Inertia Digital Marketing

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re the largest senior care provider in the state of Indiana. I’m the digital manager of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Inertia Digital Marketing?

Inertia joined our company in a smaller capacity around four years ago, solely focusing on our recruiting efforts. At that time, we were completely outsourcing all recruiting marketing, from design to ads. I was brought in to be the in-house designer, and we were looking for opportunities to grow our social reach, Google traffic, and everything else digital marketing.

We met with Inertia to discuss our options around recruitment and ended up signing on with them for overall marketing, just based on their performance.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Inertia was originally brought on to run our ads and enhance our website. We now look to them as a voice in the conversation to tell us what we can do to be better. They’re always looking at what the future is for senior care.

Since starting, they’ve taken over our website. They manage all updates and changes. We had a highly customized website from a previous vendor, so Inertia had to do a lot of troubleshooting on it in the beginning.

We’re getting ready to embark on our next project, which will be redesigning and rebuilding the site from the ground up. Our company is split into two different segments — healthcare and senior living — and Inertia has already redesigned the entire senior living division.

They manage all our PPC and SEO efforts, including Google Analytics, our paid Facebook presence, and our blog content. We’re currently working on virtual tours for our community, which Inertia is putting together, launching, and hosting.

What is the team composition?

We’re working closely with Adam (President). Jeff (Senior Account Executive) works in the recruiting department and does a lot of our reporting. They have someone to help us with virtual tours, and we just started working with another team member for content production.

How did you come to work with Inertia Digital Marketing?

It was a word-of-mouth reference through a friend. I sent Inertia a message on Facebook asking if they did this kind of work. We had a phone call and set up a more formal meeting to see what they had to offer.

How much have you invested with them?

The overall contract is around $500,000 per year. They charge us a flat fee for Facebook Ads management, no matter how many ads we’re running.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Inertia in October 2016, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We’re continuously seeing growth across all digital efforts. We’ve definitely seen increases year over year. Our team sees consistent trends in that we dip during December and rise during February. It’s always comforting to me to know that it wasn’t something we were doing wrong, but that it’s just what our demographic’s trends look like.

Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, we had many different challenges and had to think about what else we could do to support our residents, their families, and our community in general. Inertia was right there, throwing out ideas and brainstorming with us. They’re not a vendor. They’re 100% part of our team. We trust them, and we know we can go to them.

We continued to see an increase during COVID-19. We had visitor restrictions in the state of Indiana, which can be a scary thing from a sales and marketing perspective, but we continued to see the same trends. Our numbers are higher than in previous years, and that’s occurring at a lower cost per click and per lead.

Their tagline is “Don’t pick a vendor. Pick a partner.”, and there’s no truer statement. They’re not just our vendor. Inertia always goes the extra mile to find a solution.

How did Inertia Digital Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a really great system. As I said, Inertia is not just a vendor. We’re a large company, and we have many stakeholders in anything we do, so it’s really an open-door concept. If I need something, it’s a text, email, or call away.

As we work through these projects, I can tell Inertia what we need, and they’ll adjust. I check them, and they check me. Adam knows that I’m an open book and can just tell me what he needs. He always makes sure to keep me on track because digital is just a small piece of my puzzle.

We utilize a lot of tools, and Google is our best friend. Since we’re in healthcare, we have high-level security and do a lot of filesharing. We have monthly and weekly calls to stay on track.

We started the virtual tours process two months ago. We have over 90 photoshoot days, plus the collaboration with our community. It benefits us to be a little less formal, and Adam is always extremely responsive.

As far as project management goes, Inertia knows what our expectations are and they deliver what we need.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their transparency, hands down. If we need a piece of data, they’ll find it. I’ve worked with vendors in the past where when I asked why the cost was so high, I’d just get an answer such as “That’s just how Facebook is.”

Inertia digs deep and looks at the work year over year and month over month, and they propose changes aimed at getting us a lower cost. Never once have I had to question them, and they pretty much know what I’m going to ask at this point, so they find those answers before I even ask.

We want someone we can trust and to make sure that they’re an advocate for our ad spend, and Inertia is spending it responsibly and reasonably.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is one part of my job that I never have to worry about, so it’s hard to say if there’s anything they could change. I never have to question them. Adam has expanded his team to help serve us better. He’s located in Florida, and we’re in Indiana, but he always offers to fly over here when we have to discuss something.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

An important part is putting in the time to make sure that Inertia learns about the client’s company. The upfront education we made helped better serve us in the long run. The onboarding process was lengthy, but that’s because we’re diverse in our services and how we function as a company.

Any vendor onboarding is lengthy but for one that runs a company’s marketing as intently as Inertia does, really knowing and not just guessing helps. I’ve thrown tons and tons of collateral at them, and we’ve had conversations about why something is different and why it works that way.

Having lengthy conversations with our stakeholders in senior living has helped Inertia better grow our audience and leads. They’re there to learn, and they’re an open book. Anyone looking to venture into the Inertia world should treat them as an employee and not a vendor.

Introduce your company and your position there.

I am the owner and managing member of A1SuretyBonds.com. We are a nationally licensed surety bond agency and do most of our business attainment through our website, SEO, and AdWords.

What challenge were you trying to address with Inertia Digital Marketing?

We wanted to grow our web presence and had been working with a company that wasn’t really focused on our longevity. We decided that they were not the right fit and went searching for a new partner.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Inertia works on our SEO and AdWords campaigns. We work very minimally on AdWords by focusing on highly targeted words so that we are not wasting resources as we have done in the past. With Inertia, we are able to spend a smaller amount upfront and build our presence slowly and properly, rather than buying one click and wasting money on five others that do not convert.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Adam Palmer (President, Inertia Digital Marketing).

How did you come to work with Inertia Digital Marketing?

Adam was our representative at the previous company we worked with. We felt that the company was holding Adam and ourselves back, so when he left to start his own agency, we eventual followed.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working together since 2014.

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

We are outranking our competitors while spending much less on AdWords. We know we are not going to be ranked number one overnight, but we are making serious progress with Inertia’s help.

How did Inertia Digital Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management has been great. They have always completed the tasks I assign them, and they stay on top of projects even if it means reminding me of something I need to do. We mostly communicate using Asana and Slack, but will email as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Inertia doesn’t push the same cookie-cutter approach of spending a bunch of money on AdWords and not doing any work. They do a great job of identifying places we can build a strong presence for ourselves, and they are realistic about their outcomes versus the expense of building things the way we want to.

Any advice for potential customers?

As with anything, you have to trust the process and stay the course. Changes are not going to happen overnight, and anybody who tells you differently is not looking out for your best interests.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the director of Project Life for Tennessee. We purchase mobile ultrasound units and lease them to our partner pregnancy clinics for a small fee.

For what projects/services did your company hire Inertia Digital Marketing?

Our initial website through NationBuilder was extremely limited in terms of flexibility and user engagement. We needed a friendly and accessible website to facilitate smooth interactions with our donors.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a professional design and responsive platform to optimize our email marketing strategies.

How did you select this vendor?

Another agency recommended their services.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Inertia custom-designed a new desktop and mobile friendly website to fix our limited functionality. They provided logo design, visual and written content, and additional email marketing, SEO, and Google PPC strategies. The site’s interface prioritizes easy interaction and accessibility.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one main contact from Inertia.

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

The website earned enthusiastic praise from our donors. Since launching the new design our pledged-support base has increased and this coming annual fundraiser is projected to be the largest to date.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Inertia’s approach to project management distinguished them from our previous vendor. The team regularly met deadlines and promptly communicated any unexpected issues to keep the project on pace.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The partnership was extremely open. They answered all of my questions and accommodated any changes I made to the established plan.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I see no opportunities for improvement within this company.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Frisky Frog’s Nashville is a restaurant, bar, and live music venue.

What challenge were you trying to address with Inertia Digital Marketing?

I’ve known Adam, the owner, since college and have been impressed with his technical ability. I thought he could add value to our company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Adam developed our first website from scratch while the restaurant was under construction. He created a template for us to fill in information. This process continued until a week before opening.

We used the website for nine months before realizing it didn’t address our needs completely. However, this was not a surprise because we had been focused on more pressing business challenges at that time. Adam and I later discussed it and he built a completely new site that we use today.

In addition to web design, Adam and his team also do our SEO, social media management, paid digital advertising, and graphic design.

What is the team composition?

I interface mostly with Adam mostly, but I also communicate with his team when he’s unavailable.

How did you come to work with Inertia Digital Marketing?

We started working together when I found out about Inertia through him. We talked about the restaurant and my other businesses; the collaboration seemed a great fit.

I had worked with other digital companies, but none in the Nashville market. Some pitched me various services, but there was nothing Adam didn’t already provide.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $2,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in July 2016 and is ongoing.

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

We got really positive feedback about the site. Adam’s reports also show that our social media outreach and marketing campaigns have far greater outreach than any of our local competitors.

The results feel like a true collaboration. Both Adam and I work worked hard to achieve these great outcomes.

How did Inertia Digital Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Adam values person-to-person interaction. Adam’s management style reflects his commitment to get the job done. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, he makes sure that I get exactly what I need.

We communicate via phone, text, email, Google Hangouts, and a couple other applications. The dynamic between teams feels like an open forum or ongoing chat room.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Adam will drop what he’s doing on short notice to complete time sensitive projects, which are common in my business. He’s willing to work all hours of the day for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have any complaints or criticisms for how he runs his business.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make the scope as detailed as possible. Adam uses that information to tailor packages that suit the client’s budgetary and engagement needs.