Western Chester County Life|
Click Canyon has developed a success model while maintaining focus on what is important Submitted by SCORE of Chester and Delaware Counties
perspective of how technology can be used to solve a business challenge in sales and marketing.
Click Canyon, a digital marketing company, was founded in 2009 by the husband-and-wife team of Deanna and Brent Doane. Both employed in marketing and public affairs at the time, they decided to join forces. Wanting to create a name that people would remember, they were inspired on a trip to the Grand Canyon. The inspiration came from being reminded of why they would work hard – to be able to visit one of their favorite places again and again. Thinking it over, they came up with Click - for the mouse click and Canyon - symbolizing the vast canyon of the world wide web and as mentioned, one of their favorite places on earth! At the time, a large number of individuals “practicing” digital marketing and web design operated out of their basement. These cellar practitioners often lacked business experience and would frequently just disappear or move on to something else. The small businesses who worked with these firms were left in a challenging position, trying to navigate their digital footprint. The Doanes realized there was a need for digital marketing services that combined both business experience and personalized customer service to help small businesses grow. In addition, many companies working in the web design space had a strong technical background, but little practical business experience. With strong foundations in many areas of business, the Doanes sought to approach digital marketing not only from a perspective of what can technology do, but also from the
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The Path to Success Click Canyon started to experience a path to success as it gained returning customers. Other signals included engaging with its developers on a flat monthly fee rather than paying them on an hourly rate as well as the web design and development business growing to the point where developers were needed to be available on a fulltime basis. Approximately two years after starting Click Canyon, the decision was made to have Deanna leave her part-time job so that she could work full-time within the business. Following this, their office was relocated to a leased office space. This move made a real difference in the growth of Click Canyon as it gave the company a more established and professional appearance. Additionally, it gave the Doanes a working environment that allowed them to f o c u s on their business and customers and to minimize daily distractions associated with a home office. Another major milestone was when the company hired a part-time team member to assist with client interaction and increased workload. The pandemic brought a mix of challenges. Clients that were engaged for digital marketing services on a monthly basis were beginning to feel the effects of the pandemic slowing their growth. Click Canyon responded by voluntarily lowering its fees and cutting back on provided services. Clients were still active and present online but not as much
2022 • Volume 11——
