Digital NINJA

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Digital Marketing Specialist at Dacris IMPEX SRL, the largest importer and distributor of office products and equipment, in Romania. Our company has more than 300 employees and we serve Corporate and SME companies, and private persons as well. I oversee our digital presence and sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Digital NINJA?

We were looking to make the best from our digital sales campaigns and we wanted an expert agency to take care of it. A partner recommended Digital Ninja for development and digital marketing, and they proved to be the right choice.

We have acquired their full online marketing services, from strategy and audiences to automation and product feeds.

What were your goals for this project?

The main purpose was to double the volume of online sales, increase revenue and also to improve the shopping experience for our customers. As we had good sales results offline with our salespeople, we wanted to use the online channel and increase it.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We chose Digital Ninja based on the recommendations in the market and their pitch. Our challenge was to find a dynamic and proactive agency.

This vendor pitch met our expectations and convinced our CEO and Top Management with their industry knowledge, strategic expertise, and technical capabilities as well. Also, their willingness to work hand in hand with our team is amazing.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After selecting the agency, their team invested time in understanding our business, our short and long term objectives and their business acumen made the process easy.

Next, in the first phase, their team focused on setting up an extended site tracking to understand what technology works and what doesn't.

• they developed the online strategy, optimized the costs, increased conversion rate and online revenue
• they reduced our budget loses down to 0 and created better targeting for our campaigns
• they identified the most appropriate audiences for each product category
• where necessary, they implemented automatic marketing mechanisms
• channels involved in the process: Google Search, Google Display, Youtube, Google Shopping, Facebook feeds, Instagram, Messenger.

As a Google Partner, Digital Ninja had access to Google products from the beta stage. Thus, they could provide us with new Google products which we were able to test before the public, and more importantly, before our competitors.

One of the most successful campaigns run by NINJA team was this year's edition of our Back to School campaign. We had a huge revenue increase! Our customers received the campaigns very well, and the number of conversions increased.

My role was to overview the project and actively collaborate with the agency and make sure everything would run like a well-oiled engine.

What was the team composition?

I worked closely with one project manager, 1-2 developers and 2-3 marketers. The team scaled according to the magnitude of the campaigns and monthly sales spikes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We started the collaboration with Digital Ninja in October 2018. Since that moment our YoY sales increased by 115%, with a 162% increase in revenue! The conversion rate increased by 72%. ROI increased significantly. Compared to our initial goals, the results-driven by Digital Ninja exceeded our expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our collaboration was very good. We communicated very well over the phone, Skype or WhatsApp and we efficiently used a professional project management platform. They immediately understood what we needed and proactively came up with their own proposals and innovative ideas.

During the sales periods, I communicated with them daily, and their team became practically an internal department of ours, but at a distance. I was impressed by their project management, planning, and scheduling. We always knew what was going to happen.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was blown away with their high level of technical knowledge and marketing, doubled by their proactivity. They came all the time with out of the box ideas and proposed new approaches. Their force and competitive advantage comes from the acumen they have from both departments, software development, and digital marketing. They easily combine the dev and marketing information for automating marketing.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are very satisfied with the collaboration and results. If only there were more ninjas in the world!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of GourmetGift.ro, a corporate gift baskets company working with B2B retail clients. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital NINJA?

We needed help with Google Ads and digital media campaigns.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digital NINJA handles all our online communication, including Facebook Ads and Google Ads campaigns.

We extended our collaboration with Digital NINJA in 2019 to redesign the website. Our initial site was created in 2010 with a lot of upgrades. They designed and developed a new site that uses HTTPS for security.

Digital NINJA also migrated our database to an AWS server, increasing our site speed, and linked the website to our CRM. Every new order we receive through the site gets directed to it. This gives us good visibility at a management level and a fast response time for our customers.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a project manager and a sales or marketing person. I believe there have been 4–5 people in total. 

How did you come to work with Digital NINJA?

A client recommended them to us. I believe we googled them as well, so we knew that they were a very good marketing company. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than €50,000 (approximately $56,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Digital NINJA 3–4 years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From my point of view, Digital NINJA has a very good understanding of our project. They have great adaptability and outstanding development knowledge. They understood our business needs quickly, and we’ve seen a lot of benefits from their services. They’re also very innovative; George (Managing Partner and Head of Advertising, Digital NINJA) especially is a very creative person. Having worked closely with our employees and delivered everything we agreed to, they’re a trustworthy partner.

How did Digital NINJA perform from a project management standpoint?

We work through Asana and have step-by-step communication with them. They allocated a project management team for our project. They’ve understood everything quickly and easily. We have two peaks—during Christmas and Easter—that experience a higher volume of sales. They understood our business model and delivered the project within the timelines. Having a partner that keeps their word and meets deadlines is valuable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have an amazing capability to provide one-of-a-kind solutions. Digital NINJA is the partner every company wants to have.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I advise clients to book them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager for Derma360 Clinic, a dermatology clinic.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital NINJA?

We needed help with digital marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digital NINJA advised us about topics like how to be relevant and write content properly on our site. They always improved whatever we took to them. For example, we wanted to run a campaign on nail surgery, and they told us everything we needed to know to get the right search results.

They help us write content as a team effort. We have to write down medical information only available to doctors and people working with doctors. As an agency, Digital NINJA doesn’t have that kind of knowledge. Instead, they advise us on how we should write the content, what information it should contain, and what structure it should have. They know which terms people usually search for online.

I visited them once to talk about dermatology in Bucharest, where our clinic is located. We use keywords that are really relevant to our patients, since there are many people here who want to see specific doctors. We use keywords related to the doctors and their specific medical fields. For example, we have a doctor that does nail surgery really well, so we target searches comprised of the doctor’s name plus nail surgery. Digital NINJA can cover really broad sectors of the market when they select these words.

There’s always new stuff that goes on in the clinic, and we have to pay for everything that’s going on. It takes a lot of time for them to post on our site. For example, when a new doctor comes in, they always have to make sure they customize the campaigns and upload certain content to our side. I think that takes some time, and, due to that, there’s always a difference from month to month.

What is the team composition?

I’m in touch with the project manager most of the time. We have a really close connection. I know that they always distribute the tasks to the team, have a member to take up the work when someone goes on holiday, and get stuff done on time.

How did you come to work with Digital NINJA?

I started working for the clinic two years after the collaboration with Digital NINJA started. I believe it was a word-of-mouth connection: one of our doctors knew about them from someone else who was really happy with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We pay around 4,000 Romanian Leu (approximately $935 USD) per month. It depends on what kind of work they have to do for us. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The collaboration began before 2016—when I joined—and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a lot of patients coming in thanks to Digital NINJA. They got us to a point where we were relevant for patients’ searches on Google. That’s helped us get organic results and not rely on paid ones, which can go away if someone forgets to pay the bills. 

We get analytics reports every month and can compare the results we had one year ago to the ones we have right now. It’s a really big difference. However, I can’t say how many unique visitors we’re getting because we don’t offer a one-time service. As more patients learn about us, meet our doctors, and become satisfied with the services we provide, they keep coming back and recommending us to their friends.

How did Digital NINJA perform from a project management standpoint?

We usually communicate by email and WhatsApp. If there’s something really urgent, I can call them, and they always pick up. The project manager is like a friend to us. He always takes the time to explain how everything works. We didn’t know that much about marketing to start with. They’ve helped us get a better picture of how this works, how things get done, and why they get done in a specific way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think that their ability to adapt to a field as complicated as medicine is excellent. It means that they’ve taken the time to learn about our industry, which allows our campaigns to be as good as they are. They come up with solutions for everything we ask for, including the more unusual requests.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. We can’t really compare a marketing agency with a medical supplier or other providers, but I think Digital NINJA is the most efficient partner we have. Out of the dozens of contracts we have with different companies, Digital NINJA is the only one we haven’t had trouble with so far.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Try to give Digital NINJA a good picture of what you want. They can understand your needs and achieve great results if you just communicate with them. Communication is key for everything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Global 3D Revolution. We’re an importer of 3D printers working in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ukraine, and Moldova. We also import 3D printer accessories, spare parts, filament, and other technical items related to the area. We’ll also be selling 3D modeling software licenses starting January 2020.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital NINJA?

We were looking for digital marketing and consulting services, as well as e-commerce platform development. We needed a new online store and wanted to run some campaigns on Facebook and Google. The guys from Digital NINJA won our pitch, and we started working together. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I really don’t know what the technologies involved were, but Digital NINJA’s team is really technical. My company’s requests were simple: we needed a platform tailored specifically for our needs with some advanced integrations with our ERP. I wanted it to look good on mobile devices, rank well on Google, and work fast. We sell to multiple countries in Eastern Europe, so we needed to connect the online store to our ERP.

Digital NINJA developed the platform and did the custom integration with our ERP, which is still working perfectly today one year after launching the website. They’ve also done some SEO and installed the warehouse management system behind the e-commerce platform. 

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager that calls us and asks questions on a daily basis. We discussed the project with their managing partner and a project manager, but I don’t know how many developers were involved. I just know that the project was ready in four and a half months, and everyone was happy.

How did you come to work with Digital NINJA?

We made a pitch one and a half years ago and called multiple agencies. Digital NINJA was the only company that guaranteed us they could develop the integration with the ERP. No other company took the challenge, given that it’s a custom ERP and there was a lot of communication required between Digital NINJA and our ERP developer in order to make the platform function. 

We contacted development companies in Romania and Bulgaria and asked for offers to develop the e-commerce platform, the ERP synchronization, the warehouse management integration, and the credit card payment integration. Digital NINJA was the only company that took the risk and included the custom ERP integration in its offer.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of the platform was around €55,000 (approximately $61,460 USD) and we’re spending around €2,500 (approximately $2,794 USD) per month on Google Ads. The total cost over the last 10 months would be between €70,000–€75,000 (approximately $78,223–$83,810 USD). This includes their fees and the ad budget they run for us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our latest project in April, May, or June 2018. We’ve worked with them on two platforms, and the most recent one was launched in 2018. We’re continuing to work with them on digital marketing for Google and Facebook.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Last month, we became the second-biggest 3D printer seller in Romania due to our ranking on Google. The platform is called Store3D.ro. and right now, we’re ranked third when searching for the Romanian equivalent of “3D printer” on Google. We’ve had a lot of sales from organic Google results. This is the biggest thing we’ve done on the internet, and Digital NINJA helped us reach these sales and this position on Google. We’re very happy and we’re increasing the budget for Google Ads and SEO starting January 2020. 

I’ve just received the report for November 2019 and we’ve become the second biggest company in the Romanian 3D printing industry in terms of sales volume. We started from zero and while I don’t know what Digital NINJA is doing, they’re doing it well.

How did Digital NINJA perform from a project management standpoint?

The project was set for about six months and they finished it in four-and-a-half months, and the communication with the project manager was great. We’re pleased with how we’re working with them. They’re very responsive, answering our emails in 5–10 minutes. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re amazed by their courage to go for that ERP integration when no other agency would. They were the only ones to risk going into a project without knowing a lot of technical details.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’m very, very happy with Digital NINJA. I just called them a few days ago to congratulate them for helping us become the second-largest 3D printer company in Romania.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should prepare someone on their team to be contacted very often by Digital NINJA. They were very involved in this project and we couldn’t answer their calls sometimes, so we delayed the project a bit. Any new client should allocate a person from their side to communicate with Digital NINJA because there are days when they call 10 times and ask different questions, but everything is for a purpose—to deliver the project. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Ottica.ro, an independent eyewear retail company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital NINJA?

It was very important for our customers to be able to customize their glasses easily and to have a quick checkout experience. We also needed to capture as many details as possible about their prescription in order to deliver the perfect product and hired Digital NINJA for the task.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digital NINJA was in charge of creating the website, the shop, and the order form from scratch. We just told them our vision and they understood it very quickly, presenting to us what they could do. We wanted to have a form that includes all the dial trees and all the options for the customer to introduce there. This was something that had to be specifically customized for us and we had to give them all the data for it.

The most important and most time-consuming part of the project was the implementation of the checkout form.  It’s user-friendly and it provides us enough data to create a good pair of glasses for the customer’s prescription.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager who we worked very closely with. We also were in contact with the owner of the company.

How did you come to work with Digital NINJA?

They were recommended to us by some of their older customers. We checked out their website and the websites of their customers and we liked them a lot. Then we met the team and they understood our vision.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We use analytics on the website and we noticed very quickly that our customers do have a smooth and easy checkout, which was our goal in the beginning. We also have some positive reviews and the numbers show an increase in interest day-by-day. We were able to take our first orders on the first day after launching.

How did Digital NINJA perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was great. All the targets and deadlines were met, and their team was very helpful in keeping us on track with our time management. Digital NINJA’s input was highly valuable and they had smart solutions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Being a team of young professionals, they’re able to understand the business needs that we specifically had. Digital NINJA also brought a lot of creativity and valuable input to the table because we aren’t digital experts. We had our physical shops but knew nothing about having an online presence. Digital NINJA’s team was relaxed, calm, and creative, and took us on the right path.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Digital NINJA was great and we worked very efficiently together. We’d choose them if we were to start all over again.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with the project manager very closely. They communicate well amongst themselves, so if you discuss something with one person on their team, you basically discuss it with the whole team. They also easily understand what you want to achieve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Henkel operates worldwide with leading innovations, brands, and technologies in three business areas: Adhesive Technologies, Beauty Care, and Laundry & Home Care. My position here is Brand Manager for Construction Adhesive.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Digital NINJA?

Digital marketing, Google search, Google Display, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Youtube Ads

What were your goals for this project?

to have a reach more than 1.000.000 target craftsman Promote contests Make a database of craftsman via Facebook

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I saw their presentation and what were the results with other companies. After last year collaboration in a small project, we saw what professional they are.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They have to manage more then 10 campaigns with different profile and products. They have to promote our products via different digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Google Search, Google Display

What was the team composition?

2 persons - one for financial and one for set up campaigns

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

they help us with:

1. increase brand awareness

2. increase registrations on our site

3. Very good conversion rates in campaigns

We exceed the targets with them in our the most important campaign: our target was 400 registrations and now we have more than 1000.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

we use google drive for real updates and we had a very strong and professional collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

the speed with which they performed their tasks

Are there any areas for improvement?

no

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company has designed, produced, and sold fine jewelry since 1994. Our activity is based in Romania along with a few European locations. We plan to open shops and sell our products across the rest of Europe. I’m the manager of our business and am also responsible for our online activity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Digital NINJA?

We first hired DIGITAL NINJA for SEO and PPC work. As our collaboration expanded, we started collaborating on web development and UX improvement.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals are to continuously improve our business and find new ways to become more efficient.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I met one of the leads from Digital NINJA by chance in a coffee shop. He was explaining online business to one of his potential clients. I appreciated his honesty as he tried to explain that results don’t happen in a week, or even just one month. I contacted the team a few days later to arrange a meeting, and we’ve worked together ever since.

Describe the project in detail.

I started the collaboration by explaining our business including our values and mentality. I wanted to see how they could help our project, so I gave them one week to formulate a plan for success within the European market. After they finished that task, I gave them permission to work on our Google Adwords and Analytics. 

After a few days, they started advising us on how to improve our quality score and PPC campaigns. It only took minor A/B testing for Digital NINJA to convince me they had a better strategy. At that point, they won my trust.

What was the team composition?

I was in close contact with the business owner at the start of the project. After a few months, I started connecting with one of his project managers, who is very bright.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any statistics or metrics that speak to the quality of their work and impact of the engagement?

By targeting both PPC and SEO, Digital NINJA helped our site rank within the top five search results for almost all the keywords we targeted. They offered consistently fast response times to our inquiries. Upon seeing the excellent results they produced, I engaged them with other facets of our digital marketing campaigns. I’m a skeptical person and was pleasantly surprised by how well Digital NINJA’s strategy worked.

How did the Digital NINJA perform from a project management standpoint?

Digital NINJA is a skilled, optimistic team that always finds the most efficient solutions.

What impresses you about the Digital NINJA?

Aside from the quantitative results they yielded, I was notably impressed by how open-minded and hard-working they are, especially as a young team. Each of them used to work for multinational companies until one day when they decided to become their own boss and start a new company.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They could develop other areas of expertise, like photography and logistics management