Oct. 3, 2021
Scaling Your Marketing Team with a Digital Marketing Agency with Jack Elias
In episode 97, host Eric Dickmann interviews Jack Elias. Jack is an entrepreneur, digital marketer, and Co-Founder and Vice President of Empower Social, the world’s first digital marketing assistant. He and his co-founder, Daniel recognized the need for change, and for that change to happen, the market had to be shaken up to evolve. The product is a digital marketing assistant, powered by the best available AI technologies, supported by local experts in your market, and backed by a global digital marketing force. Empower Social knows your business objectives, your competitors, and your industry; it knows the marketing world inside and out and learns new strategies and tactics daily. Their services truly empower business marketing.
Since 2011, Empower has helped small business owners from over 40 industry verticals drive digital marketing campaign results to new heights. Jack’s goal is to transform the way marketing for small businesses is serviced making it simple, efficient, and affordable.
For more information and access to the resources mentioned in this episode, visit: https://fiveechelon.com/scaling-marketing-team-digital-marketing-agency-s6ep16/
Send us your questions or comments
A fractional CMO can help build out a comprehensive marketing strategy and execute targeted campaigns designed to increase awareness and generate demand for your business...without the expense of a full-time hire.
The Five Echelon Group - Fractional CMO and strategic marketing advisory services designed for SMBs looking to grow. Learn more at:
WEBVTT
00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:33.590
Welcome to The Virtual CMO podcast.
00:00:33.829 --> 00:00:35.564
I'm your host, Eric Dickmann.
00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:48.259
In this podcast, we have conversations with marketing professionals who share the strategies, tactics, and mindset you can use to improve the effectiveness of your marketing activities and grow your business.
00:00:48.355 --> 00:00:51.176
Jack, welcome to The Virtual CMO podcast.
00:00:51.176 --> 00:00:52.736
I'm so glad you could join us today.
00:00:53.305 --> 00:00:54.236
Thanks for having me, Eric.
00:00:54.236 --> 00:00:55.316
I'm really happy to be here.
00:00:55.495 --> 00:00:56.335
Thank you so much.
00:00:56.376 --> 00:00:57.445
Oh absolutely.
00:00:57.506 --> 00:01:05.396
I'm excited to talk to you because both of our companies serve a similar market where we're helping out small and mid-sized businesses primarily.
00:01:05.725 --> 00:01:08.516
And really helping them with their marketing.
00:01:08.786 --> 00:01:22.256
And I was so interested when we first got introduced because you've really taken marketing in a different direction, and I think you've capitalized on some of the big trends that are happening in the marketplace today.
00:01:22.376 --> 00:01:32.335
You know, we've seen things like Robin Hood as an investing platform for younger people and millennials, and some of the gamification that's happening in there.
00:01:32.605 --> 00:01:39.805
And you've tried to do something a little bit similar with Empower in terms of putting marketing in people's hands.
00:01:40.015 --> 00:01:45.985
I wonder if you could just take a few minutes and sort of explain what the concept is behind it for our audience.
00:01:46.615 --> 00:01:47.396
Yeah, absolutely.
00:01:47.396 --> 00:01:48.625
And thank you for this opportunity.
00:01:48.625 --> 00:02:00.146
So to kind of give some context into how did we get mean, we didn't just have a bottle of wine and drew this on a napkin, and decided the next day we're going to create a digital marketing assistant for business.
00:02:00.536 --> 00:02:01.405
That's not what happened.
00:02:01.405 --> 00:02:12.686
But what did happen is in 2011, we had started a digital marketing agency that focused primarily on social media, offered in French and in English because we're based here in Montreal in Canada.
00:02:13.075 --> 00:02:25.765
And around 2015, 2016, we sat down with the engineers of IBM Watson to consult them on building a digital marketing assistant for a business that would be powered by AI and machine learning, right?
00:02:25.795 --> 00:02:30.445
To really offer something more simple, efficient, and affordable for a small business.
00:02:31.246 --> 00:02:36.445
Fast forward to today, we've built this system and we continue to obviously improve it as we go along.
00:02:36.445 --> 00:02:47.396
But officially today, what we've done is we've been able to catalog and secure all marketing intelligence of any business into one portal.
00:02:47.846 --> 00:02:52.136
And these clients, they would download Empower, they subscribe, and then download the application.
00:02:52.526 --> 00:02:59.966
And then they basically engage with us per item basis if they need, let's say newsletters or advertising for social.
00:03:00.116 --> 00:03:02.636
They can ask for those things, we'll quote them and they'll get accepted.
00:03:02.636 --> 00:03:06.676
But further than that, we brought the gamification side to it to make marketing fun.
00:03:07.706 --> 00:03:10.665
And you know, marketing is one of those things you're damned if you do, you're damned, if you don't.
00:03:10.665 --> 00:03:13.346
You kind of have to pay for it, you kind of have to do it if you have a business.
00:03:13.646 --> 00:03:16.146
But it's never fun spending money on it, right?
00:03:16.386 --> 00:03:20.996
So we made sure that that experience was very simple.
00:03:21.236 --> 00:03:24.026
It was very efficient and very affordable for our clients.
00:03:24.206 --> 00:03:32.725
And then we brought the whole gamification aspect of it so they can swipe through cards and recommendations that help educate them along the way, right?
00:03:32.725 --> 00:03:39.475
So it's not just like we recommend installing the Facebook Pixel or LinkedIn Insight Tag Manager, for example, on your website.
00:03:39.475 --> 00:03:46.316
But we explained to them why, why it's important, what's the risk of doing so, what will they benefit, how long does it take?
00:03:46.376 --> 00:03:47.036
Stuff like that.
00:03:47.036 --> 00:03:50.816
So when a client accepts a recommendation, literally by swiping, right?
00:03:51.116 --> 00:03:56.546
Like exactly likethese applications that you know, we've seen them in dating apps and all these other platforms.
00:03:57.536 --> 00:04:00.146
Just by swiping they can take a decision with their marketing.
00:04:00.176 --> 00:04:02.426
So we make it super easy for them and really fun.
00:04:02.426 --> 00:04:05.966
You know, they get offers from some of our partners and stuff like that in there.
00:04:05.966 --> 00:04:16.855
So it's just a great tool for an entrepreneur today who's looking for marketing, but doesn't have the big budgets and doesn't want to kind of sign up to a contract, a long-term commitment.
00:04:17.245 --> 00:04:23.336
They can just sign up to Empower, and that way we've democratized all professional services and marketing through the app.
00:04:23.576 --> 00:04:30.805
Well, one of the things that I really like about the concept is for many small businesses, marketing is hugely complicated.
00:04:31.076 --> 00:04:33.386
And like you said, it's one of these necessary evils, right?
00:04:33.386 --> 00:04:35.636
It is an expense, it is costing money.
00:04:35.966 --> 00:04:42.985
But the problem is when you spend money indiscriminately, or you don't really understand what needs to be done.
00:04:42.985 --> 00:04:44.156
So you mentioned advertising.
00:04:44.156 --> 00:04:46.375
For example, let's say you wanted to run a Facebook ad.
00:04:46.735 --> 00:04:47.725
It's complicated, right?
00:04:47.725 --> 00:04:48.835
Do you have to build your audience?
00:04:48.865 --> 00:04:50.096
You have to build the creatives.
00:04:50.096 --> 00:04:53.445
You have to test things, do some testing to see what's going to work.
00:04:54.096 --> 00:04:57.835
You have to have a place where these people are going to go once they click on the ad.
00:04:57.955 --> 00:05:06.415
There's a lot of steps that have to go into that and sometimes businesses just don't know what to do, and therefore ended up spending money needlessly.
00:05:06.625 --> 00:05:12.596
And so it sounds like that's one of the things that this app can help with is really guiding people through a process.
00:05:13.315 --> 00:05:13.555
Yeah.
00:05:13.745 --> 00:05:15.505
And that's definitely what it is.
00:05:15.505 --> 00:05:24.596
And you know, most companies I would say who use Empower or who use our technology are companies that see the value of being present online today.
00:05:24.596 --> 00:05:27.385
I mean, we are in a low touch digital economy today, anyways, right?
00:05:27.385 --> 00:05:32.275
With what's happened in the last year and a half, it's kind of forced people to go online for those who weren't there.
00:05:32.275 --> 00:05:35.906
And then for those who are so-so there now, they are very much so there.
00:05:36.525 --> 00:05:36.865
Right?
00:05:37.705 --> 00:05:42.355
So all businesses that simply don't have the time, the right resources, or the know-how.
00:05:42.385 --> 00:05:45.805
I would say those three pain points is a little bit of why we exist.
00:05:45.835 --> 00:05:46.466
That's like our.
00:05:46.585 --> 00:05:48.505
As they would say in French RFAs on diet.
00:05:49.805 --> 00:05:59.305
So if a business entrepreneur has these three pain points, they would lean towards Empower, so that they can get whatever it is they need.
00:05:59.966 --> 00:06:02.245
And as often as they need it right, for sure.
00:06:02.395 --> 00:06:15.255
I'm curious, you know, you probably are getting some great metrics internally just based on what people are requesting, but what are some of the more common areas that you see businesses really needing help in?
00:06:15.375 --> 00:06:18.505
It would be definitely on the advertising side.
00:06:18.685 --> 00:06:21.115
And it's something that you just touched on a few seconds ago.
00:06:21.115 --> 00:06:25.466
I mean, I think all entrepreneurs today know that social media is not new.
00:06:26.235 --> 00:06:27.925
It's been around for a while, you know?
00:06:27.925 --> 00:06:33.205
And even Google, you know, it's been longer, around longer than Facebook and Instagram.
00:06:33.205 --> 00:06:41.895
So I would say that clients, the content part of things, although they struggle with it, they can still do it themselves to a certain extent.
00:06:42.355 --> 00:06:55.105
The areas that they need the most help is usually like you said, setting up their ads, building landing pages if we have to go there, their audiences doing their AB testing.
00:06:55.135 --> 00:07:00.325
That's something that, they don't even have that time and some of them don't even have the interest to learn about.
00:07:00.716 --> 00:07:04.705
So of course we're conscious of that and we want it to be easy for them.
00:07:04.705 --> 00:07:12.475
We want them to be able to have a conversation with us, to ask for things in natural language, so that they can exchange with a human being and not a robot.
00:07:13.165 --> 00:07:17.005
They have dedicated account managers on our side, so they could speak to human beings.
00:07:17.725 --> 00:07:25.825
And I would say that the main area is definitely anything tied to how do they leverage that paid functions of these platforms.
00:07:25.825 --> 00:07:29.995
So whether you're talking to Google, Facebook, and Instagram, name it.
00:07:30.025 --> 00:07:37.525
That side tends to be a little bit more something that is intimidating and they won't venture off alone.
00:07:37.555 --> 00:07:43.675
And if they do, some of them lose a lot of money just discovering as they're learning, cause that's what it is.
00:07:44.055 --> 00:07:50.545
Until they resort to, for example, a company like ours or yours, where they could get professional guidance.
00:07:51.355 --> 00:07:59.605
Yeah, it's an interesting perspective because I would agree with what you're saying, especially around some of the content pieces that you would create for organic marketing.
00:07:59.695 --> 00:08:06.375
You know, if you're going to do a blog post or you're going to do some sort of a downloadable asset, there's no time crunch, right?
00:08:06.375 --> 00:08:10.065
You can edit it today and edit it again tomorrow, publish it next week.
00:08:11.075 --> 00:08:15.475
You can have multiple people look at it; there isn't that same kind of pressure.
00:08:15.475 --> 00:08:20.906
But when you turn on a Facebook ad or you're paying for some Google keywords, Right?
00:08:21.205 --> 00:08:27.265
All of a sudden, you've set up a budget, you push go and that budget starts to diminish very quickly.
00:08:27.265 --> 00:08:35.755
And if you've done it wrong, it's like you know, placing a bet on the crap table, right?If you don't know what you're doing, you know, that dealer's going to take that money pretty quickly.
00:08:36.096 --> 00:08:41.216
So I can understand why the advertising would be a major aspect of what your company does.
00:08:41.635 --> 00:08:42.826
Yeah, and don't get me wrong.
00:08:42.975 --> 00:08:49.176
There's a lot of smart, curious entrepreneurs out there and you know, it's also part of the reasons why they're successful.
00:08:49.556 --> 00:08:52.745
So they can go discover this stuff on their own and they really can.
00:08:52.745 --> 00:08:54.056
And a lot of people do actually.
00:08:54.056 --> 00:08:56.036
You know, a lot of people go and they start fiddling around.
00:08:56.875 --> 00:09:07.045
I guess when you deal with companies like ours, you know, Eric, what we ended up doing for them is we end up reducing the risk of every dollar invested, at least in that space, right?
00:09:07.045 --> 00:09:07.765
In ads, right?
00:09:07.765 --> 00:09:14.395
So we can crush that curve a little bit quicker for them, which is a learning curve and the success curve.
00:09:15.545 --> 00:09:24.446
So I would say that that's definitely the value that we would bring to them, should they wish to farm out the advertising portion, which I feel that they struggle with the most.
00:09:24.716 --> 00:09:25.255
Yeah.
00:09:25.735 --> 00:09:35.186
Why do you think that a model like this is a little bit more appealing to a certain size business rather than the old sort of dedicated agency model?
00:09:36.395 --> 00:09:37.946
Why our model is a bit flexible?
00:09:37.946 --> 00:09:42.925
I mean obviously you saw an opportunity in the marketplace.
00:09:42.925 --> 00:09:45.865
Something that wasn't being served by traditional agencies.
00:09:46.265 --> 00:09:49.675
What really was there that you saw that provided this opening?
00:09:51.115 --> 00:10:08.755
Well, basically we saw that it was a very much an underserved market, like a lot of these little companies when they would go to any agency, if you didn't have the minimum retainer and you didn't have a contract that you were willing to sign, they sometimes wouldn't look at you or they would offer you up to their like C and D team.
00:10:08.755 --> 00:10:11.665
You know, like they have their juniors and interns, and stuff like that.
00:10:11.665 --> 00:10:14.275
And no company really wants that.
00:10:15.025 --> 00:10:22.586
So we just found a way to build a beautiful technology, a system that allows for a lot of automation to occur.
00:10:22.765 --> 00:10:23.035
Okay.
00:10:23.035 --> 00:10:29.005
So when a client accepts a recommendation or a task, it goes to the right person, right place, uh, right department, I should say.
00:10:29.005 --> 00:10:32.235
Right language, right skill set for execution.
00:10:33.186 --> 00:10:41.605
So I would say that we saw the opportunity being these people are not well-served, and sometimes neglected altogether.
00:10:41.966 --> 00:10:49.885
But it is, they are the businesses that are really I would say, you know, moving our economies in terms of creating jobs and getting.
00:10:50.096 --> 00:11:00.125
You know, it is the small entrepreneur today that's making a very big difference in the workforce and we just saw an opportunity to kind of go there and help that market.
00:11:00.805 --> 00:11:04.535
And, seeing that that market was extremely massive.
00:11:05.066 --> 00:11:11.365
It bodes really well for us in how we tackle our growth going forward.
00:11:11.545 --> 00:11:20.456
Mind you, some of the partners that we're also working with, they have, I mean, tens of thousands of SMBs that reach out to them for a number of needs.
00:11:20.456 --> 00:11:23.186
Sometimes, payment processing and stuff like that.
00:11:23.615 --> 00:11:26.576
So yeah, it's an underserved market altogether.
00:11:27.165 --> 00:11:31.316
They need the most help, I would say in this digital economy.
00:11:31.316 --> 00:11:37.375
And they don't have the same means, knowledge, budget, et cetera as these bigger institutions may have.
00:11:37.375 --> 00:11:41.295
So at least with Empower, we help level the playing field for them a bit.
00:11:41.295 --> 00:11:46.495
You know we really give them access to the same tools, same resources that like maybe some bigger companies would have access to.
00:11:47.155 --> 00:11:51.865
So I'm curious if you switch hats a little bit, you put on your founders hat, and now you're an entrepreneur.
00:11:51.895 --> 00:11:55.675
You're somebody who's going and developing a company from scratch.
00:11:55.855 --> 00:11:59.816
So you've got to go through all the same things that your clients are going through, right?
00:11:59.966 --> 00:12:06.446
You've got to go through that branding step, you've got to build your website, you've got to get the publicity so that people know about you.
00:12:06.716 --> 00:12:14.515
What has been your journey there personally for the company as you sort of gone from a startup to actually having a client base.
00:12:16.105 --> 00:12:16.946
It's really interesting.
00:12:16.946 --> 00:12:20.005
I mean you put importance on branding.
00:12:20.066 --> 00:12:24.115
I mean you put different types of importance on branding I think at different stages of your business.
00:12:24.115 --> 00:12:28.196
You know like I think when we had our digital marketing agency, we knew that was important.
00:12:28.436 --> 00:12:32.275
So obviously we did a good job with branding the agency.
00:12:32.725 --> 00:12:37.915
But moving forward into going into a tech company, we did like a clear pivot from a service company to a marketing technology.
00:12:38.346 --> 00:12:42.145
And yeah, we did a formal branding.
00:12:42.145 --> 00:12:43.285
Like we didn't do our own branding.
00:12:43.285 --> 00:12:50.485
We hired a company, independent third-party to come in, we paid the big bucks for it, but it was important for us to kind of like to be credible, right?
00:12:50.485 --> 00:13:03.025
I mean you could come up with the best technology, but if it doesn't present well, if it's not credible, even just upon coming across it or reading more upon it, that doesn't help your cause, right?
00:13:03.025 --> 00:13:11.956
So I mean like any entrepreneur, we start with the basics, you start with your business card online, your website, you definitely need a logo, right?
00:13:11.956 --> 00:13:19.045
You need to have like some sort of visual identity.And you know, for some clients they'll have the business cards done with us as well.
00:13:19.076 --> 00:13:26.675
Some people are moving towards digital today and they're kind of shying away from all that, the old way of someone with some contact info.
00:13:27.155 --> 00:13:40.485
But definitely the basics would be to get your business card online set up, your website, even if it's as simple as a landing page, if you're strapped for cash and you can't afford something sophisticated, you really don't have to go there.
00:13:40.885 --> 00:13:48.125
And then apply the best practices that are available, install your pixels, make your website a little bit stickier, right?
00:13:48.186 --> 00:13:50.946
Cause there's a lot of traffic that comes to it and they don't take action.
00:13:50.946 --> 00:13:57.096
So like 9 out of 10 visits actually on your site, my site, any site, they come, they look and we're all like that too, right?
00:13:57.096 --> 00:13:59.645
We go, we browse, and then we're done.
00:14:00.005 --> 00:14:08.165
So we just want to make sure that all businesses are doing the right things at the onset, and these are things that we've done also.
00:14:08.826 --> 00:14:19.625
Just being a little bit more marketing savvy than the average entrepreneur who starts, for example, the pizzeria or has a car dealership, or has a professional services, like a clinic, a dental clinic or stuff like that.
00:14:19.956 --> 00:14:21.545
They don't come in with that same mindset.
00:14:21.545 --> 00:14:25.985
So, I mean that's what we ended up doing for them, we align that for them and just let them know.
00:14:25.985 --> 00:14:47.525
You know, if you're on a tight budget, let's start with the essentials, let's get the essentials out of the way, and then we'll scale our way into advertising and creating more content and growing your platforms, whether it be starting just with, let's say Facebook, Instagram, if that's the case and then slowly moving on to other platforms for them as we grow through Pinterest and all these other very popular platforms that you're very familiar with.
00:14:47.946 --> 00:14:51.875
I love that you said that, even an expert hires an expert.
00:14:52.206 --> 00:14:52.446
All right.
00:14:52.475 --> 00:15:04.625
You know, we talk a lot about coaching, or if you are a business owner, it's good to have a mentor or somebody who can challenge you and help get you on the right course, or even validate some of your thinking.
00:15:04.895 --> 00:15:09.125
But I'm also a huge believer in hiring the right people to do the right job.
00:15:09.275 --> 00:15:15.155
And yeah, maybe even though you have a specific skillset and can do something, that doesn't necessarily mean you're an expert in it.
00:15:15.425 --> 00:15:24.545
And if you're spending money, why not hire people who are really talented in their field to be able to do that for you you rather than settling for something middle of the road.
00:15:25.415 --> 00:15:31.836
And, you know, at the end of the day, it boils down to what you, to kind of summarize what you're saying here, we don't know what we don't know, Eric.
00:15:32.405 --> 00:15:32.946
Do you know what I mean?
00:15:32.975 --> 00:15:34.745
Like at the end of the day, that applies to all of us, right?
00:15:34.745 --> 00:15:40.596
Whether you're a big business, big CEO, or like just a marketing manager, like we don't know what we don't know.
00:15:40.596 --> 00:15:51.525
So it is important to keep that open mind and to invite other talents and other groups to the table when tackling these big things and branding is a big thing.
00:15:51.836 --> 00:15:52.245
Oh, yeah.
00:15:52.725 --> 00:15:59.155
I mean, you look at a lot of these companies today, like, you know, these multi-nationals- Coca-Cola Pepsi, IBM.
00:15:59.436 --> 00:16:02.135
There's so many in the list, it's a long list.
00:16:02.615 --> 00:16:07.545
But you know, you look at their logo at any country, everyone knows right away who that is, you know?
00:16:07.816 --> 00:16:09.875
And that speaks volumes, right?
00:16:09.875 --> 00:16:14.495
So that doesn't mean that doesn't mean that a pizzeria is going to create a logo and everyone all over the world is going to know it.
00:16:14.495 --> 00:16:22.586
But you to just have to understand that your logo has to have a longevity to it and has to stand credible.
00:16:22.586 --> 00:16:24.155
It depends on your sector and all that stuff.
00:16:24.155 --> 00:16:26.225
So yeah, branding is super important, you know?
00:16:26.225 --> 00:16:32.735
Your mission, your values, all the way down to the fonts that we use and the colors, and the color codes, and what is that, right?
00:16:32.885 --> 00:16:34.175
I mean, that's very specific.
00:16:34.175 --> 00:16:35.466
So we took that pretty seriously.
00:16:35.735 --> 00:16:44.625
I mean we want to build an international platform, we didn't want to limit ourselves to just being Canadian even North American for all that matters.
00:16:44.625 --> 00:16:50.076
So, branding is important for us and it should be for all businesses I think.
00:16:50.466 --> 00:16:59.735
You know, the analogy I always use is if you go into a place like a Home Depot, and you go into the paint department, they've got these wall of.
00:17:00.035 --> 00:17:01.025
paint chips, right?
00:17:01.326 --> 00:17:05.855
You know, every little variation of the color, white or red, or blue, or whatever.
00:17:05.976 --> 00:17:09.516
And you can look at that and it becomes almost mind numbing after a while.
00:17:09.605 --> 00:17:15.365
If you have to put together three colors to decorate a house or a room or something, which three do you pick?
00:17:15.576 --> 00:17:24.546
And then usually at the bottom of the paint stand, they have these brochures where the paint company has taken those chips and put them together in a room for you.
00:17:24.726 --> 00:17:30.786
And they say, look at this example of a living room or look at this example of a bedroom, you just need these three colors.
00:17:31.056 --> 00:17:38.826
I always gravitate toward the bottom because the experts pick those, the experts found the combination of these three colors that work together.
00:17:39.096 --> 00:17:45.066
Why do I want to look at this wall of paint chips when I can go right to the expert and get something that's truly going to work together?
00:17:45.455 --> 00:17:48.036
Yeah and I think that's it's a fair approach.
00:17:48.036 --> 00:17:52.925
I mean you just got to stay humble to the game if we can call it that, right?
00:17:52.925 --> 00:17:56.455
I mean know what you know, and be comfortable with what you don't know.
00:17:56.786 --> 00:17:59.735
And like you just said, lean on the experts when it comes to that.
00:18:00.036 --> 00:18:03.125
It's probably gonna save you a lot of time, headache, money, and all that other stuff, you know?
00:18:05.239 --> 00:18:08.088
Hey, it's Eric here and we'll be right back to the podcast.
00:18:08.088 --> 00:18:12.949
But first, are you ready to grow, scale, and take your marketing to the next level?
00:18:13.158 --> 00:18:19.519
If so, The Five Echelon Group's Virtual CMO consulting service may be a great fit for you.
00:18:19.788 --> 00:18:25.699
We can help build a strategic marketing plan for your business and manage its execution, step-by-step.
00:18:25.939 --> 00:18:28.489
We'll focus on areas like how to attract more leads.
00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:32.898
How to create compelling messaging that resonates with your ideal customers.
00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:36.828
How to strategically package and position your products and services.
00:18:37.158 --> 00:18:41.568
How to increase lead conversion, improve your margins, and scale your business.
00:18:41.898 --> 00:18:49.668
To find out more about our consulting offerings and schedule a consultation, go to fiveechelon.com and click on Services.
00:18:50.118 --> 00:18:51.378
Now back to the podcast.
00:18:53.429 --> 00:18:56.848
When you also went down this path of having an app, right?
00:18:56.878 --> 00:19:03.959
And I hear so many businesses that say, we need to have an app, and app development is tricky, and hard, and expensive, right?
00:19:03.959 --> 00:19:13.259
And I'm curious as to what your experience has been you know, delving into the world of app development and having this as a critical part of your business.
00:19:14.618 --> 00:19:23.068
I would say that it was crucial and my partner, Daniel, had this forward vision of how do we protect?
00:19:23.628 --> 00:19:37.209
Uh, I mean besides what I said earlier about cataloging data, zero marketing, intelligence loss, he had this vision of ensuring that we also protect our industry and like what we're doing.
00:19:37.679 --> 00:19:47.249
I'll talk to you about like where we are in Quebec, there's over a thousand agencies doing similar or offering similar services to us.
00:19:47.648 --> 00:19:55.878
We firmly believe with technology, machine learning, and AI, that that market is going to drastically reduce itself over time.
00:19:55.908 --> 00:19:59.818
It might consolidate in a material way.
00:20:00.269 --> 00:20:15.979
So in the spirit of protecting our portfolio of businesses, our clients, our revenues, our growth, and everything, and also seeing what tomorrow could look like for business, you know considering that everybody has a computer in their pocket now, it's called a telephone, right?
00:20:16.128 --> 00:20:18.348
Their smartphone is, we have a computer in our pocket.
00:20:18.348 --> 00:20:29.648
So we felt it would be important for us to convert our business into the technology that it is today.
00:20:29.989 --> 00:20:37.828
So it's like the evolution a little bit of digital marketing agencies, and I think that all of them, there's posters you'd see that everywhere.
00:20:37.828 --> 00:20:39.509
You're seeing them online, innovate or die?
00:20:39.509 --> 00:20:41.368
And it's kind of the truth, you know?
00:20:41.368 --> 00:20:44.668
It's without trying to sound like a doom and gloom kind of guy.
00:20:45.249 --> 00:20:49.038
You definitely have to innovate or you're going to be non-relevant.
00:20:50.118 --> 00:20:53.009
It's hard to keep up with technology, the pace of technology.
00:20:53.308 --> 00:20:54.269
And you know it and I know it.
00:20:54.269 --> 00:21:00.118
If you look at a MarTech chart, they're just like thousands and thousands of thousands of companies.
00:21:00.388 --> 00:21:03.759
If you want to give an entrepreneur a mild seizure, let them look at that.
00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:07.739
And tell him find your applications that you're going to run your business.
00:21:07.739 --> 00:21:10.398
It's gonna be like, no, I'm going to pay and you guys are gonna find it for me.
00:21:10.808 --> 00:21:15.388
So yeah, I definitely, I would say that's what we did.
00:21:15.388 --> 00:21:24.088
We look forward and we saw that the market is going to change, and when it's going to change, it's going to change fast because technology doesn't wait for you, right?
00:21:24.148 --> 00:21:28.648
It's either you adapt, innovate, or you're non-relevant.
00:21:28.679 --> 00:21:33.479
So what we did, like we said, we sat down with experts, we don't know what we don't know, right?
00:21:33.509 --> 00:21:36.719
I mean we don't code anything my partner and I, right?
00:21:36.749 --> 00:21:37.648
It's not what we do.
00:21:38.038 --> 00:21:43.019
So we sat down with those engineers at IBM Watson and they gave us some great insight.
00:21:43.019 --> 00:22:04.818
And then that allowed us to come back home, strategize, and initially work with a team at a company that did the initial dev on our platform, and then we started slowly adding our own dev team, and here we are today with about 10 developers with a Chief Technology Officer on board spearheading the whole thing.
00:22:05.108 --> 00:22:14.969
And now we have full control of everything and yeah, we feel that the future is going to be bright and we're really excited about it.
00:22:14.969 --> 00:22:16.048
That's all I could say, you know?
00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:33.590
00:00:33.829 --> 00:00:35.564
00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:48.259
00:00:48.355 --> 00:00:51.176
00:00:51.176 --> 00:00:52.736
00:00:53.305 --> 00:00:54.236
00:00:54.236 --> 00:00:55.316
00:00:55.495 --> 00:00:56.335
00:00:56.376 --> 00:00:57.445
00:00:57.506 --> 00:01:05.396
00:01:05.725 --> 00:01:08.516
00:01:08.786 --> 00:01:22.256
00:01:22.376 --> 00:01:32.335
00:01:32.605 --> 00:01:39.805
00:01:40.015 --> 00:01:45.985
00:01:46.615 --> 00:01:47.396
00:01:47.396 --> 00:01:48.625
00:01:48.625 --> 00:02:00.146
00:02:00.536 --> 00:02:01.405
00:02:01.405 --> 00:02:12.686
00:02:13.075 --> 00:02:25.765
00:02:25.795 --> 00:02:30.445
00:02:31.246 --> 00:02:36.445
00:02:36.445 --> 00:02:47.396
00:02:47.846 --> 00:02:52.136
00:02:52.526 --> 00:02:59.966
00:03:00.116 --> 00:03:02.636
00:03:02.636 --> 00:03:06.676
00:03:07.706 --> 00:03:10.665
00:03:10.665 --> 00:03:13.346
00:03:13.646 --> 00:03:16.146
00:03:16.386 --> 00:03:20.996
00:03:21.236 --> 00:03:24.026
00:03:24.206 --> 00:03:32.725
00:03:32.725 --> 00:03:39.475
00:03:39.475 --> 00:03:46.316
00:03:46.376 --> 00:03:47.036
00:03:47.036 --> 00:03:50.816
00:03:51.116 --> 00:03:56.546
00:03:57.536 --> 00:04:00.146
00:04:00.176 --> 00:04:02.426
00:04:02.426 --> 00:04:05.966
00:04:05.966 --> 00:04:16.855
00:04:17.245 --> 00:04:23.336
00:04:23.576 --> 00:04:30.805
00:04:31.076 --> 00:04:33.386
00:04:33.386 --> 00:04:35.636
00:04:35.966 --> 00:04:42.985
00:04:42.985 --> 00:04:44.156
00:04:44.156 --> 00:04:46.375
00:04:46.735 --> 00:04:47.725
00:04:47.725 --> 00:04:48.835
00:04:48.865 --> 00:04:50.096
00:04:50.096 --> 00:04:53.445
00:04:54.096 --> 00:04:57.835
00:04:57.955 --> 00:05:06.415
00:05:06.625 --> 00:05:12.596
00:05:13.315 --> 00:05:13.555
00:05:13.745 --> 00:05:15.505
00:05:15.505 --> 00:05:24.596
00:05:24.596 --> 00:05:27.385
00:05:27.385 --> 00:05:32.275
00:05:32.275 --> 00:05:35.906
00:05:36.525 --> 00:05:36.865
00:05:37.705 --> 00:05:42.355
00:05:42.385 --> 00:05:45.805
00:05:45.835 --> 00:05:46.466
00:05:46.585 --> 00:05:48.505
00:05:49.805 --> 00:05:59.305
00:05:59.966 --> 00:06:02.245
00:06:02.395 --> 00:06:15.255
00:06:15.375 --> 00:06:18.505
00:06:18.685 --> 00:06:21.115
00:06:21.115 --> 00:06:25.466
00:06:26.235 --> 00:06:27.925
00:06:27.925 --> 00:06:33.205
00:06:33.205 --> 00:06:41.895
00:06:42.355 --> 00:06:55.105
00:06:55.135 --> 00:07:00.325
00:07:00.716 --> 00:07:04.705
00:07:04.705 --> 00:07:12.475
00:07:13.165 --> 00:07:17.005
00:07:17.725 --> 00:07:25.825
00:07:25.825 --> 00:07:29.995
00:07:30.025 --> 00:07:37.525
00:07:37.555 --> 00:07:43.675
00:07:44.055 --> 00:07:50.545
00:07:51.355 --> 00:07:59.605
00:07:59.695 --> 00:08:06.375
00:08:06.375 --> 00:08:10.065
00:08:11.075 --> 00:08:15.475
00:08:15.475 --> 00:08:20.906
00:08:21.205 --> 00:08:27.265
00:08:27.265 --> 00:08:35.755
00:08:36.096 --> 00:08:41.216
00:08:41.635 --> 00:08:42.826
00:08:42.975 --> 00:08:49.176
00:08:49.556 --> 00:08:52.745
00:08:52.745 --> 00:08:54.056
00:08:54.056 --> 00:08:56.036
00:08:56.875 --> 00:09:07.045
00:09:07.045 --> 00:09:07.765
00:09:07.765 --> 00:09:14.395
00:09:15.545 --> 00:09:24.446
00:09:24.716 --> 00:09:25.255
00:09:25.735 --> 00:09:35.186
00:09:36.395 --> 00:09:37.946
00:09:37.946 --> 00:09:42.925
00:09:42.925 --> 00:09:45.865
00:09:46.265 --> 00:09:49.675
00:09:51.115 --> 00:10:08.755
00:10:08.755 --> 00:10:11.665
00:10:11.665 --> 00:10:14.275
00:10:15.025 --> 00:10:22.586
00:10:22.765 --> 00:10:23.035
00:10:23.035 --> 00:10:29.005
00:10:29.005 --> 00:10:32.235
00:10:33.186 --> 00:10:41.605
00:10:41.966 --> 00:10:49.885
00:10:50.096 --> 00:11:00.125
00:11:00.805 --> 00:11:04.535
00:11:05.066 --> 00:11:11.365
00:11:11.545 --> 00:11:20.456
00:11:20.456 --> 00:11:23.186
00:11:23.615 --> 00:11:26.576
00:11:27.165 --> 00:11:31.316
00:11:31.316 --> 00:11:37.375
00:11:37.375 --> 00:11:41.295
00:11:41.295 --> 00:11:46.495
00:11:47.155 --> 00:11:51.865
00:11:51.895 --> 00:11:55.675
00:11:55.855 --> 00:11:59.816
00:11:59.966 --> 00:12:06.446
00:12:06.716 --> 00:12:14.515
00:12:16.105 --> 00:12:16.946
00:12:16.946 --> 00:12:20.005
00:12:20.066 --> 00:12:24.115
00:12:24.115 --> 00:12:28.196
00:12:28.436 --> 00:12:32.275
00:12:32.725 --> 00:12:37.915
00:12:38.346 --> 00:12:42.145
00:12:42.145 --> 00:12:43.285
00:12:43.285 --> 00:12:50.485
00:12:50.485 --> 00:13:03.025
00:13:03.025 --> 00:13:11.956
00:13:11.956 --> 00:13:19.045
00:13:19.076 --> 00:13:26.675
00:13:27.155 --> 00:13:40.485
00:13:40.885 --> 00:13:48.125
00:13:48.186 --> 00:13:50.946
00:13:50.946 --> 00:13:57.096
00:13:57.096 --> 00:13:59.645
00:14:00.005 --> 00:14:08.165
00:14:08.826 --> 00:14:19.625
00:14:19.956 --> 00:14:21.545
00:14:21.545 --> 00:14:25.985
00:14:25.985 --> 00:14:47.525
00:14:47.946 --> 00:14:51.875
00:14:52.206 --> 00:14:52.446
00:14:52.475 --> 00:15:04.625
00:15:04.895 --> 00:15:09.125
00:15:09.275 --> 00:15:15.155
00:15:15.425 --> 00:15:24.545
00:15:25.415 --> 00:15:31.836
00:15:32.405 --> 00:15:32.946
00:15:32.975 --> 00:15:34.745
00:15:34.745 --> 00:15:40.596
00:15:40.596 --> 00:15:51.525
00:15:51.836 --> 00:15:52.245
00:15:52.725 --> 00:15:59.155
00:15:59.436 --> 00:16:02.135
00:16:02.615 --> 00:16:07.545
00:16:07.816 --> 00:16:09.875
00:16:09.875 --> 00:16:14.495
00:16:14.495 --> 00:16:22.586
00:16:22.586 --> 00:16:24.155
00:16:24.155 --> 00:16:26.225
00:16:26.225 --> 00:16:32.735
00:16:32.885 --> 00:16:34.175
00:16:34.175 --> 00:16:35.466
00:16:35.735 --> 00:16:44.625
00:16:44.625 --> 00:16:50.076
00:16:50.466 --> 00:16:59.735
00:17:00.035 --> 00:17:01.025
00:17:01.326 --> 00:17:05.855
00:17:05.976 --> 00:17:09.516
00:17:09.605 --> 00:17:15.365
00:17:15.576 --> 00:17:24.546
00:17:24.726 --> 00:17:30.786
00:17:31.056 --> 00:17:38.826
00:17:39.096 --> 00:17:45.066
00:17:45.455 --> 00:17:48.036
00:17:48.036 --> 00:17:52.925
00:17:52.925 --> 00:17:56.455
00:17:56.786 --> 00:17:59.735
00:18:00.036 --> 00:18:03.125
00:18:05.239 --> 00:18:08.088
00:18:08.088 --> 00:18:12.949
00:18:13.158 --> 00:18:19.519
00:18:19.788 --> 00:18:25.699
00:18:25.939 --> 00:18:28.489
00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:32.898
00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:36.828
00:18:37.158 --> 00:18:41.568
00:18:41.898 --> 00:18:49.668
00:18:50.118 --> 00:18:51.378
00:18:53.429 --> 00:18:56.848
00:18:56.878 --> 00:19:03.959
00:19:03.959 --> 00:19:13.259
00:19:14.618 --> 00:19:23.068
00:19:23.628 --> 00:19:37.209
00:19:37.679 --> 00:19:47.249
00:19:47.648 --> 00:19:55.878
00:19:55.908 --> 00:19:59.818
00:20:00.269 --> 00:20:15.979
00:20:16.128 --> 00:20:18.348
00:20:18.348 --> 00:20:29.648
00:20:29.989 --> 00:20:37.828
00:20:37.828 --> 00:20:39.509
00:20:39.509 --> 00:20:41.368
00:20:41.368 --> 00:20:44.668
00:20:45.249 --> 00:20:49.038
00:20:50.118 --> 00:20:53.009
00:20:53.308 --> 00:20:54.269
00:20:54.269 --> 00:21:00.118
00:21:00.388 --> 00:21:03.759
00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:07.739
00:21:07.739 --> 00:21:10.398
00:21:10.808 --> 00:21:15.388
00:21:15.388 --> 00:21:24.088
00:21:24.148 --> 00:21:28.648
00:21:28.679 --> 00:21:33.479
00:21:33.509 --> 00:21:36.719
00:21:36.749 --> 00:21:37.648
00:21:38.038 --> 00:21:43.019
00:21:43.019 --> 00:22:04.818
00:22:05.108 --> 00:22:14.969
00:22:14.969 --> 00:22:16.048