If your way to search for new marketing strategies is googling it, you will end up trying what everyone else is already doing. This means more competition, higher costs, and lower chances to get results. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way.
In this interview series by
Website Planet, successful marketers and business leaders share uncommon marketing strategies that are working for them right now to increase traffic, leads, and sales, and the easiest way to apply them immediately even on a small budget.
Eric Caldwell is the Founder and CEO of WebJIVE, a 20-year veteran in the digital marketing industry. Under his leadership, WebJIVE has been providing web design, search engine optimization (SEO), and other digital marketing services to over 200 businesses, winning multiple awards.
To start, can you share a bit about your marketing career, and your current numbers in terms of revenue, customers, and other metrics that show the difference you are making?
After leaving ALLTEL, which is now part of Verizon, I took some time to step back from the corporate world and explore new horizons. My marketing career truly began when I started selling high-end Mastercraft boats in the local Arkansas market. This experience ignited my passion for connecting premium products with the right audience and understanding the nuances of customer engagement.
Following that venture, I leveraged my skills in home repairs and improvements to start my own handyman business. While the business was successful, I realized after a year that my true calling was in the IT realm. After much reflection and prayer, I decided to merge my technical expertise with my passion for marketing, leading to the birth of WebJIVE in March 2006—just before the challenging 2008-2009 mortgage crash.
Despite the economic downturn, WebJIVE has experienced consistent year-over-year growth. What started as a humble initiative has grown into a thriving business generating over a million dollars in revenue. We’ve transformed from operating in the red during our initial years to becoming a key player in the digital marketing and web design industry here in Arkansas.
Today, we proudly serve over 200 valued clients spanning from California to Australia. Our commitment to excellence has not only helped numerous businesses survive but also thrive in competitive markets. We’re particularly proud that one of our very first clients is still with us today, a testament to our dedication and long-term partnership approach.
In terms of impact, we’ve helped SEO clients increase their online visibility by an average of 150%, leading to substantial growth in their customer base and revenue. Our team is passionate about making a tangible difference, and we’re excited to continue driving success for businesses worldwide.
What skills and other factors helped you stand out and reach these results? How can others build these skills and level up their marketing game?
A blend of technical expertise, adaptability, and a laser focus on our clients’ success. My IT and contracts negotiation background from ALLTEL provided a strong foundation for understanding business operations, which led me to offer innovative web design and marketing solutions that exceed the competition.
Transitioning through various industries—from corporate life to selling high-end boats, running a handyman business, and finally venturing into web design—required adaptability and taught me valuable lessons (sometimes expensive lessons) about different markets and customer behaviors.
Having a client-centric approach has been a cornerstone of our success. By taking the time to understand what our clients’ needs and challenges are, I’ve forged strong partnerships that drive mutual growth. This approach has led to long-term relationships and a robust referral network. I also embrace continuous learning and innovation into my daily routine which has also been crucial for my team and me to stay ahead of industry trends, and deliver more value to our clients.
My 6 tips to all marketers who want to level up level up:
- Embrace change
- Focus on relationships
- Invest in your education
- Develop a growth mindset
- Leverage unique experiences
- Always prioritize quality over quantity
By embracing these approaches, you can enhance your marketing skills and achieve remarkable results.
Success in marketing isn’t just about understanding the latest trends
It’s about combining technical know-how with a genuine commitment to helping clients succeed – that’s the key.
And which ones are you trying to improve now? What makes them so important right now?
We’re continuously focusing on improving our web design techniques and technologies, along with advances in SEO implementations that don’t cost our customers a fortune. Staying ahead in web design and SEO allows us to create websites that are not only visually appealing but also highly functional and user-friendly. By embracing the latest technologies, we ensure that our clients’ websites are fast, secure, and optimized for all devices.
These areas are incredibly important right now because the landscape is evolving rapidly. With increasing competition online (locally and abroad), businesses need cutting-edge local web design firms to stand out and provide exceptional user experiences.
Additionally, successful SEO is crucial for our client’s online visibility, but it shouldn’t break the bank. By developing cost-effective SEO strategies, we help our clients improve their search engine rankings and reach their target audiences without overwhelming expenses.
Investing in these improvements enables us to offer our clients the best possible value. We’re committed to helping businesses grow online by providing top-notch web solutions and affordable SEO services that deliver tangible results.
What have been the 5 most impactful marketing strategies for you so far? What metrics did they move and by how much? Great if you can share an example for each.
- Continuous education and implementation of what we learned
By consistently updating our skills in the latest web design technologies and SEO practices, we’ve been able to offer solutions that keep our clients satisfied and loyal. This commitment to learning has directly resulted in higher client retention and repeat business.
- Listen to the customer’s needs
Actively engaging with our clients and truly understanding their goals, we’ve tailored our services to meet their specific needs. This personalized approach has led to higher satisfaction rates and more referrals, expanding our client base.
- Never try to ‘get rich’ off a few clients, deliver to a broad portfolio of clients
Focusing on a diverse range of clients has not only stabilized our income but also spread risk. This strategy has increased our market reach and led to a more robust and resilient business model.
- Never stop learning and improving
Continuously refining our processes and embracing innovation has made us more efficient. For instance, integrating new project management tools streamlined our workflow, allowing us to complete projects faster without compromising quality. Another improvement is switching to and embracing the WordPress platform for our website and SEO deliverables have been a big hit.
- Stay in control of your infrastructure
Acquiring new customers is way more expensive than keeping the ones you have. And uptime is what retains existing customers. By managing our own infrastructure, we’ve ensured exceptional reliability for our clients’ websites. This high uptime has been crucial in retaining clients—resulting in a 90% client retention rate—since acquiring new customers can be up to five times more expensive than keeping existing ones.
On the flip side, which ones have you tried unsuccessfully? Is there a lesson you learned from each experience?
One strategy we tried unsuccessfully was attempting to start competing brands within the same niche. The idea was to capture more business by offering similar services under different brand names based on price. However, this approach ended up creating confusion within our business and distracted us from improving our core offerings. Both internally and externally, it diluted our focus and led to inefficiencies.
The lesson we learned from this experience is that investing in side-brands in the same niche can actually starve both ventures. Instead of capturing more market share, we found ourselves stretching our resources too thin and not giving our primary brand the attention it needed to thrive. This strategy fragmented our efforts and made it harder to maintain the quality and innovation that our clients expected from us.
Moving forward, we realized the importance of concentrating on our core brand and continuously improving it. By doing so, we’ve been able to enhance our services, strengthen our market position, and provide greater value to our clients without the distractions and pitfalls of managing competing brands.
What’s your process to come up with new, unconventional marketing tactics, and validate them? What are your favorite resources for ideas?
We run extensive competitive research and we talk to others in our industry. Research is the key to innovation. We actively engage with peers within our industry to exchange ideas, discuss emerging trends, and learn from each other’s experiences. This networking allows us to gain diverse perspectives and stay ahead of the curve.
Our favorite resources for ideas include industry forums, webinars, podcasts, and, of course, YouTube channels dedicated to marketing and technology. By combining research with active industry engagement, we continuously refine our strategies to deliver innovative solutions.
YouTube in particular is a real treasure trove of information and inspiration. By watching a variety of content—from thought leadership videos to case studies and tutorials—we expose ourselves to a wide range of strategies and creative concepts from around the world. This helps us think outside the box and adapt ideas from different contexts to our own projects.
To validate new tactics, we often start with small-scale tests to measure their effectiveness before rolling them out more broadly. This iterative approach ensures that we’re not just implementing ideas for the sake of being unconventional but are actually delivering strategies that provide real value to our clients.
Looking ahead, what new trends and technologies are still overlooked but can potentially disrupt the marketing industry? How are you going to adapt?
One of the most potentially disruptive trends in the marketing industry is the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). While AI has been gaining traction, many businesses have yet to fully embrace it. We believe that integrating AI into every facet of our services—from web design to SEO—will keep us ahead of the competition.
AI in web design will be a game changer that helps us improve personalized and dynamic websites. AI-driven design tools can analyze our prompts and optimize layouts, and content placement, resulting in a more engaging and intuitive user experience.
As for SEO, AI helps us move beyond traditional keyword strategies. Machine learning algorithms can now analyze search patterns, user intent, and even voice search queries to provide more accurate and effective optimization paths. This means we can implement targeted SEO strategies that improve our clients’ search engine rankings without incurring excessive costs. AI also aids in automating routine tasks, allowing our team to focus on strategic initiatives that drive growth.
To wrap up, if you had to share one marketing tip that goes against the grain, what would it be?
Keep your dream alive and don’t chase money—focus on delivering high-value services to your clients. We made this mistake.
The pursuit of quick profits can and will overshadow your value; staying true to your vision can set you apart. Chasing money may bring short-term gains, but it can also lead you away from your core purpose and dilute the quality of your work (we know, we tried it).
By concentrating on providing exceptional value and nurturing relationships with your clients, you create a solid foundation for sustained success.
When you prioritize delivering high-quality services, the financial rewards become a natural outcome of your efforts. This approach not only enhances client satisfaction and loyalty but also fuels your passion and commitment to your craft. In the long run, keeping your dream alive and serving your clients wholeheartedly will lead to greater fulfillment and a more prosperous business.
How can our readers connect with you?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/web-jive
X: https://x.com/webjive
