Lorem Ipsum

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founding partner and creative director of Pollywog, a naming agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lorem Ipsum?

We were working on a naming project with a large, international cleaning product manufacturer. They were looking to create a single name for a product that’s marketed under different names in a number of global markets. To do this, the company needed to understand the core values of their products among their various target audiences. So, we hired Lorem Ipsum to conduct voice of business (VOB) research and recommend alternative strategic positionings that could serve as a foundation for the brand. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start, Lorem Ipsum worked very closely with the company to identify key leaders and pull together relevant assets to better understand the brand and competitive market. This included marketing brochures, product information, and performing a competitive audit. 

Once they had a better grasp on the current landscape, they conducted 15 one-on-one interviews with global product leaders to better understand the audience. They synthesized this information into a strategic report in which they presented the various final brand positioning alternatives. 

What is the team composition?

Shannon (Founding Partner, Lorem Ipsum) was our main point of contact and provided most of the services, along with one other associate. 

How did you come to work with Lorem Ipsum?

We’d been working with Lorem Ipsum for many years, so we were familiar with their expertise in B2B strategy. We knew they’d be a great fit because of their experience with VOB work. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $25,000 on the project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September–December 2018. 

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

The client was very happy with this phase of the naming project. Understanding the audience through the VOB interviews was very helpful for them. They appreciated the comprehensive work Lorem Ipsum delivered and the valuable information gleaned from key stakeholders. 

How did Lorem Ipsum perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was excellent at project management. They handled all of the schedules for interviews, kept the project on time, and didn’t go over the budget. We mostly communicated through the phone and over email. Their team was good at keeping in contact, so we never had any issues with that. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Lorem Ipsum was skilled at assigning the right people to the project who perfectly fit our needs. Overall, they were a small, nimble, and adept team that customized their services for our project. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything—the project went very smoothly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep in touch, trust their process, and expect good results.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I've worked with Lorem Ipsum for over ten years, both in my current role and as global marketing and customer intelligence director for an industrial engineering company. For the purposes of this review, I will discuss my experience with them in my former position.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lorem Ipsum?

We were trying to establish a global process, in which we could do cost-effective market research around customer needs for a variety of projects and solutions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We established a global research panel. Our work included three or four major research programs to inform product strategy, development, and pricing. Most of our techniques involved online surveys, but we captured customer feedback in various ways to inform our strategy.

They provided all the program management, as well as access and availability to a network of subject matter experts to execute this program. They put me in contact with professionals who could execute online surveys and analyze the data, and a team to provide executive summaries, results, and recommendations. They wrote everything up professionally with infographics and recommendations for data usage. They provided a wide gamut of capability from start to finish.

What is the team composition?

We had a program manager who coordinated our schedules and our workload. We also had a master networker who put us in touch with other third-party professionals. They're a much bigger company now, but we mostly started with just those two individuals.

How did you come to work with Lorem Ipsum?

When I started at the company, the executive above me had a strong relationship with them. He recommended that I contact them to start this level of the program.

How much have you invested with them?

Over four years, we spent roughly $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from about 2012-2016.

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

The research directly impacted our product development strategy at least a couple of times. Several quantitative pieces of work informed product managers and defined use cases, feature sets, and price comparisons. An online focus group informed user experience and interface designs as we completed agile software development. The developer got immediate feedback on potential designs and actions, which influenced the finished product.

How did Lorem Ipsum perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly or biweekly phone calls to manage the programs and ensure we stayed within the scope of the project. We didn't use any special software, and most of our communication was through phone and email. They were very good at meeting deadlines, and any scheduling issues were usually on our side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their experience in B2B and B2C environments sets them apart from other agencies. They understand the value of adhering to a budget and a timeline. They never let their creativity get in the way, and they’re very aware of our needs. I’ve never worked with anyone who was so consistent in delivering so closely to the statement of work. They do a fantastic job.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could act as more of a partner, beyond just executing individual projects. I look forward to having that kind of conversation with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your homework upfront, and be very clear about your budget and what you want them to achieve. If you give them the support they need, they will execute the project and give you what you pay for. They are worth your time.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an HVAC and controls manufacturer. We build automations, mainly management controls. We’re a leading HVAC supplier to the commercial and industrial markets, and we also serve residential clients. I serve the commercial and industrial segment of the company, covering large buildings and commercial high-rises.

I lead our systems control portfolio. My group’s products are the building automation components that coordinate and optimize the control of HVAC equipment in commercial applications.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lorem Ipsum?

For the commercial market, the sales process is complex. It goes through a series of decisionmakers, starting with the building owner or property management firm. Because they don’t have the expertise to make good decisions about building systems, they’ll hire architects, consulting engineers, and contractors to run those projects and make those decisions. Our office sells to those players. As a manufacturer, the better we understand how to engage with and meet the buyer’s needs, the better we serve that market. We wanted to improve that understanding.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project is a guidebook describing our process and how to be effective at decision making to help our account managers have greater success and earn more share of the business. Lorem Ipsum generated 60%–70% of the content with input from us. We did a buying process study and had focus groups, so we learned along the way, and we engaged with Lorem Ipsum in that learning. They took that content in various forms including recordings, notes, PowerPoints, white papers, and interviews, put it together in a digestible format, reviewed it with us several times, and then we took the drafts back to that audience and refined them further. Lorem Ipsum did the bulk of the heavy lifting. 

What is the team composition?

They assigned three key players for this project. I worked most closely with one of their account managers. She had a domain expert involved who worked with her on research. They also had a creative designer involved, who made the content look appealing in book format. They had some artwork support as well.

How did you come to work with Lorem Ipsum?

They’ve been a partner on several projects. They know us and our business, customers, and process well. When it came time to document the best practices and best methods, strategies, and tactics to serve that buying process, Lorem Ipsum already knew us well. It’s been easy to do business together. 

How much have you invested with them?

The project budget was $60,000. Some outshoots of it will involve incremental spending including learning collateral, promotional material, and web forums.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Lorem Ipsum in September 2018. It was a 4–6-month project start to finish.

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

Lorem Ipsum did audits of our ongoing projects and invoiced us based on a statement of work that lays out the planned scope. Between the biweekly audits—which are Word documents tracking the scope, time spent, and deliverables—and the monthly invoices, I have a high level of confidence that we’re getting what we’ve paid for.

One of the cool aspects of the guidebook is that it has a lot of content from and by our account management audience. Any account manager who picks it up will see that it’s by them, for them. It was built on a foundation of our best practices, learnings, and methods.

Our goal was to have the book completed and delivered to 1,000 of our account managers at a recent sales conference. We heard positive feedback, and I’ve had many calls from account managers and district leaders asking for guidance on how to put together a 30–45-minute presentation about it. 

Our sales training group wants to incorporate the book into our curriculum. We do sales training for new hires and seasoned account managers, and this book will be core to those training curriculums. To grow the effectiveness of our account managers, it’s been well received, and it’s now a part of our standard work.

How did Lorem Ipsum perform from a project management standpoint?

This is an aspect we rely on them for. Lorem Ipsum learned our timeframe, needs, and availability, and they put together a project plan. They were diligent in ensuring that we met milestones along the way. They pulled the group together when people didn’t meet their deadlines and helped them get to the content they needed. There were several times when I had a Friday deadline, and we met on a Thursday to work on the content. They helped us make sure we got there along the way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s the partnership. The degree to which they’ve come to learn our business and needs is superior. We have a relationship that’s far beyond understanding our business. They want to be part of our business and enjoy our success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s hard to complain. They do good work, and I attribute a lot of it to our account manager, who’s a professional, high-quality person. This is the caliber of people they hire. Without any hesitation, I highly recommend working with Lorem Ipsum. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

The investment and partnership should be taken very seriously. There are a lot of businesses that see vendors as serving them and expect their deadlines and needs to be met. When this is viewed as a partnership, both parties share in the success.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the global marketing lead for a brand consultancy firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lorem Ipsum?

As an agile, lean organization focused on external client activities, we have a shared services organization that is required to manage the operations of the entire organization. We reached out to Lorem Ipsum, because we lacked a staff of marketing professionals to meet the needs and demands of our internal and external customers. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lorem Ipsum acts as an outsourced marketing department with an ability to scale as needed. Their tasks include: managing social media strategy and posts, deploying a team of writers and designers to create new case studies and research papers, and creating marketing and campaign strategies. They manage campaigns for clients from start to finish, providing creative assets as needed.

What is the team composition? 

We work with two people primarily, including a project manager and social media lead. We generally hold weekly status calls with their team to go over our long list of current and future projects.

How did you come to work with Lorem Ipsum?

I've known the principals of the company for about 20 years and have worked with them in many capacities, so I already had a strong relationship and level of trust with their organization.

What is the status of this engagement?

In my role at this company, I've been working with them since March 2017.

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

The increase in our social media engagement is without a doubt attributed to their efforts. That engagement has turned into conversions and at least six new clients, so their work has been instrumental in our targeted campaigns. 

How did Lorem Ipsum perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very approachable, responsive, and proactive about communications. No matter who picks up the phone on their end, they make our needs a priority.

They're very agile and flexible in their approach; we don't have to micromanage or follow up with them, because they're very communicative every step of each project. It's also very clear where our money is going, because they provide detailed audits of their work. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They combine tried and true practices of marketing with new ideas and technologies. I appreciate their balance of traditional marketing principles with innovation (i.e., infographics and video capabilities). 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Adding some public relations experts to their in-house team is an opportunity for growth for their business. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Consider all angles of marketing that would benefit the business when approaching Lorem Ipsum, but also ask a lot of questions and be open to their feedback about other routes. It may come as a surprise just how many services and capabilities their team can offer.