Today we’d like to introduce you to Pierre DeBois.
Pierre, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started with analytics as an effort to support Lesco Logistics, a 1500-employee government contract firm started by my cousin Anita Williams. It was meant to help the company answer a question about whether or not its marketing was effectively attracting potential partners for contracts. I soon realized that analytics would allow me to pivot my passion – helping small businesses while assisting larger firms – from my original interest in a finance career in venture capital to a marketing career that would help small business strategy.
I launched Zimana in 2009 from my apartment in Brooklyn. At the beginning, I was unsure how exactly analytics services would work within the operations for small businesses. This required educating small businesses on analytics, which did consume some time – many owners have misconceptions on SEO and websites, and spending too much time educating a customer generally can slow down your operations and impact your revenue. Over time I refined my networking pitch to give a clear explanation of the value analytics can provide while starting a dialogue that would answer questions. I also made sure that my website content complemented my pitch to answer potential questions.
I moved back to Chicago to assist my mother in between client work and tasks. But it was then I was being asked to speak and teach on analytics quite a bit. I was invited to present at the 2014 Small Business Expo run by the Treasurer’s Office of the City of Chicago. I’ve done workshops for Blue1647, the well-known incubator in Pilsen, and I have been asked to present at marketing conferences across the country.
Finally, I have expanded my services to include some development with JavaScript as well as digital marketing.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I mentioned about explaining to customers the value of analytics. The time required can make or break a business if too much education makes customers think too much about if they need a service. I actually lost a sale after pointing out that the potential client was being lied to (A competitor told the client that an analytics tag was on the website; I could see on the HTML of the webpages that it wasn’t – meaning that the explanations were BS. The client was so flabbergasted that they did not want ANY services, even when I had done them a favor!)
Another aspect is dealing with dishonest small businesses. A few times I had to learn that just because someone wanted a website did not mean that the business supporting that site was run correctly. When it is poorly run, business owners are not thinking about analytics, because analytics is meant for making improvements. And if you are not into that, then it would become clear that my time was wasted.
But that experience does teach you patience and what to look for in good clients. Those are the ones that not just pay for services, but they really take pride in your successes as well. It can also teach you what to ask to avoid the bad business owners and to help pay attention to what services & questions help the most.
I also had to learn programming languages in between client work. That takes a lot time, but it was well worth it because it helped me tailor my pitches for small businesses to address exactly what they needed.
Finally, I had to also overcome being a guy behind a laptop. In 2009 working remote seemed unusual, and was a tougher to sell as being effective compared to today. I had to make sure I was 100% professional, all the time. Combining that with running one of the first digital analytics service consultancies owned by an African American and you have to wade through a lot of “nos” before getting to the “yesses”.
Please tell us about Zimana.
Zimana helps plan your website and social media so that your business can interact with customers in between the first meeting and the actual sale. The actual work involves meeting with a client, reviewing their website, digital media – which includes paid search, social media, and other online marketing – and overall strategy. Then the work begins to review their analytics – usually Google Analytics reporting – or to install the analytics code. That last point may involve some web development work in some instances, but much of it can run the gamut of a simple landing page for an Adwords campaign to working with a designer for better website.
I am most proud of being able to help minority businesses while working with larger enterprises. It’s a tough balance, but doing so is important. It provides a means to make sure that the latest tech that hits the large enterprises first gets to small businesses as well. It’s that aspect of being able to scale solutions to each business is what sets Zimana apart.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Building cardboard cars. They were a part of who I was at that time, someone with a strong interest in automobiles. That interest translated into an interest in engineering, and eventually into the analytics career I have now.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zimana.com
- Email: main@zimana.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zimanaanalytics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zimana.Analytics/
- Twitter: @zimanaanalytics
Image Credit:
Blue head shot courtesy of Asa Aaron Smith Photography
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