North Star featured in Providence Business NewsAugust 13, 2007
Small firm’s best ideas have started as ways to reach its own clientele By Natalie Myers, PBN Staff Writer
April Williams started North Star Marketing Inc. with a computer, a phone and a few credit cards, which she maxed out to finance the startup.
Ten years later, she is managing an office of eight and looking to hire a ninth employee. In February, the office moved from a 915-square-foot space to a 2,100-square-foot space to accommodate the growing staff.
And as for revenue growth, “2006 was off the charts for us,” Williams said. “I think part of it has to do with being in business long enough that people start to know you.”
North Star’s growth also could be attributed to innovative marketing tools, such as its trademarked World’s Smallest Newsletter, which comes in sizes ranging from 4-by-6 inches up to 6-by-11 inches.
The newsletter was created in 2002, another big revenue year for the company, in response to the staff being so busy with accounts that they weren’t finding time to network – so people were starting to think the company had gone out of business.
Williams told her team they had to think of a way to get North Star’s name in front of people on a regular basis, so her team compiled a database of 4,000 people. Williams decided to develop the postcard-sized newsletter because she loves newsletters but never has time to read them.
“This newsletter was created so that people could read it in two minutes or less,” she said.
Since 2002, the quarterly newsletter has been a huge success for North Star. It brings in 90 percent of the company’s new business. And it is a successful tool for North Star’s clients, who purchase the rights to use the newsletter to communicate with their clients.
In addition, the newsletter was cited in Fast Company magazine as being “one of the best examples of marketing they’ve ever seen,” Williams said. And North Star won the American Marketing Association’s Gem Award for the newsletter.
North Star also offers its Friday Afternoon Email Survey to clients through a proprietary technology, eGlue, which the company created with a local technology firm.
The survey was created after Sept. 11, 2001, when North Star saw its business decline immediately. In an effort to keep a dialogue flowing with existing clients, North Star sent out an e-mail survey on a Friday afternoon, and within 30 minutes, hundreds responded.
The company realized what a powerful tool it was in maintaining relationships with clients, and it now offers eGlue as a product for clients as well.
“We are probably the only firm in Rhode Island that truly embraces e-mail marketing as one of the core competencies you should have when you are marketing,” she said.
Williams also makes a point of offering her clientele – which includes startups and Fortune 100 companies alike – a “team approach” to their accounts, so the people they meet with are the people actually doing the work. It provides “huge value,” she said.
In the new space, Williams designed a brainstorming room that includes a full-wall chalkboard, comfortable lounge-like chairs, a rug and a large paper lantern, for soft lighting.
Williams also arranges for a personal trainer to come in and work out with her and her staff twice a week. She attributes the company’s ability to attract well-qualified, senior-level people to the flexible and “fun” work environment, which motivates her staff to do its best work.
“We all could go back into corporate America,” she said. “[Where we could] work longer hours, feel less motivated, but probably make more money.” Williams’s own career started in the corporate world.
She was an investment broker and then a money manager, but she devised marketing strategies for both companies. She started the marketing company because “I loved marketing,” plus she was a single mom at the time and wanted to spend more time with her children. Williams said another aspect of North Star’s success comes from a willingness to turn business away when the needs of a client don’t match the competencies of her team.
“I think the challenge is in making a decision whether you are going to be one-stop shopping … or are you going to focus on what you’re good at?” she said. “We made the decision to focus on what we’re good at.”
Sometimes that means turning a client away, she said, which takes courage. But it’s worth it for Williams, because “if you do things you’re not good at, you’re not going to win in the end.” << Back to News |
