Niswey

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Precision Marketing Group is a US-based marketing agency, a HubSpot Diamond partner, offering B2B marketing strategy and execution to manufacturers/distributors, tech/SaaS, professional services and Architectural-Engineering-Construction firms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Niswey?

We hired Niswey because we need ongoing support on the various HubSpot and digital marketing execution needs we have for our agency and for our clients.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were for our account teams to have a reliable source to delegate marketing execution work in the area of blogging/content publishing, social media publishing, analytics, and website development.

SOLUTION

How did you select Niswey?

We selected Niswey because we had met the owners at a HubSpot conference and were impressed with their knowledge and commitment to our success.

They are also very nice people and we enjoyed them very much - we trusted that their team would have similar values and that it would be a good culture fit.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We have a monthly retainer with them and we also scope projects outside of this as needed. Niswey is always very flexible in how we work together.

What was the team composition?

We work primarily with one member of the team who takes care of delegating the various assignments we provide. For a while, we thought that Boris was a bot and not a human being because we could not believe one person could be as responsive and productive.

But he is indeed a person and we LOVE working with him. Our entire team has a wonderful rapport with Boris.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

PMG's profitability as an agency has improved dramatically due to the efficiencies provided by working with Niswey. We are simply able to do more, do it well and do it faster. It's been an incredibly positive outcome for PMG. Niswey is a full extension of our team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow is great - the time difference is big but it has actually been positive because we can send over work at day's end here in the US and it gets worked on while we sleep!

The Niswey team is incredibly responsive and offers excellent communication, which helps our workflow go very smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We love the leadership and the team as a whole. We can collaborate with them successfully, they take feedback very well and are willing to be flexible to help us help our clients.

We feel they are completely committed to our success - and we are to theirs. Niswey is always innovating, growing and learning which also impresses us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We will want to be sure they continue to learn and grow as digital marketing changes so fast - and we are confident they will!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of SmartMyCity, a beta stage start-up. We’re creating an online research and business development tool for the smart city industry. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Niswey?

We reached out to Niswey to support our content marketing efforts. 

What were your goals for this project?

I hoped to drive traffic to my site by using an outsourced solution to for my content marketing strategy. As the sole founder, I needed a team to regularly produce new material so I could focus on my business. My ultimate goal is for my company to rank highly on Google for search terms that are relevant to smart cities. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I searched online for marketing and SEO agencies. Due to a strict budget, I ended up looking for offshores vendors from India. The company I was using eventually became too expensive, so they connected me with Niswey.

​​​​​​Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Each month, Niswey sends me a plan that includes a timeline and things like article topics. The team then writes those articles and sends them to me for review. Upon approval, they send out the finished monthly newsletter to our email subscribers. The team designs content like infographics and lead magnets, as well.  For social media, they create and regularly upload posts to my accounts on multiple networks.  

What was the team composition?

I’m in contact with two key people. My project level contact is a writer. I also interface with one of the founders. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have metrics for web traffic since my site hasn’t launched yet. I have, however, been very impressed with several qualitative aspects of our partnership. Organized project management ensures they never miss a deadline and I always know the plan.  

The caliber of their work was a pleasant surprise. Outsourcing writing tasks to an offshore team can be risky, but they produced high-quality content. Niswey writes unique articles with an impressive level of English fluency. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our interactions and communication structure have proven effective. It works well to have my project lead as a daily liaison and discuss financial matters and strategy with Suma (CEO, Niswey).

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their level of service is quite high, and they keep in regular contact.  I appreciate that Niswey proactively drives the project forward, rather than waiting for me to chase them down. They offer an excellent value for my investment, especially compared to the content marketing rates in western countries.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are none that I can think of right now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the director and CMO at Orange Sky, an EaaS [Executive as a Service] company specializing in providing outsourced, part-time CMOs to mid-market organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Niswey?

We've hired them to manage our contact database, design, and send and monitor our email marketing activities to our database.

What were your goals for this project?

We had one goal in mind—maintaining contact with our database while providing actionable insight and valuable information to our audience. We had not anticipated any real impact initially, as we took a long-term educational approach for our campaign.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Niswey’s CEO had contacted me via email. I really liked her personalized approach, so I responded without knowing anything about the company. We exchanged a few emails and had a Skype call, during which Suma [CEO, Niswey] gained enough of my confidence for me to make the hiring decision.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The scope includes database cleansing, email template design, content curation, email execution, and reporting. We provided the initial content and asked them to understand our tone in order to curate appropriate content for our audience.

What was the team composition?

I've worked initially with Suma who then transitioned the relationship to an account director, which was seamless. I haven’t had any contact with anyone else within the organization.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although didn't expect any real business impact, we did receive very encouraging email responses from our audience, commenting on the value they've gained. We’ve also managed to get new clients to sign up, including old contacts and converted customers, which wasn't really part of the plan but we're very happy about it!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

All I can say is that the communication with them is flawless. They’re on time, every time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

As a CMO, I'm approached multiple times per day by agencies seeking to work with me. I've never been approached by the CEO before with a well-informed email and have never had such good vibes and communication with an agency. They focus on me and the success of our campaign more than on themselves.

Are there any areas for improvement?

So far, no. I'm ecstatic working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief revenue officer at Axelerant.  We implement big marketing and software ideas for creative and digital agencies that are considered our strategic partners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Niswey?

Our marketing team kept getting smaller, to the point where we only had two team members left. We needed the capability to do some marketing strategy work, then follow it up with additional services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They initially provided persona validation, along with definitions of our target clients, which has always been a constant refinement. They also helped us change our calendar, which allows us to create tailored content for SEO purposes. We’ve engaged with them for PPC, including ads for both LinkedIn and Facebook, but we mainly use HubSpot because it already has built-in SEO tools. We’re also looking to work with them on re-marketing the brand management for the purpose of lead generation.

Additionally, they provide social media support during events, including monitoring on-site personnel in order to create social promotions. They also respond to social media messaging, and assist us in producing collateral for various events.

We thought we were a Drupal company that should write relevant content in the beginning, but then it evolved into focusing on developing more leadership pieces. This includes case studies, articles, and white papers that have meaningful relevance to leaders of creative and digital agencies.

Niswey also provides marketing collateral, along with the requirements for it. They also previously provided some graphic design and layout work before we hired our own designer. They helped us identify what kind of assets we needed to garner more excitement for an event.

We’re also starting to work with them on creating white labels for our agency clients. We originally started out using them solely for our company, but the marketing agencies we work with don’t always have the resources needed to execute a strategy. We don’t always have the staff or capabilities to assist them either, so Niswey provides these services for us.

How did you come to work with Niswey?

We were aware of them because we had attended some of the events and conferences they had presented at. We were also familiar with some of the work they’d done for our competitors.

We gave them the budget, and they’ve since successfully delivered. We haven’t looked for other resources to replace them, because we want to help them grow as they work with us and our end clients.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $20,000-$25,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together November 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our conversion rates are up, but our website traffic sessions are down. The lead quality is more in line with the kinds of clients we want to engage with, whereas before we might have gotten one decent lead a month, if we were lucky. Now, we’re receiving around 20-30 leads per month, and we’re having a couple of positive conversations at least once a week.

How did Niswey perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re an average agency, so they’ve sometimes fallen behind schedule, which is typical. We’ve switched to operating in sprints, so we try to be mindful of what the estimated effort and availability of talent is for any project. We run marketing on a 2-week cycle due to this, and there seems to be 90%-95% delivery for what we try to accomplish, which is a rate I’m happy with. Any urgencies I’ve communicated to them within the past 3-4 months have been taken care of on time.

We use Google Suites for content offering. We also use HubSpot CRM for content calendars, website content publication, landing pages, outbound emails, and newsletters. We use JIRA for our sprints, as well as Google Analytics. We also use Slack for collaboration, and they always respond in a timely manner.

We’re able to have a comfortable and personal relationship with Niswey.

What did you find most impressive about them?

If we give them a target, they deliver. They’re good at making suggestions about what our options are even if we’re still working to define a target. They are trustworthy, as well as consistent, and they always deliver on time. Their writing is also good, and I don’t have any problems while I’m editing it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When I originally started working with them, they were able to come to me with good ideas. However, as I started to grow my business, I felt like some of their suggestions weren’t meeting that same standard.

Sometimes, when we’re talking about an idea, we may not be able to discuss the real benefit behind it. I’ve stayed engaged with them, but we’ve since pulled back as far as marketing strategies go. I’m solving this issue internally by increasing professional development for my revenue team members. Nimwey now provides marketing execution and competence.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We work with marketing organizations in building web presences for companies within the media, retail, and healthcare sectors. We are one of the largest Drupal companies in the world, with seven offices in four countries. I am in charge of sales for the North American region.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Niswey?

We originally wanted help with managing our social media presence, lead generation, and marketing content. Slowly, Niswey has become in charge of all of our marketing. They are now also responsible for submitting leads to our sales team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Niswey is being monitored and measured every month in terms of the numbers of leads they develop for us. The team develops all of our collateral, including marketing brochures and our website content. They also built our blog and manage our social presence.

We have a fairly independent relationship. We have been struggling to integrate sales and marketing a little more, but that is more an internal problem than a problem with Niswey.

How did you come to work with Niswey?

Our relationship started when the founder of Niswey started consulting with us, since our CEO, Rahul, knew the founder personally.

How much have you invested with Niswey?

My company has spent between $50,000 and $200,000 on our work with Niswey.

What is the status of this engagement?

It has been several years since we started working with them, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have been with them for several years, so that speaks to their success. They largely work with the sales team and the founder. Lead generation is measured every month, and we have seen monthly improvements, so we have no problems with that. Moreover, the quality of the content they create is good and meets our standards. They are independent and understand what needs to be done.

How did Niswey perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management has been pretty good. Their founder directly works with us. We schedule a meeting every two weeks for a review, but we speak on and off throughout. We use a marketing automation tool, as well as Basecamp as a communication tool.

What did you most impressive about Niswey?

Their execution stands out as the most impressive characteristic.

Are there any areas Niswey could improve?

They could improve upon their technology capabilities and advertising knowledge.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a sales and marketing company working with startups and mid-sized clients. We help B2B, tech, and SaaS companies put their sales process in place. I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Niswey?

We needed marketing content to drive traffic to our site. It needed to be both educational at its base and actionable for the people reading it. 

We have an outbound sales team engaging with our clients and qualifying them, from a customer’s initial inquiry to the close. During that process, clients tended to need more information, and there was no way to redirect them to our site and answer those questions. We also lacked content which could drive SEO traffic.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Niswey helped us setup an email marketing campaign based on specific buyer personas around our enterprise. We target customers using professional services from companies like ours, people who are willing to spend a certain amount of money on our services.

Niswey first came to an understanding of our initial sales process of qualifying leads, and they asked any questions they had about the sales cycle. Based on this understanding, we created content for different sections of our site using buyer personas and different keywords. We used email or drip campaigns to educate prospects and drive them to the site. Niswey provided content marketing and SEO and was in charge of putting a game plan in place. They did not suggest who should be our target or how the content should be broken down into chunks.

How did you come to work with Niswey?

Niswey was referred by the CEO of another company that was working with them. I met Niswey's co-founders and team in person and got a sense of their approach and plan.

How much have you invested with Niswey?

The total cost of Niswey's services was between $10,000 and $20,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Niswey has accelerated our sales cycle and produced extensive content. We have been able to reduce that cycle from three weeks to two.

How did Niswey perform from a project management standpoint?                         

Niswey took a deep interest in the entire development, planning, and execution processes. They were proactively involved and responded to our feedback. Niswey had a roadmap and timeline, for which our expectations were managed accordingly. As with all projects, timelines can be delayed, but Niswey was diligent in following up with us.

We had planning sessions which included laying out the content roadmaps for each buyer persona. The process went well, but there were a few hiccups with the content produced for us. Niswey's team was willing to make any changes we requested. Regarding communication, we used Google Apps and Trello for our collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about Niswey?

Niswey gave us open and honest advice on what could be done.

Are there any areas Niswey could improve?

The project manager and content writer from Niswey may not have been perfect in the beginning, but these things can always be improved.