Marketing and Sustainability with Jennifer Shaffer

We still went through with the interview and were able to save the audio , but we're not able to save the video , unfortunately . But we loved this interview with Jennifer . She had a lot of great things to say , so we wanted to still bring you the audio content for the episode . So thank you for tuning in .

I have since fixed my computer , so hopefully this will never happen again , but thank you , jennifer , for appearing on the show and everyone for tuning in . I hope you enjoy this episode . Hello everyone , welcome to On the Move , a show where we share transportation , sales and marketing success stories .

I am Jennifer Karpis-Romain , executive Director at the Transportation Marketing and Sales Association . Executive Director at the Transportation Marketing and Sales Association , which is a trade nonprofit educating and connecting marketing and sales professionals in transportation and logistics .

And today I'm excited to have on the show a fellow Jennifer , jennifer Schaefer , vp of Marketing and PR at IMC Logistics . How are you doing , jennifer ?

to go .

And there were no agencies in this small town and no , no PR , no marketing . Everybody knows that everybody there's that's not really need it . They don't need that there . So I did a little bit on the side with things that you know .

I work an admin job and do a little bit on the side until my husband and I relocated to the Memphis community , which does have a lot of agencies , unfortunately , you know . You got to really network with them , you got to know people , and this was a long time ago .

So I , you know , at the end of the day , needed a job and so I ended up going to work for a 3PL and um there , started as an admin and did you know what ?

I think maybe some people do start out unless they get an internship , they start an administrative position and they just start doing a little bit of , you know , creativity and marketing and building relationships while you're there and got the attention of the CEO there and she ended up slowly promoting me over the years and I ended up working with their VP of

sales and worked for her and over the years we built the sales and marketing department at that 3PO and I ended up spending 15 years there . So if you've done the math you could tell quickly how old I am .

But you know , after 15 years I happened to have lunch with my boss , who is the CMO here and have known IMC for years as a longstanding drainage provider in the Memphis community and nationwide . And I've just known her because , you know , the logistics industry is large but it's small . It's the same people .

You see the same people , you meet the same people and we just sort of stayed in contact over years and she , you know , invited me to lunch and next thing I know I'm here and so I've been here almost four years now . So I've definitely had exposure to all aspects of transportation .

And I will say this I think over the years , like I don't even know that people get into logistics on purpose . I'm sure there are , but I think a lot of people just sort of fall into it and it like it gets into your skin .

You know like you start thinking the intricacies and moving things from A to B and and how that goes and how you're marketing and positioning that to your customers and selling it and getting you know , building relationships with those journalists , and I think it's just , I think it's here . I think where am I going to go ?

I'm going to be here and I think I'm going to stay in this industry and I don't think I'll ever leave . I think I love it too much .

It's something new every day and , as you know , I've spoke to a couple like high school kids and stuff like that , when you go speak to their classes and it's somewhat recession proof in a way , and so I think you know , I think I will always be in this industry and so I enjoy it . I don't see myself going anywhere .

are you seeing that are shaping the industry right now ?

For us , we have used it for some inspiration , for creative , like we are trying to come up with this really complicated image and we're trying to figure out how we could get it photographed with , you know , a depot and a truck and maybe a train beside it .

We need oh , we need a lift in there and you put AI in it , or you put it in AI , rather , and it'll spit the image out . Is it what we're going to use ? No , but is it enough that I can , like , hand a photographer or hand somebody on a creative team ? This is what I need . Only , I don't need it to look fake , right ?

So , I think that there's a . I think there's a place , I think I think we use it on social media a little bit for some content inspiration . It's never a hundred percent . It's it for us . It's never going to replace , you know , traditional writers who they write for the logistics industry and they know their stuff .

There's no replacement for us in for us in that regard . There's no replacement for traditional journalism and working and having those relationships with you know , having that PR relationship with the journalist . But I think if you could find a place in your toolbox for it , I think that I don't think people have to worry about it .

I think it's not something that's going to take over jobs . I think maybe it'll just make you a little more efficient . But I think that I don't think people have to worry about it . I think it's not something that's going to take over jobs . I think maybe it'll just make you a little more efficient .

But I think I think that you're always going to need writers . I think you're always going to need PR people . You're going to need journalists and so forth . The other thing I'm seeing is the use of a lot of influencers and I don't know , I think the jury's still out . We have definitely worked with an influencer or two at IMC and it was some success .

But I know there was a story recently where a publication went in and replaced some of their journalism team with influencers , and I'm not sure , I don't know .

I feel like traditional upstanding journalism that is going to do all the fact checking , is going to do all the homework to make sure that the story that they're putting out is correct and legit , just can't be replaced with an influencer .

So I'm not sure the jury's still out on that one and I'd be interested what other members would say , be curious how they're using them and if they have any success too .

But I do think I was actually talking to someone recently that anyone can write on the internet , but there's still value in being able to find the places you can trust . That is doing those fact checks , that you know that the information is being there . And I had something that has stayed with me .

One of my editors in the past said it can take you like years , decades , to build up your reputation .

It can take one thing to tear it down , and so cause I always wanted to move fast , I wanted to confirm the stories and get them out there , and that has really stayed with me is really like thinking through , like yes , of course you want to beat everybody else to the story , but you want to make sure that story is correct , and there's then places in between

that you can do like , oh , this is a developing story , this is the information that we have Stay tuned and so like that's where we would work on that , but I think that's incredibly important to consider for sure .

Because , you know , like we had a situation where , you know , maybe something changed just a little bit in a comment , that was something changed in the landscape We'll talk about sustainability for a minute but and I followed up with a journalist and was like hey , I just want you to know , like this is what's happened , this is what's changed , and they appreciate

it so much because we probably could have just avoided it .

But I wanted them to know like , hey , you know , what we said last week is not necessarily what we're saying this week because of X , you know , and and I think that I I don't know that you would get that follow up from an influencer , and I don't know you'd even have that relationship with a journalist and an influencer .

So there's a place , probably like AI , there's a place for for influencers , um , you know , and it's just very customer focused , and so I don't know , the jury's still out , We'll see .

And building those relationships with media partners , knowing you can trust what you can do , and then bringing in some kind of new age things or what you can do to grow upon , I think is just expanding your reach , but I don't abandon

that have worked really well , right , exactly , and then so I'm excited to also announce that you'll be one of our speakers at Elevate this year and your topic will be talking about sustainability . Talk about it .

And so , from a marketing and PR standpoint , we've been marketing and , you know , working with journalists on sustainable or sustainability topics for years now . But it changes all the time . You know , even the most latest administration has changed some of the rules and some of the technology has changed .

And so you know , when I sent that over , I called it the highs and lows of marketing sustainability , because it is , it's constantly changing . Everybody wants to say that they're green , but really are they going to put their money where their mouth is ?

And as the rules change , you have to know , from a marketing standpoint , like what are the rules today and what do we need to be telling customers ? What do we need to be telling ? You know the industry when do we stand on it ? And you know , and , and it's just , you have to have that when you have to be able to ride that a lot of idioms here .

I , you know , little girl from Kentucky , I cannot help it with my sayings , but we , you just it's not as easy as saying we're sustainable . It's a you know you are making investments . Do you know the rules ? Do you have a partner who is up to date on the rules ? We're getting calls from customers saying , ok , the clean fleets rule has dialed back .

So what are you doing about your hydrogen fleet ? Well , you still have the indirect sourcing rule , and then they're going what's that ? Well , you have to be able to explain that to them and you have to be able to you know articulate that , that to them . And you have to be able to you know articulate that .

And you have to be able to , like , present the data and say , hey , here's the data on how we're cutting that down carbon emissions . These are things people didn't even think about three years ago when they bought electric trucks . They were just like we've got an electric truck .

Well , now let's talk about , really , the effect that it's making on the environment and and I think that you know you just have to be able to ride that wave if you will . And so when we're talking about that , the other thing that I wanted to share is that when you're talking about environmental topics , people are very passionate about it .

Ok , they are very passionate , whether they're pro electric , they're very passionate whether they're pro-electric , they're very passionate whether they're pro-hydrogen . And and you have to be able to temper those people who are passionate and be able to handle , you know , when people are saying , well , what color hydrogen do you guys use ?

Because it's not friendly , or if you you know , this is why electric is better . I was at a conference last week . You guys spent 30 minutes telling me why electric was the wave of the future , over hydrogen and . And you just have to be able to have those conversations because everybody thinks they're right and you have to be able to .

You know how are you going to position yourself as a company , as a sustainable provider , and be able to say that . You know , this is one of our core values , is we want to be a sustainable provider . Here's the why and here's how ever-changing we're .

We have the most recent information , we're the expert in it and you know this is how you're going to sell it to your customers .

And so it's a lot and it takes , like I said , you have to have your head on a swivel to be able to make those changes , as the sustainability and the rules change and the states change and stuff like that , and so that's why I called it the highs and lows .

And so , yeah , we can , we hopefully , we'll speak to that , and people need to know what to do in this situations when all the things are ever changing .

It'll say at the federal level , it'll change at the state level , it'll change at the international level , and so if you're participating in these practices or just needing to know what you need to be doing at any given time , paying attention to those trends is incredibly important .

And then I loved thinking about it from like a marketing side , or even a sales side . How do we then educate our customers , our prospective customers , on what's going on right now and how are we reflecting our business practices because of it ? So I think it's going to be a really great session , excited to have you at Elevate talking about it .

If people are looking to register for conference . I'm going to pop up a QR code for them . Hopefully they can see it . I hope my internet seems to be a little choppy today , but I can still hear you talking , so I'm hoping that everything is working great for everybody that is listening or watching the show .

I'm curious , so you've been to Elevate in the past . Is there anything that you're looking forward to this year in Austin , while we go there this year ?

I want to ask you a question about something you said . I think from just building that network it's great and I think that the education is there that you know you guys do a great job in putting together a great agenda .

I think I always come back with fresh new ideas to share with the team and then , like I said , just really making those contacts that can't be replaced , that you're meeting those people in person . Last time I attended , I think was probably two years ago .

We signed a vendor right after that and I love her and I don't know that I'll ever let her go because we've been able to work with them since then and I don't know that I would have , and I don't know that I would have ever . I don't know that I would have ever found them on my own and I don't know that I would have .

You know , you can't tell a lot of people by the website , but talking to someone in person it's just different and I think that it really attracts a great group of people .

So I'm looking to see what everybody else is dealing with in the industry and what the latest technology and what everybody else think is the disruptors then , and obviously learn something new . So I'm pretty excited .

companies could and should be leveraging for that pre-at and post-show conference season ? What should they be doing when they're at shows ? What should they be releasing ? What should they be talking about ?

I would say if you could position yourself months in advance and I think it's always the best option is to get yourself on a panel as a speaker I don't mean me personally , but I mean any of your executives within a company . Anytime that your company can be on a panel , you're automatically viewed as an expert for any of those people who are attending .

So I think if you could pitch your PR efforts probably six , eight months in advance , think about that planning as much as a year in advance , and talk about that while you're there , even if you don't , you know there's journalists who are always attending these trade shows .

I think it's great to even just try to have meetings with them as far as just to build that relationship , try to be meeting with the organization . So you , you know next year when they are putting their agenda together , they're looking for you as the expert , because all those things are just validating your company .

And then you know this is going to sound dumb , but I think anything that you can do that can attract attention to if you have a booth there .

So you know , I've seen stuff like puppies and one of my favorite things was a candy bar that they had all kinds of candy and so it sounds silly , but those things get traffic there and it opens up the conversation . The previous , where I was last weekend , I was out in LA and we hada churro bar and it sounds .

It sounds a little ridiculous , but we literally had people approach our booth because they smelled them and so they were like we smell the churros , come over here and then who's IMC ? While we're talking , you know , so we got to tell them about it .

While they're cooking , you know making their little churro and put the sauces and all that stuff on it and it's just anything that you think will draw people in to those . And so that to me , is kind of the fun stuff , where you're talking about what's going to get people to our booth and then post . You always have to follow up .

I mean , you have to follow up and that may not be the favorite thing , but you have to follow up with everybody who came by , send them a thank you note , put them in your CRM and just you know , continuing that conversation even if you're handing it off to a salesperson , just the follow up is key . Otherwise , you know why do you even go Right ?

Because you know you're everybody's wanting to get customers . So you have to just follow up on that .

Um , as opposed to be like , oh , I'm going to the show , who wants to hang out ? Like you can do those posts , posts . But it's more impactful if you have something like really specific to point to . I love how you were talking about the smell of the churro bar , because I always find the popcorn booth hands down .

Um , my kiddo is obsessed with popcorn , so that smell just like naturally appeals to me because I'm so used to it . But um , so I I would say , yeah for sure , anything that um think of all of the senses , like what you know , um , interest people , but that smell would be really important .

Um , I was at a trade show a couple weeks months ago at this point , um , but they had little macaroons , like the really fancy cookies , and I loved , oh , yeah , and I straight walked past the booth , turned around , came around , went down the aisle and back around to just be like tell me , yeah , tell me what you do . Give me your cookie .

Yeah , I love this and it was something like different that I don't see at a lot of trade shows or at a lot of booths , so anything that like kind of sets you apart there . And yeah , I agree , and they were so visually appealing to their booth it was like a light sage and a pink and the macaroons matched the booth , which I was very , very interested .

Are they attending ?

Anyway , I walk around to every single booth and I scope out what they've done , just in case I didn't see it , because there's some people doing some really cool things , you know , and I go through and I even talk to him and I even say what's the coolest thing you've seen ?

here , and and sometimes it is it's like oh , this guy was like they were giving away a little cardboard container full of Lindt chocolates . Well , I was too late for that , but I could get the . You know , I get it . You know , and I saw and I know that they're going to be at Elevate one of our members . They were there .

They had a deck of cards that was customized to all modes of transportation . I thought that was really cool , but it's just , it's kind of like you need this shtick right .

You have to figure out what's going to attract people to your booth , because everybody's standing there smiling , they've got their little brochures out , but it's got to be something you know , something that's going to bring people in . And figuring out what that is . And so I'm always open to ideas and I go out looking for it . At the end I go out .

People are packing things up . What's the coolest thing you've seen ? And a lot of times they'd love to tell you about it . Yeah .

But yeah , I always get inspiration . I do the same thing , but at a show level . I walk around and I think there's some things in the huge shows that will just never be applicable to TMSA .

But some things like yeah , like we have a sustainability sponsor this year at Elevate , it's E Mission Advisory and she's going to have water bottles by our water stations , and that was something that I picked up from another show . I was like , oh , like we could totally do that .

I make sure that there's water everywhere , but I don't have a water bottle sponsor . So things like that like getting your inspiration from things that are already there , and how can you make it applicable to you I think it's really important when you're at trade shows for sure ?

So , and we've also talked about how stressful trade shows can be and being on all the time , and I do think it's really important to find strategies to get through them , especially for people who are a little bit more introverted .

So I always say , like I'm an extroverted introvert , like I can turn it on when I need it , but then I need so much time to decompress .

What are your best tips , best strategies for people who might get a little bit more overwhelmed at a show ?

You know , honestly , if there's time , I think at the end of the night , I think , retreating to your room and door , dashing food and and just settling into whatever you want to watch , that is totally okay . I think that settling into whatever you want to watch , that is totally okay . I think that , you know , I like to call it shaking hands , kissing babies .

You know , all day it can be a lot for some people , especially when you're talking about like the show . Is that last weekend or last week was 4,500 people , that's , I mean , that's , it's a lot . And and then there was something going every night and I think I think it's okay to take time for yourself .

I have a colleague who she will go and get a blowout after everything's done because she just wants to go and make her hair look great , and then I think that just , you know , taking that time for yourself . I've been known to most of the conferences I attended in LA . I've been known to take a few days and go to Disneyland .

Now , granted , that's not , that's not necessarily , you know , applicable for everybody in the industry , but find out what . What is for you ? For me , maybe it's roller coasters , I don't know .

And , and , to be honest , it's probably more that than anything , because when I go to a trade show , I don't , I could , I couldn't even tell you the TV works most of the time , because I don't even turn the TV on .

I don't need something else talking to me , I just want to return to the room and be quiet and door , dash my feet and read , or something like that , or listen to a podcast , but it's , I think it's , you know , going to vary depending on what people like , but I think it's just finding that thing that allows you to decompress .

Maybe it's just a quiet call to your loved ones at the end of the day , um , maybe it's just , you know , walking next door and buying yourself a steak , I don't know , um , but I think that when you are on like that and you're introverted , just factor in a tiny bit of time and and take that time for yourself and use it However .

If I'm going out , I will do it . I'm like I can make those decisions . But I do think that's really important . Sometimes I just want like good food , like the food that , like , my husband doesn't like to eat , and so let me just order that while I'm gone and be able to enjoy that .

I always schedule a massage when I get back home within the days following a trade show . Oh , that's a great idea .

I like that 90-minute deep tissue or like hot stone massage and it helps so much because I I mean , I don't know about you , but like I'm always carrying like my laptop and like 800 other things on my back and so it is painful when I return home so like that's something I've started doing and I I suggested to everyone that can can do that because it really

is helpful . And then one thing that TMSA has started doing , which so I know you weren't at Elevate last year , but we have a wellness room now that is designed kind of for this like moment of peace , and so last year is the first year we did it and there's like lavender spray in there . We have we tried to do lower lighting this year we'll do it .

Last year it didn't work out the way we wanted it to . But we have like coloring pages and stress balls and like putty you can play with and it's all designed for people who just like kind of just need a minute to themselves , and I definitely utilize it , even as the event planner .

I would go in there like sometimes you just need that minute to like decompress and take a minute to just do something else or be quiet or meditate . We did pull like a workout ball and a yoga mat in there as

well , so people got to just like take that minute to decompress and that was something I was really proud of that we incorporated into the show , because , yeah , sometimes you just need a minute and I know if I go to my room in the middle of the trade show I'm not coming back out , um , at least for a long time . So I like to .

You know , I thought about that and was like , okay , let's give them a space where they can have that moment of calm and then go right back in without retreating to their room .

I was new to the industry and even new to the town , new to the industry and even new to the town , and it was hard to find that .

But when I did find that person , she made me uncomfortable , like she pushed me to do things , to be the extrovert and to turn things on and do things that made me uncomfortable , which I think has made me successful in my career . And I would be an introvert that I am .

I would have never done them , I would have never done this podcast , I would have never , you know , considered speaking before . I would have never done many things throughout my career , even probably attending trade shows .

I don't know that I would have been comfortable doing that if she had not championed me and by say , champion me , pushed me to do things that made me uncomfortable . And I sometimes think you need that .

I think you need that mentor that is going to like , guide you through the industry and , you know , push you outside your comfort zone to do things that in the end will , you know , maybe make you uncomfortable , but they're going to make you more successful in your career because you know , oh , you can do xyz or I talk to her at this location she really knows

her stuff or she has this history in this , in the industry . But if I was just sitting back at my desk , punched away at a computer for the last 19 years I don't know how long it's been , but , um , you know you wouldn't get that as many career opportunities as I have now , and so I'm thankful for her .

Um , she'll know who she is if she listens to this . I'll make sure she does , um , but I I think you need that person who's going to force you to be a little bit uncomfortable , um , and do the hard things , as we would tell our kids , because it's going to lead to more success in the future , I think .

A few things going on at tmsa . In case people don't know , we have our recognition program for our purpose awards , trailblazers awards and rising stars category open now through the end of the month . So those will . Submission areas will close march 28th . So if you have a purpose driven or sustainability driven program , submit by march 28th .

Same with best of marketing sales campaigns . Rising stars is for people who've been in the industry five years or less , so really , really excited about that .

And then join us next week on the Move , next Wednesday , march 26 , we'll have Eileen Dabrowski on the show , who has been in the industry for a long time , but we just recently announced her as the new Programs and Membership Director here at TMSA .

So we're really excited to dive in and talk about all of the things that we hope to achieve together now that she is at TMSA headquarters . But thank you , jennifer , for coming on the show . It's been a pleasure to talk to you and look forward to seeing your session at Elevate . Thanks for coming on .