Bastion Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

John Larson & Company is a five-person outfit specializing in helping clients understand the key needs of their customers and build strong relationships with them. I’m the president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Elevate?

In 2017, a colleague and I published a book called Capturing Loyalty. We wanted to use it to educate the business world on the importance of loyalty and how to go about creating it. I needed help with generating PR and speaking engagements for the book.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bastion Elevate worked to get my ideas out in the larger business community. Some of those were contained in Capturing Loyalty, but I had a whole series of ideas that I couldn’t put into a book. about firing customers, the importance of the salesforce, the importance of initial training. That’s where Bastion Elevate was really good. 

I sat down and talked to them about what I wanted to accomplish. They really did a good job of understanding what I wanted to accomplish. They made some suggestions that I felt led to a better set of goals and objectives, and worked with me to get that done. Within the first two weeks of working with them, we had a pretty good game plan of what it was we wanted to do.

Within a month, I felt I’d known the entire team for four years. Bastion Elevate found homes for my thoughts and ideas in social media, magazines, and periodicals dedicated to healthcare and salesforce management. I ended up with 10–15 pieces by the end of the year, including a review from Forbes. I made copies of these resources and distributed them to clients and business prospects. 

We had a mechanism in place for maintaining contact regularly to measure how effective our implementation efforts were and modify the strategy as needed.

What is the team composition?

Shana (CEO, Bastion Elevate) was the relationship manager. My day-to-day contact was Dave (Senior Managing Account Director, Bastion Elevate). He had sources that might be interested in the material, or, if not, he could find them. He worked with me to craft my thoughts and ideas into articles and pieces that these various organizations would be willing to publish.

How did you come to work with Bastion Elevate?

After publishing Capturing Loyalty, I hired two firms: one to generate some interest in PR, and the other to help me get some speaking engagements. Those firms began working for me around September 2017. By December or so, I got the sense that things weren’t clicking. I wasn’t getting the help I thought I would. 

I started talking to a few people to find other firms, and one of them mentioned a firm he’d worked with, called LFPR, which I believe eventually merged with Bastion Elevate. He introduced me to Shana, and I believe we had some phone calls in January or February. I ended up terminating my relationships with the two firms I had been working with and started working with Shana and her group.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2018. We continued working on a monthly basis through December of the same year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To me, the success of their work was in getting me materials that I could show to clients and start meaningful discussions. Where it worked most effectively was in rekindling or strengthening relationships with existing clients. It also gives me something to leave off with prospective clients and make those encounters more impactful. I didn’t get approached by people who’d read my articles, but I got enough from existing clients and my own door-knocking.

How did Bastion Elevate perform from a project management standpoint?

It was really quite helpful. We had a phone call every two weeks plus plenty of calls in-between as needed. We were a one-hour drive away so we were able to meet in person sometimes, which was helpful for me. We stayed in touch, and they were great at giving me feedback on what I’d written and suggesting changes.

When we ended our relationship with Bastion Elevate, we tried to maintain the relationship with one of the magazines. It was such a hassle dealing with the magazines even for 1–2 pieces at a time that we decided it wasn’t worth it. That was all stuff that we never got to see because the people at Bastion Elevate handling PR took care of it for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared to past vendors, Bastion Elevate was a lot more proactive. They generated many more opportunities, and they felt comfortable with a process where we stayed in touch regularly to make sure we were meeting our goals and objectives. With other agencies I’ve worked with before, trying to get any kind of meeting was like pulling teeth. It’s really hard to have an effective relationship if we can’t speak to each other. We prefer to have at least have a weekly or biweekly check-in on how things are going. Bastion Elevate made that happen.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were really good at listing and modifying my ideas. I never asked them to come up with their own ideas, but I would’ve appreciated a few more suggestions from their side. Other than that, I’ve used Bastion Elevate as an example of good client relations to the people I work with. They did a good job.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I believe it’ll work best if the client follows their process. Take the time to help them understand what your needs and capabilities are. Bastion Elevate was really good at listening, probing, and understanding. If the client spends time with them on that, they’ll exceed their expectations. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of an emerging franchise brand in the F&B QSR category.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bastion Elevate, and what were your goals?

When launching a digital marketing campaign in our community, Bastion Elevate and Jordan D. specifically, helped us to achieve our goals of increased customer traffic, increased product awareness, and overall sales lift.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

The main reason we went with Jordan and the team at Bastion Elevate was because of their willingness to adapt to our needs, put our recommendations and thoughts into action, and because they provided a no nonsense approach to data driven factors.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

Digital Marketing plan across multiple zip codes focused on driving awareness and traffic.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Multiple folks helped behind the scenes but Jordan was the main contact

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We had a very successful campaign!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Easy and smooth, literally no issues with their team

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Speed, effectiveness, and the support level was perfect

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None that comes to mind