Modernizing Marketing for Blue Collar Businesses | Matt Malone from Gravitate Design

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition. Online Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments with relevant micro experiences, experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more. Stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Matt from Gravitate, VP of growth with them. How are you doing today, Matt?

Matt Malone: Great. Ernesto, nice to meet you. Good to be here.

Ernesto: Nice to meet you as well. Thank you so much for being on with us today. And, well, I’m sure our listeners are tuning in, wondering what Gravitate is all about, so let’s kick it off with that. Matt, in your own words, can you tell us a little bit more?

Matt: Yeah, Gravitate is interesting because it’s a full-service digital marketing agency that started in 1999. I didn’t come on board until about ten years later. But I have a lot of respect for the founders because if you think about the internet space, marketing, web design, so you had the dot-com bust, you had the housing recession. There were a lot of things that were overcoming for them to have a good foundation to keep the business going. I have a lot of respect for that. So since then, I’ve been able to start the digital marketing department. And right now, like our ICP, we’re really focused on just helping blue-collar businesses modernize their marketing strategies. So, like manufacturing and industrial supply, to be specific.

Ernesto: Okay, perfect. Awesome. And so that way, our listeners could get a good understanding of Gravitate. What would you say then, is that key problem that you guys like to solve for clients?

Matt: So when I. Let’s picture a sales call. One of the things I try to extract from any kind of prospect or company I’m helping is just to tell me about their history. Where have you been getting your leads, what’s been working, what hasn’t been working? So that I can start to identify their pain points, maybe agitate those, but really figure out, like, look, as our services, where do we come in? Where can we actually be of service? So I say, okay, we found out where you’re getting your leads. Once you get a lead, how is your website helping to convert those leads? Is it a waste? Is it working? What do you know? Your conversion rates are using custom landing pages. Go through some process, and then I talk through. Now, if you’re getting leads, you’re converting leads, how are you scaling those leads? So I just ask them questions like, do you know your lifetime value of a customer? What is your churn? Or how long do they stay with you? Just questions to really get them thinking. So I can say, okay, if I can help you contribute, basically, I’m finding the value of one client, one lead, one customer. So I could say, I know one customer is worth $100,000 or $5,000, whatever it is. I can now put together, like, an actual strategy and a plan for you that I can be positive, not positive, I can be very confident that actually delivers either ROAS or an ROI for their investment, because that’s one of the biggest focuses is like, I want them to stay with us a long time, and if we don’t deliver any kind of ROI, that’s not going to happen. So that’s where I kind of drive the conversation.

Ernesto: I think that’s super important at the end, right? They don’t see that ROI. It’s kind of like, all right, what’s going on? So, and, I mean, you did mention a couple of verticals earlier, but is there an ideal ICP that you’d like to go for?

Matt: Yeah. So having 24 years of history, you’ve gone through, you’ve experimented, and you’ve had a couple of different verticals over time. I’ll say in the last ten years, the strongest verticals actually been the startup B2B SaaS space, Silicon Valley area. We were a preferred vendor with Sequoia Capital. We did very well in that space, even though it was a bit more difficult working with clients that are going through a Series B stage in particular, helping them ramp up to the next level and eventually IPO. That’s great for us because they’re very aggressive with marketing because they want to grow. So last year, 2023, there was a bit of a recession. In that particular vertical, there was a lot of pullback. People were hanging onto their money, so we had to pivot a little bit. Luckily, our other vertical is almost the complete opposite. So blue-collar manufacturing industry, it’s a bit more evergreen, a little less shaky like a startup. So we kind of doubled down on that and that’s where all of our focus is for our outbound, our paid ads, our SEO, and content right now. And so that’s where our focus is and that’s been going pretty well.

Ernesto: Awesome, man. Great to hear that there from Gravitate. And so then how would somebody usually find out about you guys? Is there a top client acquisition channel for you?

Matt: SEO is still the strongest. They have a high domain rating. The website itself does a great job of just ranking well our landing pages. Everything has done well historically, but over time, the landscape of SEO is changing too. That’s another reason we’re like, no, we got to bring on an outbound team. Referrals are great, but referrals are a great channel if that’s all you got. So we’re really trying to get more of these referral source kind of tranches in place. But I will say historically SEO had been very strong for us.

Ernesto: Definitely. Okay, awesome, great to hear that. And so that way our listeners who are tuned in could go ahead and visit you guys. They could always check you out at gravitatedesign.com. I mean, you’re talking about some CRO there, but what does the website play for you guys as far as some website lead generation?

Matt: Yeah, so gravitatedesign.com, if you check it out, it’s a beautiful site. It does a great job of just showing. Here’s the kind of work we do. Here’s the services we provide. Here are a lot of examples of our success at that. We really try to lead with our case studies, statistics, testimonials, results, and kind of let those do the heavy lifting. But we offer. So in digital marketing, we focus on SEO, paid ads, paid social. There’s a lot of stuff that we don’t do and we’re very clear about that. But on the other side, we still do web design, development, maintenance, and hosting. So I can have a very holistic plan for somebody. And the website just helps really communicate that.

Ernesto: Definitely. On that note then, is there any tools or tips or methods that you would recommend to our listeners as far as some website lead generation?

Matt: I mean, content is huge. Content is really big. Like I said, for us because it’s been so SEO focused. We’ve seen that work really well, but sometimes we work with companies that just have no chance of ranking. They’re not going to compete in that organic landscape. So we have to look at other channels, like what can we do with paid social or paid ads to then fill that funnel and have people come in maybe at the middle or bottom of the funnel because some of that brand awareness hype funnel stuff just isn’t going to be the play. Outside of that, we use the whole Google marketing suite. So we use Looker Studio, Analytics, GTM. I might tie in Hotjar so I can really see heat maps and see how people are actually interacting with our sites. And then we also use HubSpot as a CRM. But basically, we do use these tools out there to make sure we have quantifiable data to show that something’s working or not working. And don’t just leave it to any kind of feelings or gut instinct. And I always talk about the cold, hard data.

Ernesto: And that’s always important, right? I think, the more data we have, the better it’s going to be in order to understand and create new plans. So awesome to hear that from you, Matt. And, well, let’s switch gears a little bit, Matt, and let’s talk about you as a leader, you being the VP of growth there for Gravitate. I mean, tons of experience, more than 14 years already there. With Gravitate, what are some key tasks you like to focus on in your day-to-day work?

Matt: So, yeah, so as the growth VP, I look at growth as not just marketing, but I work with our sales team to grow sales channels. I work with account managers to grow retention and upsells. I work with finance. Like, I really look at like, profitability. How can we be more efficient? Are there things we can productize? So for me, it’s a lot of like team leadership, just communicating with exec teams, and being available for sales scoping. Ah. And calls like that.

Ernesto: Okay. All right. And in between times, then, how do you stay up to date with all the marketing, news, trends, strategies? Is there a preferred channel that you like to go with?

Matt: You know, historically, I got a lot from blogs. Right. I read as much as I could and then podcasts came in. I listened to as much as I could. But the last six or seven years, it’s really been about, I think, agency ownership, the leadership side of things. And for me, the best education and just, kind of mentorship I got from that was just being in actual communities. So even coaching programs are just masterminds, like-minded communities, talking to people who are just a little bit above you, who have been where you are, that that’s giving me the fastest leg up.

Ernesto: Definitely. I would agree. Right. I think. And it’s breaking that barrier, you know? I mean, some people might think it’s an ego thing, but, I mean, if you just go and ask, there’s a lot of leaders out there that are willing to help. So definitely some important information there.

Matt: Yeah, I’m actually heading to Austin next week to meet with about 30 agency owners. And just be a sponge.

Ernesto: Exactly. And everybody, I mean, probably, you know, 90% of things that they might say is probably, you already know, but that just, like, one little thing does change a lot. So definitely it’s all it takes. Well, let’s jump into our next section then, here, Matt, which is our rapid fire question rounds. Are you ready?

Matt: Let’s do it.

Ernesto: All right, perfect. Awesome. First off, then, Matt, is, what is the last book that you read?

Matt: The very last book I read is, I think it’s called Corporate Turnaround Artistry, by Jeff Sands. And it was either that or $100 Million Leads from Alex Hormozi, both very good, but for different reasons. I was getting into researching distressed businesses, and that corporate turnaround was really interesting. It’s like how to turn around any business in 100 days. So that was good, especially during the time where we were seeing this huge recession in the tech space, and it’s like, oh, we need to do a bit of a turnaround slash pivot ourselves. Let’s start actually applying this. I would say what helped the most, and the things I go back to are The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber and Traction by Gino Wickman. It’s almost, people say that all the time, but I go back to those books like a holy bible because the frameworks in those I’ve been able to apply to my own businesses, to gravitate to helping other companies. And it’s valuable, definitely. All right, great.

Ernesto: Great read there for our listeners. Next then, is if there would be no boundaries in technology, would be that one thing that you want to have fixed for your role as a marketer?

Matt: A few things. I think the thing around lead generation is a big one. Like, having just true, like, omnipresence. There’s so many channels, and there’s so many places to be. That’s why ICPs are so good. Like, really knowing your ideal client. Like, where do they hang out? How can I get in front of them? What podcasts do they listen to? What trade shows did they attend? That helps a lot. But I think there’s probably, like, more technology, that would be available. And then on the back of that is the attribution to tie all that together to let you see that whole journey across all these different platforms and devices and locations. That’s always been a challenge.

Ernesto: Right. So that’s interesting. Perfect. Next, then is if there’s one repetitive task that you could automate, what would that be?

Matt: Not a lot of repetitive tasks in my day to day anymore that I don’t want to do because I need to have that information in my head. But there’s things I don’t want to do, for example, like firing people. It’s not that I have to do that too much, but if there was a way to not have to do that, I’d be great. That takes an emotional resilience I don’t enjoy.

Ernesto: All right, awesome. Great to hear that from you, Matt. And, well, lastly, I mean, you have tons of experience already in that marketing world, but what is that one piece of advice that you would give yourself if you were to restart your journey as a marketer today?

Matt: I thought about this. So for me, I think it’s just, like, waiting too long to bet on myself. Like, I. My history as a student, I worked at Gravitate as a specialist and then a director for about seven years. And I’m the guy when we go out to lunch or we’re hanging out, we’re talking about business ideas. Like, oh, we can do this, we can do that. But it’s like, it’s always too scary to start. And then in, like, 2016, I just finally started one, and part-time until I got enough money to leave the agency full-time. Like, doubled and tripled my salary within the first one to two years. So I was, like, kicking myself, just believe in yourself. Do it faster. But through that, yeah. So I built that agency, and then I actually sold it to Gravitate in 2022. So that’s, like, a homecoming. So now I’m back. Just, like, take the risk, go on the journey. And even if it’s full circle, you come back a lot wiser.

Ernesto: I would agree. Right. And just want to complete that circle. I mean, you have to pick something up, right? So, awesome. Awesome. Hey. Well, Matt, it’s been a pleasure to have you on the show with us today, but before we do end, I do want to give you the last word. So, say someone forgets everything about the interview today. What is that one thing they should remember about Gravitate?

Matt: The biggest thing about Gravitate is results. First, I would say revenue over rankings because a lot of agencies are, they don’t communicate or deliver results like they promise on sales calls. And so for us, I really lead everything with the data and I have these biweekly alignment calls with clients. And I’m always going back to what’s the KPI? How does it, like actually contribute to your revenue, your top or bottom line? But we need to be talking about the efforts we’re doing and how does that impact your revenue? If I keep that the focus, my team does the right work, gets the right results, and the client’s much happier and again stays with us longer. That’s the whole point.

Ernesto: And that’s important. Hey. Well, Matt, thank you so much for being on. To our listeners, check them out at gravitatedesign.com. It’s time to modernize your marketing. Matt, appreciate you being on with us today and to our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in and I’m looking forward to our next episode at Pathmonk Presents. Thanks a lot, Matt.

Matt: Thanks, Ernesto.