IMPACT

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Former CMO of a nonprofit organization

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Ours is the world’s leading association dedicated to the information management industry. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build a more effective marketing strategy
• Close more new business
• Better align the sales and marketing teams

SOLUTION

How did you find IMPACT?

Event

Why did you select IMPACT over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from IMPACT were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

As an industry association, we were struggling to attract new members. We were sending hundreds of thousands of marketing emails. The worse things got, the more email we'd send. This was leading to a poor reputation in the marketplace. We needed a new marketing strategy that built trust among our community and positioned ourselves as the go-to authority in our space.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within a year of working with IMPACT, we were generating 1,500 new leads a month with higher close rates and average customer lifetime values than we had ever seen before.

We saw a shift internally as well. Sales and marketing were no longer working in silos, operating from different playbooks and with misaligned goals. The two departments became more aligned, culminating in becoming a single revenue department.

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

The most notable thing in working with IMPACT, aside from the results, was how organized and efficient the team was. From the software they use to the templates, they have their processes dialed in. They consistently delivered on-time and regularly exceeded expectations. 

What was your primary form of communication with IMPACT?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

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

The Endless Customers System is simple to understand, but so incredibly effective at transforming an organization from the top down to be more customer-centric. It does exactly what it promises, which is that if you create the right content, focused on educating your audience and providing value well before asking for anything in return, you will build trust and authority. The seller with the most trust in the marketplace is the one who wins the business.  I'll admit to being a little hesitant when I first saw the investment working with IMPACT was going to require, but we saw an outsized return on the spend. 

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

I only wish I'd found them sooner!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President of Superior Trucking Payroll Service

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a payroll service for the trucking industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• More web traffic
• More leads
• Better messaging

SOLUTION

How did you find IMPACT?

Referral

Why did you select IMPACT over others?

• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from IMPACT were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Our goal was to imporve our web traffic and our procurement of new leads through our web presence.  The plan was to both improve our content and our SEO.  Also to make some tactical change is how we ask for the leads to send us their contact information.  

We saw a jump in traffic soon after we started and when we got to lead nuturing, they suggested changes that we implemented that saw our leads triple.  The quality of the leads was also imporved.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our web traffic imporved ovrer 18% in a time where web traffic in general is going down.  Our leads nearly tripled and were better quality leads than we had been getting before.

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

They were on time all the time.  We had a quarterly meeting on top of the regular meetings where we speciifically laid out he plan for teh next three months.  They were quick to respond to emails in between the meetings.

What was your primary form of communication with IMPACT?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They kept searching for the best ways to achieve our goals.  We weren't a typical client for them in some ways.  We are a service business and they have more frequesnt success with the home improvement space.  We also did not use their recommended CRM but they stayed in it and did not stop until we hit our targets.  They never said, "You have to switch to our favorite CRM".  They are also the kindest group of people I may ever have met.

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

It would have been better to have a fuller scope of what we needed to do at the outset.  But, that said, they hit all the goals ontime and on budget.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director, Marketing Development of Renaissance Learning

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Renaissance is a pre-K‒12 edtech global leader committed to helping educators truly See Every Student. Our interconnected solutions accurately assess learning and growth, provide purposeful practice and instruction, and support a whole child approach to data-informed decisions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Increase brand recognition.
• Help us switch from a product led strategy to a solution led strategy.
• Refine our target audience to get in front of the right people.
• To help guide and teach us along the way.

SOLUTION

How did you find Swell?

Online Search

Why did you select Swell over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned
• Other

How many teammates from Swell were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

In early 2023 we went through a rebrand and hired Swell to help us go from a product focus to a solution focused ad strategy.  We were looking for leads, impressions, downloads, and a company that had an in house graphics department that had fast turnaround and stayed up to date with trends.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our strategy has been completely overhauled. 

We can also now track all data points do to their reporting and the use of Basecamp. 

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

Emma is amazing!  She is transparent and easy to get ahold of whenever we need them or have questions.  Her time management is excellent and she understands what her team needs from us in order to get the best outcome.  

What was your primary form of communication with Swell?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They work great as a team and explain stuff in a way that is easy to understand.  They are analytical and want our success as much as we do.

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

It has been a good working relationship and we haven't had any bumps in the road.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I formerly worked at a senior living care services company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IMPACT?

We hired IMPACT for a whole litany of projects, but I’d focus on web development and maintenance. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a standing contract with them to improve our website and fix any issues that arose. IMPACT took our legacy site and improved it over time to be fully compatible with HubSpot. 

For features and functionality, the website was to be a learning center for seniors. It talked about the different levels of living we offered from independent living all the way to hospice care. On top of that, it served as a platform for our nonprofit side. Everything was coded in HubSpot, and the team used InVision. IMPACT then offered hosting and maintenance for the website. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with 10 people from their team, including an account relationship manager, a project manager, and the head of their development team. Apart from them, a Google and Facebook ads specialist and a couple of UI/UX designers also worked on the project. 

How did you come to work with IMPACT?

We found IMPACT at a conference and engaged them through a program. Someone from our team me them and had a good conversation with them. The team seemed capable of doing what needed to be done, so we engaged them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $100,000 per year. Over the years, the investment was close to a million dollars since we had other investments in them other than web development. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our company partnered with them in November 2016, and the engagement is ongoing — I’ve already left the company, but I worked with them for five years. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw a clear increase in conversions and traffic due to a combination of improved web core vitals and SEO tactics that we weaved into the process. The landing page design, UX, and form placements contributed to this success. 

How did IMPACT perform from a project management standpoint?

IMPACT excelled in project management, which was my favorite thing about them. The team was highly organized, and they were always on time. They clearly communicated with us something would prevent them from being on time — we were never left wondering or questioning any delay. 

In terms of tools, we used Basecamp for project management and messaging and had weekly Zoom calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were customer-oriented. They cared a lot about our experience and were always willing to listen to us if we were unhappy in any way. Other companies wouldn’t walk the talk, but IMPACT did exactly what they said they were going to do.

Moreover, they went above and beyond to ensure we had a great experience. They were great at working on our requests and bringing them to life exactly as we wanted. Overall, they were great to work with and flexible. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t. I was pretty happy with them and had no complaints. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent and clear with IMPACT. They’re willing to have a collaborative relationship with clients, so if you’re clear on your goals, they’ll make sure your needs are met. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing leader of Southwest Exteriors; we’re a home remodeling company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Swell?

Our previous data agency wasn’t transparent enough for us, so we needed someone that could help us with Google, Facebook, and Instagram ads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Swell has been providing PPC for Google, Facebook, Bing, and Instagram and has also set up goal tracking inside Google Analytics and HubSpot.

In addition, their team has been helping us with our general marketing strategy and how we structure our campaigns and ads. They provide us with a well-thought-out vision for every platform based on what they want from each task, whether they’re looking for conversions or new visitors, etc. Based on that, they generate the right content and optimize it taking into account the metrics we get from the reports they make so we can know what’s working and what needs tweaking.

They’ve also created our ad assets and provided plenty of guidance to correct what we were doing wrong to increase our online exposure.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Rachel (Managing Director), Jason (Paid Media Strategist), Tanner (Content Strategist), Joel (Senior Brand Manager), and Emma (Brand Manager).

How did you come to work with Swell?

A former philosophy coach of our company highly recommended them to us.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

We’ve spent around $65,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to their work, we’ve been able to lower our costs for Google Ads — our return on ad spend is about 13x. Also, our blended cost per conversion is around $109, which is below industry standards. In addition, our click-through rate of search is about 4.18%, and we’re noticing a growth in conversions constantly from 5% to 7% — we used to have around 90 conversions a month, and it has gone up to 167, which is very encouraging for us.

Overall, they’ve helped us make our marketing efforts more detailed, organized, and updated.

How did Swell perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is excellent in terms of communication and ability to stick to schedules; every meeting with them has an agenda that starts with us expressing our needs, and then we dive deep into what we see and how everything’s going. After that, we collaborate in articulating our next steps and what we want to do. Consequently, we follow back up in the upcoming weeks to discuss what’s working and what isn’t.

They also lead a responsive process using Basecamp as the main tool to provide us with reports on our assets and walk us through them. In addition, we use Trello for our display of Facebook ads, Google Sheets, and Google Docs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and reports on the project’s metrics are outstanding. They condense everything down, so it’s very easy for us to understand and make decisions. Their team is also transparent when one of their campaigns or ideas doesn’t work — they tell us that they struck out and move on to the next thing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and honest with your communication with them; it’s not only a two-way street, so take advantage of their ability to integrate themselves within your company. Also, they’re very reliant upon feedback; if something’s now working, they need to know why.

In addition, ensure that the content you provide matches what they’re doing with SEO and PPC so you can see an improvement in conversions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Head of Marketing for a DTC, DNVB men's footwear brand

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were ready to take our digital marketing efforts to the next level and needed an agency that would act as an extension of our internal marketing team.

SOLUTION

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

We interviewed several agencies. Once we spoke to Swell, we knew their candor and strategic thinking was going to be a huge win for our brand.

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

Swell put together a discovery analysis of our current accounts with actionable next steps, improvement opportunities, areas to focus, and strategic data reporting.

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

We worked with our account manager, paid search manager, business development contact and intermittently a paid search media buyer and graphic designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our ROAS on digital advertising was significantly increased, as well as our content output.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Virtual meetings weekly to touch base on performance, as well as monthly deep dives.

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

They were 100% dedicated to our brand. They cared about our performance and were always available for anything we needed.

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

They are very integrated into social marketing (facebook, Instagram, snapchat, etc.) and rightfully so. Those channels prove extremely effective for digitally native brands. Though, I would have loved to figure out how to diversify our portfolio of spend across other mediums more.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Director of Marketing & Strategic Growth at RMA of Connecticut. We're a regional fertility center that provides top-notch quality and reproductive care to individuals and couples.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Swell?

We were in need of direction and support for our paid advertising strategy and program. Initially, we hired Swell to take over our PPC and search campaigns on Google. We quickly expanded the scope to include social ads (mainly, FB & IG), and management of our total digital advertising program.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We researched several companies online. We landed on Swell as their rates were comparable to market expectations, but their accessibility and approachability is unparalleled. From the jump, it felt like our accounts were in good hands and communication was seamless. We've kept the partnership going as the results have exceeded our expectations, and communication/teamwork has remained stellar throughout.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The Swell team has helped to create and maintain our approach to digital advertising, through two main mediums, search and social. They've been instrumental in driving strategy and results since day 1.

What was the team composition?

We work closely with the entire team, meaning, we're in pretty constant communication and collaboration with the folks that are helping to run the show behind the scenes. This includes their Director of Paid Search, Director of Social, and overall Team Lead/Project Manager. There is also a very talented designer that has helped with creative.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We've seen consistent and significant reductions in CPA for our major accounts. Social engagement and reach has grown consistently, as have the total number of video views.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless. We meet bi-weekly, and communicate asynchronously in between via Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Honestly, we like working with genuinely kind and impressive people. Their knowledge, expertise, and results stand on their own, but it's nice to look forward to these meetings and enjoy the people you collaborate with.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

It feels like I'm grasping for straws here, so I'll just leave it at that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of operations for Digital Media Training (DMTraining), which is a sales-training company that focuses predominantly on helping sales organizations come up with repeatable processes and change sales behavior through coaching. I handle a lot of the training content development as well as the marketing areas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IMPACT?

We are a small team including myself, the CEO, and an extended network of people that aren’t on staff. Our main struggle was resources and time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our main priorities were to change our blog outline and optimize it for better keywords, make it user-friendly, and transfer the blog to the IMPACT package. We’re also starting a new initiative, so we thought it was timely to start working with them on it in order to start increasing our blog momentum as well as the inbound methodology. We needed their help to become fully integrated with that approach.

IMPACT is awesome to work with; they've created a very strategic outline that helps us identify the key points of a blog post. Then, they hand it over to us to write the blog post or we use an outsourced writer who helps us keep the momentum going.

We had dabbled a bit in SEO, but we’re clearly not as knowledgeable as IMPACT. They’ve been going back to the blog and re-optimizing some of our older blog posts that weren’t stocked with the keywords that we wanted to be ranking for.

They’ve made some changes to our website, and we’ll be doing more updates to it in the future. Our main focus was the blog, as well as revisiting our downloadable offers like eBooks, infographics, etc., and optimizing the landing page for those. We worked with their designers to create some new call-to-action buttons to get more lead generation going.

We’re launching a new training program in a few weeks for which they’re building us another landing page that will clearly articulate the mission of the new product. They’re also helping us revise the header and footer of our website.

How did you come to work with IMPACT?

We had someone that had been leading our marketing, and she was the one who found IMPACT. Based on their inbound marketing strategy, she found a few of their blog posts and reached out to them. At the time, we didn’t have the budget to start working with them.

We had a few conversations and it seemed that our content aligned together. We started contributing a monthly blog 3 years ago, and we’ve been doing that ever since. It seemed like a natural fit to start working together.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of the project has been between $10,000–$50,000 so far. We pay $5,600 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any statistics since we’ve only been working together for a few months, though I can’t begin to express how great of an experience we’ve had so far. IMPACT’s process is very seamless and they bring a lot of energy and expertise to the table while also being responsive and flexible. I’m continually impressed with all members of their team.

The guidance they provide is exactly what our small business needs to stay focused, helping us be more consistent in our content. Our lead generation and blog traffic have gone up significantly because of this, especially during the first 3 months of working with them. There are some seasonal dips in our business — the summertime isn’t as good, so we haven’t seen as much traction in the past few months.

How did IMPACT perform from a project management standpoint?

They are exceptional at project management and I enjoy working with everyone on their team. They’ve been strategic, helpful, and constantly provide valuable information and assistance. I look to them as an extension of my team.

We have a weekly call every Monday for an hour where we set the agenda for every week that we review. For anything else that happens during the week, we’ll have another call or we’ll communicate through Basecamp. We’re able to stay updated and see the status of everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re the first agency we’ve worked with so I don’t have much to compare them to. What attracted me to them is that they practice what they preach.

We know that the things we’re working on now and have planned are going to bring people to our website and help generate even more leads. Our teams are growing together and we’re looking forward to the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We originally started working with one person and then we transitioned to another. It wasn’t made clear at the beginning of our relationship that that would happen. It wasn’t a big deal, but I wish they would’ve set that expectation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We're a software SaaS [software-as-a-service]-based company called Applango. We work in the SaaS space providing software to end clients on their usage of other cloud computing platforms.

What is your position?

I'm the VP of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with iMPACT Branding & Design?

I was looking to do better marketing and wanted an agency to help me do that.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

When I initially approached iMPACT, we were on a WordPress site that had been developed by one developer and then revised by another. I needed to track visitors to my site better and be able to synchronize that data with our CRM [customer relationship management] to better track leads. I had used HubSpot before and knew I was looking for an integration.

How did you come to work with iMPACT Branding & Design?

I had a few bids from different companies. In that process, I was able to vet out and land on iMPACT. It became clear that they would be a great choice.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Our initial project was around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We're still working together and tweaking our project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Initially, they were able to take a functional WordPress site and replicate the look and feel of everything that we had designed for the original WordPress site. We wanted to move away from WordPress but still wanted it to look the same.

With regard to increasing our traffic, we've been able to increase the traffic to our site by tenfold. I would say that I've experienced a 10-times increase on almost all of my metrics. When Applango was responsible, it was hovering in the high 80 percent bounce rate and now, through our continual efforts, we've gone to a low of 5 percent. We hover between 5 and 15 percent on any given month. That goes to the alignment of getting not just eyeballs on the site but getting the right eyeballs on the site with the right content.

How did iMPACT Branding & Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Vin [Gaeta] is my project manager over at iMPACT. He pulls in the other departments and other resources when I need them and from that perspective, iMPACT is awesome to work with.

What distinguishes iMPACT Branding & Design from other providers?

iMPACT works as if they're part of the team. We have a great dynamic that's going on. The iMPACT team is always able to roll with project fluctuations and keep moving forward. They let me know how it might affect deliverables but never let it hinder progress.

Is there anything iMPACT Branding & Design could have improved or done differently?

Not that I can think of. Not everything that we have done has been a home run but I wouldn't want them to change anything. I always want to be trying new things, new tactics, and new ways to make sure we're not missing anything and they're right there helping us do that.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of SVRN Enterprises, LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

SVRN Enterprises, LLC operates as a strategic consultancy and software platform, AI Trust Signals, with a focus on driving growth for three core businesses: The Sovereign CMO, AI Trust Signals, and Maiven. The Sovereign CMO is a marketing and content strategy consultancy , while AI Trust Signals is an AI-as-a-service (AIaaS) product company. Maiven is an Applied Agentic AI "factory" that builds custom AI solutions for enterprise clients. SVRN Enterprises also has a publishing unit called The Sovereign Foundation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build and Re-Design Websites
• Implement They Ask, You Answer Content Strategy
• Train and coach teams through iMPACT+

SOLUTION

How did you find IMPACT?

Referral

Why did you select IMPACT over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from IMPACT were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Initial Scope: The project began as a website revision focused on a new look and feel for the company's WordPress site. A key objective was to make the website easier for the team to self-manage and publish content. Expanded Scope: The project "expanded quite dramatically" after the client decided to fully implement the "They Ask, You Answer" (TAYA) content strategy across the company. The expanded scope included: Content Strategy: Implementing TAYA as the definitive content strategy for Pricefx from day one. Team Development: Building and staffing a dedicated marketing team to execute the TAYA content strategy. Coaching & Training: A year-long engagement with an Impact+ coaching program that provided sales training and full coaching consultation for the marketing team. This expanded scope was instrumental in driving a 55% increase in organic traffic, a 4x improvement in qualified pipeline, and a 7x revenue growth over three years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project's outcomes were significant. Over three years, the company experienced a 55% increase in organic traffic, a 4x improvement in qualified pipeline, and a 7x growth in revenue.

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

Highly attentive, disciplined, routinely on time and well orgainzed.

What was your primary form of communication with IMPACT?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They have an exceptional approach to coaching that makes it clear they are invested in your success. I would recommend IMPACT to any business leader who wants to stop guessing at marketing and start building a predictable, trust-based system that translates directly into measurable growth. 

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

Overall I can't think of anything that stands out.