What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’re up to 164 reviews and a 4.1 rating on Google right now. With the most recent campaign, we’ve gotten pull and traffic that we've never seen before. We have people walking in the store and saying that they saw our offers, but they’re from far away regions, where newspapers or specialized magazines don't make it out to.
We’ve also realized that with all these digital efforts, our closing rate is very bad. They made us realize that we don't need to invest more in digital right now - we have to invest in getting out salesmen to close because the pull is there. All their work in Google Data Studio and with dashboards let me see the traffic on our site and the status of our pages, so if one is down, I can recognize it quickly. They’ve also given us an awareness of what’s going on and what people are thinking of company.
How did Pertinence Media perform from a project management standpoint?
Even though I manage our organic campaigns myself, they train, teach, and support those people. Based on what I see them doing with those organic team members, I don’t feel the need to monitor everything they’re doing on the paid side. They even say I should ask more questions, but I’m just so confident in them.
My staff is working with them by email, but we also have bi-weekly three-hour meetings on Google Hangouts to discuss what’s going on, what’s ending when, and what’s going to start next. I like to communicate by phone the most, so I push for calls and hangouts, for the most part.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They understand my business and my need. No matter what they do or what tool they use, they always meet the reality of my market. I’m doing some retail, but I mostly do agricultural, construction, and commercial business, so they have to know all of those markets. After we brought them on, we quickly realized that having someone that really understands our needs way much better than what we had been doing.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I can’t say that they need to do something better, because they’re ahead of me. They’re pushing to me to get into marketing automation, but it’s not a priority for me right now, but they’re very proactive.
Any advice for potential customers?
Be honest with them and tell them the truth when you're into the negotiation phase. Don’t try to hide your real goals or objectives – they’re not going to get out to other companies. If you’re not open with them, they’ll just be working blind, and every week and day they’ll be trying to understand you properly.
Online reviews and rankings have improved and are easy to access. Pertinence Media provides regular, in-depth updates and is pro-active in suggesting new avenues for collaboration and progress. Their knowledge of various industries is rare, and they inspire confidence from the start.