3 Things to Discover When Determining Your Short-Term Strategy

Have you taken the time to determine the strategy for your business? As Lisa Norton mention’s in her letter this month, a strategy and a plan are not the same thing, but she defines strategy as, “Determining how we are going to win in the period ahead.” Winning in business is bigger than bringing home the purple banner and the trophy. In order for your business to win, you need to turn a profit while making sure your customers have what they need to succeed.

A short-term strategy will help you accomplish your goals each year, and lead to a win in your business. As we approach the last quarter of 2019, it is a great time to start planning your strategy for the year ahead. Jackie Lackey, Marketing Strategist at BioZyme, suggests asking yourself three questions and analyzing your own responses as you begin to develop a short-term strategy to ensure success in your business.

1. Do I understand my business and its needs?

This one question might need to be answered by asking a series of more questions. What do you as a business owner or manger need to do to grow your business? Do you need to put more focus on strictly large accounts? Or do you need to diversify your customer base more? Determining what your business goals is a great first step to discovering what you need and what you hope to achieve for your business.

Part of discovering your business needs might also involve realizing new ways to upsell your products. Marketing should be a big part of your business strategy and determining the best ways to position, promote and sell your many products is all part of the strategy development.

2. What do my customers need to succeed?

A business won’t win if the customer is not happy. So perhaps one of the most important questions to consider is what the customers’ needs are. Of course, your customers want to have a profitable year; that is everyone’s ultimate goal. But, how can you help them reach that goal? They need to be aware of the many options that are available to them, and how they can use those options during various stages of production or before, during and after a show or competition. Listen to your customers. Learn their needs. Plan your strategy.

3. Am I making a profit?

If you are not making a profit, you are not going to be in business long. Then, you will have to start thinking about a new strategy and set of goals! Everyone that owns a business should determine their desired profit margin as well as have an accurate list of income and expenses. Once you analyze your profit potential, you will be able to set your business strategy in a way to ensure your business is lucrative.

Once you have discovered the answers to these three simple questions, you can start planning your strategic framework. Remember, start planning for the short term, with your customer’s success in mind, and you will win by getting to watch your business grow!

Differentiating Your Business Starts with Your Why

It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. Unless you are marketing a generation-old family secret anti-aging potion it’s likely you will have competition in the marketplace. In order for your business to thrive, you need to differentiate yourself from the rest to rise to the top.

But how do you do this? You know your products are great. You’ve trained your employees to know the products and provide the best customer service in a five-county area. That’s all important, but to really set your business apart, you need to start with the basics. And for that you must establish your WHY.

According to Jackie Lackey, Marketing Strategist at BioZyme® Inc., when you discover your “why” you are building your own personal brand. That brand is what will help set you apart from the rest.

“Developing a personal brand is valuable, but it is not about you. It is about delivering value to others,” she told attendees at this year’s Dealer Retreat.

There are ultimately four characteristics that make up your brand, which should reflect what you say and do. Let’s review each of those features, and while you read these, think about how they apply to your individual brand.

1. Who. Before you can start building a brand, you need a solid foundation, and that foundation begins with understanding who you are. Each person has unique, authentic, genuine traits, so take some time to reflect on those. What is your passion? What really drives you and motivates you to get out of bed each morning? Is it helping others? Selling a great product? Making a profit? What talent and interests can you share with others?

2. Why. Knowing your “why” will help you discover your purpose. Everyone has a purpose and that purpose should show through in everything you do. At BioZyme, our purpose is to “provide care that comes full circle,” and we can do that every day in multiple ways. We show care for animals by providing products to enhance their health, and therefore should help producers achieve profitability. That care also extends to the dealers and employees within the company who make sure those products are available. Determine your purpose or reason for getting out of bed each morning.

3. Values. Everyone has values and they will vary from person to person and from region to region. But if you don’t know what you believe in, who will? It is important to have a strong value system in place. If you feel strongly about your values, why not write a value statement and display it prominently in your business or home? Perhaps your values are best displayed by the way you treat others on a daily basis.

4. What. What are your future goals and objectives for your business? You obviously want to achieve growth and while doing that, help others be successful. But what other goals do you have? Remember, goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, accountable, relevant and timely), and they become more concrete if you write them down and review them often.

Once you have established your brand and you know how to differentiate yourself, it is time to start promoting and marketing to let others know about you and your brand. Here’s how BioZyme can help. Set up a meeting with your ASM and the marketing team to inform them of your why and how you would like to share your message. They can help you with unique marketing messages to target your audience and set yourself above your competition.

September 2019 – Letters From Lisa

Strategy has been studied for years by business leaders and theorists. Yet, there is no definitive answer about what strategy really is. One reason is because people think about strategy in different ways.

For instance, some people believe that you must analyze the present carefully, anticipate changes in the market or industry, and, from this, plan how to succeed in the future. Meanwhile, others think that the future is just too difficult to predict, and they prefer to evolve their strategies from just looking inside their own walls.

A simple definition of strategy can be: “Determining how we are going to win in the period ahead.” The biggest problem with the way organizations think about strategy is they confuse strategy with plans. They aren’t the same thing.

A strategic framework must establish what the business will do to deliver value for which customers are willing to pay and how it expects to hit target revenues and profits. The strategy doesn’t answer all the questions required for implementation — that’s planning, but it clearly establishes the game you are playing and how you expect to win. It also identifies the games you aren’t playing — the things you have no intention of delivering, even if your best customer begs you.

This framework helps us make decisions about how we will play the game of business. These decisions, which occur daily throughout the organization, include everything from capital investments to operational priorities to marketing, to hiring, to sales approaches, to branding efforts, to how each individual shuffles his or her “To Do” list every single morning. Without a strategic framework to guide these decisions, the organization will run in too many different directions, accomplish little, and suffer enormous confusion that ultimately stifles any plans or goals, good or bad.

Let’s pause a minute and look at this from the reverse. When should one not build a strategic framework:

• No time
• No resources
• No commitment from leadership
• In an acute crisis or transition

Or in other words just before the doors close. If you are reading this VISION article, your doors are not closing, so it’s time you choose to build a strategic framework and then use it every day as your guide in the planning and execution of tactics.

We Have Some Exciting News About Our Vita Charge Line!

We have EXCITING news coming soon about the Vita Charge® line! On September 1st we are launching a new gel for use during scours called Vita Charge Clinch and we want YOU to be the first to know all the details. Join us LIVE on the Dealer Facebook page on August 28th at 8 PM Central to learn all the things you need to know to equip your business for success with this new product.

How to Tune in:

1. Make sure you are signed up for the BioZyme Dealer Facebook Page. Click the button below to visit the Facebook page and request access.

Please be sure to fill out the group questionnaire with your Dealership Name and Area Sales Manager to gain access.

Click Here for our Dealer Facebook Group

2. Tune in at 8 PM CST to watch a live video with Blaine Rodgers, Show Livestock Business Development, explaining:

  • Product Formulation
  • Key Benefits
  • When to Use
  • Business Opportunities

3. Come with questions to comment and ask LIVE!

#TipTuesday

#TipTuesday
Did you know there was a way to share BioZyme content on your social sites without having to manually do it yourself?
PromoBoxx, our social content sharing platform, has an automation feature set up where we schedule content monthly and it automatically shares to your page. Check out this months content available now!
This program is free to use and easy to sign up. Visit www.biozymedealermktg.com to get started. If you have any questions, comment below and we can help!

How to Position Vita Charge for Weaning

Need help positioning Vita Charge? We have you covered.
Vita Charge® is a multi-specie livestock supplement that provides a powerful dose of vitamins, B vitamins and the Amaferm® advantage for those stressful times when livestock need protection or assistance in recovery. Vita Charge is available in many forms making application easy depending on what is best for your animal.

Selling Tools:

Video testimonials and the new American Rancher show featuring Vita Charge are available on the media page at www.vitaferm.com.
Visit: https://vitaferm.com/media/#vitacharge

Share With Your Customers:

There are some great educational pieces about VitaFerm Gain Smart available on the blog at www.vitaferm.com/blog.

Some of the newer ones to check out are:

4 Effective Marketing Strategies to Excite your Customers

Type in “effective marketing” or “exciting marketing” into your favorite online search browser and wait for the articles to start popping up with literally hundreds of suggestions from a simple business card to creating a blimp to fly over an event with your company name and logo on it. While these and others are all good suggestions, remember that if you put your customers as your focus, creating innovative, effective and exciting marketing strategies will become more simplified.

According to an article at www.entrepreneur.com, excited and engaged customers bring in 23 percent more profits. “Excitement is an emotion that fosters engagement. Positive experiences lead to increasing connections. Sports fans, for example, are so engaged they frequently describe their beloved team as part of their personality. This is the ultimate brand engagement,” the author writes.

What can you do to make your customers excited about the products and services you offer? Ashley Fitzsimmons, BioZyme® Inc. Regional Marketing Manager shares some of the initiatives she has helped Area Sales Managers and dealers create that have been successful.

Billboards. Many might think of billboards as “old school” however, Fitzsimmons said they are an affordable way to reach a big audience. She said that currently dealers in six states have placed billboards near the state’s largest livestock auction or buying facilities. And other dealers are embracing technology with digital billboards that are easy to change the message during specific seasons.

“The dealers are putting personal messages inviting their end-users in to learn more about a specific product that is in demand for the season or production cycle,” she said.

Fitzsimmons reminds dealers that BioZyme will provide full design work for your marketing materials, including billboards. Contact your ASM to learn more.

Radio advertising. Fitzsimmons said more dealers have been requesting scripts for radio advertising on their local stations. It’s widely accepted that most of our end-user audience spends a majority of their time in a pick-up or tractor, and therefore get their news from the radio instead of reading a newspaper. She has been pleasantly surprised at the amount of dealer requests for a radio script and has had positive feedback on the return on investment from those advertising on the local radio stations as a way to drive traffic into their dealership.

Local involvement. Although BioZyme has been supporting youth at livestock shows at the national level through its Sure Champ® line and involvement in junior nationals, majors and state fairs, more and more dealers have been promoting their businesses and giving time and support to the county fairs and shows.

“It is not a new concept that our dealers are supporting the local fairs, but it has been refreshed in recent years with creating nice awards, especially for showmanship, and providing some product for the winners. This is just another way to build brand awareness while creating excitement with a young, potential customer,” Fitzsimmons said.

PromoBoxx. PromoBoxx is the social media tool available to all dealers that contains ready-made content for them to share on their social channels. The content is aligned with BioZyme’s current marketing initiatives and is simple to post and share. Fitzsimmons says participation in PromoBoxx has nearly quadrupled since the company started offering it.

Other ideas. In addition to the four ideas that Fitzsimmons shared, you might consider a social media contest to engage your followers see the engagement on Sure Champ’s judging contests. If you have a new product, you might have a giveaway for some product or samples. Whatever you choose, keep your customers’ interests top of mind.

Getting customers engaged and excited doesn’t take a big bank account, a full-time marketing employee or a personalized blimp flying over your store. It does take some planning, collaboration with your ASM and some time to decide your strategy. The BioZyme marketing team is here to help!

Find the Fun at Work

All work and no play might make Jack a dull boy, but did you know that if your employees are engaged with some friendly entertainment with their colleagues, their morale is likely to increase, which means happier employees and ultimately better service passed onto the customers?

There are a number of things that can impact the mood of your employees, and not for the better: a down-turn in the economy, employee lay-offs, closed-door meetings, uncertainty and just a lack of engagement with the leadership and other employees. That decrease in morale can leave employees performing at a minimal level and providing less-than-ideal customer service.

That is why having some fun, employee engagement activities is important to boosting employee morale and keeping positive attitudes, which transmits to the customers. Customers can tell if employees are happy, and if the business treats its employees right, it will treat its customers right too.

Let’s look at some tips to put fun back into the workplace and derail any worries that your employees might have.

  1. Set some ground rules. Make sure that your employee engagement doesn’t offend anyone, and make sure that your people know it is voluntary. There is nothing worse than being “forced to have fun.”
  2. Have a healthy attitude. Your employees will be able to tell if the leadership is not positive about the engagement activity. Make sure you have scheduled time for it so you can be focused and present in the moment.
  3. Make it a team effort. Survey your employees and find out what they are interested in. They might have an original idea that you would have never thought of. Even if you aren’t totally sold on their idea of “fun,” remember this is about them, not you, so go along with them, and try something new.
  4. Do an office makeover. A splash of color and some green plants can help brighten moods, especially in areas that employees spend a lot of time in. Or maybe you can skip the donuts one Friday and offer yogurt and granola parfait bar with fresh fruit instead. Subtle changes make a big difference.
  5. Celebrate. Don’t overlook an employee’s birthday or work anniversary. BioZyme works hard to recognize employee’s birthdays on its internal website for the entire staff to see as well as providing a card. Little things make a big difference.
  6. Have a contest. At BioZyme, contests are conducted throughout the year when it’s appropriate – celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day and Independence Day – you’ve never seen so much green or red, white and blue! A contest doesn’t always mean prizes, but it is fun to engage with one another in the friendly spirit of competition.
  7. Get together after hours. Do you really know your employees? In most small companies you likely do. But do you know their families, what they like to talk about, what their hobbies are? Why not host a family-friendly company picnic or a night at the movies (if you have a conference room big enough)? Invite the families and get to know each other. Remember the ground rules though, nothing offensive, and don’t talk work.
  8. Get involved. Perhaps you could choose one community organization to help with as a company. Maybe it’s serving at the soup kitchen one day a month or sponsoring a food drive at the holidays. At BioZyme, we made a food drive into a friendly competition of teams and had a great time providing to others in St. Joseph, and even in other communities where remote employees live and work.
  9. Get active. Another fun group activity that some of the BioZyme employees participated in this spring is a sand volleyball tournament. Some employees played, while others cheered, and all were anxiously awaiting photos on Monday.
  10. Change the scenery. You always have your meetings in the conference room. Perhaps it is time to move smaller group meetings to a local coffee shop, the diner or even a museum just for a change of scenery. If nothing else, the fresh air while getting to the alternate destination will be welcome.

Employee fun shouldn’t be work, and it should not distract from what your employees are doing. However, it is a great way to build morale, engage with one another and build deeper relationships with one another. Happy employees lead to happy customers, and a happy customer is hard to replace.