Matter Communications

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I manage PR, AR, events and social media for a learning platform that helps sales teams learn to sell better.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matter Communications?

We’re a fairly new company and sales learning is a new and emerging market. We wanted to find an agency to help us create the market and raise awareness of our company as the dominant player in that space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

A big piece of the scope of work is creating thought leadership for our executives. Matter built visibility for the company by establishing our two co-founders as visionaries. Tactics include placing bylined articles and securing speaking opportunities. They helped us secure an article with the Harvard Business Review to publish a joint article about the importance of sales learning between our CEO and one of their contributing writers. Matter now handles all of our media relations including press releases and scheduling interviews with vertical media (e.g., financial services, life sciences) and business publications. They also write blogs for our website.

What is the team composition?

Our account lead is Tim Hurley [Executive Vice President, Matter Communications] and three other people work on the team.

How did you come to work with Matter Communications?

We initially heard of them from one of my colleagues. They pitched us when we launched but we ended up going with a different agency. It wasn’t a great fit so we decided to switch after just a few months. Matter really stood out to us from the original session so we asked them to come back and pitch us again. We liked their ideas and felt that they really understood our business.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2016 and they’re currently on a monthly retainer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Tim has great media relationships and uses them successfully. He secured an interview for our CEO in The New York Times’ Corner Office feature. He's also gotten us coverage in Forbes and The Huffington Post and we were listed on the Inc. 500 in 2017 as one of the fastest growing software companies in the country. The Harvard Business Review article has been really successful for us. We've been able to use it as a marketing piece to help people understand the need for changing the way they're training their employees.

How did Matter Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

They are phenomenal and very responsive. I trust them to be my PR team because of their ability to just jump into projects and work independently. I fully trust them to meet directly with our executives or run a project with one of my colleagues in a different department. They're responsive to my needs. They report back to me and ask questions when necessary. They also deliver according to the deadlines we set.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A lot of agencies come in and wow you with big ideas but don't deliver as promised. Matter is different because they’re truly committed to our business. Everyone on the team is incredibly easy to work with. There’s a constant drive to do their best for us that is evident in the results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.