Marketing has been one of the most essential building blocks of enterprises. They handle extremely crucial tasks which have a direct impact on the revenue, performance, and most of all, the brand value and recognition of a company. As enterprises grow, the need for marketing agencies becomes a need as these agencies offer dedicated and impeccable marketing solutions.
These agencies have the best specialists in the field, with experience in many domains and industries, along with a proven track record of successful and effective implementations. Since the pandemic stuck, marketing has evolved into many spaces, most importantly virtual space. Thus, these agencies cover all the spaces with solutions that are highly specialized and crafted to provide exemplary results.
Core and More Technologies is a full-scale digital marketing agency, offering high-end and custom-made solutions. They cover all the needs and requirements in the digital space, making them a one-stop-shop for all digital marketing solutions. They are highly organized, dedicated, and committed to providing unparalleled services to their clients. They are known for their core values and promise to always keep their clients and their satisfaction as their top priority. They are highly regarded and acclaimed in the industry as one of the most recommended Google Marketing solutions providers in 2021.
In conversation with the Founder & CEO of Core and More Technologies, Andrew Young. Let’s hear more about the company, its service offerings, and the CEO’s professional journey.
Brief us about Core and More Technologies, and what led you to the inception of Core and More technologies.
Back in 2010, I lost a job that I had held for 10 years. I knew that this would be the only opportunity I would ever have to realize the dream of owning my own business. So, I leaped and have never looked back. Core and More Technologies is built on the success of our clients; we have accepted zero investment capital. Therefore, we are not passing on to our clients the overhead of our investors. And we are at liberty to make decisions that we know benefit our clients and position us to stay ahead of industry trends as they emerge. Not to mention innovations in the technology used.
What are the services offered by Core and More Technologies, and how are they a class apart?
Core and More Technologies are a full-service digital marketing agency. That is to say, we offer end-to-end website design and development services, search engine marketing, search engine optimization (including content development), social media marketing, marketing automation, and Customer Relationship Management integration, as well as general digital support services.
At Core and More Technologies, we pride ourselves on the way that we partner with the companies with whom we are doing business. We treat every client like they are our only clients. If there is one thing we have seen repeatedly in the marketplace, it is companies who are more concerned with the consistency of their margins than they are with the success of their customers.
So, the difference may not be so much in the services that we offer, but rather in how we offer them. Core and More Technologies stop at nothing to produce the results that we promise – the results that our clients have put their trust in us to produce.
Also, we leverage a system of innovative systems for project management and reporting and marry this to a set of standard operating procedures which we have developed over time. The experience that we bring to the table is therefore not limited to the skills required to effectively deliver better results; it includes the many benefits that spring from an agency geared towards operational excellence, some of which include transparency, punctuality, and consistent commitment to customer service.
How has been the growth and results of Core and More Technologies?
Keeping it in context, over an initial eighteen-month span, we built a fully cohesive marketing program complete with granular reporting and factoring for all four P’s of the marketing mix – internally consistent with their organizational priorities and mutually supportive with itself.
This program became the foundation upon which great things were built. Over the first twenty-four months, we were able to create a consistent and ongoing increase in organic site traffic averaging over 35% on a month-over-month basis. Again, that was for twenty-four straight months. At the same time, as the relevance of organic rankings and hence domain authority increased, we saw the average cost-per-click of our paid media campaigns trend down. Over time, as this program continued to gain momentum, we saw:
- 40% increase in click-through ratio (CTR)
- A 35% decrease in average cost-per-click (CPC)
When Core and More Technologies looked back at the annual performance, we saw the following:
- 120% more conversions
- 25% lower overall expenditure
- 30% decrease in cost per acquisition on an annualized basis
The best part is, since we had this all tied together via our proprietary tracking system, we were able to show exactly how many leads became sales qualified, and also to affix dollar values to those pipeline contributions. In addition, the marketing automation program helped us to reduce the lead inception to lead close period by three months, or 50%!
Then it got even more interesting. Leveraging cutting-edge tools like OptinMonster to place strategic popups across the site (based upon signals such as exit intent), Core and More Technologies pushed yet another boost of 141% on top of the already soaring lead generation numbers that the company was already enjoying. At the same time, our rollout of the AtHoc Customer Portal, as well as a very popular and industry-leading blog, was all launched with 100% success, which has proven to be ongoing and sustainable.
As a result of all of this, and of course, even more, so that they have a great product, AtHoc was ultimately acquired by BlackBerry (BBRY) in 2015. What a milestone, and what an accomplishment for us all. And that was only the beginning. Core and More Technologies assisted the company several times thereafter in complete rebranding efforts as the post-acquisition integration process ensued.
Two new websites and four years later, we continued to be the de-facto solution provider for this segment of the BlackBerry business. Contrary to the typical process that ensues post-acquisition, the nature of our involvement expanded to include webinar support and strategy, promotional expansions across the EU and the UAE, as well as assistance with initiatives across other areas of the organization.
Not to mention, we were also involved in the hiring process for digital managers for that arm of the business. How often does a vendor company achieve that level of trust and respect? Rarely, if ever. That is likely the greatest testament to the long-term success we were able to achieve with this great company.
Tell us about the team at Core and More Technologies.
Our team is comprised of some of the best and brightest talents in the industry. We are not a large team. We are a team of highly skilled (and likable) marketers and technologists. The culture here at Core and More Technologies is one of empowerment. We do not hire smart people to tell them what to do. Core and More Technologies hire smart people so they can tell us what to do (Steve Jobs).
At Core and More Technologies, the only requirement for employment that is consistent across all areas is that you love what you do. With an environment entirely comprised of people who share that very sentiment, how can you possibly fail? Well, that answer is that you cannot fail… It is simply not possible when everyone around you is building you up, and you are building them up. Core and More Technologies find that the mindset that this creates becomes contagious…as we see our clients successfully inheriting our approach.
Tell us about your professional experience.
I have been a marketer for the past 13 years. Before that, I was in product management in the software industry as well as application development in the corporate sector. During my role in project management, I became familiar with pricing models, differentiators, and success factor comparisons. I also became involved in mergers and acquisitions. Before that, I was a business application developer, writing code, building applications, and ultimately building websites.
Along the way, I had accomplished several certifications on both the Microsoft and IBM platforms. All of this provided the background for many otherwise unrelated roles over time. When I lost my job of over 10 years as aforementioned, the experience in M&A, coupled with some personal friendships with entrepreneurs, led to my thought processes around starting my Core and More Technologies.
How has been your entrepreneurial journey so far, any key achievements you would like to share?
About two months into starting what was originally envisioned to be a company providing apps for enterprise business entities, we sent out our very first email blast. In response to that email blast, we received an inquiry for digital marketing services. This was received from the succeeding Director of Marketing from what was formerly a primary competitor in my previous position. That company was San Mateo, CA. based AtHoc, Inc. That provided the initial spark that was needed to create solvency.
Shortly thereafter, the company became a Google Partner. For a 9-month-old company, the psychological boost that this provided cannot be understated. I think that is one of the brilliant things about Google’s channel program. Thousands of companies like Core and More Technologies gain a sense of empowerment by being partnered with the largest entity in the entire digital marketing world. That goes a long way and also enables us to be taken seriously when we are pitching potential new clients who might otherwise have concerns about the age of the company.
So, within one year of the initial engagement with AtHoc (more on that below), we had a growing track record of success as well as a partnership with Google. Suddenly, we were receiving inquiries from other corporations around Silicon Valley and began making trips to the area periodically. By the end of year two, we had four rock-solid, high-tech clients out in Google’s backyard – within the same area along El Camino Real where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were once driving around in a VW bus selling the first Apple Computers. This was beyond my wildest dreams.
Within a couple of years that followed our organic, steady upward growth continued. With an unwavering emphasis upon client success and absolute reporting transparency, our performance yielded results that were picked up not only by the news media but also by Google. We were named one of the first Google Premier Partners and invited into their Chelsea Market location for a video production highlighting how we were delivering the amazing level of success that our clients enjoyed.
In the couple of years that have followed, the whole world changed. With the onset of a global pandemic and the impact that it has had on consumer spending, unpredictability became the norm. Like anything else in life, this can be both good and bad. Fortunately, we were able to guide our clients and provide a semblance of confidence throughout the experience. Steady-handed attention, clear communication, and honest appraisal always bear a positive outcome, in the end, relatively speaking.
In addition, we have used the last two years to strengthen our project management processes. We have invested in a shift towards the latest and most innovative platforms the industry has to offer for our internal operating procedures and our client communication needs. This is already resulting in efficiency improvements, which is leading to an uptake in profitability for us, and our clients. We have been building a well-oiled machine.
