At MaassMedia, they see and crunch data all the time
Center City e-marketing analytics firm helps clients by collecting and analyzing data about their customers so they can betterconnect with and market to them.
AARON MAASS, 41, of Rittenhouse Square, is CEO of MaassMedia, a Center City digital-analytics consulting firm. MaassMedia has helped some of the world's largest companies improve online customer experience, enhance e-marketing initiatives and generate incremental revenue via the Web. The firm ranked No. 29 on the 2014 Inner City 100 list of fastest-growing urban firms.
Q: How'd you come up with the idea for MaassMedia?
A: I'd been working in e-commerce at comcast.com and left in 2008 as part of a downsizing. But I left as a one-person consulting firm with a contract from Comcast Business for $200,000.
Q: What's the biz do?
A: We help clients who market online learn more about their customers, what they're buying, why they're buying and how you get them to buy more. We have no proprietary software. We're subject-matter experts in using software to help our clients.
Q: The biz model?
A: Most clients pay a monthly retainer. It varies based on resources you need or how big the project is. We price things by the hour.
Q: A typical project?
A: It's a comprehensive assessment of a company's digital-analytics capabilities. Are they tracking everything about customer behavior on their website? Do they know who their best customers are? A typical project costs $10,000 to $12,000.
Q: Some clients?
A: We do all mobile analytics for ESPN. They have 20 mobile applications that are supported on multiple devices and they track everything their customers interact with. We help implement that mobile tracking software. Lenovo, the PC manufacturer, is another. We do email-campaign analysis for them. Comcast Business is our biggest client.
Q: With whom do you compete and what's the value proposition?
A: All our clients use one of four analytic-software platforms: Google, Adobe, IBM or Webtrends. They also sell professional services. A lot of our clients start using those services, become disappointed and come to us. We are more involved in their business, have experience with multiple platforms and are 100 percent focused on analytics.
Q: Biggest challenge?
A: There's a gap in demand for analytics and supply of talent with a knack for marketing and analytics. I look for curious people who ask good questions.
Q: How big a biz?
A: We'll be at $2 million in revenue and 16 employees by the end of this year.
Q: What's ahead?
A: I want to be the country's premier marketing-analytics advisory firm.
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