Several months ago, Richard Chiaino moved his business, Enrich Marketing, into a bigger, remodeled location, in Clarence.
It was the latest â and, Chiaino hopes, the last â in a series of moves for a business whose growth has far exceeded his modest plans.
“At the beginning, (I thought) it would be just me, and I would golf half the day,” he said.
Far from it. Enrich has taken off, with local clients including William Mattar, Gary Pools and Leisure, and Lake Effect Furniture and Mattress using his firm’s services to drive customer traffic.
Chiaino, 54, has built Enrich into a business with 26 employees since it debuted as a one-person operation in 2017. And the growth continues: He is planning to hire four more people. The firm recorded revenues of $10.7 million last year, up from $6.7 million in 2022.
People are also reading…
Chiaino built a career in the TV and radio industry. He grew up on Long Island, but for the past 30 years has lived and worked in the Buffalo area, where he met his wife.
Working with business owners over three decades, Chiaino has picked up lessons about hiring, relationships and strategy that he has applied to running Enrich. Here is some of what he has learned:
Acquisitions. Chiaino came up through “traditional media” in his career. As he ventured out on his own, he recognized digital marketing was a growing, vital segment. But Chiaino didn’t have a background in digital marketing. How could he tell a great job candidate from a mediocre one in that segment?
Chiaino found a solution. Over two years ago, he acquired Scale, a digital firm whose work he respected.
“It was easier for me to grow that way, and then once I had that, I knew we had a good team and then they could go hire the additional people,” he said.
Employees matter. With any acquisition, Chiaino focuses on the employees over the client roster.
“The formula for it is really to buy the people, but the hedge-your-bet is, it comes with revenue and clients,” he said. “You immediately grow your people, but all of a sudden, you have 30 more clients.”
Diversify. Chiaino has seen some marketing agencies rise and fall by being overly dependent on one, large client. He is determined to avoid that trap. No single client of Enrich’s represents more than 5% of the firm’s total revenues.
Referral power. Enrich works on media strategy for clients in 40 markets around the country. Many of its clients have no direct connection to Buffalo.
“Two thirds of our clients now only know where Buffalo is because we’re here,” Chiaino said.
Referrals are the key. A company like Lake Effect will refer a furniture business in another market to Enrich, and that company will make its own referral, and so on. Chiaino enjoys the challenge of diving into a regional market that is new to him and figuring out how to compete in it.
Know your clients. To Chiaino, it is important to determine a client’s “definable difference,” something that distinguishes them from competitors in a particular market.
The current ads for Mattar allow his personality to come through with touches of humor. Enrich worked in collaboration with Lerner Advertising and others on the ads.
“What you see on screen with Bill, that’s Bill,” Chiaino said, who also counts Mattar as a friend and mentor.
Know the assignment. It’s important to remember what clients need, no matter the industry they are in, Chiaino said.
“The No. 1 job for our clients is, we are problem solvers,” he said. “They want more traffic, leads, business, and it’s our job to figure out how to do that.”
Play to your strengths. Enrich will take on newly created companies as clients. But Chiaino estimates 90% of Enrich’s clients are well-established firms determined to achieve more.
“What we’re really good at is taking clients that have been doing it for years â five, 10, 30 years â that got themselves to this ledge on the mountain, and getting them to that next ledge,” he said.
Create an appealing workplace. With Enrich’s extensive office renovations â including addition of an in-house gym â Chiaino wanted to create a place where employees would want to work from. He asks employees to come in four days a week, with Fridays as a remote work day.
“The one thing you don’t get in our business working from home all the time is just the collaboration,” he said. “We’re in a very creative, problem-solving industry.”
Delegate. After launching his own business, Chiaino found himself working extremely long hours, the opposite of what he had in mind. Even so, he was reluctant to hire his first employee, fretting over that as his first “real expense.”
When he finally made his first hire, it made a huge difference.
“Once I did that, I took off 50% of my workload,” he said.
Chiaino had more time to meet with potential clients and build relationships with them.
Advice he received from Mattar stuck with him: “I promise you, every time you hire somebody, you’ll make more money.”
THE LATEST
Mayor Brown objected to a panel on East Buffalo development.
The Erie County IDA is requiring affordable housing to be part of adaptive reuse projects.
Metro Rail service will stop for some days in July for repairs.
A downtown Niagara Falls housing project is moving forward.
A sugar refiner is expanding on the old Bethlehem Steel site.
A top M&T executive is leaving.
Local unemployment ticked higher in May.
43North winner ShearShare gets a boost.
UB’s bus fleet is going electric.
Education really does pay. Here’s a look at how much.
The Buffalo Niagara job market took a step back in May, but economists say it’s no reason to worry â yet.
Josh Allen is appearing in a Pepsi commercial.
A pair of local business groups are moving to new offices.
The state is cracking down on illegal pot shops.
UB researchers say telemedicine helps limit hepatitis C.
The Save-A-Lot in the Broadway market is closing, but its impact is much broader.
A South Buffalo manufacturer is expanding.
Local wages are rising. Here’s how much.
Graycliff is getting a new â and bigger â visitors center.
A Niagara Falls movie theater is set to become a car parts center.
A Canadian developer plans to turn the former Howard Johnson hotel in Niagara Falls into a music venue.
ICYMI
Five reads from Buffalo Next:
1. So you want to own a golf course? It’s not all fun and games.
2. The evolution of Viridi Parente in a changing market.
3. Some development projects are running into a new problem: They can’t tap into enough electricity.
4. A closer look at the Rails on Main apartment project.
5. The Buffalo Niagara region’s people problem is getting worse â and that’s bad for business.
The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the regionâs economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.
Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com.
The business news you need
Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
