Bonsai Media Group

Please describe your company and your position there.

Northwest Laborers Training, based in Kingston, WA provides apprenticeship training serving the commercial construction sector. I am the marketing analyst for the training center and guide our efforts to promote apprenticeship and our program.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bonsai Media Group?

Apprenticeship programs are not widely known or understood within the United States for a number of reasons and we realized the most efficient solution to promote our message and our training program was to bolster our online presence. We needed to find a savvy partner who could help us accomplish our goals.

What were your goals for this project?

This effort entailed a new web strategy and design, SEO and online advertising. Our goal is to sustain and strengthen our online presence.

How did you select this vendor?

We found Bonsai Media Group through a respected referral with whom we had worked with in the past. The referral had done excellent work for us and their recommendation to team with Bonsai Media was held in reverence.

Describe the project in detail.

The first phase of our work began in August of 2019 with Bonsai Media’s effort to learn about us and the Northwest Laborers Training organization. Bonsai wanted to know how we operate, how we do business and our short and long term goals. Along with our requirements, Bonsai Media submitted a proposal to revamp our existing site. That effort began in earnest and we were up and running within two months. Following the launch of the new website, Bonsai began work to design our online advertising strategy and campaigns. Simultaneously, Bonsai Media began the work on our long-term SEO efforts. As of today, our work with Bonsai Media continues with our on-line and social media ads and on going SEO.

What was the team composition?

Our team is comprised of four individuals with two from Bonsai Media and two from our end. It’s a close-knit team that has gelled well.

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

We are very please with the result of the web redesign. The look and feel is much improved and the ability to navigate the course descriptions and class schedules is now accomplished with one or two clicks rather than scrolling through pages of info. We continue to improve our rankings across all channels, including users, organic traffic and sessions, CTR, goal completions, goal conversions, links and ranking of keywords. The site architecture redesign is directly attributable to ranking improvements and to rank for more specific keywords.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our team workflow has been highly effective. Bonsai Media regularly schedules meetings and, of course, if we have questions or need info, we can call or email them at anytime.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Bonsai Media is a class act. They are consummate professionals and go above and beyond to ensure their services are first-rate. They are experienced and have access to resources to tackle any challenge. It’s a pleasure to have Bonsai Media on our team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Bonsai Media has been on our team for nine months and at this point in time, I can't think of anything that really needs improvement.

Please describe your company and your position there.

PrimeLine Utility Services is a leading provider of construction, maintenance and design solutions for the electric, gas and telecommunication industries. Our customers range from municipalities and cooperatives to large investor-owned utilities, telecommunication companies, and commercial and industrial firms.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bonsai Media Group?

Website development

What were your goals for this project?

Bonsai led the creative, technical and ongoing support of our customer facing website.

How did you select this vendor?

Peer references

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Bonsai led the creative, technical and ongoing support of our customer facing website.

What was the team composition?

Project manager, creative lead and developer

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The end product conveyed PrimeLine's image and provided the content/capability we wanted to share with our current and prospective customers.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had both formal weekly project update calls and Bonsai was always available for ad-hoc questions and feedback throughout the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Bonsai Media Group has been a great partner from both a technical and creative perspective. I can count on them to delivery on-time, on-schedule which is exactly what we had hoped from. From a support perspective, they have always been quick to respond and very professional in their support of our business. I could not be more pleased.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

Please describe your company and your position there.

Seattle's Union Gospel Mission is a passionate community of people who follow Christ in his relentless, redeeming love for all people. Our mission is to serve, rescue, and transform those in greatest need through the grace of Jesus Christ. I am the Digital Marketing Manager and I am responsible for the entire online footprint of the organization.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bonsai Media Group?

Our website was over 10 years old and on a clunky platform with limited abilities to customize and update. Bonsai listened to what we said was important to us and they presented a website that met all of our needs and even anticipated future needs.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to accurately communicate the heart of the Mission and the powerful stories of life-transformation that we get to see every day.

How did you select this vendor?

We sent out an RFP to multiple vendors and assessed things like time, cost, expertise in the area, market reputation, and understanding of who we are as an organization.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed mock up versions of each template involved and consulted with us on the thoughts and strategies behind every detail. We wanted a place that would make the changed lives of those walking out of homelessness and addiction easily available.

What was the team composition?

We worked with our project manager directly with consults occasionally directly from Jason, the owner of Bonsai Media Group.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The anecdotal feedback alone has been huge. Everyone from staff, volunteers, donors, to those in need have made numerous comments about the ease of our website. And that's in addition to our increased conversion rates and average site visit time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We set up a service level agreement with Bonsai to clarify expectations for communications right away. That included roles on both sides, who to include in emails and when, and an outline of our ongoing maintenance contract. We utilize video conferencing calls every other week for a check in, email for all account management communication, and teamwork for all tasks.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They can understand our needs and desires for our web presence sometimes before we even know what we want. They have also gone above and beyond as a vendor to get to know us as a client and our programs by spending time volunteering with us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is very little I would ask for them to improve upon. Some of their developers are working in different time zones, which can be difficult during business hours when we want to move things forward. But has been exponentially beneficial when things have gone awry on weekends or late in the evening.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Kramer Leather. We’re a custom gun holster manufacturer with customers ranging from government agencies and police departments to everyday gun enthusiasts.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bonsai Media Group?

We had a mandatory performance upgrade that our previous vendor couldn’t comply with. We needed to find a company that could accomplish an entire website rebuild in a very short amount of time. They’ve also helped us with digital marketing.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They began by building the website. We were looking for an end product that members of our team could update on the backend without it being too complicated because not everyone is tech-savvy. Desiring a user-friendly interface, they recommended using the Shopify platform. Once that was settled, they built out and launched the site for us in approximately one month.

After the site was live, we continued to work with them on some online marketing, which was fairly new to us as we were familiar with print ads. We launched several PPC campaigns and have worked on our social media promotion. In a short few months, we’ve noticed a steady increase in sales.

What is the team composition?

We had a team with a designated manager for the site redesign, as well as a small team with a representative who helps us with digital marketing.​

​​​​​​How did you come to work with Bonsai Media Group?

They were the first company I came across when I searched for local companies online. We also reached out to several other vendors, but it was clear from our initial phone call that they were a good fit and would make good partners for us. They understood the urgency of our initial project and made us feel confident that they could get it done.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $30,000–$35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2018 and they continue to work with us on marketing.

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

Our old site was outdated and limiting our growth. Just being mobile friendly has had a significant impact on our business because customers are able to clearly view the website. Our numbers have steadily increased, and we’re seeing that the majority of our business traffic is coming via mobile devices.

Not only is the layout more user-friendly, but also more attractive and offers a better experience for customers. We’ve received a lot of comments from users about how much they appreciate the new look and feel. We continue to see steady increases in contacts and sales, and it’s all due to the work of Bonsai Media Group.

How did Bonsai Media Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate up to three or four times per week by email in order to resolve any questions or requests. They’re very responsive, even replying late at night or on weekends. The team does a great job of explaining technical processes for people like me who aren’t familiar with how to manage the more complex components of a website, and have gone out of their way to send video tutorials so I could confidently train myself.

For marketing, we have video conferences once a month with an easy to understand breakdown of analytics.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The majority of their staff is young and up to date on the newest technologies in regard to web design and marketing. The members of Bonsai Media Group’s team work well together, and their communication skills are excellent.

Beyond that, they’re incredibly welcoming and invested in us. We even had a team member drop by on Christmas Eve to deliver a gift from their entire team. They clearly care about each individual client and are eager to help us find success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m sure every company can improve on something, but everything they did for us was great and the pricing was fair.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them a try! They have the expertise to help, and that was made clear from looking at their previous work. Everything that we’ve experienced with them has been hassle-free and yielded great results.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We’re a multi-property company with five locations. I’m the director of IT systems for the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bonsai Media Group?

We needed the migration of domains from another firm using the Embraco platform to Azure, and to retain Bonsai Media.

What were your goals for this project?

To achieve seamless migration from Embraco to Azure platforms for one of our primary domains. We wanted to avoid any downtime.

How did you select this vendor?

Our due diligence made us aware that they have a successful track record in web migrations, with a high level of expertize and professionalism.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They moved the site from its existing provider to be hosted on Azure. After that, they addressed any issues that arose as a direct result of the transition.

What was the team composition?

There were five members from Bonsai Media—a coordinator, one main sales contact, and some technical experts. On our side, there were three members from our IT team.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

There was no downtime involved which was our primary goal, while several last-minute changes on our end were handled in an efficient and timely manner.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The Bonsai group we worked with were extremely well organized and talented. From start to finish, their team coordinated all of the steps and tasks needed, and delivered on time and within the budget. They were a delight to work with.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They took control of the project immediately, setting up all the required conferences and meetings, which resulted in little work on our side.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can see. I’m impressed with this firm and their talented staff, so we’ll definitely be working with them on future projects.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of a national environmental firm. We deal with drilling and groundwater remediation.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bonsai Media Group?

We wanted to address our internet presence, including SEO and social media reach.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bonsai refreshed our website to match the scope of our business. The main priority revolved around simplicity and ease-of-use. We place content on the CMS platform, but occasionally we outsource some of the work to their team.

Their team services all of our internet media. They perform monthly reviews of our web analytics, and we’ve optimized our SEO and social media campaigns around those results. Bonsai also assisted us with rebranding around 16 acquired companies and have consolidated them into a single brand.

Bonsai continues to provide web maintenance and reviewing our SEO metrics. Sometimes we seek their assistance when running specific campaigns.

What is the team composition?

My marketing team has worked with several project managers. My primary contact is Jason (CEO, Bonsai Media Group).

How did you come to work with Bonsai Media Group?

I had worked with Bonsai before working here and recommended that they interview them as a potential vendor for the website. Bonsai was selected for a variety of reasons, and they’ve been working with the firm ever since.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Bonsai in July 2015, and the work is ongoing.

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

Before working with Bonsai, we didn’t have SEO, and our search engine rankings were poor. We achieved all our goals. The firm is in the top one to three of different areas that we’ve optimized our rankings around. We’ve generated a significant number of website quotes.

There’s been a noticeable improvement in reach. We have a tool on our site where the public can report safety issues, and there’s been a substantial improvement in company safety. Bonsai has helped us become who we are today.

How did Bonsai Media Group perform from a project management standpoint?

It varies as we’ve worked with different project managers. When challenges arose, their team resolved them. Bonsai is a responsive agency that takes pride in what they do. This pride reflects in the work they produced.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bonsai’s willingness to learn our business and understand our goals and then pivot that understanding to developing our vision for us stands out. It is not a cookie cutter approach, but more of a partnership. Their team doesn’t need support from ours, which is a testament to their talent. They want to be partners, not only a vendor.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If you asked me this two years ago, I would’ve commented on their communication. Their team has gotten better at pacing regular contact. Bonsai could transfer more knowledge on what the analytics mean and how they can improve to our team.

Any advice for potential customers?

When working with Bonsai, I would suggest looking over a communication schedule, which would be useful for both teams. If your company is looking to expand their internal team, they are a fantastic partner. But if you aren’t looking for that, you’d want to see how they will fit with your company.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner and CMO of Apex Facility Resources. We're a commercial services and furnishing company that helps customers manage the total life cycle of their workspace.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bonsai Media Group?

We wanted to update and refresh our website. We began working with another company but we were not satisfied, so we started looking for a new vendor.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we met with Jason and discussed the design for our website. The online industry is changing very quickly, so we wanted to have a design that would be relevant for at least a couple of years. Then, they learnt about our company, our target audience, and what we were trying to achieve. They transformed our old website and developed an interactive hero for the homepage. The interactive hero provides users with a quick and engaging way to understand our main services.

What is the team composition?

I mostly work with Jason (CEO, Bonsai Media Group).

How did you come to work with Bonsai Media Group?

We knew Jason through networking.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

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

The website is attractive and user-friendly. It helps us better communicate our key messages, while the interactive hero has increased the amount of time users spend on the homepage.

It's a been a very productive engagement and we have a sense of working towards a common goal. They also have a very positive relationship with our marketing team.

How did Bonsai Media Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They have very strong communication skills. Also, they're very responsive and flexible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a workspace design and delivery service, we're always trying to understand what our customers want. Bonsai Media was able to understand our business goals and become part of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Anytime we get out of communication with them, we get back on track very quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're very knowledgeable, so let them educate you. I learnt so much during our meetings with Jason.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CIO and CTO of Primeline Utility Services. We specialize in utility construction services. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Bonsai Media Group?

Our company is only about four years old. When we were first starting, we engaged Bonsai Media Group to help us develop our website and all elements of our brand.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We relied on Bonsai Media Group to develop our website, our digital properties, and the print collateral that we bring to trade shows and conferences. Their team produced those deliverables for our corporate office and our seven subsidiaries. Once our website was live, Bonsai Media Group properly optimized it so that we ranked highly in online searches.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked closely with Jason (Co-founder/CEO, Bonsai Media Group) and Maria (Creative Director, Bonsai Media Group). Maria has served as our overall account manager, but she initially also coordinated the development and creative work. She now oversees a team of developers.

How did you come to work with Bonsai Media Group?

In my search, Bonsai Media Group was mentioned several times by several people in my network. My vendor selection traditionally comes down to trust in the partnership. We’re headquartered in Seattle, so there are a lot of companies that offer similar services. Bonsai Media Group won my business when Jason and his team spent 6–8 hours in several meetings to understand our industry before we even talked about a brand and a website. They entrenched themselves in our business. We had four different agencies vying for the project, but none of them did the extra work to truly understand our operation.

How much have you invested with them?

When considering the work they’ve completed for us and all of our subsidiaries, it’s totaled around $130,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The website and collateral development project spanned June 2015–December 2016. However, they provide occasional maintenance services for our site. We will also engage them to make the required changes when we make an acquisition or when something drastic changes about our business or our service offerings.

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

Not only did they help us develop our brand and our messaging, but their SEO work has also helped us become more visible on a national scale. Bonsai Media Group excelled in building our website and our brand and making sure that our services are recognized.

How did Bonsai Media Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They were outstanding in this regard, and they proved it early on. Bonsai Media Group submitted a proposal that detailed their daily and weekly project plans. They walked us through the life cycle of their development—from concept to design to engineering to QA to customer’s approval.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team takes the time up front to understand your industry regardless of the project size. Further, with how often developers in Seattle move jobs, Bonsai Media Group operates in a way that makes it easy for new developers to enter and quickly pick up the project. This ensures that nothing falls through the cracks and there are no surprises at the end.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve been great. I have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Bonsai Media Group is capable of delivering on all expectations, but they are also well-equipped to recommend and provide ancillary services that can further help your business. I’d suggest giving their ideas honest consideration.

Please describe your organization.

We are a quick service restaurant chain in the Pacific Northwest. 

What is your role at the company?

I am the marketing manager.

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address with Bonsai Media Group?

To create an engaging web platform for a brand-centric, social media-rooted consumer contest. We wanted to increase sales and guest counts, educate consumers on brand values, engage in the social media space, and increase fan and follower counts on relevant brand social media channels.

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Bonsai created a website that proved to be the heart of our Fan Challenge social media contest. The site featured user credentials, custom accounts, and social sharing in addition to being the home of challenges themselves – five levels of centric challenges that allowed users to gain points upon challenge completions. The site also featured a leaderboard for contestants to gauge their standing regularly in relation to other participants.

How did you come to work with Bonsai Media Group?

Bonsai was selected by our social media partner. 

When was the project completed?

It ended in November 2012.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We got great results from the work they did for us. It was a very positive engagement. Our social media growth was 12 percent Facebook fan growth, 20 percent Foursquare growth, and 6 percent Twitter growth. Our restaurant website growth had an 8 percent increase in traffic for the same period month prior. The average time onsite had a 13 percent increase in time on page for the same period month prior. The traveler landing page saw a 120 percent increase in traffic in the same period month prior and a 99 percent increase in time spent on page in the same period month prior. Our Health Coach saw a 647 percent increase in traffic for the same period month prior and a 59 percent increase in time spent on page during the same period month prior. The app saw a 49 percent increase in traffic during the same period month prior and an 8 percent decrease in time spent on page for the same period month prior.

How did Bonsai Media Group perform?

I appreciated Bonsai Media Group's organization and workflow. They met all expectations for the project. They were also very communicative.

Are there areas in which they could improve?

I can't think of any.

Please describe your organization.

I work for a child health system.

What business challenge were you trying to address with the Bonsai Media Group?

We needed to build out a whole new website for our initiative.

Please describe the scope of Bonsai's involvement in detail.

We had a new idea to help child health systems reform health care. We're asking those systems to think more about prevention care as opposed to chronic care models. Because both the concept and the project were so new, we needed Bonsai Media Group for their web design services, but they also provided a lot of guidance to help us actually understand the process of creating a website. Even though none of us are really tech-focused and none of us have designed websites before, we had plenty of great ideas as to what we wanted the website to be about. There was a real need for someone not just to build a website, but really to help build out our vision and think collaboratively with us.

How did you come to work with the Bonsai Media Group?

We found them through a recommendation from another developer with whom I had worked on another project. However, we did go through a full and open bid process where we sent out request for proposals to about 15 different firms.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this project in financial terms?

We have a tight budget, and we're capped at $100,000 for the total project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Bonsai in February of this year, and we're still currently working with them.

Could you share any statistics, metrics, or other feedback from this project?

We just officially launched the website today [September 2015], and we're very pleased with it. We're already receiving quite a bit of positive feedback from people who are part of our community. As far as the process of developing the site was concerned, however, that's been less than pleasurable. In fact, we wound up having to spend money to hire a third party to manage the Bonsai Media Group.

It's been a very difficult process for our team. We found ourselves in a position where we just could not work directly with our developer. It was just not a very positive experience. That third party that we wound up hiring was actually the individual who brought the Bonsai Media Group to us.

Is there anything Bonsai Media Group could have improved or done differently?

The person we were working with from Bonsai is probably a very talented developer; however, he should never be the one to interact with customers. He's simply not very good at handling customer relations at all. In fact, he tends to use language that is threatening in nature and quite counter-productive.

We were at a point where we felt like we just wanted to get the project over with. We definitely didn't want to pull out, but we certainly couldn't continue to have what was becoming a continuing confrontation between Bonsai's developer and just about every one of our staff members. We brought in this other developer, who had really been counseling us behind the scenes every time one of these issues would blow up with Bonsai. I guess he was trying to work behind the scenes with Bonsai's developer, even to the point of coaching him, but the situation was untenable for us. We wound up putting our new developer on retainer to be the go-between and deal with Bonsai.