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Efficiency: PCGS – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight, Partners

“Efficiency signifies the productivity of the process.”

– Susan Page

Efficiency sounds so clinical. It’s interesting to hear about it from a newspaper woman. Efficiency is not something that comes to mind when you think of journalism, but of course it’s critical. Excellent writing is all about being concise. It’s about getting the story across completely using the fewest words possible.

But she’s referring to the productivity of the process. At Interfanatic, we have a lot of processes. We have systems galore. We don’t really think about it in these terms any longer because they’re such an intrinsic part of our work. But we’re always trying to find ways to be more efficient for the long run – because it’s better for our customers.

This brings to mind one of our clients from just a couple of years ago: Collectors Universe and PCGS. Now THAT is an efficient company!

Efficiency: An Interfanatic Quality

Efficiency is ingrained. Of course, we have to constantly fight for it. Our business is on an entropic trend with efficiencies fighting inefficiencies on every front. Efficiency doesn’t have to be impersonal, but it does have to work.

We’re constantly on the lookout for ways to make things happen faster, simpler. Any time there’s a complicated process, we seek to simplify it. Our business is rife with new tasks, new processes, and these are not always beautifully efficient.

Over time, we hone new processes to make them simpler and more efficient. It helps us save time and money. And then we can pass that efficiency to our customers through savings.

PCGS is Efficiency in Action

The Professional Coin Grading Service is an incredibly efficient outfit. They deal with tens of thousands of collectibles daily, and they get those tens of thousands of items in front of dozens of extreme experts to get their honest opinion of condition and / or value.

“[PCGS is] an incredible outfit performing a massive service to an industry that intrinsically requires their talents.”

On top of that, they’re dealing with some of the most valuable and rare collectibles in the universe. The collectibles market is much like the stock market, in that it fluctuates daily based on supply and demand. They are the third party that helps buyers and sellers know what is in front of them.

A few years ago, we handled a couple the marketing initiatives for PCGS. Well, we Interfanatic, did not – I did. We handled some of their social media, many of their email sends, and a video marketing program related to a big rollout of collectibles for a big customer. It was awesome!

But in doing so, I got to see how clinically efficient PCGS is. They’re not that way just because they want to be – they’re that way because they have to be. When you’re dealing with collectibles on this scale, you have to treat them agnostically, and you have to treat them quickly – efficiently. It’s an incredible outfit performing a massive service to an industry that intrinsically requires their talents.

So when we had the opportunity to handle some of their marketing, these were some incredibly fun and rewarding projects for us.

Interfanatic Service Focus: Interfanatic Power Search Advertising with Setup

Search advertising is the ultimate in efficiency. While the newcomer to the scene – social media – is not always efficient for newcomers, search advertising is the king of making your dollar go far. It’s a great way to establish your brand, and a great way to get your established brand in front of the right customers.

If you want to spend your money efficiently, get a digital search campaign going the right way. It will take some time to get it tuned in, so start by spending slowly. As you see the results you want and begin to understand why you’re seeing them, up your spend to get more of what you want.

It’s a beautiful process, and we’ve been proud to be a part of it for some great customers during these difficult times.

Interfanatic: Honing Efficiency

Like PCGS, we have systems and processes in place to help you become more successful while spending less. We’re here to help. It is my pleasure to help you get more business for less.

This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

Efficiency, an Interfanatic Quality. Interfanatic Digital Marketing founder Ryan Delane takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.
Efficiency, an Interfanatic Quality. Interfanatic Digital Marketing founder Ryan Delane takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

While reviewing photographs to use for our social feed, I was struck by this image of a red rose. There is little that is so efficient in eliciting a reaction as a gorgeous rose. It is beautiful and immediate. The more you look at it, you have an emotional reaction to its visual and olfactory presence. It is a king (or queen, as the case may be!) of efficiency.

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Quickness: D&G Paving – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight, Partners

“Forget perfect. Be quick. Quickness kills.”

– Ehab Atalla

It strikes me as a bit controversial to use a Persian-American’s quote that features killing. No doubt it will offend someone. But Atalla knows how to “kill it” in a business sense, and he wants to be known for this quote. And his sentiment is true: quickness kills.

Whether you’re first to market with an idea or mash-up, or most responsive, your quickness determines your success or failure in great measure.

We fully admit that we’re more comprehensive than quick. But quickness, as all Interfanatic Qualities, is one we strive for.

Quickness: An Interfanatic Quality

When it comes to emergencies, we’re on it. It doesn’t matter what else is going on, in a digital marketing emergency, we drop everything to focus on making things right.

With that quickness, we keep our customers on top. So that they can respond quickly in the moment it is needed most.

There are very few businesses that treat your business as if it were their own. That’s an Interfanatic way.

D&G Paving – Killing it with Quickness

Dan Ash of D&G Paving came back to us recently with a problem. He needed customers NOW.

This is not usually a problem Dan ever has. He runs a tight ship with great people. But some extenuating circumstances were making his life difficult and drying up his funnel. The pandemic is no joke. Most of our lives have ground to a halt.

The cornerstone of Dan’s business is his ability to respond to customers quickly. Most people in his industry don’t bother to call back quickly. Dan knows this, and he exploits his competitors’ weakness.

For that reason, he always has business. His customers know they can trust him and always go back to him with any job – huge or tiny.

Also, his signs are prolific around Southern California’s South Bay. I know you’ve seen his orange signs. They’re everywhere.

“D&G Paving’s signs are prolific around Southern California’s South Bay. I know you’ve seen the orange signs. They’re everywhere.”

So, when Dan said he wanted help, and quick, we knew exactly what to do. To compliment his quickness, we needed to create some for him.

Get Interfanatic Customers Quick:
Interfanatic Search Advertising

Google Ads can turn the spigot back on for you.

In the hands of the incompetent, Google Ads are a horrendous waste of money. Google has seemingly taken great delight in making Analyitics and Ads so complicated, no normal person can figure them out.

No worries, mate – you’ve got Interfanatic ready to help. Most Ads vendors require a minimum ad spend on the order of $3,000. We do not. We’ll work with a $150 budget, and we’ll make it work.

That’s just what we’ve done for D&G. There’s a lot more to do, but to get things moving, we knew the place to start. We got business moving for Dan and D&G again. It’s a great feeling to make a instantaneous difference in a Southern California institution.

Interfanatic and Quickness

When you need all hands on deck and results NOW, we got you. We’ve been there. Nobody treats your business like you treat your business, but we make it our imperative to get pretty danged close.

To keep the lights on, sometimes cutting costs isn’t the correct answer. Sometimes it’s temporarily moving some around.

Be like Dan. Kill it. We’ll help.

This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

D&G Paving, for our Customer Spotlight on Quickness, an Interfanatic Quality
D&G Paving, for our Customer Spotlight on Quickness, an Interfanatic Quality

Nothing is quite as nimble as a go-kart. And a real go-kart, real racers know, is the closest thing you can get to the top level of motorsport on a tiny budget. Nothing is quite as nimble as a real go-kart, but Interfanatic prides itself on being close. And we can get you Formula One results starting with a go-kart budget.

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Tranquility: Palos Verdes Coin Exchange – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight, Partners

“…it is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation that give happiness.”

– Thomas Jefferson

Tranquility gives happiness. Of course it does; the opposite of tranquility (whether it be good or bad) doesn’t let the mind rest.

We chose this quote as it’s a good reminder to let competent professionals take care of their parts of your business for you, so you don’t have to worry about it.

This Jefferson quote, from a letter to his newlywed sister, is actually kinda funny when taken in context. He’s almost making excuses for her new husband, allowing as how he doesn’t know the man to be great, but he will do for her. He’ll keep her happy through tranquility. Not through acts of greatness, but by keeping things calm and being occupied. It’s like he’s telling his sister, “Anna, I don’t this guy that well, but I’m sure he’ll be just fine.” Hardly the glowing platitudes you would hope for.

Ah, older brother looking out for his sister.

But the point of all of this is: Isn’t it better to not be stressed out? Yes, of course it is. So let Interfanatic do our job for you so you can focus on your greatness.

Tranquility: An Interfanatic Quality

In a crisis scenario, it’s easy to get excited. A website goes down, a credit card API breaks, a home page stops showing up in search results – these are all things that can stress a business owner out.

We don’t like being stressed out, either.

That’s why we have systems and procedures in place to make sure these bad things don’t happen often, and when they do, we fix them quickly. We keep this stuff from happening. Of course, stuff happens – you can’t always keep it from happening. But our policies and procedures help everyone keep a cool head and we minimize the impact to the businesses we work with so they don’t have to stress about them.

And that’s how tranquility is a quality and a virtue that we strive for. To keep things calm on our end so you can focus on other things. (It helps us keep our sanity, too!) There’s a reason there aren’t many businesses around like ours after twenty years. And there’s a reason we still are.

Palos Verdes Coin Exchange: Tranquility for Customers During a Stressful Time

Thus, we think of Ron and Vincent at Palos Verdes Coin Exchange. They’re coin dealers in Palos Verdes who know how to instill tranquility in transactions.

People go to coin dealers for a few reasons. The most popular are:

  1. Somebody they know has passed on, and that person had a coin collection.
  2. They’re a coin collector and they’re looking for a deal on a coin they need for their collection.
  3. They found something in their pocket they think could be valuable and are hoping they won the lottery.

None of these mindsets is tranquil. When you lose a loved one, it’s stressful. No matter the situation, settling an estate is stressful.

Shopping for coins is stressful. You don’t know if the dealer is being fair or if you can really afford to spend this much money on your collection even though you really want to.

Thinking you won the lottery is stressful – it’s exciting, and can be fun. But it’s still an experience outside the norm, and therefore, stressful.

Ron and Vincent know this – indeed they carry wisdom beyond their years. They look young, but the fact is – THEY KNOW THEIR STUFF.

I’ve known Ron for a long time. When I worked at PCGS, when I worked at a coin shop, when I used to collect, Ron always impressed me. Vincent has learned everything from Ron, and he knows his stuff, too. Ron knows how to buy coins and how to sell them. He’s settled plenty of estate coin collections, he deals with dealers and collectors daily, and he knows what coins are valuable and which ones are not, even as they confuse experienced and amateur collectors alike.

That all comes from years of experience.

So, it’s with great tranquility that those of us who know Ron and Vincent deal with Ron and Vincent. We know they’re pros. Their offers are fair. Their prices are fair. When we buy or sell coins, we know we’re getting a square deal – maybe better. And I always think of Palos Verdes Coin Exchange when I make a referral to a local. The other “dealers” around here who deal with the public don’t get my referral. (Shapiro is great, but he doesn’t have a public storefront.)

“…it’s with great tranquility that those of us who know [Palos Verdes Coin Exchange] deal with [them].“

I never hesitate to send collectors, estate settlers, and other professional dealers to Ron and Vincent at Palos Verdes Coin Exchange. We know the transaction will go as well as it can go.

When I found out Palos Verdes Coin Exchange had expanded into a storefront, I was thrilled and proud. Interfanatic does not help them with their website for now, but we are handling a modest digital advertising campaign for them, and it’s going extremely well. It is our great pleasure to deal with Ron, Vince, and PVCE, and to aid them in their success.

Interfanatic The Works Domain Concierge

One of those niggling things business owners have to deal with is their domain name. Keeping hold of your domain name is absolutely critical. A missed payment, or a payment to the wrong company can spell disaster. There are so many fraudulent practices out there, stealing, hijacking and holding hostage domain names.

That’s why it’s a valuable service we’re happy to provide for many customers. We know what’s real and what’s fake because we do this every day, and we know how to take care of domain names. We have hundreds in our accounts.

So, take a step toward tranquility for you and your business. Let us handle your domain names so you don’t have to worry. That’s what Interfanatic The Works Domain Concierge is all about.

Interfanatic and Tranquility

Jefferson is such an interesting character of his time. Many love, some loathe, but none rightly protest the idea that he was a man of action. Aside from being a President of this country, a revolutionary, and a Statesmen, he was a creative visionary. And yeah, he was other, not-so-positive things. But one thing he sought – not for himself, but for the people of his country (whether he considered them all or not) – was tranquility.

Today, we read his words, “…that all men are created equal…”, and I, for one, choose to interpret that phrase to say that “…all humankind are created equal…” A lofty ideal, which we take to be self-evident. Not everyone was or is treated equal, but it’s something to strive after. And I know not everyone shares that aspiration when they read Jefferson and Franklin’s Declaration. But that’s how I choose to view it. And for me, working for true equality among all people will create a great, global tranquility. It’s an idealistic, perhaps naive vision. But the work is worth it.

This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

Tranquility, an Interfanatic Quality. Interfanatic Digital Marketing founder Ryan Delane takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

This was a fun, old-timey still life I created for this week’s social. We see the Sea of Tranquility. Some old coins. Old stamps. When there was no TV, and when a radio in a household was yet a novelty, coin collecting was a great American pastime.

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Humility: Allen Berg Racing Schools – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight

“We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.

– Rabindranath Tagore

Oh, humility. We’ve all be taken down a step or two in life. Tagore felt it if he was able to say this. And like Tagore, Allen Berg lives it – on both sides.

Berg was a Formula One race driver. And when I use those words, I’m cognoscente of the fact that most people interpret that to mean “he raced some funny looking cars”. But there’s a huge difference between Formula One and everything else.

Formula One: Just Being There is Huge

Formula One is, by a significant margin, the pinnacle of motorsports. There are other great motorsports, absolutely. But Formula one means you’re in the best 20 racers in the world. Not like the NBA, where making it there means you’re among the best 3-400 basketball players in the world. It’s more like making the NBA All-Stars. The starters in NBA All-Star games are household names, just like the top-ten Formula One drivers are housefhold names everywhere else in the world. If you’re in F1, you’re NBA All-Stars level good at racing and attaining sponsorship.

And yes, there are those flat-earthers who feel racing isn’t a sport. That’s fine. Don’t fall off the edge looking for the cameras that faked the moon landing.

Racing Senna: Humbling

For the rest of us, understand that Berg raced Senna throughout his career. For those who don’t know, Senna is the Michael Jordan of Formula One. Okay, Berg didn’t beat Senna, but he did get on the track with him. And that’s the first side of Berg’s humility. He’s always quick to unequivocally explain that he was no Senna, he just raced with him. But still, just being there is a big deal.

And then there’s the other side of Berg’s humility. Many people feel that racing a car is like driving a car around the streets, fast. In fact, it’s just about the opposite of what most people do.

Teaching the Next Senna: Teaching Humility

So when Tom-Cruise-wannabes show up at Allen’s school with something to prove, driving their Lamborghini, Allen has to quickly get their attention with the reality they don’t yet grasp. In this way, Allen makes a living out of teaching humility. And having been a motorsport instructor myself, let me clarify this for you: it’s not easy.

And the consequences are stark. If Senna or Clark, the best the world has known, can be taken from us, it can happen to anybody. If Allen doesn’t quickly get the attention of his hothead of the day, the result can be catastrophic. And yet, Allen takes on this challenge day after day.

If you want to learn from a real Formula One driver, in the best cars, on the best tracks, check out Allen Berg Racing Schools. It will be worth everything you invest.

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Efficient: PCGS – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight, Interfanatic Expertise, Partners

“Supernova,” a gold coin from the sunken shipwreck SS Central America treasure, authenticated and graded by PCGS, recently sold for $282,000.

Our quote this week is said by Robert Half, and he explains efficient work. Interfanatic uses custom systems and processes to do efficient work.

And that’s precisely what PCGS, part of Collectors Universe, does. Before I lose you, know that there is an incredible market and worldwide traveling circus for collectible coins – one that PCGS powers. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service has, at time of writing, graded over 41,000,000 collectible coins.

Those 41 million collectible coins have a total market value of over $35,000,000,000.

PCGS has a couple of major competitors, so their portion is probably over half of the total certified coin market.

Since PCGS began in 1985, they’ve worked endlessly to be efficient. They certify something like 10,000 coins per week. Each coin is valuable and each coin must be tracked ruthlessly without compromising integrity and objectivity. There are hundreds of thousands of coin types from all over the world, and the coins must be proven authentic and graded to determine market value. It’s a difficult task, but they take it on.

It’s a similar, incredibly complex process to run a Search or Social Ad Campaign. Have you ever looked at a Google Analytics dashboard? Or a Search Console? Or a Local home screen?

This is where Interfanatic lives.

It used to be sufficient to create a website – you could be the only business in town with one. Now, there’s so much competition on the Internet, businesses have to compete for customers. And with margins slim, it’s all about efficiency.

We’ve run half-million dollar budgets to produce upwards of eight figures in revenue. And we’ve run $50/month campaigns to drive traffic and sales.

The only way we succeed with small budgets is by being ruthlessly efficient.

When it comes to spending on ads, that is. When it comes to working with our partners and customers, we give information freely.

We worked quite a bit with PCGS on a number of marketing initiatives and search ad campaigns. Most of our work centered around content marketing, social media marketing, event marketing and public relations. It was exciting work, pushing some fantastic initiatives through video, print, and digital marketing.

But just as we can play with the big dogs, we LOVE helping local small businesses and Not-For-Profits excel in the digital space. We do help smaller players work their way up with ruthless efficiency. We make ourselves affordable enough to help the causes we believe in – including local community small businesses.

Information isn’t what matters – everybody knows information. We know more than most because of our experience, so we share it. What you do with it? – that’s what matters.

Execution matters.
Efficient Interfanatic execution.

Get a quote >

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Presence: Better World International – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight

You’ve got to be there. To finish first, you must first finish. You miss 100% off the shots you don’t take. Et cetera… You’ve heard the platitudes. They say the same thing:

You’ve got to be there.

Perhaps that’s why social media has become such an important part of digital marketing: our customers are there. So we have to be. Presence of mind.

Presence. You’ve got to be there.

Better World International understands.

Earlier this year, Interfanatic began working with BWI and their product: The Good Cards. We’ve set up and managed a couple of Google Ads campaigns, consulted on print graphic design, and produced and begun optimizing landing pages for them.

We’re excited about working with Better World International because their product, The Good Cards, is so simple, it’s fantastic. You sign up for a few bucks and you get a physical card in the mail. You download their app and you get missions attached to a QR code on the card. You perform simple, good deeds of kindness for yourself and others, making the world a little bit better one person at a time. Then you pass on the card, and you can track your card around the world, watching your good deed blossom and spread.

It’s beautiful.

Part of its beauty is its simplicity. It’s an easy thing to do. It costs almost nothing – just enough to cover production and mailing. But a kind deed goes a long way, and many kind deeds bring people together, healing the division and hatred we see in the world.

And it works. Corporations are jumping on board, schools are adopting The Good Class as a social emotional learning tool for kids, and normal people are affected by The Good Cards every day.

We’re really proud and excited to be a part of spreading good around the world. If we can turn one bullying incident from progressing to a school shooting into a good deed that spreads kindness like wildfire through the halls of a classroom, it’s worth trying. If we can turn one person’s jealousy and anger into a passing kindness, like a hug of support, and turn a dour nine-to-fiver with no reason to go on into a productive, happy person, we’re in.

And it’s working, so it’s worth doing.

Join us. Check out The Good Cards. If you’re in school, check out The Good Class. If you’re a corporation looking at corporate mental wellness initiatives, pick up some Good Cards for your employees.

It works. Because Better World International is there.

Presence. When you’re ready to do a little bit of good, The Good Cards are ready to enable you.

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