Ridge Marketing

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Marketing of Aluf Plastics

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We manufacture trash bags and can liners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Ridge Marketing to accomplish?

• Redesign and redevelop our websites
• Develop our digital marketing strategy, execute it and continuously optimize it

SOLUTION

How did you find Ridge Marketing?

Online Search

Why did you select Ridge Marketing over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Ridge Marketing were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We initially hired Ridge Marketing to help us rebrand one of our divisions including a new logo, brand colors and brand voice. From there, they redesigned and redeveloped our website which had not been updated in many years, including design services, copywriting, SEO, development services and a multi-day photo shoot. 

Once the site was completed, Ridge began implementing and managing our PPC Google campaign, which has been ongoing for almost 2 years. Ridge recently also implemented a LinkedIn campaign for the same division. About a year ago, we hired Ridge to again redesign and redevelop our website for another division, including new brand colors, design services, copywriting, SEO and development services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

2 completed websites as well as PPC campaigns generating leads and increased sales.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team always delivers on time and if something is held up, they are transparent about it. My emails are always answered in a timely fashion and if my request cannot be met, the team will offer alternate suggestions.

What was your primary form of communication with Ridge Marketing?

Virtual Meeting

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

They're so patient and always willing to go the extra mile to complete the project in the best possible.

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

No, keep on being amazing!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Co-Founder of Awakened Films, a video marketing company based in Madison, NJ.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ridge Marketing?

Our website was created 10 years ago and became outdated and underperformed.

SOLUTION

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

We knew Ridge Marketing from professional circles in the NJ Marketing arena. Their creativity and excellence are tops in the industry, and they are nice people to boot!

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Discover meetings. Goal setting. Initial design vetting. Acquisition of new photo/video and copy. Final approvals.

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

We worked with three or four people from Ridge Marketing and all were fantastic. We even had a chance to work directly with the owner, Rob.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our new site out performs many of our competitors (SEO / Organic Reach / closing new customers). It looks incredible and functions incredibly in an ever changing digital market. New clients find us easily on the first page of Google, and they comment on the creative look and feel of our site.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow between our teams was seamless. So much so, that we have create a strategic partnership where we collaborate on multiple projects now.

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

They were very knowledgeable about UI/UX, but also very tech savy on how to get eyeballs to our new website.

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

Great company. We are now ready for a website refresh from Ridge Marketing!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company focused on manufacturing carbon fiber products and carbon fiber wheels for the automotive industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ridge Marketing?

Ridge Marketing is our full-service marketing partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ridge Marketing has provided us with a lot of services related to our marketing efforts. Their involvement started by redesigning our website and creating our e-commerce site. Since then, they’ve helped us create PPC ads, generate SEO content, and write white papers and press releases. They’ve also done photo and video shoots of our products and produced videos for us. Additionally, they’ve been involved in more simple tasks, like designing our business cards, brochures, and other marketing materials.

Our advertising efforts have been focused on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. We’ve also engaged directly with certain forums to advertise our products on automotive-themed forums.

Our content creation has been a collaborative effort between Ridge Marketing and our engineering team. However, they’ve created some content entirely on their own. Additionally, they’ve built landing pages for our site as needed.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Andrea (Partner & COO), who is in every call and seems to be managing our entire project. We’ve also worked with Eric (SEO Specialist) and Aaron (Lead Web Developer).

How did you come to work with Ridge Marketing?

We were looking for a full-service marketing agency. Our internal marketing person is in New Jersey, so we wanted to find someone local so that they could meet in person. After reaching out to local companies, we got some quotes, and Ridge Marketing made the best proposal. I remember that we particularly chose them because they did great research prior to our meeting, while the other agencies presented very generic pitches.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $135,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In general, Ridge Marketing has helped us have more exposure. Our website traffic statistics have increased a lot, as have our followers on social media and our metrics overall. For example, our number one competitor is a much bigger company than us, but we’ve been appearing on top of search results, even over them.

How did Ridge Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Ridge Marketing has performed very well, and they’re very flexible. Additionally, they’re always on time for our meetings. We meet every Wednesday, and the first meeting of the month is focused on reviewing data. Overall, their work is very well-structured and consistent, which works very well for us. We communicate via Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ridge Marketing puts their heart into our project, and they’re genuinely invested in our success. Other engagements seem very transactional; the client pays, and the vendor delivers. However, working with Ridge Marketing gives me a lot of comfort by knowing that they’re very interested in our success — it is a true partnership.

For them, the project is not just about delivering. Their work is very thorough because they spend time and energy on it, and we can feel that they care about what they do. Other companies are very skilled, but not every company has the same level of care.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if Ridge Marketing had more knowledge about our industry. However, it is a bit of an unrealistic request because a marketing company with expertise in carbon fiber doesn’t exist; they’re very different sectors. Still, that’s our role in the project, and we help fill that gap. Additionally, they’ve been learning more and more about our industry over time, and they’ve learned a lot so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear about what outcome you want and make sure that they understand it. As long as you can provide clear and reasonable requirements, Ridge Marketing can make them happen. Additionally, it is very important to revisit those goals on a quarterly basis, at least.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide staffing services to LTC facilities, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities through our app and our exceptional account management team. As the CEO, I am intimately involved in all marketing efforts and work closely with Ridge, one of our key partners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

All digital marketing efforts:

• website
• video overview of what we do
• SEO
• PPC
• google ads
• facebook ads
• app content
• textual messaging and marketing

Communication through all mediums to our thousands of staffers and clients.

SOLUTION

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

We met with several first-rate digital marketing firms in the NY/NJ area. Ridge was impressive from a personnel standpoint... everyone there was/is top-notch, first-rate, class acts, and creative think-outside-the-boxers.

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

Honestly, the scope of work for Ridge is anything that touches marketing and messaging... they are our marketing team... sure, we do mailchimp email campaigns, simpletext text campaigns, website communication, email communication to staffers and clients... Ridge has come on site and filmed us for videos... what DON'T they do for us in the marketing realm, that's the question... we love working with them. They are pros.

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

About 10 people across the 4 years we've been working with them. Every specialty within marketing:

• chief creative officer
• content marketing
• blog writing
• SEO and PPC management
• social media mgmt
• text in our app is essential and perhaps the most value-add contribution they make

The beauty of Ridge, for us, is that every single month, they jump into wherever we need marketing help... we're on an honor code system with them... we pay them a retainer, and trust them to do the work... sometimes it's more hours, sometimes it's less hours... neither of us quibbles.... we trust each other, and that makes it a great partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our company has grown over 50% YOY for the last 5 years, top-line, and Ridge is responsible, along with our incredible internal team, for all marketing-related, communication-related outcomes. I'm repeating myself here... just know that Ridge is a class act. Period. Full stop.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

On a scale of 1-100, I'd give it a 98. They are all great communicators. AND they write well. I mean... full sentence emails. What a novelty these days with all the 20-something digital marketing firms. I greatly value their professionalism and competence, and creative drive to be exceptional in all they do for and with us.

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

Their talent across the board. I know that whatever project we throw at them, they'll find the right cat to do the job at a very high level. from the CEO to the newest content marketing or SEO hire... they are all first-rate. And their work ethic is what I might admire most...

in my own people, and in the vendors we work with. Ridge has an exceptional work ethic and character.. on top of their creativity, competence and professionalism. That's what I find most impressive, among many things.

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

Hard to think of something... but I don't want readers to think this is a fluff piece, so I'll pick something.... First couple years, when they didn't know us or our business as well as they do now, the blog posts they wrote for us may not have represented the most insightful perspectives, but I believe that's only because they were getting to know our somewhat complex business....

nurse staffing is not easy, as anyone who reads the news knows. 4 years in, and I would have zero reservations about asking Ridge to write any article or blog post for us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I handle digital marketing and communications for a provider of third-party risk management software solutions and services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ridge Marketing?

We have a small marketing team and needed additional resources to assist with ongoing needs around PPC, graphic design, and video production.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

My company had been already working with Ridge when I started in 2019, so I "inherited" them. Given that, I had the freedom to either continue working with them or bring in partners that I had worked with in the past. However, within a couple of months, it was clear that Ridge was an agency partner worth retaining for the long haul.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We work with Ridge on a monthly retainer, which provides us access to their entire range of services. We primarily look to them for assistance with PPC, graphic design, and video production. On the PPC front, they advise on strategy, assist with ad and lander creative, and handle ongoing management and optimization of our Google Ads account. For graphic design, they assist us with everything from production-level layout work to providing custom artwork and infographics for our white papers and reports.

They also have been instrumental in concepting and producing artwork to support company events, including custom-themed logos, presentation templates, and signage. With regards to video production, they are helping us develop a series of short "chalktalk" explainer videos -- delivering everything from scripts and storyboards to the final product.

What was the team composition?

I work directly with one of the partners and a digital marketing director.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've reduced our cost of MQLs from our PPC campaigns by 35% over the past two years. Their graphic design services have allowed us to produce quality, engaging content at a rate that would otherwise be unachievable for most small, internal marketing teams. And we are seeing positive SEO impacts on pages where we feature their explainer videos.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We meet over Zoom every two weeks to discuss strategy, review results, and plan upcoming projects. We then maintain contact via email. Ridge has always been responsive and delivered on-time, high-quality work.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They take the time to understand the nuances of our business and our target audiences. This has ultimately has enabled us to produce impactful content rapidly and with minimal rounds of revisions. While we are one of their smaller clients, they have treat us like we are their most important client.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the chief strategy officer at Global IDs. We're an enterprise software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ridge Marketing?

We needed an overhaul of our corporate website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ridge had originally done our website for us in 2015, and have been maintaining it for us since then. We needed a whole new look and feel which was the project we started last year. They've also provided some copy-writing, SEO, and inbound lead integration tools.

What is the team composition?

We work with a core team of 4-5.

How did you come to work with Ridge Marketing?

I interviewed a number of firms in New Jersey and really liked some of the work Ridge had done. The team there seemed like the type of company we could work with. We had meetings, talked to references and looked at the work of past clients to get a sense of their work,

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It's still too early to tell, but we've gotten good feedback so far. They communicate well, try to understand your business, and offer ideas and suggestions.

How did Ridge Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They're top-notch. We communicated once every two weeks over phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They've got a very talented team and they're easy to do business with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I've run several projects with them and they worked out fine. They've got a good team of people, they deliver when they say they're going to, and the quality of their work is high.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I just find them very easy to work with, which is high-priority for me.