Institute for Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial Education Partner
"I really love what I get to do. It's about people. I love people. I never thought I'd be selling garage doors, but marketing is about people." - Leslie Karcher, Marketing, CHI Nucor
Let us tell you about our friend Leslie Karcher. She has become one of our program's biggest supporters, by opening up CHI Nucor's Educational Center for us two days a month, and booking speakers from several departments at CHI Nucor to speak to us about their work.
But, working at CHI in Arthur was never part of her life plan. And she never thought she would talk about data so much. Good for us, plans change.
We know a little about marketing, especially social media marketing. But, Karcher explained what she does in marketing, and there was more to it than we realized:
- dealers vs. consumers
- dealer portals
- marketing hubs
- collecting leads
- coop funds
- dealer feedback
- CHI store of samples, literature, color chips, showroom items
- branding
- co-branding
- trade shows
- social media demographics
- KPIs in marketing
- AI in marketing
- brand guidelines
Then, after touching on all of those ideas, Karcher tried to help us connect them to our individual businesses.
- How will we find our customers?
- How will we market to them?
- How will we stay in touch with them?
- What about our own branding? Co-branding? Brand guidelines?
- How will we connect with people after our trade show? What will our space at the trade show look like?
That's a lot to think about. But we've got plenty of time before we need to make those decisions, and we'll have great mentors like Leslie Karcher helping us along the way! Thank you, Leslie, for all you do for Illini Prairie CEO!
Other News From Around The Same Time
The 2025 Illini Prairie CEO class is proud to announce the financials from their 2025 Badge Business. Revenue: $3,000.00 Expenses: - $18.76 materials - $6.95 thank you notes - ...
The Libman Company. It's been a mainstay in the Arcola community for over 75 years, but do you really understand what they do? Yes, they made, and continue to make, brooms. Yes, they ...
"Do you realize the sacrifice you need to be willing to make to be a leader?" That's what Micah Salvetti, Departmental Manager Health and Safety at CHI Nucor asked when we first met ...
(We're a little behind on our social media, so please bear with us as we get caught up.) October has been packed with amazing tours and speakers! But, we have been learning so much ...
