Women in Print and Promo: Betty Jensen, Director of Customer Operations, Koozie Group

For the 11th year in a row, Print & Promo Marketing is proud to present its annual “Women in Print and Promo” feature. In honor of Women’s History Month — and every month — we are sharing the transformative paths these women have taken to help drive the industry forward. Find out what motivates them, where they’ve succeeded, and how companies can advance female talent. Stay tuned throughout the month for more profiles, and check out the March issue of Print & Promo Marketing for the full feature.

Betty Jensen, director of customer operations for Koozie Group, Clearwater, Florida, details her decades-spanning career in promo, the lessons she's learned, and the power of teamwork.

The promotional products sector is a fun-filled industry that brings contagious energy to those who are in it. The industry is also resilient — just like Betty Jensen, a 37-year promo veteran who has seen it all from the frontlines.

When Jensen’s direct reports were asked about the impact Betty has had on their Koozie Group career, “phenomenal leader,” “knowledgeable,” and “persistence” were common answers.

“Betty has been a resilient and inspirational mentor for me for the past 26 years,” one employee says. “Her open-mindedness and commitment to her job show her passion for what she does. She has empowered me to become a great leader by leading by example, and I can’t thank her enough for that.”

Jensen’s life is built on hard work. She grew up on a farm in Iowa, playing “office” wherever she could find a makeshift desk. Wanting to relocate for personal reasons, Jensen ended up in midwest Minnesota. She spent six years in a dead-end data entry and customer service position. With a new family to consider, Jensen restarted her job search. She landed a customer service representative role at Advertising Unlimited in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Jensen quickly found the advancement she needed.

“In what seems like a very short time, I had the opportunity to take on the customer service supervisor role, then manager of all customer operations — including order management, art, and customer service departments — for the calendar division,” she recalls. “During that time, the business went through multiple ownerships, eventually leading to the Koozie Group we know today.”

In 2018, Jensen’s life took another unexpected turn when she met Sharon Scofield. Their professional journeys followed a parallel path, and they shared similar work ethics. Scofield became the customer relationship manager for all three Koozie Group sites. Jensen rose to lead order management for all three Koozie Group locations, and, after 30 years at the Sleepy Eye site, moved to the Koozie Group Red Wing location. In 2023, Jensen and Scofield, otherwise known as the “dynamic duo,” were both named directors of customer operations.

Jensen’s and Scofield’s contributions to recent enhancements to the Koozie Group Tracker earned the company a 2024 PPAI Pyramid Award. They meet early each morning to talk through their plan of action before starting their days.

A culture of teamwork is important to Jensen — whether that’s through the locations she oversees or across departments. Perhaps one of her other employees put it best: “Betty is a very strong leader, and she thrives on seeing others succeed in their career growth along with her. She is very knowledgeable in the promotional products industry and works countless hours to ensure we succeed and continue to grow!”

Her Proudest Career Achievement

“I have had the opportunity to lead and participate in multiple ERP system implementations and enhancements over the years, including our current Salesforce CRM. The cross-functional work on that project has significantly improved our management of and visibility to all customer interactions throughout the life cycle of an order, from emails and phone calls to outgoing customer

communications. The result has been greatly improved response and turnaround times. Most recently, I served as a lead in the development and execution of our online Order Clarification & Proof Portal as well as our Koozie Group Tracker. These efforts were recognized with a 2024 PPAI Pyramid Award. Throughout all these special projects and in my day-to-day work, my goal is to always represent the voice of our customers.”

How Failure Taught Her Resiliency

“Of course, over the years, I have led during difficult times where we were not delivering a positive customer experience consistently, and I take those failures very personally, as they directly impact our customers and employee morale. I have never quit believing, participating. or leading in whatever initiative is needed to improve, even across functional areas of the company. I believe we can only improve if we work together collectively as a team at all levels of the organization if we want to achieve significant and lasting change. I am comfortable partnering with all departments, whether sales, marketing, IT, finance, operations, etc. I’ve always believed that to improve, you have to own it. Measuring your progress is key to knowing what needs to be improved and knowing if you have reached those goals.”

Her Most Significant Barrier as a Female Leader

“I honestly have had more opportunities than I ever imagined starting out young and progressing from frontline customer service to a director-level position in a growing, fast-paced company. I have been trusted to lead many projects, integrations, and acquisitions, and I’ve always felt respected by my teams, colleagues, and executive leaders in these roles.”

How She Thinks Companies Can Attract and Retain Female Talent

“Women are in the majority when it comes to leadership roles at Koozie Group, and that helps recruiting efforts because candidates can see that we walk the talk. When females can see examples of others advancing, like I was able to do, they see a career path for themselves within our organization. Mentoring other women is also key to retaining employees and building that next generation of female leadership.”

Her Job Advice to Women

“Be willing to embrace the fun, competitive culture I see in this industry. People are passionate, very welcoming, and willing to educate others and share their experience. I’ve found there to be many opportunities for advancement for those willing to learn.”

Her Upcoming Goals

“Based on doing the math, I’ve been in the industry for over 37 years, so my goal for the next few years is to build a legacy for the new people coming into similar positions as mine and to share what I’ve learned to develop strong leaders of the future. Personally, I plan to give it my all until I retire in a few years and be able to travel to all the national parks in the U.S.”