Paradox Marketing

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of SMB Advisors. We are a consulting firm that leverages the internet and specializes in sales, marketing, and branding strategies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Paradox Marketing?

They’re filling a talent gap, which allows me to provide services. They provide human resources with expertise that my current full-time employees do not have.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The nature of my business is offering rented marketing departments for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs) owners, and Paradox Marketing allows me to offer all of these different skill sets. They’re essentially hired employees who assist with a wide range of offerings on our website. 

Paradox Marketing provides full stack web development and web design. They also do SEO research and strategy. This includes on-page website optimization, content optimization, and technical remediations for page speed and 404 errors. They handle the technical integration of sales and marketing software. This includes getting third-party email systems and real estate listing services to integrate with a CRM or CMS through software like Zapier.

I give them documentation and specs of my requests. We’ve been working together for so long that Joshua (CEO) is oftentimes my second set of eyes on client challenges. Paradox Marketing mainly does insular landing pages or testimonial pages. I don’t use them for creative vision in cases where clients want an entire branding project or logo redo; rather, the creative inspiration is already there, and they act as an extension for doing specific designs.

Based on the ultimate growth and expansion that our clients are looking for, we do a lot of projects migrating from Wix and Squarespace to WordPress. WordPress gives us the flexibility to create client portals, log-in areas, e-commerce, and integrations. We use marketing software like Ontraport and HubSpot. However, we’re somewhat technology-agnostic, and Paradox Marketing is flexible in terms of technology. WordPress would be their recommendation, but solving for any technology is a talent of theirs — we’ve never come across a technology that they couldn’t tackle.

If we have a recommendation that would be too much disruption for the organization, Paradox will tell us about it. Right now, we’re working with a client that has Keap (FKA Infusionsoft), which isn’t something that we typically recommend. However, being sensitive to the client, we wouldn’t recommend replacing it just because we don’t work with Keap.

What is the team composition?

Joshua is my quasi project manager in some cases. We have a relationship where he can almost white-label as an extension of myself and as project manager. Jennifer (Operations Manager) acts as a junior project manager. I assign one developer assigned per project and 1–2 people for SEO. I can have more than one project going with them at a time.

Joshua has specialized team members for content, design, and development. On an average project, there can be 4–8 people from his team whose roles include senior project manager, junior project manager, and project-specific specialists like SEO, content research, or web development.

How did you come to work with Paradox Marketing?

I met Joshua through a mutual friend at a HubSpot inbound marketing conference in Boston.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost so far is around $150,000–$200,000. The average cost per year is $40,000 or higher.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Paradox in January or February 2016, and I don’t see it ending.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Both Paradox Marketing and my team subscribe to the mantra that the answer is yes, and we will figure it out. The first client that Paradox Marketing worked with for me is still a client of mine. Our rate of retention is so high that cancellations surprise us.

I refer to Joshua as my common-law partner — I tell him that this is the longest relationship I’ve ever been in.

How did Paradox Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re well-organized and detail-oriented when it comes to the intricacies and steps of what they do. Joshua has a strong commitment to documented, repeatable processes, whether those are inside Asana or just navigating our projects together. From a high level and all the way to the details of web development, everything is managed quite meticulously in their custom project management setup.

Joshua and I have Zoom calls anywhere from 1–5 times a week. We use Facebook Messenger, email, and other channels.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The first thing that comes to mind is flexibility. Knowing that I don’t need to find five other specialists because Paradox works with a variety of technologies translates into a certain comfort and confidence as a business owner. Their flexibility is what I find most valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We always work on improving, namely the total knowledge share of what exactly Paradox marketing does. The things that they can do are extremely technical and intelligent. For a little while, Paradox undersold or under-conveyed just how smart and gifted they are and what exactly they did. I want the client to know just how sophisticated and special their work is, whether that’s a finished website or growing organic traffic.

Ultimately, they should better communicate the big picture and the micro-value of what they can do. It might be a case of humility or the fact that this is just common to them. This isn’t necessarily a negative, but I wanted to provide some context for it. For example, when they QA a website, they address 40–50 specs across mobile and desktop. Then, they simply confirm the QA is done, without saying that they looked at 52 use cases. That work would’ve taken the client nine hours.

After everything is completed, I get a small-to-midsize PowerPoint. As a parallel, if the problem in algebra class was four divided by two, you’d write down two, but the teacher would ask you to show your work. Similarly, I keep telling them to show the client just how much they cover. That now comes with every project that we do. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

For any project, the needs and goals need to be well-defined. Also, there needs to be awareness that there may be more than one way to tackle a problem. Having as many stakeholders as possible involved helps get everybody on the same page to minimize rework.

If the goals are too general, there can be misalignment regarding how long things will take or the different paths to the result. The availability to communicate regularly is another aspect. If the client can only talks to Paradox twice a month, they won’t have that level of intimacy and detail along the way. This isn’t mandatory, but I believe it’s how we get the best results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the executive of J.R. Martin & Associates

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Gives peace of mind to business owners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Paradox Marketing to accomplish?

• Updated website
• Content rich website
• Google ads

SOLUTION

How did you find Paradox Marketing?

Referral

Why did you select Paradox Marketing over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

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

New updated website, framework for regular content, Google advertising 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

More leads from website

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

Delivered on time, attentive to our needs

What was your primary form of communication with Paradox Marketing?

Virtual Meeting

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

We're impressed with the quality and thoroughness of the website

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

Regular strategic meetings, less turnover with Google ads person.  More understanding of our industry 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Harmony Healthcare International, Inc. (HHI) is a Massachusetts based healthcare consulting company. We mainly focus on educating and training healthcare providers in the Long-term, skilled sector. I am the executive producer for Harmony.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Paradox Marketing, and what were your goals?

Our company started working with Paradox Marketing before my tenure at harmony-healthcare even began. Initially they managed the website and consulted with our SEO & digital marketing needs. Most recently the Paradox team has helped us launch a fully functional Shopify store as an addition to our website. Taking our catalog of over 100+ virtual/remote education courses and making them available for purchase to our audience of over 80,000 subscribers.

SOLUTION

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

Paradox was contracted with my company before I started working there. We continue to work with them because of their responsiveness, attention to detail & expertise surrounding digital marketing.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Our team meets with a team member from Paradox regularly. We discuss our goals and business agenda and how we wish our digital marketing endeavors align with each other. Typically we meet through Zoom. Communicate via E-mail and Asana & are working together in Hubspot & Shopify to market our brand.

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

Over 5 different individuals. From multiple account managers to the co-founder himself.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

https://shop.harmony-healthcare.com/ At the end of 2021 this portion of our website did not exist. Thanks to the Paradox team they helped turn our idea into a reality that is driving revenue for our company.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

As mentioned previously, they are complete professionals when it comes to responsiveness and communication flexibility. We use E-mail, Asana, Zoom & Phone/Text to communicate mostly.

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

Their expertise is the most impressive thing going for them. They've managed to build a team of experts who know how to put things together at a technical level. We ask their team to jump, and they ask "how high" ... We never wait long to see action turn into results either.

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

If there is something their team could improve on, I haven't found it personally. They've been receptive to our every need & for that we're eternally grateful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the managing partner of Wicked Soccer Cards LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Paradox Marketing?

Website design

SOLUTION

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

Had several preliminary talks with some of the leadership and decided to use their services.

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

We wanted to created a website for our e-commerce platform and also had a variety of built in features such as a countdown timer and multiple menu options on the site created which was executed brilliantly.

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

I would say there were at least 3-5 team members of the development team that worked with us on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The outcome was very successful, and we are very happy with the website as a result.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

10 out of 10 workflow

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

The timely response to any issues and the attention to detail in every area of the site we asked them to look into.

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

In this specific case I thought everything was an A+

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a surrogacy and egg donation escrow company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Paradox Marketing, and what were your goals?

My goals were to get my business showing up on Google and make tweaks to my website that were needed to make it more successful.

SOLUTION

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

Was a recommendation from someone I trust already using them.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

Um - I just did what they told me to do because I trusted their recommendations :-)

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

I worked with several people, not sure of their exact positions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Yes - getting more and more hits to my website and have gone from 6 clients a month to 15 already!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

VERY effective, is very impressive.

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

I like the direct communication with Joshua. Makes me feel like I am his most important client, even though I know I am not the one and only.

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

None I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the SEO Specialist at Centeno-Schultz Clinic

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Paradox Marketing, and what were your goals?

Our goal is to scale the production of our site structure and content.

SOLUTION

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

The nested hub strategy utilizes custom post types in conjunction with dynamic content that displays based on taxonomy. It was a brilliant solution to our problem.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

This project mandates a lot of meetings, work sessions, weekly calls, outline creation, web development (that was worth A LOT more than we paid), and strategy calls. All other information is confidential.

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

Over 10.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

This is an ongoing project. Positive changes in organic traffic, bounce rate, and time on site.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

numerous weekly calls (if needed), reports, and Asana communication

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

Joshua is brilliant. The team is fast and highly proficient.

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

Too much "can do" attitude.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide relocations and storage to people moving house, I am the owner of the business

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Paradox Marketing, and what were your goals?

Sea and website management

SOLUTION

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

Previous employee started Paradox

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Optimized, built and managed website. worked to kpis for organic traffic and conversion rate.

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

always had one primary account manager which managed a team of writers, developers and designers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

too many to list

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Collaborative sprints, email used for communication, shared project management program. ongoing timelines since 2016

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

Their depth of knowledge has been impressive. and ability of high-level analysis

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

it was frustrating when they stopped offering social media services