How New Agencies Can Stand Out: A Talk With Araks Nalbandyan, 10Web’s Director of Digital Marketing

Welcome to the Marketing Growth Podcast. I’m your host, Shane Barker. Today, I have with me Araks Nalbandyan, the Director of Digital Marketing at 10Web, an automated WordPress platform powered by Google Cloud. Her areas of expertise include digital marketing and growth hacking. On this episode, we’ll discuss how new agencies can stand out among their competitors. However, before we talk to Araks, I wanted you to know that you can always reach out to my team if you ever need to boost your brand’s visibility. We offer services such as content marketing, influencer marketing, online PR, SEO, and more. To contact us, you can visit our website at shanebarker.com, that’s S, H, A, N, E, B, A, R, K, E, R.com. And now that we’ve got that covered, let’s start our conversation with Araks.

Awesome. Hey, what’s going on, you guys? Shane here, excited because we got Araks with us. She’s from 10Web.io, and you guys have an amazing platform. I’ve been looking at it for the last few months. I know we’ve been trying to get in contact with you guys for this interview, and you finally had some time. I really appreciate you taking the time today.

Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. What you guys are doing is something I wish I had known about a few years ago when we were migrating from one WordPress setup to another. It was not an easy process. When I found out about what you do and how you’ve made it ridiculously simple, I was excited about the interview. But the way I always like to start the podcast is by getting to know the person we’re interviewing a bit better, right?

I want to understand your background and what you’ve done. I don’t want to give it away, but I know you’ve been doing WordPress for a long time, and you’re definitely a pro at it. After I looked up your background, I was like, wow, she’s been doing this a long time. So, I’m excited about the interview. Why don’t you tell the audience a little about yourself? Where did you grow up?

It’s funny how we end up doing different things than we expect. I always ask people about their degrees because it’s interesting how people start in one direction, then make a right or left turn into something totally different. Sometimes life just takes you in different directions. So, how big was your family growing up?

Okay, so not too big, but still enough to have a good-sized family. I always find it interesting when I ask about family size. It gives me a better idea of who someone is. Did you have a crazy number of brothers and sisters who drove you mad growing up? It’s just fun to learn about. What about any interesting facts or fun things about where you grew up or your town?

Yeah, I haven’t been there myself, but I travel a lot, and I’ve spoken to numerous people who’ve had nothing but good things to say about Armenia. It’s definitely on my top 10 list. I’ll have to come visit sometime and say hi. Are you currently there now?

Awesome. And I did see that you went to school in Berkeley. Did you live there, or did you just go to school there?

I don’t blame you at all. Everyone wants to be close to family. I know some of my friends who were traveling internationally got stuck at airports and couldn’t get back to the U.S. Some of them were in nice places and didn’t mind getting stuck there for a month or two! What was your degree in? You went to school in Armenia, right?

That’s funny. It’s always interesting when someone has a finance background but ends up in marketing. It’s like people who major in English but end up in marketing! Finance makes sense, though. I mean, there’s a lot of overlap, especially when it comes to understanding the numbers side of marketing. When you graduated, what was your first job out of college? You mentioned you worked at a bank before, but what was your first job after college?

Got it, got it. You look very young, so I was wondering—did you get your master’s at age 12? You look…

That’s awesome. I was wondering, because you look super young. But that’s really impressive! So, when you talk about marketing—because I know your background wasn’t originally in marketing, but you made that jump—what intrigued you to get into marketing?

Makes sense. I think that’s a great move, though. I always tell people working at a call center or in customer service is such a good foundation because you get to understand people, how to communicate, and how to handle different situations. It’s not always about the money. It’s about the experience you gain.

I told my son I wanted him to work in fast food for the experience, even if it wasn’t great pay. Some people don’t get that, but it’s invaluable. I’ve had similar experiences, like working in a call center myself for a bit. I wasn’t great at it, but it did help me learn how to talk to people. So, let’s talk a bit about agency culture. You’ve been working with agencies for a while now, and I know you’ve got a lot of history. How have you seen agency cultures change over the years, especially with your current company?

Yeah, I agree. I think the pandemic really shifted how we approach clients. It’s not just about getting more clients—it’s about taking care of the ones you have. That’s such an important aspect that people overlook. You have to appreciate your current clients, because they’re the foundation of your business.

I’ve worked in real estate before, and I realized that if you don’t take care of the people who’ve already bought from you, you won’t get referrals. You’ve got to keep them happy. So, for new agencies, how can they stand out in such a saturated market?

I love that. I’ve been telling a lot of businesses the same thing, especially with my consulting through the SBA. If you’ve treated your current clients well, you can get more business from them through referrals. People often overlook this, but it’s so valuable. After all, you spend a lot of money getting clients in the door, so why not keep them happy and ask for referrals? It’s that simple. It’s something I’ve been emphasizing in my work.

What do you think are some common mistakes that new agencies make when building their name?

Good service is key. You have to think about how you want to be treated and treat others the same way—or even better. I always say, “How would you treat your mom?” assuming you like your mom! If you wouldn’t put your mom at risk, then why would you do it with someone else? I think that mindset is important.

Thanks, Araks. It’s been a fun conversation, and I’m sure our listeners now know how to make their agency stand out. We’re going to wrap up this segment, but on our next episode, Araks joins us again to discuss data-driven marketing and how your brands can leverage it. Stay tuned for the next episode of The Marketing Growth Podcast.