Pursuing the Higher Good
OUTdrive Episode 120 with Andrew Dawson Local governments address issues that have an impact on nearly everyone who lives, works or plays within city limits. If you look around rural communities, you’ll see that many public servants are our neighbors, co-workers, and local business owners. Unlike federal lawmakers, these individuals actually have skin in the…
Read MoreFive Tips for Creating an Organic Content Plan
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the founding of Callis & Associates. To celebrate this milestone, in January we launched the #CallisTurns35 campaign across our digital and social platforms. Every week for the first 35 weeks of the year, we shared a lesson from each year Callis has been in business and highlighted clients…
Read MoreBrand, Customer, and Employee Loyalty
OUTdrive Episode 119 with Kyle and Kelsey Weymuth The long-term success of a business hinges on loyalty. Every day, companies are competing for brand loyalty, customer loyalty, and employee loyalty. This might be most evident in the car industry. Purchases are few and far between and a customer usually has their mind made up before…
Read MoreLesson 35 – Focus on What Makes Sense
Over the years, we have tried to identify companies and organizations that we felt might make great partners, based on our experience, expertise, values and interests. When we have found one, we want them to know so they can get to know us, hopefully like us and eventually trust us with a project or business.…
Read MoreLesson 34 – Be Welcoming and Be Sincere
When it was first announced that Nucor Steel was coming to town, it was a big deal, and the entire community was excited at the possibilities of what this might mean in growth for the region. The Nucor folks came in slowly and it was obvious that they were committed to selecting the right people…
Read MoreCelebrating 35 Years
OUTdrive Episode 118 | SOLOCAST 2022 is a significant year for Callis & Associates – it’s our 35th Anniversary! Back in January, we started our #CallisTurns35 initiative on our digital and social channels. Every week for the first 35 weeks of 2022, we shared a lesson from each year Callis has been in business and…
Read MoreSimplifying SEO and Digital Marketing
OUTdrive Episode 117 with Rogelio Rodriguez We know there can be a lot of complexity surrounding digital marketing, specifically within the topic of Search Engine Optimization. But, when you break it down, SEO can be simplified to crafting the most relevant and accurate answers to your consumer’s frequently asked questions. In this episode, agency owner…
Read MoreLesson 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 MoreLesson 32 – Appreciate Referrals
Nothing is better than word-of-mouth advertising. In our business, that means one of our past or current clients saying good things about us to someone we would like to do business with. A great example of this happened a couple of years ago and we continue to enjoy the benefits of that today. Russ Childers…
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…
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