Search + Gather

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior digital marketing specialist at a company called eSight Eyewear. We make electronic glasses for the visually impaired. We’ve developed a proprietary technology that helps individuals accomplish daily tasks and participate in activities. I’m responsible for our lead generation efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We realized that we needed a smaller agency that could operate on the same timeline as us. Our previous agency was very bureaucratic, and we wanted a new partner that could dive in fully to the details of our digital marketing strategy, while still moving at the same pace as us.

To be more specific, we wanted a company that, if we presented an idea on Monday, could be executing on a plan by Wednesday, as opposed to going through multiple review processes. We also wanted more efficient testing of new concepts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a Facebook advertising test to understand their ability to generate leads through social media. They knocked it out of the park, which led us to give them access to our Google Ads the next month. On top of doing that PPC work, they’ve also been able to support us with other services, like landing page design.

What is the team composition?

Amanda (Digital Strategist, Search & Gather) is our account manager. She’s my main point of contact, and I have one-on-one meetings with her every week. At the beginning of the partnership, I worked closely with Doug (Creative Director and Co-Founder, Search & Gather). He’ll step in and help us with big-picture discussions, but Amanda handles the day-to-day operations. Michael (Digital Designer, Search & Gather) does creative and technical work for us.

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

We’ve been struggling with our search advertising and decided to start looking for a new agency. Search & Gather popped up in my initial Google search, and that gave me the impression that they probably knew a thing or two about search advertising.

I looked at five different agencies, but Search & Gather ranked higher and had a more beautiful website than all of the others. They were also responsive as soon as I reached out. When I talked to Doug, he told me about the company’s values, and I got the sense that everyone there feels super invested. The culture and the fact that they seemed trustworthy was a welcome change from the agency we had at the time.

How much have you invested with them?

For the Facebook ads, we pay about $6,000 CAD (approximately $4,500 USD) per month. There was an initial $3,000 CAD (approximately $2,200 USD) set up fee, which put us at a total of $9,000 CAD (approximately $6,700 USD) in September. Once we added search ads, the total monthly cost grew to about $9,125 CAD ($6,800 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Search & Gather in September 2019, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because our product is niche, our cost per lead is relatively high compared to other targets in the market that we’re targeting. That being said, within the first month, Search & Gather was able to cut down our Facebook cost per lead by more than 50%. When we added Google Ads, we saw dramatic improvements there as well. 

Even with other projects, like with the call scheduling on the landing page, they’ve been able to improve our connection rate from 25% to 35%. We’ve also seen a significant improvement in the quality of the leads, which means that the higher volume is translating into a positive impact on our business. With our previous agency, we were paying double and getting probably half the value.

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

Search & Gather works as hard as we do, seemingly at all hours of the day. They’re always willing to jump on a call to clarify, and they have a holistic view of the lead generation process. 

Our previous agency just managed our budget and ad spend; they relied on us to develop creative and handle our Salesforce backend. We also had to create and manage our own landing pages. Having Search & Gather has been a huge improvement from that. They’ve been able to integrate everything well through Salesforce, often pulling reports to show us the results of their testing.

We use email to stay in contact, and I always get a response right away, no matter the time. We have a weekly meeting cadence, and usually at least one additional call per week. Search & Gather is always willing to go above and beyond, much more so than our previous provider. For example, right now, have our project manager Amanda working with our chatbot provider to fill in gaps from a technical perspective. We would’ve never gotten that from our other agency.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very aware that our next challenge will be improving lead quality, and they’re constantly coming up with experiments and recommendations. Their ability to move quickly and solve problems has been extremely beneficial. Most other agencies don’t have that kind of proactive, dedicated approach.

I love the fact that I can offload core responsibilities to their team because it frees me up to do more strategic work. For example, I used to handle all of our manual reporting myself, and I found myself always updating our previous provider about A/B test results and landing page edits. We faced a ton of incongruencies because it was so hard to keep everyone aligned with the overall strategy.

With Search & Gather, I don’t have to worry about any of that. They do creative work in-house, they A/B test their copy, they test their landing pages, and they’re always optimizing towards our sales goals. I save so much time by working with them, and they move even quicker than I anticipated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve only worked with one other agency, so it’s hard to compare, but I think they could benefit from understanding our backend and our organic rankings as well. Granted, we only hired them to do paid ads, but organic leads are a part of that overall strategy. That’s just a suggestion though; I have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of how hard they work. Search & Gather has the capacity to give you high returns within a short timeline. Let them handled the basics, and you’ll be freed up to work on strategy. If you trust them and give them a clear direction, they’ll deliver excellent work for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Nerd Digital, an agency that specializes in SEO and analytics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

Our main objective for all of our clients is to increase ticket sales. One of our clients runs a series of events across the U.S. and Canada, and they needed help targeting certain demographics and driving ticket sales in specific locations. They also wanted to move away from more traditional marketing, like print, to digital.

We subcontracted our client’s digital marketing needs to Search & Gather. Although my company specializes in SEO, we didn’t have the expertise or agility to deliver the scope of services that our client required. They also made a lot of change requests and wanted to be on several platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our client’s target demographics have varied over the past three years, and Search & Gather has tailored their digital marketing approach accordingly. They do SEO and run ads on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google. The team also helps with influencer marketing.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Drew (Operations Director and Founder, Search & Gather) and Amanda (Digital Strategist, Search & Gather).

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

I found them through my network. When my client reached out to me for SEO work, I passed this work on to Search & Gather. I already had a trusting relationship with Drew, so I decided to give them a try.

How much have you invested with them?

Our account management fees have varied between $1,000–$5,900 CAD (approximately $750–$4,450 USD). We started with a small contract of less than $2,000 CAD (approximately $1,500 USD) for a show in Boston. Since then, the budgets have grown. We’ve had contracts for more than $30,000 CAD (approximately $22,600 USD) for a single show. We’re planning to do a bigger contract this month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Search & Gather in October 2017, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Based on previous reports and Google Ads Manager, Search & Gather has driven a 20–100% ROI. Despite the changing requirements and wide-ranging scope of our client’s work, Search & Gather has delivered on everything they’ve wanted. They’ve led the transition from traditional to digital marketing.

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

We use email, phone, and WhatsApp to communicate with Search & Gather, and it’s been exceptional. Our client’s team is very large, and their internal communications are complicated because they don’t use any type of cloud service to manage their documents. Instead, all of their talent is on a single Excel sheet, which makes it difficult to begin the process of organizing a new show. If we need to make a change to the show, we must contact around twenty people. Our client’s email threads are often long and disorganized. Search & Gather has done an exceptional job navigating this tough contract.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have short turnaround times for getting our ads live, and these ads often undergo a lot of changes. For instance, if a celebrity cannot attend a show due to unforeseen circumstances, the show’s organizer needs to replace the person and run different ad campaigns. We may know three weeks or just twenty minutes in advance. Search & Gather has been super flexible and makes these changes quickly, which isn’t something we’ve been able to find anywhere else.

Search & Gather has also gone above and beyond with influencer marketing. Our client had an agreement with an influencer marketing agency, but they didn’t do a great job managing the relationship once the deal was brokered. Search & Gather stepped in to make sure that everything was executed and delivered.  I cannot overstate the value of that. They care about completing the job and doing it well.

Our client wanted to experiment with different ways of advertising on Facebook, such as boosting posts instead of just running ads through Ads Manager. Search & Gather enabled our client to do so, even though we didn’t achieve the results we were looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think they’re doing as well as they can be with this client. They’ve made recommendations and requests, but the client is just a bit slow to adapt.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I would advise leaning on them. They’re smart and responsible, so clients shouldn’t be afraid to go to Search & Gather to delegate how things are going to get done. Give them a goal, and let them figure out how to do it. Don’t tell them that you want Instagram or something else; allow them to understand who you’re targeting and what you have that’s special, and they’ll do the rest.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at an entertainment agency focused on speakers. We also do brand campaigns and celebrity endorsements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We wanted to improve our online presence, primarily on Google. We’d been in the industry for a long time, but we didn’t have a ton of experience with optimizing websites. Search & Gather came in to address that challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They delivered digital advertising and full SEM services to our company. We were looking to drive traffic and leads toward our site, so Search & Gather has optimized our site on Google and Bing. They’ve also tested some strategy on Facebook and LinkedIn, experimenting to see what takes and what doesn’t.

What is the team composition?

I worked primarily with Michael (Digital Designer, Search & Gather) and Doug (Co-Founder & Creative Director, Search & Gather) on the project, but there were definitely others on their team working on it too.

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

Doug and I previously worked in the same building. We reconnected at a tech industry event, and I brought the project up. He showed interest, so I reached out to them feeling confident in their capabilities and price point. We also appreciated their apparent willingness to work hard on our behalf.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between $1,200–$1,500 with them every month.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in November 2017, and the work is ongoing. They’re our go-to partner in this area of work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen great lead flow as a result of their work. Our online presence has attracted the attention of high-level organizations that otherwise would be very difficult to engage with. We’ve been able to drive a very consistent flow of work to our company through the SEM implementations, as opposed to the scattered leads we got before. That’s the most significant benefit. 

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

Using email and monthly catch-up meetings to review trends and potential changes, the project has run very well. Their team turns in regular reports while maintaining a responsive, supportive professional relationship with us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their friendly, casual company culture perfectly matches our style. They’re realistic, fun to work with, and always get things done according to plan. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We feel like we’re in a good place with them because they're always advancing and trying out new ideas.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Like any business relationship, it’s important to build a strong foundation to rely on with partners. Additionally, it's helpful to stay in their line of sight, keeping them interested and engaged in helping your business grow.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior manager at HiMama. HiMama is a software service B2B company that makes software for childcare centers to use to manage the center and communicate with families. I’ve been at the company for around three years now and manage all of our inbound lead generation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We were looking to expand our paid advertising efforts. Our company was really just getting started with advertising on Google Adwords and Facebook, and we wanted to see whether or not we could scale that up to be a bigger part of our inbound lead generation strategy more generally.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Search & Gather focus on scaling up a few of our paid channels; Google Adwords, Bing, and Facebook are the main focuses. They have also helped us get into some more experimental PPC channels, so over time, we’ve tested ads on LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and a few others as well. Essentially, we’re hoping to allow them to help us with our strategy and management of all our paid channels going forward.

What is the team composition?

We work with an analyst and another person who is an analyst but serves in a directorial role as well.

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

They came pretty highly recommended to us from another marketing director in our industry.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Search & Gather in March 2018 and are continuing to work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best evidence to show from the project has really been our growth rate. Our ad spending over the course of our work with them has increased 7–10 times over. We have a target cost-per-lead that we aim for and we’ve been able to stay pretty close to that number throughout the year, which has been a really big deliverable for them.

We’re now a venture-backed startup as well, and as such are trying to go through a period of fairly rapid growth. A big part of that is being able to scale these channels while maintaining a positive return on our spending, and we’ve been able to do that successfully with Search & Gather.

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

We pretty quickly fell into a cadence of holding half-hour meetings once a week, and then longer planning sessions once a quarter that usually lasts a couple of hours. They come into our office and we’ll work together on what our priorities are for the next couple of months.

There’s quite a bit of communication via email, including weekly reports from them with all our metrics and campaign performance for the week. We also usually include some correspondence with our marketing operations team to ensure we’re linking everything up correctly between our sales team and our marketing software.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was really impressed in the first place that they were willing to scale with us over the course of the process. In the beginning, we didn’t have a lot of ad spending and there was a lot of discovery to be done in terms of how to position ourselves through these different paid channels. They’ve been really helpful in giving us the resources that we need to continue to scale.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think as a startup, creative talent was much harder for us to come by and we could have used a little bit more support on that side, but they’ve hired a lot more folks into their team to help with creative elements since then, so they’ve sort of tackled that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would tell other startups that it was really valuable for us to start working with them as an agency pretty early on in our existence because it saved us a lot of time on figuring out the basics of how to scale up our paid channels.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder of a financial services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We reached out to Search & Gather to manage paid advertising services for two different initiatives. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Search & Gather manages our paid advertising campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, expanding our campaigns to different regions in the process. They've also helped create and optimize our landing pages. 

What is the team composition? 

We mostly work with Doug (Creative Director and Co-founder, Search & Gather) and Amanda (Digital Strategist, Search & Gather), but also had some initial conversations with Drew (Operations Director and Founder, Search & Gather).

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

They were recommended to us by one of their previous clients and we were very impressed by their overall knowledge in the digital space. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested between $200,000–$1 million thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since around November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Search & Gather has exceeded all of our expectations thus far, significantly decreasing our cost per acquisition (CPA) while increasing referral and conversion rates. They've also optimized our landing pages, which has had a positive impact overall. 

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

Amanda has been great about managing campaigns. She's very proactive and responsive overall, staying in regular contact with us each week by phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their overall performance and ability to manage client relationships sets them apart. In addition to driving down our CPA and increasing conversions, they've also been very proactive about pursuing next steps, rather than waiting for us to reach out. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd just definitely recommend working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Digital Marketing Advisor of Medavie Blue Cross

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Sell Health and Wellness Insurance products to consumers and businesses. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Search + Gather to accomplish?

• Increase Sales
• Increase Leads
• Efficient digital marketing spend

SOLUTION

How did you find Search + Gather?

Referral

Why did you select Search + Gather over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Search + Gather were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

1. Paid Media Buying, Strategy and Execution (Paid Search, Social and Programmatic)
2. Marketing STrategy and Channel Allocation
3. Reporting
4. Tracking and Analysis

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1. Increase in lead generation at an efficient cost
2. Increase in sales

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

They are one of the most responsive agencies I have ever worked with. Communication is on point and deliverables are always on time. 

What was your primary form of communication with Search + Gather?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The members of the company are all a perfect mix of professional and personal. Search + Gather's team is passionate about their work and are all experts in their roles.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Search + Gather could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Manager, Enterprise Demand Generation of Shutterstock

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Shutterstock helps creative professionals from all backgrounds and businesses of all sizes produce their best work with incredible content and innovative tools, all on one platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Search & Gather to accomplish?

• Conversion Optimization
• Lead Generation
• Campaign Management and Optimization

SOLUTION

How did you find Search & Gather?

Referral

Why did you select Search & Gather over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Search & Gather were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Optimize Shutterstock's enterprise demand generation campaigns across paid search, paid social, and display channels. 
• Develop a full-funnel approach for evergreen campaigns that build audiences to prospect and remarket each of Shutterstock's enterprise product lines. 
• Leverage historical learnings and optimization structures to maximize tried & true converting platforms. 
• Provide weekly reporting on KPIs for ad channels and pipeline attribution from Shutterstock's CRM. 
• Refresh the ad creative designs regularly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Reduced the CPL by 76% in Google Adwords, GDN, and Meta. Increased click-to-lead rate as a result of campaign targeting and ad creative improvements. Increased lead volume. Improved visibility into performance data and insights.

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

Search & Gather provided excellent project management. The team consistently tracked tasks, clearly communicated deliverables, and delivered on time. Project management is one of their strengths.

What was your primary form of communication with Search & Gather?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The team was very knowledgeable and experienced in all digital ad channels. Their ability to translate insights and provide recommendations to improve campaign performance was impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Search & Gather could have done differently?

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Brand strategy lead for growth general merchandise category at a large Canadian retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Search & Gather, and what were your goals?

Increase overall brand awareness and drive online sales.

SOLUTION

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

We engaged in a request for proposal process.  

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail, including the project steps and all stages of production.

We engaged Search + Gather in the opportunity to help develop, create and manage digital marketing campaigns to grow awareness, revenue and maintain a healthy ROAS.

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

We were assigned an Account Manager and two channel experts to help develop strategy, manage campaigns, and provide performance insights.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since the partnership with Search & Gather and launching digital marketing support, we’ve seen significant success in conversion and increased awareness to the category.  At the start of the new calendar year, a business decision was made to manage all digital campaigns internally.

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

The team was responsive, nimble, and knowledgeable. They were great at providing insights into current digital marketing trends.

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

The weekly reporting and campaign postmortems provided great analysis and actionable learnings for future campaign planning.

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

The team understood the overall brand requirements and was able to provide multiple versions of creative for digital campaigns, although additional guidance was needed for creative direction.