Lean Partners

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the creative marketing manager of PlushCare, a telehealth company. We offer online doctor visits for primary care, mental health, and therapy, providing personalized, high-quality healthcare remotely.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lean Partners?

We needed help with our search engine marketing (SEM) and conversion rate optimization (CRO).

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lean Partners helped us with our SEM and CRO. The team was responsible for scaling and managing our highest budgeted and volume channels, watching trends, analyzing, and optimizing where the business needed. We worked in the healthcare space, so our work was complex, and Lean Partners stayed on top of our asks. The team also provided optimization plans, weekly reports, CRO ideas and implementation, keyword bidding, and a supply model.

Moreover, we've used Lean Partners for many opportunities, including Google, Bing, YouTube ads, and social media.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 2–5 teammates from Lean Partners.

How did you come to work with Lean Partners?

Lean Partners was already a chosen partner for us. We stuck with them because they were hardworking, reliable, and a great extension of our team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2019, and our engagement ended in March 2026.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw revenue from Google and Bing scaled over the six years we were working together. We increased our spend and scaled our search account by over 1,000%. Although the competition was strict, we were able to keep our KPIs fairly flat for scaling so quickly.

How did Lean Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

Lean Partners always delivered on time and was very organized. We communicated via virtual meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Lean Partners truly felt like an extension of our team. When we needed them, they were there. We didn't feel like we were working with a traditional agency, and they cared about our business doing well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

After working together for so many years and going through two acquisitions, our leadership team wanted to see change. Moreover, being on the same time zone would have been helpful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the SVP of marketing and growth for REELZ+, a linear cable channel and streaming service that provides live policing, true crime, and celebrity documentaries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lean Partners?

We needed help overseeing the strategy and execution of our paid acquisition media buying.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lean Partners provides social paid marketing campaign strategy and buying optimizations to help drive efficient REELZ+ subscription growth. The team also helps develop creative assets and landing page designs that we test in our campaigns. Lean Partners has created promo ads for many of our portfolio shows and episodes. Additionally, the team has created hero acquisition landing pages to try to drive better conversion rates.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from Lean Partners.

How did you come to work with Lean Partners?

Lean Partners was referred to me. I chose them because they offered good value for the cost.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2025, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure success based on the number of subscriptions driven and the cost they come in at. Originally, our costs were over $100 to acquire a subscriber. Lean Partners has gotten that down to $40. We even have certain campaigns and creatives running around $20 in customer acquisition costs. Overall, we’ve grown from 12,000 subscribers to 37,000.

How did Lean Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve been happy with the pace Lean Partners moves at and the urgency they put behind things. We communicate via virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been most impressed with the quality of creative assets and how well they’ve performed. We partnered with Lean Partners for their media buying capabilities, but the speed and volume of creative assets was an unexpected surprise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only area I wish Lean Partners had more capabilities is their relationships with channels and their ability to troubleshoot issues quicker via those relationships.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Director of Marketing of a medical company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The company is a healthcare software company that provides compliance and clinical quality solutions for healthcare organizations deploying NP/PA workforces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Lean Partners to accomplish?

• Paid digital advertising

SOLUTION

How did you find Lean Partners?

Referral

Why did you select Lean Partners over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Lean Partners were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Lean runs our entire paid digital advertising program, across Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, and Bing. They collaborate with us on overall advertising strategy and positining, create, structure, and optimize campaigns, and create all visual creative associated with ads.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Lean has helped us significantly increase volume of qualified leads from paid media, increasing LTV and overall revenue as a result.

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

Lean consistently delivers items on time. They contribute meaningfully and thoughtfully to marketing strategy through market research and positioning proposals. Projects are managed with great attention to detail.

What was your primary form of communication with Lean Partners?

Virtual Meeting

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

They deliver a lot of value for the monthly cost. They are extremely data driven and focus on metrics that matter/impact our business' bottom line, not vanity metrics. When there is a problem, they immediately provide a proposal for solving it and keep us informed on the progress. They save us a ton of time on the design side as well — their designers are talented, take constructive criticism well, and adhere to our brand guidelines. Overall they are great to work with.

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

Ultimately there is very little that comes to mind for improvement — Lean is usually very flexible, always delivers on their action items, and is patient with us when we are the ones holding back a project. Also, if it's clear that we can't meet requests, they usually propose an alternative for completing the request that is owned and managed by them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Performance Marketing of a home swapping platform

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Ours is a members-only home swapping platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Lean Partners to accomplish?

• Execute paid media campaigns to acquire new users

SOLUTION

How did you find Lean Partners?

Referral

Why did you select Lean Partners over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Lean Partners were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Lean was originally brought on in Sept '24 with the specific remit to mature and expand our SEM efforts. Upon taking over management of our existing account, Lean began the process of an entire account restructuring, keyword research, copy writing and more. Our program scaled more than 2x, while maintaining similar efficiencies despite the wider breadth.

From there, Lean conducted an audit of our paid social accounts and identified several areas of opportunity. They shortly thereafter began managing our paid social efforts as well, allowing for a much more dynamic allocation of budget based on holistic performance. 

Most recently, Lean's scope has expanded to include creative services for our performance marketing efforts. This has been a major unlock for us as we were seeing diminishing returns and an inability to scale our efforts given previous creative production limitations. The creative team approached the business with fresh eyes and continue to present us with new creative angles to unlock growth.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've been able to expand our scale, acquiring new members at all-time efficiencies.

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

The Lean team consistnely delivers on time while maintaining a high level of quality. In the off-chance a project is taking a bit longer than originally anticipated, the team is communicative and sets expectations on revised timing (should note that this is a rare occurence).

What was your primary form of communication with Lean Partners?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What I've appreciated most about working with Lean is their eagerness to continue exploring new opportunities to unlock additional growth. The team has never seemed content to rest on their laurels and is routinely providing test opportunities. 

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

Not applicable -- very happy with Lean.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of performance marketing for Kindred, a members-only home swapping network that enables accessible travel by fostering trust, connection, and community among its users.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lean Partners?

We needed help maturing our paid search program to drive new customer acquisition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lean Partners has quickly restructured our search accounts, delivering scale and efficiency we hadn’t previously seen from the channel. From there, Lean Partners’ remit has expanded to managing paid social, and we’ve seen gains across our funnel. The team has also expanded the breadth of our non-brand coverage, opening up new avenues we hadn’t yet explored.

Moreover, Lean Partners is responsible for the day-to-day optimization of our existing channels, including A/B testing around different conversion events to identify the most optimal bid strategies. The creative team provides bi-weekly concepts, which routinely help us unlock new audience angles.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from Lean Partners.

How did you come to work with Lean Partners?

Someone referred Lean Partners to me.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Lean Partners in September 2024, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen overall growth in user acquisition driven by scaling the budget and maintaining efficiency. Our payback goals are being met as we drive higher quality, engaged users into the funnel.

How did Lean Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

Lean Partners’ project management is very timely. We communicate via virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Lean Partners’ willingness to challenge existing ways of operating and thinking is impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

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

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Chief Marketing Officer of a medical company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a virtual primary care company providing healthcare services to B2B and D2C patients. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Lean Partners to accomplish?

• Grow acquisitions while reducing CAC

SOLUTION

How did you find Lean Partners?

Last company

Why did you select Lean Partners over others?

• Referred to me
• Used at my last company

How many teammates from Lean Partners were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

I've worked with a lot of agencies, but Lean is the only one I've trusted enough to bring into two different companies. Most agencies are vendors. You hand them a brief, they run the brief, and the relationship never grows past the scope of work. Lean is the opposite of that. They act as part of our team, not contractors billing hours, which is why I trust them on strategy as much as on execution, and that's not something I say lightly. But honestly, the team is why it all holds together. They're proactive, blunt when they need to be, fast to flag a problem instead of hiding it, and genuinely in it for the outcome. They're easy to be honest with, which is rarer than it should be

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At my last company, Lean managed the paid marketing that sustained roughly 30x growth over four years (not a typo), while improving efficiency by 40%. At my current company, they've roughly doubled our acquisitions in a matter of months, while pulling our CPA down around 20% at the same time.

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

The team is consistently proactive and is more like a strategic employee vs. an external agency.  They are smart, quick, and own business metrics as if they work with us full time.  I wouldn't be able to grow our business without them.  

What was your primary form of communication with Lean Partners?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their strategic insights and business ownership.  They are equally invested in hitting targets as we are. 

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

None

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of demand generation at QuotaPath, a tech startup. We provide commission tracking and sales compensation management software that automates calculations and help with compensation strategy for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Lean Partners to accomplish for QuotaPath?

Our marketing team has just two people, and paid media channels like Google SEM and LinkedIn would be one of our full-time jobs without Lean Partners' help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lean Partners handles all of our paid media campaigns. They manage an annual budget of more than $250,000. The team independently develops ads, landing page ideas, and manages the day-to-day bidding and budgeting of our PPC portfolio. Lean Partners focuses on Google Ads, LinkedIn, Bing, Meta, and Capterra.

What is the team composition?

We work with one teammate from Lean Partners.

How did you come to work with Lean Partners?

We found them through a referral. We chose them because their pricing fit our budget, they had a great culture fit, they offered good value for the cost, and their company values aligned with ours.

How much have you invested with them?

We've used them as our primary SEM driver for numerous years (even before I worked here) and continue to do so, as well as having them manage a ton of our marketing budget each quarter, so we've invested quite a bit!

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2024, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Lean Partners' expertise and the ease of working with them allow us to confidently offload the lion's share of work in paid media and fully trust that they'll take ownership and optimize our campaigns for maximum effectiveness. We've had ambitious pipeline goals for each year Lean Partners has partnered with us, and they've helped us hit those goals nearly 100% of the time, even as we scaled our program (and our goals for it) to more than double year-over-year. We've generated over 40 opportunities per month and an estimated $600,000 in quarterly pipeline consistently over the course of the program.

How did Lean Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

Lean Partners is incredibly proactive and has never missed a deadline in my time working with them. We communicate through virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Lean Partners is available online at nearly all hours, is super easy to work with, and proactively makes suggestions and changes to our program to ensure we're hitting goals. They're without question the best agency I've worked with.Ivana (Account Manager) has been an incredible partner. She's knowledgeable, fun to work with, and dedicated to our team's success. I've come to think of her as a member of QuotaPath's own team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren't any. Lean Partners is dope.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Demand Gen Manager of a software company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our product lets you run any procure-to-pay process, and Billy, your AI employee, operates it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Lean Partners to accomplish?

• Improve paid search ROI
• Improve paid search cost efficiency
• Identify & execute on account-level optimizations

SOLUTION

How did you find Lean Partners?

Referral

Why did you select Lean Partners over others?

• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Lean Partners were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

• Comprehensive strategy to balance our growing opportunity generation needs – while also testing messaging, positioning, and ERP campaigns   
• Dedicated CSM to run daily keyword analysis, maintenance, bid optimization, and exclusion keywords to further optimize performance
• Advanced persona and buyer stage targeting capabilities
• Platform-level and GA4 reporting/insights
• Creative strategy & testing

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Paid search efficiency improved significantly. Cost per opportunity decreased from an early-2023 average of ~$3.6K to ~$1.9K and remained mostly stable over the next 18 months, while opportunity volume and lead-to-pipeline conversion both increased.

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

Mostly delivered on time with swift responses and turnaround times, despite the time zone difference. There were some instances where communication via Slack was difficult due to their schedule on certain days, which sometimes made it tough to get deliverables out the door quickly.

What was your primary form of communication with Lean Partners?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The dedicated CSM was only distributed across 3-4 accounts, rather than 10+, which is a major differentiator.

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

• Upfront expectation setting or SLA for response times, which is vital with fast-growth startups that move quickly
• Proactiveness to step outside of just platform-level/GA4 metrics and own HubSpot pipeline reporting as well

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CMO of a retail company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The compamy is an ecom site selling rugs and homegoods.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Lean Partners to accomplish?

• Scale Acquisition
• Improve ROAS

SOLUTION

How did you find Lean Partners?

Previous relationship

Why did you select Lean Partners over others?

Prior expience with them has been 5 star

How many teammates from Lean Partners were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

LEAN was tasked with assessing the current state of the paid media program, recommending a course of action to improve ROAS and scale the program, and implementing it. Key deliverables included a comprehensive audit, a strategic road map, daily and weekly reporting, and attending internal meetings.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

LEAN hit all the assigned targets, from scaling to ROAS improvement.

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

LEAN deliverd everything on time - in fact, they were often prompting us for more "action."

They are incredibly responsive, 24/7. In fact, spent many weekend evenings working with them. 

What was your primary form of communication with Lean Partners?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I cannot say enough good things about Lean. They are incredibly smart, very good at what they do, and ethical. They will do the right thing for your account. Always. 

They will integrate with your in-house team seamlessly and produce results. I have hired them 4x and they have never, ever disappointed.

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

Not really. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Manager Performance Marketing of Shippo

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Shipping technology for every business

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Improve Paid Marketing Performance

SOLUTION

How did you find LeanSEM?

Referral

Why did you select LeanSEM over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from LeanSEM were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

LeanSEM was driving our Performance Marketing for over a year. They supported us with all major channels like Google Ads, Bing Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads and more (e.g. Capterra).

They helped drive the strategy, monitoring / reporting, creation of ad creatives and continous optimization.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were successful in scaling channels and hitting goals. As a result they managed more and more of our performance marketing budget.

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

We worked very closely with them. A shared Slack together with a daily standup made alignment easy. Communication and deliverables were great.

What was your primary form of communication with LeanSEM?

Virtual Meeting

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

LeanSEM really cared about our business success. They did not try to appear "busy" or focused on improving some vanity metric - instead they were constantly thriving to impact our core business metrics and move the needle there.

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

It took us a while to find a good rhythm for Paid Social. Sometimes reporting could be even more action oriented - instead of just presenting data focus on what the data means and what next steps can be derived from it.