Building a business is hard, and doubly so in the competitive world of digital marketing. The industry is constantly changing, working to keep up the pace with changes in the marketplace, new technologies, and a consumer base that can be notoriously hard to reach. It has also become extremely dilated in recent years as it has become the only industry that matters to the smartphone-tapping generation.
That doesn’t mean success is impossible, however; it just means that in order to be successful, entrepreneurs and their teams have to work hard and smart in order to make waves in the industry. No one knows this better than Robert Tadros, founder of Impress!ve Digital. His story is not only inspiring in its own way, but also full of lessons on how to go about the difficult process of building a company from scratch and turning it into a marketing powerhouse.
Tadros has been building businesses since the age of 19, and he is no stranger to the hard work and dedication required. He started Impress!ve by himself, and landed his first big-name client, Misha Collection, before hiring his first team member. He would go on to work with another 20 clients before adding a second member to his team. That’s not to say that working alone is the only way to succeed, but Tadros realized the importance of true talent in building his team and waited until he could find the right members.
Having the right team members is capable of building or breaking a company – if visions are misaligned and work ethics differ, it would only create unnecessary tension within which would cause breakdown in productivity. Tadros made the right call is holding out until he was able to find someone to fit the team he was building; very much like finding a lifelong partner, one should never rush into a partnership or employing someone for the sake of adding more manpower. Compatibility was one of the key factors in Tadros’ successes.
Potentially the biggest secret behind Impress!ve’s success was Tadros’ decision to focus on bespoke marketing strategies. He wanted to build a specialized SEM marketing agency that could excel in a single area or a small variety of areas that are consistently in demand in the current marketplace. By limiting the number of clients the business takes on Tadros is able to offer more bespoke marketing opportunities and a greater level of individual attention, and by focusing on SEO and SEM he’s able to ensure that his business is a frontrunner in those areas. Experts understand that authenticity is one of the most sought-after qualities of digital marketing ventures in the current climate, and Impress!ve is poised to deliver with its boutique strategy.
Furthermore, being able to focus on a niche market is much more efficient and delivers greater results in the field of digital marketing – consumers are becoming smarter and are no longer falling for mass-produced commercials. Therefore, targeted ads are the way to go. Coupled with the bespoke marketing strategies pitched to his clients, Impress!ve is able to not only capture his clientele’s audience, they were able to keep their clients happy with the service, the attention and above all: the results.
It’s a strategy that has inarguably paid off dividends in regards to the growth and success of the company. Recognizing the value of building a truly talented team rather than simply going on a hiring spree in order to increase short-term productivity, Tadros eventually found the talent he was looking for and Impress!ve now boasts over 40 team members and dozens of high profile clients. The growth of the company itself has been equally impressive, if not more so. In just one year, its annual revenue has grown from $600k to $6 million, an increase of over 500% from the beginning of the year, already an impressive figure for a business only a single year old.
When talking about his business, Tadros credits his own perseverance and the quality of his team with the startling success and growth of the company. His story shows that these two values, along with a strategic understanding of marketplace dynamics, are the keys to success in the digital economy.
