Blog

Somewhat sticking with Tracie's blog theme from Friday, I want to talk a bit about how having CSRs in different areas has enhanced the way Old Hat is doing business. We've been fortunate to employ so many people with previous collegiate and professional marketing experience, and now we're letting these folks out into the wild to discover more prospects and become more involved with our existing clients.

Because of the nature of the actual products we sell, Old Hat has always been able to work with clients across the country, and do so efficiently and seamlessly. And I'm a big believer in our ability to do exactly that. Twenty years ago our one-shop business structure may not have worked well for a national company, but obviously technology has allowed companies the freedom to expand in ways they couldn't 20 years ago. Plus Zac was probably too young to run a company at the age of 14, so it's worked out for us that technology progressed when it did.

Old Hat can deal with clients anywhere, thanks to new computer technology.        

So how does having local CSRs benefit a company that doesn't really need a local presence, you ask? Remember when I mentioned that the type of products we sell make it easier for us to be a national (or even global) company? I was referring to our print design, video and website work, basically everything we produce. But the one thing that Old Hat REALLY sells is customer service. That's been the gravy for us (Dustin would insert something about a gravy train with biscuit wheels, and I really have no idea how that applies here, but I like to quote Dustin when I can). So the real benefit of having sales reps in different geographic areas is that Old Hat can be more involved with the communities that our clients' campaigns are reaching. You can see from Tracie's facebook page, blog and/or diary that she likes to travel around, visiting a lot of places that we have current or potential clients. I'm sure she does it for a few reasons, but the one I want to stress is that she likes to be involved with our clients. She's good at making friends with people she works with (at least that's what I'm told, I try to avoid talking with her if I can). And that's really the philosophy of Old Hat in general- we want to be involved with our clients because the more we're involved, the more we share with each other, and somehow in all that mix we get a better sense of our clients' needs.

Case in point: A local client I've been involved with a lot more this year is the University of North Texas. Since UNT is just about 2 hours south of Norman, it's easy enough to take a drive down, go to the Spring Football game and do photo and video shoots without incurring as much time and travel costs. I've been down there multiple times this past six months for various meetings and shoots for the new football campaign. It's been fun for me to see how things are progressing with their new stadium, seeing Coach McCarney and just the general sense of excitement by the community. And because I have been so involved throughout this process, I feel a real connection to their campaign that I might not have if I hadn't been able to visit. I like to be as involved as possible with every campaign we work on (at least with the clients I deal with), but there's definitely a deeper sense of appreciation for a campaign when I can physically see the pieces we're creating and how those pieces are seen by the community.

Reps who owl with their clients have a 4% greater likelihood of continued work. It's science.

Although I have had the opportunity to visit UNT a few times, Old Hat has also had the chance to visit a lot of other campuses for video and photo shoots. We just got back from Notre Dame (my first visit) and it was a great experience to see the campus and South Bend. So even though I can't drive up there every other week, we're still getting the chance to see how and where our products will be displayed. It's also easier to understand the vision our clients have when we can literally walk through it with them. I'm really excited about new things we're trying at Old Hat, and I think placing good representatives into some other communities is really going to increase the value of our customer service.

Have a great Monday!

No owls were harmed in the making of this photo.