GRO Marketing

Please describe your company and your position there.

My position is the director of operations responsible for all new and existing developments.

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

We were launching a new student housing property and needed a complete digital marketing build. From Web Design and Digital Marketing Strategy to promotional item development and everything in between. Our goal was clear, lease to 100% quickly by utilizing the tools Gro is able to provide.

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

Gro has a reputation in the Student Housing space for being a great digital marketing partner. We chose them based on the referrals we received about Gro and their quality of work based on the execution of strategy with other assets.

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

First, we presented the concept. Gro took it from there and designed a logo that would appeal to the target market we were trying to reach. Then developed a website with call to action at every turn. Once the design was implemented, Gro went to work laying out a digital strategy through Google AdWords, Facebook and Instagram.

Once the digital strategy was up and running we looked to print advertising where Gro was able to create stunning flyers and pamphlets displaying our floor plans and amenities the property offers.

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

We worked with approximately 7 resources. The VP of Operations, an account manager, graphic designer, and a digital marketing strategist among a few others.

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

The digital strategy was overall successful. We opened the property during Covid, so while we didn't hit the leasing goals we were looking for, we did see a lot of success from the campaigns and the targeted strategy worked well for our team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Super responsive. They have been very helpful and are always quick to communicate.

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

They handled everything in-house. Quick results and ability to work through changes on the fly.

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

Not off the top of my head.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a digital marketing specialist and strategist for BH Management, a property management operations group. I work specifically on BHOM, our company’s student portfolio, and act as a liaison between our marketing department, our different properties in the portfolio, and the different vendors that we employ to help our properties get to their success goal of 100% prelease for the following year.

What challenge were you trying to address with GRO Marketing?

We wanted to drum up lead generation and ultimately convert those leads into residents at our properties. Additionally, we wanted to create and maintain our brand awareness from a digital perspective, using different strategies like Google paid search, social media advertising, and various display marketing tactics.

What was the scope of their involvement?

When I started working with the company, we were using different marketing solutions. One of my first roles was to sit and work with the different agencies and vendors to see which ones were performing the best based on the ROI that they showed us each week.

GRO Marketing had already been vetted by one of our employees, and they started working on just three of our properties within one of our development groups. They provided me with a sense of trust right from the start, and I quickly started enjoying working with them.

Over our engagement, they’ve won a lot of our business just by how they’ve executed our campaigns. They’ve maintained a high level of transparency in reporting data, which has been incredibly beneficial for us, especially when looking for feedback on changes needed to continue increasing our properties’ traffic.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three individuals from GRO Marketing on a rotational basis, and currently, two of them are dedicated to our account. Daniel (Busines Development Executive) is our portfolio’s executive, and we also work with an account manager. We meet with them every other week, depending on which properties are up for review.

How did you come to work with GRO Marketing?

When I first met GRO Marketing, a teammate told me that they were well known within the conventional and student housing industry, which was very important to us. They not only know what they’re doing around digital marketing, but they also know the high- and lowlights of our industry, when to pivot, and when to do different optimizations. They offer a valuable partnership and a consulting approach, which is why we chose them and continue to work with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

Although I joined in March 2021, GRO Marketing started working with our company in May 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. We've continued to add business to their portfolio.

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

The impact of what they do is felt immediately. For example, we were struggling to meet our 100% prelease goal for one of our properties right before classes started because the property owner had turned off the paid search with GRO Marketing. We had gone two months without paid search, and the impact of that was felt by everyone involved.

However, we quickly identified the problem, and they were able to provide us with three different budget recommendations for the property based on what would work best. Within 2–3 days of launching the campaign, we saw an uptick in traffic to our website and to the property itself.

A similar trend happened for one of our properties in Tucson, where it had gone without paid search for 2–3 weeks. We got to a point where we weren’t getting a single lead because one of our former vendors had accidentally turned off the paid search channel without telling us.

We called Daniel, and he listened to us. Within an hour, he sent us a budget proposal with three different options to choose from, and we saw an increase in leads and traffic within 24–48 hours.

How did GRO Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

GRO Marketing has been really good. They adapt very quickly and on the fly, and if we need a creative update, they reply quickly and communicate the estimated turnaround times.

In terms of deadline management, they’ve always delivered earlier than the deadline that they set for themselves. For example, if they tell us that a campaign will launch on Friday, they usually launch it the Wednesday before. While they try to maintain accurate expectations, they usually exceed them.

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know each of their account representatives; they're very personable to us. I can give them a call outside of work hours if I need to, and I can send them a text message. They're always transparent and reachable.

We’ve had a really engaging and very positive experience so far. They're always prepared and ready to rock for our meetings, and if we have to ask them to join a quick call, they're usually able to do so. They’re very flexible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

GRO Marketing has incredibly personable people in their team. They know what they do, and they care about the relationship that they’re building with us. Instead of reaching for a budget increase, they always look for teachable moments, explaining their thought process.

They also guide us in the right direction. For example, if a client comes with an idea about advertising, other agencies would agree to do so just to earn extra money. However, we can count on GRO Marketing to tell us when something won’t necessarily work for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’ve done a really great job at managing the different properties and tasks that we assign to them on any given day.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. GRO Marketing does a great job of educating their clients. They have the ability to break information down so everyone can understand. They’re experts in data, but they make it as approachable as possible.