Forward Vision Marketing, LLC — Out of Business

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive at a retail inventory management solution company. We help retail brand owners to build a brand differently by enhancing their software operation solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

Before, we used to rely on mouth-to-mouth marketing to make sales, but we needed more of a brand and digital marketing strategy. We had to change our clientele’s mindset and position ourselves differently through a rebrand to present ourselves in a new way and stand out from our competitors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Forward Vision Marketing, LLC 6–7 years ago to help us build a strong brand image in collaboration with another PR and media marketing company. We needed to combine our RFID solutions website into our company platform, so they’ve helped us develop our RFID website for years. It helped us generate a lot of leads continuously and organically. They also audit the website and provide ongoing maintenance through a professional approach. 

Furthermore, they’ve done marketing strategy campaigns and SEO to help us rebrand our image and let the industry know who we are.

What is the team composition?

We've had about 5–6 people on our project, but I'm personally in touch with three of them, including Kelly (Founder), an account manager, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

Our CTO has known Forward Vision Marketing’s founder for a long time. They worked together in the past at another organization, so our company believed that they'd be the right agency to help us with our rebranding project. Also, our company compared them to other vendors, but Forward Vision Marketing won, as expected.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2015, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work positively impacted our business because now, we have a new website and better digital marketing planning for the whole group and not just the RFID division. Their performance and cooperation led us to make relevant changes that we needed.

How did Forward Vision Marketing, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They've been great with project management; their team had to chase me actually to meet deadlines because I’m usually very busy, and they never miss a deadline. They'd also give me a heads-up whenever I needed to provide information. 

Forward Vision Marketing, LLC's team also tried to use a project management platform. Still, we preferred using email, phone calls, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and in-person meetings because it’s more effective for us — we’re straightforward and not always able to jump on other platforms.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a very open mind and creative ideas. They're also very flexible in handling us no matter the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them space; customers may want to give them a lot of direction or set boundaries, limiting their creativity. One of the reasons we like working with them is that they’re really up to date on market trends and very creative. Be open-minded and let them bring their ideas to you; that'll give you a much better result than planned.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the global product line manager at Dengyo, a telecommunications equipment company. We provide products for cellular network operators across the globe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

We were one of the smaller players in the telecommunications space in the US, so we needed a company that could help us expand our brand name and improve our online presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Forward Vision Marketing, LLC handles our digital marketing initiatives. We started the engagement by providing them information about who we were, what our company’s goals were, and what we were trying to accomplish. From there, they conducted research about the companies that we wanted to work be engaged with and provided strategies in expanding beyond our typical customer base.

Forward Vision Marketing, LLC's main responsibilities include creating various kinds of marketing materials as well as content such as social media posts, blog articles, and press releases. They provide ideas and strategies to help us directly reach our customers and retain new ones.

Additionally, they’re in charge of making sure that our brand name is unified across all the materials that we disseminate to our audience. They help us organize our messaging on our website as well as our social media channels.

Forward Vision Marketing, LLC also helps us manage our Google Ads campaigns and handles the Google metric links on our website so that we could track user engagement. This involves creating and managing ad campaigns for some of our products.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with David (Digital Marketing Copywriter), Dennis (Marketing Communications Manager), Diane (Principal), Kelly (Principal), Mark (Senior Web & Graphic Designer).

How did you come to work with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

We met Forward Vision Marketing, LLC through a mutual connection and former work colleague.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere around $30,000-$40,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We base our success on the Google metrics for our website and the number of people from different areas that are able to reach us through our website. Although brand awareness doesn't always provide us with direct business, we are seeing our customer engagement continuously improve. 

How did Forward Vision Marketing, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

Forward Vision Marketing, LLC has performed well in terms of project management. They’re incredibly organized and efficient — we have shared folders where we share materials back and forth and we regularly review all progress and metrics through stand-up meetings.

We primarily communicate through phone calls, emails, video calls

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like how Forward Vision Marketing, LLC is more focused on direct engagement with people, which gives me great confidence in their ability to help us achieve our goals. Having that confidence and seeing the results that they deliver goes a very long way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Forward Vision Marketing, LLC could improve on tracking their hours of work. I would appreciate it if they could be more aware of what their hours are on a real-time basis.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to explain what you’re trying to achieve and to let them do what they’re really good at. Trust them to do what they need to do with limited guidance.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior director of operations and client engagement for a presentation skills consulting firm. Our goal is to transform, strengthen, and elevate our clients' communication skills to help them energize and engage their audiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

We rebranded in 2020 to push our brand forward and distinguish it from our parent company’s name. We needed marketing and PR assistance during that transition to gain more exposure for our brand and ensure that our website is effective.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, our partnership focused on SEO and engagement issues with our website. Since then, we’ve moved very naturally into additional improvements and marketing opportunities. Forward Vision Marketing, LLC created and placed an article featuring me and my mother, our CEO, to celebrate our company’s 30th anniversary.

What is the team composition?

We typically work with Kelly (Principal), Isabel (SEO & Digital Marketing Manager), and Becky (Marketing Communications Writer). Additional team members work behind the scenes, especially on our website and SEO.

How did you come to work with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

One of our board members, a trusted advisor, is also on the board of Forward Vision Marketing, LLC. Kelly and our CEO had connected prior to this partnership, and Kelly had enrolled in one of our programs.

We reached out to Forward Vision Marketing, LLC with our needs. We liked their pitch, which matched our preferred communication style, and moved forward with the partnership.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in September 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Notably, organic traffic to our website increased by 26% in January 2022 compared to December 2021. The article that Forward Vision Marketing, LLC created to celebrate our company’s 30th anniversary was picked up by the Washington Business Journal, which drove more business to our website and to us directly.

How did Forward Vision Marketing, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

Forward Vision Marketing, LLC is very organized. We communicate mostly through a Mavenlink dashboard that tracks all of our activities and documents. They complete tasks and projects quickly, and we constantly communicate about what’s been completed and what remains to be done. They take the initiative to flexibly schedule biweekly meetings based on our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a small women-owned and women-run business, so we trust them to understand our point of view. We feel well supported by Forward Vision Marketing, LLC and feel that we have a mutual understanding with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We don’t have expertise in the specific areas that Forward Vision Marketing, LLC does, so we often have to ask them to explain things more clearly, step-by-step, at a basic level.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Enter the partnership with clear goals and a mapped-out plan. Forward Vision Marketing, LLC can help you bring your company’s plan to life.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Head of Marketing for Redpoint Positioning. Redpoint is the Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology leader for Real-Time Location System (RTLS) solutions, providing visibility for improved safety, efficiency, and productivity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Forward Vision Marketing, LLC, and what were your goals?

Forward Vision Marketing is helping us develop and execute marketing plans for projects including Social Media, SEO performance, press relations, blog posts, and other content creations.

SOLUTION

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

I have worked with Forward Vision Marketing multiple times over the last 7 years, for different companies I worked for. Forward Vision has a great team of very talented marketing consultants, and Kelly Stark (Founder and Principal) is excellent with a breadth of experience in technology industries.

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

I described my initial marketing plan and we had a good, detailed discussion to fine-tune and improve the plan. This lead to several projects including SEO performance improvements for targeted keywords, steady schedule of blog articles to establish Redpoint's brand and thought leadership, and a steady flow of social media posts to increase awareness of Redpoint and website traffic.

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

We work with many resources. In addition to Kelly, we work with an account manager who also manages our social media posts and public relations, a digital marketing manager who focuses on improving our SEO performance, a copywriter for our blog posts, a PPC specialist who helps with online ads, a web and graphic designer who is also a photographer for our products, and a presentation designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website traffic is steadily increasing and with our SEO work 11 keywords are ranking in the top 5 positions and 12 keywords are ranking on the first page.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have bi-weekly calls with the account manager, Kelly, and other key consultants depending on the projects we're working on. There is also a steady flow of emails from us and them as needed. This keeps us all on the same page and efficiently on timeThe.

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

They are a great one-stop-shop for all of our digital marketing needs.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Marketing for SOLiD Gear, Inc. responsible for all marketing activities in the Americas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

Because I am a marketing team of one, I need an agency to help me with everything from website management and digital advertising to graphic design and blog writing.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We previously met one of the principals while working at another company and knew that they had assembled a team of telecommunications industry veterans who would understand our business.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We initially engaged with Forward Vision for an enterprise-focused marketing campaign that involved messaging and presentation deck renewal. We expanded the scope to include an interactive guide on our website, and that gave us enough experience to know that we could increasingly rely on their team. Since then we have increased the scope to include major and routine website management, digital advertising, SEO, graphic design, blog writing, social media, and press relations all with great success.

What was the team composition?

I work closing with one of the principals who manage a team of web designers, writers, graphic designers, digital advertisers, and PR specialists. I am able to interface with each of them as appropriate and without an undue burden on my time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our followers on LinkedIn have tripled, our website bounce rate improved 50%, and while we have reduced our advertising spending by 35%, our SEO results and the number of valid leads have improved.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have bi-monthly meetings to review results and plan for content creation that keeps everyone on track without consuming much of my time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Forward Vision finds great talent to support our account. Because we are a technology company it can be difficult to find marketing resources who understand our business.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

No. I look forward to continuing and scaling the relationship as our business grows.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive VP of sales at an electronics company. We specialize in RFID readers, antennas, and unattended payment terminals. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

We use the team for our marketing needs. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Forward Vision Marketing team does a lot of SEO and blogging for us. 

What is the team composition?

We work with three people, including Kelly (Principal) and Veronica (Senior Consultant).

How did you come to work with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

They were already hired when I came.

What is the status of this engagement?

We probably started working with them in March 1998, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we’ve been happy with their services. 

How did Forward Vision Marketing, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very good at meeting deadlines. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can generate more leads for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an RFID (radio-frequency identification) systems integration company offering software and hardware solutions. I am in charge of RFID business development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

We didn’t have anyone managing our marketing so we hired Forward Vision to take care of that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Forward Vision put together a complete marketing plan covering day-to-day operations from the end of 2015 until the present. They manage our Google Ads, SEO, and lead generation efforts through Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn Marketing. The team designs, maintains, and updates our WordPress website, which they developed from scratch.

Case studies, press releases, blogs, and videos are provided as a part of their content marketing strategy. It’s a collaborative process where we figure out between us what we want to do. We provide the input and have them refine it from there.

What is the team composition?

We work with Kelly (President), Veronica (Senior Consultant) for social media, David (Digital Marketing Copywriter) for blogs, and Steve (SEO & PPC Marketing) for our Google Ads. They also have a person on board who does our videos.

How did you come to work with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

We had been searching for a marketing agency and were referred to them.

How much have you invested with them?

What we spend annually varies from year to year, but it’s typically between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged them in October 2015 and are still working with them. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Though we’re poor at tracking metrics internally, I do know that the leads that we get from them have resulted in six-figure returns for every year we’ve done business with them. 

How did Forward Vision Marketing, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We have monthly update calls. They have a number of tools to track their performance. They’ve done everything we’ve asked and delivered results.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s impressive that Forward Vision knows our industry and the technology that we work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing jumps out at me for them to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If there are people looking for a marketing company that understands the auto-ID industry, then Forward Vision would be a good fit.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an integrated IoT solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

We needed help with marketing programs, branding, and lead generation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For branding, the team helps us generate content for Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. They also help us get media coverage by reaching out to publications.

The team works with keyword research for SEO. Additionally, they work on Google Ads and a social media calendar to publish on a regular basis.

What is the team composition?

I work with Kelly (Principal).

How did you come to work with Forward Vision Marketing, LLC?

I knew them through technology conferences and knew they’re familiar with the IoT space.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2020, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results have been very good. We’ve received quite a bit of recognition and leads in the marketplace.

How did Forward Vision Marketing, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very good. The team is always on time and they communicate regularly. They’ve become an extension of our marketing department. We communicated via phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very creative and think of the marketing process holistically. They’re able to look at our specific needs and tailor a solution that meets our expectations. The team is very quick to pivot as needed. Their flexibility is great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re pros at what they do. They’re doing a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would definitely recommend them to any company looking for marketing support. Identify what your needs are and they’ll offer the appropriate support. Prioritize your needs and Forward Vision will be able to tailor and scale a solution for growth.