The internet has completely altered the face of business. Gone are the days when Yellow Pages, television, newspaper, and radio advertising ruled a company’s media budget. Today, businesses are investing in digital marketing campaigns to promote their products and services and are reaching their consumer base in a more relevant, personal, and cost-effective manner. Forecasting the impact that the internet would have on the face of business, WSI, a leading expert in digital marketing, entered into the marketplace more than 20 years ago. The knowledge and expertise they’ve gained over the years have enabled them to become one of the largest and most experienced digital marketing agency networks in the world; helping over 100,000 businesses to grow by providing them with unique digital marketing solutions.
In an interview with Insights Success, Daniel Lattanzio, Sr. VP of Franchise Development at WSI, shares the company’s story, service offering, and future vision. WSI provides marketing solutions to businesses of all sizes and across all industries. They help organizations solve their marketing challenges and stay ahead of the learning curve in this fast paced digital world. Below are highlights from the interview conducted between Daniel and Insights Success:
Give a brief overview of the company and its vision.
WSI is a digital marketing company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1995, we began franchising our proven digital marketing system a short time later. Now, after more than 20 years in business, we have offices across the globe, and a network that’s helped over 100,000 businesses develop their digital marketing strategies.
WSI’s proven model helps our franchise owners take back control of their lives in order to achieve the next level in their career, build equity for their future, and enjoy living the lifestyle they want. Our network of consultants really makes a difference, both in their own lives and in the businesses of their clients.
What are the cutting-edge products/services offered by WSI?
At WSI, we don’t believe in cookie-cutter digital marketing strategies. Businesses may have similar pain points, but their goals and objectives are unique. That’s why our approach to delivering digital marketing solutions (the WSI Internet Solutions Lifecycle®) has a whole phase dedicated to learning about the marketing problems a business needs help solving. Our goal is to build a long-lasting business relationship with our clients and become their trusted partner for all their digital marketing needs. We do this by leveraging digital marketing tactics like PPC, SEO, social media, Facebook advertising, marketing automation, inbound marketing, etc., to help elevate their online brand awareness and reputation, provide them more leads and sales, and improve the performance of their online properties.
Give a detailed descrip_on of the Founder/CEO/Management’s contribution to the company and the industry.
After attending Sir Wilfred Laurier University, our co-founder, Dan Monaghan, founded a sales and marketing company at the age of 21. The company, The Northern Group, had a focus on marketing environmental products in Canada. Within three years it had grown to an annual sales volume of $14,000,000 in four countries. In 1993 Dan co-authored the book, Why Not Me? which quickly became a national bestseller.
With Dan’s ability to foresee emerging trends and capitalize on them, he co-founded WSI in 1995. In 1996 he wrote the book Amazing Secrets of Profiting from the Internet. WSI’s latest book, Digital Minds, was released in 2013 (and again in 2015 with a 2nd edition). It quickly achieved bestseller status and is now available in multiple languages and is one of the top-rated digital marketing books available on Amazon. Today, WSI’s boasts the world’s largest digital marketing footprint. WSI’s partnerships with industry leaders like Google, Microsoft, and Adobe have positioned the company as a worldwide leader in delivering digital marketing solutions to businesses.
What are the distinctive features that make WSI unique from its competitors?
WSI is a business consulting franchise, bringing high level consulting to small and medium-sized businesses worldwide. Unlike other franchise models, we have a patented consulting system that all franchisees follow, allowing them to create strategies that are targeted and measurable for each business. WSI Consultants are free to focus on their client’s current and future strategy while following our 6-phase WSI Internet Solutions Lifecycle® and have access to a vetted list of top-notch suppliers deliver high-quality digital marketing solutions on their behalf.
As a digital marketing company, WSI’s collaborative network of Consultants makes it very unique in comparison to other marketing agencies. Our consultants can tap into the collective brainpower of the WSI network and apply these insights to each business they work with.
Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons learned that have shaped the journey of the company.
When the founders of the company first laid out the vision for WSI, it was before the internet as we know it today. Back then it was called the information superhighway, and the objective was to build the distribution network for goods and services around the world using this superhighway. It was this initial concept of the internet that inspired our founders to create a company to help businesses leverage digital communications.
At WSI, we realize that many businesses lack an understanding of the internet and its full potential. Embracing and closely following the ebbs and flows of the digital marketing industry is one of WSI’s greatest strengths. We have over two decades of experience, not only keeping on top of the pulse of the digital space but also adapting our systems and processes so we can continue to provide the best digital marketing strategies to the businesses we work with. For members of the WSI network, this represents opportunities to teach, consult, and lead businesses on how to use digital marketing to their fullest advantage. At WSI, we’ve embraced change and developed a process that offers our network unlimited opportunities and an unprecedented growth curve.
Where does WSI see itself in the long run and what are its future goals?
“We are moving into the world of Minority Report, where advertising is delivered to the consumer in a personalized manner.”
Digital marketing has changed; where previously demand could be harvested through marketing, now we must generate demand through personalized knowledge of the end client. With AI and machine learning we can harness millions of data points and develop exact user trends. At its core, WSI is a consulting company that analyses the business strategy of our clients and delivers an agile digital marketing strategy to align with their business goals. We can’t forecast all the digital marketing tools and services that will be available in the future, but we can forecast that WSI will be there to provide these tools to our existing and future clients.
Give us a few testimonials of your clients that accurately highlight WSI position in the market.
“Internally they refer to our network as the WSI Family. I can tell you first-hand, they mean that. It is a family with all the respect, coaching, care and familiarity a work family can provide. I’m proud to be part of this family. WSI is in the digital marketing business, and for those of you dreaming of succeeding, and willing to work hard, in your own business, WSI delivers.” Domenic Ali, WSI Digital Marketing Consultant
“In October of 2017 I left the corporate world to run my own digital marketing business under the WSI umbrella. WSI has provided me with a wealth of knowledge via in class and online training. They provide their Internet Consultants with everything they need to start and run a successful business with continuous support. Everyone at the home office is very well versed in the history and new developments in all aspects of digital marketing and consistently update the services and training available. They are also very pleasant and professional in every engagement. I appreciate all that you have done and continue to do to assist me and my business and I’m glad to be a part of the WSI family!” Jeremy Howard, WSI Digital Marketing Consultant
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