Arcalea

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO and I run the IT department of FLIR Systems. We are the leading global manufacturer and developer of thermal imaging technologies, solutions, and platforms. We primarily serve clients in the commercial, industrial, and governmental sectors in the US and abroad.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arcalea?

Our business and primary clients were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of spending was postponed and deferred, but we also saw a massive uptick in the use of our technology for other use cases, like detecting elevated skin temperature. Our thermal imaging cameras became a tool for detecting coronavirus symptoms in airports and places of business. 

Once COVID-19 got more under control, however, we weren’t sure if that business was going to stick or go away. We wanted to have a long-term view of the market, considering that a lot of competitors were jumping up offering the same products at a lower cost. We needed to see how we could compete more effectively, so we hired Arcalea to do market and quantitative research. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Running the broad gamut of digital marketing technologies, Arcalea performed competitive analysis on the following categories of focus:

• SEO
• Online advertising
• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Technology stack
• Website performance
• Branded and non-branded awareness
• SRM and keyword distribution

Prior to that, we facilitated a discovery phase where we worked through a checklist or questionnaire to define the scope of work. We focused on identifying specific business problems in the thermal imaging market. We also narrowed our scope down to 10 initial competitors that we were looking to compare against.

Arcalea also used that time to familiarize themselves with our organization, products and services, value proposition, and clients. We worked together for a month before formally starting the engagement. 

After they conducted the research, they delivered a 315-page document that showcased the results along with a handful of their recommendations. They had an algorithm where we could enter our target spend and target revenue growth to find out how much we should invest and where.

What is the team composition?

I was mostly engaged with Mike (CEO) and Rachel (Consulting Supervisor), who was our day-to-day contact. There were three other individuals who had specific expertise and helped put together the deliverable. An accounts person was also on board for the more mechanical tasks like scheduling discussions, setting up payments, and the like. 

How did you come to work with Arcalea?

I had some exposure to Arcalea through the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. I was really impressed with the word that I had seen them do, which was the reason I chose them specifically. I thought that they were the leading edge in digital marketing, both from a content perspective as well as a technological viewpoint. As CIO, it was really important that I bring that capability into my firm. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in summer 2020. The official assessment started in July 2020 and the actual engagement ran from August–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to get a really valuable deliverable from Arcalea. Their insight was exceptionally helpful and their research was professionally done. We were able to get key learnings that helped inform our decisions.

Through their research, we discovered that we had extremely high brand awareness in the thermal imaging space, but we were lesser-known in the elevated skin temperature and elevated body temperature market. It helped abolish our assumptions and give us an idea that these markets exist for the type of technology that we offer. 

He learned a lot of other things but haven't gotten the chance to put those into play. However, their algorithm was really impressive. It demonstrated just how much digital capabilities can inform and drive marketing activities.

How did Arcalea perform from a project management standpoint?

Arcalea was excellent. They did everything exactly on budget and hit all the milestones. The team even did some extra tasks for us without charge, which I think is a great indicator of their commitment to making the project successful. They were super professional and easy to work with.

Throughout the process, we would get biweekly updates from the project lead. Mike was very hands-on and supportive especially in the beginning and ending stages. Rachel was extremely helpful and very knowledgeable.

We typically communicated through Zoom, email, and phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Arcalea is a client-focused team. Some firms have a specific methodology that they use all the time, but that's not what you get with our Arcalea. They really partnered with us in trying to come up with a solution and were very willing to focus on different things. 

Another impressive thing about them is that they are extremely flexible. We had some additional competitors come out of nowhere, but they added them to the assessment midstream. 

They're really strong experts when it comes to market assessments and digital marketing. They’re the cutting-edge on that front. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They were great to work with. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend that you go through a discovery session with Arcalea. We had people from our team who were pretty skeptical about the engagement, but all it took was one meeting with Arcalea to convince them of the value of the work. If it seems even remotely interesting to you, give it a try. They typically don't charge unless you sign up for a project so it's super low-risk.

Once you do engage with them, treat them like your internal marketing or technology team. They will certainly look out for your best interests. The more you can share to them, the better they’ll be able to tailor recommendations for your company. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing at Intelligent Growth Solutions. We build vertical farms in the UK and parts of Europe and Asia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arcalea?

We were a small company and needed help with increasing our brand awareness in our key markets.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Arcalea helps us with our marketing efforts. First, they provided a market analysis comparing our performance to our competitors. It detailed how we were doing in terms of search results, page ranking, domain authority, and other marketing metrics. They now conduct keyword research and run our PPC campaigns on Google Ads. They continue to work closely with our internal team on all our advertisements.

What is the team composition?

We work with three teammates. Rachel (Consulting Supervisor) manages the project and works with us daily.

How did you come to work with Arcalea?

I found them when I was working at a different firm. When I joined my current company, I decided to reach out to Arcalea again.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in October 2019 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re happy with Arcalea. We’ve seen an increase in impressions, engagement, and forms filled up, but the team is still looking for ways to improve our numbers. 

How did Arcalea perform from a project management standpoint?

Arcalea has done a terrific job — the team is timely and reliable. Furthermore, they’re transparent and fulfill all of their promises. Most of our communication is through email, but we also have phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Arcalea is very good at what they do — they really understand how Google Ads work and have the technical know-how we need to succeed. Additionally, they’re very structured and professional, so it’s easy to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would’ve been nice if they could’ve been more proactive at the start and created a step-by-step plan.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want and have realistic expectations. Additionally, be open to what they have to say.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the marketing director for an office space provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arcalea?

We have a small internal marketing department. Since our business began, we have partnered with third-party digital marketing providers. We had partnered with a couple previously, but we weren’t getting the results or attention that we wanted, especially for what we were paying them. We were looking for a company that could provide both of those things.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started out by engaging them in online advertising management with our Google AdWords campaigns. We found that we needed assistance with building up our SEO as well. They helped us do a structural redesign of our website to be SEO-friendly. We also engaged with them on content creation, and they post to our blog a couple of times per month. In addition, we have worked together on a variety of marketing outreach campaigns and email campaigns.

Most recently, we redesigned our website, and they provided the development resource for our design. We passed our designs to them and their developers were able to build the site for us.

What is the team composition?

We have an account manager, and we also work with the online advertising director.

How did you come to work with Arcalea?

They are friends of the founder of our company. After speaking with a half-dozen digital marketing agencies in Chicago, it seemed clear that Arcalea really knew what they were talking about. I appreciated that they didn’t talk down to us which was something I experienced a lot with bigger marketing agencies. It also seemed like Arcalea would be able to dedicate the desired attention to our company.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2015 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At one point, they identified that being able to book a tour online would increase our conversion rates for getting tours through the door. They did some customization on a plug-in for our website that allows leads to book a tour directly versus filling out a form and waiting for someone to get back to them. It has become a key part of our business. They were on the forefront of identifying that because, at the time, neither of our major competitors offered that. The tour booking feature has been the most significant evidence as it increased our conversions dramatically.

I was also very pleased with how well they managed the website development. It was really nice to be able to handle that with them since they are so involved with other areas of our marketing. We could hand them the designs and not have to worry about bringing in a third-party developer who would have to coordinate with the two working systems. Both of those projects were a huge success for us.

How did Arcalea perform from a project management standpoint?

They have been great. They are very responsive and on time. We mostly communicate via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are good about answering questions and being helpful and honest in the way that they answer. Their responsiveness is impressive. It’s great to know that an email will always be answered within a business day.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the president and CEO of Love & Promise Jewelers. We specialize in ethically-engineered jewelry and have a proprietary line called Rosados Box. We also carry other designers and products that live the same lifestyle as our business, a holistic approach to building products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arcalea?

We were in the process of rebranding and repositioning our company’s website, and we had recently switched marketing agencies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re currently working on reinventing our approach to finding our target audience. Arcalea is providing digital marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) management, and A/B testing.

They analyzed one year of our previous agency’s work. There were a few months when our traffic went down, and the previous company couldn’t explain it. Arcalea dug a bit deeper and discovered a number of broken links. They were able to give me solid answers, either on the spot or the following day.

We were trying to figure out how to target new clients, and our previous team was not able to provide the necessary data. We are currently redesigning our checkout process, which had proven to be a challenge for clients. We’re also implementing heat mapping functionalities and a number of backend changes. These changes will be tackled by our development team within the next 2–3 months.

Arcalea was upfront about not wanting to put too much emphasis on SEO at the moment since we’re rebuilding our website. As soon as our web design and photography are done, we plan to double our marketing. We will have a discussion around our SEO approach next month.

What is the team composition?

I usually contact Michael (Founder and CEO, Arcalea) and their project manager for any issues.

How did you come to work with Arcalea?

They were highly recommended by a few people I know who had used their services. Arcalea received praise for their knowledge and expertise in marketing. Michael had 20 years of experience in the field and had transitioned from standard marketing to digital. It was an easy decision to give them a try.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been $10,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Arcalea in December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Arcalea increased our total user count by 223% since the start of our collaboration. Our sessions have also gone up by 200%, and our bounce rate improved by 93%. These numbers are telling of their effective strategy and approach for capturing a new audience.

How did Arcalea perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great. I can ask any question and they get back to me within 24 hours. I usually contact them by email and phone, but we’ve had in-person meetings as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I found their depth of knowledge about how customers approach products to be enlightening. I was impressed with the overall professionalism and responsiveness of the team. If they didn’t have an answer immediately, they made sure to deliver one later on. Michael and his team provided detailed explanations accompanied by screenshots and quantifiable data for what occurred. Arcalea is a transparent and proactive company with a hunger for knowledge and a deep understanding of our projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t complain. Arcalea stands out, especially when compared to my previous experiences with other agencies. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should be as authentic as possible in terms of their expectations and level of knowledge. Arcalea can be very helpful in translating technical items into layman’s terms.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of creative for Guerrero Media, a media company that produces several media platforms. We also provide executive networking services. Our mission is to recognize, promote, and develop great executives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arcalea?

Our company has historically been in print magazines, but we’ve been shifting to digital for several years. As a smaller company, we needed external partners for digital strategy and consulting services to achieve further progress in this area.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Arcalea served as consultants for digital strategy and digital marketing, assisting with high-level branding and marketing decisions, then executing several engagements. In this role, Arcalea has completed a variety of strategic digital intitiatives. Currently, they’re piloting sales enablement and lead generation efforts. This project involves working with our sales team to scale outreach and automate manual processes. Another larger product development project aimed to optimize clients’ experience with enhanced content on digitized channels. They also taught our sales team useful vocabulary and trends to increase their marketing knowledge and prospecting capability.

What is the team composition?

We worked with the founder and CEO, an account manager, and several members of their digital team.

How did you come to work with Arcalea?

My CEO met the founder through the entrepreneurship community several years ago. When we knew we needed help on the digital strategy front, Arcalea was at the top of our list for vendors.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in January 2017 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We love working with them. Every interaction produces great value and exceeds our expectations for quality.

Arcalea has increased our digital reach and engagement levels significantly in a short amount of time. We're also seeing good progress with an ongoing project. As an example, growth of our digital communities, including social, has exceeded 500% in six months. This is one metric among many initiatives.

How did Arcalea perform from a project management standpoint?

The account manager is fantastic. She forges personal relationships and makes engagement easy for the client. The team’s execution has been seamless since the initial kick-off meetings. They communicate expectations and status updates clearly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with many marketing agencies that fell short of expectations. Arcalea implements concepts successfully. Excellent management, measurable results, and regular reports define their process. The team is also candid about success benchmarks. Overall. they’re knowledgeable, responsive, and continually over-deliver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At first, we didn't quite understand how projects were scoped. Now that we have been working together for the last year, we have our system down. We enjoy working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The partnership is collaborative. They familiarize themselves with the client’s business and process, and then use that information to produce impressive work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Executive VP of Sales for Carnegie Fabrics. We’re a textiles and wall coverings manufacturer. I handle the go-to-market strategy and have a hand in the marketing and digital side.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Arcalea?

We knew we didn’t know enough about digital strategy. We wanted to get a basic understanding of the landscape, how it applies to our business, and where we might want to invest in creating more robust strategies around our marketing, including digital.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve focused on digital strategy involving our websites, SEO and social media. The primary goal has been to improve our reach and rankings.

They began by coming in and providing an overview in which they explained how digital works today. From there, we hired them to complete a very in-depth audit of our website and social media, which was very detailed. 

What is the team composition?

We’re mostly in contact with Michael Stratta (Founder & CEO, Arcalea), but as our team ramps up the day to day work, we have a Project Manager assigned to our account.

How did you come to work with Arcalea?

I heard of them through word of mouth. They had an approachable nature and compared to others, Arcalea takes a very holistic approach to the whole ecosystem of digital, which we liked.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in March 2017 and the work is ongoing. The work has increased quite a bit in the last month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re really getting started in applying the information from their audit. They’ve helped our entire team understand the importance of the bigger picture strategy to digital.

How did Arcalea perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed really well. The project manager assigned to our account who is always productive and professional.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take something very complex and difficult to understand, and make it completely approachable, breaking it down in a way where you feel you can address it. Being able to communicate such a highly technical field is so important and unique to Arcalea.

For us, there was a level of trust that was built from the get-go. The way they present information is so thorough and beyond what we expected, which has been really impressive. Their holistic approach to their company is also impressive—we feel covered on all bases. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at this point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep an open mind and look at the big picture. The spend is always something we are never prepared for, but when you look at what the return is, or could be, that makes it worth it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Med Staff On-Call is a medical staffing company. I was the owner and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arcalea?

We wanted to differentiate ourselves from others in the marketplace. We needed to have a superior site and tools for recruiting.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Arcalea performed in four areas for us including redesigning our website and writing content. They helped us with SEO [search engine optimization] in Google AdWords and ranking and with PPC [pay-per-click]. We knew keywords that we needed to use, but they also helped us develop a list. They also helped us with our recruiting tools. Arcalea wrote content for both our social media and our blog. We had people from our team helping them, but Arcalea was guiding us through the process. Our target market started out as local around the Chicago area and then fanned out regionally because we provide travel nurses as part of our services.

How did you come to work with Arcalea?

I found Arcalea through some searches we did internally. We vetted a number of other companies, but Arcalea’s customer service stood out to us. They understood our business and were great at following through.

How much have you invested with Arcalea?

We spent almost $50,000 working with Arcalea.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Arcalea in January 2015, and our work with them was completed in January 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The traffic to our site increased by fivefold. We went from recruiting one to two nurses per week to over ten per week. Because of the keywords we used, we climbed tremendously in ranking. Arcalea provided regular analytical reports for us to see how their work was affecting our business. Their work was so good that we ended up selling the company.

How did Arcalea perform from a project management standpoint?

Arcalea did a fantastic job. We had a budget that was split up with 30% being used for content, 20% for website development and optimization, 30% for search marketing, and 20% for PPC. We had a pretty complex staffing system, so our communication was through email, phone, and many of our nurses schedule themselves through text messaging so we provided that tool as well. We felt that Arcalea's customer service was far superior to anyone else we talked to during the vetting process. They responded within hours when we made requests. Their communication was very proactive. Arcalea kept us apprised with their suite of dashboard tools which demonstrated how we were climbing the ranks and the activity that we were getting based off of their work.

What did you find most impressive about Arcalea?

Arcalea's expertise in this area is impressive. They help businesses build their portfolio in products and services. Arcalea also helps them advance through the digital tools that they provide. The customer service and metrics they provided demonstrated exactly how they were growing our business.

Are there any areas Arcalea could improve?

No, I think Arcalea was very astute to our needs and the requirements we outlined at the beginning of our project. They came with a lot of suggestions on how we might be able to position ourselves in the marketplace with the keywords, backlinks, and rankings that we were able to achieve. I have nothing but great things to say about Arcalea.