ProperExpression

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior director of marketing for a luxury menswear brand. We sell high-end clothing ranging from tailored clothing to sportswear and footwear.

What challenge were you trying to address with ProperExpression?

We ended the relationship with our previous agency, so we needed someone to step in quickly and take over all of our digital marketing efforts.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, ProperExpression conducted an audit on our website and digital marketing initiatives. They identified the areas of opportunity and, since then, they’ve run all of our paid advertising campaigns on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. We develop the creative work, but they make suggestions on what would work best. Also, they do audience targeting, provide keywords and recommendations every month, and give us feedback on the landing page and how we can drive conversions.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Nikola (Founder & CEO); he’s been involved from day one. We also have a marketing director and an SEO specialist.

How did you come to work with ProperExpression?

They came through another third party that connects agencies with companies. They provided us with 3–4 options, but we chose ProperExpression.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay $10,000 per month. In the beginning, it was probably around $7,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2019, and it’s an ongoing partnership.

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

We’ve been consistently performing over industry benchmarks across the board. Based on the SEO work that they've done, our organic revenue has increased by 23% and organic traffic by 21%. Also, we have 27% more users and 26% more new users. In general, they’ve exceeded our expectations.

How did ProperExpression perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been perfect. We use weekly phone calls and emails to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They identify opportunities for us to grow the business and optimize our campaign. The team continuously tries to find target audiences for testing, so they’re on top of the industry. Also, ProperExpression benchmarks their own growth.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their reporting is comprehensive and they provide excellent feedback on monthly and annual metrics. We have also challenged them to provide reporting on a campaign level so we can see how our campaigns are performing from a more holistic perspective. They have been doing an outstanding job!

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have open communication and go over the numbers. Guiding them on what’s essential for your company from the beginning will make them understand the priorities to incorporate that into what they do. For example, brand image is crucial for us, so everything we do has to elevate it. We talked about that with them so they’d consider it.

Please describe your company and your position there.

In 2018 I ran a campaign for local office. I was a first-time candidate running against a well-funded incumbent with broad name recognition.

For what projects/services did your company hire ProperExpression?

As a first-time candidate, it was important to build my brand and reach out to potential voters. I reached out to ProperExpression, because of their expertise in SEO and Social Media Marketing.

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

I selected ProperExpression because of their personal touch, our substantive discussion, and their price point. I could tell that they were experts in their field and could leverage their expertise to build effective marketing.

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

At our initial meeting, I discussed my platform and the target demographic. The team at ProperExpressions asked insightful questions and took substantive notes. I quickly noticed their attention to detail and diligence. We had follow-up meetings where we crafted specific ads. The team created a brilliant strategy on how to market my platform and walked me through their thought process.

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

I worked directly with Nick, who despite his busy schedule, made me feel like I was their most important client.

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

It is amazing how effective our campaign was. We received thousands of impressions and engagements. Our budget for social media marketing was better use of our resources than the traditional advertisement that we used. If I could change anything about my campaign, it would be to have used ProperExpression even more.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was terrific. ProperExpression was easy to work with, quick to respond, and provided substantive feedback.

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

Their attention to detail and personal touch. The company goes above and beyond to learn about its customer and provide a custom solution.

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

Not that I can think of.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sales and marketing officer at a software company.

What challenge were you trying to address with ProperExpression?

We were using HubSpot but the data wasn’t clean. The system wasn’t being used to its full capacity. Our goal was to clean it up and put some structure in place. We also needed support for our sales and marketing department, since I’m a team of one.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Right from the start, ProperExpression gave us good direction. They built the foundation of our marketing plans. We didn’t really have proper buyer personas and we didn’t have any processes in place.

They continue to help us with the implementation and automation of the lifecycle stages in HubSpot. The team also works on lead scoring, email marketing, email campaigns, and keyword research. They also help us implement sales sequences, too. Recently, they helped us launch our new pricing campaign.

What is the team composition?

We work with Caroline (Senior Director of Marketing), Trisha (Author), and Nick (Founder & CEO).

How did you come to work with ProperExpression?

I was hired the same week as we onboarded ProperExpression. I think our team went with them because they advise as well as execute.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $5,000–$8,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2020, and our work is ongoing.

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

We’ve extended their services three times because of how helpful they’ve been. The way we operate from our client-facing team to our technology team is now completely different. Our site is new and our processes are new and improved, too.

Our conversion rates are definitely better. ProperExpression has completely revolutionized our business. The team was really patient while helping us launch our pricing campaign. Now, we can attract the right kind of customers.

How did ProperExpression perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re amazing. The team is extremely productive. They come to me all the time with new ideas and they’re very proactive in offering help. They’ve taken the time to discover what’s important to us. Their turnaround time is great, too.

 I haven’t been let down by them once. We have weekly standups and monthly meetings with key stakeholders. Outside of that, I email Caroline and Trisha 5–6 times a week. Even with the time difference, they’re always available.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to teach and give guidance is really good. They also just make me look really good to my boss and colleagues; ProperExpression has done so much work behind the scenes and they don’t take credit for it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I wouldn’t change anything for the world.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t put ProperExpression in a box in terms of what you want them to help you with. If you’re a new client, be open and honest from the start about your business needs from sales to marketing. Communicate your opportunities to improve. You might be surprised with how they can help you. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of an email deliverability agency

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

We hired proper expression to help us set up our HubSpot and use all its functionalities of it to ensure we can have a working CRM and marketing email infrastructure.

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

We spoke to Nikola and were seduced by his approach as well as his reviews.

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

We started by building a marketing plan of what we intended to roll out on HubSpot, which was cleared by ProperExpression's team, then they implemented most of it on our Hubspot account.

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

2 people, not sure what the positions were

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

We were able within a month to get 3 sales out of our marketing contacts that we never had reached out to, we also had positive feedback from contacts on the content shared.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective

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

They really have in-depth marketing experience and are specialized in our market!

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

It was a successful project and we are happy with the results