Oomph, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m Executive VP for Strategic Marketing and Communications for United Way of Rhode Island. I also oversee the volunteer engagements.

We are a statewide United Way organization and we're part of the United Way Worldwide Network. We are both a fundraiser and a grantmaker, as well as a convener in the community. We’ve been helping people in here for 90 years, and we support programs that give families and individuals experiencing tough times a hand up. We also run a free statewide call center known as 211, which connects people to social services, such as care for elderly parents, food pantries, free tax help, addiction help, and housing issues.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oomph?

We had a need to restructure our entire digital strategy to reach our audience. Some of our tools were antiquated, and some of our channels were not connected. We needed a web presence that took advantage of the most innovative tools available, but also that was very centered on our audience. We envisioned a website where we’d publish communications there first, then to other channels, which would route visitors back to the site.

One of the key pieces we needed was a really great backend that was intuitive for our staff to use. With our former website, only an external vendor could update it, which didn’t work for our fast pace of communications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with them through timelines that we agreed to together. They helped us think through a new navigation strategy. The previous website was difficult to navigate if users didn’t know anything about United Way. Our organization was evolving from focusing our communications efforts on only those audiences who already knew us to becoming friendly to audiences who don’t know us. That was a big change.

Oomph helped us revamp our very complicated navigation to speak to multiple audiences, including an external retail audience that was very familiar with us. They worked with us on simplifying it to include only a few key choices on the home page.

They helped us think through software platforms that would be both robust and flexible so that the site could adjust to our changes and growth as an organization. They built the site on WordPress, which is intuitive and easy to use.

They delivered the website and helped us pick the right widgets for it. They set it up so we have full control internally for making updates and changes and helped us with its use. Since we have the WordPress tool, we’ve been able to launch some sub-sites, including one for Grantmakers Council of Rhode Island. Using the WordPress template and a little bit consulting from Oomph, we got those launched.

We now continue to work with them as consultants. We use their Ally Program, which gives us 10 hours a month of consulting time. They continue to advise us on how we can best reach our audience. Since that time, we’ve developed a number of web projects with them. For example, we are rolling out a new online giving platform called a donor advised fund. Oomph worked with us on its branding and helped us come up with the MyFund brand. They did all of the frontend development of that product, including its look and feel.

They’ve also really helped us with Google Analytics. They generate custom reports so that we can see which pages are most popular and whether people complete forms.

What is the team dynamic?

I was assigned Ellen [Account Manager, Oomph, Inc.] as a project manager.

How did you come to work with Oomph?

We went through a competitive request for proposal process. A number of similar firms bid on the project. We were looking for someone with the skills to consolidate our web presences and deliver a fresh, intuitive site that would work for multiple programs and audiences.

We identified Oomph early on as a great possibility. We narrowed the firms down to a few, who came in and presented to us. Oomph really stood out in that process.

They listened very well. They didn’t make assumptions about us and instead allowed us explain who we thought we were and what our challenges were in conveying our message. That enabled them to present original proposals that spoke to us. We felt immediately that they understood what we were trying to do and could deliver for us. We had no reservations in hiring them to redesign our web presence.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2015 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched the main website in December 2015. We saw an immediate increase in traffic to the website. It at least doubled in the first year, and we’ve been able to maintain and increase that, which has been great.

We had one form on our page for a particular affinity program that no one had ever filled out. They helped us make some simple tweaks to our messaging, and immediately users started filling it out. Going from 0 to several people a month for that form is a wonderful improvement.

They’re true WordPress experts. The navigation change was a big one for us internally, and they were really wonderful in guiding us through that. They helped us understand best practices and how traffic patterns work on our website. They were integral to making the MyFund product as strong as it is. I’m grateful that regardless of the project, they’re always right there.

We use the website differently now that everything is connected. We’re able to post blogs on the site and use them for our e-News program and social media. The website-first communications strategy we developed together works well to bring people back to the site to either sign up for an event or a newsletter, give to a program, or interact with us in some way. That’s a major goal, and the site’s been very useful.

How did Oomph perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re outstanding and about the best I’ve seen. Ellen is probably one of the best project managers I’ve ever worked with. We had weekly calls with them as the project was getting closer to launch.

We always know where the project is. If we have a question or concern, they are extremely responsive. We are never waiting to hear back from them. If the project is starting to get off track, we will know immediately, as well as why and what can be done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are one of the best vendors I’ve worked with. I’ve been leading marketing communications programs for over 30 years.

They’re always good listeners who come up with solutions that can truly help us. They’re never condescending and are always very patient. They always bring fresh ideas to the table. If I request something they’re not experts in, they let us know and give us the information of people who are. They make sure that we’re getting the best service for what we need. I really appreciate the care and respect that demonstrates. It’s built my trust in them.

We meet our deadlines and budget. That doesn’t always happen with external vendors when working on projects of this scale. They’re committed to the project, the timeline, and the budget. They’re a true partner and feel like an extension of our marketing communications department. We’ve become very close. We love working with them. They’re fun and super smart.

They know so much about the current web industry. They do a beautiful job of delivering what they say they will. In working with other vendors, I’ve been assigned to a sales person until the contract is signed. After that, I transitioned to a developer. That sometimes caused a miscommunication about what we thought we were getting and what the developer could actually do. That didn’t happen with Oomph. We worked with Ellen from beginning to the end and she made sure our expectations were met. That really stood out for me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I only wish I could have them here with me full time—they’re a tremendous asset to our organization. I love working with them. There’s nothing they could improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the e-commerce manager at Leica Geosystems, which is a global manufacturer of high tech survey equipment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oomph?

We wanted to have a more direct voice to reach professionals, as opposed to our typical distribution channel through dealership corporations, where the messaging was mainly cookie-cutter product pages. We wanted the end users to be exposed to the story of our product as well as user-generated content, which shows how our products can actually make their lives easier.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Starting from a high-level e-commerce content marketing and inbound marketing strategy, Oomph recommended a Drupal-based content management system (CMS) for flexibility and customization. Working within a short deadline, they produced a static site to act as a prototype for launch at a trade show and then proceeded to build the first version of the dynamic e-commerce site with Drupal CMS. The dynamic site features several API's, including one that functions as an order-management system, communicating with our existing retail distributors for most products but not for our newest one, which we are distributing ourselves. This functionality is somewhat complex, which is why we needed a development partner. Oomph also integrated a translation management tool allowing us to operate currently in six different countries.

How did you come to work with Oomph?

I found Oomph through a personal recommendation from someone in the development industry that I trust. We were considering a couple other companies, but their recommendations stood out as a better fit for our requirements.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in March 2014 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Starting from nothing three years ago, our site now receives 100,000 unique visits each month, generating about 500,000 page views. Moreover, the e-commerce site gets about double the traffic that our corporate site gets, and a good indicator of the success of this project is that for the first time the company decided to launch a product through the digital channel without using traditional retailers.

How did Oomph perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is one of their particular strengths. We have weekly meetings with a dedicated project manager, and they also assigned us an account manager who is aware of our longer-term business goals. We submit maintenance requests using Jira. I'm really happy with them and don't have any complaints in this area

What did you find most impressive about them?

They deliver what they say they're going to deliver, and I never have to worry about them. Other companies don't have the same level of conscientiousness. I wish more companies operated the way they do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They aren't outrageously expensive, but due to the growing scope of the project, I wish we could afford more of their time to make things happen quicker. They have more expertise in backend functionality than in frontend look and feel, but again that's not necessarily a knock on them because it's driven by taste.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having a clear idea of your requirements is always good, but if you don't have that, let them know and they can help you plan it out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the managing partner for Advanced Biotechnologies LLC. We manufacture a product called the Biocharger, which is a subtle energy revitalization platform or a method for consumers to recharge their bodies in a healthy advanced technologically-based way.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oomph?

We were a total startup from the ground up. We were looking for partners to outsource critical functions of the company to so that we could ramp up faster. We knew we needed a digital marketing partner to get a presence on the website and beyond. In particular we were looking for a partner for digital marketing, web site development, e-marketing, etc.

We have a unique product to sell. It’s a $12,000 item that most people don’t understand. There was a challenge in finding a way to communicate this in an effective way to the right audiences.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Oomph is now our go-to partner for more than 90% of our digital marketing and other digital needs. We started by developing our personas and our target markets. From there we moved into web site development, backend CRM and social media. They built our website from the ground up, adding functionality for online purchases. They have helped us develop print and digital marketing materials that we use for emails, presentations and other marketing. They’ve done SEO and AdWords for us.

What is the team dynamic?

Our primary contact is Matt O'Bryant [Director of Strategy, Oomph Inc.] Matt brings in creative support as needed.

How did you come to work with Oomph?

We interviewed 3-4 companies before we moved forward with Oomph. They were referred to us by a larger firm that declined our RFP because they felt that we were too small. They put us in touch with Matt.

When we started engaging with them, they took the time to understand what we were trying to do. They gave us a pretty good roadmap to get started. Oomph was based in Rhode Island, and we're out on the Cape, so there's a geographical draw as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're reliant on two sources of sales leads. One is our existing customer base via word of mouth. The second is our digital marketing strategies, website and social media—that are all orchestrated through Oomph. We've gone from approximately 30 leads a month through the website to now closer to 60. The quality of the leads is equal to or better than before. It’s taken a lot to move the needle but we’ve done it in a methodical and effective manner. Now our challenge is more sales coverage than lead generation, which is a nice problem to have.

How did Oomph perform from a project management standpoint?

We interact every week—usually at 2pm on Tuesdays—depending on the project load. It's never huge stuff—we're not doing complete redesign of the website, for example—but there are enough active projects that there's something going on every week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Trust. We’re able to rely on them. They follow through, they're competent, they're conscientious. Those are important to me since we're a very small company but we're doing some pretty big things. I equate them to one of our partners, like our engineering, software development or manufacturing partners. We’re in a unique situation to have great partners in all major functional areas of the company that we can trust and Oomph is one of them.

Matt is a big part of our relationship with Oomph, our ability to work with them and trust them as a business partner. I doubt the company has anyone else quite like him. He has great project management skills: he's responsive, he's professional, he's smart. He's extremely capable of not only going into detail to help you look at things the right way or giving you different perspectives, but he's also extremely technically savvy. He often times helps us by fixing something on the website on the fly. That's impressive.

I've provided referrals to two new clients to Oomph, one for which I was asked to be a reference. I wouldn't do that if I didn't believe they were great company. I hope they are prosperous and that we continue to work with them for years to come.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's always fine tuning. I think there might be an opportunity for Oomph to dig in more on social impact and how to really move the needle on the social side. It would seem to me that integration with that might be an opportunity area.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of institutional sales, licensing and operations at a journal publication.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oomph Inc.?

We had no online presence, but wanted to build one to help educate our current customers on our new products and features, as well as attract new customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They began by doing a strategic analysis of our market by developing librarian personas to figure out the best way to communicate with our audience. We weren’t initially committed to building a website because we thought a newsletter would bolster our online presence, but the strategic analysis indicated a small-scale website would be the best way to reach our readers.

Oomph then looked into our competition and further developed librarian personas to research their needs. They worked with us on drafting up the website’s map and individual pages, fleshing out the details of both the backend and frontend of the site. They result was a nine-page microsite, which includes a small amount of original content and a large amount of static content. Our audience has access to our contact information, as well as a page where customers can request a quote, and that request will automatically be sent to our CRM system.

What is the team dynamic? 

We worked closely with one of their project managers.

How did you come to work with Oomph Inc.?

They came well-recommended by another division in our company. Due to their work with that other division, they were familiar with our branding and marketing issues, so we felt comfortable trusting them with this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2016 and continued through June 2016. Due to funding, there was a sixth-month lag between the strategic analysis and project execution. We started working with them again in January 2017 and completed the project in May 2017. They continue to provide us with any troubleshooting and upkeep needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are very pleased with the resulting design. We’ve seen growth in our customer base since the site went live.

How did Oomph Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job. We communicated through Basecamp. They were very responsive and ensured we were kept up-to-date on their progress. They would also nudge us when they needed a response from us, which helped move the process along. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very open to our ideas and didn’t push a preconceived agenda on us. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Provide as much background information as possible to educate them about your market. That allows them to assist you in the most effective and efficient way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president of AutoRaptor, a CRM application for automobile dealers. We’re based in Providence, Rhode Island and have six full-time employees. We’ve served both the United States and Canada for 11 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oomph, Inc.?

We’ve worked with a number of advertising companies over the years, but always had mixed results. We hired Oomph to help revitalize our marketing website in order to increase web traffic and leads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Instead of building a website from scratch, we decided to modify our existing site. They upgraded a number of pages within our application, focusing on content and imagery.

They also improved our analytics. Our clients go through our website to sign onto the application, which distorts the statistics. Oomph created a way for us to distinguish between existing customers and new visitors, providing a clearer idea of our web traffic.

We had an existing blog site that generated tons of traffic, but we weren’t using it to generate leads. Oomph suggested installing call to action buttons, something no previous vendor had recommended.

What is the team dynamic?

We have a project manager who’s the main point of contact, but we also have an in-person meeting every couple of months that includes the designer and Matt [O’Bryant], the supervising executive. We’ve also worked with DJ. Kadamus [Director, Oomph], who has a firm grasp of Google Analytics.

How did you come to work with Oomph, Inc.?

We needed a new agency after our own marketing person left for California to get married. We wanted a local vendor so we could conduct face-to-face meetings and get a sense of the company, and we interviewed a number of candidates, including Oomph.

We initially chose a vendor with experience in the automotive field, but we quickly realized they had a number of internal problems. We contacted Oomph to take over the project.

How much have you invested with them?

Our contract is for $50,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017 and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While our first and second quarter saw a large reduction in leads and sales, our business has stabilized since updating the website. We’re not yet getting our ideal numbers, but we’re trending in that direction.

How did Oomph, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly status meetings to draft timelines and priorities. We viewed the first 10 months of work as one stage, setting specific goals, and outlined long-term, stage two goals for the following year.

They’re very responsive to questions and suggestions, well-organized, and provide regular updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Every effective collaboration requires open discussions in order to find the best solution, so I appreciated their straightforwardness and willingness to push back on ideas in a polite manner. They’ve also shown they’re capable of owning up to a mistake, and will take extra steps to correct any errors.

They understand that marketing is different for every business and took the time to learn the unique qualities of our industry.

They're also honorable people, which isn’t always the case with marketing agencies. Previous vendors have performed well for the first couple of months, but then decline in quality while continuing to collect their monthly retainer. Oomph has remained honest and keeps our interests in mind.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our project has so far focused on revamping the existing site. I hope to see a stream of creative solutions as we move into the second phase, and I have every confidence that they’ll deliver.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at a non-profit company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Non profit legal services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Oomph, Inc. to accomplish?

• Website redesign
• User testing

SOLUTION

How did you find Oomph, Inc.?

Other

Why did you select Oomph, Inc. over others?

Other

How many teammates from Oomph, Inc. were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Discovery, strategy, research, redesign and user testing of a legal information website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• They delivered a beautiful, functional set of designs that we can use to build our new website.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Their project management was very strong. Good communication both at virtual meetings and via base camp. The timeline was appropriate and adhered to. Stayed within budget.

What was your primary form of communication with Oomph, Inc.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Very timely and responsive. They went the extra mile to create beautiful, functional designs for our site.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Oomph, Inc.  could have done differently?

Not really.