Author: salbers

GET SOCIAL: YOUR NEW DEALER CENTER SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLBOX

Social media marketing plays a huge role in a business’s digital marketing efforts. Promoting products, key benefits, value-added testimonials and other related content can help a business or organization increase awareness, foot traffic and ultimately sales.

Along with several other updates and changes with the new year, BioZyme® has developed the new BioZyme Social Media Toolbox platform. Our team is excited to launch this new resource in Dealer Center.

We noticed Promoboxx wasn’t serving all our dealers the way we wanted it to. That’s why we decided to, when our subscription expired, not renew and instead focus our efforts on providing a seamless service that better met your needs while still providing the valuable, branded marketing and social media content you’ve come to count on.

You can find the new Social Media Toolbox in the Dealer Center, under the Marketing tab across the main header. From there, dealers can select which brand they want to retrieve content from and then choose what specific or general posts they want to post to their social media pages. By simply saving the image and copying the text of the caption, the post is ready to use on any social platform for your dealership.

Wondering if there are still rewards for utilizing social media content? Yes, there are! You will still earn Action Award Points for your engagement!

Look for the Dealer Center On Demand training to learn more about this new tool and how to use it!

Start engaging on social media for your business by using the Social Media Toolbox now.

LETTER FROM LISA

As we enter 2025, we’re thrilled to share a glimpse of what’s ahead. This year promises exciting advancements, innovations and experiences tailored to enhance your journey with us.

Here’s what you can expect:

  1. Expanded Offerings: We’re introducing new products and services to meet your evolving needs and preferences.
  2. Enhanced Technology: With cutting-edge upgrades, we aim to make your interactions and those of your customers smoother, faster and more personalized.
  3. Exclusive Experiences: Look forward to events, special promotions and rewards that celebrate your efforts and loyalty. We couldn’t do what we do without you.
  4. Stronger Connections: We’re committed to improving how we communicate and support you every step of the way.

Stay tuned for updates and announcements—we’re excited to make 2025 a remarkable year together!

Your journey is probably not much different than the one BioZyme® tries to go on. Growth is a huge part of how we travel. Following are some easy steps we should all focus on to take our growth to the next level.

1. Do Your Research: When you’re looking into how to grow your business, you need to do market research. This is true no matter what your goals are. Research not only lets you better understand your existing customers but also your potential customers. It’s important to gain insight into your target market and know its needs. That way, you can see how your business can grow and change to meet those needs.

Don’t forget to research your competitors, too. Knowing what their strengths and weaknesses are can help drive your decisions on how to appropriately scale your operations.

2. Build a Sales Funnel: Your sales funnel can help take business to the next level. Think of a sales funnel as a customer’s journey. When they enter your business or visit your website, they’re at the top of the funnel. When they buy something or sign up for a service, they’ve successfully gone through the funnel. You should try to find ways to move people through the funnel to make a sale. This can include offering a discount, getting their contact information or sending them updates on your business.

3. Increase Customer Retention: It’s not enough to just get new customers for your business. You also need to keep your existing customers coming back. When you increase customer retention, you’re building customer loyalty, which can increase sales.

Considering it costs five times as much to get a new customer than it does to keep a current one, focusing on retaining customers means your business won’t spend money on something that isn’t a guaranteed investment.

You can increase your customer retention by:

• Prioritizing customer service: If you don’t treat your customers right, they won’t want to support your business. Ensuring you address their concerns and give them the best experience possible shows you value them as customers.

• Using a customer relations management (CRM) system: CRM systems help your business manage relationships with existing and potential customers. They help you maintain customer information and identify sales opportunities. One of the biggest benefits is that the data gets stored in one place, so you and other employees who need it can access it.

• Creating a customer loyalty program: These programs reward existing customers for supporting your business. They can also help you attract new customers or get back those who left your business. Nobody wants to miss out on rewards.

• Launching an email campaign: Using an email campaign can help ensure your business stays on top of customers’ minds. It’s also a great way to move existing and potential customers through your sales funnel.

• Engaging with customers on social media: Your customers may reach out to your business on social media with a question or to share feedback, pain points or complaints. You should always try to respond positively, even if you don’t love what they’re saying. Taking the time to respond and engage with them shows you value their thoughts and take their concerns seriously.

4. Diversify Your Product or Service Offerings: It can be hard to change. Harder still to follow through on change once you start. This is especially true in business. You’ve had success selling your main product or service to customers. After all, it’s what gotten you to this point. But no business grows bigger or sells more by only selling the same thing to the same people. One of the easiest ways to grow and grow your customer base is offering new products or services. You can do this by:

• Identifying opportunities for new products or services: Do market research to see if there’s something new you can offer your customers to buy.

• Finding different ways to offer your existing products – this includes subscriptions or bundles.

If you’re looking for practical examples of growth from diversification, look no further than Moment. The company’s initial products included lenses for smartphones to improve photography. Now, the company has expanded its offerings to include apps and accessories to use with its lenses.

5. Measure What Works and Refine as You Go: While there are a variety of strategies you can use to grow a small business, it’s important you measure what’s working. For example, if you create a customer loyalty program and find it’s not improving customer retention, you may need to change your strategy.

Growing a business means you’ll have to take calculated risks. Regularly monitoring your progress and making updates are key to having success.

Thank you for being an essential part of our journey to get there.

BioZyme® Launches VitaFerm® Sure Start Gel

BioZyme’s mission is to provide an undeniable positive impact on the health and wellness of the animals it serves. Therefore, BioZyme and its staff continually research and create products to help animals and maximize efficiencies for producers. With our mission and commitment to care that comes full circle in mind, we are excited to introduce VitaFerm® Sure Start Gel.   

VitaFerm Sure Start Gel is specifically formulated to support newborn calves’ immune function and overall health during the critical post-birth period.  

“Getting calves off to the best start possible is paramount for their long-term health and ultimately your profitability. While a year-round VitaFerm program can improve colostrum quality, Sure Start Gel uses our new Broad-Shield technology to give an additional boost of immunity,” said Chris Cassady, Ph.D., BioZyme Director of Beef Technical Sales.   

Benefits of VitaFerm Sure Start Gel

The new VitaFerm Sure Start Gel offers several benefits to give your newborns a sure start. Like all VitaFerm products contains AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, a research-proven prebiotic to support digestibility by stimulating beneficial microbes. Furthermore, this innovative gel:  

• Delivers IgY antibodies derived from Salmonella, E. coli, bovine rotavirus, bovine coronavirus, and Clostridium and MOS for broad support of the immune system.  

• Provides nutritional support to maximize calf vigor.   

“VitaFerm Sure Start Gel is research-proven to enhance the efficacy of the antibodies the cow naturally passes to her calf, giving your calves every chance to develop their immune system and capitalize on healthy, efficient performance,” Cassady said.   

This single-dose product comes in a 30 mL tube and should be administered after the calf has had colostrum. For best results, it is recommended to be given within the first 24 hours of birth. It can be repeated daily as needed. The bright orange color allows for distinct recognition of administration.  

How to Position Sure Start Gel

At BioZyme, we want you to succeed in your efforts to market and sell new products. We know that producers are in the heart of calving season, and this is a great time to stock up and promote the new VitaFerm Sure Start Gel. 

Remember, we want the calf to get its colostrum first, but this is a great product for the first 24 hours of life. It protects from pathogens entering the system and protects from stressors that partition nutrients that we want the calves to receive. It also promotes successful immune function, calf vigor and the establishment of the microbiome.  

Watch the SAMM Center for a Sell Sheet soon. We’ll also post a training to the Online Training Center about VitaFerm Sure Start. 

Just the Beginning

As part of our care that comes full circle, we want to give every calf a chance for a successful life. A healthy calf pays us back with a long, productive healthy life or a high-performing optimal pay weight. You only get one shot for a good start, make it a Sure Start!  

Get your VitaFerm Sure Start Today

VitaFerm Sure Start Gel is now available for you to order.   

The 30 mL tubes come in a case of 12. See the February price list for more information. 

CHANGES COMING IN FEBRUARY

BIOZYME® LAUNCHES VITAFERM® SURE START GEL

VitaFerm® Sure Start Gel launches this month. This neonatal gel supports calves’ immune function and overall health during the critical post-birth period.

Sure Start Gel contains AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, a prebiotic research proven to support digestibility by stimulating beneficial microbes. It delivers IgY antibodies derived from Salmonella, E. coli, bovine rotavirus, bovine coronavirus, and Clostridium. It also includes MOS for broad support of the immune system.

HYDRABOOST RTU DISCONTINUED

Due to decreased demand, HydraBoost RTU has been discontinued. HydraBoost Concentrate will still be available via special order.

VITALIZE® PELLET & MINERAL FLAVORING ENHANCED

Under our commitment to continuous improvement, we recently implemented flavor enhancements to the Vitalize Equine Protein Pellet, Vitalize Equine High Performance, Vitalize Equine Digest More Plus and Vitalize Equine Vitamin and Mineral Supplement. You may notice an increased flavor profile in these products.

LABEL UPDATES MADE IN VITAFERM® LINE

To comply with all state and federal regulations, all VitaFerm labels that contain CTC or medication have been updated from Feeding Directions to include “Mixing and Feeding Directions.” These new labels will be implemented as soon as new products are produced. We also added a caution statement to the Gain Smart® Balancer RU1600.

CHANGES COMING IN JANUARY

VITALIZE® PELLET & MINERAL FLAVORING ENHANCED

Under our commitment to continuous improvement, we recently considered flavor enhancements to the Vitalize Equine Protein Pellet, Vitalize Equine High Performance, Vitalize Equine Digest More Plus and Vitalize Equine Vitamin and Mineral Supplement. After thorough palatability testing of each formula, enhancements were implemented for the above products. You may notice an increased flavor profile in these products beginning in January.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM UPDATE IN 2025

In December, we ceased using Promoboxx as our social media platform provider. Our team has been working diligently and will roll out our own Social Media Toolbox in the Dealer Center this month, providing you the collateral you need to share social media posts that align with BioZyme’s national campaigns. Watch the Dealer Center and the BioZyme Dealers Facebook Group for more information and updates.

LABEL UPDATES MADE IN VITAFERM® LINE

To comply with all state and federal regulations, all VitaFerm labels that contain CTC or medication have been updated from Feeding Directions to include “Mixing and Feeding Directions.” These new labels will be implemented as soon as new products are produced. We also added a caution statement to the Gain Smart® Balancer RU1600.

VITAFERM® HEAT® TRANSITIONS TO TECHNOLOGY

To streamline the VitaFerm brands, we will shift HEAT into a technology and away from its own product line. This will make it more efficient for dealers to market the Good, Better, Best model with three primary lines: VitaFerm ONE, VitaFerm Concept•Aid® and VitaFerm ReproMaxx™.

Don’t worry! Products with the HEAT technology will still be in our lineup. Much like we did with Vita Charge in early 2024, we are simply moving HEAT to a technology. For example, VitaFerm HEAT customers can make an easy transition to VitaFerm ONE HEAT. We will also be adding some new products with HEAT technology to our offering during Q1 of 2025. Watch for more dealer communications as we make these transitions.  

IT’S TIME TO REDEEM DEALER REWARD POINTS

Now is the time to redeem your Dealer Reward Points. You can redeem those in the Online Dealer Center for caps, shirts, jackets, gloves and more! These items make great employee or customer appreciation gifts, just in time for the holidays. All Dealer Reward Points for 2024 must be redeemed by January 31, 2025.

CHANGES COMING IN DECEMBER

VITAFERM® HEAT® TRANSITIONS TO TECHNOLOGY

To streamline the VitaFerm brands, we will shift HEAT into a technology and away from its own product line. This will make it more efficient for dealers to market the Good, Better, Best model with three primary lines: VitaFerm ONE, VitaFerm Concept•Aid® and VitaFerm ReproMaxx™.

Don’t worry! Products with the HEAT technology will still be in our lineup. Much like we did with Vita Charge in early 2024, we are simply moving HEAT to a technology. For example, VitaFerm HEAT customers can make an easy transition to VitaFerm ONE HEAT. We will also be adding some new products with HEAT technology to our offering during Q1 of 2025. Watch for more dealer communications as we make these transitions.  

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM UPDATE IN 2025

On December 4, 2024, we will start the transition from Promoboxx to our own Social Media Toolbox in the Dealer Center. You will no longer have access to BioZyme-branded social media content or have access to login to Promoboxx after that date.

Watch the Dealer Center and the BioZyme Dealers Facebook Group for more information and updates for the new BioZyme Social Media Toolbox to launch January 2025.

DON’T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR ACTION AWARD POINTS

Now is the time to submit your 2024 Action Award Points. Any actions taken this year can be turned in to receive redeemable awards points. Submit your actionable items to earn those points by December 31, 2024 to Jen Miller. Points can be earned for hosting trainings and meetings, making displays and more.

You can redeem your points in the Online Dealer Center for caps, shirts, jackets, gloves and several more items! These items make great employee or customer appreciation gifts, just in time for the holidays. All Dealer Reward Points for 2024 must be redeemed by January 31, 2025.

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS

The BioZyme plant and its offices will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 24-25 in observance of Christmas, and on Wednesday, January 1. We wish you and your family a safe and healthy holiday! Watch the BioZyme Dealers Facebook Group for any updates on shipping or picking up due to holidays or adverse weather.

DEALER SPOTLIGHT: TINA GRAHAM

TINA GRAHAM RELIES ON PAST EXPERIENCES TO GROW BUSINESS

“My goal was to grow my business 10%. Right now, I’m about three times that amount from where I started with just my barn for storage. That’s with no storefront,” said Tina Graham, BioZyme® dealer from Rozet, Wyoming. 

Tina was named the first-ever Rookie Dealer of the Year at this year’s BioZyme Dealer Retreat. She was also one of the elite recipients of the inaugural Live It, Love It, Lead It awards. These 13 dealers exemplified leadership and passion within their businesses by making gains in four key focus areas – action, engagement, growth and sales. 

Getting Started

Tina has an extensive background in ranching and horsemanship. About five years ago, during yet another drought in eastern Wyoming, she sought a cattle mineral to help with the heat. That’s when she discovered the VitaFerm® HEAT® mineral. 

A former schoolmate of hers, Cheri Irvin, was her “closest” dealer – a mere 80 miles away. Although she was discouraged from becoming a dealer herself due to the proximity of her ranch to Cheri and the big country in between, Tina loved the products. Toward the end of 2022, Cheri no longer wanted to sell supplements, and she offered Tina the chance to take over her dealership. 

Today, Tina covers about a 100-mile radius in northeast Wyoming into the southern portion of Montana to get her customers the BioZyme products they love. She sells primarily VitaFerm and Vitalize®, with some DuraFerm® and Sure Champ® added to the mix. One customer shared this on Tina’s Facebook page, tagging both Tina and VitaFerm: “Making a change to our mineral program looks to be a good thing. Our mommas are keeping up with milk production letting calves respectively grow and gain where they should be or more, and the coats on the whole herd look like black silk! I’m looking forward to seeing how our breed ups go this fall! Tina has went over the top keeping us supplied with mineral and the right kind of mineral for every changing season, wavering grazing grasses and weather conditions.” 

Tina uses her ranching and equine experiences to suggest a mineral program to her customers. She contacts them as the seasons and production cycles change to make sure they have what they need readily accessible. 

“I help them transition to the next season, and they seem to appreciate getting those text messages. We have mineral available at several price levels so we can fit in at all budget levels,” Tina said. 

Jenette Masarie, ASM for Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, describes Tina as hardworking and determined. 

“She wants the best for all of her customers and knows truly how our program can positively impact your operation, as she uses a variety of products on her family ranch. I’m excited to see her future growth,” Jenette said. 

Tina is the primary salesperson, marketer and bookkeeper of the BioZyme business. However, she appreciates everyone in her family for their support. Her son helps unload orders. Her dad offers to make deliveries, and her daughter assists with social marketing. 

“I’m very blessed with a family who supports what I do.” 

Selling the cattle and horse products came easy for Tina, who uses Promoboxx and makes her own posts on Facebook using pictures she takes when making deliveries or putting out products. She said social media is one way to keep her overhead costs down and has a large reach amongst her customer base. 

Final Advice

She might be a new BioZyme dealer, but Tina has embraced care that comes full circle. 

“Keep it simple. Listen to your customers’ needs,” she advises others. 

We like that advice, Tina, and we appreciate your efforts to share the care that comes full circle! 

BIOZYME® EARNS AFIA FEED FACILITY OF THE YEAR HONOR

BioZyme®’s Stockyards location has earned the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and Feedstuffs 2024 Feed Facility of the Year honor. This prestigious award is presented annually to a feed facility that demonstrates an outstanding commitment to quality, safety, productivity, regulatory compliance, employee development and customer relations. Additionally, BioZyme received the highest productivity and efficiency score.

“I am very proud of our team’s shift to a data-minded, continuously improving production facility. We make continuous improvement for our customers a priority every single day,” said BioZyme president and CEO Lisa Norton.

This has been more than a decade-long goal of Norton, who said AFIA positioned the program as a recognition as well as a benchmarking opportunity to enhance continuous improvement. 

“We put in a lot of effort through the pandemic and over the last several years to change our culture and data use to be considered,” she said.

One of the items that Norton is most proud of is that the entire production team is PCQI (preventative control qualified individual) certified. Although the requirements are that one team member receives this certification, the BioZyme leadership ensured everyone on the production team received certification. The team certification helps ensure the production of safe, accurate product that moves through the plant daily. 

BioZyme, an animal nutrition and fermentation company, has been driving innovation since 1951. Founded by Larry Ehlert, BioZyme began as Ehlert’s Guaranteed Feeds with just a $2,500 loan and a small feed store in the St. Joseph Stockyards. Today, BioZyme’s product line includes high-quality vitamin, mineral and protein supplements enhanced with AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, a prebiotic. The Stockyards plant produces 31,000 tons of supplements annually. 

“We were extremely impressed with the BioZyme Stockyards facility, as it is evident that the company and its staff exemplify the core values of the Feed Facility of the Year program,” said Gary Huddleston, AFIA’s director of feed manufacturing and regulatory affairs. “The plant is a shining example of manufacturing excellence in the animal food industry.”

The lengthy application of nearly 180 questions gave employees the opportunity to increase their already high standards in areas such as occupational and safety hazards, sustainability, and utility usage, according to Jill Vanover, Vice President of Quality and Regulatory. She recalls a previous FAMI-QS auditor commenting on BioZyme’s commitment to quality from the top down and noted it as the best he had ever seen.

“This award is possible because of the tremendous pride that all our employees demonstrate throughout the company. They have a love for animals, a belief in the products and understand the importance in the roles they are playing to make safe, accurate products,” Vanover said.

The AFIA has been recognizing excellent feed manufacturing facilities through the Feed Facility of the Year program since 1985. While the program has undergone some changes to how the award is given, a key reason for participation is that facilities receive comprehensive benchmarking reports following their entry that provide valuable insights into how their facility compares to others so that they may work on continuous improvement.

BioZyme hosted a special event with employees, customers and special guests on October 31 to celebrate the achievement.

CHANGES COMING IN NOVEMBER

IT’S TIME TO REDEEM DEALER REWARD POINTS

As the year is coming to an end, now is a great time to redeem your Dealer Reward Points. You can redeem those in the Online Dealer Center for caps, shirts, jackets, gloves and more! These items make great employee or customer appreciation gifts, just in time for the holidays.

Don’t forget to submit your actionable items to earn those Dealer Reward Points by December 31, 2024, to Jen Miller. You can earn points for hosting trainings and meetings, making displays and more.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM UPDATE IN 2025

Beginning December 4, 2024, we will be ending our subscription with Promoboxx, the digital marketing platform that we have utilized for the past few years. Please note: You will not be able to access BioZyme branded social media content after that date.

At the start of the new year, we will have the same top-notch social media content available for you to access through your Online Dealer Center account through our own Social Media Toolbox. Watch the Dealer Center, e-mail and the BioZyme Dealers Facebook group for more communication with this transition.

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS

The BioZyme plant and its offices will be closed on Thursday & Friday, November 28-29 in observance of Thanksgiving. We are thankful for you and your business during the year! Watch the BioZyme Dealers Facebook Group for any updates on shipping or picking due to holidays or adverse weather.

BioZyme® Introduces Legendary Nutrition™ Product Line in Partnership with Four Sixes Ranch™

BioZyme®, makers of animal health and nutrition products, have partnered with the historic Four Sixes Ranch™ to create research-proven and ranch-tested beef cattle nutritional supplements under the VitaFerm® brand. The Four Sixes x VitaFerm collaboration is a legendary one that brings to market supplements that are powered by VitaFerm’s 75 years of cattle nutrition research and rigorously tested by the Four Sixes Ranch. The products combine the best of both brands’ expertise to provide comprehensive nutritional solutions designed to enhance the health and productivity of resilient commercial cattle herds.

As its flagship product, the collaboration has first launched a Legendary Nutrition Protein Tub that features:

  • AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, a prebiotic research-proven to enhance digestibility
  • Industry-leading organic copper and zinc that deliver real-world results
  • 20% natural protein to help overcome deficiencies in the diet

“The collaboration makes perfect sense for cattle producers across the country and for the two companies, who have been doing business together for a long time. We are so pleased to partner with the Sixes on the Legendary Nutrition line,” said John Tucker, BioZyme Large Beef Accounts Manager. “With industry-leading organic trace minerals, 20% protein, and Amaferm, the tub is a great and convenient option for operations of all sizes.”

“I wanted BioZyme to develop a product that works in the real world, not just on an improved small pasture. It has to work in a big pasture. It has got to work in big country. There are still a lot of places in the United States that have ranches that you can’t drive to every corner. You have to have something that works for that,” said Joe Leathers, General Manager at the Four Sixes.

Ranch-Tested

The Four Sixes have relied on VitaFerm vitamin and mineral supplements for decades on their cattle operation. When fully stocked, they run between 6,000 to 7,000 cows. On big country, relying on grass, the mineral tubs make perfect sense.

“We fed cubes for years and years, and I liked that because we could see the cattle well. But cubes cause the cattle to bunch up, and they don’t utilize the country well. By using the tubs, we are able to keep our cows scattered out and use a lot more of the country through the winter than they normally do,” Leathers said. He added that the cows appear healthier and perform better on VitaFerm.

Forage utilization is vital to the ranch, which depends on the grasses to feed all 7,000 cows. Amaferm, the key ingredient in every VitaFerm product, helps cattle get the most out of it. Amaferm is a prebiotic research-proven to enhance digestibility and increase the energy available to the animal.

“We’re grass farmers with a cow problem… This tub is another tool in our toolbox to give us the ability to take care of our country. To scatter our cows so we don’t overgraze any one area of our country, so we don’t beat it out, so invasive species don’t come in, all the while maintaining the health and nutritional needs of our cattle,” Leathers said.

Research-Proven

At BioZyme, research is a core value. It’s been this way for more than seven decades. Why? Because of our motto: care that comes full circle. We believe that every animal that we take care of ultimately takes care of us in return. Doing what’s right for our animals, our land, and our producers, comes back around in the end.

Developed using the latest research in animal nutrition, the Four Sixes x VitaFerm Legendary Nutrition product line provides quality nutrition to deliver real-world results. The flagship protein tub combines essential vitamins, minerals, and organic trace minerals that are crucial for the overall health, growth, and reproductive performance of cattle.

How to Purchase Legendary Nutrition Products

Interested in learning more about the products and collaboration? Visit www.vitaferm.com/four-sixes-ranch-partnership.

Order this legendary product: https://dealers.backofficeapps.com/products/1772