Per-Inquiry Ad Firm Flips Paradigm for Growth

Three hires in two months lay groundwork for new business.

Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) May 12, 2007

Peter Feinstein, president and CEO of per-inquiry (PI) advertising (http://www. hpowermarketing. com/) leader Higher Power Marketing (HPM), believes the path to growth should be paved, not potholed.

Most businesses, he says, hire based upon growth they've experienced. Playing catch-up hinders customer service as the companies struggle to reach the correct bandwidth.

"We're hiring just in advance of the growth curve, so we're in a great position to maintain customer service," Feinstein says. "I try to hire to lead the company to growth. It allows me to improve processes, open new channels of distribution and make the company function more efficiently."

HPM retained Chuck Edwards of Phoenix in April to manage accounts and operations, along with Janelle Hutter of Colorado Springs, Colo., to manage HPM's database. Only a month earlier, the company hired Cindy Truitt of Dallas to handle radio sales and service. The company's "virtual office" model allows it to tap talent from near and far.

"I can go months at a time without seeing the need to hire. But in the flash of a moment, I'll get the inspiration to hire a person to fill a role," Feinstein says. "It's great the way the universe works - that the inspiration hits and within a day or two I receive a referral or a question about whether I'm looking for somebody. That's what happened in these three instances."

Edwards and Feinstein have known each other for 15 years, originally working together at KLDE-FM in Houston. After attending Arizona State University, Edwards worked in Albuquerque, N. M., and Charleston, W. Va., as well as Houston, before returning to the Phoenix area in 1999. Since then, he has worked with KYOT-AM/FM, Entravision Communications and his own company, CLE Enterprises.

"Chuck's expertise is in listening to people and providing solutions based upon what he hears," says Feinstein, who believes Edwards "fills a need in client relations so I don't always have to be the face of the company."

Hutter, HPM's other April hire, brings more than 12 years of experience managing data operations in the direct-response (DR) industry - from managing toll-free number assignment processes to generating daily, weekly and monthly reporting for media outlets. She will oversee the day-to-day operations of HPM's database.

The new hires bring management skills that enable Feinstein to focus back on strategy and growth opportunities. "The bigger the company gets, the more important the operational side becomes," Feinstein says, adding that Hutter alone "saves me two hours a day."

The key to PI - also known variously as cost per lead (http://www. hpowermarketing. com/whatwedo. asp) (CPL), pay per lead (http://www. hpowermarketing. com/howwedoit. asp) (PPL) or cost per action (http://www. hpowermarketing. com/per_inquiry_tv. asp) (CPA), in addition to DR - is that the client receives free ad time and space while paying only for results. HPM has relationships with media outlets across the country - radio, television, print, Internet and billboards - and access to their unsold inventory of ad space. The agency acquires the rights to the unsold time and/or space for its clients, which pay only for qualified responses. Thus, a client can establish a stable, predictable CPL within its business plan, assuring a positive return on investment (ROI).

Truitt, the Dallas-based advertising veteran who joined HPM in March, contacts radio networks, program syndicators and group-owned stations to see if they have unsold inventory they would like to monetize by airing HPM clients' ads. She also makes sure those outlets have updated versions of clients' commercials and the terms for their use.

HPM's emphasis on PI and CPL results appeals to clients who care about how well their advertising works, not necessarily when or where it runs. Those clients come from a variety of business sectors, including:

Health insurance IRS tax resolution Structured settlements Higher education Mortgage Credit counseling Tort litigation Home/lifestyle improvement Business opportunities Home care products Travel vacation sales Automotive aftermarket Debt elimination Information services Weight-loss programs Medical discount programs

HPM's PI strategy allows companies to boost business without the usual risks associated with advertising.

Contact: Peter Feinstein, 480-837-3580

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