Imarc

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Magnitude Software is an organization which enables enterprises to access information from wherever it resides, analyze it based on trusted data established through master-data management, and act upon it for strategic and operational performance management. I am the vice president of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Imarc?

There were a couple of pieces involved in our initial exploration with them. Being an acquisitive organization, we had taken possession of another group called Simba Technologies, which has a very strong brand in the ISV [independent service providers] connectivity arena, namely drivers. These are the people who have developed the technology which enables enterprises to access information from nearly any system or data source, such as a data lake. We needed to unify the Simba.com website and brand with Magnitude’s, without compromising the brand itself. The website is a primary channel for evaluations, and there are also retail capabilities on it. We were looking to unify the brand and better represent Magnitude, without compromising Simba, as well as streamline the purchase experience and support self-service enablement, as it relates to technical support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Along with our very talented digital marketer, who has been developing websites for quite a few years, Imarc’s job was to essentially recreate a Simba.com entity which tied to Magnitude.com, both in terms of discovery, planning, and preparation, and in the execution itself. Our digital marketer was also involved in all of those phases, and did quite a bit of execution and testing, but Imarc was ultimately responsible for the full smash.

They were responsible for teasing the result out for us. We had a document which stated our objectives, and we worked with Imarc to establish and help them understand tone of voice and character missions. They worked with us in a collaborative fashion in order to get to a design and wireframe structure.

The site was developed using the WordPress platform. There are different audiences for it. The original one, at the time of acquisition, was primarily oriented towards technical people. We have a couple of audiences for the purchase of connectivity capabilities (or drivers), who might purchase off-the-shelf ODBC [open database connectivity] or JDBC [Java database connectivity]-based solutions, or who might purchase our software development kit for creating their own versions when a ready-made one isn’t available.

We’ve been primarily talking to the more technical people, but have expanded the dialogue to the ones who need access to data, namely business users. These fall into 2 categories: independent software vendors who OEM [original equipment manufacture] our driver into the technology they deliver (BI [business intelligence] vendors, for example), and enterprises with users who might require the connectivity, or product managers, developers and IT people, who are building the connectivity into applications being created, or linking existing applications (from systems of action to BI systems, for example).

Imarc has digital marketing capabilities, but we have a fully-internal program in place with our own marketer. They collaborated with us to an extent, but their job was to essentially build in what we had already established, and not break anything.

How did you come to work with Imarc?

I had worked with Imarc in a previous company, for a fairly small, proof-of-concept website. I found them after searching for a number of vendors, and gaining a number of referrals. A former team member of mine had hired a firm for a website build. They weren’t very happy with the results, and turned to Imarc to fix the problem. With that story in my head, and having spoken with Imarc, I was very impressed with the caliber of the people, and their willingness to do what it takes for the experience to be beneficial, and the results to be what we were looking for.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking with Imarc in the middle of 2016. We thought that the project would be kicked off by November or December, but, as we got to the close of the fiscal year, many priorities started to pop. We didn’t officially start until the kick-off in mid-January 2017, and the site was delivered in early April.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can’t share statistics, but I can say that we’ve had positive reactions from the internal team. We continued a steady state of visitors, and didn’t have hiccups in terms of search engine optimization or management, or with our Ad Words program. We have a tough audience in our Vancouver team, which is responsible for our Simba connectivity business.

How did Imarc perform from a project management standpoint?

This is an area where we had considerable back-and-forth. Due to the way in which we needed to work, it took us a while to find our sweet spot with Imarc. We were successful in getting the site live in a timely fashion, and working out any kinks. The senior management, and all the way through to the most junior member of the team, bent over backwards to make this happen.

What did you find most impressive about Imarc?

There are a couple of factors which stand out in my mind, based on my 2 experiences with Imarc, which would make me choose them again for an extensive project. Firstly, the capabilities the have in-house: the caliber of the people and the breadth of skillsets. Secondly, Imarc’s ability to represent data-based opinions and recommendations, while still being malleable in terms of coming to a decision that makes sense for the intended outcome, relative to the brand they’re working with, all within the notion of best practices.

Are there any areas Imarc could improve?

I have a small team, with only 2 people working on this project: myself and the digital marketer. The area which could have received the most improvement was project management. We needed proactive assistance, and worked it out as we progressed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an Employee of Virginia Society of CPAs.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Statewide association for CPAs

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build a new website

SOLUTION

How did you find Imarc?

Referral

Why did you select Imarc over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Imarc were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We had a fantastic experience working with Imarc. Their team was professional, collaborative, and quickly felt like an extension of our own staff. The entire process was smooth, timely, and refreshingly well-organized. Our project came in exactly as expected—both in scope and cost—and the pricing was extremely reasonable for the quality we received. I’d gladly recommend them to anyone looking for a dependable, thoughtful, and easy-to-work-with partner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Project was completed on time and on budget

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

All expectations were met. The Imarc team was very responsive to our needs.

What was your primary form of communication with Imarc?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They were the easiest technology company we ever worked with. They understood our system needs exceptionally well.

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

no

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of Intellect, a software company. We’ve been building BPM and QMS platforms for mid-market and enterprise businesses since 2000. Our AI-driven quality management software empowers organizations in various industries and markets, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Imarc?

We needed to redesign our corporate site to fix our SEO and help establish our brand within the quality management software industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Imarc redesigned our logo and built a new website.

What is the team composition?

We worked with several teammates from Imarc, including Patrick and Robert, our project managers.

How did you come to work with Imarc?

I’ve worked with IMARC to build new websites. I was introduced to them through a referral from a portfolio tech company that used them when I worked for Insight Partners more than 10 years ago. I’ve used them when I’ve been a CMO at various tech companies.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–August 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched on time and on budget. Our SEO increased in organic marketing channels. We also increased user engagement time on the site and page views. Although it’s too early to assess, our organic SEO traffic is now our number one traffic driver to the site. Our old site’s organic traffic was third after paid traffic.

How did Imarc perform from a project management standpoint?

Imarc delivered on time. We primarily communicated with Patrick and Robert.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Imarc’s professionalism and responsiveness to questions were impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could provide biweekly updates through project management tools to allow more transparency about items within the project that are progressing forward.