SmartBug Media

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Creative Director of HumanGood

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

HumanGood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring the best lives for older adults through our life plan and affordable housing communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire SmartBug Media to accomplish?

• Launch of a reimagined company website
• Create an engaging website interface that tells the HumanGood story and philosophy
• Ensure that the website is fully functional on mobile platforms

SOLUTION

How did you find SmartBug Media?

Existing ongoing collaboration.

Why did you select SmartBug Media over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from SmartBug Media were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

HumanGood worked with Smartbug to build a reimagined company website from the ground up. Considerations included mobile optimization, integration of video and other motion enhancements and storytelling. Close collaboration was conducted in all phases of website development between Smartbug and the HumanGood marketing and brand strategy teams.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The production schedule was met with defined milestones and approvals at each stage. Final deadline met.

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

Smartbug's project management kept the process moving along within the expected timelines, achieving the clearly defined goals. As creative director for HumanGood, I found the response to design changes was done efficiently with close collaboration with the Smartbug design and development teams. Our project manager was always on top of all aspects of the project.

What was your primary form of communication with SmartBug Media?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Smartbug understands the collaborative process: how to work hand in hand with clients to achieve goals. While guiding the process through experience, Smartbug knows that every client is different and took the time to learn how we communicate as clients and to understand how to interpret communication effectively to achieve efficient, accurate results.

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

Although Smartbug uses industry standards, the industry must find a better way of reviewing website concepting and development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at 101 Mobility. We’re a franchise business that provides medical equipment for patients with mobility issues in the greater Toronto area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Chair 10 Marketing?

We needed help with our lead generation strategy. Our business partners and users usually search the Internet to find their possible service provider or vendor. We wanted to ensure we were well-represented and generate as many leads as possible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an initial discovery call with Chair 10 Marketing to discuss their services and costs. Our franchisor had already negotiated the project’s budget, so we just had to discuss the project’s details and requirements. 

Chair 10 Marketing then sent us a standard document they use to discover the project’s objectives, budget, and requirements. After that, Chair 10 Marketing started managing our PPC lead generation campaigns in Google Ads. 

Overall, Chair 10 Marketing creates and manages our PPC strategy. They’re responsible for designing and posting the ads, managing our budget, and optimizing our campaigns. We have a major lead generation campaign that Chair 10 Marketing has created since we started working together, and that campaign has different products within. The leads come as a result of the campaigns via web form. 

What is the team composition?

Our first contact was with Chair 10 Marketing’s VP; since then, we’ve worked with different account managers. We’ve recently worked closely with Becca (Digital Marketing Specialist).

How did you come to work with Chair 10 Marketing?

Our franchisor recommended Chair 10 Marketing to us since they had already worked with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Chair 10 Marketing in September 2020, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The lead generation campaigns created by Chair 10 Marketing have been successful and helped us in our first years of business. We generate hundreds of leads every month. We also have a good click-through rate (CTR), and our cost per click (CPC) has decreased by 40%. More recently, our leads increased by 20% over a year ago.

Chair 10 Marketing is constantly looking for ways to optimize our campaigns. They’re creative with their graphic design. 

How did Chair 10 Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a monthly Zoom call about the campaign results with Becca, where we talk about any required changes to optimize our campaign’s budget. We have a collaborative relationship with Chair 10 Marketing. 

Budget control has never been an issue since we have a set monthly budget, and Chair 10 Marketing has never exceeded it. For project management, we use a web-based platform where we can see our campaign’s results and costs. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with Chair 10 Marketing’s knowledge about keywords and search terms that will perform optimally since the Google algorithm changes constantly. Chair 10 Marketing stays on top of it and always tries to maximize our revenue. 

Overall, Chair 10 Marketing is good at monitoring the campaign’s performance and doing A/B testing to see which ads get better results. They’re always looking for creative approaches to optimize our budget. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only constructive criticism I can think of for Chair 10 Marketing is that at some point during our engagement, our account manager changed more often than we’d like to. We started working with one account manager for a long time and would’ve liked that continuity.

Other than that, I can’t think of anything for Chair 10 Marketing to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be afraid to ask Chair 10 Marketing questions about the things you don’t understand. They’re very good at explaining things and are experts in digital marketing. Business owners are usually not marketing experts; the more you understand about your, the better outcome you’ll get. Chair 10 Marketing is patient and will walk you through the process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing advisor for a national real estate brokerage. I provide marketing services and strategies to 1,200 real estate agents in the Seattle region.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Chair 10 Marketing?

We engaged Chair 10 Marketing to help us with a pilot program for digital ads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we met with the Chair 10 Marketing team to share our goals and objectives for the project and introduce the team to our agents. After learning more about our company, the team conducted A/B testing. Then, they developed and implemented a digital marketing strategy for our Facebook and Instagram ads. 

The team was responsible for creating the ad content and building landing pages so that we could collect information from viewers. They also built dashboards for each of our clients that displayed viewer data in a digestible way. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with two team members from Chair 10 Marketing, including Katie (Director of Digital Marketing) and Ardeley (Digital Marketing Specialist). 

How did you come to work with Chair 10 Marketing?

I inherited the project from another supervisor, so I’m unsure how we found Chair 10 initially. They’re local to us, so we probably found them through a Google search or referral. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $20,000–$30,000 in the partnership with Chair 10 Marketing. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Chair 10 from January–July 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Chair 10 Marketing provided us with an excellent digital marketing strategy. They created awesome content for our ads and did a great job building the landing pages. The dashboards they developed were also immensely helpful, and our clients were very grateful for their work. 

Additionally, we were impressed by their comprehensive A/B testing efforts. Thanks to Chair 10 Marketing, we found that our ads with houses outperformed our branded ads by 2,000%. We used this new information to revamp our messaging to effectively target potential customers. 

We had a limited time frame and ad set, so I prioritized the tactical aspects of the project, such as timing and raw viewer data. Through our partnership, we found that re-marketing our ads to the same viewers helped us gain traction. As a result, re-marketing has become one of our most important KPIs, and we’ve been able to better advise our agents on the best duration of their ads to optimize success.

How did Chair 10 Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Chair 10 Marketing was very organized and always a step ahead of the project. They were excellent collaborators and I learned a lot from them. They took the initiative to update our ads regularly; I never had to reach out because they were so proactive. We barely even had to send them images because they took them from our website at the beginning of the project. We communicated via phone and email and met via Zoom.

The team was also very accommodating when it came to invoices. We had a backward set-up, and Chair 10 modified their invoicing structure to fit our needs, which was helpful. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Chair 10 Marketing is more than capable in their field, but their communication and organizational skills set them apart from their competitors. They approached our project with a collaborative spirit and really encouraged me to explore. I really appreciated their willingness to explain the technical aspects of their advertising pursuits in a digestible way. Ardeley and Katie went far beyond providing good service; they offered excellent advice. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing Chair 10 Media could improve on; they were very accommodating partners. I’d encourage them to do what they can to keep Ardeley and Katie on board. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I advise you to be open to Chair 10 Marketing’s advice and expertise. Also, give them the tools to access your digital assets to they can run the project with minimal interference.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director of a self-storage business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Chair 10 Marketing?

We were trying to get now potential renters of our storage facilities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did digital marketing and ran a paid advertising campaign using SEO services like Google Ads and other paid methods, like Facebook. They also developed landing pages and provided results of how many people clicked on the ads, came to our website, and called us to rent from us.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Megan (Digital Marketing Manager), who ran our monthly reviews. We also communicated with a business developer and their principal.

How did you come to work with Chair 10 Marketing?

We were using a different digital marketing services provider, but we needed someone who could do a better job with our budget. I interviewed a few agencies, and I liked Chair 10 Marketing in terms of their approaches, their experience with small businesses, their understanding of digital marketing, and how they were accountable for their results.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $ 40,000–$50,000 a year with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked from July 2019–March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The number of leads and the cost per lead are headed in the right direction. For the metrics, we mainly focused on the cost per click, the raking for the paid search, the number of phone calls we received, and other kinds of leads that were generated. We had a good result overall in terms of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our advertising.

How did Chair 10 Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good at meeting deadlines and overall communication; they were also quick. We had monthly reviews on how our advertising was going. At first, they were more involved in setting everything up, and then we went to communicate a couple of times every month to set up budgets, have regular follow-up sessions, or if something came up just to keep track of what was happening.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their attention to detail, their customer service, and their knowledge of digital advertising distinguish them from others.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can improve at the attribution and understanding of the ins and outs of digital marketing. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront, set your goals with the project, and have a clear approach for tackling problems together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an online company that sells Tunisian sweets in the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Worth eCommerce?

We’re an e-commerce company, so email marketing is a big part of what we do. As a result, Worth eCommerce was hired to help us with email marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They fully manage our email services — from the flows, campaigns, designs, copywriting, and more. They also set up strategies to collect our emails.

What is the team composition?

I’ve met four people from Worth eCommerce, but there’s a project manager serving as a point of contact. The project manager talks to everyone else on the team and organizes their work.

How did you come to work with  Worth eCommerce?

I interviewed Worth eCommerce and I thought that they were good, so I started working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I love working with Worth eCommerce. They’ve improved our workflow and our revenue has increased from 30% to 45%.

How did Worth eCommerce perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management has been very smooth. The team is organized, and they know what they’re doing. We mainly communicate through email and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re specialists when it comes to email marketing. That’s mainly why I hired their services.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I don’t know. I can’t think of anything that they can improve since they’ve been very professional.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re just starting, invest time to really get to know the Worth eCommerce team. Share your experiences with them so that they can learn more about your brand. Above all, trust them with everything else.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I am the Founder and CEO of SGDstyle. We house two brands, UrbanUndercover and TowelTopper.

UrbanUndercover designs and develops better travel apparel and accessories for the modern traveling woman. We focus on versatility, fit, functionality, and style. We place emphasis on sustainability, superior craftsmanship, and longevity of your clothing. We’re seasonless minimalists who believe in encouraging and creating a better world.

TowelTopper is our other brand and these are patented towel bands that will wrap around the towel on your body or your beach chair to secure it in place. It’ll turn any towel into a spa wrap to keep you covered at home or away. When you wrap it around the towel on your lounge chair a the beach or pool, it’ll mark your spot and secure the towel from falling down your back or flapping in the wind.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with the vendor?
We needed a lot of help with our email marketing. Not only did we need help implementing the actual emails, but we also needed help with the overall strategy. Basically, I was looking to increase our email activity but needed a lot of help and guidance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
For many, many, many (too many, if you get what I mean) years we left our email marketing unattended. We would gather names and emails but then fall short of doing anything with them. From time to time we would send a campaign, but it would have little to no direction nor would it be optimized correctly. We switched
email platforms as I didn’t like our previous one and signed on with Klaviyo.

However, this was at the start of the pandemic and I quickly realized that we really needed to do more than just send an email from time to time. We needed a smart, aggressive yet not overwhelming strategy and then we needed to implement that. I really didn’t know what I was doing and needed help. That is when I reached out to Worth. (Side note: Klaviyo is an amazing platform, and we are really pleased with the functionality as well as with their customer service. I reached out to Worth because we needed to really devise a plan to use Klaviyo to the best of our potential.

What is the team composition?
I was the point of contact from our side and I worked with an account manager, Sarah. She worked with Jaqueline, the designer/copywriter on their team, for all our project needs. It was seamless.

Sarah was absolutely amazing in her communication, advice, and patience with me as we were learning and strategizing. Sarah helped us devise the strategy and discover what we needed most and how to accomplish it. Jaqueline took the information from Sarah and ran with it - beautifully. She totally understood our brand and was able to both speak to the copy and create the visuals better than we would have in-house. Both are an ultimate joy to work with

How did you come to work with the vendor?

I knew we needed help, I just didn’t know how and what direction to take. I watched a live presentation by the owners of Worth Ecommerce and was impressed with their knowledge, the information they shared, and how much they seemed to care. I think I heard about the presentation via an ad on Facebook. After that, I reached out to them for help.

How much have you invested with them?
To date, around $15K.

What is the status of this engagement?
Email marketing is an ongoing project, so this isn’t something we are looking to “complete” but rather build upon in partnership with Worth as we grow. They really know what they are doing and as technology and algorithms and rules and everything changes rapidly, they are on top of their game. They care and I want to
continue to foster our relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Email marketing is now responsible for 81% of our sales online. I am 100% sure that it was responsible for less than 5% before I started to work with Worth. I believe, if it weren’t for them, we might not have made it through the pandemic

How did the vendor perform from a project management standpoint?

Beyond Fabulous. Sarah, our Account Manager, absolutely knows what she is doing. And I can tell, she’s not just offering a cookie-cutter solution; taking something from another client and just implementing it for us. She took the time with us to investigate and analyze what we needed and then take action from there. She is smart, efficient, easy to communicate and work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?
I am very pleased to be working with Worth eCommerce. I really love everything about them. I would have to say the most impressive aspect is how much they truly care. As I mentioned, they aren’t offering a cookie-cutter solution, because every brand is different. They are taking their time to dive into our brand and our needs and then applying their knowledge and expertise accordingly. The communication was fun and exciting and had
heart. We are a very small brand, but I felt they cared just as much about our success as they would a much larger company.

Are there any areas they could improve?
Nope. I am absolutely beyond thrilled working with them. Knowledgeable, professional, caring, and hard
working.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a national senior living and services organization that provides long-term care, home health, assisted living, independent living, rehab, memory care, and affordable housing. I’m the marketing manager for the organization.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Chair 10 Marketing?

We hired them to help with lead generation and brand awareness.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They manage all our digital marketing on the paid placement side, which includes Facebook, retargeting, Google Ads, as well as the call tracking system. Their team organizes and optimizes those systems before reporting back to me with suggestions and comments to help align our budget and business goals. 

It's been a collaborative experience between me and their team. I reach out to share objectives and key messages we hoped to see from the work and they get back to me with ideas and suggestions that I can provide feedback on. It's an iterative process that involves a lot of discussion between our teams. They've ended up learning our industry so well that we can trust them to make optimizations on their own.

They provide a proprietary dashboard for us that tracks performance across metrics. It's set up based on my preferences so I can easily roll it up to leadership.  

What is the team composition?

I've had direct contact with two people. There's a larger team working in the background. 

How did you come to work with Chair 10 Marketing?

They were already working with our company when I started here.  

How much have you invested with them?

Our annual budget amounts to about $2,000,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

They’ve been working with us since around 2008.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Lead inquiries, as well as conversions, are two important metrics for us. We track how their recommendations and optimization affect phone call numbers, form submissions, and emails to our team. We’ve been satisfied with their work. 

How did Chair 10 Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve really appreciated their project management. They don’t do anything without running it by me first, and they provide recommendations for different solutions when they come to me with ideas. Their team is very good a projecting outcomes for their recommendations as well.

We’re impressed with their turnaround speed and how thoroughly they log the communication.

Our team communicates over the phone or video conferencing. They’re located quite a ways away from us, so we interact virtually.   

What did you find most impressive about them?

The pandemic has challenged our industry, but they’re enthusiastic about working with us regardless of whether our budget is tiny or large. We appreciated that they laid the foundation to allow changes to be nimble. For instance, they made a list of all the services at each of our 250 locations to enable us to turn around solutions quickly. 

When they make changes, they’re great about informing me on the context. They were great about understanding our needs from a business standpoint and have even picked up our lingo a bit. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m pretty happy with the service we have. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d have conversations about your brand and goals as early as possible. Don’t hold back from discussing broader goals and strategies with them either. That context will help them understand your business and manage their work.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and general manager of a junk removal and moving company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Chair 10 Marketing?

I wasn’t happy with my previous PPC service provider. I wasn’t getting the results I wanted and they were too expensive, so I started looking for another partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They optimized our PPC campaigns to drive leads in a competitive market. They take ad copy from our corporate’s marketing team. Then they did some AB testing to determine what was being received well. Once we had that data, we decided what ad copy to use.

They use Google Analytics, and the reports I provide come from a proprietary software system.

I sent a lot of our metrics to Chair 10 Marketing, and they were able to make bid adjustments. For example, if we were underperforming in a certain zip code, Chair 10 Marketing focused on targeting those areas.

They set up Google’s local service ads. They took the reins on that.

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with Tanner, and he’s great. I’ve had a few conversations with Mark as well.

How did you come to work with Chair 10 Marketing?

I heard about Chair 10 Marketing from other franchisers. They were corporate’s preferred vendor.

How much have you invested with them?

The management fee is $299 per month plus 2%–3% over $2,500 spend in a month. My average maintenance cost is about $600 per month (approximately $16,000 total).

What is the status of this engagement?

They came on board in March 2018 and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our cost per click has gone down, while our click-through rate, leads, impressions, inquiries, conversion rate, and revenue has gone up. After about a year of fine-tuning things with Chair 10 Marketing, the campaign has been driving revenue. Each year we’ve worked with them, our business has grown by about 30%. As long as I’m in business, I plan to work with Chair 10 Marketing.

How did Chair 10 Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly conversations to improve our PPC campaign. I pull reports for them to review, and then we have a recurring call every Tuesday. We also communicate via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been adaptive and responsive. I set my expectations early on, I was clear on what I wanted to accomplish, and they have been able to deliver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I know.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to be actively engaged in your marketing campaign and communicate with your service provider. Be sure to give them feedback so they can make adjustments.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at South Puget Sound Community College. We are a community college in Olympia, Washington, and we serve students who are either transitioning into the workforce with a certificate or professional technical degree or transferring to a four-year university.

I am the director of Strategic Communications. So I work on the marketing strategies, internal and external communications, public relations, web graphics, social media and kind of that whole gamut.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Chair 10 Marketing?

We had all these ideas for advertising and wanted to get into new digital channels. We didn't always have the access or the time to explore different areas. That was about three and a half years ago and we've just evolved our campaigns with them over the years.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It's evolved over the years, which has been really fun. We started with social media on Facebook, a little bit of Instagram as well as Google PPC campaigns.

it seems to be working like we wanted. And then we kind of refined some internal processes where we kind of stepped up the game on our landing pages. So we were doing more tracking, integrating everything more on our side. And as that happened, we increased some of our budgets and Chair 10 Marketing was able to expand in those areas, bring on some YouTube ads. And then this past year, we decided to add Snapchat advertising and Connected TV and Geofencing.

we did a lot on this kind of streaming platforms during COVID-19, and it was nice that we were able to reallocate our budget there.

They manage all the ad content writing, we provide most of the creative work, whether they’re videos, graphics, or photos, they implement that and then we check to make sure it’s on-brand. Then they publish it, monitor it, and report on it monthly.

We obviously work together to set our campaign goals. At the end of each campaign, we’ve looked at the results and identified what we can improve upon the next year.

What is the team composition?

I work with two people — a senior digital marketing specialist has led the charge the whole time. We started working with just her, but as our needs and budget increased, they added an additional team member to support us.

How did you come to work with Chair 10 Marketing?

We worked with another media company that had worked with Chair 10 Marketing previously. As we revealed what our needs were, we let go of our previous partnership and worked with Chair 10 Marketing.

We did our request for proposal and Chair 10 Marketing, then came back very competitive with experience and all of the areas that we wanted to tap into.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2016 and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

 We showed some great ROI and have gotten great results as far as the number of prospective students who are coming in through our CRM. Each year the results have gotten better and better.

They track where we are against our goals to make sure that we’re getting the conversions we’re looking for, and are looking for ways to improve.

How did Chair 10 Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They're quick to respond and really agile because our needs change really, really quickly. And they always have been that they're reporting monthly and having in-person meetings with us whenever possible. They always communicate openly and are forward-thinking. The always bring new strategies to the table.

They've been very flexible, which is great. We have really transparent budget sheets. We talk about the budget every month and we look at how we need to shift dollars around. So they've been really flexible. If we get a Facebook ad with a series of negative comments, they'll take it down immediately and republish It's been really smooth and meeting all of our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re really great people. I never feel like I'm being sold something. It's a relationship. They truly care about meeting our needs and goals.

They're just really down to earth, nice people. So I've definitely appreciated that the human aspect of working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is a huge stretch, but I'm always for constructive criticism. When we've had a support team member, that person has changed each year. And I know that the one who is helped us this year just left to pursue her master's degree. So that was a great thing for her, but that means that next year we need to onboard someone else and get them to know the ropes.

It would be nice to have a steady team for multiple years. But we've always had the same team lead.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you need to do an RFP or an RFQ and just see what's out there and who's out there. I think that's it's just a great way to go because you'll see how competitive they are and that they really meet your needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the chief communications officer at a financial intelligence organization. We’re headquartered in the United States, and we have an office in the UK as well as in Singapore. I oversee the marketing and communications department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartBug Media?

We had a website that wasn’t a marketing system and it was static. We were never able to make changes on our own and that was disabling from a marketing perspective.

We hired SmartBug Media to create our website. We needed the frontend to fit today’s market and our institution and the backend needed to be a very robust marketing system.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped with the design of the navigation, working on the UX side of the platform. They helped set up the backend marketing system on HubSpot. Their team needed to migrate all of the content from another vendor, which wasn’t a small task.

The platform was outdated, custom website, and they helped make a 180-degree change to turn it around. They’ve also helped us with integrating Salesforce. 

What is the team composition?

There are 5–6 people working with us. We’ve worked with a project supervisor, a day-to-day account manager, a UX/UI expert, and the development team.

How did you come to work with SmartBug Media?

I had worked with them in the past with another company that I worked for. I was pleased with their service, so I brought them in. We did our due diligence in finding the best firm to help with inbound marketing using HubSpot, and we chose them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2019 when we kicked off contract negotiations. This project wrapped up in June 2019, but we’re working with them on more projects now. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has been a gamechanger for our firm. They completely transformed our department and provided an all-around value. From a branding and lead generation perspective, their work is fantastic. 

How did SmartBug Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re extremely strong and professional in project management — their skills are superb. They’re very responsive, and they always bring a very good attitude. They use their own system to manage the work, which is very helpful. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their domain expertise and knowledge of HubSpot is strong. They’re very cost-effective, so we get quality work and a well-managed project at a good value. We’re very happy working with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that this is something for them particularly to improve, but the nature of working with a SaaS is that you can be dependent on the technology. Since they have built templates, there is some dependency from our team with their developers. I don’t know if this is something to improve, but it is sometimes challenging.