Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Enge.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My career started in software development then while at Phoenix Technology I moved into marketing/business development. While at Phoenix I worked with two excellent mentors in Ron Fisher and Jack Kay.
Stone Temple was actually founded in 1997 as a corporate shell for a personal consulting business offering business development, after leaving Phoenix.
However, in 2002, I started a biz dev project for a friend of mine that had taken over as CEO of a web site that sold DVDs on the web. After a month or two, I went to him and said: “instead of doing biz dev deals, I think we should figure out how to get traffic from search engines”. Like a good CEO he looked back at me and said “good idea Eric, go make it happen.” So, I did, and a year later they were doing several million dollars in sales from Google. That caused me to step back and say to myself: “maybe I should do some more of this kind of work.” And, so, my career in SEO began.
I learned more about SEO by starting and selling several education lead generation companies. Until 2010, I did some SEO consulting work through Stone Temple, but my primary focus was on the education lead-gen web sites, and using SEO to grow them.
Other interesting personal facts:
- 1984 Foosball World Champion
- Avid Patriot’s fan
- Plays basketball twice a week.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There are some big changes that happen when companies grow from $2 to $10 million in revenue in 6 years. The company constantly needs to review and evolve its process and procedures. Change is often hard for individuals which makes it hard on the company. Communication and training is critical during periods of change, we have made a significant investment in both.
And, for an entrepreneur like me, it’s critical to recognize my weaknesses, and where I need help. We have brought in a lot of talented and accomplished people for the management team, including Elizabeth Dill, our COO, who manages the operations of the company, three very strong VPs, and four very strong directors that do enormously good work for us. They have made dealing with changes much easier.
Our mix of clients can also be challenging. We deal with fortune 100’s to small companies with an entrepreneur of their own. The type of service required can vary with the type of client and engagement. We have worked hard to provide professional service and a unique program to both the small and large clients.
But, all in all, it’s been a good ride for us so far.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Stone Temple Consulting – what should we know?
In 2006, Stone Temple became a SEO consulting firm. We hired part time consultants to manage client SEO. The business and industry were in its infancy.
In 2011, Stone Temple became my full-time pursuit. By the time this started, we were about 12 or so people, but the growth of the employee base (and our revenue) started in earnest at this point. This is when we started to think of ourselves as an agency. Since then, we’ve grown to about 65 employees, and we also have more than 100 people who work with us under various types of contracts. We have a diverse client based representing an array of market sectors, including many Fortune 500 companies.
We have won many industry awards (such as Best Large SEO Agency in 2016 from the US Search Awards), and I was named Search Personality of the Year in 2016 by the US Search Awards, and Search Marketer of the Year (Male) by the Search Engine Land Landys awards. We have also been listed on the Inc’s 5000 fastest growing private companies for the last two years.
We offer digital marketing services, which include content marketing, SEO and social media services. The goal of all these services is helping our clients grow faster, and to beat their competition. We leverage our in-depth industry expertise and our proprietary tools to produce results that drive their success.
For the best results, we design a digital marketing program with a combination of our services customized to the client’s unique challenges and opportunities, market position and business goals. No one-size-fits-all solutions here. Our services are led by our expert consultants and backed by the entire award-winning Stone Temple team.
Our Digital Marketing Services will help clients:
Expand brand awareness.
Increase qualified organic search volume.
Improve social presence.
Lead to more targeted conversions.
We are also very well known for our market studies. You can see a list of those here:
https://www.stonetemple.com/our-research/
Our research has been covered in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, NBC News, The Daily Mail, CNet, ZDNet, and many other prominent journals.
There are a few things that we’re proud of:
1. The outstanding team of people that we’ve built.
2. Our track record of success with our clients.
3. The depth and quality of our research.
4. That the industry has recognized us as influencers – through recognition of our research articles and invitation to speak, and train
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Our COO, Elizabeth Dill, who manages all the operations of the company, and has made it possible for me to stay focused on marketing, selling and understanding where the industry is headed.
We have set up an incredible senior management team including:
Cynthia Bowab – manages marketing and is lead executive on several of our larger clients.
Kami Hess – manages our people, training and scheduling.
Eve Sangenito – manages our client services and leads the content marketing engagements.
Anne Brady – manages our FIO (Finance and Internal Operations) Team
Rob Pirozzi – manages business development and client contract negotiations.
Mats Tolander – manages the Tools development team and leads technical accounts.
Mark Traphagen – is a leader in social media and speaks at many industry conferences
Our Marketing Consultants, Associates and Assistants are all significantly important to our client success. The Marketing Department allows us the develop our ground-breaking research and content marketing. The Tools, Administration and FIO groups support our client facing employees. Our incredible team enables us to deliver great services to our clients.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4 California Ave
Framingham, MA - Website: https://www.stonetemple.com
- Phone: (508) 879-0995
- Email: sales@stonetemple.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stonetempleconsulting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StoneTempleConsulting/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/stc_corp?lang=en
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stone-temple-consulting
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