For any business, sustenance, success, and future planning depends a lot on their revenues. Its importance has risen even further after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Countering it required some drastic measures as changes happened both in terms of production and sales. The evolution in consumer behavior has also affected revenue generation, a lack of which has forced several companies to declare themselves bankrupt and many are now on the brink of a complete collapse.
But the scenario is different for those who have promoted their products or services through effective marketing strategies even after suffering an initial setback in the early phases of the pandemic.
Charles Anderson, the CEO of GAT Marketing, is aware of this. In fact, his ability to see through his clients’ pain points and draw strategies accordingly to ensure growth has helped him provide a firm foundation to his company. However, this is something that had cost him pain-staking hours and many failures.
The Early Days
Charles Anderson never started the venture with a clear-cut idea about setting a marketing company. It evolved into one. He started the platform to document his growth as a competitive shooter and he began posting on social media. The blog impacted the right nodes and it grew from a personal level to a regional and then national level.
This growth grabbed the eyes of the right people who started to notice Charles and his peers’ expertise in email, SEO, AdWords, social and other digital platforms. In no time, the company took off and became the fastest growing agency in its segment. But this initial success triggered some unforeseen troubles.
The initial success inspired a tremendous word of mouth campaign, which led to organic growth. However, this growth was so rapid that keeping up with its momentum without the right people became next to impossible. This inspired Charles to take some radical steps. He had to hire the right people to ensure that the growth they were witnessing stayed on track. To strengthen his team further, he started evaluating team members who could become leaders and manage teams.
While taking all these measured steps, he never compromised with his commitment to deliver excellent results, manage over 2414% growth with employee retention and ensure their corporate culture adoption.
Experience So Far
Charles’ involvement with several companies’ marketing aspects had introduced him to some of the greatest business minds from myriad industries. He believes that the growth he is experiencing now is an outcome of these minds shaping his views and his ability to capitalize on opportunities.
In the ’90s, when Charles was in his graduating school, he got to see the early phase of internet adoption. The following years helped him with insights about how people and businesses were adopting it and what changes the internet had on the people. However, the last two decades have been entirely different as industries were experiencing a sea of change. These gave him scope to experience technological evolution at close quarters.
Charles had to face failures in his early ventures, but he sees them as stepping stones as they got him closer to the success he has now. His marketing experience is a perfect blend of traditional media and digital platform, and it has shaped his views as a businessman.
The Work Culture
GAT’s initial days witnessed its culture getting influenced by the shared interest in the 2nd amendment and shooting sports. It also received some backing from a general enthusiasm for the outdoors. Then, as the company started to grow, Charles and his team members began searching for individuals with a broader interest in marketing. This was to address the interests generated by a growing marketspace of women and minority consumers. Their segments as new purchasers were then registering a substantial rise.
The efforts Charles Anderson and his colleagues have put in to ensure the industry’s growth while creating returns for clients have helped them outdo their competitors. These efforts are no longer a part of their job role, rather it has seamlessly blended with their lifestyle.
Roadblocks Experienced
It is never possible to be a jack of all trades and master of all. To be a successful entrepreneur, it is better to identify strengths and weaknesses first to chart the future course. Charles did the same when he identified his weaknesses and tried to hire people who are strong in those aspects to compensate for the deficiency.
But what misfired is his attempts to bootstrap funding. He waited for his funds to increase and support his moves of hiring the right person. However, in doing so, he lost many growth opportunities. In addition, Charles struggled with his efforts “to revolutionize a very conservative market that was heavily reliant on print and Radio” they spent more time educating people than selling them the idea of what the company could do for them.
Plans for the Future
In the near future, GAT Marketing is expecting a merger to happen to increase the technology stack and supplement the team with experienced, like-minded marketers. The company has its focus set on mapping the changes happening in the digital sector and social media as these will have a profound effect on its clients. It will also help them in taking advantage of upcoming platforms and expand their impact radius.
Charles Anderson is now planning to set the course right for the company and ensure it stays on its growth track. His ultimate goal is at some point to hire a CEO and sit on advisory and board positions to help mentor and guide other CEOs and companies. This move is a by-product of his belief that to build a legacy, it is important to share stories of failures and successes with other business owners.
On Leadership
A leader plays a crucial role in steering a company forward. That is one thing that has not changed since the early days of teamwork. But what has changed is the definition of a leader. As Charles mentions, a leader is no longer a person “who knows everything, almost appears as royalty, unapproachable and almost mythic.” That view has changed substantially as workplaces now value an “employee’s experience as the asset.”
Charles’ definition of a modern leader finds it imperative for “leaders to have a working knowledge of what team members are working on, how they are working with clients or projects and both motivating them while absorbing their knowledge.”
He believes that a true leader should know about what is happening in the company each day. He should be a part of the team, working meetings, discussing sales calls, etc. At least, that is how Charles Anderson prefers to work or run things in his company. But as a company grows, such things become complicated.
“If you’re going to lead and inspire your team, there needs to be a feeling of shared struggles.” It is his belief and he does that by having one-on-one interaction with his mates, which ultimately ensures sound health of the staff.
