GE 283: How Conversocial Crossed the $10M Revenue Mark and Continues to Grow (podcast)

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• [00:40] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast!
• [01:20] Josh had an ecommerce company right out of college that failed.
• [01:57] He started iPlatform that became one of the first Facebook app development agencies.
• [03:00] As communication moved towards mobile phones, Internet, etc. Josh thought it would be smart to create software that would help businesses communicate with their clients using messaging and social networks.
• [04:00] Conversocial bridges the gap between traditional needs and new forms of communication.
• [04:35] At its peak, iPlatform was making a few hundred thousand in revenue per month.
• [05:52] “In business there is never a right answer; There’s never one way of doing things.”
• [07:05] Conversocial crossed the $10 Million revenue mark last year.
• [07:20] They work with Google, Alaska Airlines, Macy’s among others large airlines and retailers.
• [09:45] Conversocial allows for seamless consumer experiences.
• [10:55] They have full automation when it comes to messaging consumers.
• [11:46] They intregrate on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Plus, and YouTube. They also do custom integrations and are looking to include WhatsApp in the future.
• [13:45] Josh is a big fan of the book Four Steps to Epiphany by Steve Blank.
• [13:56] He used this as his handbook to figure out how to approach his business.
• [16:10] Josh saw his business as a disruptive innovation.
• [17:45] Brands were confused as to how to treat customer complaints: Was it crisis management?
• [18:25] Generally, Conversocial charges per seed.
• [20:40] As the social channels became bigger and bigger, so did the task for Conversocial and the companies they served.
• [22:00] They originally approached the relationship from a product perspective, but they weren’t really understanding the business objectives of their clients.
• [24:05] Pricing depends on the type of needs you have.
• [24:25] Their lowest package starts at around $20,000 per year.
• [25:47] As companies are now using social messaging instead of email, it has opened up more opportunities for customer care.
• [26:26] Mark Zuckerberg launched Messenger by announcing the end of phone calls.
• [26:55] Unfortunately, most of the messenger bots were not great and didn’t function well.
• [27:22] However, people realized there was potential value in messenger services and bots.
• [30:15] Josh has gotten into Mind Maps and believes they are a great hack.
• [32:15] Josh recommends the book The Hard Thing About Hard Things.

Resources from the interview:

• Conversocial
• Josh on Twitter
• Message Me
• Must-read books:
  • The Four Steps to the Epiphany
  • The Hard Thing About Hard Things

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