First Domino Marketing

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and chairman of the board of CRMBC, an insurance company. We’re a California self-insured group that enables safety-focused restaurants to pool resources and self-insure their workers’ compensation. We offer improved claims outcomes, greater control, and cost savings compared to traditional insurance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with First Domino Marketing?

Our company had no online presence when I became CEO. If you googled self-insured work comp group, there was nothing positive about our insurance company. We needed to do a complete marketing and online image campaign to educate potential members and brokers about what we do.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First Domino Marketing has helped us create our online presence through rebuilding our website, updating our branding, logos, messaging, and press releases. They’ve also started a podcast, a blog, built a LinkedIn presence, created an educational video library, a YouTube library, a newsletter, and several ongoing marketing campaigns, all within a 12-month aggressive rollout.
First Domino Marketing acts as our fractional CMO and project manages every part of this. We have subcontractors who handle some of the projects, but all are under the supervision of Jeremy (Founder & CEO) and his team.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from First Domino Marketing.

How did you come to work with First Domino Marketing?

We found them through an online search. We hired and fired three marketing companies before finding First Domino Marketing. We fired them because they couldn’t meet us where we were and focus on our specific goals. Instead, they kept trying to push us toward vanity metrics and things that had nothing to do with our very narrow niche and core metrics of success.
Jeremy got it immediately. We needed a firm that could comprehend this very complicated area of insurance and be able to write marketing messaging, edit blogs and podcasts, and pick up our language quickly. First Domino Marketing has been able to do that and stay focused on our vision and goals. We’re building something to tell our story and educate. Other marketing companies tried to make us fit into their metrics instead of changing their approach to what we needed.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2023, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve received feedback from potential members, board members, brokers, industry experts, and regulators who have viewed our content. Our business doubled in size during the first year of the campaign and continues to grow steadily. We’ve been recognized by the state of California regulators and others in the insurance industry for our success, which they could have only learned about through our online presence and educational materials.
Our email open rates are over 75%. Video views are small in number compared to global or national campaigns, but our target is extremely narrow — only restaurants in California. In our narrow niche, our likes and views are extremely high and result in conversions.First Domino Marketing’s ability to quickly grasp and write about our topics — all ranges of topics within work comp, restaurant safety, and self-insurance — is uncanny.
They’re an outlier when it comes to understanding the assignment, especially when the topic is extremely complex and requires the ability to take something complex and simplify it in ways the general public can understand. They also pay attention to minute details, which gives our team peace of mind that we don’t have to double-check every single thing they do.

How did First Domino Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

First Domino Marketing’s project management is outstanding, and they deliver on time. We communicate via email and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First Domino Marketing’s ability to comprehend incredibly complex materials and simplify them is impressive. They get clear about our objectives and stay focused on them, even when general marketing standards would have told us to do it a different way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m very happy with how they’ve done. They’ve even adjusted and pivoted when the scope of the project changed over the years.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Datamam

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Datamam collaborates with forward-thinking executives and Heads of Data—to transform raw, fragmented data into AI-ready intelligence.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire First Domino Marketing to accomplish?

• Company positioning and messaging

SOLUTION

How did you find First Domino Marketing?

Referral

Why did you select First Domino Marketing over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from First Domino Marketing were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The project focused on refining brand positioning, strategic messaging, and website content to support the company’s expansion beyond web scraping, data collection, and market research into AI, machine learning, and comprehensive data solutions. **The scope of work included four key areas:

1. Value Proposition Development: Refined core value proposition to better communicate its expanded capabilities, competitive advantages, and unique value to customers. 

2. Brand Strategy and Identity: Reviewed and updated the company’s brand fundamentals, including its archetype, vision, mission, purpose, and core values, to ensure consistency with its evolving business strategy. 

3. Service Definition and Messaging: Developed clear positioning and messaging for new AI and machine learning services, including service descriptions, key benefits, differentiators, and supporting messages tailored to target audiences. 

4. Website Content and UX Recommendations: Revised homepage copy and recommended improvements to content structure, navigation, visual presentation, and user experience to better communicate Datamam’s services and encourage customer engagement. 

Key deliverables included an updated value proposition, refined brand strategy documentation, comprehensive service messaging guidelines, revised homepage content, and actionable recommendations for website improvements. 

The overall objective was to establish a clearer, more cohesive, and differentiated brand narrative that accurately represents our capabilities, strengthens its market positioning, and supports future business growth.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The most significant outcome was making services and capabilities much easier for our clients to understand. We simplified our messaging, clarified our service offerings, and improved how we communicate the value of our solutions.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Jeremy was excellent from start to finish. Even before the engagement began, he clearly communicated the scope of work, expectations, and next steps, which made the entire process much easier for us. We knew exactly what to expect, what was required from our side, and how the project would progress. 

Everything was well-organized within documents, clearly communicated, and delivered on time. 

What was your primary form of communication with First Domino Marketing?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What impressed us most was Jeremy’s experience and how quickly he understood us, our business, where we are today, and where we want to go. He simply got us.

Are there any areas for improvement or something First Domino Marketing could have done differently?

Nothing comes to mind