Dallas Riffle Media

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the business development executive of Keystone Technology, a managed service provider for IT. We act as the IT department for other companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dallas Riffle Media?

We’d reached a point where we needed to grow the business and update all our marketing materials and strategies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We completely redid our website, and they helped us introduce a number of new products. Included in that was helping us develop the logos, colors, taglines, and messaging necessary to bring the products to market. They’ve also assisted our customer acquisition operations by implementing an automated email system.

The new website represented quite a transition for us. We hadn’t done any work on it in quite a while, so it was a modernization of our web presence and look and message. For Keystone, we hadn’t looked at tags or SEO before. We had enough business so it didn’t matter how we feel on the search engine results, but we were able to change all that.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people in particular but we tapped into everybody on their team.

How did you come to work with Dallas Riffle Media?

We were working with them at a couple of our other companies. Originally, they were referred to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

They’ve been working for us at Keystone since October 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before they came on, we were growing faster than we could handle and actually shut down sales for a period to get our operations in order to meet our promises to new customers. While we were down, that’s when I decided to revamp everything. That way, when we hit the go-button we would look and act differently. We turned the faucet back on when we had a couple of new products, colors, and messages and it took right off.

How did Dallas Riffle Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fantastic. I didn’t experience any surprises, and it was really collaborative effort. They listened very well to what I wanted but gave their input and ideas too. At no point while we were making changes did I feel they were getting tired of us or our vision. To be honest, there weren’t too many changes anyway because they spent so much time upfront listening and building ides. When they brought anything back it was pretty on-point with what we were after.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They supported all their ideas with data and examples. They never said, “Just trust me on this.” Instead, they showed us research and explained to us the opportunity they saw.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. If there was anything we handled it as we went through the project. It always felt like a collaborative effort.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go all in. They’re going to ask a lot of questions trying to get insights so spend time upfront to understand what you’re trying to accomplish and how to put your vision into words. That way, you’ll be able to answer their questions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Melt Bar and Grilled. We’re a 10-location, full-service restaurant.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dallas Riffle Media?

I’ve been handling the majority of marketing since Day one, but my role changed as the company grew and I was looking to bring in a firm to do our marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There are many aspects to restaurant marketing but their main focus is the digital aspect. They built our website from scratch, replacing an old and tired website that another marketing firm had built. They head up our social media team as well. Someone within Dallas’ team handles the majority of our social media presence and online marketing and advertising. There’s also a graphic design aspect to their firm, so they do our in-house promotions, posters, and advertisements. We also do a lot of video and photography content with them.

We’ve opened four locations since signing with them and they helped us with those. They compiled press and media contact lists so we could reach out to the communities we were entering and invite them to pre-opening parties. They also work with Google, Facebook, and Yelp.

What is the team composition?

We work with everyone at his firm, including photographers and videographers. One of his main people is Shawn (Digital Marketing Manager), who heads up their digital marketing. I deal with Shawn a lot, especially since we ramped up our social media during the pandemic to ensure we stayed relevant and top of peoples’ minds. They’ve allowed us to ride out the pandemic pretty well with robust sales so far.

How did you come to work with Dallas Riffle Media?

I met Dallas (President) at a charity event 5-6 years ago. He told me he was breaking away from his former firm and looking to build up his clients. His company was a startup looking to get off the ground floor like mine, and the directions we were taking our companies in meshed. I also liked his individual approach to each client, as well as his desire to focus on only a few clients to ensure they got 100% of his attention.

I’d met with a couple larger firms in my area but I was worried about how dedicated they would be. I didn’t want to get lost in a shuffle or have to fight for attention. We’ve been working with Dallas Riffle Media ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We do a lot of stuff on retainer with them, rather than a project-to-project basis. In the past five years, we’ve probably spent between $600,000­–$700,000

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Under the circumstances of the pandemic we’ve done fairly well, and I attribute a lot of that success to Dallas and his team. They’ve worked days, nights, and weekends putting together different schemes.

I was trying to handle a lot of things internally or through friends, but turning things over to a professional with experience and training has grown our following. We have an email blast that goes out once or twice a month, and the number of people who’ve signed up has increased tremendously. It’s hard to put a dollar amount or get an ROI on what we do with them but the business has grown and we’ve opened four more locations since they started with us.

How did Dallas Riffle Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We had monthly meetings (in-person and video conference), but sometimes we met more than that to put together marketing plans for the next scope. We normally plan things out weeks ahead of time but we’ve been rolling things out in a day or two during the pandemic and Dallas would make changes with hours’ notice. They were on top of everything without hesitation. They did everything they could to make sure we were successful.

We often have several projects going at the same time and things are in flux, but they do very well with it all. They often finish ahead of schedule, or at least on time. It’s still the case nowadays when we need things done in hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They listen to what I have to say as an owner and to my team. They have their own agenda they want to accomplish with us as a company but we collaborate. Disagreements happen on occasion but those are rare. They were learning our brand for the first couple of years but now it’s quite a seamless partnership.

Additionally, Dall does a good job of learning his clients and learning about the people behind the businesses he’s promoting. He works with them to reach their goals but put his own spin on it. It’s hard to see our restaurants from a different perspective but they have a really good sense about that. They’re great at looking at us from a customer’s perspective, and especially from a modern angle. They know what’s fresh and cool now. Our stuff doesn’t feel stagnant or stale.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing really comes to mind. There’s a give and take, obviously; I don’t take their ideas carte-blanche. My only critique would be of the timeframe it took for them to get to know me as the company. That’s not really on them, though. You can’t feel like you’ve been working with a partner for 5-6 years in the first few months. There’s no switch to flip. We’ve built a personal and professional relationship since then.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to drive the bus with any firm, not just with Dallas Riffle Media. Don’t take things point-blank. You have to make sure that everything rolled out for your company is 100% you. There’s always time to change and make adjustments, so don’t be afraid to say if something doesn’t represent you. We’ve adjusted seconds in videos we’ve put out. They’re very adaptable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the president of Clum Creative. Our company creates videos.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dallas Riffle Media?

We’re always looking to add value for our clients and grow our revenue. We wanted Dallas Riffle to provide our clients with other services such as design, web development, and marketing messaging. These are supplement services around our expertise so that our clients receive more valuable service.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have Dallas and his team create the landing page, ad campaign, and other things that help drive traffic to our videos. They have created digital and custom designed sales presentations and sales apps that our videos are loaded into. There are some clients who need websites built and the team builds those, mostly using HTML. They’re able to integrate different APIs as well. We collaborate as a team on the creative side.

How did you come to work with Dallas Riffle Media?

I cold-called Dallas when I had a client that needed a sales presentation design. I got a quote from him and it was fair, so I hired him. He over-delivered on that project. After that, I never questioned our relationship.

How much have you invested with Dallas Riffle Media?

We spend $10,000 to $50,000 with them on an average project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are currently working with him.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback from the clients is outstanding.

How did Dallas Riffle Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is their best asset. Dallas’ team is creative and has unique designs, but where they shine the most is in the account and project management. I’ve modeled my team’s project management around Dallas Riffle Media. The work is delivered on time and on budget even in a short timeframe.

What did you find most impressive about Dallas Riffle Media?

I haven’t met a team who is so passionate about the actual work as they are. They are always organized and prepared at meetings. Most teams are transactional, but it’s obvious they care about the success of what you’re trying to accomplish.

Are there any areas Dallas Riffle Media could improve?

They could begin to integrate comprehensive marketing strategies to get more traffic and be able to report quantifiable numbers on the ROI.