Fully Managed Podcast: Marketing and Business Tips
Daniela: Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Fully Managed Podcast. This is the podcast where we discuss marketing tips, business tips, and so many other cool things to help assist you in your business journeys. I’m your host, Daniela, and I’m Penji’s Partnership Coordinator. And today I’m joined with a very special guest, Nikki DeSantis. Hi, Nikki. How are you?
Nikki DeSantis: Hi, good. Thanks for having me, Daniela. I’m super excited to be here.
Daniela: I’m very excited to have you here today. We spoke before filming, obviously, but it’s really great to actually be here on the day and talk about all of the things that you could help us with. So to break the ice a little bit and get everything started, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, who you are and what you do?
About Nikki DeSantis
Nikki DeSantis: For sure, absolutely. So I’m currently the marketing director at a company called Resmark. We are a digital marketing agency just for tour operators. And currently in my role, I handle all things marketing. So whether that is email campaigns, social media, paid ads, the website, SEO, kind of the whole everything regarding marketing is my responsibility. And I also manage our fulfillment team. And then prior to that, I worked for a marketing agency that was specific to roofing contractors. And I did a very similar role, but for a roofing marketing company. And then we got sold and then that brought me into this position. So yeah, I love all things marketing. I’m really passionate about it because it is a huge driver of, you know, the success of the company. So everybody kind of relies on marketing to, you know, get the ball rolling, get those inbound leads coming. So yeah.
Daniela: Amazing. And so how long have you been at Resmark for the time, like as of today, which is we’re filming in January for viewers in case this thing comes out later on.
Nikki DeSantis: Yeah, as of January, I’ve been here for exactly a year. So I was previously a marketing director of a company called Roofer Marketers. And I was with them for about four and a half years until we got acquired by a larger software company. So I’ve been kind of in that marketing director role for five years total. And then before that, I was more of just marketing assistant, marketing manager and that sort of thing.
Daniela: You were kind of growing into the role.
Nikki DeSantis: Yes. And now I’m here and I love it and I’m managing a team and it’s, it’s incredible being, you know, kind of overseeing all aspects of marketing. I think when we get to kind of this level of, you know, managing different, you know, parts of marketing, you can’t, you specifically can’t be good at everything. You can’t be an expert in SEO and content writing and you being able to do social media and managing the website, you can’t do it all. It’s really good to have a team under you that’s doing these things and helping with the full success of the marketing. I actually wanted to ask you about this because I feel like my career has been in marketing. I think my degree is actually not in marketing. It’s not in business at all. It just happened. I got a job and then like, you know, all of these jobs, like I kept getting more jobs and it was all in marketing and just kind of like spiraling. I learned a lot from working. But I could tell, you know, like there was like a lot of stuff that I didn’t know about because I, okay, my degree was in international relations and political science. So completely different. I was learning about politics and I was learning a lot of terms and things for marketing, right? And I think one of the biggest things that has stayed with me which I have noticed is like adding value I think everywhere that I worked in marketing they always have that you know like You need to like add value with your marketing efforts. You need to add value. And I think at first it sounded really broad to me and really vague. I guess that’s the word of what does that even mean? You know, like add value. That’s so not specific. You could add value in so many different ways. And I think it’s such a big term for the marketing world. As I sort of continued working in it, I kind of understood what people meant. But I want to hear your take on this because I think it’s like such a huge thing for good marketing campaigns. And I think it’s also just so difficult to grasp when you are a person that’s not in the space.
Adding Value in Marketing
Nikki DeSantis: I think too, when we say, you know, you have to add value, you have to provide value. Sometimes, especially if you’re a small business owner, you’re just trying to think what is going to get me revenue quick. You’re trying to think, you know, you’re not thinking long-term, but that is the approach we need. We need to think long-term. So first, when you want to try to add value, you need to know who you’re speaking to, who is your ideal customer and what do they want? What do they need? And kind of go off of that and whether that’s asking them directly or finding market researchers or really just understanding them. And what is it they’re needing in their business and how can you help them do that? Whether that’s even with your service or outside of your service, you know, adding that value, whether that’s through trainings or podcasts or emails. You can’t constantly just sell, sell, sell, sell. I think Gary Vanderchuck kind of coined that, you know, jab, jab, right hook. You need to do more, you know, educating and then getting people to trust you, build that authority with the value and the amount of education that you’re providing to your audience, the right audience, you’re going to be able to get them to trust you. And that is going to be tenfold. That’s going to help you sell so much easier in the long run. So value is so important, providing the right value to them. What do they need in their business? So or what do they need in their life? And how would you actually help people understand this when you’re coming up a small business owner or a person who is, you know, just I’ve spoken to a lot of people who tell me that their biggest struggle is always marketing a product, because they might be really good at product, right? Like a person who starts a business, they might be, they’re just, I don’t know, they’re like, I love making candles, and I want to sell my candles. And that’s that, like, it’s that simple. But then it’s not that simple when you actually set it up. And for business owners who have to sort of figure out a lot of different aspects of their business. That is not just like the product development side, which I think a lot of people fall into, like they just want to work, focus on their service and their product. And now have to sort of navigate all of these things with marketing. And like you said, marketing is hugely important to push sales and lead generation and things like that. How would you, what would be your advice for someone who is very new to that and trying to get a business off the ground?
Advice for New Business Owners
Nikki DeSantis: Yeah, so it’s kind of hard if you’re a one-man show, especially. So there’s a difference between if you have money to invest in a small team and some of the resources to help you, that’s one thing. But if you’re kind of a one-man show or one-woman show and you’re trying, you know, boots on the ground, you’re trying hard and you can’t do it all. So think of the things that one, you enjoy and two, what can you do to fill your time with that low hanging fruit? that you know is going to help in some sort of you know in in the long run it’s going to help in some sort of way and then add to it so as you’re doing these things let’s just say you know you’re like what you said Daniela you’re really focused on the product and you’re really focused on let’s say things outside of marketing well what is one thing within marketing that you can start to implement and start to do, get that off the ground, have some consistency, maybe automation in place so that that’s running, and then month later, add something else, then add something else. That’s what I would do if I was that one woman show, But if I did have some money to invest, and I do think it’s an important thing to hire the right people to help you grow, if that’s kind of your outlook that you want to do, hire those people that are going to do the jobs you don’t want to do.
ND: Like that’s, but that is the brand they want people to see because their, their customer that they want enjoys that their customer that they want doesn’t get offended. Like that’s kind of the brand perception that they’re trying to, you know, convey. And I like that.
Daniela: At the end of the day, I think what’s important is that you’re not doing F-bombs to a customer base that is Catholic, right?
Nikki DeSantis: Yeah, exactly. We’re all seeing those crazy marketing fails and it’s just like, it makes you think, oh my gosh. And it’s because they didn’t know their audience. It is so important to know who your audience is.
Daniela: Yeah. Yeah. And I think it’s just, you see these things being successful for other people. So you think like, oh, that’s the That’s the thing. That’s the train I got to jump on. And I think like, it’s more just every brand and every person and every situation is different. Because I also think budget wise, it’s, I mean, it’s not sustainable to be posting five or six TikToks a day. You need a social media manager to be doing that. And if you’re a solopreneur or a person who’s just starting, I would actually say like, Don’t do that. You know, you’re going to waste so much time and it’s not probably going to get you where you wanted to get.
Nikki DeSantis: Especially, you know, when you’re that one one woman show or you’re a solopreneur and you don’t have the resources to invest in people, you got to do what’s going to move the needle. You still got to think long term and you got to put your eggs in the right basket. I still have like that growth mindset of, you know, if I invest in my SEO foundation, like over time, it’s going to help me. But you do got to, you know, catch on to that low hanging fruit and not waste your time because your time is precious. So.
Daniela: And you’re knowledgeable because nobody knows the product more than the business owner. Right.
Nikki DeSantis: Exactly. Exactly.
Rapid Fire Questions
Daniela: Nikki, you’ve been so great today. We’re almost out of time. But before we finish, I do have a little game prepared for us. I like to do this with all of my guests. So I’m going to set up a timer. I’m going to explain the game to you. I want to set up a timer of one minute. And in that minute, I want to do like a rapid fire of twenty questions. I ask the same questions to everybody and they see who can get. My goal is to have someone get through twenty questions in one minute and to pressure you. Nobody can do it.
Nikki DeSantis: OK, I got it. Nobody has won. So if you win, I will be very happy. I will have one person that I can say they did it. If not, you will be on my list of losers.
Daniela: Can I skip and come back? I would say you should. You can pass or you can lie. I think that’s my tip. If you don’t know the answer, just lie. Just say whatever.
Nikki DeSantis: Whole video. Do not be authentic. Do not lie, guys. Be authentic. Just in this scenario, we’ll see what happens.
Daniela: In this scenario, just say whatever so that you can get to the next question.
Nikki DeSantis: I’m ready, Daniela.
Daniela: All right. I’m going to start in three, two, one. Coffee or tea?
Nikki DeSantis: Coffee.
Daniela: Early bird or night owl?
Nikki DeSantis: Early bird.
Daniela: Favorite social media platform?
Nikki DeSantis: Instagram.
Daniela: Go-to karaoke song?
Nikki DeSantis: Jesus Take the Wheel.
Daniela: Books or podcasts?
Nikki DeSantis: Podcasts.
Daniela: One word that describes you?
Nikki DeSantis: Silly.
Daniela: Dream vacation destination?
Nikki DeSantis: Africa.
Daniela: Most used app on your phone?
Nikki DeSantis: Instagram.
Daniela: Favorite emoji.
Nikki DeSantis: The cute face.
Daniela: Hidden talent.
Nikki DeSantis: Running.
Daniela: Go-to comfort food.
Nikki DeSantis: Spaghetti.
Daniela: Superpowers you want for a day.
Nikki DeSantis: Invisibility.
Daniela: Who inspires you the most?
Nikki DeSantis: My dad.
Daniela: Guilty pleasure. How long did I get to?
Nikki DeSantis: You got through. Thirteen, which is not bad. I actually for a second, I thought you were going to do all twenty, but you got stuck with the guilty pleasure. I got stuck on a few. I’ve never thought of the answers to some of those. So, yeah, some of them. So sometimes. I don’t think before I speak, and being that this is going to an audience, I want to think before I speak.
Daniela: No, don’t worry. Did you lie in any of them at the end? Is your hidden talent running?
Nikki DeSantis: No, I didn’t. I don’t, I’m a runner, but I don’t think that’s a talent. I don’t know why I said that. It was the only song I must have listened to it earlier. I’ve never sang that at karaoke.
Daniela: It made me laugh when you said Jesus Take the Wheel and I was wondering like is this real or did she take my advice and why that’s why I wanted to ask you that’s why I possibly I think yeah but do not take my advice for the viewers and don’t do that that was just for this game. Thank you so much for doing this today, Nikki, before we finish, last thing I want to give you the space to promote anything that you want to promote. Plug anything. If you’re looking for employees, if you’re looking for collaborations, if you’re looking for customers, the floor is yours to tell anybody where they can go.
Where to Find Nikki DeSantis
Nikki DeSantis: Awesome guys. Well, if you’re a tour operator, I could help you with your website or SEO. And if you are looking for a job, I’m always looking for talented web designers, SEO specialists, and, uh, yeah, If you want to follow me, I have an Instagram account where I try to give marketing advice. It’s no plug to any company or anything. It’s just myself trying to be a influencer one day. It’s a T H E dot Nikki D I think. And by Nikki D it’s N I K K I D E E. I think that is, let me just check. Yeah. That dot Nikki D.
Daniela: Awesome. Yeah, I will be adding links to the description of this so that anybody watching can go and easily access this. So, you know, rest assured that if anything resonated, they’ll be sent there. And thank you so much for doing this today.
Nikki DeSantis: Awesome, guys. Well, thanks for having me, Daniela. And we’ll hopefully talk to you soon.
Daniela: Thank you so much for being here. And I’ll talk to you guys on the next episode. Cool.
