Idea Marketing Group

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a nonprofit organization based in Chicago. We work mainly with young high school students in the area, with the mission of involving young people in specific engagement opportunities. We achieve this by working with teachers in schools and by doing direct development work through our citywide youth and leadership councils. The work starts out as an off-school program. We also run direct political campaigns involving young people, but we are nonpartisan. We serve around 6,000 young people, and we're expanding to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

What is your position?

I am the communications director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Idea Marketing Group?

Our website was very old and not mobile-friendly. We couldn't update its content ourselves, instead relying on the people with whom we worked. It also didn't look good and did not bring out the energy of what we represented. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We hired Idea Marketing Group in order to build a new website.

How did you come to work with Idea Marketing Group?

We didn't go through a request for proposal process, but I did contact many people in the industry. We had interviews and requested proposals for what we could achieve and what the cost would be. 

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost of the redesign project was between $20,000 and $30,000. It was initially estimated at a lower cost, but we decided to add e-commerce capabilities for our online donations, which bumped up the price.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2014. The website was launched in November of that year. Our work is ongoing, and we've had subsequent development on the site, creating a blog for it recently. They are our go-to web specialists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Their principal [founder and president Darren Fox] was amazing to work with. He was very hands-on, but his team wasn't necessarily as great. One of our developers quit in the middle of the process after delivering a bad first iteration of the site. Their owner took control of the work and got the project back on track. He was good at getting feedback from us and figuring out what needed to be fixed. There were some issues with our donation system, given that it was the first time they'd attempted to build something like it.

How did Idea Marketing Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very strong in this regard.

What distinguishes Idea Marketing Group from other providers?

Idea Marketing Group is very hands-on and listens to our requests, doing their best to deliver what we want. They are also a cost-effective solution, which was a big reason for deciding to work with them.

Is there anything Idea Marketing Group could have improved or done differently?

They're very good in terms of communication, taking our vision and building it on their end, but I also would have wanted to receive an expert perspective from them, which didn't happen to a great degree.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a top online resource for the meeting and event planning industry. We make it easy for event and meeting planners to research and contact local top event venues and event service providers. We utilize SEM to help drive traffic and generate leads for our members.

What is your position?

I am the President.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address with Idea Marketing Group?

We needed to overhaul our existing website, giving it a fresh new look that fit with current trends while providing a better user experience for our viewers. In addition, maintaining our existing Google rankings was crucial, so I wanted to make sure I selected a firm that showcased strong marketing expertise and experience.

What were your company’s business goals for the project?

We aimed to provide a more user friendly interface which would result in additional leads for my clients. In addition, maintaining current search engine rankings while improving them at the same time was critical.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

It was a full overhaul of our website which essentially works as an online directory where our clients can maintain and update their profiles. We moved from a proprietary system to the WordPress platform, which meant exporting existing databases and then remapping them to the new system. There are also several advanced search tools in place for browsing the directory.

How did you come to work with Idea Marketing Group?

We chose them based on previous work they did to our old system, which helped increase search rankings as well as some cosmetic issues. They also came highly recommended from trusted contacts in our city.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We have spent over $20,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

It was completed within a year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

They helped provide us with us a trackable lead source for our member listings. Our leads have increased 120% since moving over to the platform they built.

How did Idea Marketing Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Idea Marketing Group exceeded our expectations with design and implementation of a new lead generation concept.

What distinguishes Idea Marketing Group from other providers?

They understood our business. They also suggested new ideas for our website that we didn’t know were possible.

Is there anything Idea Marketing Group could have improved or done differently?

With our project, no improvements were necessary. They achieved our goal in getting to the top of the search engines and converting visitors to leads for our member listings.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a restaurant group.

What is your role at the company?

I am the marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Idea Marketing Group?

The relationship between our company and Idea Marketing Group is a long-standing one that preceded me. I do know that since being here, they have been an invaluable asset in regards to design – web and some collateral – and helping us with our email campaign efforts. 

What were your company's business goals for the project?

We wanted to continue to improve our communication and branding efforts.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

The project is ongoing, but through their professionalism and attention to detail, I feel like we are at a place where we are finally putting the right emphasis on our communication.

How did you come to work with Idea Marketing Group?

I know that our CFO/COO has a personal relationship with their owner.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

This year, we had Idea Marketing redesign all of our websites. So, with that and the continued monthly retainer this year, it was around $38,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are still working on some of the sites, but we are hoping to have them completed in the near future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Idea Marketing as always is a great group to work with. They bring an organized and timely workflow to our somewhat chaotic workflow. It was great having them help us along the way with reaching milestones within a timely fashion. Idea knows our company rather well and subsequently knows our strengths and weaknesses. They know that, sometimes, we can get lost in the details, but they are always there to lead us back to the project.

What distinguishes Idea Marketing Group from other providers?

I would say the personal nature with which they approach their clients.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve or things you might do differently?

Yes, but it has more to do with us than with Idea Marketing. I wish our company was better at getting information and feedback to Idea about whatever project we were currently working on. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a sales and Marketing Admin for a manufacturer of a decorative concrete company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Idea Marketing Group?

Our Website has changed a few times in the last 15+ years that I have worked here. The last change being hard to navigate. Idea brought back the ease of use to our website again!

SOLUTION

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

Idea created our competitors website which had a seamless flow. It was a no brainer to hire them.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

There was a lot of preplanning and flow charts to show the organization of our products on our page. There were many calls they got what our vision was. They also improved our product locator map!

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

I worked mainly with Taylor, their Account Manager but also when we had meetings, Darren, Erin and Sean were online.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I do not have the analytics to see any progress of success however the ease of use has drastically improved from our prior site.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The account manager was very organized, which helped to launch our site in a timely manner.

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

They all worked so well together to get out site looking the way it should have always been!

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

None. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I own a trashcan cleaning service in Arkansas. We sell our services to individuals and companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Idea Marketing Group, Inc.?

We hired Idea Marketing Group to create a custom website for our launch.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to have a clean and user-friendly site.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found another site that their team created. After talking with Idea Marketing Group, we knew they were the perfect fit for our business.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Idea Marketing Group designed, developed, and launched a website for my business.

What was the team composition?

I worked with a salesperson, project manager, designer, and team of developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

I’m pleased with the engagement we had with Idea Marketing Group and the outcome of our site. We’ve received compliments on the website. New customers have been signing up for our service.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I received a detailed project timeline from them. Their team was always available to answer my questions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Idea Marketing Group delivered what they promised. Their communicative team is excellent to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I was unsure of what to do after training but knew that they would answer all my questions.