Digivate

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the content manager of an online retailer of heating products (radiators, towel rails, valves and accessories). Our mission is to provide quality radiators, delivered to your door at an affordable price.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have always tried to make our website as user friendly as possible, so that customers can easily make a purchase. We maximised our knowledge in this area but wanted to keep increasing conversion and our understanding of customer needs and behaviours with the main goal of increasing revenue and customer satisfaction.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online and looked at a few different digital marketing agencies offering CRO services across the country. We were attracted to Digivate because of the creativity and approach to CRO and customers.

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

We initially had a discover session where we shared our goals and company ethos. Digivate then created an in depth quick wins audit with recommended tests and changes to implement to improve conversion.

Tests were priorities by impact and we have completed a few tests which have resulted in the Digivate optimised variant improving conversion, revenue and bounce rates. Divigate have continued to provide frequenct reports of the tests, during and after as well as providing wireframes for our developers to work from.

They have even been helping us improve our customer service by gathering and analysing customer feedback, which we are using to improve team training.

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

We work with Angelica - Managing Director & CRO Lead and Sajni - User Research & CRO Executive. Both of whom are knowledgeable, responsive and go the extra mile.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of CRO testing, we are still in the early stages but since testing began our conversion rate has increased by 0.79%, bounce rate is also down 5.28%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have had virtual meeting to discuss plans and next steps but most communication is done via email. Responses are quick and efficient.

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

They definitely go the extra mile and it really feels like they invest themselves in your company and brand and get on board with your goals.

They also have their own SEO team and developers who they run their CRO tests and plans past and then share the feedback with you, so they utilise their own people as well as being willing to work with your other internal and external teams.

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

Initially there were a few gaps in the strategy in terms of why we were targeting the pages x,y,z before a,b,c. But the reasoning was justified and made sense, but would have been good to know from the outset. Once raised the team explained this fully and assured us that they would improve on this in future. So overall at this stage we have no real complaints.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the performance marketing lead at a financial technology startup. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digivate?

We needed to set our company up for success regarding paid media. An efficient digital marketing launch would help us scale up and grow our customer base. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digivate was in charge of all digital marketing and paid media before I joined my company. They developed all our campaigns in the first few months when our company was just entering the market, identifying and implementing strategies to help us gain customers. Digivate worked on paid search campaigns and PPC via Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram — they focused on ad optimization and analysis. 

Additionally, Digivate worked on some social media marketing campaigns. Outside of the digital marketing services, Digivate evaluated our UX and other website analytics. They also used Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to track our overall success. 

Once I came on board at my company, Digivate’s team helped me through the onboarding process so that the transition would be seamless. They provided context to help me understand our current marketing situation — Digivate’s team explained what was working and what was being tested. I then worked closely with them until I could take over all of their work myself. 

What is the team composition?

The size of Digivate’s team depended on the stage of the project, but about five teammates were involved with us daily. 

How did you come to work with Digivate?

I wasn’t working with my company when they hired Digivate, but I believe they found them through a referral. Digivate had a very good proposal, and my company decided to move forward with a partnership. 

What is the status of this engagement?

My company’s engagement with Digivate was from July 2020–February 2022. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Digivate provided us with high-quality work. We focused on month-over-month conversion dynamics and conversion rates. Digivate effectively drove growth and kept our click-through rates steady — we saw a steady improvement overall, especially during the first stage of the engagement from July 2020–June 2021. 

How did Digivate perform from a project management standpoint?

Digivate generally met deadlines, although sometimes deliverables were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their team was very engaged and typically communicated via Google Suite and email. They updated us regularly on the project, and we had weekly, monthly, and quarterly meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated Digivate’s non-standardized approach that aimed to identify unique strategies to help us meet our goals. Their team took a lot of different factors into account to effectively meet our specific needs. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Digivate is a smaller agency, so sometimes they’re understaffed and can’t address a lot of additional services, but that didn’t spoil our experience. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise any customer to be transparent, communicate clearly, and provide context for their project. Digivate needs to understand the situation and the customer’s expectations. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder/CEO Atlas Accessories - Independent Sustainable Jewellery Brand

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Having launched the company just before the pandemic we had to then rapidly pivot to a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model within a few months. With a viable D2C model the new company would not survive the pandemic.

SOLUTION

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

I interviewed several agencies and Digivate was the only one that stood out. The deciding factor was their ability to listen, understand our needs - including those we were unaware. Breadth and depth of skill is paramount, and many companies have that, but when you combine it with effectively communication and exception project management and execution skills - that is when things really take off.

Digivate one THE only group I interviewed that rose to this level. I also needed someone that would step up and take ownership of driving the project proactively and not reactively - the latter being the norm with consultants but Digivate seemed up to this task in particular, understood it and I would definitely say outperformed in this.

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

We basically had to put an entire strategy together and more importantly I need to be able to rely on them to own and drive the project - to advise on the development action plan as well as doing the work and coordinating everything. After fixing the website to improve UI and conversions, defining the personas, testing channels and building a viable D2C revenue stream.

It is nearly impossible to detail all the things that Digivate contributed and this is the key - their flexibility in mixing and matching skills as needed and shifting gears on short notice was why this worked. This level of flexibility with ingenuity is something I have quire rarely experienced in over 20 years of building companies.

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

up 7 people with Digivate managing the skill pool as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Frankly the list of success metrics is quite long - to sum it up - the company exists today because of the D2C foundation that Digivate created for us. We are now in a viable position and was able to raise funds from investor as a result and are now positioned to raise growth funding because of and only because of this success.

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

Honestly no - the only areas we had difficulty in where a result of what we could not bring to the table - our branding and marketing strategy needed work and also not having a big enough budget to drive data aggregation - given how we showed up and what we had to spend the results are significant.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of an accounting firm. We’ve been trading for three and a half years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digivate?

Our previous website was put together really quickly by a friend. It was very static and had only basic pages. We had a new website design, so we needed someone to build it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digivate has worked on our website. We wanted to be able to post content so we could use it for marketing. We also wanted to be able to add team members, pictures, and other stuff on the site. They’ve created a website that we can set up and make changes ourselves.

What is the team composition?

I’ve spoken with Mark (Client Services Director) and Angelica (Managing Director & CRO Lead), who has worked on optimizing the type of conversion before we go into digital marketing. Nick (Junior Digital Project Manager) has been part of the development side, and Astrid (Agile Delivery Manager) is on project management.

How did you come to work with Digivate?

First, we asked some businesses if they could refer someone for development. We got a few different agencies, but there weren’t many who actually offered the breadth of integration services that we needed. The initial engagement was simple, but we wanted someone who could also help us in the future with digital marketing. We got some quotes, and Digivate was really open and great to deal with. Also, they were very transparent in their pricing.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $10,000–$12,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around October 2020. It was on pause for six months, but we’ve been back and forth with their services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t kicked off the digital marketing work. On web development, they’ve delivered what they’d promised, both on time and budget. Additionally, the look and feel is a huge upgrade, and the functionality is exactly what we wanted. The usability and speed of response are also great.

Digivate has gone beyond their responsibilities and helped us when we have issues. They’re super responsive and helpful.

How did Digivate perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is good overall. The delay was on our side; they’ve kept their end of the bargain. We have weekly meetings to go through any challenges or touch points to solve.

We mainly use emails, phone calls, and meetings to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their biggest selling point is that we have everything under one roof. They can build a website and work on the back on SEO and conversion. It isn’t about building something pretty it’s about building something effective, and they’ve done it all alone.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. It’s hard to find something when they come in on time and give us exactly what we want.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think a bigger picture and give them all the details of the brief. You don’t have to do it all at once, but it helps to tell them where are you headed and what do you want to do.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the patient coordinator and business development manager of an orthodontic practice specializing in orthodontic treatments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digivate?

We wanted to bring more business into our practice. We started as a National Health Service (NHS) practice, meaning that we were working with the government. However, that stopped for us a couple of years ago, so we brought in Digivate to drive our business to the private sector.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digivate created our website and everything else related to it, and they’ve managed it from the get-go. Currently, they create content for it, and they run our Google Ads campaigns.

I usually provide input, and we collaborate closely together, but they’ve done most of the work. I took over from our previous manager at the beginning of this year, but as far as I know, the previous manager would also receive the content from Digivate and add, remove, or change whatever she wanted to. Basically, they bring their work to us for our approval.

What is the team composition?

Around 8–10 people from Digivate have been involved in our project. I’ve spoken to several members of their team during my time here, including our account manager, his supervisor, some content managers, and a couple of people who help us with our blog.

How did you come to work with Digivate?

We’ve been long-standing clients of theirs since I started working at this company eight years ago. I’m not exactly sure how we came to work with them, but I remember a story about a company that wasn’t doing good SEO work, and their website crashed completely.

My manager knew about this case and asked Digivate to reassure us that something similar would never happen to us. Thankfully, we’ve never had a similar issue; they’re really good.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around £1,500 (approximately $2,100 USD) per month on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

Digivate started working with us in October of 2013. We continue to collaborate together, and we’re currently looking into hiring more of their services, such as Facebook Ads.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before, we only had patients coming through other dental practices, but they’re now coming to us directly instead of being referred. We have a constant influx of people coming to the website through our ads, and we’re really happy with that.

How did Digivate perform from a project management standpoint?

Digivate has performed really well. Working with them has been a new experience for me, but they keep me informed every month, specifying what they’re working on at the time. They also run competitor analyses and do all sorts of different things in the background, and we see patients contacting us through our website or telephone as a result.

Additionally, they provide a monthly report that we discuss. It includes data about the conversions from telephone calls, inquiry forms, and more, and we compare the results with previous years or months.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Digivate is very prompt at answering our questions whenever we get in touch. They’ve always been really good at communicating, and their customer service is excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We work with other suppliers, and I can say that I have no complaints about Digivate.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Speak to their account manager and tell them exactly what you want.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Co-founder of an indie toy and game company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

To create a fun, engaging e-commerce platform for our customers.

SOLUTION

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

We were tired of lots of men in suits overpromising and underdelivering, so wanted a diverse and mixed team of people who were ambitious yet realistic and honest. We interviewed several companies but the staff at Digivate really sold it, we enjoyed our meetings with them the most and trusted them, so knew they were the right people for the job.

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

Deliver a new Shopify website (and ongoing PPC supporting) based on our new branding and guidelines.

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

We worked closely with Matt, Nick, Louise and Farouk, who have done an exceptional job of taking the site design and bringing it to life, as well as launching our new social and google ads

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a very seasonal company, our sales are heavily focused on Q4, sales already are strong and the website is converting well for this time of year, so as a company we are more than happy.

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

They were organized and focused but still very human. Getting all these elements together and up and running at the right time can be complicated, but together we pulled it off and delivered on time.

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

How down to earth and human the staff are. We felt like everyone from Digivate would be people we'd happily have on our own team, so it was a strong match in terms of work ethics.

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

To be honest nothing comes to mind. Everything has been smooth to date and delivered on time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I collaborated with Digivate within a project for a large United Kingdom postal company.

What is your position?

I was the marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Digivate?

We had recently launched a new website for our business and had had a rebranding, so we needed to gain a strong digital presence for our company's name. They served as our digital agency.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Digivate provided three main areas of service: SEO [search engine optimization] strategy, pay-per-click campaign management, plus social media and content creation. I had access to an account manager who dealt strictly with SEO work. They provided monthly reports for us, and we had quarterly business reviews.

We had a different account manager for pay-per-click services. We were on the phone daily and had a monthly report for activity in this area. Digivate managed our Twitter and LinkedIn channels and created relevant business content for the website, in the form of articles, blog posts, infographics, and tweets. They were a full-service provider from an online web service perspective.

How did you come to work with Digivate?

I had inherited Digivate from my last employer, so I wasn't the one who found them.

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

I cannot disclose the exact figures involved. Digivate is very flexible with regards to budget and can scale their operations to fit many company sizes. Their pricing is competitive.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with them for around a year and a half. The company still collaborates with Digivate.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The results of Digivate's work were phenomenal. Initially, we had managed our social media pages in-house, so we didn't have a lot of followers or general engagement. Digivate created a digital presence for us and attracted leads to our business. They contributed with the right kind of content for our industry and created ideas that we could utilize on the site. We were very pleased with the results.

Their company is result-focused. If, for example, we were running a pay-per-click campaign and not generating much traffic through it because the click-cost was too high, they proactively took measures and came up with different ideas, without the need for our intervention.

If their agency felt that we should explore different avenues for gaining traffic, they weren't shy to put their ideas forward. One of their ideas was for us to launch a Facebook page as part of our social media presence. The company didn't traditionally engage on Facebook, but it was a welcomed addition. 

How did Digivate perform from a project management standpoint?

I've worked with many digital agencies throughout my career. I find their structure for working with a client to be unique. Although we had an account manager, we also interacted with specialists within different areas. There was a person dedicated to pay per click, another one for content, social media, SEO, and so on. I, as a client, felt that I was receiving double or triple the value for money from their agency because of the online experts they provided.

Sometimes, as a client, you will work with only one person within an agency who will manage multiple online channels for you. Therefore, they'll have knowledge in those areas, but won't be experts in any channel in particular.

What distinguishes Digivate from other providers?

When we call their agency, we can talk to actual human beings, not to automated systems. We didn't get the feeling that we'd be considered less important because our budget may be lower. Everyone in the company was very responsive, and the overall communication was excellent.

Working with other agencies, I had a clear notion of us being the client and them, the supplier. Digivate were an extension of our team. I didn't see them as an external supplier. They knew our business goals and what we needed to achieve in terms of results. They had ideas and met with us when it was necessary.

Is there anything Digivate could have improved or done differently?

They could engage in more social interaction. There were a few occasions in which we went out with their team, which was useful from a relationship-building perspective. It's not something that they need to actively think about or change, though.

Overall, Digivate needs to maintain their way of working. They have an open-door quality as an agency.