Performance Delivered

Ray Carbonell and the team at Qnary have helped radically change the way we think of thought leadership and reputation management. Ray says thought leadership isn’t about a TED Talk that goes viral… and if you only worry about reputation management when something goes wrong – then you’ve missed a big opportunity. They show companies in a wide variety of industries how they can use thought leadership to boost engagement with their audience, land new business, and boost recruitment of top-notch new employees.

Marketing automation is the only way to accelerate the growth of your business and get it to the next level, says Robin Alex, president of agency Innovate Fast. But simply installing automation software and systems to drive new leads isn’t enough, says Robin, and won’t have any impact unless you take an extra step. We talk about how to effectively integrate marketing automation into a business, how to use it to close more sales, the top platforms available today (especially for small businesses), and more.

Tech startup Phononic has semiconductor products that could well revolutionize the refrigeration and cooling industries. As Director of Integrated Marketing for the company, it’s Daniel Englebretson’s job to make sure the world takes notice. He’s found the best way to target ideal prospects – the right companies and the right decision-makers at those companies – is with an account-based marketing approach.

One of Heather Molina’s bosses early in her career had a big influence on how she leads her team today as VP of cross channel marketing at Red Door Interactive. No, it wasn’t a valued mentor (although plenty of those too) but rather a bad manager. She says she thinks about how he handled situations… and does the opposite.

Ben Shapiro is building a mini podcast empire, with the popular show, Martech, leading the way. The podcast is all about how industry leaders use marketing and technology to drive business growth. Not surprisingly, Ben has used some of those same techniques to garner 30,000 downloads each month.

With all the tools and software available, marketers have more data than ever about their prospects and customers. They’re drowning in it. The trick is, says John Durham of Catalyst, is wading into that data, finding out what works, and turning it into action that gets real results.

Gerard Doyle, of Fractal, loves working with startups as he can influence the positioning of a client’s product or service… even the design. He also says the most effective way to get the best clients is to go after a limited number of them. He explains how this strategy actually starts making clients come to you. It’s quite counterintuitive.

With AI, machine learning, and big data, companies have more information than ever on their customers.But, says Jason Harper, too many companies collect data for the sake of collecting data. They’re not analyzing it effectively, which means they can’t use it to guide business decisions.

Akvile DeFazio took the leap from employee to self-employed with her digital marketing agency, Akvertise. The transition wasn’t always easy… but she wouldn’t trade the experience for anything because of what she learned about business, marketing, and herself. We talk about the strategies Akvile used to build her agency from the ground up… and continues to use for business development and client retention.

Facebook ads are cheap. You can segment your audience to the nth degree. But all that doesn't matter if you don’t take one more step, says Bud Torcom, CEO and co-founder of digital marketing agency Mazama Media. Bud sees a lot of companies going about their social media marketing all wrong. The solution: a blend of tried-and-true marketing principles and taking advantage of the innovation available on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

For most businesses, a main goal is turning website visitors into leads. Jay Rice, founder and CEO of Thinking Chat, says that’s a good starting point… but he’s refined that process using some very unique technology in order to engage visitors and increase conversions – while also screening out leads that aren’t a fit. Thinking Chat provides its clients with a “chatbot” – but unlike any you’ve seen before.

Jake Baadsgaard, founder of Disruptive Advertising, is very selective about who he works with. In fact, after they go through his vetting process, only about 20% of potential clients make the cut. He breaks down what makes a client a good fit and how he and his team figure it out. It’s a key part of a well-oiled business development machine they’ve put into place.

How does a small digital marketing agency compete for top employees against big firms in such a competitive environment like the Bay Area? For Richard Bumgarner and Lyn Rundell, founders of Hero Marketing, the secret has been providing a great place to work, simply put. And that doesn’t mean a foosball table in the break room.

Chris Raniere, founder and president of San Francisco-based digital marketing agency 46Mile, has seen a lot since his days at early search engine Ask Jeeves and other companies of that era. One thing that has remained a constant is that many clients don’t understand the value of the work agencies do in paid search and other marketing channels and, as a result, try to lowball them when it comes to fees.

Jeff Rosenblum, founding partner of digital marketing agency Questus, has a unique perspective on the industry. His agency’s fortunes rose in the Dot-Com Era. But they survived the crash and came out stronger on the other side with lessons learned that guide their work to this day with companies like Apple, Suzuki, General Mills, and more. He knows that most companies waste the vast majority of their marketing dollars as they try to make something stick.

Working with Hollywood’s biggest movie studios keeps Los Angeles-based Daniel Heale and his team on their toes. As Chief Strategic Officer of global agency Way to Blue, he’s always on the cutting edge of what works and what doesn’t in digital marketing. But Daniel says that there are two elements a successful agency needs that have nothing to do with technology or so-called best practices.

For agency owners and executives, the digital marketing landscape is always changing. With interviews with thought leaders and those “in the trenches” of the industry, the Performance Delivered podcast will keep you up-to-date with current industry best practices… and also give you a glimpse into what innovations the future holds.