Category: What’s New

Letters From Lisa – January 2020

Today one of the greatest challenges we face in business is staying relevant. Consumers have far more distractions, cautions, choices, opportunities and ways to study and communicate than ever before.

I was recently presenting at the GMDC, a big conference where all the big box store retailers come to find new products. One of the key speakers was the head of Microsoft’s Business Innovation Department. Learning how they “track” consumers to get relevant intelligence about them was fascinating, actually a bit scary. However, the one thing he said that I found most amazing was that today, “data that is more than two weeks old is not relevant, so don’t study it.” With this new two week parameter, most of us will not be good at being relevant.

That definition of relevance is difficult to implement, but with an open mind, I think we can do it! Of course, the question is how. I think if we focus on the below and then have the open mind needed to change appropriately, we will get there. Yes, WE MIGHT HAVE to CHANGE. Yes, WE CAN DO IT!

  1. Spend time where your customer spends time every day.  To stay relevant, we need to make sure we are getting the right information about needs, wants, expectations etc. from our targeted audience. This means spending time with them face-to-face, spending time with them virtually, spending time with them however we can. As soon as we are disconnected from our customer in any way, our relevance starts to diminish.
  2. Connect how your customer wants to connect. There are tons of ways to communicate, the challenge when it comes to staying relevant is ensuring that we are communicating in a fashion that is relevant to our customers. If they are embracing a new social media platform and we are not, clearly there are issues ahead. We need to be nimble and flexible and connect how our customers want to connect, not how it suits us or is easy for our business’s current staff.
  3. Two way = more effective communication. If you want to be relevant, communication needs to be much more about engagement as opposed to a one-sided stream of information. We need to find a way to communicate that builds a meaningful flow of information, and that means a two-way flow. At BioZyme® we call this type of communication crosstalk. The term came to us from a 16-year-old German customer within the context of improving our social media strategies globally.
  4. Welcome critical thinking. We all know that resisting change is deadly. A culture that embraces and encourages innovative thinking to keep the business relevant is a must. We need to be aware of the signs that might suggest our culture is not as welcoming of critical thinking as we need it to be (resistance to change, lack of creative problem solving, negativity toward anything new, etc.).
  5. Embrace industry innovation. All too often we look for innovation within our own business or own industry. From my experience, we are far more likely to find innovative ideas that we can adapt and use in our own business from outside our industry. We need to become students of other industries and innovative communities (online and offline). With Google this is possible from your home late at night, so we have no excuse to not getting it done.

In simple terms, relevance provides meaning in our lives. Relevance is the full experience of a product, brand or cause that we can relate to; it’s an experience that not only changes minds, but, more importantly, changes behavior – and sustains that change.

Staying relevant has got to be one of the hardest tasks in business. Relevance focuses on results. Relevance is about the ultimate goal – triggering the desired behavior. People are awash in choices about where to spend their money and place their loyalty. If you aren’t relevant, they will go somewhere else. Please don’t let that happen.

 

Dealer Spotlight: Heritage Farm Supply

BioZyme Dealer Puts Focus on Future

With a name like Heritage Farm Supply, you’d think the business has a focus on its past, its heritage. However, just the opposite is true.

The Weaverville, N.C., farm and feed store is dedicated to helping its customers thrive and survive and ensuring there is a future in agriculture for today’s young people as well.

Store co-owner and manager Anna English said that Heritage Farm Supply first became a BioZyme® dealer because it was looking for a premium product to offer its customers. She had heard about BioZyme and its product lines, did some research, and decided their products were the right fit for her customer base. Then, once her own family started using the products, sales really started to take off.

“We use the product ourselves, so it is easy to sell the customer on a product we believe in. The biggest selling point for us is using it in our own operation, and it is easier to sell products when you use them and believe in them,” English said.

She and her family run about 100 mama cows and have started using embryo transfer and A.I. extensively. She said the VitaFerm® line has helped them achieve their goals with their cow herd, and in return, she has started reaching out to other purebred producers in the area.

English uses the assistance of her Area Sales Manager Justin O’Flaherty to help share the BioZyme message, including hosting producer meetings for cow-calf producers. She said that since the BioZyme lines are rather new to her area, the producers are willing to come learn and ask questions about them.

Another audience she is working with that will have a major impact on the future of agriculture and the future of Heritage Farm Supply is the youth in her area. English said that urban sprawl is taking over and moving toward them, away from Asheville; and it is important to continue educating youth about agriculture and its impact.

“As rocky as agriculture is right now, it is important for us to know there is a future out there, that people are getting educated in what agriculture is and what we do as an industry. If we can get kids involved, at least they will be an advocate for agriculture in the future,” she said.

Because the future is so important to English and Heritage Farm Supply, they support several youth livestock shows in the area. Since English and her family also show livestock, that was an easy outlet for them to get involved with the kids showing livestock. They are also involved in the FFA program at the local high school and do a lot with its alumni program so they can support the kids through agriculture in as many ways as possible.

Selling a premium product and supporting superior youth are both tasks that English takes to heart. She encourages new dealers and those considering selling BioZyme products not to get hung up on the price. “Don’t let the price stand in your way. It can be kind of a sticker shock, but it is a premium product and your customers will use it. The price is what sets it apart,” she said.

When you’re advocating for the future and promoting a product that helps animals succeed in life, you’re doing great things. Thanks, Anna English for displaying “care that comes full circle.”

Haul ‘Em and Charge ‘Em with Vita Charge®!

The busy winter show season is upon us, which means it is time to talk about STRESS.

Stress is a MAJOR factor that causes shifts in the gut environment, leading to digestive upset and a decrease in appetite. Show livestock are no doubt the most susceptible to stress as we haul them to and from shows, introduce them to new environments and weather changes, surround them with unfamiliar livestock and change their daily routines and feed on show day. Combat the challenges of the show environment with the quick response of Vita Charge®.

Vita Charge is a fast-acting, multi-specie livestock supplement for use during stressful times when livestock need protection or assistance in recovery. The Vita Charge product line offers versatility in many forms making application easy depending on what is best for your animal. The products’ powerful dose of vitamins, B vitamins and the Amaferm® advantage makes it the perfect fit when your livestock need protection or assistance in recovery.

When To Use: 

  • Vita Charge Gel or Liquid Boost®
    • Start administering Vita Charge Gel or Liquid Boost® 5-7 days prior to leaving for the show through the duration of the show.
  • Vita Charge Climate Control Gel
    • Even though it is cold outside, animals can still experience heat stress and changes in regular body temps as we take them in and out of temperature-controlled barns and areas.
    • Help maintain a normal body temperature with Vita Charge Climate Control Gel!
  • Vita Charge Clench
    • As the weather changes or we begin making nutritional shifts to get animals show day ready, they run a high risk for SCOURS. Help your animal recover QUICKLY from show day scours with Vita Charge Clench, a gel for all species of livestock ideal for use during diarrhea and scours treatments to support recovery, hydration and nutrient absorption.

Letters From Lisa – December 2019

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, who will stick a penny in the sweet blonde’s hat (figured it was worth a try)? This time of year, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the holiday hustle and bustle and spend the entire month of December running around like a crazy Kris Kringle. Add getting all your 2020 budgets and business planning done along with December’s tasks, and one can tend to forget the real reason for the season.

In short, the Messiah’s reasons should become our motivators always, but especially in the month of December. If we listen to John the Baptist carefully, we will hear that there’s never one reason that defines Jesus’ arrival. The Good News is more than just a headline. The Good News and the God who brings this message is everything between you and the infinite.

According to Simon Sinek (whose voice carries much weight as the third most-watched Ted Talk of all time with 46 million views), “the minute we’re born, we’re players in the infinite game, and that means we get one choice in life: how we want to play. We can choose to live our lives with a finite mindset, which means trying to get richer, more powerful than all of our friends, to get more, have more – but what is the point?

“Rather, we want to live a life of service, and that’s what we write on our tombstones – what we did for others. ‘Devoted mother,’ ‘loving husband,’ ‘she inspired us.’ To live an infinite life means to live our lives so that others may benefit from the work that we do – so we will literally live on forever, because we will look at ourselves and say, ‘I am who I am today partly because I carry with me the spirit of someone who’s no longer here, and I will pass their lessons on to my children and my colleagues and my friends.’ In an infinite-minded life, just like in business, trust is better, cooperation is better, ideas are stronger and remarkably those ideals live on beyond us. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Most days, it’s too easy to stay focused on our own lives – our work, our problems, what we have to accomplish and what is stressing us out. But it’s easy to forget that everyone else in the world has just as much on their plate as we do – sometimes even more. During the holiday season especially, it’s important to remember that every person you come in contact with has his or her own story and sometimes all it takes is a simple gift – a sturdy pair of shoes, a warm winter coat, a blanket, a cherry limeade or just a hug. These things may seem small, but they may be the gift that helps to get someone else up on their feet.

This year, after you’ve opened your gifts and shared a few laughs with family and friends, think back on the true meaning of the season and what Christmas means to you. As the always wise Doogie Howser, M.D. said, “Getting is good. Giving is better. Once you understand that, it’s always Christmas.”

Merry Christmas, from all of us here at BioZyme.