Attracting the Right Audience: Q&A With Michael Peggs of Marccx Media

YEC Next
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 12:46:17 +0000

Michael Peggs, Founder, Marccx Media

Mini Bio

Michael Peggs is the founder of Marccx Media, a digital marketing agency specializing in search engine optimization and content marketing.

Name: Michael Peggs

Title: Founder

Company: Marccx Media

Years in business: 3

Business location: New York City

Number of employees: 3

Chief product: SEO services

Website: marccx.com

First of all, how is business these days?

Business is going great. I don't mean to sound cliché, but there’s always a new challenge on the horizon, and that’s what keeps it interesting. Most recently, we partnered with an advertising agency to provide Facebook advertising services to their clients. Learning how to integrate our teams, tools, and processes has been interesting. With each opportunity comes a new lesson, and it’s all about learning.

What led you to start your own business?

I worked at Google for a number of years, and I was always interested in digital marketing and search engine optimization in particular. I asked a lot of people, inside and outside of Google, how search works, and I got a lot of co ntradictory information. When I couldn’t get a clear answer, I figured it out on my own, and that was the beginning of Marccx Media.

What sources did you use for startup capital?

As a service business first and foremost, it’s difficult to find capital from traditional sources like banks or investors. I started my business the old-fashioned way, saving money from my 9-to-5 to start up, and fundraising until Marccx Media was self-sustaining.

What do you think is your biggest business strength?

We are experts at search. Google’s algorithm is complex—there are more than 250 factors that rank one website over another, and those factors change by some accounts on a daily basis. Given my time at Google, we know search from the inside out, and that insight has proved to be invaluable.

What do you enjoy most about owning your own business?

Outside of the freedom and flexibility that come with entrepreneurship, I love our clients. I interact with a lot of fellow founders, and learning their stories is inspiring. I see so many industries and types of business—you rarely have that level of exposure outside of consulting, and even then it's very high-level. We’re the engine driving traffic to our clients, and I find the data around marketing campaigns, website analytics, and sales performance to be fascinating.

What’s your least favorite part of running a business?

There are no days off; especially in the beginning, you’re working every single day. It can become difficult to distinguish working hours from personal hours since you’re always "on." I’ve had to learn how to take the time to recharge and renew—you can only push yourself so hard for so long!

What do you think are important entrepreneurial skills to have?

Outside of an incredible work ethic and determination that defies all explanation, emotional intelligence is key. Understanding yourself, your team, and clients can only enhance the empathy and understanding you bring to your work. After all, we’re all in the people business, and EQ is all about how you understand and relate to other people.

What are some challenges you’ve faced in business and how did you overcome them?

My earliest challenge was securing my first paying client. One of my friends always reminded me it’s easier to go from zero to one than one to two. My trick was to be everywhere. I gave free seminars on digital marketing, attended every networking event I could find, and provided free audits to websites big and small. It’s about building brand awareness as you establish your authority, and I put myself out there way before Marccx Media could be considered a real company.

What do you wish you’d known before you started out?

Pace yourself. I ran track in high school, and as a long distance runner, I knew life was a marathon and not a sprint. It will take you longer, cost you more, and you’ll earn less than you expect. Make progress at your own pace.

What is the smartest move you have made with your business so far?

In the beginning, I was tempted to outsource our core competency until I was fully confident in our ability to rank websites at the top of Google. I lost my first few customers sooner than I thought. Doing the work myself is the only way to discover all the intricacies of my business. I’ve never asked anyone on my team to do what I haven’t done, and I’ve done it all. It’s the only way to build a business from the ground up—get your hands dirty!

How do you find new customers? What do you do to make sure they become return customers?

Even as a digital marketing company, most of our clients come from word of mouth. At the end of the day, most products we manufacture or services we offer are commodities. I believe that customer service is the only true way to differentiate your business. The best way to drive new business and grow existing accounts is to do right by your customers and keep the channels of communication open.

What’s your management style with employees?

I hire really smart people and let them get to work on their own. I believe we should all own our work and feel responsible for the outcome. It’s about intrapreneurship and creating a culture where my team feels empowered to take risks, innovate, fail ,and succeed on the terms set by each individual. Everything won’t always go right, but we’re here to pick up the pieces together and figure out how to be better.

What are some other companies or entrepreneurs you admire, and why?

My parents are both entrepreneurs, and I admire their grit. While my dad went to business school, he did not have the career path of a traditional MBA, and my mother majored in psychology in college. They learned everything on-the-job, and never hid the highs and lows of entrepreneurship from my sister and me. They both did very well in life, and their example is what fueled my early ambitions.

Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?

“If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.”―Mario Andretti

You have to continually innovate and challenge yourself in new ways. We recently began launching owned and operated websites, like EZsitebuilders.com, to test new digital marketing strategies before introducing them to our clients. Innovation requires a willingness to fail fast and fail forward, and our O&O websites allow us to do just that.

What new initiatives are you working on?

Our core business is search—both organic and paid search. We’re starting to make inroads in social media marketing and continuing to grow our content marketing division, which includes the planning, production, and promotion of video. Video will play a larger role in how we grow and engage online audiences, and we’re preparing for that shift in content consumption.

What advice would you give to someone hoping to start a business similar to yours?

Become an expert at one thing. Learn your craft and share your insights with enough people to grow your authority. We hire, make deals with, and trust experts, and the only way to win that first customer is to lead with your credibility. What makes you number one?