By Matt Booth
Connectivity CEO
Inc. magazine recently announced its annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, and I’m proud to say that Connectivity debuted on the list at No. 902. Not only did we break the top 1000 threshold with our first appearance on the list, but Connectivity also ranked third among Los Angeles software companies.
Receiving Inc.’s recognition is a big win for all of the effort our company has put forth over the past few years. Every employee and every department deserves to be recognized for making Connectivity stand out among tens of thousands of companies.
Here are a few thoughts about what contributed to our making the list, and why I think Connectivity is an exceptional company with an exciting future.
We’re Customer Centric
It’s easy to say you’re a customer-centric company, but the proof is always revealed in how customers are treated. At Connectivity, we listen to our customers each day. From initially rolling out product enhancements with a select group of customers to receiving feedback from our sales team and account managers, we take every comment and criticism seriously. Our customers help develop our products, so we stay nimble and responsive. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
With a 99% customer retention rate, we work very hard to satisfy our customers. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, but when we do, we admit where we went wrong and go above and beyond what is required.
We’re Creating a Supportive and Collaborative Culture
In May 2015, we surveyed our employees and found 90% answered “Strongly Agree” or “Agree” to the statement, “Overall, I am satisfied as an employee of Connectivity.” Words that employees used to describe our culture included: fun, energetic, collaborative, forward-thinking, innovative, productive, friendly and family.
Our Senior Director of Human Resources, Sue Dickinson, told me, “Our overall goal at Connectivity is to create a culture where our employees are supported and empowered to be innovative and to contribute to our success. Family values are important to us, and we pride ourselves on providing a fun and collaborative working environment for our team members.”
I talked with Alex Vaccaro, VP of Marketing, and she also mentioned Connectivity’s supportive culture, which she called “family friendly.” “We value your personal life outside of work, and I think that contributes to a high employee retention rate,” Alex noted.
We’re Building on Tremendous Infrastructure
At Connectivity, we have deeply seasoned engineers familiar with the problems we are trying to solve, and because of that, we have a long history that’s very data focused. Our engineers possess a wide breadth of skills and knowledge having worked in the past on very large-scale performance marketplaces. Their experience includes working for IAC portfolio companies such as Citysearch, Ticketmaster and Match.com as well as Yahoo, Google, ValueClick and MySpace.
I also think that we’ve been able to hire more experienced employees because of our supportive environment and culture that I mentioned earlier. Talented people have their pick of places to work, and we know and appreciate that.
Emad Fanous, our Co-Founder and COO, put it this way: “We have infrastructure that scales. We have a combination of our own data centers and cloud services where needed, and we have more data processing than almost anyone out there. We aren’t just monitoring customers’ brands, but everything in the U.S. to put together the most comprehensive data we can.”
We’re Making Relationships with a Dedicated Sales Team
For about nine months now, we’ve had a dedicated enterprise sales team searching the country for companies that might benefit from our products. By making relationships with countless people in every level of the enterprise, we’re positioning Connectivity to be a trusted leader. Our sales team isn’t a quota-chasing army; they are educated in the marketplace and up-to-speed on best practices for business leaders. In addition, we work with agencies that resell our products, and in turn, offer their clients greater agency value.
We’re Creating Stellar Content for Enterprise Marketers and Local Businesses
And speaking of being a trusted leader, our sales and marketing teams care very much about educating enterprises and local businesses. We’ve created several downloadable guides on everything from how to respond to online customer reviews to claiming your Google My Business page. Free monthly webinars with co-presenters such as Google and Infogroup educate and inform. Plus, our blog cranks out valuable information for businesses of all sizes.
We’re Building Products for the Future
A large part of our resources is directed to creating the bigger picture with products we think customers will embrace. We’re not just listening to the market and copying what others are producing. Take Customer Insights, for example. This innovative customer intelligence platform is capturing the attention of some major brands that are signing up. As Gabe Huerta, SVP of Product, told me today, “We’re focusing on innovation and responding to the customer. Connectivity is breaking ground here.”
Making the Inc. 5000 list is an honor, but it’s by no means the end game for Connectivity. We think we’ll see a big move forward on the 2016 list. Stay tuned for our next move!
To read the Connectivity press release, click here. View the Inc. 5000 list here.
