Letters from Lisa – The 4 P’s of profitable growth

If you know me, you know I am an accountant (CPA) who by nature is a black and white, bottom-line type of person. So, let’s start with the bottom line. Profitability and growth go hand-in-hand when it comes to success in business. Profit is key to the basic survival of a business, while growth is the key to long-term success. Profitability is the primary goal of all business. Without profitability the business will not survive. 

Profitability is measured by income and expenses. Income is money generated from the activities of the business. For example, if crops and livestock are produced and sold, income is generated. However, money coming into the business from activities like borrowing funds does not create income. This is simply a cash transaction between the business and the lender to generate cash for buying assets.

Expenses are the cost of resources used by the activities of the business. For example, seed corn is an expense of a farm business because it is used up in the production process. Resources, such as a machine whose useful life is more than one year, are used over a period of years. And just as borrowing money is not income, repayment of a loan is not an expense; it is merely a cash transfer between the business and the lender. 

Increasing profitability is one of the most important tasks of business managers. Managers should constantly look for ways to change the business to improve profitability. Some people believe profitability causes growth, but I do not. Many profitable businesses do not grow. 

However, profitable growth is one the best ways to improve profitability. Growth that loses money is not helpful, in fact it is quite harmful, as it takes your money and your time, neither of which we have enough of in our lives. Smart growth, on the other hand, ensures all the P’s that drive profitability are met. Let’s look at the 4 P’s of profitable growth:

Product – Consider all of the following when assessing the products in your business from a smart growth perspective: 

• Target market size 
• Product positioning vs. buyer needs 
• Capacity you can supply 
• Competitive landscape 
• Gross margin

People – Having the right people is great, but they should also be in the right seats. When people can bring their unique talents to work, they are inspired and naturally engage which makes profitability and growth a heck of a lot easier. Consider the following points to ensure you are attracting and keeping the right people: 

• Culture  
• Skill & behavior requirements  
• Primary job responsibilities & their communication  
• Hiring process  
• On-boarding & training process
• Compensation 
• Engagement and retention strategies 

Passion – A strong desire and devotion to an activity or concept (passion) is the key to everything your business does if you want to be highly profitable while you work to grow. It gives you the momentum to keep going even when times get hard and builds your business even higher when times are good. True passion ensures you are: 

• Attracting the right consumers to your business  
• Building an authentic brand and brand story  
• Networking with the right people who share similar perspectives   
• Setting yourself apart from competitors 

Proof – Profitable growth should not be counted on until proof exists on all of the P’s: 

• Product efficacy   
• People power   
• Passion that never turns off   

Keep these 4 P’s in mind for profitability and growth that will make you stop and go WOW.

Dealer Spotlight: Cottor Farms Excels in Diversification

“We wish we would have gotten started with BioZyme® products sooner,” said Leo Sanftner, of Cottor Farms, Osceola, Wisconsin.

That’s a pretty strong sentiment from an 11-year veteran dealer who sells everything from VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® for breeding success to Vita Charge® Liquid Boost® to show rabbit customers, and even mixes AO-Biotics® Amaferm® into their own custom layer feed.

Sanftner, long-time employee of Cottor Farms, said he was first introduced to the BioZyme family of brands by former ASM Dorothy Orts at a bull sale when she recommended the Vita Charge tubes to jump start newborn calves. As they say, the rest is history.

According to Sanftner, once they saw how well the calves responded to the Amaferm in the Vita Charge, they started expanding their product offering to other BioZyme brands. Today, he said they have a majority of their customers on the fly control mineral for the summer. Cottor Farms mixes their own feed and serves both Wisconsin and Minnesota, being so close to the state line. They will average three tons of layer feed per week that includes Amaferm.

“We have very few dairy cows up here. Most of our customers have beef cattle, hogs and chickens. We cater to the smaller customers. We are smaller; they trust us,” Sanftner said.

Their mission is to go above and beyond when it comes to customer care. Sanftner said he will deliver feed up to 100 miles away for customers who need it, primarily larger customers and those who have show animals. They have also created signs for their show livestock and show rabbit families with the same statement: “Go above and beyond with Cottor Farms.”

Cottor Farms also supplies Maple Hill Feed & Farm Supply in Maple, Wisconsin, with their BioZyme products, including Backyard Boost® products and layer feed they needed for a recent Chick Days event. He said they will also conduct horse and beef clinics at the store; however, most of the promotion and education comes from him visiting personally with customers or through their social media. A new website is in development to be launched early this summer.

From chickens, rabbits and hogs to cattle and horses, there are no customers too big or small for Cottor Farms when it comes to showing care that comes full circle. Thank you for being leaders in species and brand diversification and hitting the target on one of BioZyme’s core goals!

Letters from Lisa

At BioZyme®, one of our corporate goals is to produce products that meet or exceed our customers’ needs and wants. We call it safe, accurate product. This goal has always been very important to me, as I believe our end customer is the animal, and animals have always been my heart throb. My mother could tell you numerous stories about how many wild animals I tried to “save” and how many dogs I brought home that “found” me.

The responsibility of quality is to ensure all products are free from defects, the process reduces waste, and the product meets the customers’ expectations before it leaves the manufacturing facility. The pursuit of quality must be everyone’s responsibility at each stage of the process.

This pursuit at BioZyme includes the following:

  • Reliable products – From a business perspective, consumers favor products that are reliable.
  • Safe products – Perhaps the most critical element is that we must ensure our products are safe to use.
  • Compliance – There are many rules and regulations we must adhere to, and compliance is a key issue of quality to prevent delays in production and avoid fines.
  • Consistency – All products must meet the same standard of excellence.
  • Waste reduction – We lower costs when material resources are conserved and used wisely in the production process.
  • Minimizing risk – A rigorous QC process identifies root causes quickly when there is a problem.
  • Continuous improvement – Quality is about always improving the process to create a better product.

Once you have these standards defined and implemented, then you must decide how you will know they are working. At BioZyme we wanted to be very specific about our safe, accurate product goal. That started with defining safety and accuracy.

Those definitions are outlined here:

  • Safety refers to all factors that impact the health and well-being of the manufacturing employees and the products they manufacture.
  • Accuracy is the degree of conformance to the known standard when it comes to the quality and performance of a finished product.

Next, we worked hard to define our versions of each.

BioZyme Safe

  • Produced under safe, clean conditions.
  • Free of harmful, foreign substances.

BioZyme Accurate

  • Labeled appropriately, legibly and truthfully.
  • Consistent in look where look is defined as color, smell and particle size.
  • Consistently palatable.

And finally, in true Lisa style, we outlined how we would measure if it was really happening by defining these metrics:

  • 0 worker accidents
  • 0 animal deaths
  • 0 pounds of off-spec product
  • 100% of product produced is without a product integrity customer concern.
  • 100% of finished product tested matches its tag.
  • 100% of product hits parameters set for the color spectrometer and particle size analyzer.
  • 100% of product contains formula tested amount of flavor.

After defining, outlining and documenting all the above we began upgrading all that we do at BioZyme to ensure we walk the talk.

Below is a list of what we have done to date:

  • Installed an Industrial Dehumidifier
  • Perform Monthly Leg Camera Scoping
  • Installed a Feed Cleaner Just Before Bagging
  • Installed More Magnets, a Magnet Drawer & Metal Detection
  • Implemented AI Camera Pictures of Every Bag with Alarms
  • Ensured FIFO Monitoring
  • Implemented an Employee Safety Program
  • Added Sampling & Testing of All Inbound Ingredients
  • Added Sampling & Testing of a Statistically Significant Amount of Finished Product
  • Ensured Full Team is PCQI Trained
  • A PCQI is an individual who has successfully completed adequate training to implement a food safety plan. A PCQI manages important aspects of the food safety program and ensures that preventive controls are effective and proper records are maintained.
  • Implemented 100% Automated Checklist Use with Alarms when a NO is Clicked
  • Ensure Dust Control Content Analysis
  • Implementation of Automation in All Processes Except Drug Hand-adds
  • Employed Two Full-time Sanitation Employees at each Facility
  • Track & Manage Moisture Variation in Amaferm Drying
  • Implemented QC Bag Screening on First 10 Bags of Every Run
  • Hired a Certified, Professional 3rd Party Pest Control Program
  • A 3rd Party Audit at Each Facility for Quality Certification
  • Added an Equine Safe Manufacturing Line for our Vitalize Line

Is safety and accuracy really worth all this effort?

According to the National Institutes of Health, interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure. Other studies have found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support and boost human mood.

Yep, it’s worth it

Dealer Spotlight: Kentucky Distributor is Family Focused

If there’s one word to describe Central Farm Supply of Kentucky, it’s family. This family owned-and-operated BioZyme® distributor is based in Louisville, Kentucky. However, as a wholesale distributor to more than 700 stores from Kentucky to Virginia and points in between, its family has grown immensely since it was first established.

“We’re family owned, but every one of our dealers is part of our family. Our company was built on service, and that is still our strong suit,” said Larry Manning, Sales Manager, whose brother, Tommy, started the company in 1985.

Central Farm maintains a fleet of 10 tractors and 25 trailers. The fleet of trucks along with their 10 drivers allows them to be in control of the service they provide to their dealers, which has always been one of their strengths, but has become even more evident in the last few years in the midst of all the supply chain and distribution issues everyone experienced due to COVID.

Although Central Farm Supply of Kentucky has a long history in the agricultural industry, it is in its fifth year as a BioZyme dealer. Manning said incorporating the VitaFerm® line, and subsequently other BioZyme products, provided their customers with a premium product to offer their customers. He said with so many dealers that they distribute to, the need exists to have a product for every level of producer.

“We have to be able to offer products that fit every cattleman in our market. The VitaFerm products are premium cattle supplements that fit a lot of our cattle producer customers,” Manning said.

He suggests that every dealer discovers their market and knows who their customer is and what every customer wants in order to find success. Some will be happy with a salt block, some want the cheapest mineral they can buy, but those who truly keep records on their cattle operation will immediately see the results of using the BioZyme products.

Central Farm views their relationship with their dealers as a partnership. In order for Central Farm Supply to continue to be successful that partnership also includes their vendors. Since the early days, Central Farm has fostered the relationship between the dealers and vendors, by offering a buying show each October, so their dealers can come to Louisville to meet with their top vendors, exchange ideas and participate in “trade show specials” offered that day. Manning said it is truly a family event where dealers bring the entire family, including kids and grandkids for food, fun, entertainment and great deals during this one-day event.

The business actively uses BioZyme’s and other companies marketing tools, like Promoboxx and participates in quarterly dealer mailers. They also have four sales reps.

“I’d give BioZyme an A-plus in the marketing of their products when it comes to creating brand awareness and tying those brands to the dealers and distributors. Marketing is their real strength,” Manning said.

Family is important to Central Farm Supply of Kentucky, and it is important to BioZyme, too. We are certainly proud to have you in the BioZyme family, continuing that care that comes full circle!

The Importance of Testimonials – How to Snag ‘Em and Ways to Use ‘Em

Word of mouth marketing is one of the most important marketing tools you can use in any type of marketing vehicle: social media, website, sales letter, advertisement. 

According to socialfresh.com, “customer testimonials have the highest effectiveness rating at content marketing at 89%.” In other words, testimonials are 89% better at increasing conversion rates than other forms of marketing.

At BioZyme®, we love to earn customer testimonials, and we use them frequently. The hashtags #TestimonialTuesday or #FeatureFriday are a great way to showcase what customers are saying about the products on social media, and as you will read below, there are other ways to showcase testimonials as well. 

However, it isn’t always easy to get customers to share what they like about a product. 

“I usually find that if I start the conversation asking about their animals and their goals, they will be more open. I ask what challenges they were having and what led them to using the particular BioZyme product. Then, I ask them specific questions about the results they saw. What was their overall conception rate? How many more lambs did they wean? How many more pounds of gain did they experience with the Gain Smart mineral? Our producers are typically very data driven and keep great records and those are the stories we want to share,” said Shelia Grobosky, BioZyme Content & PR Manager. 

Below are four types of testimonials you can use in your marketing. 

  • Quote Testimonial:

The most common type, it is exactly what its name implies, a simple quote. You can get these over the phone, via email or in person, and use these a variety of ways. These are often the most read and most effective. The audience can read these quickly, and the quote gets right to the point.

  • Longform Testimonial: 

This might be a five-minute testimonial. You might record a conversation with a customer (always ask for permission before recording), and he or she has a great story. You can transcribe this for your website or even ask permission to post the entire audio to your website, as some people will prefer to listen to it over reading this long paragraph. These will also typically show more emotion, and emotion sells. 

  • Social Testimonial: 

This is another effective testimonial where you ask your customer to post their own review of a product on their own social media account, perhaps with a photo of the product. 

  • Video Testimonial: 

Like its name implies, this is a video of a customer telling you and your audience why he or she likes the product and the impact they have seen with the product. This is often the most beneficial since there is no reading involved, and the viewer can see and hear the emotion in the speaker’s voice. 

Testimonials are a great marketing tool. We encourage you to use them in your marketing, and if you have a great testimonial to share with our team, reach out to Grobosky at sgrobosky@biozymeinc.com. 

Letters from Lisa

Care that comes full circle is a philosophy that postulates if you truly care for someone or something, that care will eventually, naturally come full circle back to you.

Naturally meaning if we take care of the animals, they will take care of us by ensuring we get to eat or feel unconditional love. Naturally meaning if we take care of our customers, they will remain loyal, which allows us to continue to have the resources to research new technologies for them. Naturally meaning if we take care of our vendors by communicating and staying loyal to them, they will help us during challenges. And last but certainly not least, naturally meaning if we take care of our employees by being understanding, good communicators and fair, they will passionately fuel the care throughout the company.

Care that Comes Full Circle. Those five words are the value statement that drives BioZyme® Inc. each and every day.

How can you embody care that comes full circle into
your dealership?

A fair question after every minute of every day statement is, if something takes this much energy, is it really worth it? If you Google “care that comes full circle,” you will either find items about BioZyme (which made me quite proud), or you will find items about caring for an aging parent. So, at first glance I guess it doesn’t really have a role in business where money usually tends to be the main driver. However, think of this well-known statistic: “A customer who has had a good experience will tell two people, but a customer who has a bad experience will tell 12 or more people.” This is true of vendors and employees as well. I like to refer to vendors and employees as internal customers. They deserve the same care as external customers. Care starts and ends by embracing the four items below and yes, they apply to a chicken and horse as well as a human.

  1. Listen
    Make yourself available to hear with as many touch points as possible. Take a genuine interest in what the other person or animal seeks to deliver to you.
  2. Respond
    Hearing is one thing, responding is another. Be an ally, putting the other person’s needs first. Ensure emails are followed up with in a timely manner; phone calls are answered; waterers are full, feed stays consistent, and time and attention are given where they are needed, when needed.
  3. Resolve
    What good is a response if it doesn’t make something better?
  4. Follow Up
    Seek and be ready to hear honest feedback, and then remain committed to making whatever it is better, happily remembering that this is a cycle that never ends.

Care – we know it is an important component of life, but we often forget one of the simplest principles: to show we care is to find out what people or animals need and then deliver on those needs. Getting started is a matter of holding yourself accountable to the above four actions. If you take the time to do this, I promise it will come full circle.

Dealer Spotlight: Oklahoma Dealer Shares Passion for Products

Some might call it fate. Others might say it was destiny. However, it came to fruition, Wood Cattle Company, Vinita, Oklahoma, is sure of one thing – the timing was right, and they are glad to be BioZyme® dealers.

Patti and Chad Wood are long-time users of the VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® products. They had used them for years on their registered Red Angus herd in Wisconsin. When they relocated to Oklahoma, where the feedstuffs and forages were totally different, they were instructed that they would need to switch up their mineral program.

“We didn’t use it for a while, and the Genex rep who breeds our cows for us, told us to go back to the VitaFerm to see if we noticed changes. It was a night and day difference with the Concept•Aid. Not only in our conception rates, but in our feet, in our hide and hair. Down here in the heat and with the fescue, the HEAT mineral makes a world of difference, too,” Patti said.

No one nearby consistently kept the mineral on hand. Patti’s father-in-law was also bringing them commodities to mix their own feed. That is when they discovered an Umbarger dealer close to him. However, once they tried and decided they liked the Umbarger feeds, that dealer decided to quit his business, too. So, the Woods family took matters into their own hands.

They contacted Umbarger and became a dealer and opened a feedstore on their farm. They have been BioZyme dealers since 2018, and according to Patti, were thankful for the timing with the pandemic hitting just two years later.

“We never intended to have a feedstore. We moved from just outside Madison, Wisconsin, where there are lots of people and activities to Big Cabin, Oklahoma, which is very remote. Some of our best friends are the people we have met through our feedstore. We were busy through the pandemic, and this just fell into our lap,” Patti said.

She added that the products sell themselves, and she would never sell anything she doesn’t use or hasn’t tried herself, one of the reasons she feels like her sales have grown. She was hesitant about the Backyard Boost® line until she tried it at first. Now, she carries it and highly recommends it.

“Backyard Boost Defense is simply amazing! I picked up chicks from the post office. They were lethargic, droopy eyes, and I thought I would definitely lose some. I dipped all their beaks in water, and they fought me. I then took the water and added Backyard Boost, I walked out and left them. I came back 15 minutes later, and all the chicks were drinking and had drunk half of the water I put in with the Backyard Boost in it. All my chicks are alive, healthy and happy,” she said on one of her social media posts.

Patti relies on social media and word of mouth as her primary marketing tools. She also offers service and advice whenever needed. If someone comes in asking for Concept•Aid, for example, she will ask specific questions to learn their challenges to discover exactly which mineral they need. She also offers delivery, lives right at the farm so if someone needs “emergency mineral” can get it for them on a weekend, and her customers can see the Vita Charge® Stress Tubs in her kids’ show calves pens so they might ask questions, leading to more education and sales.

Her ”old school mentality” of service helps her gain customers and sales. Since her family does show, she will look for customers at the shows and offer them advice and help, as she wants to see everyone succeed.

“We’ve used the products. We know they work, and we believe in them, both from a seedstock operation and show program perspective. We have a passion for them, and for dealers to be successful, they need to be able to share that passion, too,” Patti encouraged.

Thank you for your passion, Patti. You are an example of care that comes full circle!

Diversity Offers Increased Profitability

Diversity is the key to business survival. Sure, some companies have thrived on one product line, like Michelin or Crocs like Lisa referred to in her letter earlier in this issue. However, think about a company that only sold rain gauges in the West in 2022. That company likely didn’t fair too well.

In the animal nutrition business, there are many reasons to diversify. Most people own multiple species, and they genuinely care about their animals.

Here are three reasons BioZyme® has chosen to diversify its product lines, and why the company encourages its dealers to diversify too.

Reduce Risk

Many customers will make buying decisions based on economic and environmental conditions. These are the reasons BioZyme offers multiple products in our VitaFerm® line. Of course, Vita Ferm® Concept•Aid® is the most popular mineral, known for aiding with reproductive performance within the cow herd. However, VitaFerm® Cattlemen’s Blend™ is a great vitamin and mineral option for producers who want to supplement cows once they are bred and turned out on grass. VitaFerm Conserve® offers multiple options as a maintenance mineral for producers who want to cut costs but not their nutrition program.

The variety of products reduces the risk of the customer leaving the VitaFerm brand because they provide a variety of options during challenging economic times in a variety of environments.

Open the Door to Opportunities

A variety of products in your portfolio increases the opportunities to make a sale. Not only can you up sell and cross sell, but you also increase your customer base due to the variety of products that you offer. BioZyme capitalized on this opportunity during the pandemic when the backyard chicken craze exploded, and BioZyme simultaneously launched its Backyard Boost® line of products. Since it is important to take care of every animal, we wanted backyard chicken owners to have the same opportunity to include AO-Biotics® Amaferm® in their chickens’ daily diets.

In addition to an additional new line, let’s think about the programs BioZyme offers. For example, the Gain Smart® Stocker Program consists of three products that work synergistically to improve animal health and performance – Vita Charge® Cattle Drench, Vita Charge® Stress Tubs and the Gain Smart® Mineral. Additional product offerings are almost always complementary in nature and meet multiple consumer needs which provide great opportunities for business growth.

Fulfill Customers’ Needs

A single product focus cannot meet all customer needs. Let’s look at a family in rural America. The father might run a commercial cow herd. He definitely needs the VitaFerm line. The mom might have a flock of ewes and sell club lambs. She will most likely be interested in in DuraFerm® and Vita Charge. They might have children that show horses and also have a flock of backyard birds. They will need the Vitalize® and Backyard Boost products. Look at the opportunities that live at one address. The customers’ needs can all be met at one nutrition supplier because you offer a diverse range of products.

Diversification – it just makes sense for your customer and your bottom line. Diversify your product offering, and watch your business grow.

Letters from Lisa

Don’t put all your eggs is one basket is a proverb that dates back at least to the 1600s. There are several stories concerning the origin of the expression, but it may have been inspired by the real-life experiences of poultry farmers who used wagons and baskets to take their eggs to market. If all of a farmer’s eggs were placed in one basket, it would only take one unfortunate accident along the way to ruin his entire investment and opportunity.

By not putting all your eggs in one basket, you reduce the risk of having nothing to offer at the market by pinning all your hopes or future goals on one and only one option. In business, we refer to this as diversification.

Diversification
Diversification is a foundational principle of a sound, long-term plan. One of the key benefits of diversification is that it makes for a smoother ride on the path to achieving one’s goals. In short, we are vulnerable if we rely too heavily on one species, one major customer or one region. Diversification is about developing new products, exploring new markets and taking new risks. None of this diversification lingo is not new information. So why don’t we diversify?

We Intentionally Say No
I’m as surprised as anybody, but Crocs’ all-purpose footwear is still going strong long after their 2002 debut. They’ve come a long way since then; their initial batch of 200 pairs sold out immediately, but they now weigh in as a $880 million company, just in the U.S. And still they remain singularly focused on their flagship product. Michelin is another company that notably stuck to its guns – or, in this case, tires. Although they’ve dabbled in manufacturing things like road maps and rocket components, Michelin keeps coming back to the product that made them famous: tires. They were the first radial tire company to span the globe, and today they’re one of the most recognizable names in the automotive industry.

We Don’t Like Risk
Keep in mind that the path toward diversification will be decided, at least in part, by how much of a risk we want to take – and how much money we have available to take it. If one is risk averse, they tend to not diversify, which in the end is sometimes very risky.

We Don’t Have the Right Expertise
When you do one thing, you can train your staff and use their expertise to execute, unlike when you offer dozens or hundreds of products that require additional expertise not currently possessed by your staff.

We Don’t Have the Right Mindset
Diversification must be a purposeful mindset to influence the future of the company. For many, this mindset is just not an option. Having the openness to hear new ideas, and the flexibility to act on tactical diversification opportunities that can ultimately serve you better than sticking strictly to your original strategy takes an open, visionary mindset. Note that only 3.2% of Americans are visionary so this is difficult.

Diversification can mean something different to every single business. It takes effort and its own kind of focus, so it’s important to first assess whether it’s something your company is striving for, and if so, then examining and perhaps also trying different avenues that may suit your business and your company mindset.

But remember, for diversification to be an option in the first place, openness and willingness to change is the most important criteria.

Relationship Management is Vital to your Success

You know how important it is to build quality customer relationships. But how essential is it to have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System in place to keep and track those relationships? Very, according to one article posted on Forbes.com. CRM is a system or software that helps track information and interactions between your company and your customers. This system is accessed and edited by multiple people to improve the customer experience, automate parts of the sales cycle and improve communication.

“Any company will benefit from maintaining a record of which conversations, purchases and marketing material can be associated with leads and customers,” wrote author Jason Kulpa.

With new products introduced nearly every time you turn the corner, customer loyalty might be considered a thing of the past. Everyone is anxious to try the next big thing, so keeping your customers happy, and building those relationships
is vital to your business’s success. That is why tracking your customers and your interactions with them is incredibly important.

Keys to Success
Tracking customer information is vital to help the customer succeed. When dealers understand each operation’s challenges and goals, the dealer takes on the role of a trusted confidant – more of a friend or consultant than a salesperson. With multiple customers it is important to keep all of that information in one location and to keep it current.

“The relationship between the dealer and his or her customer is part of the success of the business. If the customer has success, then I have success. If he has failure, then I will likely fail too,” said Mike Wadle, Additive Territory Manager.

Rod Hutcheson, Animal Health Business Development Manager, shares one example of how he has gathered information over time that makes the customer feel like he or she matters. When he pulls up at a producer’s place and the family dog runs to greet him, he remembers that the producer says, “get back, Charlie,” while calling the dog off. On his next visit, when the dog approaches him, Hutcheson can greet the dog, “hey Charlie,” and scratch his ear, impressing the producer that he remembered his best companion’s name.

“People will do business with those who care about them It all goes back to the adage, people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care,” Hutcheson said.

Choosing a System
Just like anything, there are many CRM systems. Hutcheson and Wadle agree that it is most important to use a system that the user is comfortable with, especially if you are a smaller business or not sharing that information across several people or departments.

“The best system is the system that works best for you,” Hutcheson said. “That might be an index card or 3-ring binder or keeping information in your iPhone. I always pull up the person’s contact information in my phone when I’m with them to make sure everything is still correct.”

The next step might be to track customer information electronically via an excel spreadsheet or other database system. You can then share this across users via Dropbox or other sharing platforms.

Of course, there are more technical CRM software systems that allow multiple users to share a plethora of information about customers, similar to what BioZyme uses. These can track basic customer information, orders, marketing, shipping, contact methods and conversations and more. These come with a price tag, but are worth the investment, especially in a growing business.

The bottom line is the customer likes to feel valued. Make sure you know that customer and his or her vital information and manage that information using a system that works best for you and your business. You and your customers will find success!