445: Standing Out in a Crowded Market and Launching into New Categories with Joe Gaither, CMO of Feetures

Summary

Marketing Today with Alan Hart Episode 445: Standing Out in a Crowded Market and Launching into New Categories with Joe Gaither, CMO of Feetures Release Date: November 13, 2024

---

Introduction

In Episode 445 of Marketing Today with Alan Hart, host Alan Hart engages in an insightful conversation with Joe Gaither, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Feetures, a leading brand in premium performance socks. This episode delves into Joe's journey within the family business, strategies for differentiating in a saturated market, omnichannel marketing approaches, and the exciting expansion into new product categories.

---

Joe Gaither's Background and Journey

[00:00 - 04:25]

Joe Gaither shares his early exposure to marketing through his father's B2B marketing background. Recalling a childhood anecdote, Joe mentions, "My dad told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day." ([00:00])

Joe’s formal entry into Feetures began in 2009 after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a history degree. Despite not having a degree in marketing or business, Joe started as a tech representative, traveling extensively to meet retailers and understand the market. This hands-on experience laid the foundation for his eventual transition into marketing, where he played a pivotal role in building the marketing and e-commerce departments from the ground up.

---

Feetures: Growth and Business Strategy

[08:35 - 13:08]

Under Joe’s leadership, Feetures has grown into a formidable player in the performance sock industry. The company now boasts close to $50 million in annual revenue, employs 65 people across two offices in Newton and Charlotte, North Carolina, and operates internationally. Joe highlights the brand's focus on the premium performance sock category, targeting runners who demand comfort, durability, and specialized features in their athletic wear.

Joe emphasizes the company’s commitment to quality and innovation, stating, "We have stringent quality standards and back all of our products with a lifetime guarantee." ([17:11]) This dedication has positioned Feetures as a category leader in run specialty retail, securing partnerships with major retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods and Academy Sports.

---

Standing Out in the Sock Market

[16:52 - 19:46]

In a crowded market where new sock brands emerge regularly, Feetures differentiates itself through a combination of quality, innovation, and design. Joe explains, "We focus on being a premium performance sock, which already sets us apart from 98% of other sock brands." ([17:11])

One of Feetures' key innovations is targeted compression, patented and designed to provide more support in specific areas such as the arch of the foot. "This anatomical design allows the sock to fit the shape of the foot more precisely," Joe notes. Additionally, Feetures invests heavily in color and design, moving beyond traditional white and black socks to offer a vibrant array of colors that appeal to modern consumers. This focus on aesthetics not only enhances the product appeal but also strengthens brand identity in the market.

---

Omnichannel Marketing and Distribution

[24:07 - 27:53]

Feetures employs an omnichannel strategy to reach customers wherever they prefer to shop. Joe outlines their approach: "We are an omnichannel brand and we want to be where the customer is shopping." ([24:23]) Their distribution channels include direct-to-consumer sales via their website, presence on Amazon, partnerships with run specialty retailers, and international markets.

To maintain strong relationships with retail partners, Feetures adheres to a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy, ensuring consistent pricing across all channels. This strategy helps prevent undercutting and maintains the brand’s premium positioning. Joe elaborates, "Anytime we do any kind of promotion, we make sure that those guys are aware but they're participating it too." ([24:23])

---

Product Expansion: Launching Performance T-Shirts

[21:02 - 28:19]

Building on their success with socks, Feetures is venturing into apparel by launching their first non-sock product—a performance T-shirt. Joe shares the company’s rationale: "We're taking the same design principles and applying them to another category." ([21:04]) This expansion is cautious yet optimistic, leveraging Feetures’ loyal customer base to introduce a complementary product that aligns with their performance-focused ethos.

Joe highlights the importance of maintaining design integrity and quality standards in the new product line, ensuring that the performance T-shirts meet the high expectations set by their socks. "We have a strong design team and believe our performance tees will resonate well with our consumers." ([21:04])

---

Personal Insights: Life Lessons and Advice

[28:19 - 31:23]

Joe reflects on his upbringing and the influence of his family's business legacy. Witnessing his father's resilience after the previous textile manufacturing business failed instilled in him valuable lessons about perseverance and adaptability. "His ability to rebound from failure and start something wonderful was a great life lesson for me." ([30:16])

When asked about advice for his younger self, Joe emphasizes the importance of balancing creativity with discipline and structure. "I wish I would have learned to use discipline and structure to enhance my strengths sooner." ([30:36]) This insight underscores the significance of integrating creative instincts with systematic processes in effective marketing leadership.

---

Current Marketing Challenges and Trends

[31:30 - 35:34]

Joe identifies the overabundance of data as a significant threat to modern marketers. While data is crucial, the risk lies in becoming overwhelmed, leading to analysis paralysis. "There's so much data that it can strangle you sometimes," he warns. ([34:07]) Joe advocates for a balance between data-driven decision-making and creative, visionary leadership. He stresses the need to sometimes rely on intuition and take calculated risks to foster innovation.

Moreover, Joe discusses the evolving marketing landscape, particularly the interplay between performance marketing (e.g., PPC, social media ads) and brand building (e.g., TV advertising). Feetures is experimenting with broader brand-building efforts, including TV and connected TV advertising, to complement their digital strategies. "TV is almost measurable performance marketing today," Joe notes. ([32:59])

Another area of focus is the debate between maintaining in-house marketing capabilities versus utilizing external agencies. Joe mentions, "We're figuring out what needs to be internalized versus what can be outsourced," reflecting a common strategic dilemma faced by many growing businesses. ([31:30])

---

Conclusion

Episode 445 of Marketing Today with Alan Hart offers a comprehensive look into Joe Gaither's leadership at Feetures and the brand's strategic initiatives to stand out in a competitive market. From leveraging a strong family business foundation to embracing innovation and maintaining robust distribution channels, Feetures exemplifies effective marketing and business growth strategies. Joe's insights on balancing data with creativity and his thoughtful approach to expanding product lines provide valuable lessons for marketers and business leaders alike.

Notable Quotes:

• "We have stringent quality standards and back all of our products with a lifetime guarantee." — Joe Gaither ([17:11])
• "There's so much data that it can strangle you sometimes." — Joe Gaither ([34:07])

---

Key Takeaways

• Family Legacy: Joe’s deep-rooted experience in the family business provided a strong foundation for Feetures’ growth.
• Differentiation: Focus on premium quality, innovative designs, and vibrant aesthetics sets Feetures apart in a saturated market.
• Omnichannel Strategy: Maintaining consistent pricing and nurturing retail partnerships are crucial for brand integrity.
• Product Expansion: Strategic diversification into apparel leverages existing customer loyalty and brand strengths.
• Marketing Balance: Combining data-driven insights with creative vision is essential to navigate modern marketing challenges.

---

For more insights and detailed discussions, subscribe to Marketing Today with Alan Hart and explore comprehensive show notes at marketingtodaypodcast.com.

Transcript

[Joe Gaither]

My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big roas man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day.

[LinkedIn Ad Voice]

Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com results to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be to Be.

[eHarmony Ad Voice]

This podcast is brought to you by eHarmony, the dating app to find someone you can be yourself with. Why doesn't eHarmony allow copy and paste in first messages? Because you are unique and your conversations should reflect that. EHarmony wants you to find someone who will get you. How are you going to know who gets you if people send you the same generic conversation starters they message everyone else. Conversations that actually help you get to know each other. Imagine that. Get who gets you on eHarmony? Sign up today.

[Alan Hart]

For all of us, it's about predicting where the consumer is going and getting half of it right. One of the things we want to.

Do is create ads that don't suck.

Embracing change creates great possibility.

I'm Alan Hart and this is Marketing Today. Today on the show I've got Joe Gaither. He's the Chief Marketing officer at Features. Now I also have to give a quick shout out to a friend, Jose Eskandan, who was critical to making the introduction to Joe after hearing my conversation with Joe's big sister, Liz Carter. Joe's originally from Newton, North Carolina. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then joined features in 2009 as a tech rep and a role supporting sales. And for the next few years he traveled to 49 of the 50 states on behalf of Features and met with thousands of retailers learning what it was all about and how to build this sock brand to be America's number one running sock brand. Joe now leads marketing, e commerce and customer service. And on the show today we learn much more about the features business. How it started out as a family business founded by his dad, where they're headed and the fact that they're about to launch their first ever out of category non soc product in the United States. So that and much more with Joe Gaither. Well, Joe, welcome to the show.

Thank you. Glad to be here.

Yeah, I'm excited about this conversation. I think I'm pretty sure you're the first ever Brother sister connection I've had with guests and for listeners out there. Liz Carter, who's a CMO at Reputation, is episode 420 is Joe's big sister.

That's right.

And so is marketing in your DNA? Bizarre to me.

Yeah, it's a good question. I'm not sure if marketing is in the DNA. I certainly think business, like entrepreneurship. Our father was part of a family business, a longtime family business before Features, and so we all grew up and with that background, and Liz and I are certainly similar. It's funny, I think we maybe used to butt heads a little bit as kids as a result of that. Although Liz is a little bit older than me, I think Liz was probably most determined to strike out on her own and create her own path. And I ended up in the family business focused on marketing. And it's fun today to be able to talk to her about her experiences and her insight and to share notes and collaborate a little bit on the issues we're dealing with.

Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. I am excited that I get to check this off. I've got a brother sister now that have been on the show. Now I'll be having to look for a grandfather and grandson or granddaughter in the future.

Yeah. Well, I appreciate being a first at.

Anything, so love it, Love it. Where you did say that you. You ended up in the family business, but I'm curious, like, your path, like, you are now the chief marketing officer at Features. We'll talk about the company here in a minute. But, like, where'd you get your start in business and what's been the path to get where you are now?

Yeah, it wasn't the traditional route, I can tell you that. I think as I start this, I have to tell a little story. When my dad came up with the idea for Features, put together his business plan, he was at home one evening. The rest of my siblings, my brother and two sisters were off in college and I was in high school. And he told me about the idea. He had been talking about it and he said that he needed to come up with a brand name, something that conveyed the features and benefits, that it wasn't just a normal sock that he was going to create. And so really, without much thinking, I just blurted out features F E T U R E S. And the name has stuck ever since. I guess the rest is history, as they say. But that was really where my marketing career began at the dinner table in high school, as my dad was launching this business. But I then officially joined features in 2009 after graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with a history degree. So I did. I wasn't. I did not get a degree in marketing or business, but. But had the opportunity to join my dad and brother who had been building this company for a while at that point, but it was still really in its infancy. And it. I started as a, what's called a tech rep in the industry we're in, which is sporting goods, running specialty specific. I started traveling to all these, running stores around the country in a sales support role and talking to our customers, our retail stores, our staff associates, and learning from them how our business was important and what they thought about our brand and how we could build business together and educating them on new products. And so I did that for a while. I just traveled around, flying around the country or driving around in a car and meeting all of our customers, talking to their staff associates and helping our sales reps and my dad really, who was, who was managing sales at the time, build our business. And I did that for a number of years and then I eventually helped to manage the salesforce in the US And I did that for a couple years and then eventually realized that somebody, my brother realized that somebody needed to head up marketing and to build a marketing department. And at that time we had been working with a fellow who had partnered with my dad in the business. Actually was one of the only original partners. And he had a marketing background. He was a Stanford mba, trained in marketing, worked for the Clorox Corporation, and he had a couple guys he worked with on the visual art direction side and a copy guy. And. And in the early days, we all went to his house, his name was Jim Kothy. And we sat in Jim's house talking about marketing opportunities or problems or challenges. And that was really fun. I really learned a lot from Jim, his team, about marketing, and I gravitated to that. So I was doing that even in the sales role because we all collaborated on everything in those days. And my dad and brother recognized that I gravitated towards that work. And so eventually, when it was time to build a marketing department within features, I did that. I started and I hired a marketing coordinator. And then eventually we started to realize that we needed to build our E commerce business. And that became another department that I built. And it moved up the ladder as we hired people and learned from the ground up in the business, which was a really great way to learn.

I love it. You've seen it sounds like most parts of the business, if not all parts of the business at this Point.

Yeah, yeah. It was certainly a great way to educate oneself about all aspects of the business.

Yeah. And I have to believe that early role of traveling around, seeing your distribution points of distribution partners, the retailers probably was formative as it relates to. What does marketing even look like in this space?

Absolutely. Yeah. It was the run. Specialty stores that we partner with are great brand builders. They work every day face to face with customers. And so it's a great place to get feedback about your product and about marketing, about packaging, about little things. And I would take that feedback, I'd pass it along to our brother, and we'd work together with our marketing team and make changes as a result of that.

I love it. Let's talk about features of the business. Tell us what you guys do and the scope of the business today, if you will.

Yeah, absolutely. So features, we make premium performance socks. And so we're. We say we. We create products that help people perform their best or for active use. That's hence the word performance. We originally marketed them to runners when my dad launched the brand. He had been in textile manufacturing and had worked with some of these retailers before, but not to the extent that we did ultimately with features. So he was aware of them and he knew that they sold premium products and he was aware that there was an opportunity to create a premium product with new technology. Taking advantage of some new technology, he thought the category was stale as he launched it. With that simple idea that he can make a better product in this premium performance sock category, he launched features and we marketed them to runners of discerning obviously about socks, because when you're running a 5k 10k marathon distance race, you certainly don't want to have to stop, pull up your socks because they're slipping or worry about blisters because of friction or a bulky toe seam. And obviously you just want to be comfortable, so you need moisture wicking properties. And so features has become the category leader in performance stocks in the U.S. in Run Specialty, we have the number one position by market share and we've attracted the business in Dick's Sporting goods and other national retailers. Academy Sports, we sell on Amazon, we sell direct to consumer today. And we're tracking somewhere to close to about 50 million. A little bit up north of 50 million this year in revenue. We've got 65 employees and two offices and one in Newton, North Carolina, where I grew up, and one in Charlotte, where I live now, where my brother and I work out of. It's the hub of marketing and design and product development and some Sales roles there in our distribution centers in Hickory and. Or in Newton's. Excuse me, but. And we sell internationally today as well. We sell all around the globe. So we've tried to replicate what we've done here in the US and in other countries and in other channels, and we've expanded. Today we sell in footwear stores, footwear specialty stores as well, and outdoor specialty stores. But we are still focused on socks as our primary category. And we've only made socks to this point, although we're looking to expand soon.

Awesome. Awesome. It sounds like a great business. A very focused effort, which you can demonstrate your excellence, obviously becoming a category leader. And it's a family business. So tell me about the experience of kind of being attached to this from the get go, largely even helping to name it. And I think you guys have just gone through a transition of generations to some degree.

Yeah, yeah, that's true. Yeah. It's been a family business at the beginning. My dad had a couple partners. One was another family member, actually an investor early on, and. And we've recently bought them out. And my brother and I, we. My dad is 74 today, and so he stepped back as well. He was chairman and CEO until the beginning of 23 when my brother took over. But we At a. Out of respect for what my dad built, we considered all options. We looked at selling the company or some portion of the company for his retirement. But ultimately my brother and I wanted to continue to run the business. Today we know that we've built something really unique and we're very proud of it and we're still having a lot of fun and we still see a lot of Runway. And we were able to come up with a solution to consolidate ownership. And we just went through that process. And my dad has stepped back into a chairman role and we actually just recently created a board for that purpose, an advisory board. And we keep in touch with him, but he's not involved in the day to day. And it was very natural for my brother to take over because we had been working together at the highest level. My dad was very, I would say, smart to include us, my brother and I, in all the decision making along the way. He was inclusive and we benefited from that. I think he didn't. He was not authoritative. He wasn't excluding us and just making decisions unilaterally. And so it was very natural for us to take over. We spent some time creating a succession plan that we felt really good about. And he's still involved at the chairman role today. Feels really good about where we are and I do too.

Awesome, awesome. Kudos and congrats. It's always. It can be a tricky transition, but it sounds like you guys were prepped and ready and had all the right pieces come together and make it a smooth one. So that's awesome.

Yeah, absolutely.

Let's talk about the running industry and the segment in general. Like what is the current state of running industry today?

Yeah, I would say running is really strong. Actually. There was sort of a boom during the pandemic because people were not able to go to gyms and they were at home. There was a lot of time. Cause you couldn't do a lot of extracurricular activities and. And I would say mental health was at risk. So people started to run and that was great for our business. It began then and I would say it's continued till now. The running participation, race participation is up I believe again. And it's grown as a way for people, not just people don't consider themselves runners, but they run as a part of their fitness and health and wellness lifestyle. And so the running industry has benefited from that. Running retail, run specialty retail. It's. This is about a thousand run shops around the US that in cities all over the country. And they provide an expert opinions about footwear. They fit people for the proper footwear, they educate people about performance gear. And that's something that people still want despite all the shift to E commerce. People want to go talk to somebody about specialized gear, about when they're getting into something new. And hence the running specialty industry has grown. It's continues to grow today. And so working with run specialty retailers and maintaining our position as a category leader in that industry is a. Is remains a top priority for us. Even though there's other channels we want to pursue and other things, other business opportunities, we still keep that at the core of our focus.

I love it. I love it. And those thousand run shops that you talk about, I think the first. I'm blanking on the name. When I was growing up, I grew up in Concord, North Carolina, not too far from you guys in the Newton area. But there was this one shop in the mall. It was independently owned, but it was the best place to go because of course you could shop any big store you could go into. But if you're really looking for like fit and comfort and you had lots of selection, they could help you narrow it down much faster than trying a shoe here, trying to shoe there. I don't know if it fits or if it feels right. So like there is A huge value add to go into a specialty place, for sure. And even before I moved up to the D.C. area, we were in the Triangle area of North Carolina. There were a couple stores called Fleet Feet, which were very similar in style and approach to making sure you get the right shoe.

Absolutely. Yeah. You mentioned Fleet Feet. Feet is an interesting group. They have consolidated a lot of running stores in the US and that has been a recent shift where there's an emerging consolidation of running stores in the country. And they're franchised. So there's a lot of franchisees around the country still, but there are some stores that are corporately owned, and so that's become a key focus of ours, is partnership with Fleet Feet. But yeah, the Run Specialty guys, they offer a service that is still of great value and we're still bullish on their continued success. And, and, and it's exciting to be a part of. These people are major resources for the sport of running, for healthy, active living in their communities. And it's really something that we believe in.

Awesome. You guys are focused, at least today or historically, on socks. And it is. It's a pretty cluttered category. You guys stand head and shoulders above others. How do you think about differentiating within kind of a busy category?

Yeah, that's a great question. And we talk a lot about this because it feels like there's a new sock company popping up every few weeks. And so it keeps us on our toes. It's hard to differentiate. From the beginning, we focused on the premium side, like I said earlier, being a premium performance sock. So that in it of itself differentiates us from 98% of the other sock brands out there. But even then, it's still difficult to really stand out in socks. Fortunately, we've focused on quality and innovation from the beginning. We've had stringent quality standards and actually have backed all of our products from a lifetime with a lifetime guarantee, which differentiates us, our products. When you buy a 12 pack of some other brand at the mass retail store, you don't expect them to last long. And our socks, when they say lifetime guarantee on the front of the package, that stands out that this is different from what I'm used to from the consumer standpoint. And. And so that sort of quality is embodied in that guarantee. But then with innovation, we've partnered with our manufacturing partners because we don't own manufacturing. We outsource with various factories around the world, some in the US Some in Asia, and we've always worked really hard with them to look for ways to differentiate differentiate. And in 2011, we came across something in, in one of these partnership brainstorming efforts with our, one of our suppliers where we created what we call targeted compression, which is it differentiates the level of compression in one area of the sock, whereas uniform. Normally sock compression or compression in the sock is the same 360 degrees because it's circular knitted around the foot. But we found a way to alter it in one area and have more compression in the arch of the foot. So that allowed us to create this anatomical design, this custom like fit and you slip it on, you feel that sock fit, form fitting on the foot to the shape of the foot. And that was really unique and that helped us stand out. And so we've, we patented that technology and we found ways to build on that as we've grown and. But you've always got to be looking for that next thing. You've always got to be working on it. Can't rest on your laurels and expect that to last forever. So color and design is another way we differentiate. You know, when we started, socks were white and black. And running stores today, you walk in and it's like a rainbow on the sock wall, which is great. We've hired designers that are experts in color and design for that reason and it's a fun part of what we do today.

That's awesome. That's awesome.

[eHarmony Ad Voice]

This podcast is brought to you by eHarmony, the dating app to find someone you can be yourself with. Why doesn't eharmony allow copy and paste in first messages? Because you are unique and your conversations should reflect that. EHarmony wants you to find someone who will get you. How are you going to know who gets you if people send you the same generic conversation starters? They message everyone else. Conversations that actually help you get to know each other. Imagine that. Get who gets you on eharmony? Sign up today.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds. Recently I asked Mint Mobile's legal team if big wireless companies are allowed to raise prices due to inflation. They said yes. And then when I asked if raising prices technically violates those onerous two year contracts, they said, what the are you talking about? You insane Hollywood. So to recap, we're cutting the price of mint unlimited from $30 a month to just $15 a month. Give it a [e-mail] switch.

[Mint Mobile Ad Voice]

$45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three month plan only taxes and fees. Extra speed slower above 40 gigabytes of details.

[Alan Hart]

I've heard that you're testing some new product expansions. Can you tell me a little bit about where you're going? And this would be the first non sock product?

I believe that's correct.

Yeah.

It's something we didn't take lightly. I've talked about it for a long time with my brother and he's much more conservative than I am. I'm a little bit more of a risk taker. So he's held a rightfully so. We've been able to grow a lot by focusing on socks and. But we've created a pretty strong design team like I just referenced and some of them have some apparel backgrounds. And we think we're at a point where with our direct consumer audience that we can test the water with a non stock product without diverting too many resources or draining too many resources or distracting anybody. And however we know that if we're going to do anything, we got to do it right. And, and we, we are now in a few weeks introducing a performance T shirt that we feel really great about. And what we're doing is we're taking the same design principles, the same inherent. Using the DNA of features to translate it to another category which isn't too difficult in actuality. And we think we are gonna. We are gonna get a warm response from consumers because we have such a loyal consumer base that has bought our socks for decades that we can get them to try a different product and understand that transition that, that it's not too big of a leap to make that features makes the best performance socks. I think they could make good performance tee. So that'll be launching soon and it's really exciting. We'll see how people react.

Well, I'm looking forward to maybe testing one of those out as well. You mentioned color and design. I did not think about this, but I was. I think it was Sunday yesterday morning actually. It's walking dogs around town with my wife and I saw this guy come running past us and I think he was wearing Brooks running shoes, if I'm not mistaken. May have that wrong. But his entire outfit matched his shoes.

Yeah.

He had this really unique blue and yellow on the shoes and his shirt and his shorts matched and his socks matched. And I was like, that took a lot of prior planning.

Yeah.

And it also made me think, does he have the same outfit? Like three or four of them? So he's not wearing the same sweaty clothes every day, but. Or maybe it's just the Sunday dress up.

Yeah. That blue and yellow sounds like the Boston set. Those are the Boston Marathon colors. So he may be a bq, a Boston qualifier.

Ah, okay. Okay. Maybe he's sporting that. I didn't see. He was running so fast. Like, I only saw the back of him. So I don't know if there was anything on the front that would have distinguished it, but it made me think. And when you were talking about color and design of socks and just apparel in general, I was like, there's definitely a market for it. That's for sure.

A lot of the things he developed in his original business plan that you look back and they came true. They were. They've been foundational to our business and still remain really important. One that has been maybe the most surprising is the fact that color and design has become a major core competency for us and in a very important factor in the growth of our brand. And I don't think anybody could have foreseen that or he did not foresee that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's interesting. We talked a little bit about retail, but I want to know, like, how you're approaching all the various channels. You've got wholesale, you've got direct to consumer. How do you think about it today?

Yeah. So, like you just described, we're an omnichannel brand and we want to be where the customer is shopping. So we're pursuing customers online through our own website, through ads on Facebook and Google. We're also on Amazon, where customer research is happening about our people looking for performance stocks, what are the best stocks for running. And. And then we, like I said earlier, we want to be. We want to maintain and grow our position and run specialty and in the other wholesale channels that we do business in. And we're also pursuing that same position in international markets. And we're truly omnichannel. And I would say, for the most part, we're agnostic. We want the customer to shop wherever they want, prefer, and we want to be there. But I think it's actually interesting that we. No, at the core of our strategy is to maintain this position and run in the US and so you actually have to be very careful not to upset that relationship, those relationships in that position, by undercutting the customer in any way unfairly online. We've worked really hard to keep the Amazon channel clean and, and not allow a lot of discounting online. And. And we have our own MAP policy, minimum advertised price policy, so that. So that. So that distribution price, no matter where you're shopping, is the same. And so, no, you're not going to find a better price at a large retailer. Or online than you're going to find in a run specialty store, which is really important to those guys. And anytime we do any kind of promotion, any kind of discount, we make sure that those guys are aware but they're participating it too. We don't pull any fast ones on anybody. And we try to support our wholesale business as much as we can because we are, we're working aggressively to grow the brand online. That's where customer research is happening, discovery. And so we're spending lots of money on ads today and we're trying to meet the customer where they are online, on TV and drive. It's easiest to drive those sales on our own website because. Because of the way that it's set up online. But we also have a very high traffic store locator where people look to see where they can buy features in their local market, which is great. We always encourage, we make that very prominent on our site because we know that people do like to shop local. They want to go into the running store and yeah, I would say for the most part where agnostic was actually leaning towards trying to drive as much sales. Trying to be very supportive of our retail partnerships.

Yeah, it's a, it's to your point, it sounds like you guys have found that delicate balance because you, I like the way you said you've got, I think you said something like you've got clean practices.

Right.

And, and I think that's key. Right. To make sure you've got the integrity across all your channel partners that everyone's sharing in the upside, the benefits, the discounts, et cetera. And to your point, like you're growing, your focus is meeting where. Meeting runners, where they shop.

Exactly.

And that's ultimately who you're trying to serve. Yes. These are critical partners. Whether it's wholesale retail, your own online sales or Amazon. Like they're the pathway to get there. But at the end of the day you're trying to meet the runners where they are.

Exactly.

That's cool. It's a fascinating business. I can't wait to see how the performance T shirt does. And as somebody that needs to run more but doesn't and I think we talked about this Last time, I CrossFit Performance Apparel is something I spend way too much money on and so I would love to spend it on North Carolina company. So I'm hoping. I really like that performance T shirt that's coming out.

Appreciate it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I love it. I love it. One of the things we love to do is get to know you a little bit more behind the business. And my favorite question to ask everyone that comes on the show is, has there been an experience of your past that defines or makes up who you are today?

Yeah. So I think I mentioned a couple times how my dad was in a family business before features and when in 2000, the end or around 2000, that business was coming to an end and he had to start over. And I was the only. Like I mentioned, my siblings were off at college and I was there and I watched that whole thing unfold, which this business was created in 1912, I believe it was a textile manufacturing business, family business. And they primarily made ladies hosiery. They got into socks. Hence how my dad's experience led him to features. But that business grew dramatically. They took my dad, took it public and eventually it failed. And I, I watched that happen and I watched him rebound from that and start features. And that was very impressive to me. It taught me a lot of lessons, I think, about business, about life, and I think it was formative actually for all of my siblings as well and my dad. But he took the lessons, he learned from the failure and he created features. And literally when he talks about features, he talks about the things that he learned from that previous business that helped inform how he structured features and features hasn't been perfect and there's been a lot of hard lessons along the way for us as well. But his ability to rebound from that and roll with the punches and learn from it and then start something wonderful out of that was a great life lesson for me and all of us in the business and the family.

I love it. I love it. Yeah. And just that example of what can be and it. Even if something doesn't go right, the to your point, the rebound, that you can come back stronger, strong, come back better. That's great lesson. What advice would you give your younger self if you were starting this journey all over again?

Yeah, I've got a lot of advice for my younger self, but now I don't regret the past. There's a thing I mentioned earlier, some of the differences between my brother and I, he's a little bit more conservative. I'm more of a risk taker. I think of myself as a creative. I feel like I've got good vision, instinct, gut feel. But I. So as a result of that, I've always lacked a little bit of structure and discipline. And I think it's taken me a long time to realize how much structure, process, discipline, help the creative process even and Help any, anything you're trying to do or build. And I wish I would have learned that a little bit sooner, but that certainly would be to tell my younger self to learn how to use discipline and structure to enhance my strengths.

Love it. Is there a topic either you're trying to learn more about today or you think marketers need to learn more about?

Yeah, we talk a lot about today. There's a couple of things going on in our business that I think are happening broadly and one is the difference between performance marketing or direct response and brand building and those efforts and how they work together, the interplay, the value of both and what the mix mix is. We've been focused so much on social media and PPC and all these performance marketing tactics and now we're starting to get into TV a little bit broader brand building type efforts. And so it's figuring out how that works together to really to enhance the funnel, the digital marketing funnel that you've got going on. The other thing I think about is the in house versus agency relationship. What do we need to internalize but what needs to become a core competence competency of ours versus what can we use an agency for? That seems like another big topic going on as well and one that we're, we're figuring out as we go.

Yeah, I work with some super big companies, Fortune 500 companies. They're trying to figure out the exact same things that you just mentioned. So you're right in the middle of everything and I imagine like you're trying to use within the TV space, you're experimenting with some connected TV things like that to hone in on your specific audience you're trying to reach.

Yeah. And so TV is almost measurable performance marketing today. There's still some incrementality measuring going on, but it's. Yeah, it is an interesting question that we're debating and trying to figure out that mix for ourselves right now.

Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Are there any trends or subcultures that you follow you think other people should take notice of?

I'm not super hip on the trends or subcultures. I'm a big music fan personally, so. But that's really just, you know, I'm paying attention to music and the indie music is my scene. So I do feel a little bit cool in a sense.

Definitely cool.

Yeah.

What are you listening to these days?

My favorite band is My Morning Jacket. I just saw them in Charlotte. They played with Nathaniel Raitliff in the Night Sweats. They came through town and I've seen them a lot, but I've also bought tickets. We're going to be up in New York for the New York City Marathon and I bought tickets to Leon Bridges and Hermanos Gutierrez, I believe is how you pronounce their name. They're psychedelic, almost instrumental band and they've got a very cool vibe, similar to a band called Krungman, who I like a lot. But I don't want to go too deep into the music scene here.

I love it, I love it. I love suggestions. I'm going to check these out on Spotify a little later today. I'm always looking for new. I'm not that cool with my music. I get suggestions from other people and usually just add them to my playlist.

Yeah, you'll have to follow me on Spotify.

I will, I will, I will. So, awesome last question for you. What do you think is the largest opportunity or threat facing marketers today?

Yep. Obviously everybody's talking about AI these days and I love AI, to be honest. I use it a little bit, but not figuring out how to use AI. But the really the threat that I feel today is that there's so much data. It's. Everybody is, you know, so hyper focused on getting to data and having the right data that I just feel like it can strangle you sometimes and there's like analysis paralysis or just too much. I feel like you have to always, you have to use data and certainly data is really important and I'm a big believer in it. It's crucial, critical, but you just gotta be careful not to let it. I feel like we're having meeting too many meetings these days, talking about the data and analyzing it and sometimes you just have to craft a vision, take a little risk, be innovative, lead instead of following.

So no makes sense. It makes sense. This was many years ago. I was in a meeting and it made me think of this when you said what you said. We were talking about performance metrics and at the end of the day I was sitting in a meeting and I was like, I couldn't tell if we had sold anything or not. It's like click this, click that, it's up, it's down, it's sideways, whatever. These keywords are outperforming those keywords. And at the end of the day I was like, guys, did we drive sales?

Exactly.

Do we know? So, yeah, I totally get it. Totally get it. You need it and you have to harness it to your point. But yeah, I love so much. Too much data can strangle you. I think is roughly what you were saying. It's Very true.

Absolutely.

Joe, thank you for coming on the show. It's been fun to meet you, learn a little bit more about the company, and I definitely am going to be first in line getting that performance tee when it's ready.

Thank you. Alan. It's been a pleasure. Now that you've talked to my sister and I both, who do you think is smarter? I'm kidding. You don't have to answer that. You don't have to answer that.

Yeah, Liz, I'm not answering that. All right, I won't. I hope you have a good one and thank you so much.

Thanks again.

Hi, it's Alan again. Marketing Today was created and produced by me with post production support from Sam Robertson. If you're new to Marketing Today, please feel free to write us a review on itunes or your favorite listener platform. Don't forget to subscribe on marketingtodaypodcast.com and tell your friends and colleagues about the show. I love hearing from listeners. You can contact me atmarketing today podcast.com there. You'll also find complete show notes and links to what was discussed in the episode today and you can search our archives. I'm Alan Hart and this is Marketing Today.

[Mint Mobile Ad Voice]

I used to think buying foundation online was impossible. How am I supposed to find my shade when I can't even get it right in store? Then I discovered IL Maquillage. I took their AI powered quiz to find my custom match and wow. This foundation is literally my skin in a bottle. The undertone and coverage are spot on. It's so neutral and weightless I can't even tell I'm wearing makeup. Plus with Try before youe Buy, you can try your full size at home for 14 days. Take the power match quiz now at ilmaquillage.com Quiz I L M A K I-A G E.com Quiz My dad works in B2B marketing.

[Joe Gaither]

He came by my school for Career Day and said he was a big roas man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day.

[LinkedIn Ad Voice]

Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn you'll be able to reach people who do get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com results to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be to be.