A Good Mood Welcome

A Good Mood Welcome

We have a special episode this week welcoming our newest employee, Ben!
Ben Koester has joined the Catalyst team as our new Director of Digital Strategy. Our Good Mood crew had the chance to chat with Ben about his past experience as a digital marketer, agency culture, digital trends, and more. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!

Ben Koester
Ben has been working in the digital marketing space for more than 9 years. As Catalyst’s Director of Digital Strategy, Ben leads the development and management of integrated digital media plans, working alongside both our internal team and clients to consistently strategize and elevate performance. Learn more about Ben’s expertise by listening today.

Transcript

Thomas Demiranda (00:15):

Hi there. Welcome back to another episode of Good Mood Marketing. Today you've got myself, Thomas, Katie, and we're joined by our guest host Lauren Goodman, our creative director. Lauren will be filling in for Christy for the next several episodes as Christy spends some more precious time with her baby boy. And we're excited to, to have Lauren on as she's been on other episodes before.

Katie Degutis (00:36):

Welcome back Lauren.

Lauren Goodman (00:36):

Thanks guys.

Thomas Demiranda (00:38):

Yeah, and as far as today's episode, we'll be talking with Ben Koester. Ben was actually recently hired as a Director of Digital Strategy. He has a robust career in digital and working in agencies that partner with real estate companies. Super excited to have him on and learn more about his career history with real estate marketing, his ideal company culture and some digital hot takes. Ben, welcome.

Ben Koester (01:00):

Thank you for having me. Excited to be here.

Thomas Demiranda (01:03):

Awesome.

Lauren Goodman (01:04):

Awesome. Ben, since you're joining us for the first time, we were kind of hoping you could sort of take us through your history. What brought you to Catalyst and then what you love about just real estate marketing in general?

Ben Koester (01:16):

Yeah, absolutely. And I have a wide range and unique history with real estate marketing with my experiences starting with a number of startups as well as other agencies focused on real estate, whether it be realtors, multi-family or senior living. So definitely all verticals on that front. And then when it comes to the work side of things, it's just driving those leads and watching those leasing trends improve throughout the process. And then from a personal standpoint, really the ability to actually help people find such a necessity for their lives. And it's a good feeling to see it finish that full process, especially as an apartment renter myself, knowing all the highs and lows of apartment living.

Katie Degutis (02:01):

Totally. I love that. I think that that's one of the biggest differences is like people do need housing no matter what they need housing where you can kind of get behind what you're selling a little more than maybe some other marketing agencies.

Thomas Demiranda (02:13):

How, how did you get started with real estate marketing in particular? Was it an agency, the property side? How did that start in your career?

Ben Koester (02:21):

Yeah, it's actually a bit of a tipsy turn way on how it came to be. I just joined up at a startup agency and we had a wide range of verticals, whether it be a boutique or a mechanic or a dentist. And actually we had real estate as well as a coup and a couple of realtors. And we saw some, some success there and really just actually expanded on that arm while kind of retracting some of those other verticals. So it started in that startup environment where I was cold calling. I was taking any business we could get. And after that, you know, we just, yeah. We kept seeing the expansion happen and we saw more and more different types of real estate come into our wheelhouse and it really just kind of yeah. Took off from there.

Katie Degutis (03:11):

So you've even got some smile and dial experience <laugh>.

Ben Koester (03:15):

Yes, yes. What an honor. What an honor.

Katie Degutis (03:18):

Love that. Well, since you have been in a couple of different environments with it, what's your kind of takeaway of what makes a good company culture?

Ben Koester (03:28):

Yeah, absolutely. And being in different size agencies and startups, all those environments are so critical to the growth of the company, but I just keep falling back to respecting everyone's work and time all the way up and down that hierarchy. And that of course is coupled with those open lines of communication. So I think those are pretty standard and borderline cliche, if you will, but I think it allows just everyone that freedom to really excel in their role and trust what they're doing is, you know, the correct way, if you will. But also just it builds that trust between coworkers so that moving forward, you know, that, you know, things are in a good place at all parts of the process.

Katie Degutis (04:11):

Yeah, I know we've talked a lot about company culture on the podcast in the past and just good communication and being able to kind of like keep each other involved. I think, especially with remote work. And you are in Denver, we've got the three of us right now recording are in Austin, and we've got the majority of our team in Austin, but as our kind of remote team evolves and we add more people to that, I think it's something we've seen even more play out that you really have to have that constant communication and be able to trust that people are going to update you when you need it.

Thomas Demiranda (04:43):

Yeah. And it's super important to know that everybody can, you know, again, use the word trust, but be able to just stay in their lane, work in what they need to do, and everyone else trusts that that work is getting done and it's getting done very well. And so I've, you know, we've talked about it in other episodes, we've been in company cultures where there's kind of micromanagement and it's almost like a, you know, adult babysitting <laugh> of just making sure that you know, that person, you know, from a sales standpoint, oh, they're getting their calls in, they're getting their emails in, you know, making sure that's all done. Where, you know, that's, I think even antiquated now in most tech businesses, they want to see more like what are the results? And I think that's where, you know, I think even we are at now is more of like, you know, as, as long as we see results and we see that everyone is doing their part, you know, we're, we're all good with everyone kind of being remote and doing all of that.

Katie Degutis (05:33):

Yeah. And I think Lauren, you and your team probably can experience it more than anyone just being on the production side of things. Things have to go in a certain order, right? You have to have copy before you can do design. You have to have design before you can build a website. There's just so many pieces that follow that kind of pattern that you have to take it linear. You can't just, okay, well I'm gonna jump in and do my part and then wash my hands, hands of it. It's that trust of everyone doing their piece and getting it to you Yeah. Step by step.

Lauren Goodman (06:01):

Yeah. And what you guys said about the how culture sort of shifts when you are in person versus in remote and how that need for trust kind of shifts. Ben, I was just wondering, you know, as one of our like primarily remote roles, do you feel like you were putting a, were you looking for a heavier emphasis on culture being remote? Especially not being here in Austin, was that something you were looking for and kind of what, how is that important to you as someone who's not here in Austin with us?

Ben Koester (06:31):

Yeah, it's, it definitely a unique experience in the sense of, of course, that face-to-face time isn't there and the ability to just reach over and tap someone on the shoulder, Hey, can you take a look at this quickly? It, you know, you have to you know, build that trust, which kind of ties into the prior discussion, but it just gives you that comfort if you will when you're not necessarily directly next to someone. But I would say to go with that, you really just have to be extra diligent in those first couple weeks, whether it be of course, listening, but also just note taking and soaking everything in. I think that is coupled with making sure you utilize your mental breaks as well. The opportunity for too much information is absolutely there. So making sure you know when to take a step back, know when to ask those questions and know that that question isn't too small, even if it may seem like it at that time.

Ben Koester (07:31):

And that's from, you know, a work process standpoint, but then when it comes to actually building those work relationships Yep. Camera's on. I know it sounds a little weak, but I think it goes a long way. And there's really no going back from remote work at this point, especially when we work at a digital marketing agency, but just the sense of how everything is going to work from here on out. So those open lines of communication once again. And then of course I do have a few trips to Austin plan to where we can really establish some old more of those <laugh>. Yeah. Yeah. The old meet and person, this, this new thing people are trying. No. But I do think it will just really allow for those simple messages and further relationship building down the line. And there are also simple culture events, like the happy hours that we do and virtual hangouts and hey, it's just a quick 15 minute chat to get to know someone or to see how their day is going. Not necessarily always work related. So I think there are some avenues, but I don't know if it'll ever fully supplant the in-person meet.

Katie Degutis (08:41):

Yeah. I think that to your point about kind of the, that first week I, I saw your schedule, I know it was jam packed with trainings and shadowing and things like that. There is this, like you kind of glaze over almost. I know sometimes when we're all in office and we're in one conference room for four hours, I'm like, I'm exhausted from sitting in this same room all day with this lighting in here. But I think that to your point, like being able to take those mental breaks, being able to kind of reset and I mean, it does help being on camera, otherwise it's just so easy to start looking at something else and get carried away. And then it's like, okay, I've missed 15 minutes and I don't know, I have no idea where we are or what we're talking about, but I don't wanna be the new guy that asks it either.

Thomas Demiranda (09:23):

It's great having those daily nine ams that we have because you get to see like everybody starting the day together and you get to see like the rest of your team, especially early on in the pandemic when we kind of implemented that. It just, I don't know, it brings some sort of cohesion, I think, for everyone Yeah. To know like, okay, this is what we're working on. This is what we need your help from. Yeah. This is what we need to deliver today. And everyone just being on camera and seeing everyone's faces or, you know, it just, it just doesn't seem too much human, you know?

Katie Degutis (09:51):

And it's, it's a nice kind of start to your day too. Yeah. Because you're not leaving your house to go anywhere. Some people of course go and work at coffee shops and things like that, not every day usually, but when you are just at home, it's like, okay, so I rolled out bed and I picked up my laptop. Like it's at least some hopeful kind. Hopefully not start to your day. No. My problem is I, I'll get online and I'm like, oh crap, now I gotta be on camera, <laugh>. Hold on. So it's, it's definitely nice to have several different avenues and I'm glad to hear that. It seems like it's going well so far from a, a fully remote. We usually like to have someone in person as soon as we can. So it's been a little different having you train for the first week or so, but also really nice that Melissa's in Colorado too. Yeah. And y'all were able to get some face time in together.

Thomas Demiranda (10:35):

Well switching it up a little bit, we do have a, a, a topic here that we, we mentioned of digital strategy hot takes. I'm actually very curious to see if you have any that you would like to share, and then I'm gonna learn something new today. <Laugh>

Ben Koester (10:52):

Yeah. I think that is a very good question and one that could probably be asked every day in digital marketing. And that's one of the highlights of digital marketing. So putting it back to, it's all integrated in certain ways and it's, if one isn't working, it may disrupt another factor. So it's the sense of dissecting each way and each avenue. And the best part though with that is that there are metrics to back up a lot of what you do. So it can present a multitude of challenges, but also a multitude of opportunities. And so you think you're kind of cruising along one minute and then the next you see a spike in a metric. And so you'll have to do a deep dive into how that came to be. The latest when it comes to specific hot takes, I would say it has to be artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Ben Koester (11:45):

Of course, it's been around for a while and of Google's one of the leaders in that front, but it's what's coming next, especially I would say even in the SEO world, the ability to generate content and blogs and stuff along of that nature at such frenetic paces really opens the door for a variety of things. And so I think that's probably the, the hottest of hot takes right now, if you will. But yeah, back to it, digital marketing just always kind of produces those daily, not surprises, but also what could we potentially do with this? Is this something that we can take and even lean on and implement into our daily optimizations processes? What have you? Yeah.

Thomas Demiranda (12:30):

Yeah. I am curious about from a, I know you've been with us a short time, but maybe even in your previous roles, do clients come in on a reporting call with like a hot take of like, Hey, we read this, you know, ChatGPT, can we implement this in our digital strategy? Google this.

Katie Degutis (12:46):

New algorithm is gonna do this, X, Y, Z,

Thomas Demiranda (12:49):

What can you do For us? It's been like TikTok, you know, can we do some TikTok? It's like, no, let's hold up a little bit. But from your standpoint, has there been some of that from a client perspective?

Ben Koester (12:59):

Yes, absolutely. And it's, it is a funny interaction a lot of the time because they could come in with something brand new that is the latest effective strategy. And yes, maybe we are looking to implement that, but also it could be a little farfetched and maybe not in line with the initial KPIs that we came to agreement on. So the level of knowledge is one thing, but then the ability to actually implement is another. And that's where you have to find that synchronization with the client.

Lauren Goodman (13:32):

Yeah. Well I feel like there would be a pressure in, in that space as well to not only to be informed yourself, but also to be able to educate the client on these latest trends, these platforms, things like that. Because I do think there are a lot of people in our space that stay up to date on trends and read the news outlets and, and kind of understand what's going on.

Katie Degutis (13:53):

Or see a headline and think that they know the full story <laugh>.

Lauren Goodman (13:57):

But then, I mean, and maybe cuz I'm not a numbers person, but I think there's also a level of a group of people that don't know anything and maybe are hearing secondhand or have a lot of questions. And so how do you feel like you have to balance learning it for yourself, staying on top of that, and then also being able to turn that around and share it informatively with a client?

Ben Koester (14:23):

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, there we go. And so with that, the AB testing and trying out these new features or new optimizations or new algorithms that Google may have input or Facebook may have input, and yes, leaning on those metrics back to that, the highlight of the numbers, they're hard and they're concrete in the sense of, hey, this produced X number of leads, this pro produced X number of clicks, which will tie back to the initial KPIs that we have established with the client. And so, hey, some of the time they may be way off of what they thought the results may be, and maybe they don't tie in to those goals, but there is also the chance that it really does enhance those numbers and we can see the opportunity to implement it on more campaigns or more accounts moving forward.

Thomas Demiranda (15:10):

Yeah, and I think from like just a sales perspective, it's, it's great when you can, when you're talking about digital strategy and you're coming up with a plan and you ask the client, Hey, what is your goal for the amount of leads? And based on your close rate, what do you need? And if you can show to them, not only, you know, an estimate of what this campaign's gonna do, but then also show some case studies that prove, you know, in the past, this is what we've done and these are the results we've gotten to me, there's not really much obstacles to try to, you know, talk through with a client of whether it's gonna be effective or not. If you have, you know, a plan put together and then you have a couple case studies backing up that is very relative to the digital strategy that they're looking at.

Katie Degutis (15:53):

I think also just making sure that you're setting that expectation with the client of is this a brand awareness thing or is it something that you're expecting to convert? Yep. Like that's clear objective, that's just so it's makes such a difference for their experience and how they react. I'm, I'm sure on a reporting call <laugh> of like, well yeah, that's great and all that. So many people saw it but no one walked in the door. Like there's, there's just gotta be that balance there and making sure that people know.

Thomas Demiranda (16:19):

And that's where the education comes from because there's some clients that, you know, they have a marketing director or a director of digital and they have a robust, you know, they have a robust knowledge of what this is. And, and that makes it easier for us to communicate and be able to talk through a plan and for them to turn back and be like, oh yeah, this totally makes sense. Where sometimes the client doesn't have that person that's, you know, kind of the liaison between Catalyst and, and the company. And they may just see that headline of, of a different strategy, Hey, let's just do geofence. We need a lot of leads. It happens to me all the time. I have to be like, okay, leads, that's what you're really concerned about. You want velocity of leads? Okay, I don't think geofencing is gonna be this strategy that I'd put all the eggs in my basket. If you can only spend this much, well, let's maybe look at Google search, let's, let's do something else. So sometimes it's redirecting and be like, no, if the, if brand awareness is your strategy, okay, we can look at geofencing, but if it's, you know, we need leads yesterday, maybe not geofence is the thing we want to do.

Katie Degutis (17:18):

Definitely.

Ben Koester (17:20):

Agreed. And with that, it's, as you work more and more with those clients, you get a better feel of where they will see those being implemented and also they'll have a better understanding of how you'll accept or implement or react to some of these latest ideas.

Katie Degutis (17:37):

Absolutely.

Thomas Demiranda (17:38):

And a follow up to like the whole question is, do do, is there like a dream scenario challenge that you are still waiting to happen in the, the real estate digital world that you'd like to tackle? Or is there something that's still kind of you know, the elephant in the room for us or for me as, as I look at like the real estate marketing space in general, the leads to leases thing, no one has really been able to figure out that's mine, but I don't know if that's yours. If there's anything that's, that you can think of and want to share,

Ben Koester (18:14):

Definitely high on the list. And I think that is a universal thought the lead to lease process, being able to fully flush it out, see where things fall off, see where they are brought in more, et cetera. Yeah, I think those are definitely the main, and the dream challenge would be, I think no budget restraints, the ability, I love it. That's always a plus. And the uniqueness of fair housing it restricts some of the things that you would maybe be able to do in other lines, but it also, you can still use the information, but it's how you're targeting with that. And so, you know, everyone has a budget, everyone has certain targeting options. So the ability to maybe break some of those, which clearly isn't allowed in certain ar situations, but that would open the door for potentially any ab test you would like, Hey, do you wanna try TikTok this month?

Ben Koester (19:15):

Okay, well you're gonna need a thousand dollars. Oh, well I only have 200. Well you probably need a thousand <laugh>. So it's a difficult scenario to always, you know, point them towards, hey, if we run these three platforms, we should see these results. Well, it's, if you run these platforms with this amount of money, you'll see these results. So there's a fine line of, you know, you don't want to just be surface level, but you know, you also do wanna have a variety of touchpoints. So I would say that those are some of the main, you know, not challenges, but also just opportunities and difficulties that we, we come across.

Thomas Demiranda (19:53):

Well, you know, if we can figure this lead to leasing thing, I think we're, we can just, we'll, we'll be rolling in the dough, Ben, so let's connect after this call. Let, let's try to solve this 10 million question <laugh>.

Katie Degutis (20:06):

Oh boy. Well, before we get too far down that rabbit hole we really appreciate you taking the time to join us today, Ben. It's been a lot of fun to talk with you and get to know you a little better. And like we said, we're, we're excited for you to come to Austin, get to know you in person. But wanted to kind of close up today by asking what, how's you in a good mood today?

Ben Koester (20:24):

Yeah, absolutely. We just had a fresh long weekend for Memorial Day, so I got the opportunity to go golfing. Didn't go very well when it came, comes to the actual stroke count, but it was good time, good weather. And to go along with that, the NBA finals are starting this week, so I'm definitely in a good mood. <Laugh>.

Lauren Goodman (20:46):

Yes. Thomas?

Katie Degutis (20:46):

You might be the only one in the room. <Laugh>.

Lauren Goodman (20:48):

I would've to say mine is awesome. Memorial Day weekend, just the start of the summer and we're coming up on our season of summer Fridays as a company as well. So I'm just looking forward to kind of slowing down a little bit and just enjoying some time off.

Thomas Demiranda (21:07):

Okay. I'm not gonna comment on my bad mood. <Laugh> my Celtics lost, but good mood. Yeah, summer started and with that we're I'm, my family and I are probably gonna head back to Cape Cod for the summer for, for 10 days to, to hang out with family. And so it's always to me my favorite place to be in the summer. Cause there's beaches all around and it's not

Katie Degutis (21:29):

A thousand degrees.

Thomas Demiranda (21:30):

<Laugh>. Yeah, it's not a thousand degrees right now. It's like 75, 55 at night. Awesome. So that's what we're looking forward to.

Katie Degutis (21:37):

That does sound nice. I, I also have to say the long weekend was really nice to get some stuff done. I got my dog a little splash pad, so that was funny to watch him try that out. And he got to go swimming with my brother's dogs and my parents' dogs. So they had a lot of fun.

Thomas Demiranda (21:52):

That's awesome. Well thanks Ben, we appreciate you and thanks everybody. Cheers.

Katie Degutis (21:56):

Bye.

Christy McFerren (22:13):

If these podcasts are putting you in a good mood