DMA I Digital Marketing Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the owners of a clothing brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DMA?

We had in-house SEO but needed to hire a strong agency to help with off-site SEO, specifically backlinks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them the keyword list and content, such as articles done by our in-house content writers, and a very specific scope for quality backlinks.

They were supposed to give us a monthly report; we asked for 15 backlinks per month.

What is the team composition?

We interacted with three people from their team.

How did you come to work with DMA?

I found them on Clutch. They showed us impressive work they’d done for other clients.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together April  – June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They hadn’t produced any backlinks to us by the end of the 2nd month of the engagement. Halfway through that month, we informed them that we wanted to terminate the contract if they didn’t produce any by the end of the month. We had spent thousands of dollars at that point already.

The report we received at the end of that month had three directory links, not quality backlinks as requested. They refused to refund any of the money, claiming they had tried as stipulated in the contract. We refused to pay any more to them without receiving what they were hired to produce. They ignored us from that point on.

How did DMA perform from a project management standpoint?

They quit being responsive after two months.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are good at sales; they’ll say anything to get you to sign with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need better technical knowledge of what off-site SEO is. Perhaps they didn’t allocate the right resources to us, but I didn’t interact with anyone there who seemed to understand it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would say don’t hire them. With SEO, you need to be able to trust the agency you work with, and you need someone who will stay on top of it constantly. They didn’t seem to do anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing manager for an online software company. I am responsible for driving online sales and conversions in our marketing and advertising campaigns.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired DMA to assist us in the management of our Google AdWords campaigns in August 2017 when we did not see the results we expected.

What were your goals for this project?

It was important to see an improvement that would surpass the cost of managing the account. We wanted someone with the expertise to manage them.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I chose to consider DMA for the project after working with them on a previous venture with another company. They did a great job for the previous company, so I had an idea of what they could realistically achieve in terms of results. We considered a couple other agencies, but I was not entirely impressed with the alternatives. It appeared that DMA took the most time to build their proposal and understand the status of our current campaign.

Describe the project in detail.

I handed over control of the account to our account manager and they assessed the account. They produced a report outlining issues they saw in terms of waste and ineffective ads and keywords. We let them propose changes and approved them before they implemented and monitored the campaign. They would suggest additional improvements based on how our campaign performed over the span of the next couple of weeks until we hit a point where the campaign significantly outperformed our previous efforts. From there, it was general maintenance and adjusting to new industry changes. During this time, they also planned and implemented new landing pages to help improve our ability to convert the leads we got from our campaigns.

What was the team composition?

We had an account manager as well as contact with someone in creative at the company whom both would report to us either the status of the account or new initiatives for the ad campaign. We switched to a new account manager at the start of 2018, though that did not really affect the performance or our ability to communicate with DMA.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

By the end of 2017, they reduced the cost per lead by about 54% and increased the total volume of leads that we received. The cost per conversion also decreased, though it varied by month since some months for our business can be rougher than others. Without increasing the budget, we nearly doubled overall sales compared to the year prior.

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

Their ability to communicate with us and report important metrics and changes to the account on a regular basis helped the process run smoothly. When we had questions about the account, we would receive a meaningful response within just a few hours. Our feedback and questions would never fall on deaf ears and if a response would take longer, they were upfront about it. We always had an idea of what was going on and when we would hear from them.

What impresses you about the Digital Marketing Agency?

Their team has a thorough knowledge of AdWords and the ability to understand how our buyers. They made some creative changes to ad copy and different banner ads in our campaign that are compelling to prospective buyers. We worked with them to devise promotions to attract more buyers which helped both attract and retain more buyers over time. Overall, their team creates campaigns that work to get the most value out of our bids and ads.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We turn down some ads due to the preference of how our brand is represented, but they did a great job of implementing that feedback into future ads. Occasionally, there would be a delay in communication, but they were upfront about it and would always follow up to make sure that our concerns or questions were being properly addressed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm on an operations team at a franchising company. I ensure that our franchises receive the marketing support and assistance they need to succeed in their markets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Digital Marketing Agency to help us perform better in search engines, most notably local search results, and on mapping services that reach buyers looking for good local food. Although our own advertising efforts had succeeded, it was time to reduce our marketing costs organically. This was the first time we had ever hired a marketing firm.

What were your goals for this project?

For the campaign to make sense, we needed at least a 20% increase in walk-in sales at our franchises. That would allow us to maintain the same sales volume while reducing our overall marketing commitment. Since our team didn't have a lot of experience with search engines, we didn't know what to expect.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We communicated with a few companies during the selection process, including one enthusiastic marketing firm that we met on site. However, DMA seemed to understand not only how our franchise operated, but also the type of people we hoped to reach with our marketing.

We started the search around September and signed the contract in December. We deliberated for a long time, comparing options and considering their financial implications. DMA made the most sense in the long term.

Describe the project in detail.

They ensure that all our locations are present on websites where buyers would likely search for businesses nearby. Most notably, they make sure each of our franchised restaurants is on Facebook, where our customers are. They ensure that business information is correct, confirming contact information for every restaurant, and posting our latest sales to each location.

Since we gave them control over our websites, they've made a lot of changes to their organization. They update titles and other page information to focus on keywords that people search while looking for a restaurant in a specific city. Our contact at DMA explains the changes they make and the effect they will have on our search rankings. 

What was the team composition?

One contact reports to us about the progress they make and the ways they promote our business aside from advertising. Other people are involved in the project, but we find it easier to just communicate with our single contact.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Most impressively, when local customers search for "burgers in" and the name of a city, we were on the first page of results. In a few cases, we sit near the top of the page. These results are generally dominated by travel websites or "Top 10" lists on blogs that talked about their favorite places in an area. Customers can find us quickly if they search on a map.

We've cut our online advertising budget by around 40% but increased revenue by an average of 15%. We've asked our customers where they find us. Among those who respond, around 45% find us through our Facebook pages or on a map platform like Google or Apple Maps.

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

We aren't actively involved outside of confirming that we're happy with the pages and the changes to our website. They do a great job of taking what we already have and catering it to our many different locations. We receive regular reports from our contact, and whenever we have a question or comment, they are quick to respond and implement our feedback. Whether we call our project manager or send them an email, they always treat us fairly.

What impresses you about Digital Marketing Agency?

They fully understand not only digital marketing but also franchises. They understand our arrangement, how we market to our customers, and what our marketing needs to succeed on the Internet.

When we ask them questions, we receive quick answers. If I ask why they do something, they provide a great explanation and share examples of how that specific change has worked on other websites. They have a lot of great resources and even offer advice about our Google advertising.

Are there any areas for improvement?

On one or two occasions we had an information overload, either in the report or their explanations. We had a few discussions so I could completely understand them and relay the information to others in our organization. I gave them feedback on how to condense that information.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am working as a Digital Lead at Oware Technologies - which is a digital supply chain company present in the United States and other parts of the World

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have recently rebuilt our website and added some of our digital products to the site. The real challenge is to get the right traffic to our site to book appointments, schedule calls or book their own warehouse.

SOLUTION

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

After researching several companies, I decided on DMA, believing they would be a good fit for our business.

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

Our collaboration began with an onboarding call, keyword mapping, and a conversation about goals and the benchmark for traffic we'd like to have per month. All of the accounts were created, including Google My Business and Google Search Console, allowing us to begin working on our website.

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

Only the account manager, with whom we met on a regular basis, but there was a team working in the background as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The essential point is that they've increased the number of qualifying leads. For the prior site, our qualifying lead percentage was approximately 30%-40%, thus we had to eliminate many. We've nearly doubled that now. We get good leads, even if they are in tiny numbers — we estimate that 50%-60% are qualified leads. We have a lot of traffic as well, but it's from relevant specialists, and the Contact Us now form is more qualified.

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

They're quite good. The team is very responsive; if we have a query, they send it along to one of the team members and come back to us quickly. We have regular calls every month. We send emails every month. They may function successfully without being called frequently.

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

They've been flawless. DMA is extremely helpful, and working with them is a pleasure. I'm sure every top-tier agency is like this, but it's worked for us. We've never experienced any issues.

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

No, I don’t have comments.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

E-Commerce Manager

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were not showing up on Google results organically and needed to work on SEO.

SOLUTION

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

Reputation and reference.

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

Created SEO campaigns for google.ch to rank for specific keywords.

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

2 - sales people and 1 account manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Ranked on good positions on Google for a variety of products.

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

Very effective and speedy.

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

They deliver what they promise.

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

Not that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Luis and I am the Marketing Manager at a company that provides the best properties for rental or sale at the top locations in Houston and the adjoining cities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired DMA to run our PPC campaigns and overhaul our website for optimal SEO.

SOLUTION

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

We were referred by a friend who has an ECommerce business and he had hired DMA so interviewed them with other 3 agencies. What we loved about DMA was the no long term contract and guarantee of results.

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

Google Ads, Facebook Ads, PR, Content Recommendations, etc.

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

Not sure about the positions but there were 4 people who worked with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our goal was to get 10 leads per day, which seemed ambitious but they did deliver what we asked for.

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

Excellent communication skills, love that we had access to view our metrics at any given time.

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

Their structuring, openness, and many varied skills helped us in getting things done.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am head of marketing and sales for a real estate /construction/advisory agency. I look after marketing and sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were planning to boost our client portfolio and wanted to go international as well as grow our services and reach. The company wanted good SEO services but since everyone's rates were getting higher we decided to go with DMA. These guys helped us at getting things done. They were so active and responsive, working with them was amazing.

SOLUTION

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

It was word of mouth and heard a lot from people about them, plus most of them weren't reliable and their prices wear soaring the roof. They seemed like professionals with low prices.

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

We wanted someone to take care of our SEO and Digital media platforms and streamline them for us. we told them the work and they pitched in their ideas as well.

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

There were 3 people.

• 2 were from SEO
• 1 was from Digital Marketing

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Results started coming on within a week, it was impressive. We thought it'll take time

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

They were friendly, everything was coming on time. we were very glad with the results

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

Their level of professionalism and overall knowledge was undoubtedly good. They briefed us on their strategies before starting and everything went as planned. I liked how they pitched in their ideas to make this better

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

i cant come up with anything