(Mathew Paquet grew up in Kanata and is the founder of Ottawa company myMarketing. Photo: myMarketing)
Mathew Paquet grew up in Kanata, graduated from Ottawa University and in 2019 while attending school had the foresight to found his company – myMarketing – answering the needs of small and medium sized businesses in an ever-changing digital world. At the age of 15, Mathew was already a graphic designer and by 16 was asked to consult on website designs – a young entrepreneur following in his family’s entrepreneurial spirit. He partnered with two school colleagues, Paul Michel and Maxime Alarie, where the three Ottawa University grads brought myMarketing to a fully digital marketing department offering their affordable services to businesses in a time when digital presence is so integral for success.
For the majority of local businesses, having a well designed website is an asset, but when COVID-19 arrived, this wasn’t enough. “Many businesses are now realizing that they need a strong online presence in order to stay relevant. As each year goes by, especially during the pandemic, businesses are putting larger shares of their marketing dollars towards digital marketing, and as such, the agency has seen enormous growth over the last five months,” according to company founder Mathew Paquet.
Mathew went on to tell Stittsville Central, “being online is incredibly important nowadays, especially during COVID-19. People spend more time than ever before on technology and it has a significant impact on shopping behaviors. Not only does the individual now have access to more options, as the location of the company isn’t a problem anymore, but the entire sales cycle can be done with just a few clicks – at any time of the day.”
myMarketing has worked with local businesses in the Stittsville and Kanata area – with healthcare being their focus of clientele for myMarketing during these past seven months. The team has helped Dr. Sanjay Rao, recognized internationally for his work in mental health and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), launch his two businesses. They provided services to Aetonix, a global company that connects clinicians and patients through pathways of care with its aTouchAway mobile platform already used by hundreds of hospitals across Canada, the UK, and the USA. Aetonix’s team members are from Ottawa’s west end and are now at Invest Ottawa. myMarketing redesigned their website.
The myMarketing team has worked with many startups and small businesses during their careers. Thoroughly understanding the challenges these companies face in such a fast-paced environment gives them the opportunity to connect on a different level with their clients. And Paquet admits that it can be intimidating for companies that mainly relied on word of mouth to begin investing in digital marketing; however, he assures it’s a decision they will not regret.
Paul Michel, the Digital Marketing Strategist & Operations Manager told us, “with such a dramatic change in the industry due to the pandemic, many businesses know they need to improve their online presence but don’t entirely know how to go about it. For these businesses, our digital marketing services are often exactly what they are looking for”. “Working for a digital marketing startup is very rewarding, our entire team works together to help out businesses from the region. And since we work so closely with our clients, we get a chance to build a connection with them really, which makes their digital marketing success all the more rewarding to us!”
“Businesses are currently facing difficult situations and we want to help as best as we can to ride out the second wave. Our mailbox is always open for questions,” added team partner Maxime Alarie, Demand Generation Manager and Web Marketing Specialist. “The team synergy is quite amazing. Although we each have our assigned clients, we support each other to ensure the work is done on time with the best quality possible to satisfy our clients.”
Paquet and the myMarketing partners believe in helping local businesses before their company ventures outside of Canada – that says something of this young team of entrepreneurs as they help to grow a business’s local website presence and direct the flow of traffic to it.
Paquet ends by saying, “internet traffic is reportedly at unprecedented highs. As everyone is staying at home during the pandemic, they are spending more time surfing the Internet as well as connecting with friends and family on social media. It’s an excellent opportunity for business owners to get in front of these people’s eyes and on their screens“.
We see this young myMarketing team travelling far in this newly transformed digital world!