Level Agency

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing & Demand Generation Manager for Surefire Local. Surefire Local provides the industry’s most powerful marketing intelligence platform, custom-built for local marketers, to put you in control of telling your unique story across all digital marketing channels.

This way, you can take out the middlemen, save money and tell a stronger, more personal story about your business to build emotional connections with customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

To manage and consistently improve on our paid lead generation efforts and platforms nationwide.

SOLUTION

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

Cost and reputation - WMX came highly recommended. After meeting with their team, we were equally impressed.

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

WMX drives our paid lead generation efforts nationwide across numerous channels. They help us navigate ongoing challenges, build detailed easy to follow reports, and keep our continued growth as their highest priority.

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

One wonderfully dedicated project manager and two skilled reps we meet with twice monthly to review and optimize our efforts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Most importantly, we are never in any doubt on where we stand with WMX and all of our active projects. We have a clear picture of where our ad spend is going at all times.

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

They are extremely easy to communicate with and very personable. They are team members at this point.

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

Their attention to detail. They feel like co-workers.

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

not really!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a former executive at a financial services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Level Agency?

The company was going through a rebrand, and we needed a new website presence, digital advertising, and SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Level Agency helped us develop and design the new website from scratch and craft new messaging. I told them what we wanted to do, the content and message we wanted to get across, and that we wanted to capture leads.

After the website was finished, they helped us with digital advertising and SEO. We told them the keywords we wanted to rank for, and they built a strategy around that. The team also presented us with other options and expanded the SEO program. In terms of digital advertising, they helped us with Google Ads and Facebook Ads.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around 10 people from Level Agency, and our main point of contact was Patrick (Partner & EVP)

How did you come to work with Level Agency?

They came as a referral, and I just liked them; they had good energy, a good plan, and good staff.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $200,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January 2015–December 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Level Agency’s work was great. The website they created functioned better than our previous one; we had a lot more traffic and a huge spike in leads.

Additionally, they were there to optimize the campaign and website continually. Level Agency’s team was super easy to work with and very responsive. 

How did Level Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good at meeting deadlines. We communicated in many ways; we had a project management dashboard and used email, phone, and regular meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by how much the team got involved, how much they cared, and their passion for the project. The diverse level of expertise across Level Agency was also remarkable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything they needed to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Provide all the deliverables from your side on time; most projects are held up by the client and not the agency. It becomes difficult if you fall behind on deliverables because they’ll be pulling you. As long as you’re prepared, working with Level Agency, and staying ahead, you’ll do great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing of an online university.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Level Agency?

We were looking to efficiently acquire potential leads while simultaneously building the brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Level Agency managed our digital platforms for paid media and their main responsibility is to drive leads and get prospective students to enroll in our school.

They were particularly in charge of media buying for both brand and non-brand paid search, as well as social media management, specifically for our Facebook and LinkedIn.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was the account representative, but we also worked with a lot of people from Level Agency, including the partners, technology group, and media coordinators.

How did you come to work with Level Agency?

We were connected to Level Agency through the president of our university. We decided to work with them because of their experience in higher education and data-driven approach to their services.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested more than 5 million dollars over the course of our engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2013–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Level Agency, we’ve significantly improved our lead acquisition efforts, CPL, and enrollment frequency.

How did Level Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent from a project management perspective. The team was highly responsive and they had a very good follow-through.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were very impressed with the strong partnership we established and their approach to analytics performance.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve brought more ideas forward throughout our partnership.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise having strong communication, clear objectives, and implementing KPIs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing for a college for nursing, healthcare, and trades programs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Level Agency?

We were trying to secure leads for potential students; we were also transitioning from traditional media to digital initiatives. As a result, we hired Level Agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We primarily used Level Agency for PPC campaigns, social media marketing, and creative design. They also worked on our core messaging. 

The team also helped us completely change our approach to doing business by putting up new platforms and analytics. Their resources developed a data-driven approach to marketing for us. That way, we wouldn’t rely on traditional media. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with the founders of Level Agency, including the lead of their EDU team. All of them worked on PPC, social media, analytics, and IT integrations. 

How did you come to work with Level Agency?

We went through an extensive RFP process to find a vendor that was a leader in digital marketing. I evaluated 15 vendors and ultimately selected Level Agency after a contentious review process. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $600,000–$700,000 per year. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership lasted from July 2018–October 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measured success based on the number of leads we generated and our cost per lead. With that in mind, we brought our digital cost down from before, and we increased our digital leads by a significant amount. 

Specifically, our total lead growth was up by 36%, with digital leads rising by 46% within about two years. At the same time, we reduced our media spending significantly; social media and digital media channels proved to be more cost-effective. 

How did Level Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Level Agency’s project management was good. The team set up a great process as they integrated different parts of their team into our process. They had a great philosophy in terms of working as an arm of our company. As a result, we all felt in tune with what everybody else was doing. Overall, this process worked truly well.

Meanwhile, they had their own project management tools, and we did a regular review of performance analytics. To communicate, we used phone calls, emails, text messages, and Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were an incredibly professional team with talented people who know their space. They also prided themselves on being an extension of our team. Put another way, they seemed to have a personal stake in the success of our business, and that carried from the executive team to all other team members. Overall, it was fun to work with them, and we learned from their group. Hiring them was one of the best agency decisions I ever made. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. I was truly happy with them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Share your strategy and involve Level Agency in the earliest stages of planning for your marketing instead of simply telling them what to do. When you do that, you’ll find them as a great partner. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Trident University is a 100% online school offering certificates to PhD degrees. I was the Sr. Director of Marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Digital paid media + analytics + Landing Page design.

SOLUTION

How did you select Level Agency and what were the deciding factors?

Fit for our organization (personality and goals), Higher Education background, Analytical, and Cost We sought a highly sophisticated, analytical digital marketing agency who specialized in or had a strong and successful background in Higher Education.

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

Discovery Phase that lead to budget setting and results objectives. Key deliverables were weekly and monthly reporting against the media bought - which was approved through recommendations and a MAF (Media Authorization Form)

How many resources from the Level Agency team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Approximately 6 FTEs working from planning, strategy, creative, buying and reporting to account management

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Media placements and results become more transparent with a decrease in CPL (meaning our efficiency improved). Additionally, in concert with the optimized buying, we also got strong results through use of newly designed landing page templates and optimization processes... testing.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Extremely effective effective. We did some of the design while they did others.. but our teams worked together as if they were under one roof.

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

Attention to detail, customer service and digital knowledge. I seek partners over vendors and they are a partner. They're not afraid to teach us and transparent about what they are doing, which made for a productive relationship.

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

While we worked hard to break down the barriers of time, but they being on East Cost time and we being on west did cause some communication issues. Othewise, no real problems.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the senior marketing manager of Association Analytics, the leading provider of business intelligence and data analytics for association professionals. We built our data analytics platform, Acumen, exclusively for associations with hundreds of pre-built integrations into the most commonly used association tech systems. With Acumen, associations get a single source of truth for their data with a full 360-degree view of their members’ activity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was severely outdated and didn't have much by way of value proposition nor did it give a visitor a real sense for our company/people. Our overall goal with the website redesign was to put our personality and love of data and associations at the forefront, as well as our thought leadership in the space. We aimed to educate visitors about the importance of analytics in making strategic decisions to move their organizations forward, establish Association Analytics as the authority on all things analytics related to associations, demonstrate our platform capabilities and communicate why they should work with/for us.

SOLUTION

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

We interviewed several web dev companies and ultimately chose Web Mechanix for their planning, expertise, people and price.

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

We had a kick-off meeting to outline deliverables, timing and expectations from both sides. We completed a detailed redesign questionnaire for Web Mechanix, and they interviewed 4 stakeholders to get a feel for our company which I appreciated. Next, they completed a content audit of our current site with recommendations for the content strategy and approach for our new site. After receiving the questionnaire answers, they presented a few WordPress templates (as outlined in our chosen scopy) for our feedback. We discussed likes and dislikes about each and ultimately chose one best suited for our needs. Finally, they created a content work plan that outlined each page in which content was needed, word counts and guidance on what should be written in each section. After we provided the content, we had several meetings to review the framework and make tweaks as needed.

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

A project manager was our main point of contact. During the content process, we worked with a content editor and next with a web developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clients, prospects, and employees are all in love with the new site's aesthetic and messaging.

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

We had weekly meetings to discuss progress, set backs and next steps that helped keep us all on track. If anything was delayed, it was definitely from our end, not theirs.

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

They were all very professional yet personable. I felt like I really got to know our project manager and web developer and they understood our company and personality.

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

I think we could have discussed budget more frequently. We ran up against the end of our budget towards the end but still needed some things done. Luckily, I am familiar with WordPress and they provided some additional training so I could go in and make some other additions and updates myself.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the digital marketing manager for Kit Check. Kit Check is a healthcare startup company that has been around for just over 5 years. We are headquartered in Arlington, VA.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I hired WebMechanix to help me redesign our website. As our company grew, we added new product lines and evolved our brand. Our current website did not reflect that.

Our main goals were to launch a website that reflected all three products instead of just our namesake. We also wanted to be seen as a more mature software startup and we had to change our imagery from characters to more hospital stock.

SOLUTION

How did you select WebMechanix and what were the deciding factors?

I found WebMechanix on Clutch. We were looking at around 7 different firms. Some national and some local. The six months of continued support was a big plus for me and I found them to be reasonably priced given our budget.

I left my discovery call with them impressed with their knowledge and I had an idea I would choose them. I also did a quick call with one of their previous clients who had nothing but good things to say.

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

We had our website in Wordpress and were switching over from Pardot to Hubspot at the time. The WebMechanix team walked us through the wireframming, design, QA, development, and content editing process. We also contracted them to manage our Hubspot integration as well.

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

Below were the team members Joe Manson - Senior Web Developer Sarah Breitschwerdt - Technical Project Manager Elina Rapoport - UX Designer Jessica Haines - Junior UX & Digital Designer Abbey Schuyler - Art Director

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It is too early to tell measurable metrics since we launched last week but I will say the rest of the team loved the website. It was a smooth launch and we have already had some new leads and demo requests come in.

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

We met every week to go over what the WebMechanix team was working on. We also had a joint slack channel that really made communication that much easier. I would highly recommend that.

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

I wanted a local company and I wasn't disappointed. We were given individual attention from each staff member. They were just as excited about the project as we were. The communication was fast and easy. We actually decided to keep them on retainer post-launch.

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

We ran into a problem with our screen size and certain computers zooming in too much which distorted the website. I think it would be helpful to ask the client what computer their team has and make sure the website is visually appealing on the screen. Either way, we figured it out, and looks great. It was a specific scenario for us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Satelles delivers solutions based on Satellite Time and Location (STL), a service that provides an alternative form of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) to back up or augment GPS using a signal from low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. I am the Sr. Director of Communications and Public Relations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We first hired WebMechanix to develop a brand new corporate website for Satelles to replace an older site with very outdated content and an extremely outdated WordPress theme and plug-ins that were past end-of-life and no longer supported or compatible with the latest version of WordPress.

Our goals were to build new site with new content, a smooth flow, a professional look and feel, and that offered easy management "under the hood."

We were so impressed with WebMechanix for the first project, that we immediately turned to them for a second project, which was to develop a new, straightforward, and high-profile site for a new industry coalition that Satelles was forming with other companies. This project also included some graphics design work, namely to create a brand identity for the coalition.

SOLUTION

How did you select WebMechanix and what were the deciding factors?

WebMechanix was one of four agencies that we evaluated for the Satelles corporate website project. We went into the selection process with a well-defined set of objectives that not only described what we needed and wanted but also what we didn't need or want.

The team from WebMechanix offered the right combination of WordPress expertise, general IT proficiency, feasible project plan, tight timeline, and price that we were looking for. What's more, they were able to speak the same language as our corporate IT guys, which was super important given our very high standards for IT security.

Although the project was strictly web development, we liked the fact that WebMechanix had marketing, branding, and graphics design experts on their team not only because we felt it made them more well rounded, but also because we weren't sure whether we would tap into their expertise down the line (which we did for the second project).

The bottom line was that WebMechanix just offered us the total package. There was no competition for the second project. I just went to my main contact at WebMechanix and said, "Hey, we're going to use you for a second project. How much is it going to cost me and how long will it take?" The response, of course, was exactly what we were looking for, so it was very easy to move forward.

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

I'm not the technical guy, but we definitely broke the project into some different workstreams. I was primarily responsible for content and website structure. I had a colleague who worked with WebMechanix on the layout and style along with some of the Wordpress and SEO details.

And the third workstream involved our IT guy and the WebMechanix CTO who dealt with the nuts and bolts of the hosting arrangement, security, etc.

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

We engaged with the CTO, a project manager, and a web developer for the first project. The second project was the CTO, a web developer, and a graphics designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our company is not large enough nor do we operate with a level of sophistication that allows us to produce these kinds of numbers. But there were some key qualitative outcomes of our website project with WebMechanix:

1. We were able to get the website structure that we needed to tell our new story today and prepare ourselves for some known changes over the next 12-18 months.
2. The platform that was implemented got us out of the dead end that we were in previously, and it gave us a super intuitive interface that was easy to use and reliable.
3. The platform what was implemented met the rigorous technical requirements of our IT department.

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

I'm an old-school email guy, but I also use Slack. It was great to have inter-company Slack between Satelles and WebMechanix. It wasn't just a luxury – it was essential. The project management style was the ideal blend of aggressive but accommodating.

Our projects encountered some unexpected challenges on our side, so WebMechanix was very flexible and rolled with the punches. WebMechanix stuck to their timelines. All of the delays were on our side.

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

There's an extremely good cultural fit between Satelles and WebMechanix. We get them and they get us. You don't always find that in a client-vendor relationship.

Once we hit our stride with the first project, it was clear that we had established an excellent working rhythm that sustained us until the end of the first project and then carried over to the second project. They are a very capable, talented, and friendly crew.

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

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a commercial technology company that specializes in data analytics and machine learning.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebMechanix?

We wanted to redesign and rebuild our website, and we also wanted better SEO capabilities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WebMechanix started from scratch and built our WordPress website. It was a collaborative effort. For SEO, they worked on the content and structure of our website.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four teammates, including Sarah (Project Manager) and Dave (CTO).

How did you come to work with WebMechanix?

They’re a local company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them three months ago in about June 2020, and we just wrapped up this part of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of WebMechanix’s work is great. The overall design of the website is much nicer and it tells a better story. It’s easy to understand and interpret.

How did WebMechanix perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was excellent. We had weekly meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to manage the project with a dedicated project manager, Sarah, was great. Additionally, strategic support from Dave made the whole process easy to understand and manage, which is exactly how we think it should be done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were times when I felt that we were being rushed, and we were getting standard results. I immediately talked to Dave and Sarah about it, and they quickly addressed the issue. Other than that, the whole process went well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing at a SaaS startup that helps organizations tackle tough privacy challenges and become compliant with things like CCPA, GDPR, and general privacy programs. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebMechanix?

We needed to stand up a demand generation engine. As a startup, we needed to test and turn on several outbound digital channels.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WebMechanix has done a number of things for us. First, they manage various channels, including Google Ads, Google Display, paid LinkedIn, and paid Facebook. They were the first to churn on and start testing the digital channels, as we were building from the ground up.

They also helped us launch a new website. We had an existing site, and we worked jointly with WebMechanix’s team to relaunch it. They provided a lot of the technical expertise, and our team drove the branding and the content.

They provide SEO expertise and some strategic direction around projects that need additional help. They help us think about how to best promote, execute, etc. Marketo and Salesforce are our two primary marketing stack technologies. We also use ZoomInfo.

What is the team composition?

We have an account manager, and then we usually have 2–3 full-time people that work on the account and participate in weekly scrums with us. For web-related projects, we have brought in another 2–3 people. The CEO gets involved from time-to-time depending on the priority or urgency. 

How did you come to work with WebMechanix?

This is actually my third time working with WebMechanix. They have a pretty strong brand reputation in the area; originally, I believe I found them through a recommendation in my network. I’ve worked with them several times over several companies.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere between $120,000–$150,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They provide excellent quality, especially given that there were a lot of unknowns when we started the project, and the privacy space we’re in is fairly new. It required a lot of learning and experimentation, but they knew exactly what to do. We set mutual goals, and they did a pretty good job delivering a program that was up and running quickly, but also fine-tuning it throughout the weeks and months that it ramped up.

How did WebMechanix perform from a project management standpoint?

They're really structured and effective as far as project management goes, which is deadline-driven. We communicate in several ways. We have weekly scrums, during which we check in on ongoing strategic initiatives and review the important KPIs we've established. They work on an agile system, so their sprints are every two weeks. We usually try to do a ton of planning and get things worked into the sprints.

We’re in more regular communication with our dedicated team, and we churn on small things with them. If we need something big, then we try to plan for it and get it into the sprint. They’re pretty responsive; I communicate with them as needed on Slack. We have mutual dashboards so that we have one place to go to understand the data. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They work like an extended team of our marketing department, and we have a really good relationship — they took the time to understand our business and to know my team and me. It’s as close as you can get to having an agency with an in-house feel, without being in-house.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We have a great partnership, and I’m sure I’ll work with them again.

Any advice for potential customers?

Know what your goals and priorities are. I think this goes for any vendor — you need to have a good understanding of what you're trying to achieve and what success looks like. The more prepared you are to have the conversation, the better the output.

If you're not necessarily prepared with the details, just understand what your business objectives are and be able to deliver that value to WebMechanix or any other company so that you can bring them to the table as a strategic partner. You should always try to approach it from the strategy first and let them understand your business, versus trying to go in and saying you want to achieve a certain goal or very tactical metric. The firms that say yes to that are typically not good partners long-term.