Branding Matters

How to Be Successful by Always Putting Your Customers First with Mark Freed (Genumark)

February 12, 2021 Branding Badass Season 1 Episode 11
Branding Matters
How to Be Successful by Always Putting Your Customers First with Mark Freed (Genumark)
Show Notes Transcript

Today I’m sitting down with a man I’m proud to call “boss”. His name is Mark Freed and he is the President and CEO of Genumark - the largest Canadian-owned distributor of promotional products and corporate apparel in the country. Recently, Genumark was named Top Large Distributor and National Distributor of the Year by the PPPC which is our industries most prominent association and considered to be the "Voice of the Best Branding Solution in Canada".  

Before Mark began his career in branding more than 25 years ago, he practiced law for ten years after graduating Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada. Since he’s been at the helm, Genumark has grown to become one of the best and most well-respected companies in the industry. 

I invited Mark to be a guest on my show to learn about his journey from lawyer to swag boss and hear how things have changed over the last 25 years. I wanted to know why he’s so passionate about instilling a customer-centric culture. And I wanted to get his POV on what we do differently at Genumark to help our clients during these challenging times. 

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Hey there, I'm Joelly - the Branding Badass. My badass superpower is helping you build a brand that matters. From branded merch to brand consulting, when you work with me, you get results!

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Joelly Goodson Lang:

Hi, I'm Joelly, your branding badass, and welcome to my new podcast. Branding matters. Today I'm sitting down with Mark freed, the President and CEO of genuine mark, the largest Canadian owned distributor of promotional products and corporate apparel in the country. And just recently, genuine Mark was named top large distributor and national distributor of the Year by the PPC, which is our industry's most prominent Association and considered to be the voice of the best banding solution in Canada. Before Mark began his career in branding more than 25 years ago, he actually practiced law for 10 years after graduating Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada. And since he's been at the helm, genuine Mark has grown to become one of the best and most well respected companies in the industry, I invited mark to be a guest on my show, to learn about his journey from lawyer to swag boss, and to hear how he feels things have changed over the last 25 years. I wanted to know why he's so passionate about instilling a customer centric culture. And I was curious to get his point of view on how COVID has affected our business, and what we are doing differently to help our clients during these challenging times. And for those of you who may not know, Mark freed is also my boss. So I am super excited to have him here today. So Mark, welcome to branding matters. Thank you, Joey and thank you for all those kind words. And yeah, I guess it has been just about 20 years, right? Crazy. I know. And you look the same. You know, I was thinking about that when I first started with Jenny mark, almost 20 years ago, be having your head office in Toronto and you coming up to Calgary I remember the first time you come out and been such an incredible ride and you haven't changed a bit. I mean, you look the same as you did 20 years ago. So maybe I was wearing a suit and tie back then. Yeah, you were Oh, and I was new to the company. And Calgary was we were new, you had just opened up your office here. So now I can't believe here we are 20 years later. And it's amazing how much the world has changed.

Mark Freed:

And you look the same as well as? Yeah, right. Well, thank you. Before we get into talking about Mark free, the professional CEO of genuine mark, I always like to get to know a little bit about person behind the personality. We had a family business, which was a men's department store in Windsor called freetds, where I worked part time, mostly on weekends from the time I was about 13 years old. And it was a business that was originally founded by my grandfather in 1929. And later run by my dad and my uncle. So I learned a lot of lot of things about life and a lot of things about business in that environment in a you know, which was a retail store, which was still there today very iconic business in that community. So that was a really good training ground for a lot of things that would come into play. So how did you go from that to the wonderful world of swag? Yeah, that was through also a family story. So I had a cousin of mine who was in the promotional products or Advertising Specialties business in Michigan, and he was doing really well and really had a very interesting business and very flamboyant guy and traveling all around the United States. And real entrepreneur really growing his business. He's based in Michigan, so naturally did a lot of business in the automotive industry with big North American manufacturers who are based in Michigan. So we were close. And I'd do my thing as the lawyer and I'd see all the fun stuff he was doing. And his business was growing. And you know, and he was great sales, but really didn't like the running the business side of it that much and said, you know, you should come here and move to Michigan. And it's got all this great business and it's such a fun industry. And and it really did look very intriguing and enticing. And what year was that mark? Well, it probably first started talking like in say mid 1980s out of law school. So I was in my mid late 20s. And he's my age is actually a little younger than I am. But he started early. He didn't do as much education as I did. So his company was doing great, but I had gotten married at that point. And when I had two young kids and the idea of uprooting and moving and I was ready to leave law there was no question about that felt a little dry and you know, solving other people's problems. I like creating problems and have other I like the I like the marketing of IT and business side of law, but I really didn't like the pure, dry analytical part of it that comes with the territory a little bit. Anyhow, I said to my cousin, I said I'm really not interested in we're not going to move to the States. But if you ever think there's an opportunity in Canada or Toronto or I don't have to move can talk and then a few years later, something did transpire. And he had some great business relationship was actually with Ford Motor Company. And one of his great contacts in Michigan was taking over as the CEO of Ford of Canada. And he was very good friends with my cousin Lenin, and said, I think we'd be a really good foundation if we want to try to do this. And at some point, he talked me into it and said, Look, why should try it for a while a year or two. And if it doesn't work out, you can always go back and be a lawyer. And your first point would be for it really was. But there was more to it than that. Like, we didn't just start by myself, we actually found a company that was then rolled into his company that was doing very well. And that was a fairly large company at that time. And the name of that company was created us and chili bot creators. Yeah, theoretically, it was really my cousin bought it initially, and hired me to run it with zero experience. I became president of that company. And at the time, there was a, you know, there was an office in Toronto with a small distribution center. And then there was another office in Vancouver, so it's about half Toronto, half Vancouver, and that would have been in 1995. And so you bought creatives. And here you are, how many years later? Well, it was, you know, more than 20 years ago. And the rest is history, as they say, That's pretty amazing. So five years, what, more than 25 years. So this was just before my time. So when I started I was in Calgary, and it was I think 2000. And my background is you know, as an advertising and then I switched and I worked in promotional products. And I worked at a local company here. And I remember specifically reaching out to one of our reps and saying, hey, if you know of any company that's hiring, I wanted to find a new place to go. And it was just like, well, your timing is really cool, because there is this awesome new company that is just opening up an office in Calgary called the beanstalk group. And I never heard of the beansprout group. Maybe it was Halo. Sorry, was Halo before the beanstalk group? Yes. Okay. Well, it was before me, right. So he's like, there's a company called Halo. And they're they had a great reputation, great brand. And they're just opening up in Calgary. And so he recommended it. I went in interviewed and it was like, I moved over. And I've been there now like 20 something years. So tell me about all the name changes, like you went from creators, like even you and I are trying to figure out creators and then I think Halo and then being stuck. Can you tell me a bit about the evolution of that and how we got Mark? Yeah, so I told you about creators. So that was where I started in the industry. But a year or two after that, my cousin decided that he wanted to sell. So he sold to Halo, which is still around today. And definitely at that time was the biggest distributor in the world. And it was a publicly traded company. And so that deal went through and so create us then became Halo, Canada. And they kept me on to run Halo Canada, which was actually really good. I mean, for three years, we picked up a lot of clients, and Halo was doing great stuff. And then it was really fun. And then that took us to about 2002 1001. And then Halo got into trouble. And Halo was this big public company. And they were doing about 10 or 12 or 15 acquisitions a year across North America and even into Europe. And I think they maybe took on a little too much. And things sort of went a little haywire. Then they got into big technology deal, that didn't work. And then there was the whole bust of if you remember back in the early 2000s, where all these technology plays yeah.com bubble, that's it, the bubble burst, and they were caught. So Halo went into chapter 11 in the States. And even though you know, we were doing really well in Canada at the time, but they had to get protection and look to liquidate their assets and sell their divisions. So they then sold to a company called beanstalk. beanstalk was a joint venture between Ford Motor Company, the same cousin who got me into the business, let him put this deal together. And so Ford was the majority owner of beanstalk, and then they own our company. So they're actually in the promotional Oh, wow. That was and that and that lasted for about a year. And then there was a recession and the auto industry was doing terrible fire the CEO of Ford and had a whole new board of directors and they look at this beanstalk say what are we doing? How are we selling mugs, we're a car company, what the heck is going on here? I got a call indicating that they wanted to sell a company. And at that point, I said, Look, you know, I don't really care what you do in the States. But we've got a nice little company here and I want to buy it back. Ultimately, we made that deal. There was some trademark issues with the name beanstalk that I had to come up with a new name came up with the name genuine mark, which is just a name that we made up that is it has to do with your name. Oh, yeah. I mean, that was part of it, the play on words with between mark and marketing and so on something we could put with a.com that, you know, was original. So I think it worked and it really is stocked, and we've had just a great run since now. 16 years or so. Yeah. under that name. I remember doing all these like Google searches and whatever, just to see if we do this. Is anybody gonna get it confused? My wife and I were doing that. Yeah. Then we took it to the lawyers and did the Did it in that name? And the rest is history as they say? deal with Yeah, absolutely. Here we are. Now, for the most part. I mean, I've read all the accolades that Genumark received, I've been there almost 20 years, I think most of the employees have been there a long time, we always have a running joke. It's like Hotel California, people check in, but they don't check out we've had just low turnover. We even though we're a national company, I feel like we're all family. And we're all close. And now with zoom, it's great, because we stay more connected. What do you think, Mark? Based on everything we've been through and all that, what do you think is the secret to the success of genuine Mark? Why do you think people stay and not leave, because I mean, this industry has such a high turnover. Look, I think we, you know, we do the best we can and really try to treat everybody fairly, and appreciate what goes on and give everybody the best opportunity. And the best tools, it's a combination, it's a combination of the business side, and the human side. And so on the business side is put people in a position to win and to compete, and to do well and to have a beautiful mix of the business life and a family life. So I think we've been able to do that. And it's just, you know, again, it's just really basic fundamentals of golden rule, trying to treat people like we want to be treated and been lucky and had some great people and appreciate talent, and people who are determined and really just had tremendous people over the years. And we recognize that it's still it's still the number one important part of what we do, whether you want to call it the talent or the drive or the personality of the company. But it's not the only part. But it's definitely most important. So we take care of our people and do the best we can. And it seems to have paid off for sure. And you know, we talk a lot about branding with our customers. And when I was introducing you and talking about your bio, I mentioned about being very customer centric, right. And our team is all very customer centric. And I think that is why not only customer centric, but I think I mentioned to is our culture is very inclusive, and we are not only caring about our customers, but we're caring about each other and support each other. And I can speak from experience, you know, I've had a rough couple of years. And you know, I can say as an employee that's been there a long time when I was up and sales were through the roof, and I was you know, doing great, you are incredibly supportive them when the shit hit the fan, and I did not well, and I was brutal in my personal life. And obviously it affected my professional life, you guys were extremely supportive. And there were a lot of I think employers would be like, well, your sales are down what's going on and cheering people on when they're up. But then also given the support when they're down. And I don't think a lot of companies do that. I've talked to people when I told them that and they're like, wow, that never happened to Mike. Yeah, I mean, people are people and you know, your situation, I remember for so many years, you're always number one in Western Canada, and for many, many, many years. And it's not like, well, for 20 years. It's like 16, there you go, you know, this is a tough business. And it's not like all of a sudden you forgot how to sell a big customer of yours got bought out. And some other stuff happened, a lot of it's circumstantial, and a lot of it is timing and being at the right place. And if you have one amazing client, it can really be a great foundation. And when if that goes away, if you challenge it, and we've seen that with yourself and many different people over the years, so you're still the same person fundamentally. So we know that you've always been energetic and driven at what you do, and it didn't change and so nor should our support for you, right? You know, they say your brand is your reputation. It's not what you tell people you are, it's what people say behind your back when you're not in the room. Right? So what would you say the genuine brand is what would you say people say about genuine Mark I'd say about us is we're really good at what we do in terms of knowing the promotional products, marketplace, and how to come up with great products at great price, deliver him on time, be creative, all the stuff that's sort of the DNA of excellent Promotional Products distributor, it's a level of excellence that we strive to maintain, and to earn the trust of our customers. We're just really good at it. I'm gonna do for a second here. There are a lot of companies out there that are excellent. What do you think makes us different? Why would somebody go with Jamie market, there's all these other companies that probably say the same thing as us. And there are and some may be good in their little region or locally. But in terms of having the scope and the size and the geographical reach across Canada, that's definitely unique. What you alluded to earlier is even the other companies that we're competing against on a national level, they don't have the same experience, then, you know, you talked about how we have so many people who have been here for 10 1520 plus years, there's just that wealth of knowledge of that culture of really just being the experts. Yeah, field and I think even recently, we've got new people and younger people who have joined and I think through osmosis, they really pick up on that and learn about that and it just rubs off on everybody, particularly on the sales side of things, there is a great community of sharing and learning and almost unofficial mentoring that goes on. That's really a sight to behold and really is amazing. Do you think maybe what makes us different? And I think it starts with you again, going back to what I was saying is, do you think maybe we just care a little bit more about not just each other, but about our customers in the sense that I can't tell you how many times I have people say to me, like, thanks for getting back to me so quickly, or thanks for solving the problem. And think we're living in a time especially, you know, you talked about customer centric culture where people want to feel that they matter. People want to know that you actually care about what they want, we're not trying to sell them what we want to sell them, we're saying we're offering them solutions to the problems that they have. And I think we are really good at that for sure. And you know, we've had this slogan that we've used, and we've used it across the country, which was be fast, be nice, be helpful. And then you learn how to relate to that customer, and to engage that customer, and to care about that customer. And really make sure that that customer has a good experience and is satisfied, and that you're delivering what you say you're going to deliver and you know all the basic tenets of great customer service, so people who don't have that in them, and hopefully they can learn it. But if they don't really learn it, they're really not going to make the great thing in the industry generally. And certainly, it doesn't really fit with our culture. So talking about the industry and how long you've been doing it and how long I've been doing it. It's been quite an evolution from when it first started, when you first started, create as to where we are now. What do you think has been the biggest thing that has made the industry better? And then what do you think has changed? that's made the industry worse? It might be the same answer. Okay. It's definitely technology. I knew you're gonna say that, for better or worse, right? Why for the better listen, Joey, when I started, we didn't have email me to imagine like, How the hell did we do any faxes, fax machines, and we didn't have voicemail, I remember just getting those little telephone slips on pink pad of paper that somebody called get back to them in three days. So the speed is unbelievable. And the speed in which not only we have to you mentioned this earlier, respond and get back to your client and be there 20 473 65 because if you want to be in the game, that's just the way it is. You don't answer the phone, I'll go to the next person. That's why I said with our customer service motto, like the first one is be fast. But think speed and everything that technology does. And now we've invested literally millions and millions of dollars to be able to compete to respond to the needs of our client. So why is it a bad thing? I think definitely there's the personal interaction is way less than it used to be. So our current facility right now in Toronto, again, let's talk pre COVID moved in there in 1998, we set up this pretty large showroom, I think it's I don't know what it is, it's five 6000 square feet. And I can tell you without a doubt, it's the most underutilized part of the facility, because very tough to get clients to come on over anymore. Because everything you know, you can show them a picture on the computer screen video. Now, video is huge. And so just again, just going out meeting a client showing them products in person, face to face, shoulder to shoulder those opportunities, they're still there somewhat, but I think really now most of your engagement is a digital engagement. So you've got to be really proficient at that because people are also moving quickly and don't have the time to take that drive from downtown Calgary to our facility in Calgary or same in Toronto or Vancouver or whatever. It's just really changed. So in that sense, that's a negative. If you like people and you like to meet people, yeah, you can say just about technology generally, or you know, whether it's social media or whatever, how it's just so pervasive. And sometimes, you know, just switching off or going on vacation go away. And when you came back in a week, it'd be fine. Because things didn't move that fast. What would you say is the one thing you love the most about the industry as hold? And then my next question is, what's the one thing you hate about this industry, we look, there's always the people engagement. And from where I am now building a team and seeing the team successes, a tremendous amount of pride in that. So, you know, we've been very fortunate genuine mark. And we've really saved a lot of recognition and awards and grown the business and seeing not only just the business, but seeing people's careers really blossom, people who started in the warehouse, for example, Steve Knox started in the warehouse. He's now the Vice President of technology. He had other people who started a reception, and then they've had a great career in sales. And just seeing people who've sort of been on that journey with me and our family and seeing them really have wonderful career, and then build out their family life and whatever. I think that's truly rewarding. And so what do you hate about the industry? Or is there anything? Yeah, I mean, listen, there's tough days. I mean, that could you ever wanted to pack it all in and say, No, no, no, no, no, no. Like when you were a lawyer, you never just thought I'm done. I never had the passion. For that never never, never really felt that was my that was really where I was meant to be. Yeah, this really I felt combined sort of my merchandising roots when I was a kid and learning that business, and then maybe some of the legal skills I serve. I don't use them at all. Yeah, and nor do I remember any of them. But it was just, you know, for my personality, and I was lucky to get something that I really truly love and with other people, so, yeah, I'm one of the lucky ones for sure. What is your legacy? Or what are you hoping your legacy is going to be? I mean, are you is this going to is genuine mark, do you think gonna pass down from generation to generation? Is that your hopes for the company? Yeah, that's the plan right now. You know, I think I could continue for a while, but grandbabies are getting like, we've got three of them, hey, look, they weren't interested could be a different story and could have sold a business or getting ready to sell? Who knows? I mean, it's hard to say, but if they're enjoying it, and want to do it, and brace it, and all that stuff, yeah, we've got a plan underway, and you think you're gonna retire? Or is this something you can sell? always doing? No, I have no retirement plans, stepping back a little bit. From the day to day grind, if you will, when you do it for a long time, a certain level, it's nice to do different things. So if that opportunity comes up, I may consider that but I still like what I do. And I think retiring from me, I don't think would work. I gotta have something my brain going and I still like a little of the action. My dad was the same way. You know, he actually worked up until he died. I mean, he just he could he was 79. And he just couldn't walk away. And you know, he was passionate about his business. Same thing. Yeah, well, my dad's 84. And my brother bought him out a long time ago, but my dad will still go into work every day, and probably tell him what to do and tell him to rearrange things. And on the one hand, he'll drive everybody. On the other hand, they can't believe his stamina. I know he can still be doing passion, right? I mean, that's

Unknown:

the same way. I feel the same way. So Well, Mark, I mean, thank you so much for hopping on. This is great. It was so nice tabular, maybe you learned a couple things you didn't know. Right? I did. I learned a lot of things. And hopefully there's people out there that have learned a little bit about our industry and about our company. And so if anyone out there wants to learn more about you and learn more about what you do, what's the best way for them to reach you get a hold of you? Three to 10? year mark.com? I mean, give me a call. Yeah. Are you on social media? You know, I'm, I'm on LinkedIn. And you know, I haven't done an Instagram post for a long time. But I'm watching what Jenny marks doing. So we're really stepped up our game on social as you know, and you've been a big part of our strategy there. And I think what you're doing is awesome with your podcasts and everything else. And you should, you should keep it going. And we think it's a really important place to be. And it's hard to connect without a pandemic. And in a pandemic, it's really hard to connect and network, but this is definitely a great way to do it. And so I really love what you're doing. Well, thank you. Like I said, I mean, that was it. I really appreciate it. It was great chatting with you learning about the history. And I guess hopefully I'll see you soon in person. And we can do more than just a virtual hug. Look forward to that. All right. Thanks, Mark. Okay, thank you, Joe.

Joelly Goodson Lang:

And there you have it. Thank you so much for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed the conversation, and maybe even learned a few things about genuine mark, and how we can help you with your branding. But most of all, I really hope you had some fun. This podcast is a work in progress. So please make sure to rate and review what you think. And please subscribe to branding matters on whatever platform you listen to. And if you want to learn more about the branding badass, that's me. You can find me on all social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn under you guessed it, branding badass. Thanks again. And until next time, here's to all you badasses out there.