1o8

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of The Loyal Subjects. We’re a toy company that sells action figures.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 1o8?

Basically, we needed to bolster our direct to consumer business. We wanted to find customers, bring them into our narrative, and then sell them on our story to increase conversions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First of all, their team analyzed what we had in the digital space. They made a deep dive into our digital footprint and figured out how to include those elements in their strategy but also strengthen our e-commerce position.

Their team reviewed our SEO efforts and our website's visibility. They looked into how many visitors returned and how many were unique. Then, their team created a plan to amplify our brand voice and bring in new people.

Their team made changes to our website, moving the platform from BigCommerce to Shopify. They made changes to our sponsored posts and social media strategy.

Their team continues to direct our SEO and PPC efforts. They develop content that’s dynamic and relatable to bring new people into our story.

What is the team composition?

We work with the founder, a content developer, an SEO specialist, a web design specialist, a mobile design specialist, and an Amazon specialist.

How did you come to work with 1o8?

My partner also owns a private equity group that brought in 1o8 to boost one of their acquisition's visibility. They were impressed by their work, so my partner introduced us, and we clicked. 1o8 had experience in the toy business too.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with 1o8 in September 2019, and our partnership’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

They’re proficient in creative concepts and content ideation to start conversations and bring people into our tent. We deployed their content and boosted our fellowship by 25% within a short period of time. On a daily basis, we bring more people into our conversation, which translates to sales.

We conduct flash sales that generate dynamic responses. For a half-hour flash sale, we made about $10,000.

1o8 also helped to establish a program with a large, national retail chain. On the first day of the program, 200 stores sold out of our products completely and then another 300 stores sold out.

How did 1o8 perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate via Slack, which everyone seems to like. They’re organized and goal-driven. Their team’s on task and doesn’t meander. They have a pickaxe, hit the mine, and start digging.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their services. Their knowledge of the digital space stands out to us. Their team speaks digital marketing like a second language. To me, it’s witchcraft that 1o8 demystifies. They show how digital marketing's pragmatic as well as how to toggle different levers to drive our business’s message.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve been excellent.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be specific with your goals; that applies to any business. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a consumer products company focusing on premium products for kids. Our business has historically been almost entirely at retail, with very limited e-commerce.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

1o8 was brought in to run online advertising programs to improve sales at our national retailers, and also to start building out an e-commerce business for our brand.

What were your goals for this project?

Increased sales at retail, increased brand awareness, and a sustainable model of driving e-commerce traffic to retailer websites and Amazon

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Referred by a trusted advisor, and compared against a number of other agencies who we had screened.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

- Developing new marketing assets and collateral - Managing the voice of the brand across all platforms - Building out online listings - Creating new website - Geo targeted advertising focused around retail stores that carry our products - Managing all influencers and social media acitivities

What was the team composition?

CEO is directly involved with the project, and is supported by a team of very talented specialists

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Very pleased with results of an initial pilot, which delivered ROI positive campaigns and led to a direct increase in sales across channels. Engagement was therefore enhanced and 1o8 has now become agency of record for the brand

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Regular communication and action items were tracked

What did you find most impressive about this company?

- Ability to quickly respond to changes in the market place - Scrappy approach to testing without large investment to determine what works, and what doesnt - Results oriented - Their expertise in all aspects of digital marketing was impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

More team members should be added as the agency grows

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a company called MAST. We’re a Fintech platform working towards building a real estate investing community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 1o8?

I hired them to help me guide me through my initial phases of digital marketing and the different components involved, such as SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped connect me with the right people for branding and PR. They got me started with what I needed to do for my online presence, like Google Analytics. They’ve also helped me with my Facebook.

What is the team composition?

I work with one person.

How did you come to work with 1o8?

I met them through an entrepreneurs organization.

How much have you invested with them?

We haven’t been billed yet because it’s ongoing, but expect to spend about $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

So far, I’m pleased with their presence and what the founder is doing. They’ve been helpful.

How did 1o8 perform from a project management standpoint?

I don’t have too much experience with that yet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re always checking back with me to make sure that we’re in a good spot. They’ve ensured that we have everything we need to succeed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I do not.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have an open conversation about what you want and ask 1o8 how they can help you be successful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a mobile app company that has developed a community based social mobile app. I am the CTO, and wear many hats, but primarily responsible for app development, our development team, as well as growth, user feedback, and continuous improvement.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

Since we are still looking for our dedicated marketing lead on our team, we hired 1o8 to help us create our initial mobile app growth strategy, which required very particular messaging and delivery of our marketing methods. Launching a mobile app in 2020 requires very deep expertise in digital such as content, distribution, and tracking, as well as app store optimization and delivery. The 1o8 team took the time to understand the types of users we were trying to reach, the intention behind our app, and our story, and helped us craft a road map of activities in order for us to achieve our user acquisition goals.

What were your goals for this project?

Our number goals for our app was to acquire users as aggressively as possible (more than 25-50% growth per month), and increase our Monthly Active and Daily Active users, as our app thrives on user activities. Being a brand new app in the App stores, we were against a lot of competition and needed to ensure we could grow our user base to be successful. Without users, we would not have any reason to continue development of our product. Simply deploying campaigns on traditional marketing mediums would not be adequate. 1o8 was able to help us refine our goals and assisted us into executing them into action. Regular review of our data, A/B testing, user feedback collection, and constant changes to our strategies were also required to meet our user acquisition goals.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

1o8 came highly recommended to us from some of our current partners as a highly rated and laser focused agency. We went through a selection process of about 6 different organizations to help us find the right fit for our needs. This was not an easy task initially, but as we continued down our selection process, 1o8 clearly rose above the other companies involved. We were not just looking for a cookie cutter type of marketing relationship, but one that could adapt and be more of a partnership in our success. Marketing knowledge of SaaS, mobile apps, social media management, data analytics and review, user testing, and app store optimizing were all criteria that we had used to ensure we found the right fit. Our entire founding team of 3 people were involved in this process and we all came to agree that 1o8 would be the best partner for our mobile app.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Once we decided to pursue a partnership with 1o8, the scope of the work was to first outline our audience for the app, which was the starting point of our strategy. We had several discovery calls, where the 1o8 team was able to ask the right questions in order to get us thinking about what we really wanted to do. There were a few of these calls done to ensure we captured all of the relevant information. Once this was completed, the 1o8 team was able to outline and help us visualize precisely what marketing tactics that were needed to be completed, in order, to start the user acquisition momentum. Our leadership team was involved in weekly huddle calls to engage with the 1o8 team and ensure that things were on track. Our PR campaigns seemed to be the highlight here, as they garnered some great attention and allowed us to showcase ourselves as an emerging mobile app platform.

What was the team composition?

We were involved with the 1o8 leadership team during this process to ensure that we got the correct strategy right off the ground. Aalap and his team were instrumental in ensuring we had everything we needed to make the right decisions for our goals outlined together. The team size did grow over the course of our partnership, and this added more expertise for us to rely on during our growth.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

By the time our initial campaigns were completed, our mobile app went from 0 users to several thousand active users on the platform. This is not to be mistaken for number of registered users (which was higher), but instead the number of active users who regularly returned to our app daily for updates and usage. We were expecting some attention to product, but plugging in our story and partnering with other organizations based on 1o8's recommendations, as well as investments in certain marketing platforms, was a catalyst for our growth.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our teams worked together very smoothly, almost as if we were both the same company. We used many popular communication, project management, and reporting tools that allowed both teams to always be on the same page.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Our leadership team has experience working with previous marketing agencies, experts, and contractors, but 1o8 set the bar higher for us with our experience with them. These days, it's hard to find a company as passionate and dedicated to one's own success, because they all seem to focus on their monthly billables, instead of the success of the client. 1o8 stands out in a crowded space on their own level, with their combination of marketing expertise, emotional intelligence, project management, and ability to adapt and scale quickly based on customer needs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

1o8 is doing great things for many organizations, and the experience left us a bit spoiled, because now we expect so much from a great marketing team. We highly recommend they continue their constant communication and ability to adapt to client needs, to ensure both sides are on the same page for growth.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I run a portfolio of SaaS and online companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

Reaching our target market digitally is something we had mediocre results with for a long time until I connected with Aalap. We wanted to find a way to drive repeatable, measurable success with marketing strategies online.

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking for a few things in our projects: - measurable, significant organic traffic increases - learn what things we could do internally to produce successful outcomes repeatably - page 1 rankings - improve social media profile pages (FB, IG)

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We connected through recommendations of others who had worked with them and through our community. We simultaneously evaluated several people, but we found their approach to be the most consistent with the work style we were looking for and also felt they could most credibly back up their claims.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Ongoing SEO, paid ads (Facebook, Google), content creation

What was the team composition?

Our primary contact initially was Aalap and he remained available for the engagement, but we worked directly with many others on his team as well, depending on the current area of focus

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The most recent project we did, after an SEO audit and plan, we increased our organic search traffic by more than 10x in a collection of keywords we were targeting.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Amazing!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Depth of knowledge and the experience they draw on from doing similar things for other clients. It's clear they have a very broad toolset and the most important thing I found was to be transparent about what my goals are so they could help me get out of my own way.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I was super satisfied with their work -- I've repeatedly gone to them for advice and referred them many times.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of the QuickZip Sheet Company. We design and sell bedding products that are smarter, faster and easier. Our innovative products include a fitted sheet zips off and on so it is quick to change, easy to launder and fold, and engineered to fit and stay put and a duvet cover that zips open wide and has hidden openings for easy changes and is designed to keep comforters from bunching.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

Google ad management and digital marketing consulting (SEO, paid social)

What were your goals for this project?

To scale ad revenue while maintaining ROI targets

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were introduced through a colleague and I sent them an RFP.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They began managing our Google ad account right in the middle of Q4 2019, requiring them to jump in and execute immediately. They evaluated our existing program, started to implement changes and bring new ideas to scale the program. They work well with us, our contractors and another outside agency. We have increased their scope to include technical improvements to our UTM tracking and SEO.

What was the team composition?

I have worked with the principle as well as project managers who are subject area experts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The program has scaled while maintaining the desired ROI - with some ups and downs as we all work through the era of Corona.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communications between our teams is excellent, particularly how they document progress, observations, and plans. We meet weekly and the meetings are productive and efficient.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team has a very wide range of experience applicable to our industry - consumer products and ecommerce. The principle has worked in consulting, retail and ecommerce and is able to execute details while bringing in a much bigger picture.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The programs are going well and open communication allows us to bring up any ideas and needs, discuss them together and make progress. Aalap has been proactive in asking for feedback throughout.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

ADMCi provides business strategy and related design services for senior executives working on transformative change at an enterprise level.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

We have hired 1o8 for a number of projects, both for digital properties that we own as well as partnered on client projects we have executed together. In all cases, the experiences have been highly rewarding, provided significant returns on investment, and resulted in satisfied clients.

What were your goals for this project?

Typically, our goals are to acquire leads/prospects at the top of an industry. We have operated at the peak of the motorcycle industry, elite underground dining, and senior executive coaching. In all cases, we have reached new prospects and been afforded valid opportunities to convert those leads into ongoing client relationships.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Aalap has been a long-time peer and friend. His integrity and intelligence are unparalleled. I couldn't imagine working with another service provider in the SEO/SEM and online acquisition space.

Describe the project in detail.

For our automotive/motorcycle industry project, Aalap and his team helped attract premier press interest, high-net worth prospects, and industry luminaries all toward the benefit if raising awareness and value in a project that was equal parts ground-breaking engineering and modern art.

For our elite underground dining experience, 1o8 has built a number of high-return paid and organic campaigns that underscore the market position of our company and the adventurous diners we need to attract. Our private membership continues to grow as a result.

For our senior executive coaching, 1o8 has translated complex messaging into emotionally driven hooks that engage an already distracted and overwhelmed audience with messages and follow-through that motivate them to engage with us on a meaningful level. We couldn't operate our business at this level without this team.

What was the team composition?

Team compositions have ranged from a single consultant supporting SEO/SEM programs to diverse skills including writers, designers, data analysts, and senior account management.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Cost per lead, once engaging 1o8, plummeted. Our ability to run continuous campaigns opened worlds of opportunity we wouldn't have been able to access without the rigorous planning, analysis, and refinement this team performs.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless. We feel 1o8's people are a natural extension of our own team. Their disposition is friendly and collaborative, fun when appropriate and highly-focused on what's most important to us.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Integrity, transparency, and results. This company is built from the ground up to be good in the very best sense of the word. Aalap's people are plain old good people. They are good at what they do. They are good to us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Frankly, no. We hope to see Aalap's team to grow at a moderate clip so that the value and consistency remains. We have not doubt this will be the case.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My time at LLT Group was spent as the Director of Brand & Strategy, a position will the sole focus of streamlining our messaging and positioning, articulating our brand in a way that connects our services with our target customers, and then strategically finding ways to acquire customers with dynamic, thought-leadership content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

Aalap and his team were hired to optimize the content we were creating and then building a strong SEO strategy around each piece. They also were asked to perform an audit on our SEM strategy and then offer insights to decrease our spend by being more focused and specialized with specific subsets of customers.

What were your goals for this project?

The long-term goals were to begin our transition away from an over-reliance on paid leads and into a strong, organic strategy that would drive higher-converting, higher-value customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I was connected with Aalap via a former colleague.

Describe the project in detail.

The project was centered around: building a foundation for a strong, long-lasting organic keyword strategy, identifying wins and ways to leverage our content to become a source of customer acquisition, streamline our SEM strategy in terms of cost, success, and targeting, and offer insights to keep SEO optimization top of mind when pushing out content.

What was the team composition?

Aalap and I served as the points for our respective teams. While we worked in collaboration on the primary strategy, he delegated the content deliverables and weekly planning to the other members of 1o8 .

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Very early on, we saw an uptick in our domain authority, the overall number of keywords we were ranking for, as well as a boost in total keywords ranking 1 - 20.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was highly detailed, very well-thought-out, and both teams were highly engaged throughout.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Aalap was a joy to work with and truly understood what it means to work in a collaborative partnership. He listened to our ideas and desired outcomes, provided thorough, insightful information that was entirely data-driven, and brilliant strategic ideas.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Most of the areas for improvement were on the end of LLT, and most were related to our own internal communication.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Today, people are influenced by content in an entirely new way. Engaging with your advocates and influencers in a human aspect and allowing them to feel integrated with the community is more important than ever. At Dublite Productions, we understand that engaging with your advocates and influencers through relevant conversations will push your brand to new heights. This means that winning over the hearts of the consumer demands provocative content that pushes the limits, starts conversations and creates lasting impressions. We are an agency comprised of creatives and strategists that are passionate and committed to telling your story in a new and exciting way. Most importantly, we believe if you bring the right elements and people together, amazing stories will be written.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

We were looking to improve our website and SEO presence

What were your goals for this project?

To bring our website vision to life so that it would showcase who were are as a company!

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I've worked with 1o8 on various other projects for my company and they are my go to resource for anything digital.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Our scope of work was as follows: -A complete redesign of our website - Full optimization of SEO

What was the team composition?

I worked closely with Aalap and his team throughout the entire process to bring our vision to life for our new website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We are progressing through the SEO ranks with the rollout of our new site and optimization.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

1o8 kept us up to date throughout the process and emails were handled quickly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing about 1o8 is the talent behind the scenes. They are true experts in the field of SEO and Digital.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As long as they continue to deliver and keep up their excellent communication there is nothing for them to improve on.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are experts in custom, fully integrated AEC software solutions. I am marketing manager and was the main point of contact with 108 for the development and coordination of resources.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

We hired 108 to develop a more streamlined, modern website that reflected the values and goals of our company while improving SEO and overall functionality and search-ability.

What were your goals for this project?

Create a more streamlined, visually appealing website to better reflect our products, services and offerings. Improving search results and social media presence though paid advertising.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Having worked with Aalap in the past the selection process was easy knowing we would have an enjoyable process with an outstanding final product.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a couple detailed meetings to begin in the beginning to determine the scope and feel wanted for the website. After that, we received the preliminary site map and design which were tweaked and put into development. Prior to launch our team was able to beta test the site internally to provide feedback which was quickly resolved with the launch happening on schedule on a very tight turnaround (less than 6 weeks!).

What was the team composition?

We had a project manager Adithi and Aalap, the owner, was on almost every call. They were able to communicate with the back end team our needs but brought them in as needed to better understand any questions and/or issues to resolve them swiftly and timely.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The outcomes are immeasurable. From where we started the time our end user spends on the site has increased by 300%. Our bounce rate is down and the overall feedback from our clients is extremely positive. It really was a night and day difference we could not be happier!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow improved throughout the process with the introduction of Monday.com to track outstanding issues and resolutions. 108 is extremely proactive when it comes to technology for time management and workflow using Dropbox, weekly check-in calls that are recorded and saved and google docs.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The bespoke service they offer sets them apart. 108 really looked at the needs of our company and was willing to ask the questions to best understand what we needed and what we didn't know we needed! I know from working with other company's the stress that can come with building a new website and that certain was not the case with 108. Aalap has a very calming demeanor that kept us at ease even within a tight project schedule.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only area that needed some improvement was the tracking of changes needed for the site which was resolved within the process using Monday.com. Otherwise it was extremely successful!