[Top Agency Series] Niche Marketing Mastery in the Mining Industry With Manon Rouillier of Rouillier

Manon Rouillier is the Founder of Rouillier, a communications agency specializing in mining and manufacturing industries in Quebec. With a background rooted in a family of entrepreneurs and a passion for strategic marketing, she has grown her agency since 2009 to serve predominantly French-speaking companies. Manon serves as a board member of MBI Global and is active in the Women in Mining chapter in Quebec. She also hosts a French-language mining podcast, Minier, sharing industry insights and fostering a community around mining innovation.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [3:32] Manon Rouillier discusses Rouillier and the importance of specialized industry knowledge
• [6:55] Manon shares invaluable work ethic lessons inherited from her entrepreneurial family
• [9:32] The service evolution of Rouillier Communication Agency
• [13:00] The challenges and opportunities within the mining industry and b2b marketing
• [17:39] The impact of traditional marketing techniques in today’s digital era
• [19:47] Tips for organizing successful industry events for client engagement and networking
• [23:09] Manon discusses how personalized gifting and client appreciation can strengthen business relationships
• [32:09] The public misperceptions about the mining industry and the role of communication in addressing them
• [36:09] Pricing strategies: offering both packages and hourly rates
• [40:12] Common LinkedIn mistakes companies make and how to harness the platform effectively

In this episode…

Have you ever wondered what sets niche marketing agencies apart from the rest? While many agencies struggle with a generalized approach, some have discovered the secrets to excelling in specific industries. But how much value do they bring, and what do they do differently?

Manon Rouillier, Founder of Rouillier, a Quebec City-based communication agency focused on the mining and manufacturing industries, explores these questions. With a philosophy rooted in hands-on, strategy-driven services, she shares the trajectory of her agency from its conception during maternity leave to its current position as a niche leader. She discusses the advantages and challenges of ultra-focused specialization, how traditional marketing methods like trade shows remain relevant, and the importance of adopting a platform-specific strategy for LinkedIn. With a laser focus on the mining and manufacturing sectors and a unique client base, Manon shares the secret sauce to her agency’s rise and how staying in the niche has paid off.

In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz interviews Manon Rouillier, Founder of Rouillier, about her unique strategy for building a niche marketing agency. Manon talks about the Rouillier communication agency that tailors to the French-speaking mining industry, its service evolution, the challenges and opportunities within the mining industry and b2b marketing, and the public misperceptions about the mining industry.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Manon Rouillier on LinkedIn
• Rouillier
• Podcast Minier

Special Mention(s):

• Second Bite Podcast
• Women in Mining Québec
• Women in Mining Abitibi
• MBI Global

Related episode(s):

• “[Top Agency Series] Most Valuable Advice When Selling Your Agency With Todd Taskey of Potomac Business Capital” on the Inspired Insider Podcast
• “[Top Agency Series] Growth Through Acquisitions – What is Your KPI and Northstar? With Jason Swenk” on the Inspired Insider Podcast
• “Building a Great Team and More Helpful Insights with Jason Swenk Host of The Smart Agency Master Class Podcast” on the Inspired Insider Podcast

Quotable Moments:

• “We don’t spend hours building great decks, but we build great no-bullshit strategies.”
• “My dad taught me to work hard, be passionate about what I do, and never have an ego.”
• “If you’re niche, when it goes down, your business goes down with the market.”
• “I like to hire people and be part of our culture, rather than having a freelance relationship.”
• “The biggest challenge has been recruiting people who are interested in the b2b industry and want to work specifically in mining.”

Action Steps:

1. Find and specialize in a niche market that aligns with your background and expertise for more targeted marketing outcomes: Specialization helps distinguish your services and attracts clients looking for industry-specific expertise.
2. Establish a strong LinkedIn presence to engage with clients and follow up on industry events: LinkedIn’s platform-specific features can optimize networking and build solid professional relationships.
3. Consider traditional marketing techniques like trade show participation to deepen engagement: Despite the digital shift, traditional face-to-face interactions can create lasting impressions and business opportunities.
4. Leverage podcasts and other industry resources for continuous learning and staying relevant in your field: Regularly consuming industry-specific content keeps your strategies fresh and innovative.
5. Embrace an agile work approach, offering clients both strategic planning and hands-on execution: Agility enables you to meet diverse client needs promptly and efficiently, enhancing customer satisfaction.

Episode Transcript

Intro 0:01 

You are listening to Inspired Insider with your host, Dr Jeremy Weisz.

Jeremy Weisz 0:22 

Dr Jeremy Weisz here, founder of inspiredinsider.com, where I talk with inspirational entrepreneurs and leaders today, is no different. I have Manon of Rouillier agency, and Manon before I formally introduce you, I always like to point out other episodes people should check out of the podcast. And since this is part of the top agency series, I did one with Todd Taskey. Todd Taskey as a Second Bite Podcast. He pairs agency owners with private equity and helps sell agencies and something he calls the second bike, because sometimes the agencies make more on the second bite than they do on the first because private equity buys them and then they sell again. And he just talks about the valuation space, the agency space. It was a really interesting episode.

Another good one was the one with Jason Swank. I had him on twice. One talked about how he built his agencies over eight figures and sold it. And the second one was more they’ve been buying up agencies. He also has an agency group as well. So check those out as well. More on inspiredinsider.com, and this episode is brought to you by Rise25. At Rise25 we help businesses give to and connect to their dream relationships and partnerships. And how do we do that? We do that by helping you run your podcast. We’re an easy button for a company to launch and run a podcast. We do the strategy, the accountability and the full execution. And we call ourselves kind of the magic elves that run in the background and make it look easy for the host and the company, so they can worry about creating amazing relationships, amazing content, and, most importantly, running their company, right?

So for me, the number one thing in my life is relationships. I’m always looking at ways to give to my best relationships, and I found no better way, over the past decade, to profile the people in companies I most admire and share with the world what they’re working on. So if you’ve thought about podcasting, you should if you have questions, you can go to rise25.com or email us at [email protected] to learn more.

Today, I am excited to introduce Manon Rouillier, she’s founder of Rouillier, and they’re a communication-based agency in Quebec City, and it’s really interesting. They’re very specialized. They’re specialized in a couple different ways. They’re specialized in the mining and manufacturing industries. They’re also specialized in, they deal mostly, I would say, almost all with French-speaking companies. So not that say, in the past, I haven’t dealt with English speaking companies, but they like to stay within that niche, which is interesting. And she started her agency in 2009 she’s a board member on MBI Global, which I believe, the International manufacturing company that offers a complete drilling solution. She has the women in mining chapters in Quebec, and she has a podcast, which I don’t understand, because I don’t understand French, but most of it is in French, and it’s a podcast, I don’t know if it’s Minier but it’s a mining podcast. So check that out. Manon, thanks for joining me.

Manon Rouillier 3:20 

Yeah, thanks for having me. So now everybody will know that I have a strong accent with all the French-speaking.

Jeremy Weisz 3:27 

So just start off and tell us more about the agency and what you do.

Manon Rouillier 3:32 

Yeah. So Rouillier, we’re based in Quebec City, but we cover the entire province of Quebec. Being in a niche like we are in a vertical market where we’re mostly in the mining industry, but we cover all the stages of the mining industry. So what it means that we have customers in exploration, which is the beginning of the cycle up to the exploitation of the mine and around that this manufacturing company, services company environmental companies, IT, AI, and then we have also the juniors and the mining as customers. So we’ve been doing that for 15 years.

The difference, maybe that we have is that we sell our stuff like a marketing department for our customers. So we do the strategy to the deployment. So our customers are quite busy. Often, they don’t have a department inside department. So we need to be quick, agile, and especially down to earth. So I like to say about Rouillier that we don’t put hours building great decks, but we build great no bullshit strategy. That’s our main focus that we’ve been working on.

Jeremy Weisz 4:47 

So I’m gonna ask the obvious question here, why mining?

Manon Rouillier 4:49 

Then I say, why not? No, I was raised in a BTB, which is up north of Quebec. It’s a mining jurisdiction. I’m a daughter of an entrepreneur. My dad had two companies. One was in the drilling industry. So he was drilling for a mining company, and then he had another company for — it’s hard for me to explain this one in English, so it’s seat with the seats. So I’m a daughter two brothers. So my two brothers got each a company. They bought it. Nothing was for free from my dad. And what I got was to go to university. And then I started working in Quebec, and I started working with IT and manufacturing companies, and then, and then I lost my job in my maternity leave, and my daughter was six months, my oldest one was three years old, and my husband just said, why don’t you just lounge yourself, go out there and just be an entrepreneur.

I know you can do it. People are already calling you for advices. So I started doing that, and I didn’t know where to go. And in Quebec, like probably in Chicago and everywhere there’s agencies on every corner of the street. And it’s like, it’s like that here too. So I’m like, okay, I’ll go niche. I’ll have my industry, but I’ll go niche. And something that I know about is the mining industry, since I was born there. So that’s how it came about. So I started working in January 2009 as a consultant, Marketing Communication Consultant. 

But then on February ‘09, a month later, I incorporated Rouillier, and I’m like, no, no, no, I’m not a consultant. I want to build my own business. I think it’s in my blood and something I always wanted to do so, and I wasn’t scared. I was just like, okay, just go and, I had two young kids, but my husband was like, pushing me to do it too. So I had all the perfect conditions to be the perfect entrepreneur.

Jeremy Weisz 6:55 

What’d you learn from your dad?

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