 00:06:42.220 you are not gonna be pleased with the results 00:06:42.220 --> 00:06:45.079 cuz they don't understand it i think that. that 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:50.639 is really very important. Also, if you are okay 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:54.519 selling this mug with a nice piece of artwork 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:58.560 and putting it out to your followers on any of 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:00.720 the social media platforms, but you're also okay 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:02.579 that hundreds of other people are gonna have 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:06.779 the same exact post, same exact mug, and they're 00:07:06.779 --> 00:07:09.939 also all over the place, then use those ones 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:12.540 that are very inexpensive. They may be $100 a 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:14.399 month. That's fine. You know, especially maybe 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:15.959 if you're if you're growing or you're not worried 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:18.139 that they're seeing that there's other companies 00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:21.040 but if you want to stay away from the cookie 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:24.730 cutter and you want custom You really need to 00:07:24.730 --> 00:07:26.350 know that it's going to cost you a little money 00:07:26.350 --> 00:07:28.149 and you need to work with someone. I'm going 00:07:28.149 --> 00:07:30.189 to say like Gloria who's here and I've been following 00:07:30.189 --> 00:07:33.149 Gloria. I've never met Gloria, but she's already 00:07:33.149 --> 00:07:35.230 earned my trust because I've been following her. 00:07:35.449 --> 00:07:38.370 I see her work. I've watched her interviews and 00:07:38.370 --> 00:07:40.870 I know that and her workshops and presentations 00:07:40.870 --> 00:07:43.310 and I know Gloria knows what she's talking about. 00:07:43.310 --> 00:07:46.509 Why? Because she's coming from inside the industry. 00:07:46.769 --> 00:07:49.230 I think our industry, which is an amazing industry, 00:07:49.509 --> 00:07:51.069 should really work and make sure you're working 00:07:51.069 --> 00:07:53.230 with someone who's inside the industry. When 00:07:53.230 --> 00:07:56.889 you hear Lisa, when you hear Kim, my story, we've 00:07:56.889 --> 00:07:59.970 all had the years. We're all veterans of the 00:07:59.970 --> 00:08:01.850 promotional products industry and we understand 00:08:01.850 --> 00:08:04.089 it. Thank you, Lisa, for the question. Great, 00:08:04.089 --> 00:08:07.029 great response. And we've seen lots of changes 00:08:07.029 --> 00:08:11.370 and growth in the industry too related to marketing. 00:08:11.930 --> 00:08:14.910 So Kim, I want to ask you as a PR executive, 00:08:15.290 --> 00:08:18.769 you started your career in PR and marketing. 00:08:19.529 --> 00:08:22.629 How do you see this fitting in with a distributor? 00:08:23.170 --> 00:08:25.930 What are your thoughts on inside the industry 00:08:25.930 --> 00:08:28.649 versus outside the industry marketing support? 00:08:29.470 --> 00:08:33.909 I agree it's a quirky industry and you need someone 00:08:33.909 --> 00:08:36.570 who understands it. At the same time, you are 00:08:36.570 --> 00:08:42.639 marketing to an end user who is a consumer. You 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:46.159 can't ignore the fact that you need to understand 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:48.659 some of the consumer trends going on. What are 00:08:48.659 --> 00:08:52.759 people interested in? If sustainability is really 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:55.440 big right now, and that's what everyone is buying, 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:57.600 regardless of where they're buying it, whether 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.340 it's Target or an upscale place, if they're only 00:09:00.340 --> 00:09:03.379 buying things that have some sort of sustainability, 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:08.419 that message still needs to happen. from a distributor 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:11.940 to a corporate customer, right? So I think you 00:09:11.940 --> 00:09:16.320 do need to really get to the, you know, as a 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:18.899 distributor to be able to walk the walk, talk 00:09:18.899 --> 00:09:21.519 the talk and understand what that is, because 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:25.120 it is not the same as a B2B wholesale environment. 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:28.279 You need to work inside the industry, but you 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:33.700 can't be so boxed in that you're not. aware of 00:09:33.700 --> 00:09:37.139 general consumer trends because those consumer 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:40.320 trends are what your buyer is going to want. 00:09:40.539 --> 00:09:43.799 So you need to speak to those too. So I think 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:47.139 one is more of like a process. How do you reach 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:49.700 them? What's the best way? Where are they living? 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:51.340 Where are they reading? Where are they getting 00:09:51.340 --> 00:09:54.580 their information? How are they digesting it? 00:09:54.860 --> 00:09:58.120 And another is what is that message? And what 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:01.960 is that content? And I think you do need to know 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:04.899 a little bit outside of the industry to hone 00:10:04.899 --> 00:10:07.899 in on the content part more because you're pulling 00:10:07.899 --> 00:10:11.340 that from consumer. But it is a whole different 00:10:11.340 --> 00:10:14.919 ballgame B2B wholesale, like on the retail side, 00:10:15.299 --> 00:10:20.139 versus B2B in your distributor world. So I think 00:10:20.139 --> 00:10:22.299 that that's an important thing to remember, too. 00:10:22.490 --> 00:10:26.070 Okay cool so thank you for that insight. So you 00:10:26.070 --> 00:10:28.370 know one of the things I heard Gloria in what 00:10:28.370 --> 00:10:30.809 you were saying was originally when you started 00:10:30.809 --> 00:10:33.750 your distributorship you had some niche marketing 00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:38.789 and you actually created a niche customer base 00:10:38.789 --> 00:10:42.210 that you automated with an e -commerce solution 00:10:42.210 --> 00:10:45.529 and then you were able to then sell that. I think 00:10:45.529 --> 00:10:49.250 that's a really compelling thought process for 00:10:49.250 --> 00:10:52.610 our audience. And could you walk us through when 00:10:52.610 --> 00:10:55.110 you're meeting with a new distributor for the 00:10:55.110 --> 00:10:58.730 first time, how do you work with them and analyze 00:10:58.730 --> 00:11:02.669 them to figure out what their communication strategy 00:11:02.669 --> 00:11:06.830 should be? That's an amazing question. The first 00:11:06.830 --> 00:11:11.110 thing that we do is once we've had a call to 00:11:11.110 --> 00:11:13.149 get to know each other and see if we are a good 00:11:13.149 --> 00:11:17.240 fit or not. The first thing we do is I call it 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:24.059 a game plan. It's a program that is very simple 00:11:24.059 --> 00:11:27.919 where we're going to start. We're going to create 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:31.460 your own marketing plan for the next 90 days. 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:34.679 What should you do in the next 90 days to move 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:36.559 the needle and to really go in the direction 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:39.700 you want to go? So when we do that, we send a 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:42.379 questionnaire. one of the things that we do is 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:44.700 send a questionnaire that is pretty comprehensive 00:11:44.700 --> 00:11:49.600 to kind of uncover your own point of view, your 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:52.019 own, your target audience because if you ask 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:54.720 any distributor for the most part, oh no, everybody 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:57.899 can buy from me. It's so widespread that everybody 00:11:57.899 --> 00:12:00.379 can be my client. But when you start digging 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:02.879 a little bit, you'll see that there is a trend. 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:07.120 You know, if they are in California, in San Francisco, 00:12:07.220 --> 00:12:10.960 maybe they have a lot of tech companies. That's 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:13.240 a big portion of their clientele. And if they're 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:15.379 in Texas, they have an oil company. So there 00:12:15.379 --> 00:12:20.179 is always a way of narrowing down the audience 00:12:20.179 --> 00:12:22.379 and then the messaging and then what makes you 00:12:22.379 --> 00:12:25.240 different, because everybody sells the exact 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:29.120 same product, but everybody is unique. Nobody 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:33.580 is the same as somebody else. So my job is to 00:12:33.580 --> 00:12:37.419 uncover that uniqueness and that your own point 00:12:37.419 --> 00:12:41.000 of view, how you approach things. And that's 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:43.059 something that I've been doing it for a very 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:46.440 long time. And I'm still learning a lot when 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:49.419 I go through this process. But the one thing 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:53.679 that I have found is that there are not two distributors 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:56.500 that are the same. They're all different. Which 00:12:56.500 --> 00:12:58.779 is great, because otherwise I would be very bored 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:02.759 if I'm honest. So I love that answer for a number 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:06.700 of reasons. One is what I hear is you're a strategic 00:13:06.700 --> 00:13:09.340 partner. Really, you're helping your distributors 00:13:09.340 --> 00:13:13.600 at a high level identify who they want to be 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:17.519 and how they want to go to market. And I totally 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:20.399 resonate with that comment of everybody can be 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.860 my client, you know, having lived as a distributor 00:13:22.860 --> 00:13:26.179 for many years and on the supplier side, working 00:13:26.179 --> 00:13:29.019 with hundreds and hundreds of distributors. I 00:13:29.019 --> 00:13:32.980 think this is a common, actually almost roadblock 00:13:32.980 --> 00:13:37.379 to folks. There's a real magic in focusing in 00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:40.460 niche marketing. So I love that answer. I'm going 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:45.200 to switch a little bit to the idea of The size 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:48.519 of distributors that you work with, what's the 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:51.399 average size of a distributor that you like to 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:55.460 have as a client? The perfect fit for us is a 00:13:55.460 --> 00:13:58.840 small distributor that has a small team in place 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:03.299 and they're at least one million or going in 00:14:03.299 --> 00:14:07.399 that direction. One and five, I guess, is a good 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:10.120 range. I don't work with the very, very large 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:14.500 companies I have. called me and we've but it's 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:17.820 not really at this point I identify that that's 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:21.659 the best the best fit because when it's a solo 00:14:21.659 --> 00:14:24.059 distributor we also help solo distributors with 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:27.379 consultation and some things like that but a 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:30.000 solo distributor that doesn't want to hire anybody 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.899 that wants to do everything themselves it is 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:36.320 very limited as to as to how much growth they 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:41.389 can handle at the end of the day. Yes. I have 00:14:41.389 --> 00:14:45.769 done this and again, I do offer some solutions 00:14:45.769 --> 00:14:50.549 for small distributors, but as far as the program 00:14:50.549 --> 00:14:54.789 goes, which is a monthly service where they're 00:14:54.789 --> 00:14:57.570 basically hiring our entire team, but they pay 00:14:57.570 --> 00:15:01.820 less than if they were hiring one person. And 00:15:01.820 --> 00:15:04.879 then that is really for distributors. And what 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:07.700 you said is exactly right. We partner, we are 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:09.779 their marketing partners in that sense, because 00:15:09.779 --> 00:15:13.320 we kind of have their back and we know what's 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.720 good for them. And we're also open, you know, 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:19.000 as to if they want to go in a different direction, 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:21.799 they want to introduce a new product or service. 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:26.259 So that's kind of how we do. Okay, great. And 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:29.830 I love that. Range of distributor, I think you 00:15:29.830 --> 00:15:32.409 said these words at one point, Gloria, it's an 00:15:32.409 --> 00:15:37.009 underserved group of distributors that are so 00:15:37.009 --> 00:15:40.789 valuable to the industry. That distributor range 00:15:40.789 --> 00:15:43.929 is really the bedrock of the industry. Absolutely. 00:15:44.490 --> 00:15:48.470 I love that you're focusing on that demographic. 00:15:48.590 --> 00:15:52.259 It's really exciting. So tell us a little bit 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:55.940 about what you see in terms of marketing trends 00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:59.019 for that type of distributor to reach an audience. 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:05.259 The marketing trends that I see is that the same 00:16:05.259 --> 00:16:07.360 marketing trends that are going that are happening 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:11.200 everywhere, which is the prevalence of the online 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:16.879 space and the younger distributors are that are 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:20.309 coming in. They are really have a much better 00:16:20.309 --> 00:16:22.429 understanding of that online space. They have 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:24.629 a better understanding of marketing They know 00:16:24.629 --> 00:16:27.509 they have to do marketing and they don't want 00:16:27.509 --> 00:16:29.450 to do the cookie -cutter They don't want to do 00:16:29.450 --> 00:16:33.669 the exact same social media post that a few thousand 00:16:33.669 --> 00:16:36.669 other distributors are posting Because they know 00:16:36.669 --> 00:16:39.070 that that's not that doesn't really is not going 00:16:39.070 --> 00:16:41.070 to give them the results they need. And again, 00:16:41.090 --> 00:16:44.110 I have nothing against that. That's a good way 00:16:44.110 --> 00:16:46.649 to start. If you're small, you want to have something 00:16:46.649 --> 00:16:50.590 showing that serves a purpose for sure. But at 00:16:50.590 --> 00:16:52.629 that level, it becomes a point that you kind 00:16:52.629 --> 00:16:55.230 of want to upgrade your marketing. And I see 00:16:55.230 --> 00:16:58.669 a lot of distributors interested in doing that. 00:16:58.950 --> 00:17:04.079 Also, with the older distributors, They are looking 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.220 at exiting the business and they want to set 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:09.000 something up that is sellable because if you 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:12.579 run the business yourself and Only you can run 00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:15.839 the business Then you don't have a and you have 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:20.519 not built an asset You have just had a job and 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:23.500 if you save enough and put money in a 401k or 00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:28.359 an IRA whatever instrument like that Then that's 00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:31.220 your retirement, but you you have something in 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:33.660 your hand that you could sell with a little bit 00:17:33.660 --> 00:17:36.299 of effort and putting some things in place and 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:39.000 in fact one of our clients bought another distributor 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:42.180 and this other distributor only because he wanted 00:17:42.180 --> 00:17:44.720 to expand to the location where this other distributor 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:48.680 was and when we went to do the marketing and 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:52.480 and do the campaign to to kind of integrate that 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.240 other those other clients the distributor didn't 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:59.250 have a client list a proper client list exported 00:17:59.250 --> 00:18:02.910 from QuickBooks and then you have people from 00:18:02.910 --> 00:18:06.970 2006 and then the people that are more recent 00:18:06.970 --> 00:18:12.009 I'm talking last order 2006 and then more recent 00:18:12.009 --> 00:18:14.450 people don't have emails for example so that 00:18:14.450 --> 00:18:17.349 you don't have anything to say you could get 00:18:17.349 --> 00:18:20.150 more money if you have here's my customer list 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:23.799 Here's how I communicate with them quarterly. 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:26.819 This is the types of things that they order for 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:29.759 you have something more substantial, which you 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:33.720 already have in your head. Yeah. So I think what 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:36.539 you're saying, if I can sort of paraphrase that 00:18:36.539 --> 00:18:40.680 is data is king, like manage your data, make 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:43.319 sure you have clean data, pay attention to your 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:47.180 data and you can help the distributor do that. 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:53.650 I can help 100 % and that it's worth money. Yes, 00:18:53.710 --> 00:18:57.309 yes. So that's great insight. I want to switch 00:18:57.309 --> 00:19:01.549 over a little bit to social media. So I saw a 00:19:01.549 --> 00:19:04.210 new website that you do Facebook ads and you 00:19:04.210 --> 00:19:07.430 help with social media advertising. I think this 00:19:07.430 --> 00:19:12.369 is an underserved also category for our distributor 00:19:12.369 --> 00:19:15.789 audience and our supplier audience, by the way, 00:19:16.049 --> 00:19:19.740 can also be using Facebook advertising to target 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:22.380 their distributor partners. Tell us a little 00:19:22.380 --> 00:19:24.720 bit about what you're seeing in trends on the 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:28.160 social media front in terms of advertising. Social 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:36.220 media has gone rogue. Social media now gives 00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:39.759 an incredible opportunity that wasn't here when 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:43.900 it started or not even a year ago. We used to 00:19:43.900 --> 00:19:46.940 only see posts of people that we were following. 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:51.220 But now we are being served with information 00:19:51.220 --> 00:19:55.440 and content That is not even paid sometimes from 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:57.460 people that we don't know we never heard of them 00:19:57.460 --> 00:19:59.119 I'm sure that I'm not the only one that gets 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:02.519 this You go on Facebook, especially and you see 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:04.819 all this stuff that who cares. I don't care about 00:20:04.819 --> 00:20:09.519 Jennifer Lopez Or this other one or that I keep 00:20:09.819 --> 00:20:13.480 hiding those posts. But the point is that if 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.299 you have interesting content, something that 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:19.940 is worthwhile is going to show, is going to come 00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:23.359 up, and you have a bigger chance of exposing 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.579 your business. Now, as far as advertising, I 00:20:26.579 --> 00:20:30.640 find that things have changed tremendously. We 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:35.579 also do Google advertising. And with AI, They 00:20:35.579 --> 00:20:38.099 want to write the post for you they want to write 00:20:38.099 --> 00:20:41.180 the ads for you they want to create and this 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:45.559 is causing a lot of problems because it before 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:48.660 you can control. your ads and it's good that 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:51.559 if you have more ads created and more variations 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:55.160 and all that. But sometimes it's just targeting 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:57.839 the wrong thing or that's not what you want to 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:00.640 say. So it's causing problems and also there 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:05.539 are a lot of bots clicking on the ads. So there's 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:08.160 been a big disturbance of that in that section. 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:13.359 One thing that I say that is worth doing advertising 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:19.259 is retargeting. people come to your website and 00:21:19.259 --> 00:21:23.819 they hang out and then they leave and They never 00:21:23.819 --> 00:21:26.920 come back and they were interested in what you 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:31.220 had there for sure So if you can advertise to 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:35.660 those people Online as they're browsing and doing 00:21:35.660 --> 00:21:38.440 other things That's your audience that came to 00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:42.039 your website So that is one thing that I don't 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:44.079 know many people that are doing it other than 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:46.990 a few of our clients Of course you have to have 00:21:46.990 --> 00:21:49.190 a certain amount of visitors a month, I think 00:21:49.190 --> 00:21:52.569 it's a thousand, and by a thousand I mean registered 00:21:52.569 --> 00:21:57.109 in the tracking apps to determine that they're 00:21:57.109 --> 00:22:00.289 enough. to apply the retargeting. But many distributors 00:22:00.289 --> 00:22:02.150 have that if you're spending money on Google 00:22:02.150 --> 00:22:05.509 ads or any other ads, you are getting a lot of 00:22:05.509 --> 00:22:08.369 traffic and those people are leaving and you're 00:22:08.369 --> 00:22:12.089 paying for that traffic. So why not invest in 00:22:12.089 --> 00:22:15.069 retargeting, which is a lot less costly. That 00:22:15.069 --> 00:22:19.089 is one missed opportunity that I see many distributors 00:22:19.089 --> 00:22:21.609 could and also suppliers, if they're doing ads, 00:22:21.930 --> 00:22:24.670 they could also do also another way is if you 00:22:24.670 --> 00:22:29.200 have a list. which suppliers have of distributors, 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:33.559 you can serve ads to the distributors because 00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:38.079 you can target the ads to that audience. So there's 00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:41.400 a lot you can do with ads. But one thing that 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:43.700 I want to mention and make sure that it's clear 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:46.420 is that none of these things are standalone. 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:50.599 You can't just do ads. They may work for a little 00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:54.920 while, but you do need to have a different ingredients 00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:58.519 in your marketing. So your website is very, very 00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:02.019 fundamental because that's where the magic happens. 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:05.099 That's your place of business. So if you have 00:23:05.099 --> 00:23:08.240 a generic website just put your logo on and you 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:11.859 have the exact the exact same Banner as everybody 00:23:11.859 --> 00:23:14.039 else, which is funny Sometimes I'm working with 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:15.980 a three or four distributors at the same time 00:23:15.980 --> 00:23:17.720 and they all have the exact same banner on their 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:20.079 website And we're like, who's is this again? 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:24.779 Because that that's not enough you need to have 00:23:24.779 --> 00:23:29.500 your own personality communicated on your website 00:23:29.500 --> 00:23:32.420 it has to you have to show why would they want 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:34.819 to pick you because if you have the exact same 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:39.680 website as other thousands then the only differentiator 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:46.180 is price that's the way it life is so okay and 00:23:46.180 --> 00:23:48.460 for example you go see a client and the client 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:50.700 is evaluating different vendors and everybody 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:54.000 has the same website then they're going to pick 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:55.920 the cheapest the one that's offering the best 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:59.859 prices That that's the way we function whether 00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:03.700 you like it or not and then if what if they are 00:24:03.700 --> 00:24:07.380 a sports company and one of the distributors 00:24:07.380 --> 00:24:10.460 only talks about sports on their website and 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:12.680 Then they also have the same catalog website, 00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:15.160 but they're they're talking about sports stuff 00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:17.880 They're gonna go with that one because they're 00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:20.640 gonna feel that they understand what they need 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:24.599 and their business So that's kind of the what 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:27.900 we do with our clients help them match their 00:24:27.900 --> 00:24:32.180 message to their audience. Sorry, my dogs are 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:34.640 making a lot of noise in the background. I apologize. 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:38.059 Kim, would you like to weigh in there? Yes. I 00:24:38.059 --> 00:24:40.519 have a question for you, Gloria. So I love this 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:42.940 and totally agree. You need to have multiple 00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:48.339 ingredients for that marketing cake. As a distributor 00:24:48.339 --> 00:24:51.400 who's just starting, they're approaching a million 00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:56.079 dollars. They've got a small team behind them. 00:24:56.349 --> 00:24:59.069 They know they need to, in order to get to that 00:24:59.069 --> 00:25:01.690 next level, you know, to get to 1 .5, to get 00:25:01.690 --> 00:25:03.890 to 2 million, to get to 3 million, they need 00:25:03.890 --> 00:25:08.730 to invest in marketing. Looking at all the different 00:25:08.730 --> 00:25:12.809 components, is there an area that you would recommend 00:25:12.809 --> 00:25:17.569 almost like a larger investment, right? Like 00:25:17.569 --> 00:25:20.559 social media can blow up. Right. And you can 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:22.539 either put money in Facebook ads or you can put 00:25:22.539 --> 00:25:24.500 money in LinkedIn ads, and then you can go on 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:26.779 TikTok and then you can do retargeting. Like 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:29.559 there's so many things just under the social 00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:32.680 media bucket. But then you have your direct mail 00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:35.779 and then you have, you know, you have all different 00:25:35.779 --> 00:25:37.720 drip campaigns. You have all different stuff 00:25:37.720 --> 00:25:41.779 that you can do. Where would you is there a spot 00:25:41.779 --> 00:25:46.140 that you would recommend people start and then 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:49.799 and then sort of grow? Right. We start with the 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:53.680 foundation. And if you don't have a website, 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:56.880 if you have a cookie cutter website, your website 00:25:56.880 --> 00:26:00.900 is part of your foundation. OK. So the first 00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:03.259 thing we do back to what the first thing we do 00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:06.019 is is the game plan. So within the game plan, 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:10.339 we see what you have in place and then come up 00:26:10.339 --> 00:26:12.519 with a plan. What do you need to do first? What 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:15.640 comes next? Usually the website is the first 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:17.700 thing. Maybe you have a website that is unique 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:21.640 to you that needs improvements. So we come in 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:23.680 and do the improve because sometimes distributors 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:25.480 are like this and they put this on the website. 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.420 Oh, I like that. That sounds good. But it's not 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:31.779 them. It has to be your voice. It has to communicate 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:36.430 your point of view. So. not only the looks, also 00:26:36.430 --> 00:26:40.289 the messaging, the content. If you work in an 00:26:40.289 --> 00:26:43.069 area, like I said before, in an area where there 00:26:43.069 --> 00:26:45.970 is a lot of oil companies and industrial tech 00:26:45.970 --> 00:26:48.130 clients, then you want to talk about safety. 00:26:48.250 --> 00:26:51.309 You want to talk about different kinds of quality 00:26:51.309 --> 00:26:56.170 products that can withstand corrosion and things 00:26:56.170 --> 00:26:59.660 like that, just to give you an example. and sustainability 00:26:59.660 --> 00:27:01.920 as well, which is important. So you got to really 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:06.200 pick a few topics to focus on that. So first 00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:08.140 the website, then the topics, and you put the 00:27:08.140 --> 00:27:10.319 topics and the content on the website, and then 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:15.339 you spread the content throughout online, social 00:27:15.339 --> 00:27:18.599 media, ads, and whatever it is. But they have 00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:22.019 to be tied into your website and to your topic 00:27:22.019 --> 00:27:24.960 and to your sweet spot. That's how it works. 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:29.380 So social media is not a standalone. And depending 00:27:29.380 --> 00:27:32.079 on who your client is, like, I don't have any 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:35.400 client that we're doing any TikToks for. The 00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:37.799 reason is because you could, like you said, you 00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:40.599 can do so many different things. But where should 00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:43.700 I put my money that is really going to be when 00:27:43.700 --> 00:27:46.700 I get a bigger, a bigger back for my book? Right. 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:52.180 LinkedIn is the number one place. Now, Instagram 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:56.750 is emerging. So. You know for the distributor 00:27:56.750 --> 00:27:58.750 business because the distribution business like 00:27:58.750 --> 00:28:02.890 you said you are as a distributor you are marketing 00:28:02.890 --> 00:28:07.690 to companies. And you have to tell them that 00:28:07.690 --> 00:28:10.329 you understand their marketing you understand 00:28:10.329 --> 00:28:13.230 their audience and they you understand what they 00:28:13.230 --> 00:28:16.809 are trying to do. So that you can come in and 00:28:16.809 --> 00:28:19.410 bring the products that are going to do that 00:28:19.410 --> 00:28:24.519 job so. You do that through your content and 00:28:24.519 --> 00:28:27.619 through the way your website presents itself. 00:28:28.420 --> 00:28:29.920 So I don't know if I answered your question. 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:33.259 No, that was great. Thank you. We have to start 00:28:33.259 --> 00:28:36.279 with the strategy. Then comes your foundation, 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:39.299 either build it from scratch or improve what 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:42.420 you have in there. And then we can help with 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:46.339 the full execution of the monthly different things 00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:49.740 that need to be done regularly. Okay, so that's 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:52.960 awesome insight. Thank you, Kim, for asking those 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:56.059 questions. I know we're getting close to time. 00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:59.700 So Gloria, one of the things I was wanting to 00:28:59.700 --> 00:29:02.660 ask you about was walk us through the cycle of 00:29:02.660 --> 00:29:06.559 this. So I'm hearing the wisdom of investing 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:09.579 in your website, making sure your website is... 00:29:09.549 --> 00:29:12.869 reflecting your message in your tone, then you 00:29:12.869 --> 00:29:16.390 bolt on maybe your social media or email marketing 00:29:16.390 --> 00:29:21.109 and other marketing activities. What is the timeframe 00:29:21.109 --> 00:29:24.509 for this? You meet a distributor, tell us what 00:29:24.509 --> 00:29:27.509 happens next. Okay, I meet a distributor, we 00:29:27.509 --> 00:29:30.369 talk about the game plan. That's the first thing 00:29:30.369 --> 00:29:35.170 that we do. And after the game plan, We present 00:29:35.170 --> 00:29:38.509 what we're recommending and we go with it. What 00:29:38.509 --> 00:29:41.549 we're recommending again usually is we're going 00:29:41.549 --> 00:29:45.029 to focus on these segments. We're going to focus 00:29:45.029 --> 00:29:47.789 on this market audience first. Maybe you have 00:29:47.789 --> 00:29:49.890 many different target audiences, but we're going 00:29:49.890 --> 00:29:51.930 to start with this one. So we're going to start 00:29:51.930 --> 00:29:56.240 developing content. And usually there are two 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:58.920 parts of that. One is the reactivation of your 00:29:58.920 --> 00:30:01.339 database, which normally they haven't done anything 00:30:01.339 --> 00:30:05.220 with their own clients. And the resell, the lifetime 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:09.180 value of the distributor client is very, very, 00:30:09.180 --> 00:30:11.579 very high. One of the highest, I think, in any 00:30:11.579 --> 00:30:14.880 industry. So you want to make sure that you're 00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:17.099 marketing to your own clients so that we include 00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:19.160 that in the whole deal, right? In the whole. 00:30:19.450 --> 00:30:22.730 program. And that's when the CRM comes in. So 00:30:22.730 --> 00:30:24.750 we were finding that our clients were really 00:30:24.750 --> 00:30:28.509 not having a good system to follow up and to 00:30:28.509 --> 00:30:30.809 keep track of the leads that were coming in, 00:30:31.190 --> 00:30:35.829 or even their clients. So it becomes something 00:30:35.829 --> 00:30:38.230 where the client calls you. You never, never, 00:30:38.230 --> 00:30:40.250 ever communicate with your client unless they 00:30:40.250 --> 00:30:42.269 need something and they contact you. That's not 00:30:42.269 --> 00:30:45.339 really a good idea. So then you wonder why they're 00:30:45.339 --> 00:30:47.720 also looking at other, you know, hey, match this 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:49.460 price. Well, hey, you know, you never really 00:30:49.460 --> 00:30:53.019 ever where are you? So we do that. We do that 00:30:53.019 --> 00:30:57.500 part. And that's how it's different for everybody. 00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:00.339 So we help them with the implementation and we 00:31:00.339 --> 00:31:04.700 create some reconnection and with their clients 00:31:04.700 --> 00:31:07.279 and a plan for that. So that's why it's a kind 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:10.880 of comprehensive because just social media alone, 00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:14.200 social media is not a standalone. You need to 00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:17.519 have a good foundation because people in social 00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:19.119 media are going to go to your website. So if 00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:22.039 they see nothing that has anything to do with 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:24.700 what you're saying on social media, then there 00:31:24.700 --> 00:31:28.279 is a big disconnect and people don't have time 00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:31.319 for that. They leave. So it's a whole thing. 00:31:31.339 --> 00:31:33.299 And then you also have to monitor, track the 00:31:33.299 --> 00:31:36.980 results, see what content is coming up online. 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:39.819 And then now you have to optimize for search 00:31:39.819 --> 00:31:43.299 and not just for search, but also answers. questions. 00:31:43.400 --> 00:31:45.359 What questions are people asking? Let's just 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:47.700 provide answers for those questions. The way 00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:50.240 the content is structured has to be different. 00:31:50.680 --> 00:31:53.660 And it's interesting. It's very dynamic. Even 00:31:53.660 --> 00:31:57.059 though it could be tiring sometimes. So many 00:31:57.059 --> 00:32:00.279 changes. Lisa, it looks like you're saying something 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:05.500 gold. I think that, you know, what you're saying 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:08.900 is it's a big job. There's multiple moving parts 00:32:08.900 --> 00:32:13.400 to it. I do want to ask, with those multiple 00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:16.339 moving parts, do you have a dashboard tool or 00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:20.400 some type of tool that you use with your distributors 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:23.559 to measure results, do the retargeting, look 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:26.579 at social media? How does that work for you, 00:32:26.779 --> 00:32:31.329 Gloria? Right. place to track is with Google 00:32:31.329 --> 00:32:34.829 Analytics and then the all the Google suite of 00:32:34.829 --> 00:32:37.089 of tools that they provide for this analytics 00:32:37.089 --> 00:32:40.349 is just one part and and we have some what we 00:32:40.349 --> 00:32:42.410 call KPIs you know what is it that we're going 00:32:42.410 --> 00:32:45.990 to track what what do we track traffic and we 00:32:45.990 --> 00:32:49.509 track conversions because that's important. And 00:32:49.509 --> 00:32:52.630 then nurturing loyalty which I think is a very 00:32:52.630 --> 00:32:56.150 important topic that you brought up which is 00:32:56.150 --> 00:32:59.410 making sure that your nurturing your existing 00:32:59.410 --> 00:33:03.230 client base. Right, right. That we do through 00:33:03.230 --> 00:33:07.890 email and tools like Zoho provide dashboards 00:33:07.890 --> 00:33:10.430 where you can really see. All your campaigns 00:33:10.430 --> 00:33:13.410 and a big part of the work that is being done 00:33:13.410 --> 00:33:15.990 with the marketing how many leads came in how 00:33:15.990 --> 00:33:19.730 many You know new clients and repeat clients. 00:33:19.730 --> 00:33:21.789 So you you want to have all of those things in 00:33:21.789 --> 00:33:24.650 place That's how you measure your growth And 00:33:24.650 --> 00:33:28.049 the results and and that's why I have to insist 00:33:28.049 --> 00:33:30.970 that it's not a single thing that you do is now 00:33:30.970 --> 00:33:33.990 Okay i'm gonna start doing some ads in on facebook 00:33:33.990 --> 00:33:36.569 because someone told me or i've seen ads on face 00:33:36.569 --> 00:33:41.420 i'm gonna do some No, that is alone. That's really 00:33:41.420 --> 00:33:47.039 not going to give any any major results. So that's 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:51.900 a very wise words. So I think we're going to 00:33:51.900 --> 00:33:54.680 sort of look towards wrapping up our discussion. 00:33:55.799 --> 00:33:59.819 Adrian, do you have any thoughts or, you know, 00:34:00.019 --> 00:34:03.920 final thoughts or questions for Gloria? Gloria, 00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:08.449 I'm hoping you'll agree with me. But leading 00:34:08.449 --> 00:34:12.030 in with that one, but I do want to say that for 00:34:12.030 --> 00:34:15.070 suppliers and distributors and their social media, 00:34:15.090 --> 00:34:18.090 it's not just posting and walking away and correct 00:34:18.090 --> 00:34:20.289 me if I'm wrong, but what I noticed is there's 00:34:20.289 --> 00:34:22.429 not a lot of engagement. You know, someone, are 00:34:22.429 --> 00:34:24.670 you checking your inbox? Even though it's, you 00:34:24.670 --> 00:34:26.710 know, that, you know, you're checking any messages. 00:34:26.809 --> 00:34:29.429 Are you thanking people? Are you sending a LinkedIn 00:34:29.429 --> 00:34:31.130 or you're creating, are you, is there a program? 00:34:31.190 --> 00:34:34.289 Are you using some kind of crazy automation program 00:34:34.289 --> 00:34:37.239 where the computer does the whole thing but you're 00:34:37.239 --> 00:34:39.099 not people are saying i'm interested in you're 00:34:39.099 --> 00:34:41.340 not even responding to it because it's not really 00:34:41.340 --> 00:34:44.460 a human looking at it or the messages are so 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:48.480 canned that what you know that you know uh and 00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:50.599 so i i just think you'll agree with me right 00:34:50.599 --> 00:34:52.960 like when you're setting up that social media 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:55.719 and you're hiring someone to just post for you 00:34:56.030 --> 00:34:58.010 I think you're making a big mistake. You have 00:34:58.010 --> 00:34:59.949 to have someone that's really in there. Especially 00:34:59.949 --> 00:35:04.010 if the posts are going out to thousands of people 00:35:04.010 --> 00:35:06.329 and nobody's checking, absolutely. And I encourage 00:35:06.329 --> 00:35:08.769 my clients to go and check their social media, 00:35:09.130 --> 00:35:13.130 repost and comment, because I'm not them. And 00:35:13.130 --> 00:35:16.170 this is where the sales job comes in. So usually 00:35:16.170 --> 00:35:19.130 we do a training with their entire sales team 00:35:19.130 --> 00:35:21.730 as to how they're going to use that content. 00:35:22.429 --> 00:35:26.750 And it works. It works. Sometimes we get one 00:35:26.750 --> 00:35:30.170 of our clients, hey, which supplier is this from? 00:35:30.309 --> 00:35:32.889 Because we posted some kind of a product and 00:35:32.889 --> 00:35:35.630 they're like, somebody wants this. What is this 00:35:35.630 --> 00:35:38.789 supplier? So now we have a method too, so that 00:35:38.789 --> 00:35:42.730 they know. And we ask them, who are your suppliers? 00:35:42.989 --> 00:35:46.000 What are your favorite suppliers? show that. 00:35:46.300 --> 00:35:52.340 But yes, 100%, you as the owner or not the owner, 00:35:52.920 --> 00:35:55.960 usually the owner is the one that does the most 00:35:55.960 --> 00:35:58.559 sales. So whoever's doing the sales needs to 00:35:58.559 --> 00:36:02.820 go on social media and respond to comments and 00:36:02.820 --> 00:36:07.619 repost on their own personal profile. And this 00:36:07.619 --> 00:36:11.139 is how your page grows. This is how you get people 00:36:11.139 --> 00:36:15.559 to see your brand. Awesome. That really does 00:36:15.559 --> 00:36:18.760 answer my question. Also, I noticed, because 00:36:18.760 --> 00:36:21.119 I've worked with a lot of distributors, that 00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:23.179 many of you don't have Google My Business page. 00:36:24.139 --> 00:36:26.159 Are you nuts? Like it's a free, I know, right, 00:36:26.219 --> 00:36:28.380 Gloria? I think Gloria could set that up for 00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:32.940 you. Right, Gloria? Do you do the Google My Business 00:36:32.940 --> 00:36:35.400 page? Of course, that's different. They probably 00:36:35.400 --> 00:36:37.300 don't know they have it because Google assigned 00:36:37.300 --> 00:36:39.940 them one. If they don't know they have it most 00:36:39.940 --> 00:36:42.829 of the times. It's just that we have to recover 00:36:42.829 --> 00:36:45.849 it. But no, 100%. That's part of the foundation. 00:36:45.949 --> 00:36:47.750 That's part of the foundational work. Do you 00:36:47.750 --> 00:36:51.130 have all the things that you need to have for 00:36:51.130 --> 00:36:54.130 Google to see that you exist and what you do, 00:36:54.230 --> 00:36:56.809 who you serve? And I love that you mentioned 00:36:56.809 --> 00:36:59.230 it's not just a search, it's an ask engine. So 00:36:59.230 --> 00:37:01.969 very, very smart. And I also, I think you guys 00:37:01.969 --> 00:37:03.949 that we need to have a conversation about chat 00:37:03.949 --> 00:37:07.889 bots and AI in the future. So, so if you're familiar 00:37:07.889 --> 00:37:10.389 with that, Gloria, maybe we'll do a panel discussion 00:37:10.389 --> 00:37:12.230 on that. I think that would be really interesting. 00:37:12.369 --> 00:37:14.690 I just want to say to distributors and suppliers, 00:37:15.329 --> 00:37:17.170 stop forgetting your follow -up when you are 00:37:17.170 --> 00:37:19.389 looking at marketing. And I'm talking about the 00:37:19.389 --> 00:37:22.409 engagement, but also often I see that where someone 00:37:22.409 --> 00:37:24.030 is actually saying, Hey, I would be interested 00:37:24.030 --> 00:37:27.289 in meeting. And I will say out loud that many 00:37:27.289 --> 00:37:30.389 of my clients that have put me on pause or have 00:37:30.389 --> 00:37:32.510 stopped, it's always because they're getting 00:37:32.510 --> 00:37:35.230 the leads, but they're not able to do the follow 00:37:35.230 --> 00:37:37.989 -up. So don't start a program until you're 100 00:37:37.989 --> 00:37:41.050 % all set with the process and how you're going 00:37:41.050 --> 00:37:44.070 to handle each and every lead coming in. And 00:37:44.070 --> 00:37:46.230 that's it. I've actually enjoyed this conversation 00:37:46.230 --> 00:37:48.570 tremendously. And Gloria, it's nice to see you 00:37:48.570 --> 00:37:53.059 face to face on Zoom. Thank you so much, Gloria. 00:37:53.559 --> 00:37:56.920 Kim, do you have any last comments? No, I mean, 00:37:56.920 --> 00:38:00.000 I think, you know, Andrea, Adrian was taking 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:03.159 the last, I was gonna say the same thing. Like, 00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:06.579 you know, you need to cover the basics first, 00:38:06.579 --> 00:38:11.760 right? And I think that most entrepreneurs and 00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:16.099 small businesses, if they're spending $20 just 00:38:16.099 --> 00:38:19.000 randomly picking a number on Facebook ads, think 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:22.320 they're doing marketing. Right. And they just 00:38:22.320 --> 00:38:24.480 throw something out there and I'm doing something 00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:27.159 like, and that's all they have time for. And 00:38:27.159 --> 00:38:29.320 that's where sometimes those cookie cutters just 00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:32.739 go one step above and do the cookie cutter, invest 00:38:32.739 --> 00:38:35.360 in that, because at least that's better than 00:38:35.360 --> 00:38:38.940 nothing. But it's not really going to be driving 00:38:38.940 --> 00:38:43.059 your business. But then when you do decide you 00:38:43.059 --> 00:38:46.559 want to invest, you also have to be ready to 00:38:46.559 --> 00:38:49.550 handle. that growth, whether it be responding 00:38:49.550 --> 00:38:54.070 to people, responding to leads, being able to 00:38:54.070 --> 00:38:58.269 fill orders. So, you know, it's sort of the, 00:38:58.429 --> 00:39:00.409 okay, when you first start out, you're just doing 00:39:00.409 --> 00:39:02.670 anything and you think you have it covered, box 00:39:02.670 --> 00:39:06.050 checked, and really, you're not, you're just 00:39:06.050 --> 00:39:09.849 covering the bare, bare, bare, bare, bare minimum. 00:39:10.690 --> 00:39:13.460 And then when you start to invest, you need to 00:39:13.460 --> 00:39:15.400 understand that it actually does need attention. 00:39:15.699 --> 00:39:18.880 You can't just throw money at it and say, well, 00:39:18.880 --> 00:39:21.579 now I have $500 or $1 ,000 a month I'm going 00:39:21.579 --> 00:39:24.760 to throw into advertising. Because if you're 00:39:24.760 --> 00:39:27.500 not responding to it, you might as well send 00:39:27.500 --> 00:39:31.260 me that $1 ,000 a month. And it's the same thing. 00:39:32.280 --> 00:39:36.420 It's like throwing it out the window. So I love, 00:39:36.480 --> 00:39:39.440 I was so excited for this podcast. I love this 00:39:39.440 --> 00:39:43.710 conversation around marketing. you can do a lot 00:39:43.710 --> 00:39:46.289 of things very cost -effectively, to Gloria's 00:39:46.289 --> 00:39:48.829 point, if you're just targeted and streamlined. 00:39:49.710 --> 00:39:53.929 And those small audiences, you reap so much more 00:39:53.929 --> 00:39:56.309 out of than if you're throwing spaghetti against 00:39:56.309 --> 00:40:00.349 a wall and seeing what sticks. So don't be afraid 00:40:00.349 --> 00:40:03.530 of, you know, if someone like, you know, Gloria 00:40:03.530 --> 00:40:06.550 comes in and says, we should focus on, you know, 00:40:06.670 --> 00:40:10.349 only A through B right now in this particular 00:40:10.349 --> 00:40:13.480 audience. because you will most likely get much 00:40:13.480 --> 00:40:17.900 more return out of that segmented, more niche 00:40:17.900 --> 00:40:21.880 approach than you will at going wide. Great, 00:40:21.880 --> 00:40:25.579 great. Thank you. And I agree with everybody's 00:40:25.579 --> 00:40:28.880 comments. I think to summarize, don't be afraid 00:40:28.880 --> 00:40:32.239 to hire an agency. Don't be afraid to hire a 00:40:32.239 --> 00:40:35.400 partner like Gloria who knows the industry, but 00:40:35.400 --> 00:40:39.440 also knows marketing beyond the industry. Think 00:40:39.440 --> 00:40:43.159 about niche marketing as your friend. When you're 00:40:43.159 --> 00:40:46.679 ready to invest, make sure you have the capacity 00:40:46.679 --> 00:40:49.920 to follow up and take advantage of your investment. 00:40:50.500 --> 00:40:53.579 These are not easy things, audience. We know 00:40:53.579 --> 00:40:57.300 that these are difficult decisions to make, and 00:40:57.300 --> 00:41:01.539 it's not easy to grow a distributorship in the 00:41:01.539 --> 00:41:05.159 $1 million to $5 million range. We are your biggest 00:41:05.159 --> 00:41:08.760 fans. We want to bring you resources that can 00:41:08.760 --> 00:41:11.900 help you grow. We hope you'll reach out to Gloria 00:41:11.900 --> 00:41:13.739 if it's something you think will fit in with 00:41:13.739 --> 00:41:17.159 your company. Gloria, you're brilliant. I think 00:41:17.159 --> 00:41:19.880 you're very unique in the industry, offering 00:41:19.880 --> 00:41:22.420 something that our audience really needs. And 00:41:22.420 --> 00:41:24.820 we really appreciate your being on the show. 00:41:25.280 --> 00:41:28.119 So we'll look forward to seeing you again. Would 00:41:28.119 --> 00:41:30.980 you like to say any parting comments to our audience? 00:41:31.400 --> 00:41:35.199 Well, all I want to say is thank you so much 00:41:35.199 --> 00:41:37.519 for having me, first of all. This was a very, 00:41:37.519 --> 00:41:40.719 very fun conversation. Of course, I love to talk 00:41:40.719 --> 00:41:44.519 about this. That's my favorite topic. I do think 00:41:44.519 --> 00:41:47.840 that distributors can compete with the big players 00:41:47.840 --> 00:41:50.760 with online marketing, even if they're just by 00:41:50.760 --> 00:41:54.929 themselves. And just putting some things in place. 00:41:55.510 --> 00:41:57.670 And we do offer, like I said, the game plan is 00:41:57.670 --> 00:42:00.210 something that a solo distributor can completely 00:42:00.210 --> 00:42:02.269 afford. And then they know what they have to 00:42:02.269 --> 00:42:05.010 do and they can do it in phases. But then you 00:42:05.010 --> 00:42:08.389 know exactly what to do instead of trying. a 00:42:08.389 --> 00:42:10.690 ton of different things. But I do believe in 00:42:10.690 --> 00:42:13.489 this industry. I absolutely love this industry. 00:42:14.030 --> 00:42:17.630 It's a lot of fun is the creativity is wonderful. 00:42:18.389 --> 00:42:21.469 And most distributors that I all the series that 00:42:21.469 --> 00:42:23.750 I talked to have so much to bring to the table 00:42:23.750 --> 00:42:27.349 in terms of the creativity, but nobody would 00:42:27.349 --> 00:42:33.010 ever know. So go for it. Thank you so much, Gloria. 00:42:33.969 --> 00:42:36.789 Kim, Adrienne, I love this topic. I hope we'll 00:42:36.789 --> 00:42:39.809 be talking more about it. And we'll see you next 00:42:39.809 --> 00:42:42.090 time on the promo playbook. In the meantime, 00:42:42.269 --> 00:42:47.449 be successful. We'll see you soon. Thanks for 00:42:47.449 --> 00:42:50.070 tuning into the promo playbook. If you found 00:42:50.070 --> 00:42:53.230 value in today's episode, be sure to subscribe 00:42:53.230 --> 00:42:56.250 and leave us a review. Got a topic you'd love 00:42:56.250 --> 00:42:58.829 us to cover? Connect with us on LinkedIn. We 00:42:58.829 --> 00:43:02.380 want to hear from you. Until next time, stay 00:43:02.380 --> 00:43:06.079 smart, stay strategic and keep growing your supplier's 00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:06.380 success.