Kobe Digital

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder of O'hara Steel

For what projects/services did your company hire Kobe Digital?

Design

What were your goals for this project?

We needed help with branding, logo, brochures, packaging design, etc.

How did you select this vendor?

Found them online

Describe the project in detail.

They helped us develop branding guidelines as well as designs for our brochure, flyers, tradeshow materials, etc.

What was the team composition?

We had a project manager named Gene, and worked with their creative director Robert mostly.

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

We were very happy with the work provided, and we have received great feedback from our friends and customers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. The weekly meetings were very helpful, and their project management tool is very helpful as well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to take our thoughts and help us turn them into actionable designs is impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can recommend, 10/10.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the social media marketing manager for an upscale restaurant.

What challenge were you trying to address with Kobe Digital?

I hired Kobe Digital to help me in my efforts toward growing the restaurant’s social media presence. I had just recently finished an internship, so I was looking for someone with a bit more experience to guide me.

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start, Kobe Digital created a few posts that I worked off. They walked me through their process of choosing hashtags, determining the time of day to post, and targeting lunch or dinner business with specific ads. Their team also helped me decide on and edit the copy for Facebook and Instagram posts after figuring out what would appeal to our audience. Together, we created a brand tone based on this information. Eventually, I took over creating the posts myself using the knowledge they passed to me.

What is the team composition?

About three people from the Kobe Digital team worked with me. 

How did you come to work with Kobe Digital?

A former colleague of mine had worked with Kobe Digital, so it was a driving force that someone I trusted recommended their services. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’m unsure of the exact cost, but it was under $10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August–September 2019. 

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

We definitely saw an increase in engagement, doubling the industry benchmark. Our follower count dramatically grew, also doubling from what it previously was. 

How did Kobe Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really good to work with; I was impressed with how well they managed the project. Although I’m sure they had a ton of different work, I always had one dedicated project manager. I didn’t feel like just another client. 

We mostly spoke through email but also Whatsapp because it’s my preferred method. Sam (Client Campaign Strategist, Kobe Digital) was quick to respond and willing to use whichever platform I wanted to use. I’m sure even if I wanted to use direct messages they would have been open to that because of how flexible they were.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team was highly impressive and they worked closely with us to meet our needs. I haven’t worked with any similar teams before, but I don’t know how many other providers would be as adjustable as Kobe Digital was. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything for them to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask questions. I wanted to get the most out of their services, so I continually asked why they chose to do certain things and how to best change an approach. Make sure you understand the work they’re doing and ask all the questions you have. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a vape shop based out of California.

What challenge were you trying to address with Kobe Digital?

Previously, we only had physical locations but we wanted to focus more on online sales.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Kobe Digital to design and develop our website from scratch. The site has an e-commerce component, and we’ll be looking into their services for social media marketing, SEO, and Google Ads in the near future. 

What is the team composition?                        

We had one account manager that was the main point of contact throughout our projects. We reached out to them for anything and they provided our status updates.

How did you come to work with Kobe Digital?

We found them through a Google search. We were looking at reviews for different companies, and after doing an initial consultation with them, they seemed like they would be the best fit. They also had some really great references.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in July 2019, and our engagement ended in October 2019.

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

It was great working with them. They were able to take our vision and bring it to life. They also made sure that the website was compliant with all of the specific vaping laws, which is what we were looking for. We didn’t have any issues at all while working with them, and everything was smooth from start to finish.

How did Kobe Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very good. We communicated via phone and all of the responses between us were taken care of within 24 hours, which was very effective. It was nice to have a responsive ream and not have to wait days to get responses back. They knocked it out of the part, in that aspect.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were most impressed with their quick response time. We were very happy and they went above and beyond for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at this time. I hope they keep up the quality in our future projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to do your research and make sure that Kobe Digital is the right fit for your company.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing manager at a large medical facility that is expanding our core services to include medical devices.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kobe Digital?

Fully custom Shopify design

What were your goals for this project?

We were branching out and starting to sell products to complement our main business and needed help creating a website that would convert well.

How did you select this vendor?

Since we were in a time crunch, they were the first ones who responded and I’m glad they did.

Describe the project in detail.

Kobe Digital created a fully custom Shopify design, installed it, and recommended some other tools that could be beneficial for us to implement.

What was the team composition?

We only spoke with one person. However, I’m sure there were about 4-5 folks working on our account.

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

We have heard nothing but good things from our customers about our website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication is a strong suit of this company. And they used state of the art project management tools that made it really easy to stay on track.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their design skills exceeded my expectations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Loved the design they created. No issues with communication or their services.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a digital strategist

For what projects/services did your company hire Kobe Digital?

PPC Advertising

What were your goals for this project?

We weren’t getting very good results with our current PPC advertising provider so we’d hoped Kobe Digital could provide good results since they came highly recommended.

How did you select this vendor?

A mutual connection introduced us.

Describe the project in detail.

They are responsible for handling all of our PPC advertising campaigns.

What was the team composition?

From what we saw the team at Kobe Digital is made up of analysts, media buyers, VP's, etc. On one occasion we communicated with the company CEO.

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

The most noticeable progress is that our ROI increased and our CPC decreased by about 20% which is HUGE for us.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our teams work together well despite being in different time zones.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their copywriters really know how to play with words.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything is fine.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing director at a mid sized law firm.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kobe Digital?

Fully custom Wordpress web design.

What were your goals for this project?

I was hoping to receive a custom website for my firm and have a great online presence.

How did you select this vendor?

I came across them on LinkedIn and once doing some research I saw they had a ton of good reviews.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The process was pretty straight forward. We had a quick initial consultation where I shared my ideas and they brought it to life.

What was the team composition?

There was only one point of contact.

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

Since the new design has been implemented our search engine results are improving constantly. Also, we’re noticing an increase in mobile users.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our teams worked together well. We communicated with our account manager Sam and always had our messages responded to promptly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their work ethic is remarkable. They provide updates throughout the process and I never felt left in the dark.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No improvements needed in my opinion. I was very pleased with their design work.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a producer at a media company that makes television shows.

What challenge were you trying to address with Kobe Digital?

We were looking for a development house that could build a new website based on our previous, rudimentary version. Because media is such a visual medium, we wanted to enhance the user interface to better showcase our works.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Kobe Digital built a WordPress site from scratch, using our previous site as a template to gauge how we wanted to present our TV shows. Once the team designed the user interface, they imported our provided content, which included a logo, banners, and show highlights. The final result was a simple website that we could update ourselves as we developed new content.

What is the team composition?  

We primarily worked with one point of contact, but there were others working behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Kobe Digital?

The vendor selection process was a bit difficult for us. We had gone through several independent developers and received outrageous quotes from some of the larger development firms. After a lot of research, we came upon Kobe Digital and really liked their website. We hired them to make our website as professional-looking as theirs.

How much have you invested with them? 

We spent about $10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from May–December 2018, but they still help out once in a while.

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

Kobe Digital executed the new website perfectly, and we now use the site as a business card and portfolio for our work. We’ve received many compliments from visitors thanks to the site’s professional interface. Even our peers within the media industry have reached out to ask about our web designer.

How did Kobe Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They managed the project well. Every day, we would have phone calls or video conferences to work through our vision. They would also walk us through their iterations to show us how to use the site.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed that they could get things done quickly and professionally at a fair price.

Are there any areas they could improve? 

It would be nice if they offered post-launch maintenance services that we could subscribe to. After the project ended, it was hard to get a hold of them, and it took a bit of time for them to get back to us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?
 
Have all of your assets and content together so that Kobe Digital can quickly assemble a mock-up. For us, we had a lot of media, so making sure everything was in order beforehand helped expedite the process.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of a web development company. We provide web and mobile app services to our customers.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kobe Digital?

In today's market, having an online presence and brand is critical to earning new business. Therefore, we hired Kobe digital for SEO and PPC services.

What were your goals for this project?

We had both a short-term and a long-term goal. Initially, we wanted to generate leads quickly through PPC campaigns. Then, we would work on building our brand through organic traffic.

How did you select this vendor?

We connected with them via a referral. Kobe Digital provided a detailed proposal for SEO and PPC after analyzing our website and services. We were impressed with their attention to detail.

Describe the project in detail.

Their PPC efforts started with analyzing and targeting keywords and creating several landing pages. They’ve continued to optimize these pages using A/B testing and data gathered via Google Analytics.

Regarding organic traffic, they spent two months make on-page modifications and then transitioned to publishing blog posts and other forms content on PR channels and social networking sites.

What was the team composition?

We have a dedicated project manager who has two people working under them. We mostly communicate with the project manager for regular updates and results/reports.

Can you share any statistics or metrics that speak to the quality of their work and impact of the engagement?

The results have been impressive overall. We rank in the top 10–20 spots for several keywords, several of which generate organic leads regularly. Our page authority has improved significantly, as has our visibility across multiple platforms, which helps customers trust us more.

How did Kobe Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve developed a hassle-free process where they provide weekly reports detailing multiple performance metrics and supporting data.

What impresses you about Kobe Digital?

Most digital marketing companies provide weekly reports, but Kobe Digital takes an extra step to help us develop a plan of action and estimate what kind of results we can expect. Their service helped us feel confident enough to embark on a long-term project with them.   

Are there any areas for improvement?

A quarterly review of their work and results wasn’t in their initial proposal, but they instituted it upon request. Overall, we’re very happy with them.  

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the owner of the boutique graphic design studio JENCO CREATIVE, which has been in business for 11 years. I’m responsible for all of our website design, maintenance, online advertising, and SEO.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kobe Digital?

My previous site wasn’t coming up in any of the local searches for graphic design firms, so I hired Kobe Digital to help develop a new website and manage my SEO.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to bring in more organic leads from users looking for graphic design companies in the Los Angeles area.

How did you select this vendor?

A colleague of mine had worked with Kobe Digital and referred them to me. Since I wasn’t well-versed in SEO, I thought that working with a company that had already worked with a colleague was the wisest decision.

Describe the project in detail.

At the time, I already had a web design but needed resources to turn it into an actual site. Kobe Digital helped me develop a new site before promoting it through SEO. The owner planned out the strategy, helped me choose the keywords, and presented an overview of the SEO campaign. Together, we revised the keywords and approved the strategy for implementation.

What was the team composition?

I worked directly with their owner for the majority of the project. As we went forward, I was also in contact with one of their employees who assisted with small questions such as how to navigate my analytics dashboard.

Can you share any statistics or metrics that speak to the quality of their work and impact of the engagement?

They helped me rank for keywords in Los Angeles related to my industry. It took about 9–12 months for us to start seeing results because SEO takes time. Since then, I've been impressed by the number of leads coming in through organic search.

How did the Kobe Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was easy and smooth.

What impresses you about the Kobe Digital?

SEO was a whole new world for me, so I appreciated their willingness to explain things, often more than once.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, I can’t think of anything. It was pretty seamless.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Chief Scientific Officer at Precisionary Instruments, a small biomedical devices company that specializes in research equipment for biological laboratories.

What challenge were you trying to address with Kobe Marketing?

We had two main business challenges. First, we needed digital marketing expertise to improve, manage, and maintain our Google AdWords account. Second, as a small company, we didn’t have enough staff to spend significant time on digital marketing so needed to outsource it. We had worked with another firm before but they were more expensive and didn’t understand us well so we ended our contract with them.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kobe Marketing fully manages our Google AdWords account including Google Analytics. We have a devoted account manager who set up, optimized, and maintains our search campaigns. We also recently had him start working on our display campaigns.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with an account manager.

How did you come to work with Kobe Marketing?

Our CEO found them but I wasn’t involved in that process.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $3,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June and it’s ongoing.

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

We started tracking conversions. Our cost per conversion has gone down by half, from about $400 to about $200. That’s a significant decrease. The number of quotes that come in from page searches has also increased by 10–20%. We’re so pleased with them that we’ve just extended their contract for another six months.

How did Kobe Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and phone. I reach out to them to request monthly reports and schedule meetings to review them. They’re generally great. The only thing they could do better would be to be more proactive about scheduling those meetings and providing the reports.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, they’re always responsive, even if they’re away from the office. If I email a question or meeting request, they respond quickly. The level of expertise, particularly of our account manager, is also impressive. He knows how to optimize our Google account. We’re a niche company but he’s able to understand our company, our products, and our audience. Kobe Digital has done a great job in those ways.

What I particularly found to be great is that our account manager not only optimizes and maintains our account, he also educates us. If I have a technical question, he’ll respond with an explanation. I find his explanations of digital marketing concepts incredibly useful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could actively come up with ideas on how to optimize our campaigns. We have the capacity to increase our budget and would love more ideas from them. They have the expertise and we have the money for them to do more for us. We could both benefit.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to learn with them. In the beginning, meet with them once a week by phone. Have them take you through the Google account and explain each of the components and how they’re specifically important for your business needs. Keep in close touch with them over time. Meet once every two weeks or once a month.