We at WebiMax are proudly celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2018. Over the last decade, WebiMax has grown to become one of the top online marketing companies in the United States.
I sat down with WebiMax Writer & Reporter Pat Donohue and discussed WebiMax’s growth and success since its inception in 2008, as well as the landscape of digital marketing as a whole.
Here is the full Q&A:
Q: How have you seen the digital marketing industry change in the last 10 years?
A: 10 years ago, all digital marketing was focused on Google and social media was just gaining power but not yet as a marketing platform. When we look at the landscape of today, Google, Facebook and now Amazon have spread the reach that digital marketing can have, while more and more budgets are moved away from traditional media.
Q: What has WebiMax done over the last decade to adapt to changes in digital marketing and survive a competitive field?
A: We continue to evolve our service offerings to meet the demands of the market. While SEO still has immense value for certain clients, others need Social Media or Lead Generation to be able to provide them viable results. Our ability to adapt to the changes that take place has enabled us to continue to thrive in a fast-changing vertical.
Q: What are some of the similarities and differences you see between WebiMax and your previous business venture, VendorSeek?
A: When I sold VendorSeek is 2008, I was already beginning to see a shift in how marketers were approaching the online space. My thought process was to develop a company that could not only help clients with Lead Generation, like VendorSeek did, but to also expand into other offerings to provide clients with a full-service and comprehensive approach to their marketing efforts. The key similarity is that my focus has always been around results While other companies look hard at markers that don’t impact value to the client, my goal has always been to be able to provide our clients with a strong ROI by using our service.
Q: What have you learned over the last 10 years as the CEO of a rapidly growing digital marketing agency?
A: I have learned a lot over the past 10 years and continue to learn every day. Perhaps the biggest thing I have learned over the course of that time is that in business, you need to be agile. I am constantly evaluating the work we are doing for clients to ensure that they are seeing the best results. I have seen other companies not change their process and in turn, they become obsolete very quickly. If we were providing the same sort of strategic plans today that we did 10 years ago, our clients would not be seeing value from those efforts. The plans we are providing today will be different in 30-60 days from today. The digital marketing space moves very quickly and my focus is always to stay at the forefront of innovation.
Q: What is WebiMax’s next big initiative and how does it align with the direction of digital marketing?
A: Two newer areas of focus for us have been the integration of app development and marketing into our core service offerings as well as a specialized focus in the ICO vertical. We also have dramatically increased our presence in the .EDU lead generation space and continue to grow our offerings in Social Media, SEO and Reputation Management.
Q: Why do you think other digital marketing agencies have failed over the years and what are some of the challenges these agencies face?
A: I think the reason we have thrived and the reasons others have not is based on the ability to adapt to the changes in the market. I recognized early on that we needed to be able to make changes to our strategy and process very quickly to be successful. If you are slow to adapt to new platforms and aspects of existing platforms that are expanded, you will find yourself viewed as old news very quickly. While I enjoy that aspect of digital marketing, I would say it is a dynamic that not all businesses are faced with. The ability to have the foresight into what is going to be valuable for our clients is something that I feel separates me from other companies in our field.
Q: Is there any advice you’d like to share with entrepreneurs who are looking to embark on successful business ventures like yourself?
A: Look before you leap. While I would always encourage people to embark on an entrepreneurial venture, make sure you recognize that as a business owner in today’s world you are never really “off.” You have to be willing to make that commitment and expect that you will need to make sacrifices to be successful. You can’t rely on investors. Someone once told me, if you aren’t willing to commit your own money to make the business a success, why would anyone believe in your business more than you do?