By Chris Towle
Joe Recomendes
Chief Operating Officer at Command Partners
commandpartners.com
I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Recomendes, COO of Command Partners, a digital marketing agency located in Charlotte, NC. Joe provided some extremely valuable information as it relates to digital marketing. It was especially beneficial for myself being that my business idea is product based, and Command Partners does a lot of work with product-based startups by assisting with all aspects of digital marketing, as well as play a very large role in creating awareness when it comes to crowdfunding of a business.
The interview was primarily discussion based; however the interview was centered on the following questions:
Can you provide some background knowledge of your skills and experiences as it relates to digital marketing?
Joe got his Master’s degree in Public Relations from UNC Chapel Hill. About 8 years ago Joe moved to Charlotte, NC. In Charlotte, he began a job with a healthcare marketing company. The company did a lot of home healthcare marketing and they brought Joe in to be the social media and digital marketing manager, which also led to him developing the website and becoming very familiar with SEO. A lot of what he did was self-taught. They were doing more of the traditional marketing like brochures and flyers and he helped bring about more of a digital presence. He has now been with Command Partners for two years as the COO. They do everything from website development, search engine optimization, pay per click, blogger outreach, social media, and public relations. They only focus on the digital side of things, no traditional media outlets.
What really stands out to me from other marketing agencies is Command Partners focus on startups and enhancing the effectiveness of client’s campaigns when it comes to crowdfunding services. With Indiegogo beginning in 2008, and Kickstarter in 2009, when Command Partners began in 2011 was this one of the main focuses to provide for clients?
Command Partners began focusing on startups and crowdfunding not long after the company began and this now accounts for around 50% of the company’s revenue. Instead of being with a company with a half finished marketing project, they enjoyed being with a company from the very beginning of the process.
At what phase of a clients business do you typically start working with them? What’s the earliest and the latest phase of a business Command Partners has started to work with a client?
A majority of the clients that seek out Command Partners services already have a business plan developed, prototype developed, and researched all the forms of funding. Right as they want to raise funds is normally when Command partners gets involved. A lot of clients will be in the process of putting their business plan together and want a marketing quote for their business plan, and this is how they start working with a client.
How does it differ when assisting a client who’s business is service based compared to product based businesses?
They have never done crowdfunding for a service-based business. All the crowdfunding services they have done are for product-based businesses. When it comes to a product you really need a good e-commerce store, and media that will drive traffic to your website like public relations, social media, pay per click, SEO, and what Joe described as conversion optimization. Basically just trying to get the product in front of as many people as possible. With a service business you are focused towards more of a sub-set of people.
How does Command Partners acquire most of its clientele? I noticed that a lot of your clients reached out to you in your case studies?
In the beginning stages of Command Partners they would do a lot of outreach to projects offering their services, how they could help, and letting them know how much it would cost. Over the last year, they haven’t had to do this at all. All of the clients have reached out to them. Joe stated that they get approximately 10-20 leads a day, a majority of them being ideas they don’t want to pursue but still have the clients coming to them. They build a lot of traffic through their blog posts.
What do you find most beneficial about marketing through social media compared to marketing through traditional methods like television, print, or radio?
Joe describes how it is beneficial to be able to leverage a crowd. Offers a line of communications and encourages people to share and spread ideas. It offers a large support system as it relates to marketing.
As mentioned on Command Partners website, you are always one step ahead of the game. What do you think the next wave of Social Media will be?
Joe mentions how he thinks social media, specifically Facebook, will start to charge a higher amount for advertising so that it will reach that much of an audience. By just charging a slightly higher fee for advertising they could put that much more into tracking, promoting, and strategically reaching out to the most applicable audience. He feels that there will be more of a focus towards money when it comes to social media.
What advice would you give entrepreneurs in the beginning stages of starting their business as it relates to digital marketing?
There were two things that Joe advised:
- When it comes to crowdfunding make sure that it’s the right fit for your business’s market place. If your business is a product you need to look at the crowdfunding as a presale.
- Allocate money into marketing so that your business can grow exponentially. It is so important to get the word out about your business. Roughly 20% of your budget should go towards marketing efforts, and for a startup it should be even higher.
