1157: 3 Ways to Master Customer Engagement w/ Scott Kooken

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:04.519 Want to expand the reach of your content? Start a PODCAST, feature industry 2 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:08.910 experts on your show and leverage the influence and reach of your guests to grow 3 00:00:08.990 --> 00:00:14.070 your brand. Learn more at sweet phish MEDIACOM. Are you trying to establish 4 00:00:14.070 --> 00:00:19.269 your brand as a thought leader? Start a PODCAST, invite industry experts to 5 00:00:19.390 --> 00:00:24.500 be guests on your show and watch your brand become the prime resource for decision 6 00:00:24.579 --> 00:00:34.219 makers in your industry. Learn more at sweet fish Mediacom. You're listening to 7 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:39.170 be tob growth, a daily podcast for B TOB leaders. We've interviewed names 8 00:00:39.170 --> 00:00:42.810 you've probably heard before, like Gary vanner truck and Simon Senek, but you've 9 00:00:42.890 --> 00:00:46.969 probably never heard from the majority of our guests. That's because the bulk of 10 00:00:47.090 --> 00:00:51.560 our interviews aren't with professional speakers and authors. Most of our guests are in 11 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.359 the trenches leading sales and marketing teams. They're implementing strategy, they're experimenting with 12 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:00.200 Pactics, they're building the fastest growing bedd companies in the world. My name 13 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:03.790 is James Carberry. I'm the founder of sweet fish media, a podcast agency 14 00:01:03.870 --> 00:01:07.870 for BB brands, and I'm also one of the CO hosts of this show. 15 00:01:07.549 --> 00:01:11.230 When we're not interviewing sales and marketing leaders. You'll hear stories from behind 16 00:01:11.269 --> 00:01:15.549 the scenes of our own business. Will share the ups and downs of our 17 00:01:15.590 --> 00:01:19.620 journey as we attempt to take over the world. Just getting well? Maybe 18 00:01:21.219 --> 00:01:26.900 let's get into the show's hey, everybody, logan with sweet fish here. 19 00:01:26.180 --> 00:01:30.700 Before we get straight into today's interview, I wanted to let you know about 20 00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:34.650 another podcast you might enjoy. If you were a regular listener of this show, 21 00:01:34.930 --> 00:01:41.129 you'll probably really like the B Tob Revenue Executive Experience With Chad Sanderson over 22 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:45.370 at value selling associates. Chad is a good friend of ours here at sweetfish, 23 00:01:45.569 --> 00:01:49.239 a phenomenal podcast host. I really liked one of his older episodes from 24 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:55.439 probably a year back with type Capony, the author of the transparency sailed. 25 00:01:55.760 --> 00:02:00.629 Great conversation about leveraging honesty, transparency and a value added approach in B Tob 26 00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:07.230 Sales. Check out the B Tob Revenue Executive Experience With Chad Sanderson on apple 27 00:02:07.310 --> 00:02:09.830 podcast or anywhere you do your list. All right, now let's really get 28 00:02:09.870 --> 00:02:15.300 into the show. Welcome back to be tob growth. I'm Logan lyles with 29 00:02:15.340 --> 00:02:20.500 sweet fish media. I'm joined today by Scott Cooking. He is the president 30 00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:23.659 over at links unlimited. Scott, how you doing today, sir? I'm 31 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:27.180 doing well. Thank you. I hear the weather's better in Cincinnati. You're 32 00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:30.569 actually having golfing weather and we got six inches of snow and single digits out 33 00:02:30.569 --> 00:02:34.969 here in Colorado. Right. Well, you know, as long as I 34 00:02:35.009 --> 00:02:38.889 can extend the golf season, it's good for me. So yeah, I 35 00:02:38.129 --> 00:02:40.689 hear you there. Well, Scott, we're going to be talking about how 36 00:02:40.810 --> 00:02:46.360 to make it very easy for your customers, you were vendor partners, to 37 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:49.840 engage with you on a number of fronts, and you guys do this really 38 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:52.759 well and it's a topic that you're passionate about. I think it's going to 39 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:55.080 add a ton of value to listeners today. But before we jump straight to 40 00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:58.909 that, I would love for you to give us a little bit of contacts 41 00:02:58.949 --> 00:03:01.509 and background on yourself and what you and the links unlimited team are up to 42 00:03:01.629 --> 00:03:06.189 these days. Yeah, so, so, links in a limited. We've 43 00:03:06.229 --> 00:03:08.750 been in business for twenty three years. Hard to believe, but it has 44 00:03:08.789 --> 00:03:14.379 been twenty three years and you know, it's hard to explain the company. 45 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:19.539 I almost consider ourselves that the filming company, as in we fulfill different part 46 00:03:19.699 --> 00:03:23.740 types of product for different types of industry, and so, of course, 47 00:03:23.819 --> 00:03:29.969 the promotional product industry, the loyalty industry, the incentive industry, the event 48 00:03:30.129 --> 00:03:36.210 gifting industry, and we even gotten into the three pl our goal is best 49 00:03:36.289 --> 00:03:43.360 products, period, and so we believe in the opportunity to provide the best 50 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:46.319 products period. But when it comes down to it, we are a fulfilment 51 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:53.919 company and we kind of told ourselves as the best at it. I love 52 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:59.430 it's good. So you guys are helping oftentimes, event marketers with planning the 53 00:03:59.509 --> 00:04:02.310 gifts around their events and how they're going to engage with folks. Right. 54 00:04:02.509 --> 00:04:05.349 So that's that's why, both for you guys and for your customers, this 55 00:04:05.509 --> 00:04:10.699 idea of easy engagement is something that you're pretty passionate about, right. Yeah, 56 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:14.780 so we started out in the in the name linked unlimited. We start 57 00:04:14.819 --> 00:04:18.779 out in the golf industry, and so the goal was to provide golf equipment 58 00:04:18.980 --> 00:04:25.810 to the promotional products industry, which is a tough deal because when you think 59 00:04:25.810 --> 00:04:29.889 about golf, you got to think about the types of product that you're you're 60 00:04:29.930 --> 00:04:32.170 doing. You're not selling a golf club. One golf club has sixty different 61 00:04:32.209 --> 00:04:36.810 skills it has sixty different products that you're selling, and so our goal was 62 00:04:38.050 --> 00:04:42.199 to make that easy, to put it into these loyalty programs, easy in 63 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:46.800 these incentive programs, to manage. Could you not US offering a righthanded ten 64 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:50.560 a half degree regular chaft? Yeah, you're giving the obvious several variables in 65 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:54.589 there. You got to manage. Yeah, for sure, correct, it's 66 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:58.029 Gott. I love that here in a little bit about your background. So 67 00:04:58.230 --> 00:05:02.029 let's dive into today's topic, on making it easy for customers and really others 68 00:05:02.430 --> 00:05:05.269 to engage with you. For others that might mean vendor partners, it might 69 00:05:05.350 --> 00:05:11.420 mean integration partners, it might mean investors. This, this idea can go 70 00:05:11.500 --> 00:05:16.019 a lot of different directions outside your organization, but let's focus on you know, 71 00:05:16.339 --> 00:05:20.420 thinking about not just customers but everyone that you work with. What are 72 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:26.009 some steps you guys have taken, Scott, to create this mentality within your 73 00:05:26.050 --> 00:05:29.050 team that, hey, we want to make it easy to engage with us 74 00:05:29.329 --> 00:05:32.410 on all friends, whether you're a customer or someone else who's engaging us from 75 00:05:32.410 --> 00:05:36.920 a different angle. Maybe. Yeah, yeah, so our business philosophy is 76 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:43.560 to develop a business strategy and so we believe in that ease of engagement. 77 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:47.279 We believe in the note cookie cutter approach, and so when our sales people 78 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:50.269 go and talk to a customer, we start off by like what are you 79 00:05:50.470 --> 00:05:55.029 trying to do? What's the goal? How are you trying to accomplish it? 80 00:05:55.589 --> 00:06:00.509 What's The in factor? And when you think about that, it's interesting 81 00:06:00.589 --> 00:06:04.379 that most companies don't know those answers, and so you really kind of help 82 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:11.420 them work through that that process and then develop a program that is going to 83 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:15.819 accomplish what they're trying to accomplish, and that's looking at the whole big picture. 84 00:06:15.259 --> 00:06:19.410 It is talking about the right product selection, talking about the right ordering 85 00:06:19.529 --> 00:06:26.610 process, is talking about the right fulfillment is talking about the personalization of the 86 00:06:26.930 --> 00:06:31.250 experience, and so there's a lot of programs out there, and I know 87 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:36.480 you've seen them, I've seen them, that whatever you do, the experience 88 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:42.240 is not a good experience and we believe in look at that whole picture and 89 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:46.230 developing a process that the goals are accomplished the experience is a good experience. 90 00:06:46.629 --> 00:06:51.069 Your a customer, your employ your vendor, whoever you're trying to influence, 91 00:06:51.750 --> 00:06:55.870 looks back at that and says, wow, that was in need a neat 92 00:06:55.949 --> 00:06:59.189 thing. Yeah, and that's what we look at. Yeah, you touched 93 00:06:59.230 --> 00:07:01.139 on something there, Scott, that I want to camp out on for a 94 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:06.379 second. You mentioned no cookie cutter approach. Give some examples there of maybe 95 00:07:06.540 --> 00:07:11.860 where there was an engagement with a customer or the way things had been done 96 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:15.610 and you kind of took pause and realize we could make this a better experience, 97 00:07:15.649 --> 00:07:19.889 we can make it easier to engage with us if we customize that here. 98 00:07:20.410 --> 00:07:25.449 I think some examples there would help other folks kind of visualize. Oh, 99 00:07:25.889 --> 00:07:30.199 I think we could learn from that scenario or something like that. Yeah, 100 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:31.759 so you know, honestly, if you take a look at just so 101 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:39.560 ordering process, so imagine that you were given all your employees a jacket and 102 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:44.750 the experience of giving that check of what they got pick sizes, they got 103 00:07:44.829 --> 00:07:47.990 to take a look at that. Or imagine that you were given your your 104 00:07:48.110 --> 00:07:53.589 flannel you employees to an event instead of travel. And so we try to 105 00:07:53.709 --> 00:07:57.430 take a look at the ordering process. Product is products. So you're going 106 00:07:57.470 --> 00:08:01.540 to give someone a product, how do you make that product personalized? And 107 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:07.660 so we try to take a look at that whole process and personalize that situation. 108 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:11.019 So imagine if you were doing instead of travel and you're bringing your best 109 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:16.810 clients over to, you know, a resort destination. Thirty days before that 110 00:08:16.970 --> 00:08:22.529 experience we send you out a nice email that says, hey, we're really 111 00:08:22.610 --> 00:08:24.649 excited that you're going to join us on this trip. Thank you for all 112 00:08:24.689 --> 00:08:30.040 that you've done. Here is a redemption code to go to this website and 113 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:35.080 order a pair of Oak we sunglasses, just to engage at audience before the 114 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:39.440 incentive travel. And so what we try to take a look at is the 115 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:45.509 whole picture and most of that time it is on how you manage handing out 116 00:08:45.549 --> 00:08:50.269 that product. And it's kind of funny how people will show up an instead 117 00:08:50.269 --> 00:08:54.789 of travel or even evank gifting and they go in their room and there is 118 00:08:54.070 --> 00:08:58.379 a hat, there's their shirt, it might be the wrong side, versus 119 00:08:58.539 --> 00:09:07.340 making that a intimate experience, personalize that someone has the opportunity to choose what 120 00:09:07.460 --> 00:09:09.929 they want. And so we try to take a look at the whole picture. 121 00:09:11.009 --> 00:09:13.690 fulfillments, fulfillment and as long as you have the products, as long 122 00:09:13.730 --> 00:09:18.649 as you can fulfill, but we look at how do you engage your employee, 123 00:09:18.289 --> 00:09:24.720 your customer, your winner of whatever they're doing and make that experience personal 124 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:28.120 life. Yeah, I love what you're saying there, because you talking about 125 00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:33.159 not just the delivery, but what is the experience? I heard you mentioned 126 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:37.039 the term experience several times and you know one of my favorite podcast late is 127 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:41.870 another one that we produce from the folks over at Bombomb, the customer experience 128 00:09:41.990 --> 00:09:45.629 podcast. In one of the themes I've picked up from that show is that 129 00:09:46.149 --> 00:09:50.830 what you're talking about here, Scott, that you look at the experience of 130 00:09:50.110 --> 00:09:54.700 the engagement with whatever you're delivering. In this case, you know it's a 131 00:09:54.980 --> 00:09:58.340 it's an item and could be a pair of sunglasses. I had a t 132 00:09:58.500 --> 00:10:01.340 shirt, any number of things. But what's the experience before and after? 133 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:05.700 Looking at what is the customer going through? What is the the receiver of 134 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:11.490 this product going through outside of that direct interaction? Are they in a hurry, 135 00:10:11.529 --> 00:10:15.649 trying to book their travel while getting this? Are you making it easy 136 00:10:15.850 --> 00:10:18.730 for them? If you are giving them the options to select size, do 137 00:10:18.850 --> 00:10:22.000 you make it easy for them? So I imagine for your team it's a 138 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:26.919 lot about asking those questions of well, when this happens, what's the next 139 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:31.480 step in the experience for the customer? Right, yeah, yeah, and 140 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:35.509 and actually it's not even asking and most of the times we are telling them 141 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:41.990 in a lot of people just don't think about it. So there is an 142 00:10:41.309 --> 00:10:46.669 incentive, a promotional budget for most companies, and that budget has spent on 143 00:10:46.789 --> 00:10:50.299 the product, but no one thinks, I shouldn't say no one, a 144 00:10:50.419 --> 00:10:56.179 lot of companies don't think about how to manage that presentation. And even today 145 00:10:56.259 --> 00:11:01.419 in the loyalty business, thanks for getting competitive. And so it's offering kitting, 146 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:07.570 it's offering gift wrapping, it's offering birthday cards, I mean everything's getting 147 00:11:07.610 --> 00:11:13.169 a way that you present to our customers, ways to differentiate yourselves, ways 148 00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:18.279 to make sure that the experience is personalized and at the same point of time, 149 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:20.960 we want to do it with the ease and engagement that doesn't make it 150 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:24.919 hard for our customers. Yeah, because, you know, a lot of 151 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:28.480 marketers, not even just when it comes to gift giving, but just in 152 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:31.000 general or dealing with this balance of you know, how do we make this 153 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:35.750 doable? Back to your point of when you have a lot of different products, 154 00:11:35.789 --> 00:11:39.789 a lot of different options, that creates a lot of variables. Yet 155 00:11:39.110 --> 00:11:43.870 you know, the the bland marketing, the bland gifts, the things that 156 00:11:43.909 --> 00:11:46.870 aren't personalized. It's like when you walk out of a trade show and you 157 00:11:46.909 --> 00:11:48.700 have all these, you know, swag things that you know are going to 158 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:52.259 get thrown away before you even, you know, make it to your hotel 159 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:56.259 room or, you know, maybe back home after your flight. But those 160 00:11:56.299 --> 00:12:01.220 items that are personalized, that are presented well, leave a lasting experience. 161 00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:03.409 So I can relate to the stuff that you're talking about in the things that 162 00:12:03.529 --> 00:12:07.970 you're doing to make it easy for your customers to engage with you, and 163 00:12:07.169 --> 00:12:09.889 it's Gott. I think a lot of marketers listening to this are going to 164 00:12:11.250 --> 00:12:15.690 take some nuggets away from that in apply it from their own situation. Another 165 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:18.480 thing I'd love to have you share before we wrap things up today. Scott. 166 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:22.759 I ask a lot of our guests what is a learning resource that's got 167 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:28.960 them excited or it's informing their approach lately, whether that is related to today's 168 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:33.710 topic, customer experience, a marketing in general or a personal or professional development 169 00:12:33.789 --> 00:12:37.590 resource of podcast you're listening to or anything like that that you'd like to share 170 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:41.509 with listeners today. It's interesting. Nom will answer this question probably the way 171 00:12:41.629 --> 00:12:46.779 that you would not want me to answer the question. But links has done 172 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:54.059 a good job of developing our processes without listening to other people, and so 173 00:12:54.820 --> 00:12:56.779 we do stuff that people would say is not the right thing to do. 174 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:03.649 We've spend money way too much on customers, or then we have to. 175 00:13:03.330 --> 00:13:07.610 We are, I would say, a competitive priced company. But we also, 176 00:13:09.409 --> 00:13:13.440 like I said, look at the big picture. And so me personally, 177 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:16.000 I've been invited to a bunch of business groups. I've had consultants come 178 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:18.600 in and take a look. The company advised us to do is different stuff 179 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:22.679 and honestly, we are our own company. We do our own thing. 180 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:26.190 We make a lot of mistakes, don't get me wrong, but we learn 181 00:13:26.309 --> 00:13:31.350 from those and it but we believe in the long run we do things right. 182 00:13:31.389 --> 00:13:35.389 Yeah, I love it's got. What you're saying there reminds me of 183 00:13:35.590 --> 00:13:39.190 a book listeners should definitely check out on this topic of, you know, 184 00:13:39.269 --> 00:13:43.899 questioning best practices, you know not just assuming that, hey, because folks 185 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:48.379 in our industry or companies that look like us or a consultant recommends this as 186 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:52.659 a benchmark or a best practice, we should still question that and that that 187 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:56.929 book I'm talking about is a break the wheel by Ja Conzo. Highly recommend 188 00:13:58.289 --> 00:14:01.889 people to check that out. It definitely falls in line with what you're talking 189 00:14:01.929 --> 00:14:05.049 about. There's Scott, of you know, questioning the advice that you get 190 00:14:05.450 --> 00:14:09.360 and really looking at what what's the best approach for us to get things done. 191 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:13.120 It'Scott. This has been a fantastic conversation. If anybody listening to this 192 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:18.440 would like to learn more about links unlimited or stay connected with you guys, 193 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:22.120 what's the best place for them to reach out? Yeah, I'd say go 194 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:26.509 to www dot links for limitcom. From there you can touch all of our 195 00:14:26.629 --> 00:14:31.870 social media point our online catalog, and then I'll to learn a little bit 196 00:14:31.870 --> 00:14:33.710 more about it it. Scott, thanks so much for being on the show 197 00:14:33.750 --> 00:14:41.100 today. Really appreciate it. Okay, thank you. We totally get it. 198 00:14:41.539 --> 00:14:43.899 We publish a ton of content on this podcast and it can be a 199 00:14:45.019 --> 00:14:48.059 lot to keep up with. That's why we've started the BDB growth big three, 200 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:52.649 a no fluff email that wools down our three biggest takeaways from an entire 201 00:14:52.809 --> 00:14:58.250 week of episodes. Sign up today at Sweet Phish Mediacom Big Three. That 202 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:01.529 sweet fish Mediacom Big Three