Markacy

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO at a plant-based energy bar company based in Santa Monica, CA. We are a small startup and sell our products online, on Amazon and in retail stores across the country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Markacy?

We were looking to build our brand identity as well as increase our number of subscribers. We are a small, somewhat unknown brand that is in a crowded category and we didn’t have much in-house experience in digital marketing. We turned to a partner to outsource the strategy behind our digital marketing, from analytics to design strategy.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase sales and become a household name for energy/protein bars. In doing so, we were looking to create an advertising campaign that had broad reach. We had focused on athletes in the past, which had alienated non athletes. The campaigns created needed to get across that our bars are for any time you need a boost of energy.

SOLUTION

How did you select Markacy?

Markacy was recommended through a few of our friends and advisors based on the great experience and results they had seen Markacy achieve with other brands.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After a series of discovery meetings to discuss our goals and our company's brand, the team focused on optimizing our Facebook and Google ad presence.

From there, they developed an advertising plan that included the mentioned avenues above as well as Snapchat. They worked with us on creative concepts for general audiences and a more technical triathlete audience. The team also provided us action items for how to improve our presence on Amazon and in email.

What was the team composition?

Our team worked closely with 3 members of the Markacy team. Each was very professional and responded quickly to all of our needs and questions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our time with Markacy helped us narrow down what ad types and avenues work best for us.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The Markacy team members we worked with were easy to communicate with and provided us with frequent updates. We connected over the phone once a week and used email for all other communications. Overall, we were impressed with the responsiveness and quick implementation.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Markacy has been an incredible partner to us since starting off the relationship. They’ve always had our best interests at heart and have served as a true extension of our team - focusing on our growth targets.

We love working with them and appreciate the expertise and passion they bring each day. We have worked with other agencies and have definitely experienced being “lost in the shuffle” as small brand. This was not the case at all with Markacy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We wish we would have seen more results in the short time period we worked with Markacy, but we were very satisfied with their work, commitment to the brand and new ideas every step of the way.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CRO of an online meal delivery company. I run all of our brand and marketing initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Markacy?

We hired Markacy to manage our Facebook Ads and Google Ads accounts. They were responsible for all account management, including ad strategy, creative testing, audience selection, and day-to-day spend management and bidding.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were primarily direct-response based. CAC is our most important metric, although we also want to be sure that we're bringing high-quality cohorts into the business, so LTV is quite important for us as well. Markacy was primarily responsible for the CAC side of the equation.

SOLUTION

How did you select Markacy?

A friend at another startup had a positive experience with Markacy and referred us to them. During our search process, we also did diligence on a number of other digital advertising agencies.

But at the end of the diligence process, it was clear that Markacy had the right combination of talent, strategy, and hustle to bring our accounts to the next level.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Markacy's primary responsibility was the day-to-day management of our accounts. This is a big job. It means having a constant pulse on CACs; being proactive in communication with our team; and leading the way on account strategy.

Markacy was constantly proactive in communicating with our team and reliable in staying on the cutting edge of new features in the platforms in which we operated.

What was the team composition?

Our account was primarily managed by an account manager (Chris Rigas — highly recommend). Tucker and Chris, the Markacy founders, were heavily involved in high-level account strategy and attended our weekly debrief meetings.

Markacy also had a slate of experts in other verticals (e.g., ad creative development; CRM; videography and editing) who they looped into conversations when necessary.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our CACs improved by 30% the first month that Markacy came on board, and they stayed reliably low afterwards.

The strategy they implemented when they joined our account fundamentally transformed our CAC-LTV equation and helped fuel 3x growth in our business over the course of the first two quarters we spent with them.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent communication and collaboration. The Markacy team was consistently responsive to our requests and took feedback on our preferred methods of communication and readouts extraordinarily well.

They regularly went above and beyond to honor our nitpicky requests for reporting updates and detail, and we always felt like we had a present and responsive partner throughout our relationship.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Markacy is, truly, a team. It seems that they had (well-versed and helpful) resources to introduce us to no matter what vertical of marketing we had questions for them about.

One of the biggest standout moments for them was coaching us on our e-mail program cadence and flow (which was previously fairly lackluster) despite us not engaging them on an e-mail related contract at all.

They just wanted to be sure they were doing everything they could to improve business-wide performance.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nope!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Hobo designs and manufactures luxury leather bags and wallets that get better with time and wear. Hobo sells through wholesale partners (boutiques and department stores) and has its own e-commerce site. I am the Director of E-Commerce.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Markacy?

Historically, Hobo received the majority of its revenue through wholesale partners, but saw an incredible opportunity to have a more robust direct to consumer business (DTC).

In order to do this, we needed to:

• switch to a scalable e-commerce platform 
• audit and fix google analytics reporting
• design and develop a new website for DTC (and wholesale)
• identify any metrics on fire for future testing
• reassess future financial benchmarks and sales goals

Markacy was the partner who worked with us to achieve the above goals and more.

What were your goals for this project?

• Move to Shopify Plus and bring all historical data
• Redesign website and add new features to website
• Continued website development and support
• A/B test new features on website, develop and install
• Markacy to manage paid media
• Provide trackable results and metrics
• Integrate new Shopify partners
• Klayvio, Zendesk, Returnly, Yotpo and Swell, etc
• Identify metrics on fire and suggest tests to identify proper solutions
• Offer marketing advice and input best practices
• Flow email series, cross-selling opportunities, reviews, etc
• Financial and sales forecasting

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended by another Director of E-Commerce.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Markacy provided a roadmap, timeline and updates for all stages of our Shopify migration. We worked with an excellent Markacy Partner and Project Manager-- Tucker-- who helped us tackle multiple pieces of the business while maintaining our timeline.

After analyzing website opportunities, we collectively came up with updated designs and features for our Shopify launch, which Markacy's development team implemented. Markacy took over our paid media and created create proper tracking tools.

Post-migration, we set up additional goals to test and reduce metrics on fire. We also created timelines to implement new vendors- Returnly, Klayvio, Yotpo and Swell, Zendesk, and Afterpay, etc.

What was the team composition?

We had a small Hobo e-commerce team- Director of E-commerce, Operations Manager, Buyer, Customer Service, and Director of IT.

Markacy provided a Project Manager, Website developer, and Paid Media Director who we connected with daily.

Markacy also provided experts during different phases of projects that would provide as much guidance as needed-- Google Analytics set up, audit and analytics, SEO optimization, Marketing, Email and Klayvio expert, Video production, graphic design assistance, etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Due to our investment in a new web platform, website development, new vendor partnerships, and working with a consulting agency, we had an aggressive sales plan to meet in 2019 (the year we began working with Markacy).

Happy to report, we beat our plan, which was a huge win and set us up for success going into 2020. We continue to be more data driven and continue to optimize the business.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Markacy provided detailed project timelines and goals. We have weekly touch bases to discuss results, outstanding issues, and future projects. We can reach any of the partners or Markacy team members via email, Slack, or phone whenever necessary.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I'm most impressed by the access we have to the Markacy team. During large and small projects, we talked with them multiple times a day if needed. I can reach any of the partners whenever necessary. Markacy feels like a part of our team and wants success just as much as us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Great company to work with- Markacy continues to add experts to their team to help service clients in any way necessary. We tackled SO MUCH in a short period of time, so we had to balance competing priorities. Organization and timelines were critical. Markacy helped us to stay on track. We'll all continue to get better at managing big projects against daily tests.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director or growth and acquisition at a skincare company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Markacy?

We wanted to become experts in the digital funnel. We also wanted help with our development and subscription programs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Markacy set up and optimized our Google Suite channels, Amazon, and Facebook. The team also automated some of our email flows. After taking some of our more successful ads and doing an audit, they provided insights and observations and then processed to provide us with optimized creative solutions. 

This involved creating about six videos of different lengths that included Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook ads. They produced and provided creative direction for the videos.

They didn’t necessarily establish anything new; they simply refined everything so that we weren’t overspending where we didn’t need to. Markacy currently oversees our development department, doing a lot of conversion rate optimization (CRO) work for us.

What is the team composition?

Tucker (Managing Partner) is our main account executive. Additionally, depending on which channel we’re leveraging, we have access to five other teammates who are experts in those channels. I’ve been in contact with Briana (Growth Director) and Ned (Growth Lead), who helps with all things apps.

How did you come to work with Markacy?

Another startup we knew told us about Markacy. They told us that the team was providing them with the skills and tools that we needed. We had a lot of piecemeal work going on with different agencies, so having everything under one umbrella was really appealing to us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in October 2019, and we’re still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their KPIs were increased subscriptions, cost-per-click, and customer acquisition cost. The videos turned out phenomenal and I was really impressed with their attention to detail. Markacy kept their work within the budget and did everything efficiently and quickly.

We are a startup and being scrappy is important to us, and they were. I usually don’t like working with agencies and would prefer to have everything in-house. But I keep bringing Markacy on because they are always bringing new insights, energy, approaches, and industry trends. 

This is very important to us because our team is strapped, so that extra energy is imperative. They’re continually optimizing some of their digital work, especially CRO. Overall I’d say that Markacy’s return on ad spend (ROAS) is solid, which is something I don’t see often with digital agencies.

How did Markacy perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve been incredibly impressed with Tucker. He is attentive, detail-oriented, and has a great personality. I trust them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Tucker is what sets them apart. He’s passionate, dedicated, fun to work with, and knowledgeable. I’ve also been impressed with the way Markacy has presented information and opportunities. 

When we have success, I’m proud of them, and when we have misses, the team is there with us to help us strive for better. Having access to a whole team has allowed me to find the right person to help me with specific questions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. The things that I would ask them to improve would take away what makes them unique. They’re a great team. I’m always gonna push my partner to give me more because there’s always room for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand what you’re looking for in a partner and define it clearly. It’s so easy in this digital era to be distracted and want to use all of the digital channels. Understand your consumer and think about how you can leverage that information.

Markacy can do anything with any amount of money, but you need to understand what you want out of your digital channel otherwise you’ll get wrapped up in unnecessary elements.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a women's leather accessories brand, primarily selling handbags and wallets. I am the Sr. Digital Operations Manager overseeing the management of our direct to consumer and b2b eCommerce sites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Markacy?

Markacy originally preformed a growth potential analysis of our direct to consumer eCommerce site. From there we leveraged their services to preform a series of growth initiative tests and enhancements.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to form a strategy to enhance and optimize our website in order to support an increased revenue goal for the next few years.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

At the time I was not involved in the vendor selection process.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

After the initial growth report and a few weeks of working on small enhancements, came Markacy's recommendation to move our site to the Shopify platform and to have Markacy manage our Paid Media strategy. Once the platform migration was complete we retained Markacy for dev maintenance and additional growth idealization.

What was the team composition?

The Markacy team we work with comprises of a lead project manager, lead developer, lead paid media specialist and 3 or 4 supporting resources. Yes, our main project team has remained the same and we have a great relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The website replatform and continued enhancements have supported our very aggressive sales goals and eliminated many previous manual inefficiencies. The

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was strong, we mainly utilize Google docs/sheets/presentations, i.e. scope documents, development project chart, presentations to review project success. We also communicate very closely on Slack!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I find Markacy's greatest strength to be the relationship they have built with our team. Our partnership is routed in a mutual dedication to the success of our business. It is wonderful to work with a team who is truly invested in each project and the long term success of our brand.

Are there any areas for improvement?

no

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of Growth at Kinship, a branch of Mars Petcare. I led the Witzig brand launch.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Markacy?

We first started working with Markacy on the website development for the Witzig launch, and have since engaged them on paid social marketing and creative development.

What were your goals for this project?

To help us launch an on-time website that followed our brand guidelines.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I vetted 8-10 different agencies and Markacy was the best fit.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They helped us build the custom website on Shopify, as well as set up all of our pixel tracking, emails, Google Analytics, and more.

What was the team composition?

There were 3 key stakeholders on my end.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Markacy helped us feel confident that we were ready to launch the website by our deadline. Without them, we wouldn't be able to introduce the brand!

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

My point person was Chris, and he pulled in team members as needed for specific pieces of the project. I did the same on my end, and overall it was very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their communication - I never felt like I was following up with them on anything and they were always anticipating what we needed to do down the road.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None coming to mind right now!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Manager at Google

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Markacy?

Markacy manages different advertising accounts of ours

What were your goals for this project?

Improve ROI and brand awareness

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Strong reputation. Previously worked with Managing Director in a close professional capacity (Tucker Matheson)

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

PPC Analysis. Day to day management. Optimizations/insights.

What was the team composition?

2-3 people - Managing Director + Digital Marketing Director and/or analyst.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Doubled sales in a 6 month time period.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great communication. Reliable and honest.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Communication/dedication to clients. They work well together as a team and keep me informed every step of the way.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the President of a leading skin care company focussed on foot products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Markacy?

Comprehensive digital marketing strategy and execution.

What were your goals for this project?

Growing awareness and sales while improving return on ad spend.

SOLUTION

How did you select Markacy?

Thorough vetting process of various firms.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Comprehensive digital marketing strategy and execution.

What was the team composition?

Work closely with principal of firm along with various others.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Significantly improved top line sales and return on ad spend.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The personalized attention and commitment to their quality work are impressive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the COO of a beauty accessories brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Markacy?

Facebook ads, landing pages, content marketing

What were your goals for this project?

positive ROI and ROAS

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Through a friend

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Facebook advertising, Google Adwords, Social Media marketing and content.

What was the team composition?

Worked closely with the founders and team leaders.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Large return on ad spend.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The teamwork and leading-edge processes were impressive

Are there any areas for improvement?

Wish they were based on the West Coast.