Comrade Digital Marketing Agency

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Sales & Marketing - Material Handling of Fort Dearborn Enterprises, Inc. (USA Jib Cranes)

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Fort Dearborn Enterprises delivers industry-leading material handling solutions through its family of crane brands. From workstation and bridge cranes to jib cranes, gantry cranes, hoists, and custom-engineered lifting systems, we help manufacturers, warehouses, and industrial facilities improve safety, efficiency, and productivity with reliable American-made equipment. Websites: FD-Supply.com, Workstation-Cranes.com, USAJibCranes.com

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Comrade Digital Marketing Agency to accomplish?

• Generate leads via phone call through PPC advertising on Google
• Generate leads via email through PPC advertising on Google
• Generate leads via web form submission through PPC advertising on Google

SOLUTION

How did you find Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

Online Search

Why did you select Comrade Digital Marketing Agency over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Comrade Digital Marketing Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Create a PPC campaign for USAJibCranes.com that brings in quality leads requesting quotes via phone call, web form submission, and email consistently.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We went from receiving approximately 5-10 quote requests per month to 20-25.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

I was satisfied with the Comrade's repsonse time and how quick they were to take action every time I had a question or request.

What was your primary form of communication with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I was impressed by the lead tracking dashboard Comrade created for me. It allowed us to review lead on monthly basis and mark each opportunity as a qualified lead, open opportunity, unqualified, etc. Each lead's phone call was transcribed in to text descirption and that made it easy to recall what happened after the call.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Comrade Digital Marketing Agency could have done differently?

Honestly, no. I think everything was executed perfectly. The results speak for the company.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Marketing of Velvetech LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Specializing in custom software development and IT consulting, Velvetech is a company that provides clients with exceptional professional services for the complete cycle of product and project development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Comrade Digital Marketing Agency to accomplish?

• Build an effective SEO strategy
• Improve our website's search engine rankings to earn more organic traffic
• Increase in the number of qualified leads

SOLUTION

How did you find Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

Referral, Other

Why did you select Comrade Digital Marketing Agency over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

What was the size of Comrade Digital Marketing Agency’s team?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The team of Comrade Digital Marketing Agency developed an in-depth plan to follow for capturing more organic traffic and enhancing Velvetech’s website ranking in general. It included content strategy and working on on-page and off-page SEO.

They really grasped all of our requirements and took on the initiative to implement tactics like link-building, guest posting, and ads. Their team factored in keyword mapping, updating the existing landing pages and blog posts, and creating new content. All that they suggested was based on detailed competitor and kwds analysis with a focus on our goals.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Our website ranking has well improved and we achieved better positions with many pieces of content that we worked on together. The number of inbound leads was steadily growing on a monthly basis, which was the result of the agency’s efforts.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We used to have frequent meetings either once a week or every two weeks to keep each other updated on progress, milestones, and discuss future plans. In addition to these regular work sessions, we held monthly report meetings and high-level overview meetings every six months to evaluate our progress and align our goals.

The team was highly professional and cooperative, fostering transparent communication. We could always rely on the timely provision of regular reports, which provided us with valuable insights to make informed decisions.

What was your primary form of communication with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email
• Messaging App

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

They listen to you and define well the challenges you need to address. Their team was always on standby, delivering exactly what we agreed and often exceeding expectations.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Comrade Digital Marketing Agency could have done differently?

Nothing comes to mind, and I don’t see any areas for improvement, everything was as I expected.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a partner at a personal injury and family law practice in Texas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

We needed help creating a website from scratch and populating content. Our goal for the site was to attract new clients and drive consultations for the firm. We also needed to develop a logo and color scheme and create graphics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Comrade supplied us with an extensive branding questionnaire, which we filled out to communicate our needs. We collaborated with the team and shared our ideas, which they took to build a solid concept. They presented us with design options and we worked together to create a color scheme and design logos and patterns. 

Additionally, they helped us build a website from scratch. The site promotes our law firm and provides educational content to the general public regarding personal injury or family law matters. They create content and write copy for the site, which we’ve undergone several iterations of. They also optimize the site content for SEO. We will also be engaging their PPC services shortly. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Reed (Business Growth Expert) and Anastasia (Account Manager). 

How did you come to work with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

We searched on Google for SEO companies and found an article that mentioned Comrade. We reviewed their web portfolio, and I was attracted to their classic style, so we reached out to partner with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

Comrade created our initial website for roughly $13,000–$14,000, and we continue to invest $4,800 in the partnership per month. Our total investment is around $50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Comrade in August 2021, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m delighted with the final branding, logo design, and website from Comrade. Their content is informative and well-written; at this point, I don’t even edit it anymore because they’ve done a great job of picking up my voice. 

Even though our site is only five months old, and Google doesn’t recognize newer sites, we’ve seen some traffic, and our engagement is growing quickly. We’ve received eight inquiries since launching the new site and retained two before we even started any PPC efforts.  I expected to see promising results after six months in collaboration with PPC efforts, so the volume we’ve seen so far has exceeded our expectations.

How did Comrade Digital Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

The Comrade team is inordinately professional and backs up what they promise with monthly reports. They’re great communicators and quick to respond to our ideas; they’ve been great to work with. 

Reed does a good job overseeing the project, and Anastasia is very responsive. We meet biweekly to go over reports, and I can reach out to Anastasia in the middle of the night with an idea for an article, and she starts working on it immediately the next day. She gets everything done promptly.  

Our team is notoriously bad at keeping deadlines for non-work-related things because we have so many other deadlines as lawyers, and Comrade is great about gently nudging us to get things done. They consistently send email reminders with items checklists, and if I miss a deadline, they’ll follow up and propose realistic timelines for our team. 

We use the Google Suite to manage the project, and Comrade tracks items on a spreadsheet that links to each page and outlines tasks for me to cross off. We communicate via Google Meet. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I am most impressed with Comrade’s transparency throughout the project. They always communicate costs and outline the specific work the budget is going towards. They consistently provide us with performance reports, and they present explanations when we don’t perform as well as expected. 

I appreciate their openness and willingness to coach us through the SEO process since we operate in a different field. They provide a very collaborative experience, which I enjoy. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a lack of communication at the beginning, and it took a while for me to understand why I needed SEO before we launched. Comrade figured out that I needed to understand processes and accommodated that. Suddenly, we ironed out our communication, and it clicked, and I think we’re better for it. Aside from limiting the very minimal back and forth, I have nothing they could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I advise listening to Comrade’s deadlines. As attorneys, we don’t manage our time well because we’re so involved in our business. SEO growth is essential, so try to adhere to their timelines because it will make the project move much swifter.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an attorney and the president of a Law Firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

We wanted to build a website for our firm to subtly introduce our expansion into personal injury law and civil litigation. We were previously a criminal defense practice and relied on the firm’s reputation within the community to attract clients. We felt that a website could also help us gain market share in the criminal defense realm.

We initially started developing a website with a different development partner who supposedly specialized in building legal websites. Unfortunately, after investing time, effort, and funds with them, we weren’t happy with the result, so we started looking for another developer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Comrade built a website from scratch, and they continue to host and maintain it. Additionally, they manage our SEO efforts by writing content, conducting keyword research, and setting up backlinks. They also help us with PPC for Google Ads. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 6–7 Comrade team members, including an account manager, a project manager,  SEO specialists, and developers. They also have a lawyer on staff who helps write content. We mainly communicate with the account manager and project manager. 

How did you come to work with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

We weren’t thrilled with our previous development partner, so we asked our legal network for web-developer recommendations. We found Comrade online while researching other websites. We came across one of the sites they had developed and were impressed by the eye-catching design, so we reached out to them. We had shortlisted three developers to interview, and the Comrade team seemed dynamic, committed, and stable. We felt that Comrade was the best fit for us and moved forward with the engagement. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $50,000–$100,000 in the partnership.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Comrade in June 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new website that Comrade built increased our organic search traffic by 1,108% from when we started. We’ve also received positive feedback regarding the website design.  They decreased the cost per lead by 73%, and we’ve seen a significant increase in marketing qualified leads. 

They improved our Google ranking through keyword research; we seem to be showing up much higher in search results. We picked up a rather sizable case recently, and the client indicated that we were the top search result on Google. The client called us first and liked us, so they didn't call anybody else. 

How did Comrade Digital Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Comrade has done a good job managing the project. There have been times when they’ve had to prod us to stay on top of things. We’re pretty busy, and it can be challenging to meet the demands of Comrade and our everyday workflow, and they’re great at following up with us. 

We have biweekly progress meetings through Google Meet. We also use a project management tool and a shared project tracking document that keeps all parties updated on progress and outstanding tasks. The tool forwards notifications to our team members’ email inboxes according to our individual responsibilities. The document is helpful; it helps me keep track of who’s doing what and if any tasks are falling behind. 

The Comrade team is also very stable, which we appreciate. We’ve worked with other marketing professionals whose teams are transient, and it was essential for us to engage a stable, consistent partner. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Comrade is committed to getting the best results for their clients. They have innovative methods to locate powerful backlinks, and they meet with our team to display the benefits of our combined efforts to constantly generate high-quality content. 

They go above and beyond. I’ve been very impressed by their willingness to do whatever it takes to get things done. For example, one of the Comrade staff members joined our office meeting to review numbers and show us improvements. The legal industry is very precise, so our team needs to review web pages that Comrade builds, which adds work to our plates. Comrade gave a very persuasive presentation to help keep our staff engaged in the project. They’ve done a great job motivating everyone on our team, which wasn’t part of their contract. 

Comrade understands how busy we are, and they're good about trying to do as much as humanly possible without us to limit the demands they place on us. They are committed to seeing that we get great results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Ultimately, I have nothing Comrade could improve on. What we do is very precise, so it would be nice if they understood all the laws perfectly, but that would be an unrealistic ask and an unfair critique. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to fully engage with Comrade and treat the project like a collaborative partnership. You have to be motivated to get the most out of their services, and you can’t expect a high-quality, high-performing website without fully engaging with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of Great Lakes Advisory. We are a process improvement, process documentation, and training development company for small-to-medium-sized businesses. We make businesses easier to manage by documenting their processes, clearly defining their standard operating procedure, and building world-class training experience to get everyone aligned, so the business runs on repeatable processes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Comrade Digital Marketing Agency, and what were your goals?

We are in a very niche space. We originally hired Comrade for PPC and SEO, but we decided to end our PPC campaign a few months into our relationship due to the effectiveness of PPC within our space. We continue to use Comrade for SEO services with the goal of increasing our reach, improving domain authority, keyword rankings on Google, and generating +5 MQLs per month from our efforts.

SOLUTION

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

I received a referral from a previous business coach, Scott Hansen, that introduced me to Comrade. I interviewed two other vendors, and I felt that Sasha's approach and insight into SEO were superior to the competitors. Pricing was comparable across all three vendors, but I thought Comrade was a better fit for our needs.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Our engagement began with a discovery call, and we laid out our goals. We provided them with keywords, and we completed an onboarding questionnaire. From there, Comrade performed an onsite audit. After that, they developed a customized strategy based around our needs, keywords targeted, and goals. Comrade optimized our website for SEO purposes, corrected on-page performance, wrote service pages, backlinks, and began producing monthly blogs.

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

If I remember correctly, Sasha (founder & partner) was the only team member involved during the initial sales process. After that, we were assigned a Project Manager (Maria). Maria is our main point of contact, but I believe there are a few other team members assigned to our account that work on the backend.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have improved our keyword rankings dramatically since we started working with SEO. We are consistently receiving +5 inbound leads on a monthly basis.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

I meet with Maria (Project Manager) every two weeks. We previously met every week during the initial launch, but every two weeks is better for me. We communicate via email outside of our meetings.

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

Everyone on the Comrade team is extremely professional. I appreciate their transparency on where we stand regarding performance.

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

I would love if they offered some form of a quarterly review based on the initial goals to reassess the strategy, keywords we are targeting, etc. and present fresh ideas on how we can execute better for the next quarter. We do monthly reviews, but the general strategy and ideas presented haven't changed much since we started our engagement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Manager at Metropolitan Skin Clinic in Edina, MN. Our services include but not limited to Botox, Filler, Laser skin treatments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

Our website was lacking content. It was a brief overview of who we were. It did not drive much if any new patients to our office. While to brand and aesthetics of the old website were what we wanted, it did not function properly for our goals.

SOLUTION

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

We found Comrade through a mutual connection. They came highly recommended to us.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Initially, we were hoping that our existing site could be updated to perform better for google, but after lots of research on Comrade's side, it was concluded that a new website would need to be completed from scratch. After a series of meetings to discuss our current online presence and all the cleaning up that needed to happen, Comrade began the design process.

We then began to receive design concepts through Figma. Using Figma was great because we were able to make comments right where we needed to in order to let them know what we were looking for specifically.

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

We worked with a project manager and a 2-3 others, but mainly our project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The overall look and function/flow of our new website is immaculate. We absolutely love the work that Comrade did. It is too early to tell its success, but I have no doubt the numbers with show quickly!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It took a bit to find a cadence in the beginning of this project just because there was so much being thrown at us, but we figured it out and the working relationship has been very amicable. Deadlines on their side were always met promptly. They were also very easy to get a hold of if we had a quick question throughout the entire process.

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

I was blown away by the knowledge they have about web design and the everchanging requirements of Google.

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

While they were very knowledgeable about web design and SEO, I am not which is why they were hired in the first place. Sometimes I would have liked to know a little bit more about why they were asking for certain things to be completed on my end. It would have helped me understand what I needed to do in order to complete a task for them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior digital marketing manager at a software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

We needed a company that could help us improve our SEO strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Comrade Digital Marketing Agency to provide us with SEO guidance that would help us improve our overall SEO plan of intent. They’re also tasked with handling our site’s technical SEO, which involves everything from website performance to experience items.

Comrade Digital Marketing Agency also created content that aimed to drive our SEO value and search results. We discussed our overall content strategy for SEO and identified the items that they believe will be useful for us in terms of optimizing our content. 

They then provided detailed recommendations and reports, including competitive insights and hypotheses, to synthesize all of the information and ensure that our blog posts end up ranking well on Google. At the same time, they helped us consolidate the backlog of content that might be cannibalizing some of our keywords.

We are still working with them, but we are planning on decelerating a bit of our investment on the content side of things because we recently a person in-house. But we will likely stay with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency for overall SEO guidance.

What is the team composition?

My initial point of contact was Sasha (VP Solutions). He has checked in on us a few times since our engagement began to make sure that our expectations are met and to see if there's any room for improvement. He is always making sure that our strategy aligns with our paid media, which we have a different firm running for us.

We also work with their account manager, who is the week-to-week face of their team. She's the one who provides me with the monthly reports of the overall SEO strategy. 

There have been a few other individuals, technical experts, that we've had on a few calls. We ended up doing quite a bit of optimization work from a technical angle, so we needed to get a couple of developers on a call to make sure that we smooth out any errors in the backend.

How did you come to work with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

I found Comrade Digital Marketing Agency through a Google search. I went on discovery calls with four other SEO firms, but I ultimately decided to go with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency because they were the first completely honest and straightforward firm that I talked to — Sasha gave me a pitch that didn’t talk down to me and respected my professional opinion on the matter.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend a little bit more than $7,000 per month, so I’d say we’ve spent somewhere around $35,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Comrade Digital Marketing Agency has really helped us improve our page speed and introduced us to a paid service plug-in, which we’re really happy with. We’re also seeing quite a few of the blog posts that we re-optimized and consolidated really start gaining traction. We’re definitely seeing a 15%-20% increase in our overall keywords, a 50% increase in our impressions, and a 20% increase in our overall keyword universe on the front page of Google.

We can’t really say how much of this success is attributed to Comrade Digital Marketing Agency, but I can definitely say that they consistently deliver high-quality work. Not only that, but they also provide useful guidance and insights as well as a holistic perspective of our market and keyword universe.

How did Comrade Digital Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Comrade Digital Marketing Agency has been able to meet their deadlines without any problems, and all the work products that they’ve delivered meet our expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I like the most about Comrade Digital Marketing Agency is that they’re very honest and straightforward about SEO and the web in general. My biggest gripe with other vendors in this space is that they tend to tell me what they think I want to hear, show me metrics that are rosy, and cherry-pick data. But this has never been the case with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency — they tell us things as they are and give us actionable advice to get to the outcome that we wanted.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, the information or reports that they provide me feel redundant because they’re cookie-cutter. Our calls are probably better spent not discussing those reports anymore because I already know all of the information that they’re going to report.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you know what you actually want out of the engagement. You should go in with concrete traffic goals, conversion rate goals, or whatever you’re trying to achieve through the partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a company that serves the real estate, mortgage, and financial industries. We’re a full-service marketing firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

We brought Comrade in to help us develop websites for our clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Across all projects, Comrade developed and designed websites for our clients. They helped with the copy and with the overall presentation of each site as well as with the backend implementations. 

What is the team composition?

Several people from their team, over the years, have worked in various capacities. Our primary point person is Sasha (Managing Partner & VP of Client Solutions).

How did you come to work with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

Another company that we had worked with in Chicago several years ago introduced them to us. We had dinner with them and found that they really understood the website development process. We decided then that we were going to give them a try. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Comrade four years ago, around February 2018, and we have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One major success that has stemmed from our partnership with Comrade is when we were able to develop a website, which served as a major component to one of our marketing campaigns. What they do is very central and valuable to our efforts. 

How did Comrade Digital Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very good at managing the project. We find Sasha, in particular, to be very client-centric. We’ve been in the business for almost 40 years and they’re easily one of the top vendors that we’ve worked with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What stands out to me about Comrade is their follow-through and ability to deliver what they say they will deliver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I can think of. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and candid with the team. Provide them with all the necessary information so that they can come back to you with the best results. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sales and marketing coordinator for an IT company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

We had an old site that we needed to revamp.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Comrade Digital helped us with website development and design. We initially had a kickoff meeting with our project manager, and then my colleague and I worked with them to tell them what direction we wanted. We had weekly meetings to hit our time goal.

They used Webflow as a key differentiator for design.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with Reed (Senior Account Executive) and Anna (Former Project Manager). Everyone else was on the back — the web developers and staff would reply to us through comments.

How did you come to work with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

My boss found them. We were looking at Webflow website design companies, and they popped up somewhere. We had a few meetings with different companies and narrowed it down to two. In the end, we decided to go with Comrade Digital because we had a good experience working with Reed.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership in July 2021 and launched the website in November 2021. We only reach out to them for project work, so we’re not working together full-time anymore.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of results, the website looks very appealing. The designers did an excellent job, and it’s a significant upgrade from what we originally had.

How did Comrade Digital Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We just had weekly meetings through Google Meet; we didn’t use any other software. Their communication was good; they didn’t let anything slip through the cracks and always responded to our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The designers were great; it was definitely a deciding factor.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It wasn’t in their control, but there was a turnover with our project manager in the middle of our process. However, they handled the transition very well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to transition from WordPress, Webflow is a good product. It’s user-friendly for people who aren’t experienced with that type of software.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing for Europa Eyewear. We manufacture, design, brand, and distribute eyewear. We have 11 collections — three are sold directly to consumers, and the rest are sold to optometrist offices and other places.

We’ve built our business through relationships; we have long-term relationships with our customers and vendor partners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

Our relationships with our customers were driving our business, but if you looked up any of our brands online, it was a bit disappointing. Our digital presence felt outdated, which harmed the brand's overall perception.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our first project with Comrade was to redesign and launch a complete website with better UI/UX for prospective customers. It was a pretty significant endeavor for us, and concurrent with this project, we had to develop an API for our ERP system from scratch.

Their team was pretty instrumental in helping us think through the UX that we wanted prospective customers to have. We wanted customers to log into an online portal to order from and check their account details. We needed a competent team of developers and designers, and they definitely gave us that.

Our second project with them was to redesign and launch an e-commerce website for one of our direct-to-consumer brands. They worked with us from a strategy standpoint to find which conversion rate optimization techniques we should use. Additionally, they did a third site. It was basically the same thing, but for a different brand.

What is the team composition?

We talked the most with three people. We had an account manager as our primary point person, and there was a lead developer and an art director on each project. Those three people worked with a distributed team to get the project across the finish line.

How did you come to work with Comrade Digital Marketing Agency?

We worked with a consultant, and he recommended a couple of agencies to fulfill our digital needs — Comrade was one of those. After we had interviewed those agencies, Comrade was the one that felt like the best fit.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent about $100,000 on the first project, $50,000 on the second project, and $30,000 on the third.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2018, and the relationship is ongoing. We have more projects with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we’ve relaunched the site, the perception of Europa as a business has really changed in and outside of the industry. We’ve attracted top-level talent to our team and increased our average order sizes and the number of online business transactions with our customers. Overall, it has taken some of the burdens off our customer service department.

How did Comrade Digital Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very organized and proactive about mapping out a successful project. Comrade’s team is conscious of ideas, requests, and issues as they come up. They don’t take everything we say; they push back when we’re suggesting or requesting something that doesn’t make sense for our site goals, the UX, or other practical reasons.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really come to the table as business partners. We’ve never felt it’s just a client and vendor relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they seem to have our best interest and business goals at heart. We’ve been able to grow together.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Start the conversation with a clear idea of where you want to end up; they can help you flush that out. Also, capitalize on their momentum by staying responsive and alert to the updates.