Farotech

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a therapy group practice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Farotech, and what were your goals?

We're looking for further ways to refine our website SEO. I consulted with Chris Carr (the owner) at Farotech for a session about how to better do this.

SOLUTION

How did you select Farotech and what were the deciding factors?

Saw Chris speak at an SEMRush workshop and was impressed with his knowledge base.

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

Farotech is one of the best digital marketing companies in Philadelphia. They have a very innovative approach towards generating, nurturing, and converting leads, which has been successful for our business. Through working together, the owner and I have established a personal connection and his creative approach towards developing systems and marketing solutions is quite unique. I would highly recommend Farotech

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

1, see above

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Farotech provided me with an action plan, a list of resources, and a clear sense of where and how to proceed next to take my website to the next level.

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

Chris was responsive and able to channel my goals into a very productive consultation session.

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

They have a client-focused approach to SEO, listen well and channel this information into strong consultation that I'm happy with.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for CM3 Building Solutions We’re a systems integrator, environmental control solutions provider, and energy services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Farotech?

The initial relationship and primary part of our ongoing relationship has been the development and upkeep of our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve gone through three different iterations of website development for us. Early on, we had an existing, home-grown website that was appalling. We’d never relied on the site as a point of sale or marketing tool. It’d been peripherally used through most of our history. One of our field personnel was asked to develop a website. They did it to the best of their ability, but we wanted something better.

At a certain point of growth, we recognized the growing need for a marketing presence. We’d developed a brand for ourselves that expanded beyond word-of-mouth and character-reference level. When I came on board, hiring Farotech for a new website development that reflected our quality was my first step.

Eventually, the platform that they built our first website on was rendered obsolete, so I hired them to create a second version, which is on WordPress. After that, we went through an organizational rebrand. They then adapted the site to our new brand. It was done to very good effect. We were able to develop it without a heavy load from a cost perspective. They were able to rework it without having to develop new tools or integrate new outside resources. They really enhanced the experience of our site.

They’ve also managed our email marketing platform for most of the history of our marketing efforts. They developed a cohesive brand utilizing Campaign Monitor and have assisted me in proactively managing that platform so that it interfaces with our website and is user-friendly. Multiple departments utilize it on an ongoing basis for our general communications.

What is the team composition?

From an account management perspective, they’ve brought in people and trained them up to provide a single point of contact as much as possible. The early web development was primarily with Chris, as well as a number of his developers. For the second generation of development, I communicated with Chris early on and then he passed me along to an account manager who was well-verse in his responsibilities. He did a great job supporting me. I also work with one developer for that.

It’s been the same moving forward. They’ve streamlined their process much more. Many of my interactions, short of clarifying questions, are with one point of contact in their organization, which is what I prefer. I know and trust Brian, and he’s very proactive and professional in his support. He may not have every answer, but he knows the questions to ask. He’s also very prompt in his response and follows through.

How did you come to work with Farotech?

I’ve known their President and CEO, as well as their COO, for four years. Chris had been a good friend of mine; we’d worked in leadership on a volunteer level. I have a level of trust with them, and they had skin in the game with me. I’d seen them grow prior to hiring them on with CM3. I did my due diligence and vetted out several organizations but felt most comfortable on multiple levels, including quality of work, going with Farotech.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since October 2009. Currently, they’re not working on anything new. I have continued to retain their services for support work moving forward.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been fluid regarding KPIs. There’s always changes you have to make to projects. I go into every project having fairly specific expectations regarding the outcome, cost, and timeline and then evaluate on a case-by-case basis.

With a couple of exceptions – and there are always reasons behind the exceptions – they’ve met every timeline I’ve requested. There’s never been a budget that’s gone beyond pre-approved level without our say-so. They’ve honored every quote they’ve provided, even when I know they’ve gone beyond that because they hit unexpected roadblocks. There are only so many things you can forecast for in my business; hiccups are inevitable. They’ve shouldered the burden on those without coming to me for a change order.

There’s only been one instance where what they endeavored to provide in terms of website interface capabilities they weren’t able to execute. And that was because the platform lacked the capability; it wasn’t a failure on their part. They didn’t charge me for that time, though. I wasn’t penalized at all in the form of cost.

How did Farotech perform from a project management standpoint?

For what I’ve needed them to accomplish, they’ve done phenomenally well. They’ve given me peace of mind. The project manager I had initially had was a great, dynamic guy, but wasn’t well suited for the role. He left the organization, and we started working with Brian. While Brian wasn’t as technical, he had the customer relationship skills that were needed to walk through the journey with me. He took care of everything and executed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I appreciate most is the relational nature of their organization, the care they have for the customer. They take pride in the product they put out. I’ve watched his business grow, as well as the repeat business they’ve built. They’re great at relationship development and management.

They’re trying to provide exactly what the customer is requesting. First, they listen to me. Then, they go back and try to figure out if they can do it. Other companies just tell me what they do and ask if it will work for me. I’ve come to them many times when I’m not sure if something is possible on our platform, and they let me know if it can happen. They’ve been really proactive about developing whatever channel needs to get worked on to deliver the solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve always been surprised at how few times they ask for an upsell. If they could do anything better it would be leveraging their relationship. The reason we had to go to phase two on the website is because phase one was left unsupported. We found out that our website was compromised, and for a two-day period there wasn’t any way to regain control and functionality. it shouldn’t have gotten to that point; partly, it was my ignorance of the potential risks. But out of respect for the relationship, I believe, they did everything they could to maintain the existing site rather than telling us we should plan for a revised site that protects our social presence.

They do a good job of meeting my needs, but they don’t do a great job of practically upselling

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be afraid to be honest about your needs. They’ll do everything in their power to meet those needs. Recognize that you’re talking with people. They’re not trying to take advantage of you, but are just trying to provide you a great product. This isn’t a situation where you have to protect yourself from being screwed over. The more honest and transparent you are, the better response you’ll get.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the VP of Sales and Marketing

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Farotech, and what were your goals?

We needed to build a new website and run PPC and SEO.

SOLUTION

How did you select Farotech and what were the deciding factors?

I knew them through mutual friends. Saw what they were doing, and thought it would be a good fit

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

They built a website, delivered content monthly, tracked keywords

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

I worked with several project managers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a huge increase in web traffic, from 200/month to 18000/month after several years

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

Great communicators

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

They provided good value and really worked hard to educate me.

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

No