Upstream Marketing

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is Dream Management Services. We’re a property management company, but I’m mostly in the self-storage business. I develop and manage self-storage businesses, as well as own them. I’m the President.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Upstream Marketing?

Trying to remain competitive in the storage businesses is difficult as we have people with monstrous budgets like some of the big retailers. This means that a storage company’s website is one of the big equalizers. Upstream helped with my website and search engine work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a website prior to working with Upstream, but, the truth is, they redid the website from the ground up. Brian (CEO) has redone our website two of the three times we’ve upgraded it. I believe our current site is built on WordPress, which was transitioned from HTML. We switched because HTML was an old technology that Google wasn’t going to reward.

The website has to be SEO driven, but since it’s a retail business and a retail site, we have to safely process peoples’ credit card payments. Brian made sure the third-party credit card companies’ architecture is securely integrated. We use Sitelink to do that. Another critical piece is speed. Most people won’t do business with a site that takes too long to load.

They also do SEO work for us to this day. They give me a mountain of metrics and information on a monthly basis and compile it in a report. Additionally, they work with my blog writer to ensure the content is SEO-focused. Finally, Brian manages all of my Google My Business infrastructure for all four of my locations. This includes creating and launching weekly ads.

My blog writer is also my brand manager, and so she worked with Brian to design the new site. They worked together on layouts, which came in handy for our location pages. Brian is good at knowing what information customers need easy access to.

What is the team composition?

Brian is my main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Upstream Marketing?

He was recommended to me by my blog writer. First, he just started managing the website from a development point of view. Someone else was doing my SEO. I then found out he also offered SEO, and I asked him to take that on as well when I became unhappy with my other SEO provider.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $10,000-$15,000 with him.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since April 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The storage business is about a couple of things. One, the phone has to be ringing and converting. In the midst of the pandemic, we had the most activity we’d ever had at all four of our properties. There’s also been a lot more activity on the website.

How did Upstream Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

I get a report from Brian at the beginning of the month that breaks it all down by property. It has all sorts of things about how the website performed regarding Google. We’ll set up a Zoom meeting after that to go over the findings. Their ability to manage the details of what’s making the website work or not work has been immeasurably valuable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

He runs my company and my success like it’s his success. He wants to know so much about the storage business; he couldn’t wait to learn everything and get connected to the industry without using me as a conduit. Brian and I have been to the same webinars independently. He doesn’t just think of himself as a web or design person, but as a person in the industry.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared to do your homework in your industry. I say that with a smile on my face, as he’s motivated me to elevate my game in my industry. He takes his work seriously, so I learned that homework is part of the responsibility as his client. I say that with love and appreciation. He’s kept me connected to the industry, as he took a bigger interest than I had before that despite being in the industry for 15 years.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Titan Subsea Innovations LLC. We’re an oil and gas pipeline repair company. We provide flanges and fittings that enable contractors to repair pipelines.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Upstream Marketing?

They’re my partner for web dev, web design, and marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Upstream Marketing is the team I always bring in for my web design and development needs.They build up the sites completely from scratch, optimizing the content for search engines.

Once that portion of the project is completed, the team will shift to other marketing efforts, such as brochure design and SEO. They assist with event marketing, preparing materials like backdrops for trade shows.

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with Brian (CEO). 

How did you come to work with Upstream Marketing?

In 2007, I brought Upstream Marketing into the company I was working with for website revamp. Brain and I have been working together ever since; I believe this is the fourth website we’ve done together. 

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost for all the websites has been under $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since July 2007.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Upstream Marketing’s work has really helped establish my company, which is a big deal given that I’ve only been established a couple of years and my competitors have been around for decades. People all over the world are contacting my homegrown company thanks to Upstream Marketing. Their help has been tremendous.

All throughout my relationship with them, their work has had a hand in increasing sales inquiries by quite a bit.

How did Upstream Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very efficient and timely. We’ll sit down, discuss scope, set a budget, and set a timeline, and it generally all goes according to plan unless I make changes. I’ve not had a problem with Upstream Marketing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Upstream Marketing’s personal customer service sets them apart from the competition. Also, Brain is knowledgeable, always learning, and looking for ways to improve my business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really have no complaints. I’m 100% satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared. Don’t come in without all the information you need, it just slows the process down. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Hocker Inc. We’re a manufacturers rep that’s been supporting the oil field, petrochemical, and aerospace business since 1973.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Upstream Marketing?

We wanted someone to help us with our website and our marketing since we’ve never had a solid group to do that. We’ve just done one-off projects using friends of friends. The time had come to change, though.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our e-commerce website for us by repurposing our old site that hadn’t been updated in many years. They also taught me and my other staff how things work along the way.

Brian (CEO) is key in me learning and coming on board to the digital world and marketing. We’re a small, family business, and marketing was the last thing we ever thought about until a few years ago. He’s helped me move it to the forefront of what we’re trying to do today. The competition is so thick in our area that marketing is the only thing that will separate someone. They were doing Google Ads and creating content for us. Once we got the site up, they helped us tweak it based on analytics.

What is the team composition?

It’s mainly Brian and their lead web guy, who handled laying things out.

How did you come to work with Upstream Marketing?

They were recommended by a vendor that, apparently, we weren’t big enough for. Brian came out, talked to us, and looked at what we had. They then made some proposals and we signed with them. Brian’s done a great job for us.

How much have you invested with them?

Ballparking, it’s probably around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve come up with a site that’s nice. It works and it’s paid for itself. We have quite a few repeat customers, and they’ve been very happy. We’ve received many compliments about the website. Brian has been very proactive in pushing us to look at all the tools at our disposal, but I just measure success by asking “are we getting work out of it.”

How did Upstream Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Brian’s company, and Brian himself, has been a real asset. We’ve had other vendors come and go on other projects but Brian has been here for us. And he’s been leading the way. A lot of times, he’s gone above and beyond to take care of us on items we’ve overlooked. We had an audit coming up — and we’d just switched audit companies — and Brian fixed an issue they found with certification the same day. Even today, with the COVID-19 stuff, he’s on top of me to update our statements about it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very thorough and honest, and Brian is everything you’re looking for in a business partner. He has integrity and does what he says he will in a timely fashion. We always felt taken care of by them. I wish I had another company like them for some of my other projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m not sure offhand, other than a lower price, but they were right in line with everyone else we talked to.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a really good idea of what you want to do and be prepared to think outside the box. They can help you do that and craft something that will work for you. That’s what Brian and his company did for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing coordinator for Navco, an air parts manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Upstream Marketing?

We hired them to redo our website, changing it from Monix to WordPress.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ve been working with them to update things on our website, including creating templates for some landing pages. They are helping create a template for our landing page that serves our advertisements and Google Ads. They’re working with us to update it to enable video and photo gallery functionalities. 

What is the team composition?

There are about ten people I work with from their team. I work with salespeople, the president, owners, and office managers. Brian (CEO) is my main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Upstream Marketing?

I wasn't a part of the company when we first hired their team. 

How much have you invested with them?

In the last year since I joined, we’ve spent around $5,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since May 2013 and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been really happy with their services. They are helpful in various ways for our business. 

How did Upstream Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re awesome from a project management standpoint. Brian is available for whenever I have questions related to WordPress. He’s always there when I need something. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brian is extremely helpful. It’s clear they know their stuff and are willing to help. They’re doing great and are on-point. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Right now, I don’t have anything bad to say whatsoever. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have your vision completely ready. Once they have it, they’ll get it done quickly.