Kaleidico

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Our company is Lenderful. We're an online mortgage company.

What is your position?

I'm the Chief Executive Officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Kaleidico?

We started a brand new company based around the premise that as consumers, we do everything online. Why can we not get a mortgage online? So we started a brand new company as a pure tech start-up with that premise. Kaleidico started working with us from the very beginning to help us refine the value proposition and translate that into what eventually became our online presence.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

One of the main reasons we selected Kaleidico, especially given that we were a start-up, was that they could provide a whole wide range of services to us. They do anything from the basic framing message, definition, strategy piece, to the creative side, whether it was our advertising and online traffic management to portions of helping us build out our website. It's moderately complicated given that it's a mortgage process, so helping us build that and make it simple to use for our consumers was a really great approach.

How did you come to work with Kaleidico?

They were recommended to us. What they offered was important because we couldn't afford to have one of every skill discipline that's out there as a startup. Somebody who could bring the whole thing in a package was very valuable, and that’s what they did.

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

It cost between $100,000 and $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s ongoing work. They're absolutely core to our operation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Our net profitability by using this digital model and what we've done from a business process standpoint is just outstanding. Both quarters were profitable and cash flow-positive, which is insane in a business of this kind. How you break down the results in total against what they've done, I don't know. That's a little tougher, but Kaleidico was definitely a part of it.

How did Kaleidico perform from a project management standpoint?

They're comprehensively good. I'd like them to be a little bit more disciplined. The first thing in my mind is their general responsiveness and flexibility. Going back to the premise that as a start-up, you're really trying to find your way, determine things, and pivot, so you need a team that is willing to work with you and be flexible as you sort things out. They happen to have some very specific experience in the loan and financing world, so they were of huge value to us in some of the determination. They also had the domain knowledge, specifically in addition to the general agency skills.

What distinguishes Kaleidico from other providers?

They're the absolute most honest and trustworthy guys out there. We share everything and anything with Kaleidico because of the integrity of the people in the company. That's not just with the leaders; it's every person in that company. It is absolutely core to who they are. The essential integrity and partner mentality they have is hard to communicate to others. Everybody says they want a partner. These guys are great people.

Is there anything Kaleidico could have improved or done differently?

Not really.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

West Unified Communication Services is a provider of enterprise-level telephony and conferencing. We offer unified communications technology and services to companies in the 100-plus user range worldwide.

What is your position?

I'm the director of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Kaleidico Digital Marketing?

We were looking to increase online lead generation and content development.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We work with them as either direct managers and content producers for that or as our trusted advisors. They help us to do everything from optimize our site to our placement and design of forms within the site to the development of content that drives traffic to the site.

They have done quite a bit in terms of setting up and managing our PPC [pay-per-click] campaigns on daily basis. As I said, they've helped us quite a bit with content optimization on the site as well. They look at our existing content and modify it to perform better, but also working with us on the creation of brand new content on the site.

How did you come to work with Kaleidico Digital Marketing?

Someone on our sales team initially referred them to us. This was probably close to three years ago.

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

Total spend has probably been in the $150,000 to $200,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

It's an ongoing engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

At a macro level, we have seen our site traffic increase threefold in the time they've been working with us. On product-related pages that we had them working on the most, the increase has been sevenfold. Kaleidico performed very well in terms of driving traffic.

We originally did not get many people completing forms on our site. Since then, we've seen our site become our number one source of new lead generation. It went from essentially zero to hundreds per month.

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

Kaleidico performed very well. There has only been one project that we had any issues with. That was one that we pushed them outside of their core capability a little bit too far. On the things that we do day in and day out, they are amazing when it comes to project management. They do a great job.

What distinguishes Kaleidico Digital Marketing from other providers?

They take a real interest in our business. They've taken the time to learn it, so they can come to each conversation with some insight that you just can't get if you treat every client's products and services the same. They've really taken the time to understand them.

Secondly, they are fully engaged. The folks who we work with on a consistent basis are proactive. They're reaching out to us with ideas. If they don't understand something, they raise their hand. They're very good about being engaged and proactive. That's something that I just hadn't seen with firms in this space before.

Is there anything Kaleidico Digital Marketing could have improved or done differently?

I don't think so. As mentioned, we had one project that didn't go as well. We certainly learned where their sweet spot, and that's been good. I don't think there's much that I'd point to today as being in need of some continued evolution and improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Lerners is a law firm located in Toronto and London, Ontario. We have about 125 lawyers that practice in virtually all areas of law, but with a focus in civil litigation work.

What is your position?

I am a partner of the Management Committee.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Kaleidico?

Our goal was to substantially upgrade our digital marketing capacities and to be far more competitive in our market.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

The main goal was to rebuild and redesign a website for our firm. We wanted to have that website be able to generate potential leads that would lead to new work. In addition to the website itself, Kaleidico has advised us on complementary marketing strategies, including more traditional platforms that support and drive more inquiries to the website that they built. They have helped us with search engine optimization [SEO], pay-per-click, and social media marketing.

How did you come to work with Kaleidico?

I live relatively close to Detroit and was aware of the work they had done for a law firm there. I found them on my own by looking into that past project.

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

The project was $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

In terms of general trends, our website is now as competitive as anybody else in our marketplace. It, in some respects, exceeds what most of our competition is offering. An example would be that we now have a live chat capacity on our website so that potential clients can begin to interact with us from wherever they might be. This way, they are able to interact with an actual person here at our firm as opposed to somebody who's in a call center.

We are seeing significant increases in the number of visitors that are coming to our site. In general terms, we know that those people are staying longer and reading more, and looking at more pages than they ever did before. We're very encouraged by that.

How did Kaleidico perform from a project management standpoint?

I have no complaints; Kaleidico was excellent. They're a smaller company, which made them very available whenever we needed them. There's a nice balance between interacting with them online and meeting with them in person or by phone. We have a weekly schedule meeting, where we're kept in touch with one another.

What distinguishes Kaleidico from other providers?

One of the things that I really appreciate is that from the beginning of our relationship Kaleidico has always offered us a lot of choices. They might make a recommendation and then also provide the expensive way, less expensive option, and something in the middle, which I really like.

The other thing I like is that we own all of the product. Our prior agency had a proprietary interest in the platform that was used to build the site. It was very difficult to get control of the platform. Kaleidico has always been very upfront. We own what we pay them to create and if we wanted to export it somewhere else, it's very easy to do that. That's something that I appreciate.

Is there anything Kaleidico could have improved or done differently?

If I'm being honest, the answer is no. I really don't have any complaints. My only mild concern is that, in time, they're going to become very busy because they are doing good work, and I still want to be at the top of the list.

BACKGROUND

We are a commercial roofing company located in the Metro Detroit area.  We specialize in providing flat roofs for our customers.  Our market focuses mainly on the small business owner. 

I am partner in the company and I am responsible for all marketing of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We are a family owned and operated business that has been in business for almost 20 years and we needed a better way to tap into our potential customer base.  With the help from Kaleidico, we have a strong on-line presence and have increase our overall sales.

SOLUTION

From the first contact with Kaleidico, I appreciated their honest approach to our situation.  We needed a company to take charge of our on-line presence and to grow our company's awarness in the market.  Since joining with them, we are making great headway in this endevour.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

We have seen a 25% revenue increase since we started using their services.  We look forward to continuing our working relationship with them to see our company grow.  I believe that they are dedicated to improving our web presence and to improving our overall customer awareness.