Digital Mountaineers, LLC.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our organization is a nonprofit, and I'm the VP of Marketing.

For what projects/services did your company hire Digital Mountaineers, LLC., and what were your goals?

Our website was very old and not very user friendly. We hired Digital Mountaineers to update our website, make it more inviting for our various stakeholders to utilize and find information, and upgrade the site so we would be https compliant so that we would qualify for Google Adwords and grants

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

As a nonprofit that is also part of a network, we had certain requirements that we needed to incorporate into our site. Digital Mountaineers took a look at those requirements and worked with us to come up with a design and configuration that met our needs, our budget and our timeline.

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

The scope of work included reviewing our current site and new site requirements, upgrading some technologies, integrating the new site with existing network technologies, making sure that we met or beat the date when our old platform would have gone dark, and training key personnel on the new site.

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

Key people included Jordan, Digital Mountaineers founder/CEO and 2 key website developers.

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

Since the site relaunch, we have received very positive feedback that the site is much more engaging for our stakeholders, information is much easier to locate, and we are not able to access and use Google Adwords to increase the visibility of our organization. From an owner perspective, it is infinitely easier to add/update information on the site and keep content current for internal and external audiences.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We met virtually with the Digital Mountaineer team weekly or bi-weekly during the early part of the project, and any in-between communications were always quickly followed up on.

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

What I found most impressive about Digital Mountaineers is their commitment to non-profit organizations. It is built into their DNA. We are a non-profit, and cost containment & mitigation are always a part of the equation. The Digital Mountaineer team always looked for, suggested or partnered with us to maintain the best outcome while keeping costs down.

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

No, as I was looking for firms to bid on this work, Digital Mountaineers kept popping within the top 3 of my list, and they have been a joy and a pleasure to work with. They have exceeded my expectations with respect to their digital and website expertise, project management and engagement and working with nonprofits. I highly recommend them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of My Workout Builder, a recently launched fitness application.

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital Mountaineers, LLC.?

We needed to get the word out about our new fitness platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We set up a marketing plan with Digital Mountaineers, LLC., and we still rely on it to this day. We originally hired them to work on our product advertisements for six months, but since the app wasn’t fully developed at that time, we had to extend the project. 

Their team ended up doing more marketing work for us, handling keywords and writing our product description in the App Store. Additionally, they conducted thorough research to determine our competitors in the market and get ideas on how our product could stand out.

We’ve extended the engagement for three more months, and that’s when Digital Mountaineers, LLC. has started producing our ads. They’ve recently suggested that we increase our ad spend, so we can maximize our marketing and produce optimized ads for Facebook and Instagram. We’re now planning to have them create more product ads for Google.

What is the team composition?

We work with Jordan (Founder & CEO), Jennifer (Digital Marketing Director), and Natalie (Digital Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Digital Mountaineers, LLC.?

Our app developer recommended Digital Mountaineers, LLC.’s team to use. We then met with their team, and they quickly devised a plan and gave us a quote.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $8,000 so far, and we’re about to pay them $2,000 more for their upcoming services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

Our main metric is the total number of app users, and we’ve been getting a reasonable rate of that so far. Digital Mountaineers, LLC. really makes it a point to help us earn back our ad expenses through our premium users within the span of two months.

How did Digital Mountaineers, LLC. perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate through calls, emails, and Google Meet. Digital Mountaineers, LLC. performs impressively in terms of project management. We’ve had a lot of timeline issues due to the several changes that needed to be made, but their team still manages to figure out how to make things progress diligently. Jennifer is especially remarkable in terms of communication — she goes out of her way to relay all the necessary information and modifications to our app developer.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Digital Mountaineers, LLC. makes a lot of effort to ensure that we maximize our ad spend. I appreciate their thorough marketing process — they don’t create our ads, but they focus on bringing in more users to help us make the most of our investment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything that they could have done better or differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Digital Mountaineers, LLC. is the right team to hire if you’re a startup wanting to make the most of your budget. They really work hard to make sure that they give you the best results.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a camp.

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital Mountaineers, LLC?

We hired Digital Mountaineers, LLC to promote a new tubing hill since we haven’t been able to run in our usual time.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pretty much starting from scratch, they developed a website for us really quickly. Digital Mountaineers, LLC conducted email blasts and completed logos, banners, brochures, and branding guides. Their marketing work included ads for Facebook and Airbnb, influencer marketing, and developed a local strategic digital plan. They had insider information and started building partnerships with many local businesses and organizations to promote what we were doing.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Jordan (CEO), Natalie (Digital Project Manager), and Jennifer (Digital Marketing Director).

How did you come to work with Digital Mountaineers, LLC?

Because they’re local, we had a connection with Jordan in the past. We’ve used his skills and marketing ideas before. When we heard he was working with Digital Mountaineers, LLC, we for sure wanted to use them.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $12,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October–December 2020.

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

The ending products they came up with were fantastic; I was really impressed. We did end up canceling that program, but we’re pretty happy with what digital mountaineers did for us and we will definitely use them again in the future.

How did Digital Mountaineers, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

Everyone we worked with was very responsive. We were in constant communication with them through email and Jordan came in for several meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because we were starting from scratch, we were changing things up a lot and they were really good about rolling with the punches. As they were developing, they were really flexible. I think we made their lives really difficult, but they didn’t make us aware of that at all.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have open and constant communication with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of DADEN LLC. We provide full-service software development for our small, medium, startup, and enterprise customers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital Mountaineers, LLC.?

We were going through a rebrand and wanted to create a new look and feel for our company’s homepage.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digital Mountaineers, LLC. provided web design services. First, they dove deep into our organization, our core values, and what we have to offer. We gave them autonomous reign in absorbing our brand identity and coming up with mockups that encapsulate our story. 

They delivered two drafts before completing the fully designed homepage with an industry-standard layout. They included sections that talk about our customer’s experiences, what makes us unique, and our value proposition.

What is the team composition?

I worked with three members of the Digital Mountaineers, LLC. team.

How did you come to work with Digital Mountaineers, LLC.?

We received a referral for Digital Mountaineers, LLC.. They were honest and transparent from the get-go and had a fair price so we decided to partner with them. They also seemed eager and willing to get to know both us and our brand, which made us comfortable early on in the process. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $4,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Digital Mountaineers, LLC. ran from September–November 2020.

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

Digital Mountaineers, LLC. met and exceeded professional expectations for this project. We have seen an increase in web traffic and in the number of time users spend on our site. We’ve also seen increased brand exposure and a decreased bounce rate. Additionally, we’ve gained some new strategic partnerships from this venture.

Customers are satisfied with the website and identify with our brand story. In fact, folks are always saying how great our website is. As a heavily referral-based business, our website is the core of our brand and having this website is a cornerstone for our sales prospecting efforts.

How did Digital Mountaineers, LLC. perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team delivered everything on time.  We definitely challenged them with a fast-paced timeline and they inherited the mess of others, but they took it all in stride.

Digital Mountaineers, LLC. excels at communication. I woke up every day to some type of update. Jordan (Founder) was available on all of our calls as needed. They were always on top of it and had good project management software in place to manage our expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Digital Mountaineers, LLC. became an extension of our own team. A lot of digital marketing consultants focus only on the end results, but they really spent time understanding our business. That will definitely lead to us doing future engagements with them. 

We also appreciated that they took the time to get to knew us before we even signed the contract, which says a lot about our shared values. They also were very successful at absorbing our brand and putting that knowledge into the deliverables. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they nailed it. I couldn’t ask for a better outcome.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust the process. Digital Mountaineers, LLC. has a process in place for all of their clients. Originally, we were nervous about using someone else’s process, but it worked out in our favor. Trust them and absorb them into your team and you’ll get much better results

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP and general manager of Snow Valley Resort. We’re located within the Southern California market.

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital Mountaineers?

We had been working with an out-of-state firm but the response time and project speed suffered because of the time difference. After realizing we needed a more local team, we hired Digital Mountaineers to rebuild our site.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digital Mountaineers designed and developed our site. They ensured the new platform aligned with federal ADA regulations. Their team helped copywrite content for the site and edited everything before it was updated.

After being pleased with their work on our website, we hired them as our digital advertising agency. They manage our GoogleAds account and run major advertising campaigns for us. Their team handles our Facebook page, create content, and boost posts for us on the site. Along with executing the advertising efforts, they create schedules for our posts and deliver reports on our ROI.

What is the team composition?

Jordan (Founder & CEO, Digital Mountaineers) has been our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Digital Mountaineers?

I had known Jordan through our connection on the board for the local Chamber of Commerce, so we included his agency in our bidding process. We considered multiple other firms, but we were most comfortable with Digital Mountaineers’ proposal.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $80,000 so far on the website, digital advertising, and monthly service fees. We’re projected to spend another $50,000–$60,000 by the end of the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The website development ran from September–November 2018, but we have their services on a monthly retainer.

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

Our management and leadership teams are thrilled with the website design. Customers have reported their satisfaction with the easy navigation and clean look of the platform.

Thanks to Digital Mountaineer’s digital advertising support, we’re at an all-time high for online sales and site visits. We’ve seen a significant conversion rate—our sales are higher within two months than they’ve been any other year.

How did Digital Mountaineers perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been fantastic at managing the project. They understand my needs and do everything they can to keep me on track when necessary. With other firms we’ve worked with, there were scheduling and communication issues, so having a team that worked well with us was a priority.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness throughout the project was valuable to us. If we reached out with an issue, even early in the morning, they’d respond within minutes and find a solution. For example, there was a problem on our website that wouldn’t allow users to view the daily snow report, but Digital Mountaineers were aware of it and fixed it before it became an issue.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although we’re both busy, it would be nice to have more face-to-face meetings with their team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Read their proposal carefully and ask the right questions. If both teams have a strong understanding of the project and each other’s process, the collaboration will go smoothly. Explain your goals and needs as much as you can.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a non-profit disruptor changing the current capitalistic method of land ownership and tenure. We provide access to farmland for next-generation farmers.

For what projects/services did your company hire Digital Mountaineers, LLC.?

Our web site had been managed by different staff members since 2016 and contained hundreds of pages, and over 700 blog posts. Our message was getting lost and we needed to reorganize the site and hone in on our messaging throughout our divisions.

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

This vendor was recommended to us as part of our program. We heavily emphasize our work on land and food justice as well as racial equity. We very much appreciated the minority-owned aspects of this relationship.

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

Digital Mountaineers held our hand as we have a large team with diverse opinions. There were many meetings over months before we had the design we were looking for. DM was patient, accomodating, and helped us to understand technical aspects that were necessary.

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

Jordan Z., owner, Jennifer J., Digital Marketing Director, Drix M., Developer and George Cesar A., Senior Graphic Designer

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

When our web site launched, we had an immediate uptick in donations and subscriptions, and continue to benefit from streamlined data transfers that quickly indicate our reach.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

DM arranged weekly meetings and maintained the schedule, meeting more often if necessary, and kept in touch by email in between meetings. Priorities on both sides were shifted as necessary with some late nights and long days as everybody worked towards the same goal.

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

Digital Mountaineers not only supports cause-driven organizations; they themselves are cause-driven on both professional and personal levels. They're a great organization that legitimately put forth energy into good things. Their technical capabilities are also very advanced.

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

No suggestions.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Mountain Transit is a Public Transportation Authority I am the General Manager

For what projects/services did your company hire Digital Mountaineers, LLC.?

DM has done our Web redesign, handles our Adverting and marketing efforts as well as social media presence.

What were your goals for this project?

Web re-design- to create a platform that is easy to navigate and provides all the information needed for riders to utilize our services.

How did you select Digital Mountaineers, LLC.?

We did a formal procurement

Describe the project in detail.

We created a scope of work and requested proposals from vendors

What was the team composition?

Initially, we dedicated 1 staff person to work with the DM staff. Over time, as DM took on more work for us, several members of our staff work directly with the staff at DM

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

The website was successfully launched Feb 1. We are very pleased with the final product

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have all found the DM staff to be knowledgeable, responsive and professional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The level of professionalism form all DM staff. Starting with the Owner, Jordan Zarate. Every person we have worked with has had the same attention to detail, follow through and "can do" attitude that we first appreciated in Mr. Zarate.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No- we are very impressed with the way this team moves through not only projects for personnel transitions- both in the DM staff and Mountain Transit staff. Highly efficient an organized agency.