General
Lesson 33 – Look Beyond Your Core
We are strong proponents of niching down and focusing on your core competencies with your products and services. It makes you better at it, it increases your efficiencies and you become known for it. But from time to time, you should look outside your core for things that you could make or offer that just…
Read MoreConsulting in Rural America
OUTdrive Episode 116 with Rebecca Mankin CEO’s have a lot on their plate, and managing finances is a critical part of running a business. Many small to medium-size companies can’t justify a full-time CFO, meaning this responsibility often falls on the owner. But, there are financial support options for businesses that just need a little…
Read MoreCultivating Consumer Relationships
OUTdrive Episode 115 with Stacy Dohle A visit to the Gerken Dairy Center is a tradition for many who attend the Missouri State Fair. Ice cream, milking demos, and, of course, the butter cow sculpture, are just a few of the great things you can find inside the dairy barn. But, it also serves a…
Read More2022 Agritourism Conference Presentation
In July of 2022, the Callis team was tasked with presenting at the Agritourism Conference in Joplin, Missouri, presented by Missouri Farm Bureau and Missouri Grown. The annual event, held at various locations around the state, provides resources, tools, and networking opportunities to those working in the agritourism industry. These are often small or family-owned…
Read MoreLesson 31 – Do Your Research
Whenever we have the opportunity and budget to do research for a client, we’re enthused! It makes the results of our job so much better. Of course, not every project demands research and not every client can justify it. One who does though is Bothwell Regional Health Center. We’ve been working with Bothwell for many…
Read MoreMarketing Missouri Agriculture
OUTdrive Episode 114 with Taylor Tuttle We believe some of the best agriculturists come from the state of Missouri; not just farmers and ranchers, but bee-keepers, winemakers, orchard owners, and many others, as well. The Missouri Grown program was established to share the stories and the farm-to-table experiences available to rural and urban communities statewide.…
Read MoreAccess to Fiber Internet in Rural America
OUTdrive Episode 113 with Rick Lashley Rural Americans and their operations are what keep the world running. Just like anyone else, these business owners, manufacturers and farmers need access to reliable internet, but many rural areas lack a reliable connection or wifi. GoNetspeed, a fiber internet provider formerly known as Otelco, is out to change…
Read MoreLesson 30 – Over-Communicate
We’ve found over the past 35 years that you can’t communicate too much. Sure, you can wear people out with boring stories about all your travels, but when you’re working on a project, especially highly-technical and complicated ones like we work on, you can’t communicate enough. Going back a few years, we were fortunate to…
Read MoreLesson 29 – Invest in Your Community
Back in 2015, our city faced the need and the opportunity to pass a Use Tax that would be used to fund needed infrastructure and services. The issue made a lot of sense, and in fact, we had worked with their state association a couple of years prior to create a templated campaign that all…
Read MoreFind Your MO
OUTdrive Episode 112 with Stephen Foutes Under the umbrella of the Department of Economic Development, the Missouri Division of Tourism oversees the state’s marketing effort to attract visitors to Missouri. And those efforts are pretty important, considering they produce a 13.5 billion-dollar impact. As the Director of Tourism and a lifelong Missourian, Stephen Foutes quite…
Read MoreLesson 28 – Business is Synergistic
We find many times in business that our clients face the same types of opportunities and challenges that we do. We see business models that are similar to ours. We learn how our clients’ business development and sales cycles parallel ours. Maybe that’s just the B2B world, but it’s uncanny. LammTech is one of those…
Read MoreWhat is Repurposing Content in Marketing?
There are two major ways to get the most out of your content. The first is to repurpose older content and republish it with up-to-date information. The second is to repurpose it across all your platforms, including social media, blogs, email and more. Both options allow you to take advantage of content that is already…
Read MoreServing Rural American Communities
OUTdrive Episode 111 with Blake Mills and David Swearingen We are coming up on the best 11 days of the year – the Missouri State Fair. One of our favorite parts of the Fair is interacting with the partners and sponsors who make it all possible. Today, I’m joined by Family Center Farm and Home…
Read MoreLesson 27 – Be Prepared
Over the years, we’ve had literally hundreds of opportunities to pitch ideas and new business. Most times, we’ve gone above and beyond, but unfortunately, there are times we have fallen short. The key is in preparation. Borrowing from the Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared,” we’ve always tried to be overly prepared for every presentation.…
Read MoreSeeing the Whole Picture
OUTdrive Episode 110 with Megan Hartman What makes a great marketer? Someone who is strategic? Yes. Detail-oriented? Absolutely. Asks good questions? Certainly! All of these skills are part of the equation, but they also need to be business savvy. A great marketer should be able to look at the client’s business as a whole, see…
Read MoreLesson 26 – Pay It Forward
At Callis, we’ve always had the philosophy that we should give back, whether that’s in the community, the industry or an organization that does great things for good people who need their help. Over the years, members of Callis leadership has been involved in the volunteer leadership for the Center for Human Services, a Missouri…
Read MoreBe Committed to Marketing
OUTdrive Episode 109 | SOLOCAST Getting into business is easy, but it’s just as easy to go out. I’m always amazed at businesses that you’ve never heard of that run a massive advertising campaign to tell the market they’re going out of business. Why didn’t they spend some of those advertising dollars before now? Business…
Read MoreLesson 25 – Follow the Process
In our agency, we use a strategic insight process we’ve learned and perfected to identify the one key message point that will really stand out and resonate with a target audience. We’ve used it many times and one of the most recent is with our work with the City of Sedalia, Missouri. We’ve been fortunate…
Read MorePaws with a Purpose
OUTdrive Episode 108 with Kyle Cory-Yaeggi and Laura Erganian They say a dog is a man’s best friend, but for some individuals, their dog is a lifeline. Right here in rural America, we are privileged to have a nationally recognized organization and facility dedicated to raising, training, and placing service dogs with people in need.…
Read MoreLesson 24 – Believe in What You Do
Over the years, we’ve built our business on the rural American lifestyle. Sure, we’ve had lots of clients who didn’t necessarily fall into this category, but for sure, it’s been our bread and butter and where we focus our efforts today. Some of our earliest experiences in this market focused on marketing outdoor sports products…
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