Convertiv

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a small international software company. We offer a product that acts as a translation engine between data warehouses and VI tools. It’s used by several large enterprises to help with analytics initiatives. I run our sales operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convertiv?

When we hired them, most of our needs were in the marketing space. We had a lot of technical issues with our website, and the content wasn't very well optimized. We wanted to be more searchable, improve our conversions, and increase our engagement opportunities. Users who visited our site had trouble finding downloadable information about us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started by removing any broken links or errors on pages to better our rankings. They did a deep analysis of the site and made recommendations for areas we could improve from a technical SEO perspective. They also looked at keywords to determine what areas we should target for our content and advertising.

They matched a list of topics that we were passionate about with market needs to have more cost-effective PPC campaigns. We also asked for specific recommendations to improve the conversion percentage and the UX of the site. They recommended a more digestible product section and tests for our content offerings. The most important metrics we measured were inquiries, qualified leads, and sales opportunities generated through the site, and the team continues to support those efforts.

What is the team composition?

We worked with five or six people on their team. They offered expertise in all the areas we needed, and we had leaders for technical SEO, conversion optimization, organic SEO, and paid ads.

How did you come to work with Convertiv?

One of my colleagues worked with them previously and introduced us. I spoke with them and a few other providers. No other agency offered the full scope that Convertiv did, and we liked that they were local to our area.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $10,000 per month with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around November 2018, and the engagement is still active.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We continue to see an uptick on the number of inquiries on the site. Out of those inquiries, the number of opportunities and qualified leads are up as well. We see more velocity in all of those vectors than before we started working with them.

How did Convertiv perform from a project management standpoint?

During the bulk of our work together, they were extremely organized. We worked through Jira and had a weekly call, but they were open to ah-hoc discussions when necessary. They provided detailed agendas and recaps before and after every call, and they were very good at making sure we were attuned to everything they were working on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very good at understanding the businesses they work with. They provide recommendations and offer good contacts for things they don't do. I'm content with how they've helped us so far.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don't have any complaints or improvements for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask for their contacts, and don't be afraid to ask follow-up questions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a multinational software vendor supporting marketers in the healthcare, retail, and financial services industries with a single point of control over their data, analytics, and campaign orchestration activities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Convertiv?

We initially engaged Convertiv to replace our underperforming PPC and SEO vendor. We quickly realized their expertise and expanded our scope to improve our online digital presence with microsites and a revamped website.

What were your goals for this project?

Our primary focus was to generate leads at all funnel stages. A secondary goal was to establish ourselves as a trusted resource for thought leadership content that was easily accessible. Convertiv was tasked with creating a digital ecosystem that added value to the consumption and utility of this content.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We initially engaged with Convertiv following a small previous experience, but, as this project was a larger undertaking before committing additional work to them, we undertook an extensive review among our collective professional networks of their expertise.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Convertiv was responsible for working with us to define and refine our strategy and strategic goals; coming to the table with thought-out ideas that would support the tactical execution of our strategy; reporting on the performance of each channel we deployed; handling the media buying; developing the digital creative, and supporting backend technology deployment.

What was the team composition?

I work most closely with our account manager, who is top notch. Outside of that, I work with team members responsible for each campaign channel (e.g., SEO, PPC, websites) as well as a principal and their reporting team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Marketing qualified leads (MQL) from the channels that Convertiv support have increased by 250% from 2017–2018. As far as paid media, which is one of our most expensive channels, our primary metric is program yield; Convertiv delivered a yield of 34:1 or 100% over their target yield metric.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We communicate easily with online tools, weekly meetings, and regular on-site meetings.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their digital team is outstanding and by far the best I've worked with. They are highly competent with all aspects of coding the technologies we work with, and are willing to come to the table with ideas about how things can be done better, faster, and so forth. More importantly, they have the confidence to tell us when something is not a good idea, but are always willing to go the extra mile to achieve our goals.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Scoping out campaign channel projects prior to launch would have been helpful. They should also make sure both parties are aligned on the campaign objectives.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I oversee digital marketing and creative branding for Extreme Networks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convertiv?

We needed a new website. Our industry had changed in the years since we developed our original site and our company completed three acquisitions. We needed a platform to reflect all of our new products and entice our customers in a modern way. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Convertiv team was involved from the beginning of development. They helped create the user journey and customer mapping flow. From there, they designed and developed the site on WordPress. Their developers built the site to allow for future scalability and they implemented SEO tools to help with search result rankings.

Additionally, their team spoke to key stakeholders of our company to ensure everyone’s voice was heard and considered in decisions.

What is the team composition?

My account manager was Ted (Director of Client Services, Convertiv) and I was in regular contact with the founders and the project manager. There were 4–5 teammates I interacted with on a regular basis.

How did you come to work with Convertiv?

We had worked with Convertiv on our original website. Our VP of global marketing stayed in contact with their team and we let them know about our new project. After discussing our needs and their offer, we decided to move forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

Overall, we spent a few hundred thousand dollars on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2017–July 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen an incredible jump in web traffic. Within the last year, we jumped between 60%–70% in organic traffic and our company became very popular in our industry. The site’s layout is cleaner and easy to navigate—and it is more compatible with Google search results. The overall structure and flow are smoother for users, which is a testament to the work Convertiv did for us. 

In a less quantitative measure, the improved site also received a round of applause from our executive team, so we're all very pleased with it.

How did Convertiv perform from a project management standpoint?

I was always confident Convertiv was on track during the project. They kept us updated through email, phone, Slack, and text, depending on the teammate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They knew exactly what we wanted and how to achieve it from the beginning. Their team took the right steps to finish the project on time and made sure we knew about every update.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Early in the process, my team wanted the project completed within six months and were disappointed when Convertiv set a one-year deadline. However, they explained the process to us, and we fully understood their timeline. They were able to calibrate and manage our expectations to create the best site.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should trust their expertise—they know what to do and will deliver a high-quality product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the VP of Marketing at GoCanvas. We are a cloud-based software platform that helps businesses reduce paperwork, automate their processes, and save time and money by better-capturing data.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convertiv?

We are big believers in inbound and content marketing and have been looking for ways to efficiently drive traffic to our business. We found that, while we had high traffic to our website, we were not converting those visits into sign-ups to try our product. As a result, we decided to work on Conversation Rate Optimization (CRO) internally using Optimizely, but decided we needed outside expertise to really help us grow our numbers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Convertiv is our CRO agency of record. To begin, they conducted a CRO audit of our website to identify areas that needed improvement to better our conversion rate. Currently, they deliver weekly, monthly, and quarterly strategy plans to identify tests to run on new concept designs. These are based on mockups we approve that are put together by their developers and tested. We then decide what experiments to implement based on data collected from Optimizely, Google Analytics, and other web analytic tools.

What is the team composition?

We work with an account manager that coordinates the project, and an overall relationship manager that checks in monthly to make sure everything is running smoothly. We also work with various developers as needed.

How did you come to work with Convertiv?

When we decided to seek outside CRO help, we received a few recommendations from Optimizely in our area. We vetted the recommended companies and decided that Convertiv was the best.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested around $200,000 in their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working together since December 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have run multiple tests with Convertiv that have translated into double-digit increases in sign-up rates on our website. Those have resulted from changes to the sign-up flow, how we ask for user information, small design changes, and even some brand new concepts created by Convertiv.

How did Convertiv perform from a project management standpoint?

They are probably the best project managers of all the agencies we work with. They send out pre-call agendas every week before conference calls, and notes on next steps and action items at their completion. We use Jira to keep track of everything and assign tasks, and they always have mockups and analytics available for us to review.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Convertiv has really helped us to achieve our goal of having an improved conversion rate. They take a disciplined approach at identifying and prioritizing opportunities, and they focus on what really matters. They realize the time and resource constraints we have, so they hone in on what is going to have the most impact for us.

Any advice for potential customers?

We have worked well together because we do not have a lot of internal politics or approvals we have to work through. This has allowed them to make changes to our website quickly because they don’t have to go through a lot of red tape. I think that a company with more strict internal processes can still work with them, but it will slow things down a lot and make the whole program less effective.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief marketing officer for a cybersecurity tech startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convertiv?

We hired them to help develop a new website for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The company didn’t have much infrastructure established when I first joined the team. We had no CRM, marketing automation systems, or social publishing platforms. I worked with Convertiv to build our technology framework. Then, they designed and developed our company’s WordPress website. In addition to implementation, they also helped me troubleshoot the technologies that exist within the site’s infrastructure.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with one of their co-founders and an associate digital producer, as well as briefly working with a designer. The typical makeup of the team was one of the company founders, a project manager, and designer.

How did you come to work with Convertiv?

I've worked with Convertiv in a variety of positions throughout the past decade of my career. My previous engagements with them include designing digital marketing plans, SEO, content development, and social media monitoring. As a result, I've forged a strong working relationship with the company as a whole and engage them whenever possible.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project took place from September­–November 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When I first joined the company, we had no tracking systems in place from a sales and marketing perspective. Convertiv’s work changed all of that and we can now collect all the statistics we need. That information helps impact the decisions I make for the organization moving forward. Our board of directors are incredibly happy with the work that was done to improve the company’s public visibility and brand identity.

How did Convertiv perform from a project management standpoint?

Convertiv is excellent with project management. Unlike other agencies we’ve worked with, they don’t need to be micromanaged by us to move the project forward. They provide written status updates on a weekly basis. Considering we’re a small team that works in a fast-paced environment, their ability to keep us organized by communicating the project’s status through the designated channels is invaluable to me. We communicated via phone, email, and face-to-face meetings. We also used Jira to track the development process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Conrtiv’s dedication to their customers is a remarkable attribute. The projects they take on and the roadmaps that they’ve helped put in place for our organization are unlike that of any other agency I’ve worked with before. They’re a premier provider of technology marketing solutions. They have a keen ability to do a quick personnel and technology assessment to improve upon what already exists. This facilitates a swift turnaround time. From an operational point of view, they’re truly partners to their customers. It’s not a standard vendor relationship and that’s hard to come by these days.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My only advice to them is to keep developing their staff. They've built an amazing group of folks that have talent across the digital spectrum. It's great to see how they've grown and continued to cultivate high caliber talent that maintains their level of service and dedication.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Hire them now and don’t look back. The value that they provide is almost unmeasurable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing at Placester. We create real estate websites for individual agents and brokerage firms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convertiv?

Our website was getting a lot of traffic, but our conversion rates were below industry standards. We wanted to improve our site’s performance to address this issue, so we hired them to help us audit and find solutions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We originally brought in Convertiv to conduct a technical audit on our WordPress site. We wanted to find any areas that were in need of improvement. We then walked them through the process of deploying changes on the site from staging to production to avoid bugs and overwritten code. These audits set the foundation that allowed us to move quickly through the rest of the project.

We now have them on a monthly retainer for conversion rate optimization (CRO) services. We identify specific pages on the site that are important to us, and they analyze user behavior to create new designs in accordance with our objectives. We go through the options they create together and A/B test it against the old page using Optimizely. Provided the new designs show increased conversions, which they usually do, we deploy it on the site.

What is the team composition?

I interact with a broad variety of team members, but I work most closely with the director of customer relations and an account manager. Tim (Co-Founder, Convertiv) has also been actively involved.

How did you come to work with Convertiv?

I worked with them while I was at another company, so I was very familiar with their work.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $60,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2017, and they’re still on retainer with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Convertiv is very fixated on performance and data, which we really appreciate. Every time we complete a task, they help us understand the results. We run about one A/B test per month from design to implementation, and results have been overwhelmingly positive. Five out of the six total tasks that we’ve run have seen a 22%-45% increase in conversions.

How did Convertiv perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always on time and always prepared for the next step, which I haven’t experienced with other vendors. We typically have weekly standup meetings and document progress in Jira. We’re also linked to their Slack channel and they’re extremely responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They don’t focus on one specific area of marketing like many companies in the industry. Instead, they offer a broad variety of marketing expertise and align their strategies across the board to tell the full story. They work collaboratively and get results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind in terms of quality of work. We’d love to see them grow and implement their services across our business.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you clear all roadblocks internally when you’re working with them. They work very quickly, and you need to supply them with the information they need efficiently. You’re hiring them for their expertise, so be open to new ideas and make sure your company is well-informed on what they’re doing throughout the project. Also, give them time to ramp up leading into the project. They take time to understand your product and your business, and each month has better results as they continue that process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Strategy Officer of Autura

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We keep vehicles, people, and communities moving safely.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Convertiv to accomplish?

• Rebranded website

SOLUTION

How did you find Convertiv?

Referral

Why did you select Convertiv over others?

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

How many teammates from Convertiv were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Convertiv will deliver a website that can be expanded upon by adding new web elements and pages as the product offering and company evolve. The program will follow a phased approach: 

• Phase I: Project Onboarding and Alignment, Web Support and Infrastructure 
• Phase II: Web Kit, Information Architecture and Wireframes 
• Phase III: Design and Design Documentation 
• Phase IV: Development, Integrations, Site Migration, and QA 
• Phase V: Post-Launch Support and Transition

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

On time and on budget.

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

Excellent project management. They keep everyone on track and move the projects forward.

What was your primary form of communication with Convertiv?

Virtual Meeting

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

Great work in the past - reliable and willing to work with you.

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

No