Prof

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the marketing lead for an employee-generated video platform. We help large businesses crowdsource videos from their employees to create more engaging content than traditional videos.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Prof PPC Agency?

We were looking to work with a PPC agency that could manage our Google Ads. We needed help with revenue and pipeline generation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We executed a contract and NDA with Prof PPC. We granted them access to our accounts such as Google Ads, HubSpot, and Slack. They helped us develop more robust PPC efforts and automated our HubSpot to notify us whenever a new lead came in.

What is the team composition?

We worked primarily with the CEO & founder. 

How did you come to work with Prof PPC Agency?

Prof PPC was recommended to us by one of our colleagues, who spoke highly of them. We considered three PPC agencies, each of which pitched their services to us. We chose Prof PPC because they had competitive prices, and we were impressed with their pitch, approach, and professionalism. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly £850 (approximately $1,000 USD) per month. We invested about £8,500 (approximately $10,300 USD) in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered with Prof PPC in September 2021, and the engagement ended in July 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measured success by monitoring lead generation and deals. We generated 373 leads and closed four sales that we could attribute to PPC efforts. We saw an ROI of 749%. 

How did Prof PPC Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They handled the project quite well. We had weekly catch-up calls that lasted 30 minutes. During the calls, we would discuss monthly and weekly PPC performance and develop plans of attack. 

The Prof PPC team was very accessible. We used HubSpot to track performance metrics and Slack to communicate, which worked well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their staff was very knowledgeable. Prof PPC worked very closely with us; they felt like an extension of our marketing team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have been more proactive if campaigns weren’t performing well. We would have liked to see quicker feedback and suggestions from them on how to improve and make those improvements more quickly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to define clear measures of success and communicate them with Prof PPC. Develop specific targets, and set weekly check-ins to review performance and progress. Focus your weekly calls around your defined success measures so you can easily track performance.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Manager for Soccer Assist - an agency that looks to find talented student athletes across the UK and helps them attain a football/soccer scholarship at College in America.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Prof to set up from scratch and manage our Google Ads. They set up the account and intergrated it to a number of analytic programmes and our CRM. They created and managed a number of campaigns in a short space of time that helped us stay competitive and attract new business.

SOLUTION

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

I was aware of Prof through a mutual contact. I reached out to two other companies and decided after hearing Prof's proposal that they were the best fit.

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

Our engagement began with a deep dive into our website and CRM. Prof looked at how we collect leads and the user journey before discussing our campaign goals. They then set up our Google Ads account and integrated it with our Analytics account and our CRM before setting up a number of different advertising campaigns.

They would arrange a weekly call to review progress and discuss updates and make any necessary amends to the campaign. Lastly, they were very helpful in assisting our web development team in updating our web user tracking from Google Ads to our CRM.

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

Their company director to begin with before handing over to a client manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since running our PPC campaigns we saw an average click through rate of 13%, which is very high for our industry. Thanks to their tracking we were also able to start measuring conversions when it came to Lead Generation. Our Quality Score averaged quite high, ranging from 6-8.

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

They set up an online chat group between themselves and any stakeholders in our company. We were able to ask anything no matter how small. Most importantly they set up a weekly call to go over results and plan ahead.

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

Their level of service and personalisation. They went above and beyond to help us achieve our goals and their knowledge of their industry was spot on.

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

We would have liked it if we had more time to gauge ideas to improve going forward. As we only worked with them for three months, they helped us get set up and rolling with good results. It would be interesting to see if and how they maintain that and keep us competitive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

A private tech job marketplace and my position is Marketing Lead.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to start experimenting with PPC and digital advertising - we were keen to increase the number of inbound leads at our organisation and knew that we needed a top digital agency in order to do this.

SOLUTION

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

Having searched for top reviewed agencies, Prof came out on top. I had an initial call with their founder André, who listened to our challenges and came up with a thorough proposal to show how Prof could help. I felt that he was professional, had the industry expertise we needed and was just an all-around great person to work with. To me, it felt like a partnership VS just employing an agency.

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

At first, we focused on how these campaigns could be built. This included Prof learning about our pain points (as well as our business as a whole), and then starting to build out lists of keywords and creating ads - from there, it was all about experimentation (like I mentioned, we were fairly new to this) and scaling our strategy.

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

Two people - André, the Founder and Leah, Performance Marketer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since working with Prof, we've had so many more inbound leads - the results have been really good and we're very happy with the partnership.

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

Prof are great at managing expectations and committing to deadlines. We have a dedicated Slack channel and they also produce monthly reports. We meet once a week to discuss progress and overall strategy. They work well with anything we throw at them and appreciate how they are able to pivot with ease.

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

Prof aren't like other agencies. They're a small business (it's really important to support them during this time) that always go above and beyond to deliver.

Yes, you can spend lots of money and go with a bigger agency, but I don't believe that you get as good a relationship from that. Prof feel like an extension of the hackajob team and that's a really good feeling. We trust them wholeheartedly and really enjoy working with them.

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

So far, no. We're just concentrating on scaling our campaigns with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I run Lighthouse, an agency specialising in UX and UI design for digital products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Prof to help us figure out and implement a strategy for running Google Ad campaigns. This had been on our list for some time but we'd never had the time (or knowledge) required to really do the job properly so wanted a partner who could help us make the right decisions and put these into action.

The goal was simple, to run various campaigns experiments to see whether investment in Google ads would bring us high quality leads.

SOLUTION

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

They were recommended by an agency we frequently collaborate with who had great things to say and proven results in a similar domain.

Chemistry between us and the team at Prof was great and we clearly shared a similar outlook and approach to work. It was an easy decision to make to move forward and begin working together.

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

After some discussion about Lighthouse, its customers and projects we pretty quickly were able to get into discussions around the sorts of leads we'd like to attract.

We'd done a fair amount of thinking around this in the past but the Prof team were able to ask good questions to uncover the extra information needed. Their experience with similar agencies meant that they instantly understood our needs and were able to quickly formulate a plan and get things moving.

Our engagement sees us talk to the team every couple of weeks to review ad spend, conversion stats and discuss changes/improvements to campaigns. It's all easy to digest and super helpful to understand what's working and what needs tweaking.

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

So far just Andre, the founder.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've already seen several high quality and high value leads come in that can be directly attributed to the PPC campaigns. These leads are exactly what we would have hoped for and all have qualified and gone on to detailed discussions with some converting to new projects.

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

We get regular reports and calls with excellent detail as well as summaries of all the stats we need. Comms style is relaxed and friendly, just how we like it.

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

The quality of service has been great but it's made even more enjoyable when you're able to get along with the teams you collaborate with. It's been a great engagement so far with Prof with an excellent working relationship between us all.

We've really appreciated the strong communications skills and helpful advice that we've been given along the way and have been impressed with how quickly the team have been able to understand what we do and make sensible suggestions for how we get things up and running.

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

Nothing major, it's been a great project so far.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Head of Marketing for a WordPress specialist development agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Prof to help get our lead generation activity off the ground through Google Ads. From the start, Prof have been utterly brilliant and faultless.

From easy setup to flexible working and clear and concise reporting, we're really pleased with the results that have been produced so far in such a short amount of time.

SOLUTION

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

We were recommended Prof by a similar agency and, after an initial chat, felt reassured that they would be the best agency for us and our needs.

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

Setting up and managing a competitive Google Ads programme.

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

1, Founder

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In three short months, we have already seen a host of genuine leads, some of which have been staggeringly impressive. I doubt we would have acquired these without Prof's assistance.

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

Weekly calls, fast turnaround on set-up, and easy to follow project timelines.

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

Their honesty and transparency are so refreshing. There are no binding contracts or difficult conversations over budget. Everything is as it says on the tin and there is never any pressure. Really appreciate this way of working.

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

None at all - would wholeheartedly recommend.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director of a global healthcare platform. It supports the lives of people living with various health conditions, including dementia, cancer, and menopause. It’s a content platform with communities and forums. It’s also an e-commerce retail platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Toolkit?

We brought in Toolkit to run our digital marketing activity, primarily paid search. As a business, we have several thousand product across different categories and multiple countries, and they helped improve our performance in all those areas.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

 We wanted a partner that could operate at a strategic and operational level. We needed to reduce our customer acquisition costs and improve the quality of the customers we’re attracting. They helped us determine what we should be focusing on, how to set the account up. Then they moved into the operations stage and delivered on that.

For this brief, they focused on Google Ads and Shopping. There was a heavy emphasis on the product list.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Andre in our office. He did both the strategy and operation activity.

How did you come to work with Toolkit?

He was introduced to us through a mutual acquaintance. Our founder posted on a founder’s forum, and they were recommended to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from February–April 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They brought confidence to the business and helped us understand paid search and how it could impact our business.

From a performance perspective, one of the things we measured them on was their ability to deliver on a budget. Each month, they were able to land within a few pounds of that goal each month.

Secondly, they were able to reduce our customer acquisition cost. We certainly saw improvements in the quality of the customer as well.

They did an amazing job, and the only reason why we’re no longer working with them is because of COVID-19. We had to reduce the size of our team during the pandemic.

How did Toolkit perform from a project management standpoint?

We were co-locating and we were able to meet face-to-face. We could also communicate over Slack and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Coming into a fast-moving business, they delivered confidence in the plan from day one, all while improving the economics of our business.

They have excellent gravitas and have a deep understanding of the market. They’re also able to convert that knowledge and execute it to improve performance.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear when framing your objectives. They have skills across multiple disciplines and great expertise, but to get the most out of the agency, clients need to provide a good brief.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Lucky Duck. We’re a development agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Toolkit?

In short, we wanted to get more leads. Originally, we had started messing around with Google Ads and tried to set up campaigns ourselves. We even got a couple of clients through it, but it was very expensive.

So, we wanted to reduce costs and establish a proper strategy behind the advertising efforts. Our goal was to have different campaigns and increase their volume. I didn’t have a specific number I wanted to reach, I just wanted to improve in general. Soon enough, I realized my efforts wouldn’t be as good as an expert doing it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Toolkit handles all of our advertising on Google. This includes PPC campaigns and keyword strategy. They took over what I had started doing with Google Ads and enhanced it.

What is the team composition?

I only work with André (Founder).

How did you come to work with Toolkit?

I heard about André when he was head of growth at an insurance startup. I realized if he was head of growth for that company, then he must be pretty good. When we talked on the phone, he seemed to know what he was talking about. He also had a good personal approach so I decided to initiate the engagement.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between £2,000– £4,000 (approximately $2,500–$5,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a massive increase in the volume of campaigns. André is a really big chain in our business and he has consistently over-delivered. In our time with Toolkit, we’ve acquired new clients who’ve already spent over £50,000 (approximately $62,000 USD) with us. André has absolutely hit it out of the park.

How did Toolkit perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication has been really easy. I just pick up the phone and call André. If he’s not available, he always gets back to me really quickly. He’s a very nice guy. It’s also been helpful that he’s in London, so I’ve met him face-to-face a few times.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Toolkit is really specialized in what they do. They’re experts in PPC and advertising. What’s more, they have a big-picture understanding of how growth works, and their approach is very personal and easy to work with. Rather than dealing with an account manager in some big agency, we’re dealing with someone who’s a specialist and actually knows the job properly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing, in particular, that they could improve on. The work is really good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to come to André with some rough ideas and try not to be too rigid with them. Then, collaborate together on what the best thing for your business is.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director for Direct Focus Solutions. We provide community services in psychology, occupation therapy, speech therapy, and community disability support work.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Toolkit?

We needed some digital marketing work done to increase our online presence and some website development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re doing a digital marketing campaign for our expansion, geographically as well as service deliveries. The campaign is mainly PPC ads.

What is the team composition?

Andre (Founder) is working with us.

How did you come to work with Toolkit?

Andre came highly recommended by a colleague.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $3,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December 2019, our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m happy with the overall progress. Andre provides an analytical report to my team. They transfer clicks into our analytical data. We track conversion rates, which are basically money spent per conversion, to estimate every time a client comes in from a digital campaign. The detailed report figures in all the raw data, which I also have.

How did Toolkit perform from a project management standpoint?

Andre handles everything; I don’t have to worry about it. He gives me weekly updates, and we have meetings on Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have integrity and I trust them. It’s important to know your ad word spend is going to be handled well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if he would take on SEO, as well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to communicate; set up meetings to establish what you want. Once the relationship is established, you can trust he’s doing the job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the practice manager at Psychologists Southern Sydney, a psychology practice in Sydney. We employ about six psychologists and have been around for about 10 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Toolkit?

There is a lot of competition in psychology in Sydney, and we were trying to stand out from the crowd. We wanted a partner who could support us with Google Ads and SEO strategies. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

So far, Toolkit has helped us with paid advertising. For the time being, we’ve decided to focus our attention on Google Ads, though we plan to work on SEO and organic strategy in the future.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked exclusively with André (Director). 

How did you come to work with Toolkit?

I came across André through the digital agency I was using previously. They used his Google Ads services, and recommended Toolkit when they shifted their focus. We had a good conversation, and I felt comfortable with his experience and industry knowledge. 

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $2,500 AUD so far (approximately $1,600 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Toolkit since November 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s difficult to track metrics at this stage, given COVID-19’s effect on the market currently. Beforehand, however, our numbers were great. We saw an uptick in traffic and new clients, the vast majority of which we attributed to Toolkit’s work. We offer a questionnaire for new clients, and about 90% of them respond they found our practice through Google Ads. 

Generally, Toolkit provides excellent work. In the health and psychology space, we face ethical challenges when it comes to how we advertise. They’re excellent about getting their heads around those difficulties and understanding ethical parameters. Their work really reflects an understanding of our business needs.

How did Toolkit perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great at managing the project. It doesn’t seem to matter that I’m in Sydney and they’re in London; we can always catch up, and they always stick to the plan. The team produces campaigns quite quickly once we have a strategic discussion over the phone or online. 

To stay in touch, we have monthly catch-up meetings, where we discuss opportunities, the market, and strategies. Through our discussions with André, we’ve shifted our marketing and we continued to explore opportunities during COVID-19.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I just feel I can trust them. Toolkit is knowledgeable, and they have a lot of experience. André, in particular, is not afraid to talk strategy with me and look at our options. Nothing is a bad idea, which is a great feeling to have in a business partnership, especially in the digital realm. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they provide great services. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Talk with André and really let him understand your business. One shoe doesn’t fit all, and Toolkit really gets that. They’ll really try to understand your needs, your business, and where you’re located.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director and owner of a private psychology practice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Toolkit?

They were hired to run a Google Ads campaign that would increase the number of bookings.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built out a Google Ads campaign for us. Their team aimed to increase leads to the practice.  

What is the team composition?

We’re working with one employee, Andre.

How did you come to work with Toolkit?

I was referred to them by someone I worked with previously. After calling them and looking at their background, we hired them. They effectively started from scratch and established a baseline.

How much have you invested with them?

It was around $1000 Australian dollars per month for four months now.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work started in late 2019 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team is very knowledgeable. They had to explain geographical targeting so that we could reach people. He switched the linking so that we’d have a better presence overall.

I have been very happy with Andre's handling of my account. He revamped my campaigns and got me a good conversion rate.

How did Toolkit perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked in a different time zone, which was difficult. There were some complicated discussions with third-party vendors. Otherwise, they were very helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Now that face-to-face things have gone away, we’ve tried to increase the budget to reach more people. He was very polite and kind.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think being able to have the same timezone would be good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

He seems to have a great understanding of my business.