Baunfire

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Senior VP of Marketing for Lease Advisors, LLC, a multinational financial services firm, specializing in REITs (real estate investment trusts).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Baunfire?

We wanted to promote our brand and increase market-qualified leads (MQL) through digital marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Baunfire acted as the digital arm of our organization. They organized multiple collaborative strategy sessions and asked questions about our MQL scoring and how we offer services and categorize customers. We provided information about our company and target customer personas; our goal was to increase business. They presented several strategies — along with empirical evidence of their efficacies — so that we could make decisions together. 

They created and executed a digital marketing strategy to drive potential customers to our site. They developed omnichannel marketing assets, including print ads, direct mail campaigns, booth designs for events, native content, Google Ads, animated ads for YouTube and other channels, and leaderboard ads for rich content sites, such as CNN and ESPN. Their social media marketing strategy targeted a number of posts for each branding purpose, including generating engagement and redirecting users to our website. They implemented account-based marketing and encouraged us to cross-pollinate our products.

When we first engaged with them many years ago, they designed and developed our website using PHP, WordPress, and their own platform, which integrated with other platforms we were using. Their design team optimized the UX to improve our site’s capture rate and facilitate our organizational needs. They ensured the project was NetSuite compliant and integrated easily into our business tools, including MS Dynamics, Salesforce, and Power BI. They hosted and managed the site after building it and provided analytics on end user activity, including information we requested and additional information they deemed important.

They utilized SEO best practices and updated the site to maintain SEO through Google Panda and Google Penguin algorithm updates. They translated our site into seven different languages, hiring native speakers of each language to ensure the translations were spot-on and written in the correct dialect.

What is the team composition?

We always dealt with 5–10 members of Baunfire’s team, including Juan (Founder) and Lily (Director of Design). On the web design team, there was a content specialist, an architecture design specialist, a UX designer, a social media specialist, and a graphic designer. They assigned a strategist to each project we hired them for, and a channel manager and logistics teammate were assigned to each channel.

How did you come to work with Baunfire?

A connection from an executive group I’m a part of recommended that I include them in my RFP process. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent approximately $600,000 with them over two engagements. Our first engagement was over $100,000 per year, and our second engagement was $200,000 in total. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We first worked with them between October 2011–May 2016; our second engagement lasted from September 2019–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With Baunfire’s help, we increased our overall revenue by 37–38% quarter-over-quarter (QOQ). In our first engagement, we saw a steady 22%–23% increase in qualified traffic to the site QOQ for several years. Our MQL also increased by 14% QOQ. Our brand awareness grew exponentially by triple digits over the course of our engagements; we won business from our competitors due to Baunfire’s strategies. They had a strong understanding of design best practices and our strategic initiatives.

How did Baunfire perform from a project management standpoint?

I expected a lot from Baunfire, and they delivered. Their ability to manage me and my team was outstanding, and they accommodated the addition of new KPIs. Their reporting dashboards were crucial to our ability to scale; we allocated more marketing funds based on the success of their strategies.

Their team was consistent; the teammates we met with when we signed an agreement were the same ones we worked with throughout each project. We met bimonthly with each channel manager, and they were willing to have calls at late hours or on weekends. Slack was our everyday communication tool. They used Microsoft Project and Asana for project management and uploaded assets to Brandfolder for us to view.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was evident that they were passionate about their work. They were always 1–2 steps ahead of other consultancies we’d spoken with. I could always count on them to go above and beyond. I felt like my needs were their needs, and they took ownership of the end goal.

They are consistently the first agency I turn to for digital marketing support. They’re experiencing hyper-growth right now, which is a testament to their organization. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d change about the partnership.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When you work with Baunfire, come to the table with your objectives and let them define the strategy to achieve those goals. Think of them as a consultant, strategic partner, and digital agency all in one. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of operations of Allison Shipping International, an international logistics company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Baunfire?

We didn’t have the best website, so we were looking for a partner that could revamp it to improve our online presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Baunfire provided WordPress web design and development for us using Figma as their main tool. They kept several aspects of our old site, but the platform's content and main elements were brand new and made from scratch. We started the process by having an initial meeting where we told Baunfire's team what we needed, and they gave us a quote based on that. Consequently, they scoped out the project, went through a discovery phase, had weekly meetings with us to go over the different steps of the engagement, and built the website taking into account our suggestions for content and the information we gave them.

Regarding features and functionalities, they focused on creating a top-notch design with an improved UI/UX and flow to allow users to navigate smoothly through the platform. Baunfire also revamped our quote, booking, and contact forms to make them more user-friendly. Furthermore, they offered hosting and maintenance services.

What was the team composition? 

We worked with 5–6 members of Baunfire's team, including Nicole (Producer), Alyssa (Junior Designer), Annping (UI/UX designer), and Stacy (Senior Technical Project Manager).

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $35,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September–December 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website that Baunfire created exceeded our expectations in every aspect. Additionally, the timing of their delivery was perfect because we were able to start the new year with a new website!

In terms of metrics, we noticed an increase in calls, leads, sales, business conversions, traffic, and impressions — people started noticing us and filling out our forms for business inquiries.

How did Baunfire perform from a project management standpoint?

Baunfire’s team was extremely nice, helpful, organized, efficient, and great at providing insight to bring our ideas to life. In addition, Baunfire laid out every task on a clear timeline, which helped us keep an organized track of the project. In terms of tools, we used Google Docs, Google Slides, email, and Zoom. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Baunfire’s organized processes were their biggest strength. They had a great system from the discovery phase all the way to the website’s launch, including timeline management for every task and a clear list of what they needed from us. Moreover, their creativity and design skills were quality assets of their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t think there was anything they could improve on; we had a great experience, and Baunfire did an excellent job on the website, which was an integral part of our success in looking for new customers.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear plan and idea of what you want for your project. This will make everything easier, and you’ll get the most out of your partnership with Baunfire. Moreover, be open to receiving ideas and rely on Baunfire’s creativity because that’s their area of expertise.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there:

I’m the senior digital marketing manager at a Software Solutions company that offers software solutions to complex discrete manufacturers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address?
Build a new website on Wordpress with a visual composer solution fit to be managed in house after launch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement and team dynamic?

Baunfire would build the website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with your partner evolve?

After launch, there were differences in what Baunfire categorized as bugs resulting in many instances of broken functionality and/or functionality that was not completed prior to launch.

In what ways can they improve?

They should build with better quality to reduce bugs.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?
Ensure all of your requests are completed prior to launch or final payment and don't plan on bug support after launch beyond very quick and simple fixes.

UPDATED REVIEW

Review was published on 06/02/2023

Ryan Schweppe
Senior Digital Marketing Manager, iBase-tSoftware

Lake Forest, California

201-500 Employees

Jan 2023 - May 2023

Confidential

Verified

Project summary
A software solutions company hired Baunfire to redesign their website, which had over 500 pages with various sub-domains. The team worked on making the main domain more user-friendly and easier to navigate. 

Feedback summary
Baunfire delivered great work, delivering the redesigned website without compromising its search engine rankings. Moreover, the team managed the project well using tools such as Slack and Pastel. Their members were highly organized, meeting deadlines and staying within the client’s budget. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior digital marketing manager at iBase-t, a company that offers software solutions to complex discrete manufacturers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Baunfire?

We hired Baunfire to build our primary corporate website. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our website had over 500 pages with various sub-domains. Ultimately, the team’s scope of work was to redesign the main corporate domain to align with a new brand that we recently launched. They worked on making our website user-friendly and easy to navigate. 

They used negative space that broke up content, making the information on the website more consumable. The team also utilized anchor links and secondary menus so users could jump easily to relevant pages. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with 6–7 teammates from Baunfire, including a project manager, a creative director, and at least three developers. 

How did you come to work with Baunfire?

I found Baunfire via Clutch. The research process took 1–2 months, and we interviewed 15 companies. After multiple rounds of interviews, we shortlisted 5–6 companies, including Baunfire. 

We had an expedited timeline, and I laid out a detailed requirements document during the research process. Specifically, the website should be live and have undergone QA by May 2023. Juan (CEO) was with me step by step, answering my questions during the prospecting phase. They were the most detail-oriented and receptive team.

Ultimately, they proposed a plan alongside mine that showed they received the message and understood their mission better than anybody else. On top of that, they had good credentials; other people validated their past work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from January–May 2023. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Launching this website, we were quite concerned about our search engine rankings. When we launched our last website two years ago, it lost 80% of its traffic. 

With that in mind, ensuring that we were supported to mitigate as many risks as possible was top of mind for me. Without being too specific about our metrics, I’d say all the lead metrics I’d seen were positive. We didn’t see any dip in our organic traffic on search engines. 

How did Baunfire perform from a project management standpoint?

Baunfire’s project management was solid, and I didn’t see anything slip through the cracks despite details being thrown both ways. We had weekly stand-ups that helped us keep everything on track. 

For communication, they opened their Slack channel to us, enabling us to communicate effectively. Moreover, they were receptive to using our project management software. I had charts and other project management tools already built into our Airtable system, and they were open to using them. They used a QA feedback system called Pastel, which allowed us to put all our feedback in one area. 

Overall, the tools they put together were specific to the things that needed to be delivered by each party. This was extremely vital for us and empowered our team to stay on the timeline. In addition, they stayed on budget. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the best things about Baunfire was their organization. We had an expedited timeline, and one of the things I was cognizant of was our team’s lack of creative aspect. Even so, Baunfire listened to us and the directions we wanted to pursue no matter how poorly articulated or fleshed out they were. They understood our ideas and used best practices while listening to everything we wanted. 

They improved everything in our product, but the most valuable thing they did was to listen to where we wanted to go while working with our team. They ensured that everybody was on the same page and met all requirements and milestones along the way. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. Baunfire held up their end of the bargain every step of the way. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to put all your ducks in a row. All too often, companies go to agencies like Baunfire and expect the team to do everything — nearly offloading the project to them. In reality, that shouldn’t happen. 

You should try different ways to support Baunfire and help them truly flex their muscles and do what they do best. They can’t just walk into a project and provide a perfect solution. You must have a plan for collaboration and ensure that you have internal resources to support that. 

For example, I told our executive team I needed to be empowered to set aside days on their calendar for them to provide feedback on the project. Otherwise, we wouldn’t hit our launch date. I was intentional and did everything to ensure we had internal resources that would give Baunfire everything they needed to get their job done.
Overall rating:    5

Quality:    5

Cost:    5

Schedule:    5

Willing to refer:    5