Empathy Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Marketing Lead at a company that manages multiple care-oriented marketplaces aimed at connecting people in need with people with the skills to help.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Empathy Inc., and what were your goals?

We reached out to Empathy via a word-of-mouth referral to manage, optimize, and scale our paid search program. We knew that there was opportunities on this channel and needed the additional expertise and resourcing to take it to the next level.

SOLUTION

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

We became aware of Empathy via word of mouth referral. The deciding factor was their strengths in media buying, competitive pricing and overall culture fit with our existing team.

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

The scope of work is mainly surrounding paid search on Google. They took over and managed our Google Ads account. We worked together to set goals and strategies to hit those goals.

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

We worked primarily with 2 members of the Empathy team, a Media and Strategy Director and a Media Buyer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're still in the early stages of our partnership, but so far we've been able to fully automated the conversions and tracking for our current campaigns. The Empathy team has optimized our current campaigns and have been able to reduce our user acquisition cost.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything was handled over Slack and a weekly meeting. This works great for us. They're super responsive to any questions even outside of the scope of work we originally settled on.

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

They're always thinking about the business in a holistic way. At the end of the day, channels are just tools to drive business goals. They're experts at understanding the underlying goals and suggesting new ideas to tackle them.

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

Everything I've seen so far has been exactly what we were hoping for with a partnership like this.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the VP of a venture capital firm and we have a number of portfolio companies. One such company is a web domain registry called Intercap Registry Inc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Empathy Inc.?

We were like anyone else, just trying to increase awareness of our product in a pretty specific target market in North America, primarily in the United States. We have a unique product, so billboards and television ads weren’t going to work. 

We tried to do it ourselves for about a year, but this is an area where no one on our internal team had the expertise or capacity to do it or the relationships in the industry. We also wanted to be super-efficient with our spend. We hired them to help with media strategy, media planning, buying, and execution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Empathy Inc. joined our core team and they brought in two employees. They’ve been doing a number of digital display programs with specific online trade publications in the community. They seek custom display advertising opportunities with niche verticals as well as general business and entrepreneur vertical awareness. Their team helps me find the people we need to reach and spend our money wisely. 

What is the team composition?

I work with two people who are the CEO and their head media buyer.

How did you come to work with Empathy Inc.?

I was referred to them by our marketing strategy agency.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent $400,000 so far, which will probably get between $600,000–$700,000 by the end of the year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2020, and we are still actively working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team works well together, and I would give them almost a perfect score when it comes to getting the things done they say they will. Our sales have absolutely increased, and we are on track to meet our objective. They are aligned with my objectives and they seem to be hitting them. I would work with them again 100% and I’ve referred their services to other people. Working together has been awesome.

How did Empathy Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They are totally professional and they meet my expectations for sure. They use Slack with my team and for me, they have weekly phone calls and email updates.

They have good client services, are flexible, and do the things I need. They meet my needs and communicate well, and I think they really know their business.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very client-focused and are aligned with my goals. It’s very clear that they are oriented around improving my business. They always seem to want what I want. We don’t get into very many debates or arguments — it very much feels like they are working for my business.

They’re smart and creative — it’s clear they understand my business and are aligned with my goals. They understood it all really quickly. I haven’t had any problems and they are doing a great job. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really — I couldn’t tell them what to do better. They are way more of an expert in their domain than I am.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

At Morneau Shepell, I lead the communication and change management solutions group. In that capacity, I am responsible for the marketing strategy for our virtual mental health solution. This includes both B2B and B2C strategies. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Empathy Inc.?

As a traditional B2B enterprise, we needed to think differently to market our virtual mental health solution to the broader consumer market. Empathy Inc. helped us think through what a robust, effective B2C strategy should look like to ensure success.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Empathy Inc. is providing comprehensive digital marketing services, including SEM and social media strategies, content creation, and community management for Facebook and Instagram accounts.

What is the team composition?

We interact with three team members: a client relationship manager, an account manager, and a social media strategist/content developer.

How did you come to work with Empathy Inc.?

Empathy Inc. was referred by someone in our corporate marketing group who had previously worked with them. It was clear pretty early on that they were going to be a good fit for our needs.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in early June 2020 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Just over two months in, we are thrilled with the results of our SEM and social media campaigns. We are seeing great conversion rates and engagement with our social media content. We would certainly consider a longer-term partnership with Empathy Inc. beyond this initial stage.

How did Empathy Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

The account manager has been very responsive with social media community management, responding quickly, and ensuring our brand values carry through in all interactions.

They do an excellent job of being transparent about what’s going on at all times, keeping us in the loop whenever we need to make any decisions, and being flexible about the type of data that we need to track progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I expect high quality, strategic thinking, and pushback when our ideas are not suitable. Empathy Inc. has taken the time to learn about the solution and back up their recommendations with meaningful data.

On top of that, the team takes the time to help educate the extended project team, which demonstrates a great sense of partnership.  We’ve become better clients for these services because of the knowledge we acquired through working with Empathy Inc. This will help us going forward as we continue to expand our solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, our experience has been completely seamless.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Nothing in particular other than trusting their recommendations!