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Finding the right person for the job

For a service-based company like ours, there are few things that are more crucial to success than finding and hiring the right people.  Service-based industries cannot rely on a product to sell itself, so they must take great care to find the right employees, whether those people are outward facing (for example, sales staff) or inward facing (project managers, programmers, etc).  Having just gone through this process recently, I thought it would be a good time to share my thoughts and observations.

I don’t believe you can hire the right person if you don’t know precisely what you’re looking for.  Hiring managers and company executives should take a hard-look at their organization and really drill-down on the type of person they need to fill their crucial roles.  Think about what qualities and skills the role really requires, and make sure those are communicated clearly and effectively in the job ad.  It’s nice to hire a team-player and someone with a good attitude, but for a sales role those may not be the most important qualities to look for.  To save your valuable time, you’ll want to screen-out as many applicants who do not fit the role as possible.

Once you’ve weeded-out the obvious non-fits, you’ll probably want to schedule phone interviews for those candidates with potential.  I like to keep the phone interviews fairly short (30-45 min or so) and use that time to really ascertain if someone has the skill-set and experience that the role requires.  Resumes rarely give you the full picture of someone’s aptitude, but it’s hard to fake competency in a phone interview.  I ask a lot of tough questions, and I follow-up immediately on the answers to those questions.  I press, but in a nice way.

The last step in the process is of course the in-person interview.  I’ve already asked most of the tough questions over the phone, so during this time (typically an hour or so) I like to get a feel for the candidate up close.  Does he or she seem engaged and interested in the job?  Do they seem like the sort who will give our clients the great customer service they deserve, and protect our brand image?  Are they really a good fit for this role, or is it a stretch?

I’ll close by saying this.  When you’ve found someone that you think would be a great fit for the position, extend them an offer right away.  If a candidate is that good, you can bet he or she is likely to be fielding offers from other companies as well.  At the same time, if you don’t find someone you really like, I don’t believe in making an offer just to “put a butt in a seat”.

Nothing costs a company more problems than a bad hire, so take your time in finding the right sort, and then go out and hire ’em!

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The value of a face-to-face meeting

We’ve all heard the saying… “Customer service is dead”.  One round trip flight on a US carrier will assuredly confirm that for most of us.  But here at DanMatt Media customer service is alive and well.

We’re fortunate to live at a time when technology makes our lives and businesses easier and more convenient.  Contracts can be negotiated and signed over email.  Meetings can be held on conference calls and web cams.  We can all have longterm, lucrative partnerships with clients and vendors without ever having met them face-to-face.  But is that really the way it should be?

There’s no doubt that most of my client and publisher relationships were born through email, and nurtured over the phone.  We have clients all over the United States, and a few overseas as well (including England, India, Australia, and Romania).  Seeing them in person is a tall order (though I have made it to England and Australia so far).  But whenever possible, I like to meet my clients face-to-face.

I want them to see the passion I have for their marketing efforts.  I want to look them in the eye and promise them that I will do everything I can to help them achieve their goals.  I want to visit their offices so that I can get a personal feel for what they do and how they do it.  You can’t do those things over email or phone calls, so whenever possible I make sure to visit them and meet with them face-to-face.

If you’re not getting that level of customer service from your marketing partners, you should be.  After all, it’s your money, and it’s your campaign.  Modern technology and convenience are great, and we all take advantage of it every single day.  But nothing beats the value of a face-to-face meeting.

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Celebrating our 20th year in business!

This June will mark our 20th year in business.  DanMatt Media was founded way back in 1994 as a national print advertising agency.  We’re still going strong in print, but we’ve now added all kinds of online and offline advertising and marketing solutions to our portfolio.  A quick glance at our website will tell you just how much we’ve grown over the years.

20 years is a long time.  To put things in perspective, when DanMatt Media was founded the average price for a gallon of gas was $1.11, the average cost of a new home was $154,000, and Bill Clinton was only midway through his first term as president.  Jay Leno, who just wrapped-up 22 years as the host of The Tonight Show, was only two years into that role.

So how does a company stay in business for 20 years?  Well, for starters they hire and retain good employees.  We’re not a large company, but we have great employees who are always striving to be the best they can be.  Many of our employees have been with us for 5 or more years.  In an era of large-scale attrition and turnover that really helps us to stand out from our competitors.

Another way you stay in business for 20 years is by constantly putting your clients first.  Many things have changed in the last 20 years, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to customer service and satisfaction.  Customer service might be dead in the rest of the world, but it’s alive and well at DanMatt Media.  We answer phone calls and emails promptly, we are honest and upfront with our clients, and we always treat them the way we would want to be treated ourselves.

Finally, you stay in business for 20 years by changing with the times.  As I mentioned earlier we’re still leaders in print advertising, but as the landscape has changed, we have changed with it.  We now offer solutions such as SEM, SEO, email and banner/display marketing, social media marketing, radio and television advertising, and web design.  In today’s highly competitive world a company cannot afford to rest on its laurels.

Here’s to another great 20 years!

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You guys still do print advertising?

I wish I had a dollar for each time I was asked that question.  YES, we still have a print advertising division, and it is alive and well.

I know what you’re thinking.  If you’re relatively young you’re saying, “I haven’t picked up a phone book in years”.  Well, you might be right.  But the fact is that 8 out of 10 people who use the yellow pages go on to place a phone call to a business.  Even today yellow page advertising produces a 5 to 1 return on investment.  Your customers are still using the yellow pages, and other advertising mediums would be lucky to have those stats.

At this point you might be asking what types of clients we handle with our print advertising division.  Like our other marketing channels, we have a wide variety of clients in the print vertical.  They range from small operations to huge companies with locations in all 50 US states.  Service-oriented businesses (plumbers, electricians, moving companies, lawyers, etc) see outstanding results in the print vertical.  In fact, DanMatt Media has some of the largest electrician, plumber, and HVAC businesses in the country.

All of our print advertising services are handled in-house, and include tear page analysis, ad previews, graphics design, and monthly reporting at no additional cost.  Print ads are fully trackable via custom call-tracking numbers, so our clients can easily monitor the results of their campaign.  We even have a performance-based offering, which is 100% risk free to our clients.  The DanMatt Media pay-per-call solution allows our print clients to only pay for the phone calls they receive.  That means no risks and a great ROI.

If you’ve been thinking about ways to grow your business, give our print advertising solution another look.  You might be surprised at how effective it can be.  Like our motto says, “Online or offline, we’ve got you covered”.

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Take Advantage Of The NHL Playoffs

Finally, the NHL playoffs are here!

There is nothing better than to watch your favorite team chase down the opportunity to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup! Having offices in Colorado and Washington DC, DanMatt Media has an even split amongst Avalanche and Capitals fans. As a avid Washington Capitals fan, I have been to my share of home games at the Verizon Center. There is one difference I have seen between being at the rink and watching them on Comcast Sports Net. It’s those ads you see behind each net on the glass. Those ads are a great way to advertise your business to fan base in your local home town. Historically, TV viewership during the NHL playoffs increase significantly. Majority of those watching these games are home fans who most likely live in the same area, that your business serves. Take advantage of the NHL playoffs by soaking in a great sport and advertising to thousands of potential new clients who live in your home market.

DanMatt Media can help you get your business ads shown behind the net of every home NHL playoff game! We have worked with local television stations in the area and we handle all the heavy lifting! So, just sit back and cheer for your favorite team in the NHL playoffs, take advantage of the increased TV viewership and get your ads up on the glass behind the net. I might be focusing on whether or not Ovi is scoring or if Erskine is dropping the gloves, but those ads definitely catch my eye and make me think twice on who to call when I need an emergency plumber or electrician.

If you are looking for a new eye-catching way to advertise your business, look no further than DanMatt Media. Give us a call today, we will offer you a comprehensive outline of all the available options and help determine the best form of advertising for you and your business.

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Working with the Fishes

Who doesn’t love a beautiful aquarium?  Having a slice of the tropical ocean in your home or office is an amazing thing.  Until recently, it wasn’t possible to keep many species of fish, corals, and invertebrates in captivity.  But thanks to advances in technology, anyone now can bring the ocean into their office.

DanMatt Media has locations in the Washington, D.C. and Denver, Colorado areas, and both of our offices have saltwater reef aquariums. These aquariums house a wide variety of animals, including colorful tropical fish, shrimp, clams, crabs, live corals, and even a purple lobster.  Our clients and employees enjoy watching the fish swim through the live rock, while the corals sway gently in the current.  Let’s face it, work is stressful.  There’s no better stress relief than plopping down in a comfortable chair and watching an aquarium for a few minutes.

Creating your own office aquarium needn’t be an expensive endeavor.  A simple 20 gallon freshwater tank, complete with a light, gravel, heater, and filter, can be set-up for less than $100.  Maintenance of a tank like this consists of nothing more than daily feedings and a 10 minute water change once per week.  Of course  saltwater aquariums, and the fish and invertebrates that they contain, are much more expensive and require a greater time commitment of their aquarists.  A good-sized 75 gallon reef tank would cost you in excess of $2,500 to set-up, but in this humble author’s opinion the return on investment is well worth the expense.  In addition to daily feedings, a one hour water change every two weeks would be required to keep this aquarium healthy.

Stop by our Maryland or Colorado offices sometime and have a look at these incredible aquariums.  And while you’re here, let us help you to drive more customers to your business.  You’ll leave feeling a lot more relaxed than you thought possible.

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How to Minimize Your Advertising Risk in 2013

It’s no secret that the US economy is not where we want it to be.  Unemployment remains high.  Personal and corporate tax rates are sure to increase in 2013, and our federal deficit continues to rise by billions of dollars each day.  For companies like ours, the question is how all of this will affect our client’s advertising budgets in 2013.

At DanMatt Media, we understand the uncertainty that our clients are facing.  After all, we’re in the same boat.  But in times like this we have a favorite quote that we like to use.  “The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time”.  Thomas Jefferson uttered that quote over 200 years ago, and it still holds true today.

The fact is that there is no better way to improve your company’s financial future than by increasing the amount of business you generate.  And the best way to increase the amount of business you generate is to put your product or service in front of potential customers.  At DanMatt Media, that’s precisely what we do for our clients on a daily basis.  Our pay-for-performance business model, which we use with our SEM, Internet marketing, and market research panel and survey recruitment channels, ensures that you continue to generate new business, while removing the risk from your organization.

Now is the time to position your company for a great 2013.  DanMatt Media can help you to get there.  We look forward to working with you.

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What is Great Customer Service?

The phrase “customer service” means different things to different people.  If you’ve read our website or viewed our Facebook page, you know that customer service is a big deal to us here at DanMatt Media.  But what exactly do we mean when we mention our commitment to customer service?

Often you’ll hear customer service described as “the customer is always right”.  Is that accurate?  Well, yes and no.  Customers certainly have rights, and when it’s your advertising dollars being spent, you call the shots.  But that does not mean that customers always know what is best for their advertising and marketing campaigns.

One of the toughest assignments we face is to convince clients to go in a direction they wouldn’t otherwise go.  Sometimes that means shifting budgets from one spectrum to another.  Sometimes that means moving into an entirely new marketing channel.  Other times it may involve making changes to a company’s website.  But whatever the suggestion, we always make them with the customer’s best interest in mind, because in the end, our job is to provide them with the best possible return on investment for their advertising dollar.

There is more to customer service than making suggestions.  At DanMatt Media, we treat each of our clients the way we would want to be treated.  We return phone calls and emails promptly, because no client should ever have to wait for a response.  We answer questions honestly, because all clients deserve to know exactly what is going on with their marketing campaigns.  And we provide industry-leading transparency, because we want our clients to make informed decisions about their advertising.

At DanMatt Media, customer service is more than just a phrase.  It’s a way of life.  Contact us today to find out what you’ve been missing.