Hot Dog Marketing

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a floor covering dealer. We sell and install flooring and provide both the product and service. We do residential work and commercial work. My role is the owner and president.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hot Dog Marketing?

Like most business owners, I know how to do what I do, which in my case is to sell floors. The first thing is getting in front of the right people, which is something I thought would be an automatic thing. We have a store, and we have a sign, and people would come in and do business. We have come to find out, especially in today’s digital marketing age, that people are looking for everything they can find online first and getting pre-qualified. That is where Hot Dog Marketing came in.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We sat down and started having conversations about how to get people to come through the front door of the store.

At the end of the day, it starts off with marketing and figuring out how much to spend, who to talk to, and what type of advertising to invest in. In the process of working with a business consulting organization, I was told that if I wanted to look at marketing, that I should talk to Hot Dog as they would walk me through understanding the basics of what I needed before spending a dime.

We called a meeting and had Hot Dog sit down with us. We had a client that had such a positive experience working with us that we asked if they would do a video. We had Hot Dog’s photography and video people come out and actually video an interview I did with them about their experience with our company. That’s where it all started.

We didn’t have a website or anything for people to go and figure out who we are. Not only did Hot Dog help us understand the type of site that we needed, but they also helped us start to build around that process. Best of all, they worked with a novice like me. It was no different than if someone sat me down and taught me how to crochet. Hot Dog taught me to understand what they do and then it made sense for me to make the decision to not do those things myself. I need to run a business and sell floors, and I’ll let the marketing people do what they do. They are infinitely better at it than I would be.

They took me from the point of having no clue about how marketing works to getting me the basics of what I needed to be able to make an educated decision on what I would willing to handle and what I would turn over to a marketing firm, which, in this case, was Hot Dog.

What is the team composition?

There were 4-5 people ranging from account management to ownership and internal web construction. Hot Dog has done some growing as we have grown as well. I initially started working with Jessica (Founder) on our initial conversations. We don’t conduct our business with one another generally because her staff is substantial now, but we still talk. In the beginning, it was Jessica and Neil (Multimedia Producer) who did our photography and video work. Ultimately, a sales rep was assigned to our account, as well as a service representative. There was one person who dealt with us on what we were trying to do and putting a price together for it, and the other person was more of a customer service liaison who had the bird’s eye view of everything that we do marketing wise and leads the service side. We also worked with Brandon (Creative Director) who did the web design work. He was absolutely amazing.

How did you come to work with Hot Dog Marketing?

We found them through some acquaintances that had used them. We’re very keen on doing business with like-minded people—people who have integrity and are genuine folks. We look for this in our vendors, meaning the people we buy flooring from as well as our installation teams. They have to be positive and good people.

We are very selective about who we are willing to do business with. Not only so we’re not taken advantage of but also to help us create an environment that is best for everybody. One year into our relationship, another marketing group offered us a "just try and see" relationship. We kept Hot Dog but also tried to channel up some stuff for the new company. They were a complete disaster from the get-go; we should have never pulled the trigger on it and we walked away from them within 30 days. Hot Dog has not only held the integrity of that but when we mentioned the other marketing company to them, they didn’t have negative, ugly, or sour things to say because that is who they are. They are good people. They said to watch out for this and watch out for that, and told us what to keep an eye on, and what they said to keep an eye on is exactly what went wrong. That experience furthered my commitment to Hot Dog. It’s not just that we love those people, we do. It’s that they take care of my business and that is critical for me. Anyone that is going to be involved with money coming and going from my business needs to be in a position where they feel we are important to take care of. That is why we use them. We didn’t look outside of a couple of marketing firms because we kept coming back. They have always taken care of us.

How much have you invested in them?

Since the beginning, I would say we have probably spent around $12,000 a year on the high side. I would say we are around $55,000 right now.

They gave us a great rate on the construction of the site if we were willing to host it with them. We didn’t want to host it internally anyway because the internet is what it is. We needed someplace that had redundancy and all that. For us, it all worked out well and fit into a monthly budget instead of just an upfront chunk of cash, which, at the time we were at, being a new business, it really helped us to grow into where we are now. Today, we could rebuild that website for cash and it wouldn’t be a big deal. They were willing to do what they had to do to help us get from A to B at the time.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with them in July 2017, and the work is ongoing.

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

This project has been evolving. It started off with minimal input to get the website built. We started seeing real traction for clientele coming through the door in the first 90 days or so, and we have added components and pieces to that. And we still are, as a matter of fact. We’re expanding our marketing effort as the business expands. We went from a less-than-$500,000-a-year company to a $6-million-dollar-a-year company and growing, and it’s because of Hot Dog Marketing and what they do for us. It is an ever-changing thing, and it grows as we grow. Marketing spend goes up as you grow. There have been times where they have come to us with things they think we would like, and we liked it but it wasn’t the right pricing at the time. They implement what we want to have implemented and it helps us grow.

We get compliments on the web design and we get compliments on the review structure, which is part of what Hot Dog handles for us. They maintain our positive reviews. We have far above average reviews in our world. We’ve had two reviews under three stars and everything else has been four and above, and we typically get five-star reviews. The point being, there’s a direct correlation to not only how we handle our clients once we have them but how they feel about us when they get here, which is a marketing effort.

In a nutshell, people find us through Google and digital marketing. They don’t know who Hot Dog is, but they know who we are, and who we are is a direct reflection of the face that Hot Dog has put out in the market for us. The smart thing we did was to make sure that we chose a company that thinks as we do.

How did Hot Dog Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They are really good at it. Their communication is superb. They are like we are, and they tend to over-communicate which is always better. You get more information than you need, but they don’t leave you hanging for anything ever. From a project management standpoint, when we say what we are trying to accomplish and the timeframe upon which we are looking to get there, one of two things will come out of their mouth; one is that they can get there at this point in time, and what it will take to get there. If we pull the trigger and they say they can get there in that time, they will get there at that time. The flip side of that is if we ask for an entirely new website to be built in three days, they will say there are multiple steps that have to happen, and it won’t happen in three days. They will have us pick between a rushed timeframe and more of a comfortable timeframe. They are okay with communicating with us that sometimes our expectations are unrealistic.

Let’s face it, as a business owner, I don’t know how to build a website or a Cadillac, but at the end of the day, if I want a Cadillac, I want it tomorrow. You have to have some positive pushback from people that understand what they are doing. They know what they are talking about when it comes to my company. It is almost like they are an internal staff that works for me. They have my company’s interest at heart.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I deal with a lot of different business owners and a lot of different groups, and they have their own marketing structures. And they all say that they’re spending all this money on marketing but they don’t know what they are getting. Communication, and more specifically, marketing reports and statistical metrics are absolutely key in helping somebody understand what their dollars are doing for them when it comes to marketing. Hot Dog has been really good about staying on top of that.

I think the other thing is that someone will come to us and say that they have a 10,000-square foot house but they only want to do the closet. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t say let’s look at doing other areas or even all of the house as well. When we give Hot Dog a wish list of things we like to have, they come back and give us the gold standard for what they think they can do for us. They have the flexibility to say that for items 3, 4, 7, and 12, we aren’t going to do them as long as the other items can be done without those things. They don’t try to force us to burn dollars that aren’t necessary. When they say there is something we need, we seriously consider it because we know they aren’t going to sell it to us for no good reason. And if we say no to something initially, they come back in a few months to remind us.

Their communication is top-notch, and their flexibility outweighs all of it. It is the best thing about them. They don’t try to push anything down my throat. They tell me what works best and then allow me to choose what I want to do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The thing that is virtually impossible for them to do so I don’t know how I would call this an improvement, but to be able to have an even clearer way of figuring out how much volume we will get based on the spend, and either to help people understand how that works or help them understand that is not a realistic expectation at all. At the end of the day, I could spend a thousand or two thousand next month and get twice as many people coming in here. Their job is just to plug us into qualified clients.

What they don’t do, and one of the things I love about them, is they don’t try to push marketing out. They highly encourage me not to do television commercials. Even though a television commercial will reach two million people, only so many are looking for floors and only so many will remember. So, basically, I am burning marketing dollars on people who could care less about needing floors as opposed to a digital process where people are thinking about wood floors for their house. Those people start Googling and Hot Dog plugs us in.

The hardest thing for a business owner is to figure out how much to spend on marketing and what they are getting for it. Finding a way to communicate that better to someone is probably the only thing I can think of that they can improve on. I see that as a darned near impossibility, however. If anyone can figure that out, they can capture the world.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask every stupid question that goes through your mind and let them teach you the basics of how what they do works. It is absolutely critical not only to you, as a person wanting to utilize their services, but to them because they want their clients to understand as much as humanly possible.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the practice manager of a urology specialist.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hot Dog Marketing?

We were unhappy with our previous marketing partner. We couldn’t get the foothold in the competitive urology space in Austin, Texas. We wanted to do more campaigns, more websites, and really grow our digital presence.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re really comprehensive and engaging. We’ve had really great meetings in which they’ve provided a full plan and review. We need a lot of work on our SEO and PPC. We also needed a web presence for each of our departments; they need to be able to stand alone but also stand within our larger company umbrella.

They redesigned our main website and added more tabs and landing pages. They also created some specialty websites from scratch. We needed them all to be pretty uniform. They’re WordPress sites. On each of the websites, users can send in inquiries to learn more about our services.

Our main site generally attracts people who know what they’re looking for, but our other sites are very specific. Hot Dog Marketing did a great job helping us identify specific keywords that would help us mainstream that.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Jessica (Owner). Even though she’s the owner, she’s incredibly engaging and responsive. We also worked well with Kathryn (Client Services Manager), Cathy (Marketing Director), and Brandon (Creative Director).

They’re our go-to people and they’re always incredibly responsive. They always get back to us within a few minutes and have incredible, fun ideas. They made it easy to make our mundane medical searches a lot more interesting and fun for everybody.

How did you come to work with Hot Dog Marketing?

The owner of our company found them before I started.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a few hundred thousand dollars, but probably less than $500,000.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2017 and we’ve worked with them ever since.

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

We were able to measure how many new candidates we received per PPC campaign. We also saw significant growth year over year for patients looking for specific services. I saw a lot of growth in regards to organic searches based on what they promoted.

How did Hot Dog Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They usually send an email and I almost never have to call them because they’re so responsive. They get back to me within a few minutes.

They shifted some people around when we needed more urgent help, and they hired people as needed. They’re growing really quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with several other agencies, but Hot Dog Marketing stands out because they’re informative, incredibly professional, and very thorough. My favorite part though is that they’re fun to work with.  They had the same vision as us — working really hard but enjoying the work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything negative to say.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the tourism manager for a municipality. Our department is responsible for supporting the positioning of City as a Destination City by defining and recommending appropriate use of funding mechanisms to promote the community’s events, attractions, resources and lodging opportunities to appropriate segments of the traveling public.

For what projects/services did your company hire Hot Dog Marketing?

We hired Hot Dog Marketing to bring a new look to our visitor guide, as well as our digital and print advertisements.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals for the project was to develop a unified message with more visually appealing marketing material.

How did you select this vendor?

We selected Hot Dog Marketing because I had worked with them through another organization and was happy with the work they did. Additionally, they were incredibly responsive when we contacted them with our needs. They helped us map out a plan for moving forward, which made the task seem less overwhelming.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a kickoff meeting to discuss our needs. They asked detailed questions about our city, what we had done in the past, the recurring issues we were having, and what our expectations were. The first thing they did was help us come up with a unified message. After our initial meeting they provided us with three options and scheduled a second meeting for us to go through and let them know what we liked and didn't like. We were quickly able to find messaging we liked, as they listened to us and hit the nail on the head. Happy with their work, we then asked Hot Dog to redesign our digital and print ads. They quickly provided us three options to get the project rolling. Their timely communication and flexibility with our change requests landed us with ads we were very happy with and with a short turnaround time. Happy once again with their work, we then asked them to redesign our visitor guide. That project is still in process, but we are liking the first phases of the design.

What was the team composition?

We met with the owner for the kickoff meeting. During that time, she introduced us to the team members that would be working on our projects. We were assigned a project manager and she is in constant contact with us. If there is a specific issue we're having, she pulls that team member in to get the product right.

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

The streamlined messaging and design of our print and digital ads has improved our marketing efforts significantly. We have seen the effects through more traffic to our website and social media, as well as more inquiries about our destination.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Like any new relationship, there were some growing pains. However, Hot Dog took the time to learn our style of communication and adjust to accommodate our needs.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Honestly, the staff. They are such a laid back and nice group of people. I don't think we've had a single meeting where they didn't make us laugh. You walk out feeling like you just hung out with a bunch of friends versus attending a work meeting. They know how to get down to business though, they are always timely with their work and we are always impressed at their creativity.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They have been great to work with. They will continue to improve as we grow our relationship, as they will be more familiar with our preferences and needs.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the COO of ISF, Inc., a state management consulting and information technology firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hot Dog Marketing?

We wanted to build brand awareness and grow our market by letting the state government know who we are and what we do. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hot Dog Marketing initially performed a brand assessment to help us establish new messaging and branding guidelines from scratch. They also updated our website with the new branding as well as templates for proposals, presentations, and other collateral. They continue to provide social media marketing services, including written content for blogs and social media posts. 

What is the team composition? 

While we have one main point of contact, we've interfaced with about 5–6 others on their team as well. 

How did you come to work with Hot Dog Marketing?

After identifying several firms around Austin, Texas and Florida, Hot Dog Marketing outperformed others during the RFP process. We were impressed after some initial discussions with their team and they were also one of the most competitively priced firms we considered. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested around $80,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since April 2018.

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

Since Hot Dog Marketing updated our website, our traffic has tripled and is consistently growing thanks to their social media marketing efforts. They've done a great job of continuing to improve our online performance, providing monthly analytics reports in the process. Whenever we post new articles, we get a lot of positive engagement from clients. In addition to helping us increase business leads, they've also helped us become more of a thought leader in our space. 

How did Hot Dog Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They always meet set deadlines, even if it means putting in additional hours. They did whatever it took to launch our website a week ahead of schedule, for example, so we were able to have it up and running for a specific contract. Overall, they're very responsive, flexible, and diligent. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and customer-centric approach set them apart. They do what it takes to make their clients happy, even if it means working outside of the scope of work or putting in extra hours to meet shifting deadlines. They're also collaborative and open to discussing new ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. It's been a great relationship thus far. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about expectations, timelines, and project goals from the start. As long as you're honest about the reasoning behind project needs, they'll respond very well and do what it takes to make it happen. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the president of a digital innovation agency.

For what projects/services did your company hire Hot Dog Marketing?

We wanted to get a new website set up, which would focus on our new target enterprise customers. We wanted to use the expertise of Hot Dog Marketing to build a great SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) strategy to support this launch.

How did you select this vendor?

They could provide examples of outcomes and were within our budget. Plus, they were a good fit for our culture.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Hot Dog Marketing helped us with SEM, SEO, email marketing, reputation management, and online advertising. They also assisted with our blog, multimedia content, and social media.

After a kickoff meeting, they immediately started building our SEO, including campaign monitoring and management. I also met with their CEO to lay out a strategic plan that we could follow with or without their support.

What was the team composition?

We worked with an SEO/SEM strategist, social media specialist, multimedia specialist, and email marketing strategist. We were also in touch with a project manager and account manager.

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

Hot Dog Marketing set us up for success—after our engagement was through, we were able to execute the strategies laid out for us. Our Google search and SEO ranking did not suffer at all from the site transition.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Hot Dog Marketing worked well with our team. We had many meetings to discuss our goals and used Basecamp to manage the project. They sent regular updates, so we didn't have to wonder what was going on. It was terrific.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We could tell they had a genuine desire to see us succeed.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing partner for Richards Rodriguez and Skeith, a business law firm that serves mid-sized businesses in central Texas.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hot Dog Marketing?

We had an old website that needed to be updated to better match our identity and the kind of clients we wanted to serve. We also needed our written marketing materials and our social media postings to line up with that new identity presented in the website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re helping us by creating and updating the WordPress website. They’re also choosing and curating appropriate social media posts and refining our written marketing materials. Additionally, they’ve also coordinated videography services with third-party providers for our video blog email that goes out to our clients once a month. We collaborate on the content to include on the blog and social media. They also help us to curate news articles and other external content that we think would be of value to our clients.

What is the team composition?

I talk with their CEO directly for overall strategy. Our internal marketing and recruiting director talks to the website and social media coordinator. Our internal director coordinates with the videographer and video blog coordinator.

How did you come to work with Hot Dog Marketing?

We share an office building with them, which is how we originally met. We also heard about them through word of mouth, and we saw them at an event. We interviewed several marketing firms. Hot Dog Marketing clearly understands the market we’re trying to reach and the image we’re trying to present. They laid out a comprehensive plan of the services they provide and the service providers they manage, which was appealing to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2017 and the work is ongoing.

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

Web views and repeat web views increased three times since the program began. Our leads went from zero to several per week. They’ve helped us attain a new method to acquire leads.

How did Hot Dog Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is fantastic. Communication has always been exceptionally clear. They keep me informed about what’s going on. We communicate via email, and we use Basecamp to keep on top of the larger projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re good at communicating the status of the project and asking questions to understand our goals. We had one or two issues where the results came out differently than we expected. They engaged immediately, and we worked together and got them resolved quickly and in a way that made everybody happy.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take the time to explain the goals of the project and to educate them about that. Allow yourself to use Hot Dog Marketing’s expertise. Don’t go to them with a transactional mindset. Spend some time listening because they have good ideas on how to accomplish your goals.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm director of operations for McCreary Veselka Bragg and Allen (MVBA), a law firm that collects delinquent property taxes in Texas.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hot Dog Marketing?

Our brand was old and needed a change. We wanted to bring it up to date, make it livelier, and be in tune with who we are as a business.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've done several things for the last few years. They began by creating a new logo and color scheme. They redesigned our entire website and led SEO. They redid our business cards to reflect the new branding. We had a joint working session to develop a new tagline. They came back with a couple of suggestions and we chose the one that we liked best. They’ve helped us refresh our proposal template that we use for potential clients. They're helping us revamp our report template for current clients. They’re also in the process of doing some video marketing for us. They've done several brochures for us, which we use as leave behinds. They’re doing our social media posting as well.

What is the team composition?

We have a customer service liaison that we deal with directly for any questions. I also speak directly with their creative director. There’s a number of team members assigned to our account including branding experts, video developers, designers, and copywriters.

How did you come to work with Hot Dog Marketing?

We knew about them through word of mouth because they’re active in our local community. Once we met the team, we immediately felt comfortable. We liked what they had to offer in terms of the solutions and ideas they brought to the table.

How much have you invested with them?

We're scheduled to spend $25,000 this year but it will probably be closer to $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The rebranding work started in May 2016 and the marketing engagement is ongoing.

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

Overall website traffic has gone up 300%–400% since they launched the rebranding and SEO efforts. The rebranding of our proposals helped us win 2–3 new contracts over the past year. The universal comment was that it’s the best looking proposal out of all of our competitors.

How did Hot Dog Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Typically when we have a project, we send it over to our customer service liaison. She assigns it to whichever team member or project group needs to take the lead. Then we'll determine if we need to have a sit down meeting or if we can just hash things out over email. They use Basecamp program to keep track of each project, which is nice so I can see what's going on and easily communicate with the team. The creative director has great ideas and is also a good listener. The whole team asks great questions and then comes back with great options for us to consider. Also, they always deliver on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I can count on them to follow through and finish our project. We’re not their only customer, but it sometimes feels that way because they go above and beyond for us. That kind of customer service makes a big difference. We view them as an extension of our company and not just a vendor. It's a nice relationship.

Any advice for potential customers?

Come with an open mind. We weren’t very open-minded at the beginning but they opened our minds to their ideas. They will deliver a great plan for you if you’re open to it.