Hello and welcome to another exciting
episode of Bridge the Gap:Connecting Business Perspectives with your hosts myself, Colton Cockerell and Trisha Stetzel. Our goal is to bridge the generational, gender, and life experience gap in business through our unique styles of gathering information from our guests. now let's get it started. All right, all right. All right. Welcome to another episode of Bridge the Gap with my Matthew McConaughey impression. I thought I'd just give it a shot. All right. Hello, everyone. My name is Colton Cockerell. I'm a Certified Financial Fiduciary and independent financial advisor with Sharer McKinley Group trying to spice it up this morning. I always say the exact same thing. We're just talking about Matthew McConaughey before we got started, so might as well just throwing it out there I guess. Yeah, probably was a fail. But anyway, I want to introduce you to our awesome hostess with the most is today. Miss Trisha Stetzel.
Trisha Stetzel:Calm Colton. Hey, I like your Matthew McConaughey. I think it's pretty good and our listeners can't see you but the hat it's really working for you. I'm just saying. Hey, everyone, Trisha Stetzel here Results Xtreme Business Solutions. I am super excited about our guest today. Miss Ginger Martin with One Stop Apparel. And let me tell you just a little bit about her before we bring her into the show. To beginning with her first job in high school. Ginger has had a strong work ethic, she possessed a competitive striving for ash she possessed of competitive striving for excellence in working fast food that was extended into other jobs throughout her life and created a strength to go above and beyond. And I love this. I pulled this off your website. I hope you don't mind. But when she was asked the question of what she thought represented the foundation of her business founder Ginger Martin immediately had a picture in her mind, a cobblestone wall. Like the wall, her business has been meticulously built over the course of 15 years on a foundation of passion for the industry, and diligence to achieve excellent client care. Each stone represents a team member, a client or a vendor. As can be said of the wall, every one of these pieces plays a role in the structural integrity of the business. Ginger, welcome to the show.
Ginger Martin:Hi, thank you so much. I'm I'm very honored to be here.
Colton Cockerell:That is pretty cool cobblestone wall. I like that. That's definitely striving. So that sounds like you're pretty big on customer service. Hmm.
Ginger Martin:Huge. There's the customer service, I think and any business really is key. With any business, you have a ton of competitors, right. So in our industry, I can't tell you how many, probably 1000s of companies, hundreds, even in just my own city, my own tri state area that there are. So really my type of business doesn't make me unique. The products that I offer do not make me unique. But what does make us unique is how we take care of our customers, the attitude or the mindset that what is their customer experience going to be because in my mind, your logo, your brand, it isn't just the colors of your logo or the design of your logo, your brand is what people are going to say about you when you're not around. And so I read that somewhere a very long time ago. And that really stuck with me. Because it's true. People when when they see your company name, when they see your logo, you want them to have that warm feeling, you want them to remember that they had a great experience.
Colton Cockerell:So you can promote your company as much as you want. You can, you know, be in the chamber, right? Just have your name there, Don't ever show up. But unless you actually have, you know, you take the time to really make sure that your people you're serving are taking care of men that will that will totally change the game if you want to talk about getting referrals to my gosh, if you provide a service but a killer experience. I mean, they're going to be singing your praises at least most of them. So that's incredible.
Ginger Martin:Yeah, I mean, you know, we're not perfect, of course. And I think that when you do make a mistake or your company has overlooked something or one of your team members have overlooked something, the most important thing is how you handle that and get that resolved with your customer. And did you meet their expectations? And are they happy with the solution that you provided them? So those are the most key important things to me now, don't misunderstand and that the products aren't important. We have a ton of vendors that we can go through. Some of them have quality products and some of them don't. So there is a part of meeting to be educated on which suppliers that you need to use which suppliers support you. No, I'm not sick. It's just like the rock wall. I can't be successful without my office team. I can't be successful without the suppliers. So we do have to choose those carefully to and be wise about them.
Trisha Stetzel:Yeah, absolutely. So I want to go down the path of what you do when somebody makes a mistake. I've been in the service industry for a very long time. And I have I have the same mentality as you, which is you got to get in front of it. Right? You don't run from it or put your head down on the point? Yeah, absolutely. So in the case where there is a hiccup in the system, how do you how do you handle that?
Ginger Martin:Well, first I, my team member, if I'm not the one who directly came in contact with that situation, we get all of the information from the customer, of course, you want to listen to them? I mean, your standard, let them express their problem, we look into the order, you know, was it in fact, our error or was it something that the customer accidentally put both scenarios, I'll tell you how I handled them, the customer makes the error, it's going to happen sometimes. If it's been a long standing customer with us, I get that that happens. And I have been known to replace that item for them. Now, we're not talking a 500 piece order. But you know, if it's the customer error, but if the customers order some shirts, or you know, they've made a mistake, we have been known to help that customer out on a future order. If it's our mistake, of course, we are going to do everything we can to replace that order for the customer. And it, it doesn't matter if it was 50 shirts, and that has happened before, doesn't matter if it was 100 t shirts that were mis printed. If it was our mistake, we are going to stand behind our product, and we're going to replace that, but the customer because that's not the easy thing to do. And I think that's where a lot of people in business make a mistake, they start getting into what's easiest for them, and what's best for them. And as soon as you do that you are not looking out for your customer. So one of my things that we are around the office, we don't always do what's easy for us. Whether it's a process or an air, we do what's best for our customer. So that's why we you know, I do you believe that's why we've grown so much by referrals. And you know, I've survived the pandemic, and we're still surviving it. And, you know, 18 years later, we are, you know, we're still here, and we're still making an impact.
Colton Cockerell:And just so our listeners understand, I mean, you you were in a you're in a service industry, that really was not even no one even was thinking about you guys whenever COVID happened, right? Nope. Who what business is going to buy Promotional Products during COVID, right when they have to pay for employees and everything else. So for y'all to thrive and go through that, that that just is a testament to how you do business. Because again, loyalty is huge, at least to me. So there are certain people that I go to for certain things, right? The same Barber, different things just because we have a relationship and because they do what's best by me, you know, whether it's discounts or things like that, but I know that they're going to take care of me, there's a funny thing that I've always heard is like, you always want to make sure in life, you have a good mechanic, you have a good CPA, and there was a good there's one more not financial advisors out there could totally
Trisha Stetzel:Oh, I was gonna say financial advisor in a business coach, look at that, Oh,
Colton Cockerell:no, but seriously, like, if you have people around you, like yourself that do good by people, you're going to continue to get their business. And I just think so many companies miss out on that. And I'm so glad we're talking about customer service today. Because I think that's something that is overlooked tremendously.
Ginger Martin:I need to and I think that when I started this business, I mean, that was one of the main reasons that I wanted to start it, I felt like I had worked for other companies. And, you know, they were larger corporations, and not that I have anything against larger corporations. I just felt like the particular company that I was working for, wasn't looking out for the customer. And everything was about the bottom line. Not that that's not important. But again, you fall into that trap of looking at your numbers, and doing what's best for you and you forget about what is good for the customer and what is going to give them that great experience. I mean, I understood what the word loyalty means when you get people who are loyal to you, you know, they are going to stand by you to in the tough times and they're going to come to you and during this pandemic that did happen. Someone they had a small budget for something or mask or you know, whatever they needed. They they came to us because they wanted to give us some type of business. They knew we were struggling, it wasn't a secret. So yeah, loyalty goes a long way with your suppliers, with your team and with your customers.
Trisha Stetzel:So when you decided to step away from the work that you were doing before to open this business, what made you decide to move to an online store or e commerce? What drove you to that decision?
Ginger Martin:Boy, that really just kind of happened itself. So I had started with this company, that was actually a nationwide company, but I just started working with one of their locations, I was actually working another job. So you know, I did this in the evenings and on the weekends, for a couple of years. And this company that I started working with, it just kind of took off by referrals. Someone I was someone new and fresh, that came in and who I know I keep saying this, but cared about their customer experience. And they had not had that kind of treatment, they had not had someone listen to some of the things that they wanted, like, for instance, you know, no minimums, on embroidery, if they had a large program in place, you know, where you had inventory. And, you know, this was a very large account that another company had, No, they didn't allow them to exchange every now and then. I mean, there was so many little things that they did not allow them to do. But that really goes back to speaking to saying this company was doing what was best for them, they were not listening to their customer, customer. So I came in, and I started listening to them. And I started providing the services that they wanted, and that they deserved. And so this was a large corporation, and it just kind of drove me to the online because the company was so big, and that's kind of, I was like, Okay, well, I'm just gonna jump all in. And you know, just learn everything. And so that's what happened. So
Colton Cockerell:that's, that's pretty fascinating. And it's just so fun. It's it, people try to make a quick buck, I feel like a lot of the times and they aren't really willing to take the time to actually grow a client base. And to really, again, it takes time, right? If you have a client not going to just immediately refer you put him in some will obviously but you know, if you if you're doing right by the client continually day in day out, they're going to continue to sing your praises. I just stand by that. And I know for sure Trisha doesn't same. She's the same way. And obviously ginger, you're explaining your, the way that you are. So let's talk about promotional products. Just real quick, because I know that that's what your specialty is I wanted to geared around customer service. I think that's so important. But this really can tie into customer service, promotional products. What Just tell me real quick, why do people need to spend money on promotional products? that's a that's a softball, by the way.
Ginger Martin:Yeah, I mean, I feel like the promotional products are, are very important, you need to find a way to elevate your branding to elevate your exposure, there are so many cool products out there that we can offer. And that's one of my favorite things to do is when someone comes to me, I actually like it when they say I don't really know what I want that I love that that's I'm like, Oh, I got a challenge. Because finding those great promotional products that aren't going to end up in the trash, that's not going to elevate your branding, you want things that are budget friendly, that you know, people can use them that are going to be helpful to them, you want things that are in front of them constantly. So the next time that they have a need, or you know, whether it's a bank or a financial company, they're gonna think of you and they're gonna remember that you provided them with that with that product. Promotional Products are an amazing way to keep your name out there. And to give that little kind of warm fuzzy to people and people like that warm fuzzy, it's an emotional thing. You want that promotional product to have some kind of an emotional impact on the people that you're trying to reach and the people that you're trying to gain the loyalty from so
Trisha Stetzel:so do you do you find that you and your team are having to help these business owners or people who are buying promotional products, trying to help them find the value behind it because so many people are looking for something on the cheap? And those are the things that go into the garbage right? So do you have a lot of those value conversations with your clients?
Ginger Martin:Yes, I do. Because that is the my my biggest thing I will go to trade shows. And I will see the things that people are spending their money on to give away and I'm thinking you just wasted hundreds and 1000s of dollars. Because while this was a budget friendly product, it really serves no purpose and I am not going to use And it ends up in your little bag, and then that little bag ends up in the trash at some point or you never take it out. So yes, that is a conversation, I will have them, I'll be like, Okay, what is your budget, and if I can't find anything quality in their budget, I will still quote items in that budget. Because I understand that budgets are important. My goal is to find something that will be great for them to use in that budget. Sometimes I have to go outside of that budget, and I usually always will, I will always, I will always quote things just a little bit better, so that I can have that conversation with them, I leave that decision up to them, I don't ever want it to be a pressure, or that I'm trying to shove something down their throat, you know, sound like a salesperson, but really just educating them about this product and what it's going to do for them. And where it's going to end up. You know, it's either gonna end up on someone's desk, and they're going to use it, or it's going to end up in the trash. So and then they can make the decision.
Colton Cockerell:Well, Ginger, it's crazy how time flies, I just looked down like, Oh, my goodness. So let me let me ask you this. And this is actually gonna be a question for all three of us, I get to ask my question. So Trish, I'm gonna start with you. What is the most interesting promotional product that you've ever received from a vendor from any business or anything? What is it could be useful? It could have been a cool item, whatever it is. Okay,
Trisha Stetzel:so while Ginger was talking about promotional products, I was thinking of this one thing that I've been carrying around with me for a few years now. And it is a widget, right? a widget fidget a fidget one of those things. Yes. And it has their logo on it. And I have it with me all the time. And I didn't even like those little fidget spinner things, right. But I got this one. And I thought it was so cool. And I have it with me all the time. I
Ginger Martin:love it.
Colton Cockerell:This is your I'm gonna ask you next ginger. Mine's gonna be so lame, just because the reason why I'm saying is because I use it so much. So actually, I got a, a serving slash cutting board from a insurance company, a vendor that we use. And it was like a it's like gift tanks and had like little cool utensils and stuff. Anyway, so I serve, you know, all of my treats and stuff on it. Whenever a client comes in. I use it all the time. So I totally random. But Ginger, how about you? What is the promotional products, but I'm sure
Ginger Martin:that's really hard, because I will tell you, unfortunately, of the trade shows I've went to, and the gifts that they have handed out I have not kept any of those. But I mean that sad. I hate to say that. It's really sad. But I will tell you, I have some cool things that we have done for clients. And so I'm like, Oh, that's really cool. I really liked that. So I just ordered a few extra so that I can you know,
Colton Cockerell:I didn't want to give me one example was an extra.
Ginger Martin:Oh gosh, one of the ones that I have, it was like a little like pen stylus that I could kind of clip on to my like key chain. Because think about it, you're always going somewhere and like if I'm getting my nails done or whatever, I would always use that little stylus and bring it out and then I have to mention the other one. It was a it was like yours. It was a cutting board. So it had like different slots in there for like meat and vegetables and and then a little salad chopper that went with it to make chop salad and I I've used those. Gosh, I haven't had those for like five years. So I love it all the time. Yeah,
Colton Cockerell:so idea. Probably a little costly. If I was I think the coolest thing that I could ever get is probably like one of those little tiles you put with your keys. You never lose your key or wallet again.
Ginger Martin:Yes, that'd be
Colton Cockerell:that'd be awesome. Okay, so anyway, we're gonna we're gonna wrap up your Trisha. I know. Now I know that wasn't that good of a random question. But I was just so curious to ask it. But ask your lovely two questions.
Trisha Stetzel:Okay, so on a serious note in Ginger, if you don't mind divulging what generation are you with? And we didn't you know, I'm going to circle back. So hold hold your thought, well, while I while I vet this out, Colton, we didn't Bridge the Gap anywhere in this show.
Colton Cockerell:Yeah, we didn't. But it's mean promotional. I mean, but I think we talked about customer service. And that's something that everybody can relate to. It's not necessarily a bridging need, just because everyone should be able to treat clients as the as they want to be treated. Yeah,
Trisha Stetzel:that so as Ginger answers this question about her generation, I want everyone to remember that her store is online. Right. And I think that alone bridges a big generational gap. Right. Alright, so Ginger back to you. What generation do you belong to?
Ginger Martin:Oh, gosh, that's a great question. You know, I'm, I'm 55. So I don't know You tell me. I always forget what I I'm still triangle. Well remember the names of all the generations,
Colton Cockerell:you may you may be a Gen Z, or a Gen X or but you look like a millennial.
Trisha Stetzel:So Ginger, do you find that you identify with a particular a particular generation because of your online store?
Ginger Martin:Um, you know, I feel like I'm very versatile. I think it's just about adapting. There's so many different personalities and ways of thinking out there, you have to just be very open minded and flexible. And I have just learned over the years to adjust and adapt to the different people and what they're needing and what their generation is and what their mindset is and what their thinking is. So I don't think that there's a particular person that I relate very well with, it's really about just being adaptable to all of them, and learning.
Trisha Stetzel:So what a perfect answer. I know you strive for perfection. We've had so much fun with you today. What just what a neat business for you to take it from the ground, the ground floor up, and congratulations to you for having a very successful business.
Ginger Martin:Yeah, I definitely love it, do what you love. So,
Colton Cockerell:of course and so what I want to do at this point, I want you to be able to give your contact information. And remember we are audio only here on our podcast and make sure that you spell out your name or company name. So let us know your name the company you're with and then you know, Phone Email where people can contact you as well.
Ginger Martin:Yes, okay. My name is Ginger. It's like the gingerbread man. Martin, m as in Mary a r t as in Tango. I is an igloo n as in Nancy. My website is one and that is spelled out. o n e stop like the stop sign s t o p apparel a p p a r e l dot net make sure you do the dot net and then my email would be ginger@onestopapparel.net or you may also email my assistant who is kind of my Jane of all trades. eicar Erica@onestopapparel.net.
Colton Cockerell:E r i c a?
Unknown:Yes, I'm sorry. Thank you calling. E r i c a.
Colton Cockerell:Awesome Trisha. Once you go ahead and ta e us out. I know you always I wi l.
Trisha Stetzel:I would love to do that. Ginger. Again. Thank you so much for being on the show with us today. We had a great time and congratulations on your amazing business. And I hope that our listeners will go check out your website even just to read the story about the cobblestone wall, which I think is very special love. Thank you. Absolutely. So this concludes this week's podcast Tune in next week for another exciting episode of Bridge the Gap Connecting Busines Perspectives
Colton Cockerell:Thank you again for tuning in to this week's episode of Bridge the Gap: Connecting Business Perspectives. If there's a certain professional or profession that you want to hear from leave a comment in this week's Facebook posts. Please subscribe and share this podcast. Colton Cockerell with Sharer McKinley Group, LLC is located at 820 South Friendswood Drive Suite 207 Friendswood, Texas 77546 phone number to 281-992-5698. Securities and investment advisory services offered through NEXT Financial Group, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC Sharer McKinley Group is not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group, Inc.