JULY 2024
“Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.” — Greg McKeown
I S S U E
07
I N TH IS ISSU E: THE POWER OF TEAMWORK FROM ADVERSITY TO ACHIEVEMENT KBIS CAMBRIA’S LATEST MILESTONE COASTAL STONE GROUP AMERICA’S EAST COAST PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE CLASS OF 2023 SUMMER OLYMPICS SHOW US YOUR NEWS CAMBRIA INTERNS 2024
SUMMER
2024 U S A & C A N A DA
The Power of Teamwork CAMBRIA’S TECHNOLOGY TEAMS DELIVER A POWERFUL NEW WEBSITE AND SKYROCKET THE COMPANY’S SUCCESS IN DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT. BY ANGELA JOHNSON Last year, early
on a 20-degree December morning, dozens of Cambria’s digital technology experts gathered at 3am in Eden Prairie, MN, for the official launch of the company’s new website. Greeted by carafes of coffee and trays of homemade goodies, teams of excited employees prepared to reveal their many months of hard work to the world. Once the proverbial switch was thrown, their celebratory moment seemed somewhat anticlimactic, but in the very best way. They’d done such a good job. Their preparation was so thorough. The launch was a seamless transition from old to new. But to say “it works,” although great, is to understate the accomplishment. Because since that December day, the goal-breaking performance results of the new website deserve ongoing celebration. Chief Digital Officer Grey Greenwald says although the old site was beautiful, it wasn’t well organized which made it difficult for people to find what they were looking for—a problem made
worse by the lack of a site-wide search function. It also didn’t perform well on mobile devices and the content wasn’t optimized to be found by search engines like Google. “We want and need more organic traffic to fuel our business,” says Greenwald. “That means we want more online searches for quartz-related topics to lead people to Cambria’s website. Once there, we want people to find an intuitive layout where they can naturally find what they’re interested in.” But how did we know what people were interested in? Research. Chief Marketing Officer Carol Olson says, “We wanted to learn about our audience so we could know what to prioritize. This allowed us to build a strategy that best serves both consumers and partners.” Brand Content Director Mariah Carlos helped conduct dozens of one-on-one interviews and surveys with consumers, professional partners, and internal stakeholders to uncover their wants and needs to create a map outlining the optimal
A large team of Cambria employees was responsible for the launch of the new Cambria website, some of whom are pictured above: Digital, Eden Prairie: Brian Harrington, Cole Hagen, Emily Johnson, Grey Greenwald, Hannah Curry, Jake Aziz, Jason Gavin, Jon Dobias, Josh Nielsen, Kara Seliga, Kylie Kotov, Mary Roan, Nick Lecy, Parichay Singh, Ryan Kiang, Susan Panelli, Zach Whiteis; Marketing, Eden Prairie: April Lemmer, Benji Aili, Brittany Horn, Christina McCormick, Cydney Strommen, Darsi Dreyer, Daryl Peterson, Fallon Moore, Jenna Jurgella, Igor Dukic, Kandra Lundstrom, Kate Williams, Kris Lindquist, Matt Bohach, Molly McCabe; R&D, Eden Prairie: Danny Karp
website user experience. The discovery confirmed that people love our brand and our imagery, but found our website challenging to navigate. According to Olson, what we learned can fuel a broader digital marketing strategy even beyond the new website. “We considered,
validated, tested, and retested,” says Olson. “Because ultimately, if the consumer wins, we all win.” Once the research was compiled, it was time to begin building. But not so fast. The new website would be built using an entirely STORY CONTINUED ON PG. 4 >>
From Adversity to Achievement THE RESILIENCE AND TENACITY DRIVING CHELSEY SHELTON’S SUCCESS AT CAMBRIA BY KATHY JALIVAY In business, where success frequently relies on strategy and innovation, achieving such success necessitates additional intangible qualities. It is here that Chelsey Shelton, Orlando Market Representative, embodies resilience and tenacity, both pivotal traits that have propelled her to success in
both her professional endeavors and personal life. As a Market Rep, Shelton’s presence is like a breath of fresh air, her vibrant energy and passion for people set her apart from the crowd. But behind her bubbly demeanor is a story of grit and determination, a journey from adversity to
achievement that inspires many who know her. Raised in what can be a tumultuous environment of foster care and adoption, her childhood could have broken her or shattered her spirit beyond repair. Yet, it was precisely STORY CONTINUED ON PG. 5 >>