1 Bold Step, led by Jennifer Jurgens and Adam Clarke, helps companies bridge the gap between traditional and new marketing
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – 1 Bold Step, formed in 2012 by Jennifer Jurgens, announced today the addition of Adam Clarke, who joins the firm as president and co-owner.
“Between the talent crunch we’re facing in West Michigan and the rapid evolution of new marketing technologies, we’ve found emerging skills gaps in the marketing industry,” Jurgens said. “There’s a gap between traditional marketing and new/digital marketing, and there’s also a gap in the way businesses think about marketing in general. Many companies aren’t tracking results or putting systems in place to better understand where their business is coming from and why, and 1 Bold Step can help businesses do that.”
Prior to Clarke joining the team, 1 Bold Step helped numerous companies and nonprofits with marketing and sales strategy, but did not offer hands-on execution nor ongoing marketing support. Clarke, a marketing expert from Grand Rapid, expands 1 Bold Step’s services and will lead marketing strategy, software recommendations and implementations (CRM, marketing automation, data analysis, etc.), demand generation, content/inbound marketing, ongoing digital marketing and more.
“By applying the principles of marketing operations we can help a business implement the latest in automation and analytics and testing campaign effectiveness. We’re putting marketing through a lean transformation process by combining technology with supply chain and operations methodologies,” Clarke said. “These marketing operations’ strategies must be addressed by forward-looking companies now so they can stay competitive and perform smarter, data-driven marketing in the future.”
1 Bold Step has a unique engagement model, providing consulting services and acting as an extension of their clients’ teams, both onsite and virtually, to execute the plan. The firm starts with high level strategy sessions and then adjusts the contract to fit what the client needs next.
“Think of us as the utility player on your marketing bench,” Clarke said. “We are hands-on and helpful, and our contracts allow our involvement to ebb and flow with our clients’ business needs.”
Marketing operations is an emerging field that blurs the lines between traditional marketing and technology. As digital marketing grows, new trends point to companies using algorithms, A.I., and systems to scale and measure their investments. According to Martech, an industry leader in marketing technology insights, 93% of Chief Marketing Officers feel more pressure to prove R.O.I. on their marketing investments choices, but many are still stuck on what to track, and what roles are needed in order to grow and repeat their most effective marketing and sales initiatives.
1 Bold Step works with a variety of clients, including OST, Munson Healthcare, CQL and many more. Envoy B2B, a Grand Rapids-based technology company, brought on 1 Bold Step to help introduce a new product to market.
“We knew we needed some support to bring a new product to market, but weren’t sure of exactly what was needed,” stated Jon Faber, Partner & CEO of Envoy B2B. “1 Bold Step assessed our current personnel and systems and created a proposal that complemented our team, skills, and approach and became an extension of our team. When project requirements changed, they changed with us. Other consultants make recommendations and leave the rest up to you. 1 Bold Step follows up on recommendations to help your team execute the plan, and fills the gaps to get the work done.”
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About 1 Bold Step
We believe that everything can be more efficient, but especially marketing. Acting as an extension of a client’s marketing department (onsite or virtually), we help create systems, order, and accountability. With a focus on increasing sales and proving return on marketing investment, we’re determined to change marketing from overhead to value add.
We’ve had the opportunity to work with great clients like Envoy B2B, OST, Munson Healthcare, CQL, Five Capitals and more. Learn more about us at 1BoldStep.com.
Why did you call it 1 Bold Step?
Every decision we make in life (good and bad) begins when we take that first step. We can go backwards or forwards, right or left, but in order to make progress or change, we have to make a move. After all, you can’t know if you’re truly good or bad at something until you really give it a TRY. We’re called “1 Bold Step” because we believe that going boldly forward is the only way to give our choices and decisions the fair chance they deserve to succeed.
