Industry Expert Interview with Bobby McConnell, Vice President, Head of Sales and Customer Experience at Gaia Herbs
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37% OffAll of the companies that I have actually recently worked with (Natures Way, Sunsoil, and Gaia Herbs), believe in the power of plant recovery and are brand names that are known for quality and efficacy within the natural products industry. Bobby: The recovery power of nature is at the core of Gaias objective, however, equally as important to Gaias brand values is our commitment to social sustainability and environmental standards. As a superior brand, weve constantly talked at Gaia that worth is more than rate and have actually put a focus on informing on our brand and products to connect in significant methods with our customers. I think the emphasis on customization, brand experience, and overall brand worths will continue to become larger with how brand names successfully serve their consumers in the future.
How do you anticipate Gaia continuing to utilize social media to communicate with consumers and how important is social media as part of your overall brand strategy?
Last fall we had the chance to sit down with Bobby McConnell, the Vice President and Head of Sales and Customer Experience at Gaia Herbs, a leading natural herbs and wellness brand and fellow B Corp. At the time of our discussion, Bobby had simply recently joined the Gaia team, where he currently leads both the sales function of the company and customer experience for both the brand names brick-and-mortar and e-commerce outlets.
Have a look at our discussion listed below:
KSV: Your career has covered throughout several different markets, so how is the function that youre currently in similar to what youve performed in the past?
All of the organizations that I have recently worked with (Natures Way, Sunsoil, and Gaia Herbs), think in the power of plant healing and are brand names that are understood for quality and efficacy within the natural products market. Gaias portfolio is a nice balance as it isnt as extensive of a portfolio as Natures Way, however is the leading natural brand in the US Natural Channel.
KSV: Can you talk a little bit about how the B Corp certification affects Gaias culture and everyday operations?
Bobby: The healing power of nature is at the core of Gaias objective, nevertheless, equally as essential to Gaias brand ethos is our commitment to social sustainability and ecological standards. The requirements that Gaia has developed in the market on agricultural practices, active ingredient sourcing, and environmental stewardship are 2nd to none in the industry.
KSV: Its such a rejuvenating experience when you begin dealing with a brand-new brand name or a brand-new item and you currently have that baseline knowing that they satisfy these expectations for not just for you, however also simply for themselves as a service.
Bobby: Absolutely. Gaia has such a rich credibility and loyal customer base and it has actually been fun to sign up with the team and verify that were really putting our cash where our mouth is as it connects to strength, purity and quality. While I wasnt shocked, it was terrific to see how lots of merchants proactively reached out to me when I signed up with Gaia to share their love for the brand name.
KSV: There are a great deal of different supplement brands out there, and theres a great deal of saturation in the supplement market nowadays. Other than the B Corp classification, how do you believe Gaia separates itself amongst competitors or other gamers in the field?
Bobby: Quality, effectiveness, and transparency are significant differentiators for Gaia. Over the years, Gaia has actually been a pioneer in the organic classification in numerous methods all three of these areas. With the launch of Meet Your Herbs over 10 years earlier, Gaia was the very first natural brand name to provide lot-by-lot, consumer-accessible traceability of the businesss natural active ingredients and products.
While Gaia is known for efficacious and high-quality items, we are also able to inform our sellers and customers distinct and differentiating stories about all elements of our items and company that authentically strengthen our brand objective and business worths. Whether it be organically collecting and farming 45 various herbs on our licensed organic, 350-acre farm in North Carolina, our unequaled screening and quality standards, or stories from the similar farmers we partner with for the herbs that we dont grow ourselves, the storytelling behind the products are ending up being significantly important to a brand names success (both with customers and merchants).
While product movement is obviously still important, sellers have ended up being extremely smart on active ingredient sourcing, quality and testing requirements, and even producing procedures. Merchants are doing this since consumers are demanding it and want to much better understand how their personal worths align with the worths of the brands they are buying. We just had a meeting with Whole Foods where we invested two hours laying out Gaias sustainability efforts and, the truth that we couldve taken several days to talk about our initiatives in this location is actually encouraging and separates the brand.
KSV: What do you believe that brands can do right now to best serve clients and their needs, today. Going forward, what do you believe the future holds for how brands truly serve customers?
Bobby: I believe consumer empathy is very important today – recognizing what consumers are going through, getting in touch with consumers, and having the customer in accord with every choice that is being made. As a superior brand name, weve always talked at Gaia that value is more than price and have actually put an emphasis on educating on our brand and items to link in meaningful ways with our consumers. I think the emphasis on personalization, brand name experience, and total brand name values will continue to end up being bigger with how brands successfully serve their consumers in the future.
KSV: Right, and as a consumer, youre a lot most likely to purchase or remain loyal to a brand name despite the rate point if you see those values or that personality line up with your own values and your own personality. Speaking of … the manner in which Gaia communicates with consumers through social media is actually superior. How do you predict Gaia continuing to utilize social media to communicate with customers and how important is social media as part of your overall brand name method?
Bobby: Yeah, its substantial. I suggest, our social platform is the fastest method and most effective way for us to connect with our consumers and really share our stories and values. The organic classification can be a confusing area and social media has been an excellent lever for item education. Aside from item education, we are able to showcase our brand character. We can bring individuals to our farm and upgrade them on the whole seed to rack process. We can introduce our fans to the farmers that are harvesting the herbs we are using in item formulation. We likewise utilize social media to talk about meaningful causes to our brand name including environment reform and racial and social injustice.
I think its a way to link the dots of that character that were speaking to with the customers, and well continue to amplify that much more as we increase our investment in sharing this Gaia story..
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Thank you a lot for taking a seat with us Bobby! You can learn more about Gaia Herbs here and get caught up on all of our Industry Expert Interviews here.