Digital Marketing/WordPress + Training
Ice Nine Online provides award-winning digital marketing services plus training to help their clients keep pace with the latest industry tools and techniques. Over the last nine years, Ice Nine has built hundreds of SEO-optimized WordPress websites for small and mid-size companies and generated millions of dollars in revenue from digital campaigns.
Client Education and Transparency: Ice Nine Online views itself as an extension of their client’s internal teams. To that end, they offer ongoing training and education for client team members and ensure their clients know about the newest trends in digital marketing.
Digital + Research: Ice Nine Online puts a strong emphasis on research. Before launching campaigns or website projects, they thoroughly research their client’s customers and competitors to understand their online behaviors. The goal is to reach the right customers, at the right time, and in the right places online.
Track Record of Success: Ice Nine Online has won multiple awards for its work over the past 9 years. But better than that, they have a long track record of client wins. Ask them about relevant case studies for your industry or situation.
Specialties: Digital Marketing Strategy & Tactics, SEO, SEM, Content Marketing, WordPress, Web Design & Development, B2B Marketing, Market Research, Digital Marketing Training.
headquarters
SEO, PPC & SEM for Cleaning & Disinfecting Manufacturer
the project
"Their Google Ads, SEO, and SEM efforts have done exceptionally well."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the marketing manager at 2XL. We’re a manufacturer and supplier of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfectant products, including wipes and sanitizers.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine Online?
Previously, we worked with a paid search firm but weren’t seeing results. Our impressions and conversions were relatively low. For the amount we paid, the data didn’t add up. We needed to make a change to see success in our paid search and SEO campaigns.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Ice Nine properly set up our Google Analytics and Google AdWords accounts, which had minor mistakes that interfered with the accuracy of our reports. Their team then assessed all of our initiatives to pinpoint our challenges. They found that we bid on the wrong keywords and ranked for the wrong keywords. That meant we didn’t get enough traffic to our site. Their team then rebuilt our keyword strategy.
From an e-commerce standpoint, Ice Nine realized that our domain was actually on an entirely separate domain. That interfered with our ability to get conversions from Google. Their team then led the integration of our website with WooCommerce. They also helped us with quite a few social media campaigns.
What is the team composition?
I mainly work with Matt (CEO). From time to time, I also work with another teammate on our website.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine Online?
I searched Google for SEO firms in Chicago, and Ice Nine was one of the first results. I called them and liked their energy. I interviewed 10–12 different firms that immediately wanted to discuss our budget. Unlike them, Matt asked about our goals. Before we set up an agreement, he reviewed our campaigns and results, which let me know that Ice Nine wasn’t just about the money.
My director was hesitant to start the engagement, and it took about three months to get approval. During that time, I didn’t feel pressured to move forward with Ice Nine. Their patience, care, and customer service led to our decision to work with them.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve probably spent more than $40,000 on their services so far.
What is the status of this engagement?
I discovered them in September 2018, but we didn’t officially onboard with them until January 2019. We definitely still work with them.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The integration with WooCommerce made the website 10-times better. Their social media campaigns have also been successful.
All in all, our performance improved including our site's impressions. We’re now able to track our conversions, which improved as has our revenue. We now rank on the first page of Google for quite a few keywords.
How did Ice Nine Online perform from a project management standpoint?
We have weekly Zoom calls and have an in-depth review of all of their efforts once a month. Their team’s responsive to e-mails and phone calls. They’re happy to answer any of our questions. If they don’t have an answer right away, their team digs to find one.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their Google Ads, SEO, and SEM efforts have done exceptionally well. We’re most impressed by the improvements to our SEO and paid search strategies. We rank on the first page of Google for several different keywords, which is tough to do.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, they make their strengths clear. When we go to them for projects related to those specializations, their team executes them well. They’re killing it across the board.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Matt and Andrew can break down SEO in a way that’s understandable. Be transparent because they’re direct. If you have a question, they won’t beat around the bush. Be willing to learn too.
Focus
Portfolio
CVS, 2XL Corporation, Cars.com, Jackson Dearborn Partners, Bang & Olufsen, Wunderlich-Malec Engineering, Morgan Birgé & Associates, Gibraltar Business Capital, V3 Companies, VinTech Security Systems, Asurion LLC, Arbor Mills, MVC Consulting, Inc., ProTransport Software, FriendMedia, Inc., Preston Law Offices
Arbor Mills
Ice Nine Online partnered with top-tier creative agency Blu Sky Creative to build a WordPress website that evokes the innovative, luxury nature of the Arbor Mills brand while creating an exceptional user experience for the website’s visitors.
V3 Companies
V3 needed a custom company Intranet to be used as a portal for team members. The Intranet was meant to facilitate communication, provide access to key company info, alert team members to company news and milestones, and act a central repository for company documents and collaboration tools.
Ice Nine Online built a custom company Intranet utilizing the WordPress platform. Ice Nine Online also trained V3’s team on how to make routine updates to the Intranet and how to facilitate usage and administration of the Intranet.
Features of the Intranet include:
- Groups i.e. Runners Group, Movie Lovers, etc.
- Real-time weather forecast
- Slack-like internal messaging
- A custom interactive blog Company-wide alerts Interactive office directory
- Interactive employee directory
- Interactive document repository
- A custom feed from the company Facebook page
- Multiple company calendars
- Company-wide polls
- Google-like internal search
- Help desk and other forms
- A plethora of access-levels, admin customizations, and advanced options
Midwest Training & Ice Center
Ice Nine Online built a highly-customized WordPress website, utilizing best-practices along with some unique functions like a stand-alone micro-site with its own unique design. They built a custom back-end for MWTI staff to be able to quickly and easily access various areas of the site that are relevant to them – cutting out back-end functions that weren’t necessary for them to perform ongoing updates (a MWTI “staff” view and separate “developer” view).
Ice Nine also built in an integration with MWTI’s “Jackrabbit” class signup system as well as integrations with their Instagram and other social media accounts. The page designs were built to reflect the unique class featured on the page – separate branding, images, and video incorporated on the pages for each class or service e.g. different design for “Fitness Center” vs. “Open Skate” vs. “Recreational Tumbling.”
MVC Consulting
Ice Nine Online built MVC Consulting's new website utilizing the WordPress platform, utilizing parallax design elements, clear calls-to-action and minimalistic design to cater to MVC’s target markets.
Wellen Capital
Wellen needed a complete rebrand of their online presence. Ice Nine Online managed and executed the rebrand online, including re-skinning the prior website, updating Google My Business and other online properties, 301 redirects from the old brand URLs to new ones, Google Analytics updates, Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools updates, updating all mentions of the old brand, and deploying the newly rebranded website.
Jackson Dearborn Partners
Ice Nine Online built a 100% custom WordPress theme and SEO-optimized website for one of the Midwest’s real estate leaders.
Reviews
the project
Web Development for IP Financial Services Firm
“They always communicated well and delivered on time and on budget.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CTO of Ocean Tomo. We’re a B2B financial services company. We’re IP focused, so everything from expert testimony to valuation to transactions. Now we’re expanding into the investment banking space.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine Online?
Our main website was aging and it needed to be updated. We had a huge, convoluted website with hundreds of pages and services, so it wasn’t easy to navigate. We needed a partner to come in to move the content to a new site, organize the content, and bring it to 2020 standards.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They came in and looked at everything on our existing site. It was a complete rebuild. We moved from an old Drupal site to WordPress.
They helped identify what we needed to migrate to the new site, and what we could exclude on the new site. They helped us create new media center content and new blog posts.
They also built customizable, searchable landing pages. We wanted the site to be more interactive. Each of our team members has their own page with a video that introduces the team member.
They worked with the marketing team and created a chat function as well.
What is the team composition?
Matt was the main contractor and then we had about two other people on the team.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine Online?
I interviewed a couple of firms, but Ice Nine Online was suggested to me by an acquaintance. We sat down, and they won me over.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent a little over $25,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in January 2019 and we contract with them to maintain the site.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They’ve streamlined how we make changes to the website, and it’s easy to revert back if something goes wrong. For the marketing team, it has been a great change. They can pull leads from the site and track how it’s performing. The impact on lead generation has been huge.
How did Ice Nine Online perform from a project management standpoint?
The way they lay out the project is a little different than how I’ve worked in the past, and it was much better. Their project management was great. It streamlined the process. We had several teams on our end invested in the project, and they ensured we all had input without slowing down the project.
We met in person because their office is very close to ours. For all the milestone meetings, they came to us.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The project management was impressive. For the size of the project, the scope, and how complex our marketing team’s needs are, Ince Nine Online handled it extremely well. They always communicated well and delivered on time and on budget.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I don’t think they need to improve on anything.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Be straightforward and honest about what you want. They’ll be able to lay out their ideas so they can help you.
the project
SEO, PPC & SEM for Cleaning & Disinfecting Manufacturer
"Their Google Ads, SEO, and SEM efforts have done exceptionally well."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the marketing manager at 2XL. We’re a manufacturer and supplier of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfectant products, including wipes and sanitizers.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine Online?
Previously, we worked with a paid search firm but weren’t seeing results. Our impressions and conversions were relatively low. For the amount we paid, the data didn’t add up. We needed to make a change to see success in our paid search and SEO campaigns.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Ice Nine properly set up our Google Analytics and Google AdWords accounts, which had minor mistakes that interfered with the accuracy of our reports. Their team then assessed all of our initiatives to pinpoint our challenges. They found that we bid on the wrong keywords and ranked for the wrong keywords. That meant we didn’t get enough traffic to our site. Their team then rebuilt our keyword strategy.
From an e-commerce standpoint, Ice Nine realized that our domain was actually on an entirely separate domain. That interfered with our ability to get conversions from Google. Their team then led the integration of our website with WooCommerce. They also helped us with quite a few social media campaigns.
What is the team composition?
I mainly work with Matt (CEO). From time to time, I also work with another teammate on our website.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine Online?
I searched Google for SEO firms in Chicago, and Ice Nine was one of the first results. I called them and liked their energy. I interviewed 10–12 different firms that immediately wanted to discuss our budget. Unlike them, Matt asked about our goals. Before we set up an agreement, he reviewed our campaigns and results, which let me know that Ice Nine wasn’t just about the money.
My director was hesitant to start the engagement, and it took about three months to get approval. During that time, I didn’t feel pressured to move forward with Ice Nine. Their patience, care, and customer service led to our decision to work with them.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve probably spent more than $40,000 on their services so far.
What is the status of this engagement?
I discovered them in September 2018, but we didn’t officially onboard with them until January 2019. We definitely still work with them.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The integration with WooCommerce made the website 10-times better. Their social media campaigns have also been successful.
All in all, our performance improved including our site's impressions. We’re now able to track our conversions, which improved as has our revenue. We now rank on the first page of Google for quite a few keywords.
How did Ice Nine Online perform from a project management standpoint?
We have weekly Zoom calls and have an in-depth review of all of their efforts once a month. Their team’s responsive to e-mails and phone calls. They’re happy to answer any of our questions. If they don’t have an answer right away, their team digs to find one.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their Google Ads, SEO, and SEM efforts have done exceptionally well. We’re most impressed by the improvements to our SEO and paid search strategies. We rank on the first page of Google for several different keywords, which is tough to do.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, they make their strengths clear. When we go to them for projects related to those specializations, their team executes them well. They’re killing it across the board.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Matt and Andrew can break down SEO in a way that’s understandable. Be transparent because they’re direct. If you have a question, they won’t beat around the bush. Be willing to learn too.
the project
Web Migration & Modernization for Cancer Center
“They respond within one business day or sooner. If we have a question, they’re willing to help.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CFO and project manager for the Cancer Wellness Center. We provide free education, wellness, and support services to cancer patients, their families, and to those who have lost someone to cancer within the last five years.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine Online?
We needed a modern website that would be more user-friendly to our participants.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They moved our website from a custom-built site to WordPress so we could edit the site easier. They made our website more modern and made recommendations to help our UX. Since then, they’ve been managing the platform and making larger edits, while we can make smaller edits on our own.
What is the team composition?
We initially started working with the founder. We’ve also worked with a web developer for bigger edits.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine Online?
They were a referral from one of our board members. Ice Nine Online was very highly recommended and we received really good feedback about them. They were very generous and offered a discount because of our nonprofit status, so they were within our budget.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent about $10,000–$15,000 on the website, and we pay for maintenance as needed.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with them in March 2018 and we still work with them for things we can’t do on our own.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The website went live at the end of August 2018 and it is more modern visually. They were able to make adjustments while maintaining our brand.
They helped reestablish Google Analytics, making it easy to track traffic. We’ve seen an increase in the number of people that go to our website and the amount of time they spend on the site. We’ve only received positive feedback from participants.
How did Ice Nine Online perform from a project management standpoint?
They respond within one business day or sooner. If we have a question, they’re willing to help. The team is very courteous and professional.
We communicate predominately over email, but sometimes hold larger conversations on the phone.
What did you find most impressive about them?
We really appreciate their responsiveness. Other vendors we’ve worked with were hard to get ahold of when we needed to make changes.
We also love the look and feel of our website. It’s very clean and user-friendly. That was an important aspect of the project, and they did that very well.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They’re training us now, but it would have been helpful if we started doing that at the beginning of our engagement. We hoped they could record trainings to help us onboard new staff members.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Communicate your expectations at the beginning. The team is very understanding and are willing to work on whatever your goals are.
the project
Web Dev for Real Estate Company
"They are very knowledgeable about user experience and site optimization."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
Head of Creative, Partner at Jackson Dearborn Partners. Responsible for all marketing, design, and advertising efforts at the corporate and property level. JDP is a multi-family and student housing investment & development company with a diverse portfolio of assets.
For what projects/services did your company hire Ice Nine Online?
To build our new website.
What were your goals for this project?
The main goal was to create/build a simple easy to use website that shows off our current portfolio and allows users to directly invest in our active funds or contact us to learn more. Another goal was to showcase our brand and get our name out there.
How did you select this vendor?
I attended Matt Chiera's digital marketing seminar at Cushing around the time JDP started discussing creating a new website. Matt's seminar was impressive and I quickly added Ice Nine Online to our short list. I met with Matt and his team a couple months later to explain what we were looking for and found the team to be personable and professional. In our next meeting we set up a game plan & project timeline.
Describe the project in detail.
We had a couple introduction meetings so Ice Nine could better understand JDP. From there we set up an overall timeline for the project with 3 revision meetings along with a final review. I sent them the basic design of what we were looking for and they built the site out.
What was the team composition?
I mostly communicated with Matt, which made the entire process very easy. After revision meeting 3 I was in contact with their developer Andrew to go over back end details and such.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
We just launched the website this week and the Ice Nine team has been very responsive and helpful. Before launch they set up a back end training session along with sending over a tutorial video. This has been extremely helpful in managing the site.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
The overall workflow was pretty seamless. Their team was very easy to communicate with, always responsive and clear. They were true professionals, but also very personable.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
They are very knowledgeable about user experience and site optimization. Very strong digital marketing background.
Are there any areas for improvement?
Although there is always room for improvement, at this moment I can't think of anything specific.
the project
Lead Generation Web Design for Dyslexic Learning Center
"They were always available to answer questions and challenged me whenever something could be improved."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
The Written Word Center for Dyslexia and Learning is an organization founded by my wife and me. We’re focused on the remediation of dyslexia in students as well as educating the community on the matter. We also work on training other teachers to become academic language therapists so that they can help kids in need of dyslexia intervention.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine Online?
We wanted to provide a web platform that could not only educate people on our subject matter but also engage people looking to hear more about our services, as well as become a resource for book recommendations and community networks. Another part of our business involves renting an office/meeting space within a building we own, so we also wanted to attract professionals in the education field for this service.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Initially, we went through a general consultation session to discuss what we were looking for, who we are, and what we were looking to achieve as a business, as well as how the website would fit into that. We set up the basics of the proposal, including what Ice Nine Online would build and their price. The next step involved setting up a timeline and meetings for each milestone, both virtual and in-person.
The website was built on WordPress. Some of the features we requested include a community calendar for displaying events on the website and a blog for organization announcements. We wanted to tell our story through the homepage, explaining who we are and what we do in a succinct, simple way. This was important to do, given that our business covers a lot of different angles, from students to training and office space.
Another goal was creating contact forms throughout the website, making it easy for people to engage with us whenever they were ready to. Ice Nine Online also worked on SEO and SEM.
What is the team composition?
Their president was our single point of contact, which simplified the execution process. I didn’t meet the rest of the team.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine Online?
I took the digital marketing class taught by Matt Chiera (Founder, Ice Nine Online) in downtown Chicago. I remained in contact with him, and after my business started to grow and required a website, I reached out to him. I didn’t consider any other companies; I knew that he would build the best website possible and find the time to educate us on the process so that we could make changes ourselves.
As part of the contract, Matt allowed additional hours during which we could go over any questions about the website’s maintenance. I plan to remain in contact with him as my website evolves and I start to make changes to it.
How much have you invested with them?
The cost of their work was above $10,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with Ice Nine Online in January 2018 and the site was launched in February.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Since launching the site this year, we’ve had at least 12 inquiries from students needing help to teachers needing training or office space. These are people who are truly interested in engaging with our company. We only received 12 inquiries across 2017, so the results have been amazing and the site has truly served the goal we were trying to accomplish.
How did Ice Nine Online perform from a project management standpoint?
We met once or twice per week during the project. I appreciated the cadence, planning, follow-ups, and documentation process from their team. Ice Nine Online guided us through the work well and delivered on time.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Matt made it easy for us to engage with him. He listened and helped us become better marketers, providing training on the platform being built. We had a level of comfort knowing that he would be there to guide us and grow with us.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They accomplished our goal in a timely manner and delivered a working website. I have no negative comments.
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
The advice I would give any client is to prepare goals for what they want to accomplish as a business, beyond building a website. Matt will ask about strategic business goals, in order to know how those can be supported by a website.
the project
Intranet Dev for Civil Engineering Company
"Working with a firm that was able to operate independently made our lives a lot easier."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I'm the Senior Marketing Communications Specialist for V3 Companies. We're a civil engineering, construction, and ecological restoration firm headquartered in Woodridge, Illinois, with 300 employees across multiple offices.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine Online?
We’ve used a number of intranet systems over the years. We hired Ice Nine to create a new iteration that would serve as a central hub for company-wide documents and help streamline internal communications.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They built a secure web platform that connects our internal staff without individual users having to VPN into our network. Easily accessible to our various offices and offsite workers, the system hosts our company’s common forms and policy manuals.
The intranet will serve as a space to share information about internal programs, events, and any company-related news.
It also includes a new social function our previous systems lacked. This allows employees to connect with peers who have common interests and set up events or groups. Joggers can find other employees interested in jogging, for instance.
Ice Nine provides training to ensure our staff is familiar with their system.
What is the team composition?
We’ve worked with the same project manager, Matt Chiera [CEO, Ice Nine Online] throughout the project. He communicates our needs to their team of developers.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine Online?
We had a mediocre experience with the development firm that built our external-facing website. Their ineffective communication methods forced us to waste internal time by guiding them step-by-step through the development process. We sent out an RFP for the intranet project, with one priority being an ability to work independently.
While they were the most expensive option, we felt confident that Ice Nine could meet our deadlines and help keep us on task in the event of delays on our end. They also demonstrated an ability to think outside the box. The social aspect wasn’t part of our initial scope, but was instead recommended by Ice Nine after they listened to our goals. Their competitors offered more generic solutions.
How much have you invested with them?
Around $50,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in July 2017 and our relationship is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
While we haven’t yet launched the system company-wide, the employees we’ve shown it to are very excited. They think it's going to be a huge asset, and people have been pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of the social aspects. We hope this will also help us recruit Millennials.
Once fully implemented, we expect the system to dramatically cut down on email clutter. Having our corporate documents readily available will reduce inquiries to our human resources department. The clean, easy-to-use layout will also make it easy for multiple individuals to make updates as needed.
How did Ice Nine Online perform from a project management standpoint?
Effective project management is one of their key strengths. Unlike our previous vendor, they listened to our needs and took our priorities into consideration when designing the platform. They worked alongside us and gave honest input if they thought our requests would delay the project or lower the overall quality. Their expertise helped steer us in the right direction.
We had a couple of initial meetings to discuss schedules and milestones, and Matt’s thoroughness ensured we hit ever deadline. He also provided a detailed timeline for our end which helped us stay on task and provide necessary documents in a timely fashion.
Ice Nine is highly responsive, even over the holidays. We also made a few change requests outside of the initial scope, but Ice Nine was able to accommodate us without affecting our budget or schedule. They really went above and beyond.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their communication is highly effective compared to our previous vendor. They’re able to seamlessly execute our priorities and we never have to follow up or repeat ourselves. Working with a firm that was able to operate independently made our lives a lot easier.
We were able to stay on task thanks to their gentle nudging, while their candor and technical expertise ensured a quality end result.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, which is really rare. I’ve spoken to multiple people in our company about Ice Nine’s results and received nothing but glowing reviews across the board.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Don't make a decision based on money alone. Ice Nine presented the highest quote of the firms we considered, but the time saved by having a proper company manage the project ended up saving us money in the long run.
the project
Google Adwords & Analytics for Chicago Marketing Agency
"They're top notch and very responsive."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
The Well Advertising is a full-service advertising and marketing firm doing creative media buying and planning and digital and web development. I’m the owner/CEO.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine?
We were looking for a good digital marketing partner who could specifically do Google AdWords and analytics.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They manage all our clients' AdWords campaigns, budgets, and creative development. They'll give suggestions and recommendations for SEO or social media marketing, but they don’t execute those.
What is the team dynamic?
I mostly work with Matt [Founder, Ice Nine Online], and there are 2–3 working under him, I believe.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine?
They were a referral from a friend of mine.
How much have you invested with them?
$30,000–$40,000/year.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in October 2015, and the work is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The campaigns are running really well, and the clients are happy with them. Our return on investment has been good. Everything has been positive.
How did Ice Nine perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re top notch and very responsive. We usually communicate through email. We are in contact a couple times a week.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They never miss a deadline and are very much on top of things. Matt makes a great effort at keeping up on changes and innovations in the industry and bringing us new ideas, which I appreciate.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, they’re doing a terrific job.
Any advice for future clients of theirs?
They do their best work when you use all the pieces and parts of their deliverable. You get the best results when you follow their protocol, process, and steps. If you’re not ready to do that, I would hold off until you are.
the project
Digital Marketing for Small Business Lender
"The work is excellent and has already helped our company grow.
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the executive vice president of Gibraltar Capital Advance, a small business finance company. We're an independent source of capital for businesses. I look after everything that generates revenue for the business such as sales and marketing and associated operations.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine?
Most broadly, we wanted new customer acquisition. Specifically, our business has both a direct and an indirect customer origination channel. The direct line involves our in-house sales and marketing efforts, and we contracted Ice Nine to help with that.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They first helped with a digital paid search strategy, setting a budget, executing a digital paid search on Google, and then managing all the reporting and progress of those campaigns. We also do unpaid search, which includes traditional SEO and a general optimizing of our online presence. Ice Nine also did a complete teardown and rebuild of our old website for us.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine?
Honestly, it was a referral. We spent some time vetting and interviewing, but we liked Matt [Founder and CEO, Ice Nine] right away.
How much have you invested with Ice Nine?
In fees that we pay directly to the company, we’ll spend about $75,000 by the end of 2017. Matt’s managing a pay-per-click (PPC) budget of $300,000 for us, even though it’s not what we pay him. Ice Nine doesn’t take a percentage of that as a management fee; they're getting paid by a scoped contract. But, they perform certain enumerated services for certain fees.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in January, and the work is ongoing. Matt will continue to do the program and campaign management and reporting for us on PPC.
Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?
I’m very satisfied with the site’s performance. The work is excellent and has already helped our company grow. Just in the first 6 months of the engagement, we have tangible, measurable results in customer growth. There’s been a 50% increase in our run rate of new customer acquisition, compared to before the engagement with Ice Nine. That growth makes the investment really positive. We'll have positive ROI with Ice Nine in our first 6 months.
People, internally and externally, say they like the website, so that's good news. More to the point, we've also seen a sharp increase in the number of indirect sales firms who want to partner with us, now that we have a new site and improved SEO.
What did you find most impressive about Ice Nine?
Matt takes great care of us as a customer. He isn't just performing the work as scoped under the contract. He thinks about us and generates ideas. When delivering reporting and results, he demonstrates a very high level of customer care. You can tell he actually wants this relationship to work. He's very committed to us being successful. He wants us to derive value, and he makes that very evident through his work and delivery.
Are there any areas Ice Nine could improve?
No, I don't have any suggestions. I’ll keep it all positive.
What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Ice Nine?
Customers need to have clear objectives. The customer needs to have their own strategy nailed down first. If you can communicate that unambiguously and clearly to Ice Nine, they will execute well.
the project
Website Rebuild for Financial Services Firm
"Ice Nine Online is able to take a holistic approach to understanding their client’s needs and business case."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
Gibraltar Capital Advance is a financial services firm. We provide financial facilities to small businesses, primarily B2C. We have a sister company, Gibraltar Business Capital, that primarily serves B2B businesses. We have a sales staff, and we have multi-channel marketing campaigns to try to generate inbound leads, as well as full operations team, including underwriters, account executives, and customer service, because we finance all our deals directly. I’m the technology/marketing operations resource.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine Online?
There were two parts. First, we wanted to optimize our inbound lead generation. Our website was old. The last time it had been refreshed was in 2012 or 2013. It was fine, but it wasn’t a good inbound lead generation tool. Second, we had moved to using Pardot as our marketing automation tool in 2014, and a lot of our engagement programs and nurture campaigns were done via Pardot with emails and landing pages. However, we needed a more integrated solution and a better look and feel for the website, as well as just making it more of an inbound lead generation tool.
What was the scope of their involvement?
The first part was a website rebuild, and that was a discrete project, kickoff through delivery. The second is ongoing, which is the launching of the digital marketing efforts, primarily focused on AdWords.
For the website rebuild, Ice Nine Online started from scratch. They handled both the design and development. They came in and did their innovation phase to determine our values and what we wanted to do. The design phase followed, and then the delivery phase. The ongoing work is mostly off-site advertising to bring traffic to the site.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine Online?
Ice Nine Online was a referral. We did due diligence, looking at a few vendors. It became clear early on that Ice Nine would be able to solve both our needs, which was great. It could be a one-stop shop. They were able to refresh the website and optimize it to be a great lead generation tool, and then work on online advertising, specifically AdWords.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started the project at the end of 2016 or the beginning of 2017, and the work is ongoing.
Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
I think this leads to a broader answer regarding the quality of their overall work and the process they took. The finished product is fantastic, and the ongoing work is exceptional and high-quality. I think that’s a result of their focus, day in and day out, on communication, delivery of milestones on time, check-ins, and the iterative process with the website as well as the lead generation. Their team is very proactive in communicating expectations: what we’re supposed to deliver and what they do with it, what they will deliver, just the whole timeline. So, communication is always great.
We were able to select from a variety of options. Ice Nine Online didn't pigeonhole us into what they were going to do for us. From the start, they listened to us to identify our needs and then used their expertise to lay out options, giving the pros and cons of each. They provided recommendations but were very responsive to our needs. They were focused on what was best for us to achieve our goals. I think the process they take is really good and consultative. Concurrently, they use their expertise to fill in the gaps that we have in order to meet our goals. Their project management and expertise yielded an incredible result for us.
There were curve balls along the way. We have Pardot, Salesforce, and all the apps we use which needed to be integrated. When problems came up, they took ownership and ran with it. They looked for solutions and found them. All in all, the quality and end result are great.
AdWords is huge, and there’s a lot to it. The team at Ice Nine Online knows their stuff really well. They’re incredibly responsive. They have great ideas about how to tweak, how to expand, how to change, and the reporting is tremendous. They give us a lot of focused reports that present the data in ways that allow us to identify what’s working and what’s not, and then make good decisions about how to move forward. We’ve been doing that for two or three months now, so it’s relatively new, but it’s tremendous. I don’t think I could pick which project is better because they’ve both been pretty awesome.
How did Ice Nine Online perform from a project management standpoint?
We had an aggressive timeline and needed things to be done as soon as possible. They met the timeline by working backward. We wanted to launch by a given date, so they detailed what we needed to do at each point to reach that date, using innovation, design, and development as the three main parts of the process. Even with the curve balls that I mentioned, they hit the deadline. I’m sure they worked some late nights, and they hit every milestone and delivered. The project management was great. They’re very communicative and responsive. They’re really good at what they do.
What did you find most impressive about Ice Nine Online?
They don’t operate in silos. It’s not just a website or just digital marketing. Ice Nine Online is able to take a holistic approach to understanding their client’s needs and business case. They develop a custom solution for your company to be able to execute on that vision.
Are there any areas Ice Nine Online could improve?
You can’t be all things to all people. Their specialty is WordPress and AdWords. If that’s fine for you, that's great. If not, then I don’t know if Ice Nine Online is the right shop for you. WordPress is pretty robust, and you can do a lot with it. It works great for us.
Do you have any recommendations for potential clients?
For any company interested in using a website to expand their lead generation efforts, it’s important to do the homework. When you’re looking for a vendor, know what you’re looking to do, even down to the platform. Ice Nine Online specializes in WordPress, although I’m sure they could use other platforms. If you want a WordPress site, that’s great. If you’re not sure, then go and do your due diligence about the advantages of WordPress over a different platform. A client should have an idea of what that is and ask questions appropriately because they’re going to come in with guns blazing, ready to deliver. They’re focused on delivering results and hitting those milestones.
the project
Website Development for Logistics Software Company
"Ice Nine Online is very knowledgeable in what they're doing. They are focused in this particular area, and their services were spot-on."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Please describe your organization.
We are a software development company, and our product is focused specifically on logistics. It's an all-in-one solution. It was imperative for us to have a good representation online and to demonstrate the capacity of our product.
What is your position?
I am the director of sales and business development.
What business challenge were you trying to address with Ice Nine Online?
We needed our website completely rebuilt and modernized. We also used their help with some SEO [search engine optimization], and it has already paid back. We are enjoying a great amount of visits and attention to our website. The functionalities that we sought after in this project allowed us to capture consumer and visitor information and intrigue communication on their behalf. It has really increased dramatically.
Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.
It was Web development and digital marketing, if needed. Matt [Chiera, founder of Ice Nine Online] is extremely responsive and is very available. If I have any issues or any questions, he's extremely helpful and responsive to all of them.
How did you come to work with Ice Nine Online?
The company owner found them, and from what I know, it was a word of mouth reference in our case. We work with a lot of companies, and we are a very well-communicated and supported community in the logistics business.
Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative?
I was not part of the price negotiations. The company president had negotiated the price and, at the time that I started working with Matt on the project, they had already communicated and started with a payment plan.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with them February of this year [2015].
Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?
I don't have specific metrics. I've been too lazy to look at the numbers themselves, but we have seen obvious results, at least comparing to what our presence online was with the previous website. The level of interest this one has enabled us to capture has been tremendous. Unfortunately, I don't have specific metrics to share with you, but it is noticeable for us, and we are very happy with it.
What distinguishes Ice Nine Online from other providers?
First and foremost, they're knowledgeable. Matt brought some wonderful ideas. We're not very experienced with web design, so Matt brought some very sound and professional ideas regarding the design, the attitude, and the approach of presenting our brand on the web for certain small and big details.
Second, as I mentioned, his responsiveness. He has always been available, he's always given us feedback on any ideas, suggestions, or questions we may have. Ice Nine Online is very knowledgeable in what they're doing. They are focused in this particular area, and their services were spot-on. They are very dedicated to the projects that they take.
In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?
Given our experience, certainly not.
Ice Nine Online implemented effective digital marketing campaigns that not only secured first page rankings on Google but also increased impressions, conversions, and revenue. The team’s accessible and knowledgeable. Their efficacy and transparency result in a successful ongoing partnership.