Simplifying Compliance Tasks for Companies | Alise Houserman from Points North

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 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 an extra 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us out at pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Alise from Points North, director of marketing with them. How are you doing today, Alise?

Alise Houserman: I’m doing great, Ernesto. Thanks so much for having me.

Ernesto: Thank you so much for being on with us today. Well, Alise, I’m sure our listeners are tuning in wondering what Points North is all about. So, let’s kick it off with that. In your own words, can you tell us a little bit more?

Alise: Yeah, I’d be happy to. So, Points North is really a compliance-based software company. We have two main products. One focuses on government-funded work, helping automate the process of prevailing wage compliance. We automate both the pre-payroll tasks like rate management, rate validation, and everything around fringes, as well as the post-payroll reporting. This includes filling out and submitting those prevailing wage reports, which is awesome.

Our other product is ACA Reporter, which helps with the Affordable Care Act. For any company with 50 or more full-time employees, they are required to offer healthcare and submit reporting to the IRS. We provide dashboards to track all of that and automate and support filing for the ACA. Those are our two main products.

Ernesto: Yeah, definitely. So, with that in mind, what is the key problem that Points North solves?

Alise: The big problem we solve, really for both products, is automating traditionally manual tasks regarding compliance. For example, for certified payroll reporting, the Department of Labor says it takes about 55 minutes on average for one report to be filled out for five employees. Companies doing 5, 10, or even 100 projects weekly can end up needing a full team just for those reports. Similarly, for the IRS filings under the Affordable Care Act, it’s a very manual process to organize and submit healthcare enrollment data. We automate these processes, saving significant time and costs.

Ernesto: Definitely. So, is there a particular vertical or segment you target? What’s your ideal customer profile?

Alise: Absolutely. For certified payroll reporting, our primary market is construction. However, over the past few years, we’ve seen a lot of growth in government-funded green energy projects—solar companies, wind companies, EV battery companies, and manufacturing, like semiconductors. These are all tied to the Infrastructure Act.

For ACA Reporter, our audience is any company with variable-hour employees. This includes home healthcare companies, restaurants, and car dealerships—basically, any organization with 50 or more employees working varying hours.

Ernesto: Got it. So, for those listening, they can check you out at pointsnorth.com. What role does your website play in client acquisition?

Alise: It plays a huge role. We actually have three websites: pointsnorth.com, certifiedpayrollreporting.com, and acareporter.com. If you’re looking for thought leadership or product-specific understanding, I recommend our product sites. Across the board, these websites are our primary driver of inbound acquisition, where clients and prospects find us.

Ernesto: That’s great to know. Do you have any tools or strategies you recommend for website lead generation?

Alise: From a strategic perspective, we rely on an SEO vendor to help with the technical and day-to-day optimization for our three websites. It’s crucial, especially for a small team like ours, to have a partner who can track Google trends and adjust accordingly.

For tools, I highly recommend Keywords Everywhere. It’s a browser extension that provides insights into keyword search volume and competition, making it easier to optimize our strategy. We also use HubSpot for our CMS, which has fantastic tools for inbound traffic analytics.

Ernesto: Definitely. Thank you for sharing that, Alise. Let’s switch gears a bit. What are some key tasks you focus on as the director of marketing?

Alise: A significant part of my role involves working with our partners, especially payroll integration partners, to strategize and support their clients. I also balance strategy with execution—writing and editing email copy one day and planning for the next quarter the next day. Collaborating with our sales, implementation, and support teams is also vital to gather insights for case studies, blogs, and white papers.

Ernesto: That’s insightful. How do you stay updated on marketing trends and strategies?

Alise: I’m a big fan of LinkedIn. I follow thought leaders, participate in LinkedIn Learning sessions, and attend one or two events annually. These events are great for discovering new tools and innovative ideas, especially from emerging companies.

Ernesto: That’s fantastic. Now, let’s dive into our rapid-fire round. Are you ready?

Alise: I hope so!

Ernesto: First, what’s the last book you read?

Alise: I just reread The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. It’s one of my favorite memoirs, and I try to read it once a year.

Ernesto: Great choice! What’s one thing your company is focusing on right now?

Alise: We’re looking into the next generation of our product capabilities for 2025 and beyond.

Ernesto: If technology had no boundaries, what’s one thing you’d want for your role?

Alise: A unified dashboard to track the customer lifecycle from the first website visit to becoming and staying a client, with granular insights.

Ernesto: What’s one repetitive task you’d automate?

Alise: Automating our lead flow from various sources into our CRM.

Ernesto: Great answers! Finally, what advice would you give to your younger self as a marketer?

Alise: Don’t put guardrails on what marketing can do. It’s more than just writing copy—it’s about strategy, data, and experimentation.

Ernesto: That’s fantastic advice. Lastly, if listeners remember one thing about Points North, what should it be?

Alise: If you have compliance-related needs, especially with the government, we can help automate and streamline the process.

Ernesto: Thank you so much for being with us today, Alise. To our listeners, check out Points North at pointsnorth.com. Looking forward to our next episode here at Pathmonk Presents.

Alise: Thanks, Ernesto!