Gustin Quon

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a plumbing company, Mr. Mike's Plumbing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gustin Quon?

We needed advertising to maintain a good Google presence and grow the company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gustin Quon manages our website, Google SEO, and Facebook and social media marketing. They’ve done campaigns for our plumbing, cleaning, replacement, and excavation services.

What is the team composition?

We work with 4–5 people. We’ve talked with the owner, sales manager, and the person who deals with our account.

How did you come to work with Gustin Quon?

I was looking at top plumbing companies and who did their advertising. Gustin Quon seemed good and was doing well for them, so I thought they’d be a good pick.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2019, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re a good team, and they’ve been able to keep us at the top since we started working with them. That’s all that matters.

How did Gustin Quon perform from a project management standpoint?

They could work on it. We typically communicate via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do well despite our high expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could work on giving advice and explaining their work on easy terms. Maybe we could have monthly meetings to discuss feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Always make sure they’re doing their job. Also, set your expectations and don’t get comfortable. Gustin Quon will probably do a good job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and physiotherapist at a therapy and massage clinic. Right now, we have three physiotherapists, one massage therapist, and five people on staff.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gustin Quon?

I’d increased the number of physiotherapists and added a massage therapist, and I was trying to get more patients in the door.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with SEO; the goal was to rank higher on Google. I’d designed my website by myself, and Gustin Quon eventually redid it to help the SEO. They recreated the site, and they’ve helped me create some of the content.

The site has different pages so people can look at our information or contact us. We have call buttons, and if they’re on mobile, they can call the clinic directly. There are also email links, pictures, links to our social media pages, and so on.

I’m pretty particular about the website, so I’ve written a lot of the content, and I heavily revise it. They’ve had content writers for me, and the team advised me to have some videos, so we did that.

Right now, they manage Google Ads and help me figure out what to put in the campaign. They still provide maintenance, changing the visuals, adding pictures, and putting up new content.

What is the team composition?

We usually have an account manager. People have come and gone, so we’ve dealt with 3–5 people over the time we’ve used them. We’ve also spoken with other people who work more on the technical side, like Google Ads.

How did you come to work with Gustin Quon?

My brother-in-law works there, so he connected me with Gustin Quon and sold it to me. He made me believe in what they could do. At first, I tried to do as much as I could on my own. I would sit down with him, and he’d explain things to me, but it made me realize how little I knew about it.

Then, the clinic got big enough, and it became clear that I was maxed out on what I could do with my knowledge base. I had to look for professional help, so I formally signed with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I pay them $1,050 per month, so it’s a little over $12,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2018, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen an increase in the number of patients coming as a result of their efforts. New people are coming in the door, and when we ask them how they found about us, they usually answer that it was on Google. Overall, we’re happy with their work; that’s why we continue with their services.

How did Gustin Quon perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve liked all the account managers we’ve had, and they’ve been very pleasant to deal with. Communication is good, and we do monthly meetings to do health checks. They also send reports so we can review the results, which is helpful. In the beginning, I didn’t understand all the metrics and terms, but they explained them to me so I’d know what I was looking at. Now, I’m better at reading the reports, and we go through them every month.

We typically communicate via email, and the meetings are through Zoom. Additionally, we have the option to chat or talk on the phone whenever it’s appropriate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. We’re pretty happy with everything they’ve done so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s good to have the monthly meeting. We initially didn’t do it, but now I feel that it’s better to be more involved. Gustin Quon will do their job, but it’s good to know what’s going on and be familiar with the reports and metrics. In hindsight, we probably should’ve done it since the beginning to understand the process better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of 3 dental practices

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Gustin Quon provided SEO, social media, and pay per click campaigns for my 3 dental offices. The goals were to generate high quality patient leads to call the office to generate 60+ new patients per office. Not only were we needing more new patients but we wanted a higher acceptance rate, and a higher collections per patient.

SOLUTION

How did you select Gustin Quon and what were the deciding factors?

They have dental implant knowledge, work with many dentists, they have good reviews, and they had a nice google ad words campaign.

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

Scope of work included SEO, Google ad words campaign, and social media.

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

initially Kyle Gustin worked on the SEO, Peter worked on the Google ad words, and someone worked on facebook.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We maintained the numbers of new patients that we saw Q1 and 2 of 2019 in Q1 and 2 of 2020. For collections, the same time frame, all 3 offices had a 25% growth year over year - even with COVID.

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

Peter was easily reachable and was very attentive to our account.

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

We felt they were more professional than other companies we have worked with.

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

interface with each office's EHR. This would allow for real-time knowledge of patient data, key practice metrics ie: # of new patients, revenue per patient, and where these patients are coming from.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own a deck and railing company with two locations in Winnipeg and Ottawa. I manage the Ottawa location day-to-day. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gustin Quon?

We wanted to be able to rank number one on Google for Ottawa as quickly as possible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gustin Quon updated my previous website and moved it to WordPress. They also updated the content I’d written in a WordPress format.

Then, they entered the keywords that I wanted to rank for. They continue to help me with Google Ads.

What is the team composition?

I work with three team members from Gustin Quon.

How did you come to work with Gustin Quon?

I actually knew David and Kyle (Partners) from university. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $6,800, and then we spend $250 each month on ongoing touchups. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work began in January 2019, and we’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I refer to Google Analytics to see our ranking stats. I’ve seen a significant uptick in website traffic and business since we started working together.

How did Gustin Quon perform from a project management standpoint?

I’d give them a solid 8/10. I typically communicated with them through weekly meetings over the phone or some video conferencing tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The personal relationship side of it distinguishes Gustin Quon from other providers. They have a well-rounded team of people that can help out with a variety of things, from the website to SEO and Google Ads. They had a little bit of leverage because they could relay the information to the team and not have to re-explain the project to each person. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I sometimes felt like the value wasn't quite there, but I've had this experience with many companies, especially those that work in website development or Google Ads. The value would be there initially, and then it would drop off. I think website and SEO companies run into this problem; at the beginning, there are lots of updates and changes, and you feel like a lot of work has been done, but then it feels like there are diminishing returns with the ongoing subscription services.

Any advice for potential customers?

It’s worth the money because the quality of the work at the beginning definitely pays for itself. Also, be patient with the process, because it takes six months or so to move up on Google.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of a professional services firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gustin Quon?

We had a very specific objective. We wanted Gustin Quon to generate leads using Google AdWords and Google Remarketing, and come up with landing pages and copy. I wanted them to set up the campaign and manage it for me. 

They needed to have a clear understanding of our business and of what kind of leads we would be interested in, and focus on specific objectives with regards to generating leads based on the keywords that identify our clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Once I started working with them, I noticed their lack of transparency. They wanted access to our Google AdWords account, and we had to make sure that our credit card was connected to it. 

We received a report once a week about what was going on, but it was really nothing about what they were doing to improve the campaign. They kept leading me on. They used a lot of fancy words and jargon, but it didn’t go anywhere.  

Gustin Quon set up the campaign and ran the ads, and they promised a lot of leads. They gave me a quote for an ad spend of about $3,000 and promised that we could get about 50 clicks. They promised that they knew my industry very well and knew what needed to be done and how to deliver. 

Once we started, it was very clear that they didn’t know much about it, but I kept giving them time in the hope that it would get better. Two weeks in, I asked to speak to the lead technical teammate. I finally spoke to him and he didn’t seem to know much about anything either. 

Two months down the line, I told them I was very unhappy with the fact that I didn’t know what was going on and what they were doing to generate leads, as well as what their process was. It was very noncommittal.

What is the team dynamic?

The lead salesperson I spoke to assigned someone to me and then in the first call when I spoke to him, he promised a lot of things, but after the call, there was no follow-up call, no minutes of the meeting, and no follow-up action of when the next meeting was going to be. 

I had to write them an email to find out about it. Two weeks later, the person I spoke to said they were sorry, but it looked like someone dropped the ball and they needed to regroup and get back to me. It was a whole lot of marketing fluff, but really no substance.

The contractor’s availability was a big challenge. He was the lead Google Ads expert, but getting him on the line was a challenge and when he was on the line, he was noncommittal in terms of what he was doing and how he was trying to generate leads behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Gustin Quon?

I found them through Clutch. I went with Clutch because I had very positive impressions of the platform. As a matter of fact, I have acquired a lot of good clients through Clutch and the same matchmaking program. 

I was trying to decide between two firms because the first two firms I spoke to were very clear and upfront and said it wasn’t something they had expertise in, so they dropped out. 

Gustin Quon was one of the other two firms I was speaking to and I was trying to work very closely with them. They promised a lot of things ahead of time, all during the sales process.

How much have you invested in them?

After about three months, it didn’t make sense to continue with them anymore, and at that time, I had already spent close to $5,000 in ad spend and about $4,000 in fees.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with them for around three months, from April–June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

Gustin Quon didn’t deliver. I wasted a lot of time and money. It was an opportunity cost so there are a lot of things that went wrong there. After that, I just didn’t want to go through the same process and went through Upwork and posted on Craigslist and eventually found someone on Dice.

They made no effort to make any sort of change. At the three month mark, when I told them a day before the billing cycle ended that I didn’t want to continue because I was unhappy, they told me they had to check to see if I would be charged for the next month but they came back to me and said it was fine.

They made no effort to try to address my concerns or try to retain me as a customer. Software development is a niche, and, clearly, they didn’t have any experience in this.

Their process wasn’t good either, and it was a terrible experience overall because of their lack of transparency. They were never invested in generating leads for my business, and it was very apparent.

How was project management handled?

We didn’t use any tools. They sent emails with primitive spreadsheets with random information which didn’t give me any sort of clarity; it was terrible. Because I was not very happy with it, I requested to have calls. 

On those calls, there would be a salesperson who would read out written notes to me about what happened during the week. However, I was already aware of those updates because I had looked at the Google AdWords dashboard. 

If I had any questions, he would take note of them and say he would get back to me after speaking to his lead PPC engineer. A day later, he would send back a response that was half baked and didn’t address the core of my concern.

The team knew little about the work and wasn't interested in generating any sort of quality leads. I knew it was terrible because right after I switched and went to a different provider, there was a huge difference in the quality of the output I received.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

They were definitely good at sales because they sold me on it. Gustin Quon also had good language skills, but I wouldn’t say they had good communication skills.

In what specific areas can they improve?

Gustin Quon had attitude and commitment issues. If you aren’t sure you can generate the results for a client and if you are not fully invested in the project, you shouldn’t take a client. If someone gives it their best shot and doesn’t succeed, that’s fine because it happens. 

My problem is that they were not even concerned about it, so I wasn’t sure why they even acquired me as a client. They should have been very clear that they were not able to work on the project. I would've preferred if they had been upfront. That’s one thing they should definitely work on.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Don’t agree on a flat fee with them; give them an incentive-based fee. Do your due diligence before hiring them. If you have a choice, it’s better to avoid hiring them.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on August 5, 2020.

We love all forms of feedback. While the results were not what we wanted, working with this company proved a great learning experience on how to better handle client’s expectations and demands. This review is generally accurate in regards to results, however below are some important details of the engagement:

1. The client only counted leads if they were worth $250k or more. We generated at least one lead worth $250k and many more smaller sized leads.
   1. The ROI if they closed this lead would have been ~1500%.
2. Our hands were cuffed with a small budget by New York standards.
3. The client required near-daily updates on work being completed — the issue here is many experiments and A/B testing requires weeks of data before pivoting a strategy.
   1. The client received real-time on-demand access to all activities completed (tracked in Google Ads changelog), strategy, and analytic data including a monthly report for the last 30 days.
4. GQ went above and beyond and provided CTR/CRO analyzation and updates at no extra cost.
5. We were not allowed to access the website or create dedicated landing pages for the client, which resulted in a lower quality score of ads.
6. GQ gifted a free month of work because we are dedicated to getting results and finding solutions for our clients.

A lot of great learning experiences came from this and, at its core, allowed Gustin Quon to improve our client care for all of our clients moving forward. 

This client was an aberration as can be seen with our 17 ~5-star clutch reviews and 62 4.7-star average on Google. 

If you read this review, I would encourage you to contact GQ to get a feel for our marketing process. All consultations are free. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager of Traut Firm. We’re a personal injury law firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gustin Quon?

They provide web development and marketing services to ensure our website works properly and attracts the right type of clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their efforts were split between web development and marketing. On the development side, they’ve fixed several existing widgets issues we were having and advised us against doing a complete rebuild. The latter suggestion was invaluable, as it would have been a costly, ultimately, unnecessary undertaking. They also made changes to our contact form to ensure we received strong leads.

Regarding marketing, they do SEO and PPC. Their organic efforts have focused on rewording text on our site to attract the correct type of clients (we used to receive lots of calls about medical malpractice, while we only handle legal malpractice) and targeting specific keywords.

What is the team composition?

We interact mostly with Jorel (Account Manager, Gustin Quon).

How did you come to work with Gustin Quon?

I left my firm for a few years, and my boss hired Gustin Quon during that time. When I came back, I was encouraged to find a new vendor, but after researching and interviewing five options, I returned to Gustin Quon.

When they were initially brought on, my boss enjoyed their ability to understand our lingo and our needs. They were also able to explain things in laymen's terms that we could understand. I brought them back because of their history of following through on requirements.

How much have you invested in them?

We spend around $4,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A year ago, almost all our incoming cases didn’t apply to our focus. Now, we receive three to four good cases every month from organic search. These past six months have been the best our firm has ever heard. We’re in the green, making three times the amount we’re spending.

How did Gustin Quon perform from a project management standpoint?

We have monthly meetings where I communicate updates or changes I want made to the site and we bounce ideas back and forth until something sticks. Otherwise, I can call or email them anytime. They fix any issues within hours, even on the weekend. We’ve also done video chats. Their ability to work around my schedule is fantastic.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their results put me at ease and I’m always eager to show them to my boss. Gustin is invested in how many sales we get and ensure that our uptime is maximized. Rather than racking up a large bill, they only provide services that will save us money. Likewise, they’ll let us know if something isn’t a good idea. They’re a pleasure to work with and always take care of us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not right now. I’m very happy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a Winnipeg Stonetops. We provide quartz and granite kitchen countertops to businesses and retail clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gustin Quon?

We’re a relatively new business, so we didn’t have many retail or commercial customers. Although our team had grown, we needed Gustin Quon's advertising support to better manage our business and increase sales.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gustin Quon has been providing SEO support. They’ve helped us create sets of keywords related to my business. For the marketing efforts, their team writes content for my site. They produce monthly reports for us to review and improve from.

What is the team composition?

I’m mainly in communication with Phil (Marketing Operations Manager, Gustin Quon) and Chris (Account Director, Gustin Quon).

How did you come to work with Gustin Quon?

I spoke to several marketing agencies and had in-person meetings with each. I chose Gustin Quon because they had a convincing offer at a reasonable price. They presented a strategy and we signed a one-year contract to begin.

How much have you invested with them?

Per month, we spend between $2,000–$2,500 CAD (approximately $1,500-$1900 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2015 and the collaboration is ongoing. We’re starting a new contract with their team soon.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although we didn’t see immediate results at the beginning, several of the keywords have been crucial for driving traffic to our site. Some of the specific terms have helped us rank on the first page of search results. As we continue working together, the impact of their work grows. We also receive more calls from potential customers due to the higher ranking.  

How did Gustin Quon perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily have in-person meetings at our office. They explain their progress and we go over the monthly report. They answer all of our questions during the meetings, but we can also use email and phone calls if we need anything.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

The results are impressive and they deliver on all of their promises.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any complaints.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of marketing for Applewood Auto Group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gustin Quon?

We engage them because of their expertise with the digital environment—SEO and search engine marketing (SEM), in particular. We've recently added some additional services by having them manage our social media campaigns and our online reputation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They coordinate the SEO for six different entities in our company, and they manage our full budget for Google Ads. They’ve introduced dynamic retargeting, so they’ve worked closely with our web provider to arrange those efforts. Gustin Quon now also works with each location to make content and post it to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

What is the team composition?

Bryce (Account Manager, Gustin Quon) is our day-to-day contact, but we also have direct access to David (Sales Vice President, Gustin Quon).

How did you come to work with Gustin Quon?

The president of our group had an affiliation with Gustin Quon in his past role, so they came highly recommended.

We were hesitant to put all of our digital business with one provider. So while we have a website provider that would provide similar services, that was not the model we wanted.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay about $500 a month for their agency fee.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together since 2016, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a lift in our organic rankings, which I’d attribute to their work. It is too early to tell the effects on social media, but we’re confident that they do a good job for us.

How did Gustin Quon perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been responsive when we need to change directions or refocus our efforts. They’re nimble and do that for us quickly. Their performance in that regard is one of the biggest reasons why we’ve moved more of our business over to them.

I’ll meet with David in person a few times a year, but otherwise, we communicate well through phone calls and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They make it very easy for me to give ideas and give feedback, and they always execute my vision. Additionally, they’re proactive communicators. They require no prompting from me to receive updates.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’re always trying to find an improved level of service. They work with us to find the best solution.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Harlan Fairbanks Co. We’re a fun food distributor with a market in Western Canada and Washington State to Northern Ontario.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gustin Quon?

Our website was outdated and we had no SEO or SEM efforts in place. We hired Gustin Quon to help with our digital advertising and online presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We began the project with Gustin Quon by rebuilding our Canadian website. From there, they moved on to overhauling and rebuilding our US site. Their team is incorporating an e-commerce platform to both versions of our site. Our internal software is built with Pronto, so Gustin Quon has been working to attach Shopify to the platforms. They also incorporated Chase as the payment provider for the site, as they’re a company we do business with.

On the digital advertising side of the project, their team helps us run seasonable SEO and SEM campaigns. They focus on different product categories to drive traffic to certain parts of the website.

What is the team composition?

My primary point of contact is Chris (Account Director, Gustin Quon). I also work with Corey (Digital Marketing Director, Gustin Quon) regularly for our web design needs. Kyle (President, Gustin Quon) is also available when needed.

How did you come to work with Gustin Quon?

A manager of our company had worked in the digital marketing world, so we asked for his client’s recommendations. We followed a referral and interviewed Gustin Quon after considering three other teams. The difference with their team was that they did their homework on our company and impressed us at our first meeting. We also liked their personalities and their clear ambition to earn our business—it was an easy decision.

How much have you invested with them?

Annually, we’ve spent between $50,000 and $100,000 on their services, with additional fees for web development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March 2015 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 traffic to our website during our reviews with Gustin Quon. Our sales team report higher numbers of site leads every week, so more potential clients are finding us from our platforms and SEO efforts.

How did Gustin Quon perform from a project management standpoint?

We have meetings whenever necessary and everything is communicated to us. They’ve done well in meeting our deadlines and keeping track of information. Whenever something runs behind schedule, it’s usually on our end.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aside from the deep insight they have in digital advertising, they also have a young and driven team. They’re a pleasure to interact with and we’ve appreciated working with them as individuals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

On occasion, their internal resources seem to be stretched slightly thin because of the rapidly growing stage of their business. No business is perfect, but nothing else comes to mind for them to improve on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the manager of Prairie Chiropractic.
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gustin Quon?
We’d been having a hard time getting clients into our mental health program, so we hired Gustin Quon to work on our Facebook lead generation.
 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
Gustin Quon manages Facebook lead generation and provides regular updates to keep our content fresh. They work with various tools, but Pipedrive is the main software that tracks our leads. Through it, I’m able to see data on our customers, such as what they’re clicking on and who I should call back.

What is the team composition? 
I work with three people.

How did you come to work with Gustin Quon?
My boss knew their owner. They showed how they’d be able to help with Facebook lead generation and were accommodating with our needs and schedule, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?
We spend about $1,000 a month on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?
We partnered in August 2016, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Before hiring Gustin Quon, we had about one person joining our program every month. In the first month of our partnership, we had 12 consultations, and seven of them signed up. Their work consistently brings in about five people a month, which is a drastic improvement.
They’re also always coming up with new ways to attract more clients. For example, they recently suggested booking seminars instead of just individual consultations.

How did Gustin Quon perform from a project management standpoint?
They keep us focused and on track, maintaining open communication and requiring minimal oversight.

What did you find most impressive about them?
They’ve become incredibly knowledgeable of our industry, proactively applying their expertise to other branches of our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?
They can sometimes be a bit pushy.