Half Past Nine

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO & founder of a UX design company. We help startups develop their UX and assist them in growth marketing. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Half Past Nine?

We hired Half Past Nine to help us with strategy development. For context, we wanted to optimize our conversion rates and improve the quality of our leads. We were struggling with this, and our conversion rate was low.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Half Past Nine helps us research the market and develop strategies to help us grow. They do growth and PPC campaigns for us, essentially serving as a fractional team for our company. We’ve done multiple strategy sessions with their team members; Kenneth (CEO & Founder) is also involved. Moreover, they’ve worked on improving our conversion rates. They’ve created customer profiles and helped us build better ways of reaching and onboarding them to our product. 

For our PPC campaigns, we’re using the Meta network and Google Ads. We’ve utilized a third-party aggregator to show our ads on partner websites. Half Past Nine is in charge of defining what messaging will be shown to customers at what stage of the funnel. Their resources also help with our copywriting needs and graphic design. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with an account manager, an account director, a media specialist, a copywriter, and a PPC manager. In total, we work with around six teammates from Half Past Nine, depending on the project we’re doing. 

How did you come to work with Half Past Nine?

Half Past Nine initially hired us to do some work for their client, and then we hired them for our needs because they had amazing communication skills.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in February 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve increased our conversions by 10% through our subscription form. More importantly, we’ve found a new audience. Because of that, our account has grown drastically by 70%. Overall, our investment in Half Past Nine has definitely paid off, and we’ll continue using their services. 

How did Half Past Nine perform from a project management standpoint?

We handle communications through Slack, where Half Past Nine sends us reports. It’s what we use for project management, too. Moreover, I truly love the fact that Kenneth is personally involved in the strategy sessions to ensure the project stays on track. He’s had a big impact on the engagement. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their strategies are great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great to have more emphasis on the graphics and visualization aspects of the engagement, but this is only my personal preference. It’s minor compared to the bigger things they bring to the table. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more information you give to Half Past Nine, the more insights they’ll gain about your audience. This way, they can develop more unconventional strategies to reach your audience. Instead of using them as execution specialists, treat them as partners. Ask them to provide their own ideas and encourage them to be more open and share information. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO and Founder of Assistantly, a highly recognized Virtual Assistant company. We make it fast and easy to hire quality virtual assistants for your business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Half Past Nine, and what were your goals?

We had Half Past Nine take initiative of our growth strategy, paid media, and demand generation for our company.

SOLUTION

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

We spoke with 5 different growth agencies, and Half Past Nine stood out by a land slide. They were the only growth agency that highly emphasized on data-driven decision making, which was a major advantage. The Half Past Nine team did an entire audit of our current growth strategy and provided amazing expertise on how we can improve in a short period of time. They were also extremely resourceful and made integral connections necessary for our business to grow fast.

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

We were looking for a growth agency to essentially become our growth department. The first thing HP9 did was provide an in-depth initial analysis of our company, industry, competitors, and business outcomes we were looking to achieve and curated a growth marketing strategy to support that.

Next, they developed and deployed a multi-channel paid media strategy — increasing our new customer revenue by 243% and helped us exceed our 2022 goal in less than 6 months of us working together. HP9 provided holistic strategy for all channels improving marketing and growth as a whole for Assistantly. They supported in overhauling and setting up Assistantly’s analytics infrastructure, so the entire org can have a pulse on channel performance and attribution.

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

We were fortunate to work with the entire HP9 team. The team comprised of partners at HP9, strategists, and specialists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to achieve a 7x ROI on our investment with HP9. They built a growth plan, and exceeded all goals within 6 short months.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had weekly performance reviews and in-depth quarterly business reviews. Whenever we had a question, the HP9 team was extremely was responsive.

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

HP9 became so embedded in our company that we truly couldn't function without them. They are an extension of our team/family. A great hard working team, with personable and innovative personalities.

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

None!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

EcoCart provides sustainability software solutions to thousands of e-commerce businesses. I am the Co-Founder & COO who worked directly with the Half Past Nine team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Half Past Nine?

We started working with Half Past Nine after a capital raise when we wanted to begin getting serious about our marketing efforts. There were so many different marketing channels we were looking to pursue across partnerships, paid, earned, SEO, etc. and needed an expert to help us identify the best areas to invest and the best way to pursue these initiatives in the most efficient way possible.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We needed a partner that could move quickly and that we could trust for complex strategic marketing decisions. Half Past Nine was the only firm that we were confident to help us execute everything from high-level strategic decisions to "in the weeds" operations of our campaigns. Other vendors had niche specializations and did not seem to be able to work dynamically across different types of projects and teams.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Half Past Nine began by speaking to key members of our team to both understand their key strengths and build trust within the organization. They then helped us set up, test, and iterate on a variety of campaigns across partnerships, organic/SEO, paid social, PR, working closely with our team to supplement areas where they fell short and accelerate timelines.

They provided strategic advice for when it was best to hire internal resources to take on projects, giving truly unbiased recommendations on what was best for our business. Half Past Nine served as a true extension to our team, giving them a new found superpower to do more faster!

What was the team composition?

I've worked closely executives at Half Past Nine along with their team of experts, who have worked as an extension to our marketing, design, and executive teams.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've been able to jumpstart our marketing initiatives across the board, strategically hire and train the right team members, and truly build a humming marketing machine. We've seen 10x growth in new leads, an infrastructure to track initiatives, and our highest grossing months in company history since bringing on Half Past Nine.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had weekly or bi-weekly meetings, clear project trackers with owners and deadlines. Communication was always tight/clear and I never felt out of the loop on projects and progress.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

HHalf Past Nine's ability to tackle "ANYTHING" we threw at them has been impressive. From organization composition, to high-level strategic planning, to in-depth analytics and optimization, all while deeply integrating into our company culture and team dynamics. I have never seen a partner be able to do it all!

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

The service is definitely on the more expensive side and may not be for everyone if you're looking for a churn and burn firm to help with singular/clearly defined tasks. We felt it was worth the cost given white glove service and results we saw.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CMO and VP of Business Development for Intellect, a SaaS software company offering a no-code platform for compliance and a suite of applications for QMS and EH&S.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Half Past Nine, and what were your goals?

We launched our Paid Media program with Half Past Nine in order to create more demand generation for our company.

SOLUTION

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

We spoke with and received proposals from several digital marketing agencies. We were impressed by Half Past Nine's deep experience with Google Ads, Bing Ads, and creating a data-driven digital marketing machine. Half Past Nine also provided excellent referrals. We started with a one month trial and that help us understand how we can work together. Today, Half Past Nine is very much a part of our team - they are an extension of our internal marketing team.

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

Half Past Nine helped us to optimize our digital marketing and lead generation programs by very hands on and high-touch. While their focus is on Google Ads and Bing Ads, Half Past Nine has provided research and guidance on improving our website experience, which has lead to improve conversions. They helped us understand what our competitors are doing, what we can leverage from their practices, and how we can differentiate. Half Past Nine helped to ensure that our CRM (HubSpot) was capturing data we needed and they created numerous reports to help us make more informed decisions. We now understand our ROI and where to invest our marketing dollars.

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

We work with two people from Half Past Nine. The team is small and I like that because they are essentially an extension of our marketing team. We have excellent communication and we rely on their strategic guidance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Half Past Nine has met or exceeded our monthly goals for Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) and are proving to provide high quality leads.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We meet weekly and I believe this is important so as to make sure we're 100% aligned.

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

Deep expertise in their field, their ability to understand the nuances of our industry and product, and their ability to uncover many areas that need improvement. On this last point, they find issues and provide solutions on areas that we weren't even aware of. I love it when people go above and beyond what is expected and they do this on their own.

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

It would be great to spend even more time with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I led marketing for a service line at a healthcare consulting company. We provide professional consulting services for hospitals, health systems, and payers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Half Past Nine, and what were your goals?

We needed to scale our marketing intelligence, and that started with really diving deep and assessing our marketing tech stack and infrastructure so we could more accurately gain insights on how healthy our marketing activities and spend were doing. In order to do this, we needed to look really closely at the automation and rules in our marketing automation platform and ensure it was integrated as well as possible with our company's CRM.

SOLUTION

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

We knew we needed a partner that was strong in data modeling and paid media. We got a good glimpse at what Half Past Nine did with some of their early clients, and a team member had previously worked with Half Past Nine leadership earlier on. Based on their early analysis of our tech stack, we knew they'd be able to scale and build the infrastructure we needed.

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

We first went through an assessment of our marketing tech stack and our CRM. This allowed Half Past Nine to get a solid look at our historical benchmarks so that we could build a more robust series of reports and dashboards for all marketing areas. From there, they developed and modeled out a new scoring schema and new automation possibilities in our Pardot (MAP) instance. They then managed and maintained that system for a number of months. As we began merging with other companies, Half Past Nine went through a rigorous assessment of a number of other brands' digital marketing competency.

They then provided a series of recommendations around digital media sunsetting techniques, and also provided recommendations on future-state CRM. The recommendations ranged from paid media strategy, website strategy (content and SEO), and marketing analytics infrastructure.

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

We worked with an account manager and growth lead, a CRM consultant/advisor, a paid media manager, and a few other specialists/advisors as part of the assessment project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While measurable outcomes are difficult for us because of our unique position of merging service lines and brands, the deliverables were great and fostered a new culture among our marketing and sales teams. Our teams now have a greater understanding of the data our marketing systems provide and we all know the direction we need to head as we complete our merge.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had weekly meetings to check in on progress and communicated regularly via email. We also had ad hoc meetings to address changing needs. For the assessment project, we met regularly with all stakeholders across brands and had a steering committee to keep us on track with the project champion and other company leaders.

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

Their willingness to help with literally anything. There were no surprises on scope or miscommunication. We knew exactly what we signed up for, but they've also gone above and beyond in nearly every aspect of the project. They also work very quickly.

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

I think some of the written communication related to the assessment project findings could have been a bit more streamlined, but this is more of a testament to the depth of the work they completed. Otherwise, everything is of extremely high quality.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Kate Farms is a plant-based nutrition company that makes shakes and formulas to support a wide spectrum of health needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Half Past Nine, and what were your goals?

To (re)build and fuel all of our paid advertising/media, starting with Paid Search, display and then social. Also, data analytics and dashboard development.

SOLUTION

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

Right size company for our needs. Agile and digitally centric. Smart, deeply knowledgeable, hardworking

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

All paid media support

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

2 - founders.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Grew our MER and ROAS significantly. Built a strong PPC and paid media strategy and plan. Great execution.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Amazing. Smart and thoughtful.

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

They are strategic and creative, and understand our business and goals, working tirelessly to achieve them.

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

no