Fruition

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I have been the owner of SMB Sales Inc. since 2002, and we are located in Sumner, WA. I oversee all aspects of our online businesses, including buying, selling, and web management. We run two e-commerce sites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fruition?

We needed an SEO friendly website and a clear, concise direction on how to implement and retain an SEO strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I gave them a basic outline of what I needed. Fruition took it from there. I knew we needed help with respect to a decline in organic SEO. I had no idea how deep the problem was until Fruition brought it all to my attention. They saved us!

How did you come to work with Fruition?

Fruition was a reference I received from a trusted source.

How much have you invested with Fruition?

It is in the $50,000-$200,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been with Fruition for about 6 months, and I plan to retain them for as long as they will have me. Since SEO is constantly changing with Google algorithm changes, it is absolutely necessary for us to have a company of people that has this knowledge as Fruition does.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Over the past 6 months, we are going nowhere but up!  We see detailed positive results on a continual basis. Their focus on improving our business is second to none. Only a business owner themselves would have more focus and dedication.

I'm also absolutely blown away by their technical skill and the ease in which they implement it. It's almost hands-off, which is exactly what I wanted. Don't get me wrong; you can be as involved as you want and learn everything they do. I just needed someone to take the bull by the horns and run it for me, and that is exactly what they did.  

How did Fruition perform in terms of project management?

They performed perfectly.

What did you find most impressive about Fruition?

They first impressed me with their consistent ability to work unsupervised. I gave a general direction, and they ran with it. They continue to show us results that blow my mind; I just get to sit back and write a check once a month. It could not be easier.

Are there any areas where Fruition could improve?

No improvement would be possible. They really are exceeding any expectations I had, especially Courtney; she is amazing!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a small software reseller. We resell contact center solutions for Interactive Intelligence. They’re a company based out of Indiana recently acquired by Genesys Technologies. I’m the owner of the company. We’ve got 5 employees, and we do everything when it comes to Interactive Intelligence products—from sales, to support, to custom development, implementation, and training.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fruition?

We always came up short on our new logo sales piece, so we went to Fruition to help with marketability and branding in order to win new business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Overall, we wanted them to give us a full marketing identity which we never had before. So, Fruition wrote a new web page for us. They had some quiz-type of content asking questions, with automatic quotes being generated. Fruition also developed new artwork for us, spent some time looking at our competitors, and worked out our SEO [search engine optimization] to help us come out on the top of search lists.That was phase 1.

Phase 2 was a long-term retention where we managed our social profiles. They’ve got a few folks dedicated to us. Fruition is dedicated to us for about 20 to 30 hours a month, and they always look for better ways to write articles for us, promote different sections of our site, or make updates to things because it’s a really fast changing environment that we’re working in.

How did you come to work with Fruition?

I think I just googled “marketing agencies” in Denver. I visited them and one other organization. We went and did a preliminary meeting with each and asked them to give a high-level estimate budget on website redesign and rebuild project. The other company was more than twice the cost estimate of Fruition. The Fruition team seemed a little more current, certainly faster, and more dynamic. They fit better with us.

How much have you invested with Fruition?

If I remember right, I think we were around $30,000 for phase 1. The monthly retainer has been $3,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2016. We have a monthly recurring engagement where there is a social media calendar built out for the next 6 months with posts, articles, and blogs that they’re going to publish for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They didn’t know anything about contact centers when we hired them, and now they’re writing articles where it sounds as if they have been in it for 20 years. They are doing a great job of becoming experts in the space. They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them, but it takes a long time to actually start seeing the results. We’ve only had the website up for 5 months now, and the social component has only been about a month in, so we haven’t seen any real uptick in new business, but we have seen a lot of uptick in traffic. There is no hard bottom line, but that’s to be expected at this point. To a larger extent, what we were looking for in this first phase was to give our customers a place to go where they can validate who we are and what we provide.

How did Fruition perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, I think I did a pretty good job. I’m more of a developer by nature. So once the project manager connected me with the development resources, she got out of the way, which worked for all the people that were involved except for her. She was left out a little bit, but she stayed on top of it. She made sure we hit our dates.

What did you most impressive about Fruition?

I really dig the team spirit. Everybody that worked on our project was energized about being a part of it. They were excited to be working on our stuff. They’ve always been complimentary of how we all work together. It’s been a nice group to work with. They feel very much like an extension and not just a vendor.

Are there any areas Fruition could improve?

Not really. Like I said, Fruition hit every mark we asked them to. Everything has gone really well. Fruition met all their timelines and hit all their deliverables. Fruition continues to do good at writing and are becoming experts in the space. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with how quickly they’ve adopted our technology and learned how to communicate on our level for being in a space they have never worked in before.

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

The only thing I can say is that it’s a customer’s nature to be scrutinous of a contract and to look for how they're going to come out on the short end of the stick with this type of arrangement. I didn’t do that with Fruition, and they have proven to me that I never needed to. They just did a really good job. We all had a gentlemen’s agreement on the things that were loosely worded. We agreed to figure out a good path to make sure everybody was happy here, and we absolutely did that. Once the project team got rolling, nobody ever went back to the contract and said, “I don’t see this or that in there.” That never happened. To trust them is my biggest piece of advice. If you’re going to hire them, go ahead and put your trust in them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The City of Ontario is a local government in Southern California. I am the IT Operations Director that oversees the website development for the city. Fruition has been a partner since 2012 and helps the city develop a new website on the Drupal platform. Most recently there were tasked with the development of a new Ontario International Airport website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fruition?

The city was tired of its restricted content management system and old website design. Fruition utilized open source tools to develop the city website. They tailored the content management process to exactly fit our business process. We eliminated the annual support agreement and only engage Fruition when we need there support. This model has work successfully to keep costs low and not sacrifice support or capabilities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fruition provided website design and development services to the City of Ontario. The goal of these services is to move the websites to a new server and content management system that will facilitate website updates, improve security, and provide an improved long-term solution to the city. The website would also be responsive and be optimized for mobile devices.

Fruition was contracted to deliver a new city website as well as several other smaller sites utilizing open source content management systems.

How did you come to work with Fruition?

We had first been introduced to Fruition as part of the SetONTFree Airport campaign. They were the site builders. We had such a great experience working with them and their open source tools we decided to include them in the RFP for a new City of Ontario website and Intranet redesign.

How much have you invested with Fruition?

$50,000-$200,000.

What is the status of the engagement?

Our project lasted from February to June 2015. Fruition is still a great partner to work with and has helped the city on many of its website projects. Most recently they have built the flyontario.com website for the Ontario International Airport.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best demonstration of the success we have had with Fruition is our city website www.ontarioca.gov. The focus of the site was to quickly provide the information needed by our residents and the business community. We have also been able to add small enhancements to the site with the help of Fruition. For example, the homepage banners can be scheduled like events. This allows us to pre-load banners for upcoming holidays and events which make the site seem more dynamic.

How did Fruition perform in terms of project management?

They did great by keeping us on schedule but at the same time allowing us to make adjustments that fit our objectives.

What did you find most impressive about Fruition?

Very knowledgeable staff that knows the various tools they use. Great customer service.

Are there any areas where Fruition could improve?

Thus far, we have already made the necessary changes to improve our relationship. I can’t think of a specific area, but technology is ever changing, so it would be good for them to keep up with it.

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

The Fruition team we found was very bright and talented. Websites are very visual, and it helps both them and their customers to show them examples of what you want. Words sometimes don’t describe the look you're trying to achieve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company is an authoritative insurance comparison-shopping site for consumers and the premier customer acquisition platform for insurance agents and carriers.

Our mission is to demystify the insurance shopping experience, so that shoppers can simply and easily find the coverage that's right for them, and providers can inform, educate, and secure new customers through a marketplace that's comprehensive and trusted.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I'm the senior integrated marketing manager. My responsibilities include developing, implementing, and measuring strategic multi-platform marketing campaigns for the B2B side of our organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Fruition?

We brought them on board as a consulting and strategic partner. We were looking for them to provide insight as well as an executional resource for us to support our digital marketing growth.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

They act as a consultant in SEO [search engine optimization], on-page optimization, conversion testing, strategy, paid search, keyword bidding, content creation, and linked building, helping us understand industry best practices and gaining a better view of performance reporting to achieve maximum returns on our marketing activity.

Additionally, they've supported our vision to run unique contests and promotions to reach agents that we hadn't talked with previously and provide fun activities for our active agents by developing microsites for March Madness and NFL fantasy brackets.

What was your process for selecting Fruition with which to work?

We chose them because of their vast experience. They're a boutique agency, so from the beginning we felt like a valued client. 

Their CEO always has taken a personal interest in meeting with us and sharing. They've always displayed a keen understanding to our business and our goals. We've got the feeling that they're willing to go to the extra length to help us grow our bottom line.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

It is a rolling annual contract worth north of $100,000

When was the work completed?

It's ongoing. They started working with the B2B [business-to-business] back in mid-2013. They recently expanded their role to support the consumer side of the business.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

Before we brought Fruition on board our #1 branded B2B website ranked organically on the top 3 Google search positions for only 4% of our top 84 keywords.  After a year of work on optimizing our site structure and content, that number had increased to 48%. Additionally, we’ve been able to rank organically on the first page of results for 85% of our tracked keywords compared to 41% when we started working with Fruition.

Are you satisfied with their performance?

Yes. They have really helped us understand best practices and Google algorithm changes and all the recommendations they've made to us have been predicated on that. 

Is there anything unique or special about Fruition that really makes them stand out compared to other business partners?

The personal interest that they display is unique. They're always very interested in our business and understanding our goals. It's not just coming to the table with "here is what you should do." 

They have always been interested to understand where we're trying to take the business and then be able to make their recommendations based on that. They've also been a great source to be able to bounce ideas off of. That's something that has sometimes been a challenge for us being a small marketing team. 

They are also very concerned with ensuring that we understand all the steps they are taking to help us, passing that learning on to us rather than holding processes and insights close to their chest.

What advice would you give to future clients of theirs?

I would say if you're looking for an agency with a high level of integrity and aptitude for the evolving digital marketing industry, that's Fruition. They've been a real valued partner in our strategic marketing decision. We rely on their expertise and professionalism to stay ahead of the competition. Personally, I would recommend them to anyone who is looking for that type of partner in their digital marketing success.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

Any obstacle that we've encountered with our relationship so far, they've been able to work with us overcome. Any conflicts are identified early in the process. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a database company. We collect and refine data from the financial industry, specifically the securities firms and advisors that work within the marketplace. We do a lot of data analytics.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the CEO. I oversee business operations and development projects when it comes to development of new technologies and software and things like that.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Fruition?

Originally, our goal was to increase our page ranking within our target industry. We have strong competition, and we saw they were ranking higher than we were. We wanted to increase our visibility when our target audience and clients are searching for the types of services we provide.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

They were very clear with us regarding the timeline it would take to achieve our objective. They made a plan with us early on to introduce a more aggressive PPC [pay-per-click] program. The ultimate goal was to move away from that and rely on the organic search traffic to take over. We’re one year in, and we’ve been able to do that. We recently eliminated the PPC advertising and moved entirely to organic search work.

What was your process for selecting Fruition with which to work?

I did research and talked to a few firms. One of the reasons that I selected Fruition is that I knew Jen [LaFlam, business development employee at Fruition] from a previous position. It gives you a higher level of comfort when you have that personal relationship. That was a factor for us. The personal relationship wasn’t the main reason we hired them, but it was a factor. All SEO [search engine optimization] firms claim to be able to accomplish the same things. It’s hard to discern whether they are able to deliver or not.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

It was slightly more than $50,000 for the year

When was the work completed?

It’s ongoing work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I do a monthly review with them. They run through the Google analytics and all the primary ISPs [Internet service providers] to show us the tangible results they are able to produce. We’re looking at month-over-month and year-over-year increases. I don’t have the hard statistics, but I’ll tell you in a general sense that we see month-on-month progress – movement up the page for all the key areas we’re focused on. 

We have defined progress that we are able to track monthly and weekly. That’s important when you’re making this kind of investment. We’re tracking cost per lead and how many leads we’re generating. That requires internal setup. We have leads coming in many forms: the phone, website, and filling out our contact form. There’s a number of avenues how they found their way to us. You want to be able to know if the dollars are well spent. It is easy for us now to see where our leads are coming from.

Are you satisfied with their performance?

They met every objective we’ve given them. They by far surpassed my expectations. They over delivered. That’s rare. They are extremely good at what they do.

Is there anything unique or special about Fruition that really makes them stand out compared to other business partners?

I was pleasantly surprised at how they have remained highly engaged with us. They will keep us on task. They never lose focus. They’re constantly working behind the scenes. They took on making changes to the website. They will post content and make edits for us. I’ve been very pleased with the overall level of service with these guys. They’re not “sell you and forget you.”

What advice would you give to future clients of theirs?

I would say be prepared for the fact that they do a tremendous amount of the heavy lifting and work. It’s a cooperative effort. It’s going to take work on your part, too. You still have to guide them to what your clients are interested in. They’ll prod you.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

That’s a tough one. I would be hard pressed to find an area of criticism. They are extremely diligent. I think it’s the nature of the business. It’s ingrained in them to be constantly on the ball.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are AppointmentPlus, an online scheduling software. We’ve been around since 2001, helping businesses, franchises, and Fortune 500 companies that have complex scheduling needs. Our platform automates a lot of that process for them, resulting in up to a 70 percent reduction of no-shows. Our software handles any type of appointment. We have about 89 employees right now, and we’re projected to have another 70 in 2015. We’re located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I am the vice president of global marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Fruition?

In August 2013, we had a manual audit penalty from Google, which was placed on us because of some bad link-building practices of previous SEO [search engine optimization] companies. Our website is around 600-plus pages, and we have only one developer, so it takes a lot of time to remove those links. We went through three different SEO firms trying to get them removed, and we had internal Google link parties trying to remove them as well. Nothing worked until we connected with Fruition. They were able to remove the Google link manual audit penalty from us in less than 90 days.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

The specific scope was to go back and contact all of the webmasters that were linking back to us, to go through all of our Google website platform files using Google webmaster tools, and then to make sure they’re having the files edited properly. The hope was that when Google did the reconsideration, it could be done quickly.

What was your process in selecting Fruition with which to work?

Our CEO met Fruition’s business development manager at an industry event they were both attending. Since I’d already been through three different SEO companies, I knew exactly what I was looking for. I gave Fruition’s team about four months to see what they were able to produce.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

We pay a retainer of $3,000 a month to Fruition.

When did you start working with them and is the relationship ongoing?

We started working with Fruition in October 2014, and we are still working with them. We’ve expanded the contract to include paid media and social networking services. Soon, I’ll be adding their public relations and possibly their reputation management services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or general feedback from the project?

I enjoy working with them because they are open to change. My background is in direct response marketing, and there’s a particular way I like to do things, or have processes and frameworks laid out. They were 100 percent open to trying to figure out a way to make things happen. For example, while they were working on removing the Google penalty, I also needed to have another website built. So, within that first engagement, they were open to helping me create a WordPress website from scratch, and then their designers helped create our new mascot. They found a designer outside of their company and set up the contract for me. They managed that whole process, so I didn’t have to do anything and had only one bill to pay. That was a sign of their flexibility, and one of the main reasons I continue to use them today.

Is there anything unique about Fruition that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

They take a holistic approach to SEO. They know it’s more than just changing keywords and meta descriptions. They have good article and content writers. They also have a strategy and a plan laid out to increase engagement. They were flexible and open enough to accept change in process management and flow.

I think that our communication has been evolving. I appreciate how they started the engagement, and now we communicate with them daily. They’re like an extension of our own marketing team.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

I would recommend that clients make sure they have their deliverables and requirements lined out before contacting them. Doing your due diligence before connecting with anybody is crucial.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are a privately held manufacturing and sourcing firm in the housewares industry. We have national brands, which are kitchen tools. One is real tools for kids, and the other is an adult fruit and vegetable prep line. We also do a line of private label kitchen utensils, like spoons and spatulas, for national retailers as well. We have another branded program, which is a racking system for five-gallon water bottles that we sell to the water trade and to water customers.

What is your position?

I’m the national sales director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenge that you were trying to address when you first approached Fruition?

We had one brand at the time, and we had a website up, but it was developed in-house and wasn’t what the brand needed to grow. We wanted to design a first-class site from the ground up. We wanted to be able to get the brand name out in a big way and have a very user-friendly e-commerce site. We wanted to sell product as well as inform, and we wanted to hire an expert to do that instead of trying to do it in-house half-baked.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the actual scope of work assigned to them?

It was a true collaborative effort. We came in with certain ideas on what we wanted the site to do, a little bit on how we wanted it to look. Then, we kind of threw it out to them from the creative side and asked them to show us what it could be. They gave us some ideas to pick from, and we collaborated from that point on. They were involved in all aspects of the development, design, and deployment.

How did you come to choose Fruition as your partner?

Our CEO at the time was attending a conference and ran into Jonathan Mills [Fruition's director of business development]. They struck up a conversation, and Jonathan was pitching Fruition and what they could bring to the party. Our CEO found it very interesting, and we started the process. We did our due diligence and searched for different firms, narrowed it down to a couple, did our interviewing, and ended up with Fruition at the end of the day.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

It was about $20,000 to $25,000 per website.

What is the status of the project?

We’ve been working with them for two years now, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

Our e-commerce business has grown sevenfold last year versus calendar year 2013. We’re getting the traffic and conversions we wanted. In terms of keyword searches and where this brand turns up in organic search results, it’s been extremely high. That’s due in a large part to the design of the site, content of the site, and the ongoing optimization done by Fruition. Right before site launch, they worked around the clock and did whatever they needed to do to get it done. They're really responsive. We needed a meeting, and they found time for the meeting. They’ve always been flexible like that, which is greatly appreciated.

When working with Fruition, is there anything that you would consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

They were extremely patient, extremely understanding, and very easy to work with. They’re always good at bringing new things to our attention, and stay on top of what’s going on in the industry. In that sense, they’ve always been able to offer us great recommendations on how we can improve our online presence as a whole.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

We got used to a certain level of response time, and as Fruition’s business has picked up, that’s been a little tougher. It’s not really a problem; it’s just a little longer. We’re hoping that they won’t simply outgrow us.

What advice, if any, would you give a future client of theirs?

Be open and collaborative. Jonathan and his team are really good about offering a different point of view. They’re really good at presenting alternative visions of different aspects of development. They can really streamline the development process, but you have to come to the table with an open mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an Executive of Hale Pet Door, LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We manufacture, wholesale and retail high end petdoors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Fruition to accomplish?

• Buiding a new Website
• Better SEO
• Integration with related websites

SOLUTION

How did you find Fruition?

Referral

Why did you select Fruition over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Fruition were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Very large website built from the ground up in addition to separate wholesale and retail checkouts and many sub websites.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Fruition stayed under budget and completed project without delays.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Fruition was very responsive and receptive to all changes that we made midway through project. They still finished project on time and under budget. They delivered a quality product and have been there to help with any and all bugs as per their warrantee

What was your primary form of communication with Fruition?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their honesty, integrity, and effort have been impressive.

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

None