InterActive Circle

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I handle the marketing efforts for Carton Service, a folding carton company.

What challenge were you trying to address with InterActive Circle?

We wanted to increase our Google rankings in both paid and organic search, so we needed a company that could handle our SEO and SEM.

What was the scope of their involvement?

InterActive Circle is handling our site’s SEO, PPC, and SEM. They’re tasked with managing our SEM campaign, researching keywords, and handling the placement of our Google ads.

They also help us with our site’s content development — they write blog posts and assist us in rearranging and optimizing our content to increase our keywords rankings.

What is the team composition?

I am mainly in contact with Darren (Digital Marketing Strategist), but I also work with Maya (Content Developer) and 3–4 other people.

How did you come to work with InterActive Circle?

InterActive Circle reached out to us and delivered several pitches, and we ultimately agreed that we needed their digital marketing expertise.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them an average of $1,000 per month, so I’d say we’ve spent around $72,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2015, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

The main factor that demonstrates the impact of our engagement is the number of leads that we generate through our campaigns, thanks to InterActive Circle’s contributions.

How did InterActive Circle perform from a project management standpoint?

InterActive Circle has performed very well so far when it comes to project management. They utilize Basecamp to send us the materials they’ve worked on for us to review and make changes if needed. They’ve also recently started implementing monthly meetings through videoconference, which I really appreciate.

We mainly communicate through phone or email, but we try to focus most of our discussions during our monthly calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

InterActive Circle is a very strategic digital marketing partner — they’ve really helped me figure out how to compete with large companies and get the most out of the money that I spend.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Before we implemented the monthly calls, the time between contact points was usually very long, especially when I got busy. I really needed that monthly discipline to stay on top of the issues that we needed to address, so I’m glad we have that going now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have regular meetings with them. There’s always a moving target, new rules to consider, and new data to look at and interpret, and you don’t want to miss any of those. If you want to get the best bang for your buck, make sure to talk to them as often as you can.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CFO for my company, responsible for Accounting, Finance, HR, and Information Systems.

For what projects/services did your company hire InterActive Circle, and what were your goals?

Our website had limited content and lacked product focus. We hired InterActive Circle to help us develop two additional websites linked to our main website that would focus on our two key product segments which had different customer bases.

They helped us design these new websites and also launched a 6 month SEO Campaign for us to help drive traffic to the site and make these sites more visible to search engines.

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

We were contacted by InterActive Circle about 5 years ago and they introduced their services to us, we reviewed their work with other clients and liked what we saw. We had previously used two other firms to help with our web development, but were not satisfied.

InterActive Circle designed and developed 3 websites for us which we were very pleased with. We also hired them to perform SEO campaigns for us and liked the results of these efforts in improving our ranking on Search results, giving our company and website much improved visibility.

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

We received a proposal for the website designs and after accepting had a kick-off meeting to review the process and tools to be used to monitor progress and to provide/exchange information. We selected the preferred site design and color scheme after being presented with a number of options.

Content was provided by us, along with images of our products and tables, charts, etc. They helped build out the content and optimize it to ensure positive search engine ranking. Over the period of set-up and implementation we approved various design elements and content, with adjustments made as needed base on our feedback. Once in final form and approved by us the site was launched.

We then received a proposal for a six month SEO campaign which was adjusted based on our input and then approved by us. Work was done consistent with the campaign outlined, which included blog posts, videos, FAQ's and the build out of additional content to focus on agreed up on keywords/phrases.

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

A project manager was assigned as well as a web developer from InterActive. We also had access to the President/Owner who worked with us on the original proposal.

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

After launching our site we received positive feedback from customers and have seen an increase in requests for quotes and calls to our sales team. We have seen our SEO rankings improve moving up to the first and second pages of search results.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had on-going communication at least weekly and sometimes daily to coordinate efforts to move the project forward. InterActive Circle uses and online interactive portal where you can make comment and track the history and development of the site and SEO Campaign.

History of exchanges is accessible and ability to reply by email with feeds going back to the basecamp online tools used to document and track activities. We receive twice a month updates on website rankings and improvements to track results of SEO efforts.

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

Broad services offered and good access to President/Owner when problems or set-backs were encountered. They are responsive and professional.

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

Important to get input from others, within the organization, but more important to have point person to make decisions and keep the process moving. We often saw delays waiting for feedback from some decision makers, which made it difficult at times to stay on course and on schedule.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior digital marketing manager at JAWS Cleaners. We focus on refillable cleaning supplies, and we’ve saved millions of bottles from landfills over the last ten years. Right now, our business is strictly e-commerce.

What challenge were you trying to address with InterActive Circle?

We’re in a very busy space, and there are a lot of competitors. We needed help to solidify our place in the e-commerce cleaning industry. It’s crucial to us that people can find us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

InterActive Circle helps us determine what keywords we need to compete with our products. We had to decide where we would compete, and they helped us narrow that down. They’ve also designed our website to work with our current keywords. Additionally, the team writes blogs and different new pieces for the site, which helps attract more people and improve our Google ranking. 

What is the team composition?

We only have to deal with our account manager. He takes the work and spreads it from there, so I don’t know how many people he works with. He relays the messages and is our point of contact.

How did you come to work with InterActive Circle?

They were found before I worked here. We were a small brand, so we needed to find a company willing to work with us within our budget and show us results because a larger agency could’ve easily fooled us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $10,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our partnership in March 2017, and we still work together.

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

InterActive Circle has worked with us for four years, and we’ve been able to rank on Google’s first page with many significant search terms. In March 2020, they positioned us with a lot of traction with the term “disinfectant cleaner”, so when the pandemic hit, we ended up selling a lot of disinfectants to millions of people. We wouldn’t have been able to do that without them, so we’re really happy about that.

Moreover, we’ve gotten excellent service from them, and they’ve learned about our industry. We’ve grown together because our product is relatively new to the e-commerce space. Switching to a new team would be detrimental because InterActive Circle has been learning with us the whole time. Overall, we’re glad to be with a company that we’ve crossed off mistakes with instead of someone that’s starting in this space for the first time.

How did InterActive Circle perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything has been great. They’re always working to improve our stuff and giving us suggestions. We really enjoy working with them.

For communication, we have monthly phone calls. If something comes up, we have Basecamp to work through metrics and reach out to them. They’re very attentive, and we can work out things swiftly, which is important because things can change quickly in our industry, and sometimes we can’t wait for the monthly call.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Four years ago, there weren’t competitors, but now there’s a new one each month, and InterActive Circles has grown with us in our industry and learned what people are searching for to make the sale and conversion.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes they could be more honest with us about our overall marketing, but it’s not their fault. It’s hard for us to hear that our marketing isn’t as good as it could be.

Nonetheless, they’ve done a great job, and I don’t have anything negative to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to go with a company that you trust and will help you out. If you’re not growing, maybe you’re not with the right company. A small team can’t keep up with all this stuff, so you need the expertise from someone like InterActive Circle — it’s a must-have today because competitors and the industry are changing all the team.

Please describe your company and your position there.

A small innovative business that designs, manufactures and supplies generators the the Marine, Vehicle and Military markets

For what projects/services did your company hire InterActive Circle, and what were your goals?

Goals: Improve the reader experience on the website and increase awareness of the brand and offerings to the Marine, Vehicle and Military markets using SEO and social media. Services used SEO group

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

We were offered a 'free' audit of our website and were impressed with the detailed information provided in the final audit.

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

We shared our different market profiles, our marketing, communication, brand material and business goals with IAC. IACircle developed a digital strategy based on the weaknesses identified from the Audit and the opportunities required to meet our business goals. The key elements were Keyword ranking, two videos, social media posts and blogs

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

We worked with a senior SEO Strategist and a content/copy writer

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

The SEO strategy was successful and of the 35 key words identified 16 are on page 1 of google rankings

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have one phone contact once a month to go over the results of the strategy and discuss any additional opportunities. They were aware of deadlines and kept in constant touch to ensure deadlines. [I love being reminded - it's crazy sometimes]

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

Their SEO expertise was pretty impressive. I must add the web audit was instrumental in us being made aware of our flaws and opportunities.

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

Initially the copy did not meet expectations - they could have spent more time understanding of our market and product

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of Operations. I oversee SEO & PPC services for all of our franchise locations.

For what projects/services did your company hire InterActive Circle, and what were your goals?

The overall goal was to establish a baseline for our locations that could be replicated in any city around the country.

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

We compared services to our previous vendors and it was an easy decision after analyzing their packages.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Our engagement began with an analysis of previously established campaigns with other vendors. Through the process we were able to deliver a catch-all baseline for all locations across the US to ensure that our locations got off to a fast start attracting customers.

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

We worked closely with 3 different team members that all has individual specialties.

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

Implementing the baseline SEO & PPC packages expedited our launch expectations by 2-3 months for new locations.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Communication was excellent. They have different experts handle our needs, not just having a generic account rep that handles everything.

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

They don't pretend to have a 1-solution fits all. You're not dealing with an account rep that communicates all of the information from different departments, instead you are communicating with the experts themselves.

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

The team was timid to turn up spend on campaigns until they were completely confident in the expected results.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Business Development Director, overseeing client relationships and anything to do with growing the business at a medical devices manufacturing company. Our company is a high-end manufacturer of precision metal components for the aerospace, medical, and other commercial industries.

For what projects/services did your company hire InterActive Circle, and what were your goals?

We hired InterActive Circle to assist with updating our website. The website had become outdated since it's last update and needed to be brought into modern times. Our goal was to have a website that matches the quality of the work we do.

How did you select InterActive Circle and what were the deciding factors?

InterActive Circle actually reached out to us to offer us their services. We had been contacted by other firms to do the same but liked the quality of the work that InterActive Circle portrayed with other clients in the same industry as us.

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

We had an initial questionnaire form to describe more details of the website re-design. From there a mockup was developed and there has been back and forth on design changes with mainly only minor tweaks to the mockup. I have felt on the same page with IAC since the beginning of the project and that is a nod to their process.

Everything thus far in the process has been going through their online portal basecamp which has been great for organization and communication as everyone involved in the project sees the comments being left there (another nod to them).

How many people from the InterActive Circle team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I have mainly been working with just one person, who is a Project Manager - Development. But again, with their basecamp portal everyone on the project team is kept in the loop on where the project is at.

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

We do not yet have any measurable outcomes as the project still has some final steps before it is complete but we are very pleased with the mockups that have been developed.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Communication with IAC has been very timely. Rarely has it taken them longer than 24 hours to respond to any comment/question I've had along the project. Everything has been housed in their basecamp portal which helps to keep everyone on the same page. Basecamp also routes the comments to email should the user want emails.

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

We have liked their philosophy on web design, the quality of their website, and the fact that they're local.

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

Not at this time. We have been very satisfied with IAC throughout the process.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a mid size specialized manufacturer. Being a smaller, privately held organization, I wear many hats......

For what projects/services did your company hire InterActive Circle, and what were your goals?

We hired Interactive to help with our website....everything about it, design, content, visibility, etc.....Our main goal was to increase sales of the one line of cylinders we do that are stock or catalog type sales. Our goal was simple, increase awareness, increase sales.

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

To be honest, I don't even remember how or why we wound up with Interactive, but I'm glad we did.....

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

Interactive has been responsible for the build of the website and all the SEO key word metrics that have gotten us found....

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

I usually have a project coordinator that works directly with me. Helps me select key words, work on blogs, web updates, etc..

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

I wish I had more accurate numbers, and some of the parts we included in the website were already stock parts for several customers so all the data isn't specific to the website, but I know for a fact that our sales have increased dramatically...total production/sales for telescopic cylinders for us have tripled in the last 5 years !!

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Very easy going....all my communication with them is via email, with supporting phone calls along the way.....all scheduled well in advance...

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

They've done exactly what they promised, and the metrics they supplied were meaningful. I knew exactly where we stood on the web and how active some of the keywords were/are.....

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

None to think of...