Clever Digital Marketing

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm one of the three owners of a social media marketing and creative design agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clever Digital Marketing?

We partnered with Clever Digital Marketing on a few of our customer accounts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For this partnership, Clever Digital Marketing takes over Facebook, Instagram, and Google paid ad marketing initiatives for several of our customers. We use them as an additional tool, which allows us to elevate the results and performance of our campaigns. 

We always have introductory calls with new customers, and Clever Digital Marketing asks relevant questions to ensure the partnership is efficient. We don't have to waste much time explaining and clarifying the project like we usually have to do with other organizations. 

What is the team composition?

I work closely with Daniel (Co-Founder & Head of Business Development), Peter (Co-Founder & Head of Operations), and Nicole (Head Media Buyer).

How did you come to work with Clever Digital Marketing?

We connected with Clever Digital Marketing through one of our customers; that customer was the first account we collaborated with Clever Digital Marketing on. We had such a good experience on the first collaboration that we continued working together. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $100,000–$150,000 CAD (approximately $78,000–$117,000 USD) with Clever Digital Marketing. However, we're not directly paying them because we're collaborating with them on customer projects. Since we share customers, a lot of those payments come directly from our customers. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing collaboration with Clever Digital Marketing began in March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Across the board, we've seen monthly ad position increases for key terms, ad spend ROI, business conversions, and site traffic. Clever Digital Marketing knows exactly how they're adding value to our company because they know what questions to ask. Clever Digital Marketing is a well-rounded team — they essentially read our minds and come up with the content that aligns perfectly with the brands we manage. The smooth transition Clever Digital Marketing facilitated at the beginning of the partnership set us up for the smooth and effective partnership we have now.

How did Clever Digital Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

I'd give Clever Digital Marketing's project management a 9 out of 10. We collaborate with Clever Digital Marketing and our customers through Slack and email; we also communicate very efficiently through daily WhatsApp messages. We also have a lot of Zoom and phone calls. Nicole has taken part in our onboarding calls, which has made for very effective transitions. Their team is incredible. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Clever Digital Marketing delivers results, and we have a positive ROI, but our relationship with them is more important to me. Their attention to customer service and communication with our customers is great. It's clear that they have the right systems and protocols in place to ensure we have a great experience with them. Their team is excellent at communicating with us and very organized. Their hands-on team is an absolute pleasure to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Clever Digital Marketing can definitely improve on their reporting structure. Their efforts always yield positive results, but it is occasionally a struggle to see and understand the results. It would be nice to have reports that visualize the results that we can share with customers and discuss internally. That is the only missing link in this partnership. Their communication is strong, and it only makes sense that they'd be able to communicate results even better through a proper reporting system. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Customers should be transparent and ensure they communicate what their goals are. It's also important to be transparent about budgets; the more budgetary allocation, the better the potential results are.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and owner of a chain of sports nutrition stores.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clever Digital Marketing?

We were trying to increase our online sales and exposure, as well as introduce our brand to new customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clever optimizes our website and creates content for us. We provided trademark, color, and content theme guidelines for them to stay within. They also advertise on Facebook and Instagram.

What is the team composition?

We mostly work with Daniel (Founder) and Peter (Founder). Daniel is our main point of contact, and Peter heads up the technical side of the work.

How did you come to work with Clever Digital Marketing?

They were referred to us by the owner of another sports nutrition company who’d had success with Clever’s team. We interviewed them and liked what we heard, so we decided to give them a shot.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $400,000 CAD (approximately $312,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The sales we’ve generated digitally are comprised of Clever’s work on Facebook, Instagram, and our website, as well as our other vendor’s work on Google. The last two years have been very interesting with lockdown and the ups and downs of COVID, so we came to e-commerce as a necessity. The website has saved our business, so we’re very happy with Clever. Their ROAS is strong — better than that of other companies offering the same services.

How did Clever Digital Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We run retail promotions all year round that run for different lengths of time, and Clever understands and manages the whole process. At this point, they can run this program without as, working on their own. They’re very low-maintenance partners and strong communicators.

We communicate over WhatsApp and use both Microsoft Teams and Google.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The owners are very passionate and involved in the strategy, setup, and monitoring of our advertising campaigns. They also stay in the loop on the results. Other agencies I’ve worked with have employees that are less aligned and don’t see the entire picture of what we’re doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The industry has faced a number of new challenges with Apple’s introduction of iOS 15, so I would like to see better communication as they learn to navigate that operating system. The reporting numbers went all over the place — it would show as an automatic open if someone chose to stay private on their device, meaning our campaigns seemed to be performing better than they actually were. Every agency had to figure this out, but this is the only point I can mention.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s hard to tell with some agencies whether they’re a big firm or just working out of someone’s basement. I want to save other business owners the uncertainty by saying that Clever is trustworthy, proven, and passionate. We’re dealing with the owners, and they’ve gotten our chain — a national chain — exceptional results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a mid-sized Retail business. We sell health products to the general public.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Clever Digital Marketing?

Our company hired Clever Digital Marketing to help us with our Online and Social Media Marketing.

SOLUTION

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

After searching online and interviewing several candidate companies, we chose Clever Digital Marketing because of their professionalism, expertise and effective marketing results.

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

They worked with our business and determined the best fit and marketing strategy that worked for our industry and specific business needs.

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

We worked directly with their CEO.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With their marketing strategies and expertise, we are able to track and quantify the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns and if necessary change them up on the fly. Great Success!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Fantastic Workflow! Worked well together even with a 3hr time zone difference.

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

We like their ability to create and execute a campaign based on our specific individual and industry needs.

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

No.