She was so excited about Bergy Bag she took me around the Tonto Verde Golf Course and we used Bergy Bag the way it was designed to be used. It was August in Arizona, FIRE is the word that comes to mind, it was as hot as it was ever going to be. Our ice pack was frozen and securely in its pocket, our insulated bag was loaded with a cell phone, lip balm, and sunscreen. All items chilled promising no meltdowns. I was there capturing her every move on video and taking photos so that I could share this amazing new bag and its benefits with every female golfer in the world. With this footage, I was surely going to impress each one of them so much so that they would buy right off my Instagram launching the brand into insta fame and fortune. Posted, hash tagged, and shared in a story with a coordinating GIF it all was going to happen. And then…(insert cricket noises)
Every person reading this that has started a brand knows what happens next. I got one like 👍 no sales, no insta fame no insta fortune. And looking back I think the like was from my best friend.
However, like any good brand builder, I tried harder the next time. I was clever and consistent and surely now my posts would turn into my Shopify APP ringing on my phone so much that I'd have to act fake embarrassed to the stranger next to me that it wouldn't stop going off.
In the end, muscles are not formed by lifting weights once so I continued to do my reps 3 to 4 times a week - knowing it would translate into results. Of course, it did, but as I quickly discovered selling directly to a consumer is expensive, all-consuming, and for the self-funded a slow roll.
Enter Pivot.
During my consistently clever and original posts on Social Media, I was diligently working in the background to see how I could customize the bag. It was a request I could not ignore, consumers wanted to cobrand our bags with logos, slogans, and their initials. I had frustratingly hit many roadblocks trying to customize the bags. Then one Spring Day not so long ago I met a fellow entrepreneur who dug deep into her arsenal to come up with a solution. So excited but still hesitant, I casually started to inform potential retailers that we could co-brand Bergy Bags for their club, company, or event. The response was enormous and I quickly dropped the hesitant and began shouting our ability from the rooftop. The orders came in 20, 40, 80 bags at a time bought, customized, and delivered into the hands of happy customers. We knew we were on to something and our new ability caused a pivot into directing our sales efforts to wholesale channels and away from direct-to-consumer. The pivot was on like Donkey Kong.
Our direct-to-consumer presence is still alive, but instead of putting money towards Ads to capture the attention of individual consumers, we are building teams to support the wave of orders for Golf Tournaments, Corporate Gifts, and Resorts/Golf retail shops.
The pivot takes us slightly away from Ticking the Tok and creating the “Real” Reels and more to the OG way of connecting with a phone call, email, and in-person conversations and referrals. This pivot help keep Bergy Bag’s vision of a line of fashionable cooler bags alive and expanding and ultimately reach more willing and able buyers.
