Employee Spotlight is our blog series that features the fantastic individuals behind RoadSync.
Get to know a face that works to spread knowledge about our product. Meet Ben Cowles, one of our Directors of Marketing! We're excited that we got to (virtually) sit down with him to share his story in this month's Employee Spotlight. You'll learn about his role at RoadSync, his career, interests, and more! Fun fact: if Ben had a talk show, his dream setlist would include Sleater-Kinney and Otis Redding as the musical acts, Gilbert Gottfried as the stand-up comedian, and Charles Barkley to entertain the audience with a good story.
How did you first learn about RoadSync?
I heard about an open marketing role in through a friend in the industry. He had nothing but good things to say about the company's mission and Robin's leadership. So I investigated, applied, and started speaking with the rest of the team, and then we were off to the races.
What is a typical day like for you? How do you stay motivated?
A typical day is hard to describe. There's constant collaboration with product and sales, plus within our own marketing team. But the specific tasks are unique.
It is an exciting and interesting time for marketing as the US opens up more from the pandemic. Through the freight industry, our customers have kept the country running. As more people feel comfortable traveling, possibilities open up, giving us new access to marketing tools to reach out interact with prospects. For example, our trade show calendar looks full (fingers crossed) for 2022.
I find it easy to stay motivated because the challenges are diverse and interesting. Our audience is busy and not incredibly online, so the standard B2B digital marketing channels are not always reliable. This forces us to constantly test new ideas, learn from the data, refine strategies and repeat.
What’s the biggest misconception people have about your position?
That we only work in one channel. Digital marketing will always be a part of what we do, especially since that channel is crucial to the company mission. However, our audience is busy working in warehouses, in repair shops or OTR. They don't live online in the same way as other people and we have to continue testing ways to meet them where they are.
Marketing is a key part of the RoadSync ecosystem, and our role is multifaceted. We support sales and partner with product to help explain the benefits of what we are building. Also, we partner with customer success to ensure that we're giving customers all the tools they need.
What are your hobbies outside of RoadSync? Where would we find you on a day off?
I am married with two kids, so there is a lot of family time on my off days. Some days I coach my youngest son's soccer team, and on other days I am testing recipes on our new smoker. My other hobbies include collecting items from old advertising campaigns, like Kool-Aid man or the Michelin man, and watching old Japanese monster movies.
What’s one thing that surprised you about working at RoadSync?
One of the great things is that everyone has a lot of decision-making power. Our culture is team-oriented. We have a lot of day-to-day freedom to make our own decisions, which is exciting!
What are your hopes for our industry?
I love the vision of RoadSync, and I believe it will be around for a while! The standard line about startups is that they're trying to disrupt whatever industry they arise from. However, I see RoadSync more as evolving the logistics industry than disrupting. Our goal is not just for our company to succeed but to move the freight industry forward. At RoadSync, customers ride in the front seat, and we are dedicated to helping them grow. By integrating our products into their business, we help our customers minimize risk and reduce stress.
As for my own goals, I'm constantly trying to figure out the right messaging to speak to our prospects that better explains RoadSync's worth and why our products are worth changing their approaches to payments.
Thank you for taking the time to meet Ben Cowles, our Director of Marketing!
Want to join our growing team? Check out our Careers page to see our open positions!
