Kollective

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and founder at Ena Mykonos Villas.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kollective?

To design a website and assist with digital marketing.

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

We did our market research and reached out to a number of companies. Kollective impressed us with their professionalism and also crucially their focus on and experience in the hospitality sector.

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

After a number of meetings to decide design and functionality requirements and gather relevant materials (photos mainly) the Kollective team really made it easy. The first draft was pretty much perfect and from first draft to final website took very little time. This was very important since the main season was nearly upon us.

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

I spoke mainly with Lynn and Paul the two founders, and occasionally with another two ladies whose names elude me now (sorry ladies!).

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

Well firstly everyone we spoke to was very enthusiastic about the look of the website which needed to stand out in a competitive market, so this was very much a success!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was perfect. I felt I could talk to them anytime about anything I needed.

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

The breadth of knowledge that encompasses both internet work be it focused on technical, design or marketing issues combined with their experience and understanding of the hospitality and travel sector. Truly a rare combination in my experience.

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

I can think of none.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the business development manager of a dialysis clinic. Our goal is to enable dialysis patients from all over the world to visit one of Greece’s most famous travel destinations. We allow patients to enjoy their holidays while still receiving treatment and maintaining their safety.

What challenge were you trying to address with Kollective?

We started working with Kollective right from the beginning of our business, approaching them to set up our branding, website, and online presence.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started from scratch, understanding our whole philosophy. Then, they quickly came up with three logo options and brand identities. We liked their work immediately and chose one of the three options without comments. Because of the medical aspect of the business, I was responsible for providing the text for the medical parts of the website, and Kollective did great incorporating all their experience with hospitality. Having worked with a lot of hotels in Greece, Kollective incorporated the hospitality aspects we wanted to convey to our customers.

We mapped out our whole marketing strategy and approach with them as well. The goal with the website was to let people know that there was a new dialysis clinic opening. Since the launch, we’ve been refining, adding sections, and responding to our situation. Once COVID-19 hit, we were able to add a COVID-19 specific section. We also incorporate seasonal packages. The whole website is a work in progress.

What is the team composition?

I’ve been working closely with Lynn (Founder & Digital Marketing Specialist) from the start, and Paul (Co-Founder) has also been very involved in the process. Lynn is my main point of contact and is in charge of distributing our messages and requests to the rest of the team.

How did you come to work with Kollective?

I approached a lot of web designers in Greece and did research through Google and industry referrals. The concept was very different, as we’re launching a medical business with a hospitality twist, and a lot of traditional companies didn’t understand that position.

I sent Kollective an email, and they were swift in their response. The work on their website was great, and we arranged a call. Lynn immediately picked up on our vision. He was very passionate about it and liked the fact that we were doing something different.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €6,500 (approximately $7,900 USD) on the branding and website creation. Now, we pay a monthly marketing fee for Facebook and Google campaigns, as well as SEO and website maintenance. We’ve spent around €10,000–€12,000 (approximately $12,100–$14,500 USD) in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since October 2019.

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

From the moment the website launched in February 2020, just before COVID-19, uptake was very good. People immediately started to submit requests, so we got a very good email base of potential customers. Of course, COVID-19 has made it hard to travel and for these booking requests to be realized, but we’ve been working with Kollective throughout this period to ensure we’re well-positioned and have our lead base cultivated.

Since we’re mostly doing online marketing now through Google Ads and Facebook campaigns, I can always access digital reports at any time to see how the campaigns are doing. My number one metric is booking requests or emails from potential customers through the website. For our Facebook page, the number of likes and amount of engagement is another key metric we look at.

The whole experience has been tremendous because they’ve been able to grasp a very hard field — the field of medical tourism, which touches on a bit of hospitality but is also very medically oriented. Kollective has been amazing at understanding my vision and keeping the balance between making our project attractive and conveying the medical aspect of the business — the safety of the patient is the most important part. At the same time, we want to sell the dream to these patients that they can still travel and have a great life even though they are in dialysis.

How did Kollective perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very good in terms of staying on top of the business and reporting in due time. We have monthly reports for our global and Facebook campaigns, and Lynn and I have been in-touch nearly every other day. Whenever there’s a twist — if the targeting is off or the leads I’m getting aren’t coming from the right place — we make instant modifications. The reporting process has been very smooth. If I ever need a specific or special report, they’re happy to provide it anytime.

I let them know my deadline, and Kollective gets the job done, mostly two days beforehand. I never have to chase them either, which is amazing for an external partner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like that they’re small and flexible. It feels like they’re an in-house partner even though weren’t not working in the same office. It’s been a tremendous experience together. They’re very responsive and accommodating.

Their creativity stands out, as does their proactivity. I feel like they care about my business like I do, and they're eager for us to succeed. Kollective has put their heart and soul into the work. I don’t feel like they have another client that’s more important.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Kollective is innovative and creative, and they can elevate your business. They'll understand your goal, where you want to go, and how you’re going to get there.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Ionion Sails, a yacht charter firm based on the island of Lefkas in Greece.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kollective?

We hired Kollective to redesign and develop our new website and for SEO & digital marketing services following the launch.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a completely new design for our website which needed to be SEO optimized in four languages and to have a unique e-check-in component for each of our boats.

How did you select Kollective?

I met the guys from Kollective at a travel industry forum where we were both speaking. We had good chemistry and Kollective had relevant experience in the charter industry so it was a pretty easy choice.

Describe the project in detail.

Initially, we needed to completely redesign our old website which had a number of visual and functionality issues. We also had a specific need for a custom component allowing our clients to check-in online. This component needed to be easily editable for each boat we own to allow uploading of videos and other relevant content to each boat's e-check-in module.

What was the team composition?

We mainly talked with Lynn and Paul for the website work and with Argiro for content-related questions.

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

I am really very happy with the outcome. The website is nice to look at, very fast and the e-check-in module works exactly how I envisioned it!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very easy between our team and the Kollective team, no problems.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They really took the time to understand what exactly we wanted for the custom modules. It was not a straightforward process but they were patient and asked the right questions to move the project along as needed.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I cannot think of any, I am very happy.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the partner and Head of Marketing for Olive Villa Rentals. We are a villa management company and we manage more than 200 holiday Villas in Greece. Our office is in Athens

For what projects/services did your company hire Kollective?

We had a new website and wanted to start bringing traffic and increase bookings of villa rentals through our website, while increasing our SEO performance

What were your goals for this project?

Main KPIS included: Increase of traffic Increase our Conversion rates and direct Sales Lower the cost per acquisition

How did you select Kollective?

We did an online research and asked for recommendations for Agencies that specialise in digital marketing and in hospitality. Kollective was one of the agencies we met through the process.

After a couple of meetings and a collective decision between the partners of our company, we decided to appoint Kollective as our digital marketing agency

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We first decided on the strategy and based on available budget on our side, Kollective made a proposal in terms of media mix, channels, messaging and targeting.

Throughout the process Kollective was very hands on, very responsive and agile, and despite the fact that we were doing business during a very difficult period (COVID period) our collaboration was great and our ability to adjust and change based on how the market was evolving, gave some great results.

What was the team composition?

We have been working mainly with Lynn who is the head of the digital marketing campaigns

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

All our metrics were achieved despite a very difficult period. Conversion rates went up, Cost per conversion down, and despite a very challenging year from a macro-economic environment, Kollective helped us have a record year in terms or revenue

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was easy and direct. Kollective were just a phone call away on anything we needed. We had frequent meetings and an online reporting where we could see the performance of our campaigns on an ongoing basis

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Great knowledge, very responsive and agile, easy to work with and focused on results!

Are there any areas for improvement?

n/a

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Marketing Director for a company that specializes in tech repairs. We are located in Greece and up to this point, we have 34 stores, with 2 locations outside of Greece. I’m leading the marketing department which is responsible for developing, implementing, and executing all the strategic marketing plans for the company and stores.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kollective?

We hired Kollective because we wanted to combine SEO and PPC campaign efforts for maximum visibility results.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to rapidly increase our visibility, provide two access routes for users, and creating a sense of authority around the company.

How did you select this vendor?

Our founder Chris found Lynn online (of course! where else?!) Chris is an American, Lynn is a Canadian, both living and working in Greece, they quickly hit it off in some weird way!

Describe the project in detail.

We started working together in 2012 and our cooperation is ongoing

What was the team composition?

I speak mainly with Lynn, and I have spoken to Paul and Argiro occasionally as needed. If

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

From SEO perspective we are obtaining high rankings for many years now. Yes occasionally there are small dips but Lynn always finds the ways to get the positions back.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They are always pleasant to work with and always eager to help with any matter, they show interest for the processes and the results, and they always deliver on time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They think outside the box, they never give up, and they always bring results! Google has restricted ads for repair services, but they have never stopped looking for opportunities to increase our online visibility!

Are there any areas for improvement?

In general, I believe there is always room for improvement, but if there is an area of improvement in our cooperation with Kollective I haven't yet noticed because they always act proactively so I guess they masterfully cover it before I have the change to think about it! (something like a perfect husband!)

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager at Viva.gr. We are an online provider for airfare, ferry, and event tickets in Greece.

What challenge were you trying to address with Kollective?

We needed to hire someone to run our PPC campaigns for our air, ferry and event products.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, they managed the PPC ads for our air and ferry tickets. Later, they began to manage our event ticket sales as well. For the air and ferry tickets, it was only Google while events were through Google and Facebook.

They’ve done market research and worked closely with our development team, helping us set up our site and have better insight.

What is the team composition?

Lynn (Founder) is our main contact.

How did you come to work with Kollective?

They were recommended by one of our partners. They were experienced as well as premiere Google partners with access that would assist in our strategies.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in April 2016, and it is ongoing.

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

We have increased 10% yearly in ferry ticket revenue. We ran Google and Facebook campaigns for a large concert recently, selling many tickets as a result. We’ve had millions of impressions both in Greece and abroad.

We were the biggest airfare ticket provider in Greece until 2017 when we stopped running ads in order to focus on ferry tickets.

How did Kollective perform from a project management standpoint?

Lynn is very responsive. He’s available any time, any day to talk with us. We meet weekly to discuss the campaigns. We communicate face to face, via phone, email, and Facebook. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their experience in all areas of marketing is the most impressive aspect of our cooperation. They’ve helped me understand, measure, and analyze all of our actions. It goes beyond PPC campaigns to include SEO, how we appear in Google results, and how to interpret analytics for market insights.

They have acted as a mentor, advising us over the years. They are like a partner, an extra pair of eyes looking out for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to try them. You will definitely see results.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a sales manager at a security integration company. We install alarms, fire protection, CCTV, and access control systems. We work in both the B2B and B2C space. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Kollective?

We wanted assistance with SEO and PPC services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They ran PPC campaigns on Facebook to attract our B2C audience. Their team also helped us create a business strategy, including organic SEO strategies. We added ways of reaching out to customers, new contact channels, and metric tracking. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three people from Kollective. Lynn (Founder) is our key contact. We’ve also worked with people from the design team and the IT department.

How did you come to work with Kollective?

I searched online for companies with Google certifications and selected around 10 of them. I made some calls and had meetings over the phone and face-to-face. It was very easy to approach Kollective, and they understood our needs quickly. Lynn made us an offer to try Kollective’s service before buying. We started, and the results were impressive from the first month. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent almost €30,000 (approximately $32,200) so far with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Kollective in July 2016, and the partnership is ongoing.

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

We were spending half the money we used to spend on campaigns, and getting four times more incoming calls. We weren’t getting any collaboration inquiries through our site form initially, and we started getting 5–6 per week. The base was limited, but the increase was dramatic.

How did Kollective perform from a project management standpoint?

We had 2–3 long meetings with them in the beginning, to set up the strategy and define our goals and plans. Now, we mainly communicate through the phone, Skype, email, and Facebook.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They didn’t have experience in the security market, and SEO isn’t a typical strategy in our sector. However, Kollective was willing to invest more time from their side to get results.  

Recently, I asked them to find a solution to minimize our spending, not for financial reasons, but because we couldn’t handle all the incoming calls. They were willing to support us and to charge the minimum amount of money. They’ve been very adaptive in that sense.

They’re honest with us about budgeting. There were other times when I asked them to spend more, and they told me we’d just be throwing money away. They understand our needs and provide good insight.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know how confident they are with LinkedIn campaigns. We haven’t discussed this recently, but I believe they weren’t comfortable with the idea when I first brought it up. If they haven’t yet, it would be beneficial for them to educate themselves on how LinkedIn campaigns work.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-owner of an online retailer of Greek wines and spirits worldwide.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kollective?

We hired Kollective as a full service consultant for all our online marketing needs. The main aspects we had an immediate need for were SEO for our website and online advertising via google and facebook ads.

What were your goals for this project?

We simply wanted to gain more awareness of our eshop to a relevant audience and of course to increase overall online sales.

How did you select this vendor?

Kollective was recommended to us from a colleague.

Describe the project in detail.

We really did not have any in-house experience in online marketing when we came into contact with Kollective. Through our initial meeting we gained a much better understanding of the options available to us and the benefits that various different approaches had to our bottom line.

The project such as it is has been ongoing since 2016 so of course over that time Kollective has been involved with a wide range of activities aimed at the overall goals stated above.

What was the team composition?

We were in contact with all of the team as needed depending on the specific issue we were looking at and the expertise of the Kollective team member that was needed.

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

Our cooperation with Kollective is ongoing but the largest success we had in terms of absolute numbers was the SEO optimisation project we completed in late 2017.

After a couple of months of not much change all of a sudden our organic traffic really went up a lot, almost tripling in the following six months or so. And it has stayed at these levels ever since.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have no complaint with the workflow, they are always available for 'random' questions we might have and timelines for specific actions are always upheld.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their knowledge of all aspects of digital marketing was impressive, we really had no idea of the scope of what digital marketing actually means in practice!

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can think of none, we are very happy as is proven by the continuing cooperation.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of Cocoon Suites, a hotel based in Santorini, Greece.

What challenge were you trying to address with Kollective?

We wanted to increase our bookings and online visibility.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started by doing some marketing together, specifically Google Ads and social media marketing. Kollective’s role has since expanded to redeveloping our website. 

I wanted a fast, user-friendly, and mobile-responsive site to attract more people. Kollective got it done, incorporating the latest trends and our needs.

What is the team composition?

I mostly speak with Lynn (Founder, Kollective). I also talk to Paul (Partner, Kollective) sometimes.

How did you come to work with Kollective?

I took many offers from the most famous agencies in Greece, but a friend recommended Kollective. Once I spoke with Lynn, I knew that he would be a very trusted partner. When I tested them, I was thrilled with the results, the communication we had, and the analysis they gave me every time we discussed something.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017, and the work is ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’ve seen a huge increase in our direct bookings thanks to the digital marketing and sales management we did with Kollective. We’ve seen a 150% increase in our direct bookings. Our total revenue growth is over 100%.

How did Kollective perform from a project management standpoint?

We have daily and monthly goals. Kollective has very good communication and is always on time. We talk via email and phone and speak every two days. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re accessible and have immediate responses. Their communication distinguishes them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’ve been very pleased with our cooperation.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try them. If you have questions, be prompt and communicate.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the sole owner and CEO of a company that hires and operates hotels in Greece.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kollective?

We hired Kollective for their targeted online marketing services.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase our online presence and drive more direct bookings as well as get some insights and analytics of our operation.

How did you select Kollective?

Kollective seemed to us as the most knowledgable candidate after our interviews with several agencies. Their passion for what they do is one of the things that stroke our attention.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They sat down with us and discussed our goals. They formulated a plan that was derived through market research as well as market expertise.

What was the team composition?

We are only dealing with one person that provides very good personal service and also collaborate perfectly with

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

We have noticed a considerable increase in our direct bookings, which was our primary goal. Then we had to face the pandemic and we have not been able to collect data for a long time.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective collaboration between the different teams of our operations.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The personal and knowledgable service.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can think of.