Black Propeller

Please describe your company and your position there.

OPTEX is a world leading manufacturer of high-performance sensing technologies. For over 40 years, OPTEX has been trusted by thousands of customers worldwide for the accuracy and reliability of our detection systems. As the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for OPTEX America Entrance Division, I manage the business development, sales and marketing strategy for North America on all Entrance Sensor Sales.

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

The goal in mind when we hired Black Propeller was to increase OPTEX brand recognition, support new product launches and provide our team with the tools and resources to do so. Marketing initiatives such as landing page development, search engine optimization and social media graphics helped drive results and helped accelerate sales during our product launches.

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

Our President/CEO of the Americas decided to move forward with Black Propeller because of their enthusiastic and professional approach to digital marketing and PPC.

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

MailChip is used to provide data analytics and insight to our recent launch of the OPTEX America, Entrance Division Newsletter email campaign. Google tools are used for lead sharing, communication and monthly meetings. Calendly is used and integrated on our landing page for supporting real-time product test + demo schedules

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

We have worked with several key Black Propeller members - all instrumental to our marketing and PPC success. Just to name a few: Jessica, Paid Media Specialist supports our marketing team often on landing page updates, lead sharing, company newsletters along with a webcast series we plan to do for the industry on a quarterly basis. Annie provides our team support on the overall goals and objectives we would like to see for marketing project we partner with Black Propeller on. Bill, Project Manager provides us data analytic insight on a monthly basis

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

The Entrance Division Digital Newsletter results have been phenomenal with an open rate of more than 24% and increased our website traffic substantially.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our workflow has seen tons of progress since we kicked things off early on in 2021. We now have an internal "digital marketing group" attend each Black Propeller meeting on a monthly basis. Each call always provides us with actionable items for each project, along with expectations to ensure deadlines are met. All in all, the communication flows well and it helps drive results at the end of the day, month and year.

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

The Black Propeller team impresses me because teach member on the team brings the (3) three A's. Black Propeller's.... Attitude is always positive. Adaptable when plans change Aptitude of service

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

Every meeting focuses on how to improve and bring bigger results!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Hectic, an educational company and freelancer tools provider. We create productivity tools for freelancers, which help them with project management, proposal and contract writing, invoices and online payments, time tracking and scheduling, and client portals. We also provide free and academy-based educational resources for freelancers as well.

What challenge were you trying to address with Black Propeller?

We worked with different agencies to manage our ad campaigns over the past three years. However, they didn’t do a great job of telling our story in a meaningful way for freelancers. Thus, we wanted to find an end-to-end agency that could help us with our creative content and campaign management. Our ultimate goal was to create campaigns that were very reflective of our brand, so we wanted this agency to act as an extension of our internal team in the sense that they had a deep knowledge of our overall marketing strategy and understood our audience to ultimately increase our conversion rates.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, We provided Black Propeller with briefs and internal guidelines, including our style guidelines, brand guidelines, and ideal customer profiles. We also had a virtual meeting with their entire team to tell them more about our vision and overall strategy. The discovery process also included some asynchronous collaboration.

Since then, Black Propeller has been helping us create and manage our paid advertising campaigns. They write all the copy and develop the creative assets needed for display ads. Additionally, they give us insights and direction on different areas of improvement. For example, they let us know if they see an opportunity for us to create organic content and provide us with insight into campaign performance so that the content we’re working on is aligned with what they’re doing.

What is the team composition?

Our core team from Black Propeller includes Brendan (Account Director), Dalton (Account Manager), Delaney (Paid Social Manager), and Alexandra (Paid Media Specialist). Additionally, they have an extended team of people who join on an ad hoc basis, specifically for creative engagements.

How did you come to work with Black Propeller?

We found Black Propeller on Google while looking for boutique digital marketing agencies. We wanted to find a partner with experience with both B2B and B2C mid-market companies. Ultimately, we chose them out of the 12 agencies we interviewed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged with Black Propeller in May 2021, but we didn’t launch our efforts until June 2021. Our engagement is still ongoing.

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

Before Black Propeller took over our PPC efforts, we were averaging a 7% conversion rate on our PPC campaigns and paid channels; now, we’re averaging a 17% conversion rate on the same channels. As a result, we’ve had a 45% increase in our ad revenue directly attributable to those channels.

Additionally, thanks to Black Propeller’s increased targeting and the way they’ve built our audiences, we’ve also seen a 30% increase in our retention rates. Overall, we’ve seen a great difference in working with them versus our previous agencies. They not only focus on first-touch conversions, but they actually provide a very strong funnel conversion rate which ultimately impacts our revenue.

How did Black Propeller perform from a project management standpoint?

Black Propeller’s project management is great. Thinking about our collaboration with them, I can’t remember a single time when a deadline was missed; they usually deliver earlier than expected.

We have weekly calls for governance on project management, during which they give us updates on how projects are progressing, which are the new campaigns that we’re launching, which campaigns are working well, and which aren’t. They also give us insights into their side of the analytics, and we give them our insight as well.

They use project management tools internally, but we don’t have access to them; they always provide us with data via Google Docs or Excel spreadsheets instead. Additionally, we communicate via Gmail, Slack, and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Black Propeller’s ability to understand and align their campaigns to our overall brand objectives is impressive. They’ve been very willing to focus on full-funnel conversion, as well as on developing and creating campaigns that resonate with our audience.

Additionally, they’re probably one of the most collaborative agencies that we work with. We work with SEO and PR agencies, but Black Propeller stands out from them by being very collaborative. They are very curious and willing to understand and talk to our users, which is a unique advantage of working with them.

Furthermore, Black Propeller is very flexible, agile, and responsive. For example, when we’ve seen certain campaigns or keywords not performing well, we don’t have to wait months to solve the issues. We always collaborate quickly to figure out what might be affecting the performance of those campaigns and keep working to get the results we want.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great to have access to Black Propeller’s designers; seeing them and talking directly to them in our weekly calls would add more value to the project. However, this isn’t something that I’ve told them, and I’m sure that they would do it if I asked for it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Lean on Black Propeller as a partner and be collaborative with them; they respond very well to their clients. Making them feel like a part of your team and providing them with as much data as possible will help them do an incredible job and collaborate with you in a meaningful way.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of DirectMail.com, a direct marketing agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Black Propeller?

Our in-house team manages our SEO and PPC ads, but we wanted professional help to better handle them.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Black Propeller currently manages our SEO and PPC campaigns. For the SEO portion, they work closely with us in conducting keyword research.

What is the team composition?

We work with four people from their team, including Annie (Account Director), a graphic designer, and an SEO expert.

How did you come to work with Black Propeller?

When we interviewed them, we were very impressed with their pitch, which was led by Annie. Based on the strength of their presentation, we decided to sign a contract with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $75,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2021, and our engagement is still ongoing.

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

We’ve seen improvements in our keyword rankings and are very satisfied with their PPC efforts. Their team has managed to target the right keywords that meet our price points and feed us new leads. We’ve also expanded our daily ad spend due to their good performance.

How did Black Propeller perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been superb in this regard. They communicate really well and make sure that there’s constant dialogue between their team and ours. We interact mainly through bi-weekly video conferences and email.

They also use different kinds of project management tools, but I can’t remember the names of those tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do everything well and have been exceeding my expectations — that’s all you can ask for from a services company.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

At the moment, no — as I said, they are exceeding my expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I encourage any company that’s looking for digital marketing services to interview Black Propeller.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a flooring retailer and wholesaler business.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we set up a call during which Black Propeller walked me through the services they could offer for my business. I really liked their offer, so they immediately started to get involved in the project. From the start, they’ve been managing my Google Ads campaigns entirely, providing me with weekly reports. They also offer digital advertising services on other platforms, but I don’t need those services at the moment.

What is the team composition?

I work with two people from Black Propeller: an account director and a media specialist.

How did you come to work with Black Propeller?

When I was looking for help with my advertising, I met with a few different firms, including them. While others came to me with very generic presentations, Black Propeller took the time to research my business and provided me with a much more tailored presentation. Their presentation included research on other companies in the market and examples of how other businesses had been able to scale with their help.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent over $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

Our sales have increased by 43% since I started using Black Propeller’s services.

How did Black Propeller perform from a project management standpoint?

Black Propeller’s services are very customized and tailored. We have biweekly calls to review the project, and they constantly walk me through it. They’re also very open to feedback. Still, I trust their advice because they’ve done nothing but grow my business. In addition to our calls, we communicate via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The tailored experience I get from working with Black Propeller is impressive. They’ve done a great job studying and understanding my niche market, helping me expand my business on it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their advice.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the administrator for PR and marketing at a secondary-only school district.

What challenge were you trying to address with Black Propeller?

We were trying to raise awareness about our new school and our district as a whole. Additionally, we wanted to increase our enrollment numbers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Black Propeller helps us with PPC advertising. They primarily work on optimizing our Google Ads efforts. Additionally, the team writes ad copy and creates landing pages for us.

What is the team composition?

I've worked closely with John (CEO), Mary (Paid Search Manager), and Annie (Account Director).

How did you come to work with Black Propeller?

We did some research and came across them. We looked at multiple vendors, but we liked that Black Propeller had comprehensive services. Our team is small, so having an all-in-one solution was very helpful to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in July 2021, and it's ongoing.

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

We've been able to fill our new school very quickly. Although we did have some other advertising efforts, a significant number of leads came in through the team's PPC advertising efforts.

In terms of creativity, they do a great job of thinking outside the box. Their work is truly valuable to us.

How did Black Propeller perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is excellent. We typically communicate through phone calls. They always get back to us quickly whenever we have a question. 

In the beginning, we had weekly calls. Since our strategies are more established now, we only meet on a biweekly basis. Additionally, we have quarterly meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service is fantastic. Everyone has been extremely helpful to us, from the CEO to the people we interact with every day. They're willing to work closely with us, and they've taken some of the load off our team. We've learned a lot from them in terms of advertising.

It's been a learning process for both of us since it's their first time working with an educational partner, and we don't have any experience with PPC advertising. That said, working with them has been a great experience. Black Propeller is very helpful — they make an effort to take a good look at our strategy and see how they can best support us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don't think there's anything they could do better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don't be afraid to ask questions. That's been key to us understanding what they're doing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work as a Digital Marketing Manager in a manufacturing-based non-profit organization.

For what projects/services did your company hire Black Propeller?

We hired Black Propeller to assist us with setting up social, search, and display advertising to promote various products and services that our organization offers.

How did you select this vendor?

We vetted several vendors, and the presentation provided by Black Propeller was the most comprehensive and provided the most specific detail as it related to our organization.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Black Propeller initially began their work by auditing our existing ads and adjusting them to increase performance and reduce spend where necessary. On a bi-weekly basis we meet with Black Propeller to review existing ads and provide any new information on new campaigns that need to be built on. Black Propeller has done a great job on both fronts.

What was the team composition?

Black Propeller's team consists of various individuals that ensure our ads run smoothly - from graphic designers, to social media ad builders, to search and display ad builders, etc.

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

We have seen an increase in ad performance year over year which shows a clear success on the part of Black Propeller.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our bi-weekly meetings ensure constant communication between teams and has proven effective for both parties.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Despite being a small team, they have been able to handle our large scope of work and continue providing results.

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

I think a formal tool for input of campaign material would be beneficial.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Junk Rescue is a junk removal and dumpster rental company in South Jersey (NJ). My name is Nate and I am the VP of Sales & Marketing for Junk Rescue.

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

We were looking to hand off our Google and Bing PPC Advertising to a credible company, and after reviewing many during the process, Black Propeller had the best conversion rates and industry experience.

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

We searched for companies that had direct industry experience, knew that we weren't just looking for incoming calls but also form fills, assisted with graphic design, and all for a reasonable cost.

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

BP managed our PPC accounts and helped grow and maintain them throughout all of 2021.

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

We've had a multitude of resources help out on our account in different areas, ranging from Account Executives to Graphic Design Artists.

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

We've nearly doubled the number of leads that we were bringing in YOY while maintaining the same spend.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication is very efficient and effective. No complaints.

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

I am impressed how they're able to do such a nice job in both paid social and paid search for service based local and enterprise-level businesses.

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

At the moment, I have no complaints about the services that they provide.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager at Valet Living, a full-service family amenities provider.

What challenge were you trying to address with Black Propeller?

We needed their expertise in digital marketing.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially hired Black Propeller to take over our PPC marketing pipeline as our previous partner didn’t deliver our desired results. They quickly met our expectations, so we also decided to task them with handling our social media marketing efforts.

Black Propeller currently manages our Google campaigns and social media ads, specifically for Youtube and Facebook. As part of their support for our lead generation efforts, Black Propeller generates wide-ranging graphic ads and landing pages for our online platforms. Additionally, their team documents our ad spend and marketing statistics through Google Analytics. We’re planning to have them handle our SEO marketing pipeline soon.

What is the team composition?

We work with three resources from Black Propeller, including John (CEO), Annie (Account Director), and Mary (Paid Search Manager).

How did you come to work with Black Propeller?

Black Propeller topped the Google search list for digital marketing agencies, and I took that as a sign that they were a capable team with reputable experience. I reached out to John and immediately found them to be a good fit for us because he understood our needs — we were on the same page with everything we discussed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $20,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in March 2021, and our collaboration is ongoing.

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

Black Propeller has recently presented our quarterly review, which states that our cost per lead (CPL) went down by almost $300. We’ve acquired 101 qualified leads in a matter of five months — this is an impressive metric as we’ve already surpassed last year’s total of 74 leads. Black Propeller continues to do their part in driving lucrative results to our business, and that’s why we still rely on their services.

How did Black Propeller perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and hold regular virtual meetings. Black Propeller is a communicative team with a thorough work process — there’s really nothing for us to worry about when they’re in charge. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Black Propeller is a collaborative and responsive team. We’re confident that we’re always in good hands because we can always reach them, unlike our previous partners that lacked professional communication skills.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They hit all our targets and deliver our needs on time — there’s nothing to complain about at this point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Choose Black Propeller. They may seem too good to be true, but don’t let that stop you from hiring a proactive partner to deliver your exact needs.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of public relations and social media at Valet Living, a full-service amenities provider in the multifamily housing industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with Black Propeller?

We needed their team’s help in lead generation.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve initially engaged Black Propeller to handle our Google Ads efforts. They manage our ad spend by allocating it to different campaigns, so we can strategically capture more leads. Recently, we've tasked them with handling our social media and PPC ads to help us acquire additional avenues for lead generation and recruitment.

What is the team composition?

We work with a team comprised of 4–6 resources, including an account director and a social media manager.

How did you come to work with Black Propeller?

We weren’t pleased with the results we were getting with a previous agency, so we searched for similar service providers online. Black Propellerwas one of the ten teams we shortlisted, and we decided to onboard them because of their reputable profile.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $25,000–$30,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our ongoing engagement with Black Propeller in April 2021.

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

We’ve only worked with Black Propeller for a few months, but they’ve already driven substantial upticks in our business. Their team lowered cost per lead (CPL) by 30%, doubled our conversion rate, and escalate our total qualified leads. Overall, we’re pleased with the lucrative results they’ve been delivering.

How did Black Propeller perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate via email and Google Meet. Black Propeller is a highly collaborative partner. They go above and beyond to address our needs and make it a point to secure our approval before implementing anything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Black Propeller is a communicative team that’s keen on delivering data-driven results. They have an inquisitive and goal-oriented approach, which unfailingly helps them meet our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing they can improve. We’re pleased to be working with such a reliable and responsive team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust Black Propeller’s team to meet your needs with their dependable skill set. You’ll only need to define your goals clearly if you want to make the most of your engagement.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a technology support company. We support organizations who are looking for assistance with cloud migration, modern workplace, cloud optimization and security, data & insights, managed services, and more.

For what projects/services did your company hire Black Propeller?

Due to the size of our team, we are not able to appropriately give enough time and attention to manage our own digital campaign strategy at the campaign level. We have been looking to expand out brand awareness in the marketplace, but also increase our flow of qualified leads into the pipeline.

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

We decided on this vendor because of their solutions they offered. Black Propeller had some stellar expertise in the areas of PPC, keyword analysis, competitive analysis, and campaign management - which is what we were looking for.

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

Since beginning with Black Propeller, they have managed our PPC campaign strategy. It began with a deep dive into our goals and offerings and then came the planning stage where they offered their keyword recommendations before pushing the campaign live. From that point on, we meet on a regular basis and then make adjustments and increase the number of campaigns since then.

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

We had an account management team that has been meeting with us on a regular basis. There is also a design team that helps with landing page development when needed.

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

Since beginning our campaigns with Black Propeller, we have definitely seen an increase in our lead flow and steadily as campaigns progress we have seen a cost per lead go down as the campaigns become more optimized.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow is excellent. At the meeting we met on a weekly basis to get things off the ground and make sure both parties are happy with how campaigns are progressing. Then we have eased back and meet every two weeks with a quarterly review every quarter. But we also communicate effectively through email in between those meetings as needed. BP also created a dashboard for us to live track our campaign outcomes between our meetings.

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

Their ability to take the project and run with it.They're a team that could manage our projects so we can spend time on operational matters. 

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

I can't think of anything right now.