Elevation Marketing

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Digital Marketing Director for a managed services provider. We offer consulting and expertise to our clients in the following areas: IT, cybersecurity, marketing, digital transformation, and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were in the beginning stages of growing our digital marketing engine. We wanted to get started with SEO & SEM, but didn't have the internal resources. Elevation stepped in and helped us with a go-foward plan to start generating more digital leads.

SOLUTION

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

Our current CMO got in touch with Elevation via a referral. We actually were working with a different SEM agency before we spoke to Elevation, but it didn't work out. At that time, we reached back out to Elevation to talk through our goals and the possibility of a partnership.

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

This project started with a conversation about our company and marketing goals. After talking to our team, Elevation put together a pitch for both SEM and SEO services, specifically catered to our business goals. Once we signed off on the initial plan, the Elevation team hit the ground running and kept us updated along the way.

We were in constant email communication and had quarterly calls to recap past successes and talk through new initiatives and optimizations to work on the next quarter.

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

We primarily worked with Devon, Principal, and Amanda, Principal. Devon oversaw our SEO projects and Amanda spearheaded the SEM side. We also worked with various Elevation team members as needed (such as developers and SEO specialists), but Devon and Amanda were our primary contacts throughout the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are too many to list! Elevation really kicked our paid search campaigns into gear and had their eye on the account on a daily basis. We saw some incredible leads come in from these campaigns. From the SEO side, the biggest win is how many leads we started getting from our location pages.

Elevation is fantastic at local SEO and we really noticed a difference once bringing them on board.

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

Elevation is great at communication. They are always just an email away and more than willing to hop on a call when you need to talk through something. In terms of project management, each quarter they made it clear what they were working on and the why behind each initiative.

They would often ask us for more details on things the in-house marketing team was working on so they could be sure to fit into our overall strategy and messsaging.

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

Elevation combines their digital marketing expertise with their incredible personalities. When working with this team, you might gain a friend or two! They don't make you feel like you're just another client, they really invest time and energy into understanding you and the business.

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

Our internal marketing team was growing so fast and sometimes it was hard to keep Elevation, as an outside agency, in the loop on everything we were working on. I don't think this is a flaw on Elevation's side at all, but it's something to plan for if you're in a similar situation.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Elite Roofing, a roofing specific construction organization. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Elevation Marketing?

We hired them for our online marketing presence. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handle anything that falls under the umbrella of online marketing. They take care of our social media, SEO, PPC, and content marketing. 

What is the team composition?

Two people from Elevation Marketing are working for us.

How did you come to work with Elevation Marketing?

We were engaged with another person and he wasn’t doing an excellent job. One of our owners is married to the owner of Elevation Marketing, so we just have them do a review of what the other guy was doing and it just turned out that he wasn’t doing what we were hoping. At that point, we decided to switch over to Elevation Marketing.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent close to $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started in April 2014, and we continue to work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have an amazing online presence now — in fact, we’re the best-rated roofing company in the Denver market. They’ve done an immaculate job for us. We’re getting more leads through our website and the advertisements that we’re running. 

We were a 4 million dollar company in 2014 and since we brought on Elevation Marketing — we’ve been able to turn into a 20 million dollar organization on our top year. We’ve done a lot to lift that up, but they’ve been a big part of keeping us very present.  

How did Elevation Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They do really well from a project management standpoint. I’m not a marketer, so my team does a little bit more in regards to the direct work with them. Most of the time, I just present them with my budget and ask them if they could make a certain project work — they’re really good with that.

I don’t necessarily require a whole lot of updating, I just want to be able to see the results and they provide that through quarterly and annual metrics. They also provide us with calendars that allow us to know what the marketing schedule looks like when they’re doing our social media and other things. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creativity has been amazing and they’ve figured out the SEO puzzle — it’s always constantly changing and molding, but they’re always on top of that. They help us mold whatever new surprise Google or Facebook throws at us. They’re massively creative with content, but they’re also brilliant when it comes to the code — the secret of SEO. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m perfectly satisfied with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their direction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an electrical contracting company based in Vancouver, Canada. We provide residential, commercial, and industrial electrical services to people in our area. Our team of about 12 ranges from entry-level helpers all the way to project managers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Elevation Marketing?

I’d never really put much time nor effort into online marketing aside from the occasional free listing. Then, two years ago, I noticed that my competitors had gained a really good online presence while we hadn’t. I needed a company to come in and get us on par with other electrical contractors in the area.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Elevation Marketing does digital marketing for my company. They basically looked at the statistics from our leading competitors to set targets, asked me the right questions to get a sense of our goals, and outlined some strategies for us.

The very first thing we did was recreate my website. With that, they started to transition over to looking after our online presence. The team now manages our SEO. They write at least one blog per month to direct traffic back to our web page and integrate key search words into our content.

They also publish those blogs on our Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Google Business accounts. We do most of the social ourselves, but they still provide quarterly reports on what’s happening there.

What is the team composition? 

There are two main people: Devon (Principal) and Amanda (Director of Media). Sean (Marking Copywriter) also helps with the content for our blogs.

How did you come to work with Elevation Marketing?

Devon’s husband works at a roofing company and is in the same business group as me. During one of our group retreats, he told me how Devon had helped his company’s progress skyrocket after she started managing his marketing.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve paid $29,600 CAD (approximately $23,300 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The work started in January 2018 and is currently ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our online presence is excellent. Anytime someone googles an electrician, we’re at the top of our local search pages because Elevation Marketing helped us get Google Guaranteed — we’re actually the first electrician in Vancouver to get that status. 

Of course, it took a while to see results. But, when they started to come in, the momentum kept building. We now get more and more calls each day. It’s been a huge jump in growth and digital rankings since last year.

How did Elevation Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

I like having a company that takes care of everything for me and then explains all of the results. Doing quarterly reviews is great because I get to understand what’s going on behind the scenes. Elevation Marketing isn’t trying to hide anything — they’ll show us stuff that isn’t working as well as the successful things they’ve tried.

The other thing I really like about them is their exceptional customer service. I can email them and hear back within a couple of minutes. If I need to talk, we can schedule meetings at any time. They use Zoom calls to explain items in further detail, too.

At times, I don’t want to bug them too much about small site changes, so they’ve given me access to the website. That way, I can go in and make changes myself to fool around with how things look.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I hired them to deliver results, and I’m getting results. Their responsiveness is unmatched, they provide great customer service, and they stick with my budget.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they check every box. I can’t think of anything that they don’t do well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s very important to communicate a lot at the start. You can’t expect them to know the ins and outs of your company or how you want to market yourself. You need to have that one-on-one conversation in the beginning because that’s when you can give them the tools to do their job. The sooner they understand your company, the better they can work for you.

Also, don’t be afraid to contact them. You might think you’re bugging them over something small, but they’re more than happy to answer any question you might have.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a telehealth company that offers an online solution, connecting primary care doctors with specialists to promote patient care and increased access. I started the marketing department here and later moved into a content strategy and branding role.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Elevation Marketing?

They helped with projects across paid media management, SEO, and content development. We needed to establish these tools effectively so we could scale as the business grew.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started and managed our paid ad campaigns across Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google. Their team also provided support as we built our SEO efforts from the ground up. Prior to engaging them, we were running digital marketing efforts but PPC and SEO were newer to us. Their SEO work centered around on-site optimization and content recommendations. They optimized the backend of the site and kept us updated with news on Google’s algorithm. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Amanda (Digital Project Manager), Darren (Creative Director), a copywriter, and another resource. 

How did you come to work with Elevation Marketing?

I was working with a colleague on marketing efforts, but he stepped out of consulting. He recommended Amanda because he had a positive experience working with her in the past. We had an introductory call to communicate our goals. They seemed like someone I could trust and easily interact with. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $6,000 each month and around $96,000 in total. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from April 2019–August 2020.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work was excellent, and we’ve made progress with our SEO standings. We’re ranking for many more organic keywords. Their copywriter produced great content for our blog, marketing collateral, and other publications.  

How did Elevation Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

I have my own system for managing projects, typically using Trello and Google Spreadsheets. They were accommodating and easily fit themselves within that system that I had already established. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re transparent and easy to work with. It felt like they were an extension of our team because of their flexibility. They went above and beyond our expectations.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I never had any issues, but it would be nice if they could make the reporting a bit more robust. After taking on SEO tracking myself, I found some data points that are critical to our business but weren’t in our reports before. I understand that it’s challenging to interpret what is and isn’t necessary for a client, though.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Planning your project before engaging them is important. They’re a nimble team that will execute more quickly if you do some forecasting.