Difference Makers
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS Oliver Marketing shines in the SoCal market as it expands its west coast presence.
WORDS BY JAMIE SORCHER
With Amazon and Costco based right in a company’s backyard, it can be a competitive marketplace to attract the best employees possible. Bob Oliver, who founded Oliver Marketing, in Auburn, Wash., is on top of it. “From day one, we offered insurance, company benefits and retirement plans— to really establish careers for people,” he said. “To compete against Amazon as a place to work, employees need to come here every day and feel good about it, so we want to have a lot to offer.” Those core values are the foundation of Oliver Marketing and what has ultimately made it successful. After spending time as a rep in northern California, Oliver wanted to make a change. Originally from Seattle, he and his wife decided to leave the Bay area and head back to their roots so Oliver could start his own rep firm and they could raise a family. Today, Oliver Marketing is not only financially stable, but growing, which Oliver credits to his investments into the business. “We bought a 45,000 squarefoot facility three years ago to get bigger in distribution,” he said. “We totally gutted and remodeled it.” But it goes beyond the external. It’s about the just-do-it mentality that Oliver encourages. “We create more ways to do business,” he said. One method, Oliver added, is to diversify. “Being diversified means we’ve
40 Mobile Electronics March 2019
been able to change with the times, and we’re large so we can cover all kinds of accounts.”
Golden Opportunity Oliver Marketing has a sister company, Custom Plus Distributing, which offers distribution support for 12-volt and marine categories. Both dealers and retailers, Oliver said, appreciate this alternative because they can “cherry pick” products without the pressure of meeting volume requirements. Vendors gain increased channel exposure and fulfillment options for online sales. One of the biggest changes for the company came a few years back when Oliver bought out the rep company/distributorship, Cal West Marketing. “It was huge for us,” he said. “It’s a huge territory compared to Seattle, which is also a great market.” With the owner of Cal West Marketing ready to retire, the timing was right for Oliver to take the next step. “I had been friends with the guy for many years and asked him at one point to let me know if he ever wanted to get out of the business because it would be a good deal for both us,” Oliver said. “It made sense because we had always had Kenwood in San Francisco in the Bay area.” Once acquired, Oliver opened the new facility in Cerritos, Calif., kept all the people, and has been adding lines to what already existed. “I would say we are the largest car audio rep firm in California
now because of this. We do all of California for Kenwood, Rockford, Scosche and Hertz.” With more than 80 employees in total, Oliver Marketing has established a substantial presence. “We have more people on the streets calling on accounts,” Oliver said. “We have dedicated, focused salespeople and an inside support team—Peggy Harvey and Lorree Ford— to back up salespeople and interact with vendors.” Oliver finds it compelling to work with vendors who have established and maintained solid footing. “We like to work with vendors who make the best products in their category. We want to work with companies who have new and innovative products like Scosche Industries.” The flip side is bringing the right retailers into the fold. Oliver prefers dealers who are focused on their marketplace. “We like to work with those who are interested in putting on events and who like to merchandise our products in their stores as well as demonstrate them.” Oliver Marketing started out as a stocking rep, but then evolved. “We distribute products that we rep and it works well for us to do that,” Oliver said. “There are a lot of accounts that are not large enough to buy direct today so we can put them through our distribution company.” After that, Oliver explained, the same sales rep who calls on them for all their marketing is ready when they are. “When that retailer/customer gets big enough
