obo.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Advertisers Printing Co., Inc. We specialize in producing and distributing hardcopy marketing communications via print and mail. I am responsible for company strategy and vision.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire obo. Agency?

We challenged obo.Agency to build a digital marketing program for our company from the ground up. We had zero capabilities on-site. We did have a website but that needed to be rebuilt as well. Our social media presence consisted of a linkedIn page. Our on-line content consisted of a few white papers and no on-going additions or revisions.

What were your goals for this project?

We asked obo.Agency to establish a comprehensive digital marketing program for us.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We reached out to the obo.Agency based on a recommendation from a highly trusted business associate. We made the decision to go with the obo.Agency based on all the services they offered.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The obo.Agency created marketing strategy for us, created marketing campaigns for us, revised our website, hosted our website, did on-going edits to our website, did seo for our website, added content to our website, created on-going content for our website in the form of a newsletter and blogs, created google ads for us, measured and scored those google ads, created a digital marketing program for us.

They created and executed cold email programs for us, created and executed email programs that were integrated with direct mail mutli-channel campaigns, did A-B testing, utilized marketing metrics such as open rate, response rate, impressions, cost per conversion, conversions, created landing pages, did copy writing, utilized keyword search, did prospecting, generated email prospect lists, did competitor discovery, ongoing campaign optimization and tracking using a dashboard they created for us, marketing automation, google analytics, monitored Google ranking, pillar page linking, social media posting

What was the team composition?

We had a primary contact, a web development contact, copywriter contact and contact with an upper level executive for strategy.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we started with nothing, I can't give percentages since all of them would be ridiculously high. The OBO agency put us on the map, improved our online presence immeasurably, increased our standing with our current clients immeasurably and created a whole new audience for our company. We received a tremendous education in how marketing works as well.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between our company and the obo.Agency was excellent. The frequency of meetings was balanced by the on-going activities and was just right. They always created a master schedule for each project and always kept to the schedule. The OBO Agency was always available to us and very quick to respond to any requests.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to take a company with no marketing expertise and create a comprehensive program impressed us. I was also impressed with their overall knowledge and their ability to communicate to us in terms we understood. They were also amazing in their ability to understand our industry and write content that was spot on.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only thing I wish could have been done differently is I wish I could have been more help to them. I was not as available as I should have been.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CareJourney is a healthcare analytics software company that sells solutions to hospitals and payers. I serve as the COO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire obo. Agency?

We have recently been setting up our sales team and implementing SalesForce and brought OBO on to help us with creating a standard process around SalesForce until we identified a full-time hire.

What were your goals for this project?

Clear processes in place for multiple people to use SalesForce simultaneously, leading to quality data.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We met them through a local event.

Describe the project in detail.

They created new SalesForce processes, uploaded and categorized data, help connect SalesForce to other systems like HubSpot, and created standard reporting.

What was the team composition?

N/A

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team delivered on a number of requests in a timely fashion and our sales team is seeing much greater value from the tool than prior to their joining.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had weekly checks-ins with follow-up documentation of next steps that kept everyone aligned. We designated an internal POC to coordinate the work.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The willingness to step in and help with any task and their subject matter expertise stood out.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Communicating timelines for various projects to set expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director of The Adventure Group, the largest tourism and activity company in Mexico.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with obo. Agency?

We had a lot of marketing data, but it wasn’t categorized or segmented. Thus, we needed someone with significant expertise to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They first helped us to get our data segmented and organized. Then they put together a communication plan for the year for our marketing strategy. They helped us to balance between our engagement efforts and others we used for promotions and social responsibility.

What is the team composition?

There were two strategists. One person was in charge of database management and two were on the account management side. We only kept one account manager and she was worked internally with her design team. From time to time, she’ll ask for assistance from the database manager.

How did you come to work with obo. Agency?

I found them on Clutch. We asked for quotations and proposals and had calls with three agencies. Email marketing agencies are comfortable with managing databases with tons of information on it. In our case, it wasn’t like that. We barely have any information from our clients. We were looking for the opposite—we needed someone who could work with something that’s basic and make something out of it.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $45,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2019 until January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They work they did was amazing but the return on investment wasn’t great. We only garnered less than $100,000 in revenue from email marketing and their agency fee took about 60% of that. Because of this, we decided to start managing the service internally. They did an amazing job training my team during the last three weeks we worked together.

They created a history of all the behaviors of our database and the income we got from each campaign. Those are now the basis for us to continue this year and improve those results. If we hadn’t worked with them, we would be at zero without any information about what marketing could mean for us.

How did obo. Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was amazing. We use Basecamp to communicate with our team and have weekly calls with them that last about 20 minutes. We review the strategy and what stage we’re at in the project and get a report once a month. We were really happy with the actions they took.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re professional. They reported results in a way we’ve never seen before. After each campaign, we did AB testing. They were really clear and effective in telling us what variables they were testing, why, what the results were, and what kind of insights we can apply for our next test. That was amazing and now we have one year of knowledge to keep building on it. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be really involved with your agency. We had amazing brainstorming meetings with them about what’s coming next. It was super important having them because our main markets are the U.S. and Canada, but we’re in Mexico. Most of the time, we weren’t really aware of the promotional dates like Labor Day or Memorial Day. Those were things we learned from them. My conclusion is to really take the time to exchange feedback. They’re great at keeping an eye on what’s happening.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief learning officer for a software service company, and we sell a learning management system.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with obo. Agency?

We hired obo. Agency to help build our brand and support our sales process by developing a marketing strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They looked at our marketing strategy holistically to determine our key drivers for building our client base was. Their team conducted A/B testing to craft the best marketing strategy and determined that we needed to focus on reengaging leads. They assessed what kind of leads we were getting, what their personas were, messaging, and the frequency of our existing marketing strategy and how we could improve it. Given our limited budget, obo. Agency developed a campaign that would help us build, convert, and reengage leads.

What is the team composition?

We had three people working with us, including a strategic marketer, and technical lead. Meanwhile, the owner of obo. Agency focused on the big picture of our project.

How did you come to work with obo. Agency?

I found obo. Agency on Clutch. We wanted to work with a smaller local company that would be flexible to our needs. We chose this team over three other agencies because we met in person and I really liked their personalities. It seemed like a good match.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $21,000–$22,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April–October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Over the last six months, we’ve seen between a 25%–27% response rate to our emails, which is a significant improvement for us. We have significantly more clarity on where our business needs to go and how we need to get there. The project is paused, but we would definitely like to work with them again. They went above and beyond our expectations.

How did obo. Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They followed an agile methodology, cycling through a new to-list each week. By doing one thing at a time, we could connect the dots and get everything done. They do a good job providing commentary on the project’s progress through a weekly webinar call. Their team is totally transparent and we always know the status of each task.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They develop a  close relationship with their customers and are able to understand their project needs. They start by asking questions and making suggestions to move the project in various ways. They always look out for the customer’s best interests.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think they did a great job and I don’t see anything they need to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Develop a solid relationship with them. They’ll take the time to meet with you and understand your business needs. The better they get to know your brand message, the stronger the strategy they develop for you will be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a Tier 2 telecom company. We operate in a few key cities in the Mid-Atlantic region. I'm part of a two-person marketing team, and my duties include designing and developing our marketing website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with obo. Agency?

We’ve been in business for more than 20 years in the D.C. area, but our primary challenge is brand awareness. We compete with over-the-top telecom companies for our business clients. We needed creative solutions to raise awareness, and felt obo was our best bet.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They came up with a wide variety of research-driven PPC ads and display ads. They also led some LinkedIn and programmatic campaigns that targeted high-value accounts. We also contracted them to do email and direct mail marketing.

I was fairly heavily involved in the campaigns, and they offered us an extensive menu of options to start with. We co-shaped a lot of the messaging and used their keyword research. They were extremely collaborative, even though we're an unusual client. We are tactically hands-on and strategic. We understand the work that they do, so we co-developed a lot of ideas and messaging.

They provided some content for our email marketing, which we massaged. Our industry is very technically specific, so we taught each other a lot over the course of our collaboration.

They also did an analysis of our sales and implementational lifecycles, as well as all the associated technologies and systems we use to track those. We never had a full-stack review previously, so that was an important part of the process. They ultimately transferred our marketing automation system to HubSpot.

What is the team composition?

I work with a lot of people within their company and feel like I know their whole team.

How did you come to work with obo. Agency?

I came across them via one of their sister agencies, and I read reviews about them on Clutch. I considered several local agencies, but we decided to work with obo, as they had the best plan for the price. They provided a lot of bang for the buck.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost for all our projects with them was between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2018 and ended our collaboration around January or February 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My coworker and I absolutely love working with their team. They're prompt, diligent, and extremely organized. They exemplify white glove care and are our B2B marketing agency of choice for any future projects.

How did obo. Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They are superlative project managers. They are fairly close to our offices, so we met a few times in person and had weekly phone calls. We felt like a part of their team, and they felt like a part of ours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have sharp minds, a dedicated work ethic, and an unbelievably positive attitude.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have been more forceful with us when we didn't hold up our end of the bargain, though that says less about them than it does about us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared to do a deep dive analysis of your strategy and processes. They will require you to know all the ins and outs of your business.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of business development at Yurchak Printing. We specialize in book manufacturing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with obo. Agency?

We hired obo. Agency to help us improve our company’s online presence and make ourselves more of a recognizable name within in the industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Once we agreed to the terms, they visited our facility to meet our staff and learn about our company. We discussed our strengths and weaknesses relative to our peers, and we conducted a competitive analysis by examining the marketing materials from some of our competitors. The obo. Agency team refined a database of potential clients and launched an email marketing campaign that highlighted our services.

Once the email campaign launched, we worked with them to update our website. It was somewhat antiquated, so they refreshed it and made it more mobile-friendly. As part of the update, they came to our offices, took pictures of our principals and our facility, along with some of our work being put together. They also helped us implement a blog and a newsletter, neither of which we had before. They would typically present me with a list of relevant topics, and then I'd have conversations with their copywriter. Shortly after, we’d have a first draft of a newsletter, and, after a round of edits, we emailed it.

Lastly, obo. Agency improved our SEO rankings by helping us identify keywords that would drive searchers to our site. We didn’t alter much of our content, but they made it much more SEO-friendly.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of 6–7 people, a group that included an account representative, a copywriter, a web developer, and a few other data researchers behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with obo. Agency?

A representative from a trade organization within the printing industry recommended obo. Agency and suggested we speak with Noah (Co-founder, obo. Agency).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within 24-36 hours of the first email blast, we had about 20 positive responses, a response rate that exceeded what we thought was realistic. We converted a few of those into viable prospects, and within two or three weeks, we had secured our first new client, which was a big success. The website was a huge hit with our customers, as well.

By about the fifth blast of emails, the responses were coming in rapidly. We were completely overwhelmed in a positive way. We got to the point where we started to grow so quickly that we didn’t have the resources to take on any more business. We had an excellent return on the investment. We grew about 75% year-to-year in the past four months.

How did obo. Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Throughout the entire process, they were efficient and thorough. We had open lines of communication with all members of their team. They were always on time and came through on their deliverables when they said they would.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I felt that they were experts in everything we asked them to do. They knew what would be successful and what wouldn’t. They offered smart suggestions and sound reasoning for all decisions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’re real professionals, and I can’t speak highly enough of them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to how they want to steer you because they definitely steered us in the right direction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director’s assistant for the Maryland Bartending Academy, a trade school that trains bartenders who are placed all over Maryland, D.C., Virginia, and the U.S.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with obo Agency?

We’re a small company and needed help managing our prospective clients and keeping in touch with our grads. We also needed help rebranding our site and better managing our marketing content.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

obo Agency cleaned up our old site and made it look new, rebranding the entire thing. Along with those changes, they also put all of our leads into an email automation system, meaning I didn’t have to compile a list and send emails out a few times every month. They keep our contacts updated across all our programs and even improved our newsletter.

They worked on our social media a bit, but that’s not the bulk of our marketing, so our internal team manages that now. The did, however, make our content more cohesive and streamlined, minimizing the content on our site to make it easier to navigate.

What is the team composition?

We have one main point of contact, but we can talk to anyone at their office.

How did you come to work with obo Agency?

We initially worked with a different company, but they got too big and left us behind. They referred us to obo Agency, and we’ve been working together ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000, and they’re worth every penny.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since November 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re landing our leads more consistently and seeing people engage with our marketing content a lot more. Before working with obo Agency, our numbers were decreasing, but now we’re growing. Our organic search is up by over 200% from last year, and the leads are much higher quality. The emails that obo Agency sends out are professional and easy for our customers to engage with.

How did obo Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They explained every detail of their plan, making sure our internal team understood what was going on. They created flowcharts to illustrate the email automations, and the website has detailed instructions for tasks like changing pricings, updating pictures, etc. They’re incredibly clear, and, if I don’t understand something, they schedule a meeting right away. They’re a great asset to our team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They care about our business and are passionate about helping their clients. If we have any problems, obo Agency is quick to fix them. I never feel like I’m bother them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re a great partner.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Work with them; you won’t regret it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a director of marketing at Facet Wealth. We provide full financial life planning through a dedicated certified financial planner (CFP).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire obo. Agency?

We needed help integrating HubSpot with Salesforce.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to fully integrate HubSpot and Salesforce according to complex requirements.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We reviewed proposals from multiple agencies.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After becoming a HubSpot client, we held a series of discovery meetings with obo to define the integration requirements. They were instrumental not only in documenting the requirements but also in advising us on best practices. The execution portion of the integration was on budget and on time.

What was the team composition?

I worked closely with their CTO, an assigned account manager, a developer, and a designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

HubSpot and Salesforce are  fully integrated in a manner that fits our business needs. obo Agency did a great job completing it in a month.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had weekly standing meetings to plan the next sprint. On top of that, obo was very accommodating to one-off requests, responding to and assisting us promptly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They’re very knowledgeable regarding HubSpot and Salesforce and highly customer-oriented.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They could improve their creative, but I’d stop short of calling it a true area for improvement. We didn’t give them sufficient direction regarding applying our design system.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing campaign manager for PublicRelay. We’re an analytics company that works with the communications and PR departments of Fortune 500 brands. We sell them high-level analytics that help them prove their business value and report on their campaigns.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with obo. Agency?

We initially began working with obo. Agency for help implementing an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy. However, as we saw the value of their support, their work increased to include HubSpot migration, email campaigns, and a website redesign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

obo. Agency developed an ABM program for our sales and marketing team. They created a detailed playbook, based on their independent industry research and best practices, and we followed their directions to the letter.

They also put our marketing automation tool HubSpot in place and helped us with the data migration. They assisted us with the move from our old CRM Zoho to the HubSpot CRM, and then provided a 10-person training to ensure that we understood how it worked and how to optimize it to suit our business.

Another large project they helped us with was the website redesign. Using Elementor, they completely transformed our existing site and highlighted our rebranding initiative. The site is much more user-friendly, engaging, and modern. They helped us weave wonderful content that we had been developing, such as videos, throughout the site. It gives users that land our site the incentive to consume the information, download free resources, and learn more about our company.

One of the added benefits of their work on our site is that it is much easier to edit now. Previous web developers, or web development companies, that I’ve worked with have used templates that make it difficult or impossible to customize or edit as our business grows. obo. Agency designed the site so that once the project was over, we had full creative control and could edit the site to our liking.

Additional work they have done for us includes two rounds of cold emailing campaigns, ad development, and SEO consultations. Specifically for the emailing campaigns, they helped us create engaging messaging and drove appointments for our sales team.

What is the team composition?

Depending on the project, we would have a different team, but we’ve consistently worked with Taryn (Marketing Strategist, obo. Agency). She is extremely customer-focused, patient, thorough, and has always been cognizant of our resources. She only presents us with solutions that are a good fit for the business.

How did you come to work with obo. Agency?

I believe that my manager met obo. Agency’s owner at a networking event. After we began working with them, we were impressed with their attentiveness to our needs and strategy, and their results. We enjoyed working with them, so it made sense to continue bringing them onboard for our marketing projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in November 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of their work on our website, they helped us completely rebrand and boost our brand awareness. It’s helped modernize and professionalize our brand, competitively positioning us in the market. As a small company with large competitors, we really appreciated that.

Regarding their marketing work, they’ve helped us engage with new contacts and introduced a unique and effective marketing approach. Additionally, they were extremely helpful in training us with the ABM strategy and bringing that to fruition.

How did obo. Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

As a whole, the team was responsive and extremely receptive to deadlines. They’re always willing to develop plans and implement best practices. Taryn, specifically, would immediately respond to my emails. If she didn’t know an answer, she would find it.

The team worked in two-week sprints. So, we would have weekly meetings to discuss the status and/or review deliverables. Outside of the meetings, our communication was mostly through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From our first project together, I was impressed with how attentive they were to our needs and the time that they took to understand our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve worked with quite a few agencies and obo. Agency’s customer-focus outshines them all. I have nothing negative to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Something we appreciated about obo. Agency was that they took the time to understand our short and long-term strategy and aspirations. I suggest being open to their questions and allowing them to see the big picture of your business goals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager at a data warehousing CRM software provider. We serve associations in the nonprofit market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with obo. Agency?

We were a small-to-midsize company with reactive, not proactive, marketing. Our organization created my marketing position to elevate outreach and expand into more marketing channels. However, we lacked in-house resources to fulfill this objective effectively. We needed a vendor to supplement technology stack skills for SEO, search engine marketing (SEM), and website CRM data management. Ultimately, we wanted obo. Agency to increase our marketing revenue.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

obo. Agency serves as our agency of record. The engagement started with web designs, during which our freelance web developers advised about layout, lead forums, and workflow processes. Next, we focused on SEO and SEM as smaller components of our total ad spend. Primarily, obo. Agency does hosting and marketing automation.

For each project, we identify the target audience, the segment, and determine the right messaging. They assist with pop up ads, banner ads, and copywriting and design for the landing pages. Also, obo. Agency does data hygiene including email validation and enhancements for our contact lists.

What is the team composition?

Alex (Senior Marketing Strategist, obo. Agency) serves as our account representative. But subject-matter experts may take the lead for particular campaigns. We work with a graphic designer—who focuses on the layout—and a data lead; the latter does enhancements and tracks compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The technical team works on HTML development.

How did you come to work with obo. Agency?

My company engaged obo. Agency one month before they hired me. obo. Agency reached out to our VP of sales and built a relationship. Originally, they were across the street from our office, but have since moved a few minutes away. In addition to being a local vendor, the team had experience in providing sophisticated marketing services to other small-to-midsized businesses.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2016 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re now able to implement marketing campaigns—SEO, SEM, paid ads— and measure their impact. obo. Agency does quarterly business reviews for outbound marketing; these reports track pickup, key performance indicators (KPI), organic traffic, and open and click-through rates. During the quarterly reviews, we assess the KPIs to determine which tactics we should be using.

How did obo. Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

As an effective coordinator, Alex makes my life easier. She assembles campaigns’ launch plans and strategically selects team members for each in-person meeting and project. This approach maintains flow. We communicate via email outside the scheduled weekly calls. I call Alex when issues are time sensitive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a result of obo. Agency’s extensive subject-matter expertise, we’re able to keep up with omnichannel marketing. Our company benefits from their cost-effective knowledge of the PR, CRM integration, and marketing automation fields.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We want to increase our digital ad spend to include count-based marketing on top of the personal level, but our budget cannot accommodate those services.