Impact 360 Media Marks 20 Years, Adds AI Call Answering for Contractors
Veteran-owned local marketing firm adds an AI voice receptionist and AI search optimization for contractors and local
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Veteran-owned local marketing firm adds an AI voice receptionist and AI search optimization for contractors and local small businesses
HOT SPRINGS, AR, UNITED STATES, November 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Impact 360 Media, a veteran-owned marketing agency in Hot Springs, Arkansas, has added an AI voice receptionist that answers a business’s phone line day or night as the agency marks 20 years in business. The new service is built around a problem its founder says costs local businesses work every day: calls that go unanswered. The receptionist books appointments on the business’s calendar and texts the owner a note on every caller. It is offered alongside ongoing work to help a business appear in Google search, Google Maps and AI answer engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.
Founded in 2006 by John Varnedore, a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran, the agency started out building custom virtual tours and spent years focused on Google Street View photography and Google Business Profiles before growing into full-service local marketing around 2022. The agency now concentrates on contractors, home service businesses and other local small businesses.
“A roofer on a job or a shop owner with a customer at the counter can’t pick up the phone, and that caller usually dials the next name on the list,” said John Varnedore, founder of Impact 360 Media. “For 20 years my work has been getting local businesses found on Google. Being found isn’t enough anymore. The call has to be answered, the lead has to be followed up, and the business has to show up when someone asks an AI assistant who to hire.”
Every client account runs on the agency’s i360 platform, which brings a business’s website, call tracking, AI website chat and automatic follow-up into one login. The AI voice receptionist is trained only on each business’s own services, hours, service area and common questions, and it sends a text back to any caller it misses.
The agency keeps each client’s domain, Google Business Profile, reviews, contacts and tracking numbers in the client’s own name. It also helps local businesses recover domains and Google profiles left in the name of a previous provider.
A demonstration of the AI receptionist is available at 501-359-5464.
Varnedore has sold print and digital marketing since 1999, at AT&T Interactive, Alltel and DPS Media, where as Director of Digital Media he founded the company’s digital division, and has run Impact 360 Media full-time since September 2013. He became a Google Street View Trusted Photographer in 2014, and his Google photos and virtual tours have passed 41 million views. He has worked with Google’s Get Your Business Online program since 2015, is a member of the Google Business Profile Product Experts community, served as a Google trusted verifier from 2016 to 2019, led Google Business Profile workshops at the Hot Springs and Arkadelphia chambers of commerce, and is a Level 8 Google Maps Local Guide. Impact 360 Media holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Impact 360 Media, and when?
John Varnedore, a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran, founded Impact 360 Media in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 2006. The agency serves contractors, home service businesses and other local small businesses across Arkansas and nationwide.
What does the Impact 360 Media AI voice receptionist do?
It answers a business’s phone line day or night, books appointments on the business’s calendar and texts the owner a note on every caller. It is trained only on that business’s services, hours, service area and common questions, and it sends a text back to any caller it misses.
What is AI search optimization, or answer engine optimization (AEO)?
AI search optimization, also called answer engine optimization (AEO), is ongoing work to help a business show up when people ask AI answer engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity who to hire, as well as in Google search and Google Maps.
What is the i360 platform?
It is Impact 360 Media’s system that brings a business’s website, call tracking, AI website chat and automatic follow-up into one login.
How can a business owner hear the AI receptionist?
By calling the demonstration line at 501-359-5464.
About Impact 360 Media
Impact 360 Media is a veteran-owned local marketing agency based in Hot Springs, Arkansas, founded in 2006 by John Varnedore. The agency builds lead systems for contractors, home service businesses and other local small businesses, including websites, Google Business Profile management, local SEO, AI search optimization, also called answer engine optimization (AEO), AI voice receptionists, AI chat and automatic lead follow-up, all delivered on its i360 platform. It serves businesses across Arkansas and nationwide. More information is available at impact360media.com.
John Varnedore
Impact 360 Media
+1 501-359-5936
press@impact360media.com
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