Profile: Bad timing can't stop Internet marketing company 


Published in the Asbury Park Press 12/29/02
By MICHAEL L. DIAMOND
BUSINESS WRITER 

It was the year 2000, when the high-tech industry was on the verge of a collapse, that Larry Bailin decided the timing was right to begin his Internet marketing company, Single Throw.

So it would seem fair game to question Bailin's foresight.

"It was probably the worst time to start a business," he admitted.

Almost three years later, Brick-based Single Throw has grown to 15 employees, $3 million in sales and is already profitable. And its success is being attributed to -- of all things -- Bailin's vision.

The company develops marketing strategies for companies trying to sell their products online, and unless they have a brand name like Amazon.com, the task is like an unanswerable riddle: How do you reach consumers who don't know you exist if you can't contact them directly?

Bailin, 35, Toms River, thinks he knows. He has developed a marketing strategy for his clients that puts consumers in touch with their Web sites.

It's an intricate process. Bailin has deciphered the complicated world of search engines, which shuffle through millions of Web sites to match consumers with the products they are looking for. He has deciphered consumer behavior, learning about the words they might type into a search engine. And he has ensured a company's description entices customers to visit the Web site.

As a result, 30 percent of those browsing the Web for a specific product end up visiting his client's site and 7 percent to 19 percent of those customers make a purchase, Bailin said. By comparison, he said, about 1 percent of direct mail results in a sale.

With this type of marketing "you're not getting your message in front of anybody who doesn't want it," Bailin said.

Single Throw's clients include Oxford Health Plans Inc. and Scholastic Inc., and Bailin said the impact can be dramatic.

For example, CWR Electronics is a Berkeley company that sells electronics to retailers in the marine industry. Since hiring Single Throw earlier this year, its online sales have doubled to the point that they now account for 40 percent of its total revenue, said Mike Cohen, CWR's president.

Moreover, the company, which once used only trade publications to sell its products, now is using the Internet to reach a new market -- hunters, hikers and cyclists who might need the same type of equipment.

"The Web has allowed us to get out of the small marine industry into the general consumer market," Cohen said.

Bailin's background is varied. He spent two years at the Newark School of Art learning to draw, paint and sculpt. He later went to Ocean County College and took a computer graphics course. And he worked at Atlantic Stereo in Freehold Township, selling electronics.

Eventually, he started Online Resources Inc., a company that designed Web sites for small and medium-size companies. Online Resources was acquired by Planet Technology Solutions in Parsippany, and he began developing electronic-commerce strategies for its clients.

Bailin quickly learned the technical aspects of the business. "I didn't want to be asked a question I couldn't answer," he said.

In 2000, Planet Technology Solutions was acquired by Vytek Wireless, and Bailin decided to go out on his own. He contacted James Farrell, whom he had met years earlier when they worked together at Atlantic Stereo, to see if he wanted to join Single Throw, named after an electrical switch that has several inputs and a single, unified output.

For Farrell, 46, East Brunswick, it meant giving up his own financial consulting business when the country was heading for a recession. But it didn't take much to convince him.

"He had great vision, unparalleled," said Farrell, who also marveled at Bailin's sales skills.

The two spent $100,000 of their own money to start the business. Bailin's wife, Michelle, joined as the office manager. They fanned out to events sponsored by local chambers of commerce to network. Word of mouth spread. And the business began to grow.

A year ago, Single Throw opened an office in Milford, Conn., and the company recently acquired Iposition, a three-person marketing company in Metuchen. And it plans to move next summer to a larger office in Brick.

Bailin said he doesn't worry about how fast his company grows, which may seem a little surprising coming from someone praised for unparalleled vision. But he's confident there will be plenty of work -- regardless of the poor economy.

"This is a (marketing) piece that can't be ignored anymore," he said.