Disruptive Advertising

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Navigator Business Solutions implements SAP software for small to mid-sized businesses. We're the top cloud partner running in this sector. I am the marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

Disruptive was here when I came into this position. We've trusted them to handle all our AdWords advertising on display and search.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've primarily worked on our paid search and display on AdWords. The way things were set up in the beginning, we weren't seeing great results, as the previous person wasn't handling them well. We came in asking questions and following their advice. I also suggested a few things and they fulfilled them quickly.

The accounts started providing a lot more leads at a lot less cost. They’ve done a good job remarketing campaigns and targeting audiences that respond well.

They optimize the accounts well too. Any time I check the history, there are always changes they've made, trying to optimize the account. Many improvements are around keyword targeting, scheduling, advertising assets, audience targeting, and ad creative. They often swap those out and test new ones. They've done a good job on A/B testing our landing pages per conversion rate optimization efforts.

What is the team dynamic?

Nikki [Account Strategist, Disruptive Advertising] always keeps me up to date, even if they're falling behind.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

Previous people got in touch with them, I'm not sure exactly how.

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget is $7,000 a month in ads, and PLA is $2,000–$2,500 a month. They changed their pricing structure and were nice enough to keep us at a grandfather level even as they improve their process and their offer to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with Disruptive since March 2015. I started working with them in March 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

If they were our employees, they'd be great employees. They perform well when the leadership and vision are there, and the only time they faltered was when they were being led improperly.

Our cost per conversion dropped 50%, which is the main thing we care about. The conversions are lead gen form submissions, which happened over the last quarter. Our cost per click has also dropped.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

They were effective. What I care about are implementing strategies, reporting on them, and optimizing them, and they do each of those well. We haven't used any project management software.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We recently went over an entirely different strategy, where we would focus on the entire funnel and make different campaigns for each stage in our buying cycle, which is quite long. Nikki was helpful in strategizing this new plan and implementing it.

Nikki's always good about not just doing whatever I say but being smart and making good decisions about each of our strategies. We made implementations 2 months ago, and our cost has dropped by about 60%.

They make sure that whatever needs to be done is done and whatever is promised is implemented. I didn't think that was a big thing, but it is.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their conversion rate optimization efforts could be improved, instead of just A/B testing. Our pages haven't been touched.

I'd also like to see more competency or eagerness for them to get into Facebook or paid social. I don't feel they're as confident as they are with Google, and I'd like to see that improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the marketing director of Sticker Giant. We are a manufacturer of custom stickers and labels for small businesses. We primarily operate through our e-commerce website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising.

We were looking for assistance with website conversions and fine tuning. We had never been consistent with A-B testing the website, so the goal was for them to help us strategize tests for and ultimately increase conversions of the traffic we were getting to the site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They primarily helped strategize with A-B testing on typical places on the website. This includes button placements, text, images, and changes to the cart workflow that result in more conversions. They made it more consistent and come up with strategies around these tests, and how to run them. They introduced us to several testing software options, one of which we selected to plug in and use on the site.

They recommended using Hotjar for heat mapping, and did a lot of work with that to see how people were interacting with our site at first to understand what was happening with the traffic we were getting. They also used VWO and Google Optimize for testing. Most of our platform runs through Google, and we ultimately decided to use Optimize for the majority of our tests.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I saw Chris [Dayley, VP of Testing and Site Optimization] at Social Media Marketing World last year. He put on an impressive talk and really seemed to know what he was doing. He mentioned the firm and we connected on LinkedIn.  Then, I reached out to him for help through their company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $3,000 a month on average. The fee is based on the number of tests they run each month, which is a minimum of 3, but the fee changes based on that.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen an increase in our overall leads. Our lead number is what we get from people reaching the end of the funnel on the website and then internally we have to convert those to jobs once they get to our customer service team. From July to now, we've seen leads increase from 1,200 leads per week to 1,700 leads per week. With our growth of the company and working with them on testing and implementing new things, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of people getting through our cart and checking out on the website.

Customers are getting further along in the cart, and they've helped increase traffic to certain landing pages and increase the win percentages. In addition, they’ve increased website traffic to the cart page by 7%. This is a big win because it shows us where we need to improve based on the results of the simple tests they’ve done for us.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate primarily through phone and email. They’re really good about providing a weekly email that recaps everything going on with the project. It’s very consistent. We’re also both on Google Drive and share spreadsheets and things of that nature.

Our project manager is very organized and we’ve been meeting weekly or biweekly since the beginning. It’s the same time, same day, every week. He runs through our agenda and what test ideas they have, what they’re developing, what they’re currently running and the results even if they’re not finalized.

They’ve always thought through the projects and have been very willing to learn more about our company in implementing them. They've made it really easy to utilize their knowledge and their skills to get the right business results we're looking for.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their level of communication. In all the firms and agencies we’ve worked with, none of them are as detailed or timely with recaps in meetings and overall being on top of everything. They always seem to be a step in front of me at all times on what we want to do with the site. That’s been really helpful and they've been flexible when we bring up our own ideas. They’re good at working that into their strategy and what they have upcoming.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder of an app development firm. We build our products from scratch.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We wanted a manager for a PPC [pay-per-click] campaign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Based upon our market knowledge, we started with a solid base of keywords. Disruptive refined what we needed, and gave us a more robust solution. They determined the best geographic markets and target display times for our ads, and they modified our list of keywords.

What is the team dynamic?

Our account manager, Reed [Thuet], really feels like a part of our team. He is interested in our business, and very quick to respond, day or night. We also work with Chad [de Lisle].

They shared their proprietary communication software with us. It’s skinned for them, so I assume they built it themselves as a channel to display their work to their clients. The software is clean and easy to use, with several filters.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

We did our due diligence on several PPC companies, and Disruptive was ranked highly on Clutch and the other lists we looked at. They seemed like the best fit for us of the three or four companies we considered; their structure suited our needs, and we liked the price.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent $6,000–$7,500. About $2,500 of that was in ad spending.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2017, and have a monthly contract.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still early in the process. We’re currently connecting our PPC into our CRM [customer relationship management] to compare notes and find out which leads made it into the software and became actual customers. We are already seeing a return on investment, and turned a profit in the second month of our contract with them.

They definitely helped us reduce our cost per click and cost of conversion. We’ve had success already, and are pleased with how quickly we’re seeing results. They’re helping us combat a learning curve as we accumulate data and refine our needs.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re attentive and thorough. Just recently, Reed sent us six paragraphs of answers to questions we had. They’re transparent, which solves a large portion of our PPC puzzle. Chad has been very helpful, and every couple of weeks spends half an hour on the phone with us to explain points and fine tune them. The open dialog generates more quality leads.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They impressed me early on. They hit the ground running with a low cost per conversion, and generated more leads than we anticipated for our budget. They’re the reason we did so well and see these returns on our investment. I was able to demonstrate much higher client and revenue numbers to our investors than we originally projected. A previous company took three years to achieve the numbers we’re getting after just a few months.

I’ve had a very good experience with them, and I’m pleased that our company is growing because of it. I have nothing but good things to say.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide asphalt maintenance and paving services. My current position is the marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what reason(s) did your company hire Disruptive Advertising?

We hired them to manage our AdWords account.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to lower our pay-per-click costs and increase quality leads. We needed someone to manage the campaigns and remain informed of Google's algorithm changes.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I spent a lot of time researching and reading reviews of agencies all over the country. I was very impressed when I started talking with them. They wanted to make sure it was a good fit for them, and that they could meet my expectations.

Describe the project in detail.

They managed our Google AdWords account including budget and campaigns.

What was the team composition?

Jacob [Baadsgaard, Founder] has been my single point of contact; he's been incredible to work with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They have significantly reduced our cost per click. The amount and quality of the leads that come in at a lower cost are even more impressive. If I was doing this myself or hired another agency to do it, we would be spending a lot more money for fewer results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Jacob has been incredible to work with. He has never missed a phone call. He always responds to e-mails in a timely manner. When we decide to make changes to the campaign, he is in control and gets things done, and I don't have to worry. I know he has my back. I really don't think I could be more impressed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Since the beginning, they have been so professional and friendly. They make me feel valued as a customer and they don't just settle for a "good" campaign. They are always looking for ways to improve and maintain results!

Are there any areas for improvement?

I honestly cannot think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an e-commerce company. I’m the owner and president. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We were trying to bring new customers to our website and have an increase in sales. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re doing Facebook advertising and recently began with YouTube ads.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

They actually found me.

How much have you invested with Disruptive Advertising?

It’s around $30,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working with them since September 2016. The work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I'm satisfied in how successfully they have helped grow our sales and leads. We are at around a 5% return. With Facebook, we see certain times where there are good results. With YouTube and Google ads, it’s too soon to tell because we started that a week ago.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been good so far.

Are there any areas Disruptive Advertising could improve?

There could be more communication so that I can understand it thoroughly and understand where my money is going. They could be more transparent in telling me what they’re doing behind the scenes, and I’ve been meaning to talk to them about that. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a mobile software provider. We create a CRM. It’s a build sales application. We’ve been in business for about four years and we’ve cornered the market for our particular product. I’m the Vice President of Business Development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive?

Lead acquisition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It’s all pay-per-click and some pay-per-lead.

How did you come to work with Disruptive?

I wasn’t involved in the selection process; I took over the account and manage it, but it was selected prior to my arrival here.

How much have you invested with Disruptive?

Our pay-per-click budget is about $5,000/month.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s been about 15 months now, so it was December 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve absolutely been successful. They’re excellent at client relationship management. They’re excellent at being attentive to reporting and analytics. They’re excellent at creating a continual plan to manage and optimize the account. They create their own initiatives and present those initiatives to you for approval. It makes the process more one of not having to manage a ton, but just having to approve new initiatives. The regular maintenance of the account is very consistent and detailed, a weekly phone call at the same time, always an agenda. It’s just very detailed and organized and lightweight in terms of management.

What did you find most impressive about Disruptive?

Like any consultancy firm, they have experts for each aspect of the business. We only use one segment of their offerings, but we’ve run into situations where we’ve received advisement from other individuals in different departments to make sure we get best in class treatment.

Are there any areas Disruptive could improve?

I’m honestly quite pleased with the relationship. Any time I’ve needed to improve something, it’s been improved. I wouldn’t say that they don’t need to improve; it’s that if anything when improvement is identified, it’s acted upon.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Disruptive?

To have a strong plan in regards to your copy and content that you’re going to be using, to have a library of images and branding guidelines, and to have content pieces that are available to use as click bait.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Chief Marketing Officer at a financial technology startup. We have about 30 employees right now.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive?

Dramatic client growth, so customer acquisition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Disruptive did social media and AdWords, basically all our direct digital response channels. That encompasses funnel optimization as well.

How did you come to work with Disruptive?

This is the fourth company that I’ve been with where I’ve hired Disruptive as my go-to direct response digital partner. Where I go, they go.

How much have you invested with Disruptive?

It’s been all over the place. Sometimes they’re managing hundreds of thousands of dollars per month and other times it’s $20,000-$30,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

The owner used to work for me a long time ago. I’ve known him for six years now, and I’ve been a client from the outset. I guess I’ve been a client of Disruptive for four years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s absolutely been successful. The number one benefit is that they know what they’re good at, so I hire them for what they’re good at. They don’t try to be everything. They’re a team that’s really strong at digital direct response in FaceBook, AdWords, and Bing. I know that they’re good at that. They have a pricing structure where you don’t feel like they’re trying to make you spend more because they make more. I feel like I can give them clear direction on my acquisition cost targets and they hit those targets. They can run with minimal guidance.

What did you find most impressive about Disruptive?

There are two or three things that I think help other people see the value in them. Number one is they are not some sort of full-service agency: they are a digital direct response firm, and they stick with what they know and what they’re good at, so you’re not going to waste money with them trying to help you in any way possible. They stick to what they know. They are one of the few firms I’ve ever worked with where I have complete confidence that their goals are my success, not maximizing their billable feed. They just come across as very flexible, ethical people. That means you don’t have to wonder about motive whenever they have recommendations for you.

Are there any areas Disruptive could improve?

Everybody has room for improvement, but I don’t think there’s anything I would call out as a problem area. They just keep growing and improving on what they’re doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a handful of businesses, but our main company is a direct-to-consumer birth certificate filing service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive?

Of course, as a business our primary objective is to make as much money as possible, so we hired Disruptive to bring in more customers through marketing strategies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve done PPC management, which is really much more involved than just managing our campaigns. They’ve grown them and improved them vastly. Secondly, they do a lot of funnel optimization and landing page testing for us. They’ve AB tested a ton of different things on our funnel, which has lead to quite a bit of improvement. They’re constantly testing different landing pages with different pictures, different copy, that sort of thing. That’s another piece of it. They don’t do social media marketing or SEO for us; they may do that for other companies, but I don’t know.

How did you come to work with Disruptive?

Actually, when we were gaining some traction in the beginning, Google suspended us and told us we were never allowed to advertise with them again. Naturally, that was a huge problem for the business, since all of our traffic is driven through pay-per-click. We did some research for companies that can help you get un-suspended from Google, and that’s how I found Disruptive.

They were able to do that for us because of their relationships with Google, and from there they sold us into using them for management. I was very skeptical about it at first because I’m from a pay-per-click background and I thought we could handle it in-house. So they gave us a couple of months free and it just made complete sense. There was no financial or logical reason not to use them since they were doing such a good job. They produced results so quickly that it was a no-brainer. We’ve used some other companies for other parts of our marketing, and Disruptive is completely different. It’s personal; they’re more knowledgeable; it’s just awesome all around.

How much have you invested with Disruptive?

We spend about $100,000 per month on our marketing objectives, and Disruptive is managing 95% of that.

What is the status of this engagement?

This is ongoing. We’ve been working with since early 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we started with Disruptive, we were probably doing $200,000 in sales a year, and Disruptive took us up to $3 million. 90% of that is revenue driven from what Disruptive brought to our website. Essentially, Disruptive is directly responsible for most of the revenue that comes in because our customers come to us through what Disruptive drives. Other companies I’ve worked with just do their job but don’t give you any metrics of their success, so it can be hard to track, but Disruptive is very metric-based, which is good.

We spend about $100,000 per month, and they’ve got our acquisition cost extremely low. It differs for every business, but for us, they’ve taken us from a $50 acquisition cost per customer to about $22-$23. So they cut our acquisition cost in half and increased our sales by 10 times. That’s some great math. So they’re really effective.

What did you find most impressive about Disruptive?

Adam Kaiser manages my account, and on Christmas, for example, if I noticed there was something wrong with one of our campaigns and I was concerned, I could shoot him a text and he would drop whatever he was doing to figure out what was going on right then. So the personal service is unbelievable. Sometimes I feel bad that they do so much and that I bug them so much and they’re so happy to help, but that’s how they are and it’s so awesome. That’s one of the huge values of Disruptive in my experience.

Are there any areas Disruptive could improve?

Not that I can think of. You don’t know what you don’t know, so I’m sure there’s something, but I can’t think of anything that I would like better out of their service.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Disruptive?

You have to trust them. In the beginning, my account manager Adam suggested some things that seemed a little bit risky. For example, when we launched a new campaign, he suggested that in order to drive up our quality score we’d have to spend a lot but it would be worth the investment in the long run. When that happened and I was reluctant, it always ended up working. I would just say that they may some risky strategies, but they know what they’re doing and you have to trust them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company is an outdoor retailer and my position is e-commerce marketing manager. I oversee everything online for sports sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive?

The overall objective has been to increase our paid efforts. Our previous PPC company wasn’t performing at the level that I felt it could, and a lot of the optimization and overall strategies that Disruptive offered was what I felt would be the most effective for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handle our AdWords accounts, our social media ads, and retargeting. We’re getting ready to launch some site testing with them as well.

How did you come to work with Disruptive?

It was a reference from a colleague of mine.

How much have you invested with Disruptive?

They’re responsible for managing a little bit over $250,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started at the end of March in 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve far exceeded a lot of expectations. Right now we’re averaging over a 10x for the year that they’ve been working us, whereas the company we had before had us averaging at 2x. To go from 2x all the way up to 10x on our ad campaign has been quite substantial. Traffic has been up consistently. Last time I checked, it was up around 56% from a paid side and revenue was up over 100% from what it was last year. The performance of our campaign has been through the roof. It set a whole new standard for us.

What did you find most impressive about Disruptive?

They optimized the campaign to showcase where our opportunity is coming from, but the best thing is the feedback they give as to the opportunities and the best tactics to approach the campaign. It’s pretty incredible, especially given that our industry is very restricted as far as how we can advertise. We need to make consistent adjustments and we’re very seasonal, so the research that they’ve done has been fantastic. Plus, the resources that they’ve made available to help us perform at a different level have been great as well.

Are there any areas Disruptive could improve?

If they could get a point of contact at Facebook that was a little more responsive, that would be fantastic, but that’s the only thing I could say that I wish was different.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Disruptive?

Come in with realistic goals. Don’t expect them to produce the 10x for you across the board; just come in with realistic expectations on where you would like to be with your advertising. And communicate effectively. Put them in the position where they can succeed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an education company that manages marketing efforts for a pair of universities that offer both traditional and online programs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive?

Our primary goal was lead acquisition, with a secondary goal of expanding brand recognition. All of this needed to occur at a lower our cost per conversion.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The majority of our efforts with Disruptive has been focused on paid search and display advertising. We were especially focused on improving our conversion rates. They have also been very helpful with assisting in our advertising tracking efforts.

How did you come to work with Disruptive?

We received a sales call from them. We gave them a chance and checked out what they had to offer. They won us over and offered to help us out further. After a trial run, we enjoyed working with them, and we’ve been working with them ever since.

How much have you invested with Disruptive?

That information is private.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership with them sometime around October 2015, and continue to work with them on our advertising efforts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We used to manage a lot of this in-house, but it got to be too much with our team. We told them from the start that if we were going to have outside PPC management, we’d need to lower our cost per conversion, and they exceeded our goals in that regard. They also helped to establish better practices with our search engine advertising. Their input and general expertise have been essential in our marketing efforts. They’re really good about following up on any ideas we might have to make sure they’re implemented the best they can be.

What did you find most impressive about Disruptive?

What I enjoyed most about them is their project manager. He has been incredibly helpful and receptive. If we need anything, it’s done within a couple hours, if not a couple of minutes. I have direct access to his cell phone if I need anything done in a hurry. They have gone above and beyond their normal responsibilities. They really seem to have a vested interest in our institutional objectives.

Are there any areas Disruptive could improve?

I’ve had no qualms with them. They have even given us good recommendations for additional contractors outside of their expertise. I have no complaints with them.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Disruptive?

Be clear with your goals and your expectations. It is also imperative to be open to new ideas to expand your marketing efforts.