Resound

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our investment group owns a commercial office building in downtown Phoenix. I'm the asset manager of that property as well as Managed the Coworking business that runs out of two floors of the property.

For what projects/services did your company hire Resound?

We hired Resound for help with Branding for our real estate project and operating business. They also helped us think through target market, marketing objects, performed marketing research. Resound also helped us build out a content marketing strategy.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals for this project were to come to a clear brand for our project, clear market position and then an actionable strategy for how to communicate that to our potential customer base.

How did you select Resound?

Resound was able to work within the dynamics of our organization in a helpful way, giving ear to all stakeholders. They had valuable market experience in the commercial office market.

They also have the creativity to come up with fresh ideas that fit our target market as well as appeasing stakeholders. In addition, Resound provided a clear plan of action to bring our Marketing Strategy into our week-to-week sales activities.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Resound's process began with a discovery session with the Resound team. We worked together to determine our current situation, needs and deliverables. Next, we had a longer 4-6 hours Workshop where we brainstormed the values of the organization, demographics, risks, threats, market data, etc.

It was a fun, inspiring and incredibly helpful session with our team and their team. Then we moved from there onto specific recommendations, brand ideas and actionable items. We would meet weekly for a 1-2 hour call to discuss feedback on much of the ideas and content from that point forward.

What was the team composition?

We worked with their CEO, Mike as well as their Creative Lead Sam and their project manager, Chris as well as their other Creatives on their team who worked on specific design projects.

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

We were able to walk through a rebrand, new logos, marketing stack, style guide and we had a marketing playbook to attack or marketing and sales goals. Resound walk with us through implementation of these items and regularly met with our Sales & Marketing team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great. They used slack for communication and Asana for project management. We were always clear on expectations and deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their creative problem-solving ability was impressive. They come up with solutions that fit our organization as well as our client needs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that comes to mind.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing at a fire safety products manufacturer.

What challenges were you trying to address with Resound?

We were acquired by a public company, and we had been through a lot of change. We hired Resound to help us solidify our brand and reflect some of the changes we had been through.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our executive leadership team did an exercise with them on where we wanted to take the brand and our core values. Resound used that information to develop a brand book for us. They included things like values, tone, voice, creative direction for copywriting, colors, fonts, and imagery guidelines. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with the CEO and chief creative officer. 

How did you come to work with Resound?

I found them through Google. I got proposals from several vendors. I liked Resound because of their focus on branding. 

How much have you invested in them? 

We spent about $20,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019, and we wrapped up the project in March 2020.

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

We didn’t use a lot of quantitative metrics to measure their success. However, the new brand guidelines have been a springboard for us. The communication of our value proposition is clearer now. Our conversion rate on our website has also improved. 

How did Resound perform from a project management standpoint?

I think they’re among the best agencies that I’ve worked with. They were proactive and managed all of the moving pieces of the project seamlessly. The team was able to work independently, which I appreciated. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Their expertise and focus on branding are impressive. They have clear systems and processes for their work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be interesting to see if they could partner with other agencies to deliver and implement the branding guidelines they provide. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It would help if you got buy-in from your company’s executive leadership. This way, you can ensure the rollout is effective. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for NAEBA — the National Associate of Exclusive Buyer Agents. We’re a mission-driven organization that focuses on helping homebuyers purchase their homes. None of our members work with sellers, as we’re all about helping home buyers work with an exclusive buyer agent. This ensures they have the proper representation throughout their real estate transaction.

What challenge were you trying to address with Resound?

We were trying to increase our market share because we’re a national non-profit organization. We have limited funds in terms of marketing and advertising strategy, so we partnered with Resound to better leverage our budget and grow our understanding of our brand.

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we started with them, we created a marketing strategy that defined our advertising rollout for the year. It consists of digital, social, and Google advertising. They’ve also helped us with podcasts.

They’re our full advertising partner. We work with them on our marketing strategy, as well as advertising, and our go-to-market build-out. The latter consists of a number of projects, including a trademarked logo for one of our products. Our website is another huge part of this — they redesigned the backend, including our CRM.

What is the team composition?

We’re close with Mike (CEO), and he appointed a couple of people we work with daily: Chris (Manager of Operations) is the point person, and Sam (Chief Creative Officer) acts as creative director. They also include other team members like graphic designers and web developers according to the needs of the project we are working on.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $150,000 with them to this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since November 2018.

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

We’ve had three KPIs: leads, web traffic, and revenue. Because of them, we’ve been able to increase all three categories substantially.

How did Resound perform from a project management standpoint?

They introduced an online dashboard when we first started with them. This helped us gauge the timeline. They’re extremely eager to get our projects across the finish line. It is extremely refreshing, as our board feels the same way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been a great partner with us. They are eager to deliver projects ahead of deadlines. I can’t be happier about their aggressiveness, or with the quality of work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have better understood the structure I have to move through to get things approved internally.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Meet with Resound and clearly define your project objectives with them. This helps them manage the timeline and deliverables accordingly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and CEO of a consulting firm.

What challenges were you trying to address with Resound?

I wanted assistance with naming and branding services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped me come up with a new name for my company and acted as a branding consultant. They also designed a new logo and website. They built the website in WordPress. We also came up with a tagline for the business to communicate my company’s mission. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with Chris (Manager of Operations), Sam (Chief Creative Officer), and Mike (CEO). 

How did you come to work with Resound?

We worked out of the same co-working space and sat next to each other. Mike and I had developed a good rapport before I approached him about this project. 

How much have you invested in them?

I’ve spent about $3,750. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019, and we finished our most recent project in September 2020. 

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

Their branding gave me confidence in conveying what I was trying to sell. They’ve helped me clarify my message and move forward as a business. The website is professional, and I’m proud of it, which wasn’t the case with my old website. 

How did Resound perform from a project management standpoint?

They were top-notch. They kept me informed about the project via email. We also had in-person meetings. Even though the project is complete, they’re still there to help me when I need it. The follow up is very good. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to get an idea out of my head and onto paper impressed me. They made my ideas a reality. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn’t much that I think they could improve. They have a collaborative approach, which I liked. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to understand where your limitations are. It’s important to build a partnership with them and be creative. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a software company that creates a tool for apps similar to CRM and e-mail marketing for small businesses. I work in the marketing department and plan events for our users and strategic business partners.

What challenge were you trying to address with Resound?

We hold two large events annually, numbering 600 and 2,500 attendees each. We needed to outsource web design for these events when our in-house creative team was downsized 2.5 years ago.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They added functionality and redesign to our Drupal site in collaboration with our stripped-down creative team. The team did brand design in addition to coding and backend development. For one conference, they created 4 t-shirt designs from which we chose one as a giveaway for 500 attendees.

What is the team dynamic?

Resound has grown in size since the start of our engagement. Originally, we worked with a developer and Mike [Co-owner, Resound], who served as project manager. Since then, we’ve had three different project managers, but we still work with the same developer.

How did you come to work with Resound?

Our creative team had used them before and referred them. Our team also recommended a few others, but we decided to go with Mike’s team.

How much have you invested with them?

I'd prefer to leave that confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in October 2015, and it is ongoing.

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

The results are very subjective because our company’s stakeholders have limited their ability to be proactive. Our business model is better served by Resound responding to our creative needs than by them working as design partners. The relationship has definitely ebbed and flowed, but the results are mostly consistent and the team is very responsive.

How did Resound perform from a project management standpoint?

My confidence in them has increased as their company has grown. They understand our marketing needs and can ‘run with the ball’. We communicate regularly with weekly calls in the 3 months leading into an event. I never feel out of the loop with our Slack channel, which my boss uses as well. Overall, communication is fluid and transparent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As the client, we feel very cared for. They’re willing to go the extra mile with personable customer service. Once, I placed an emergency call to our web designer on a Saturday. He picked up while mountain biking and performed triage in real time. That dedication isn’t very common today.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We crave more process, more timeline, and more project management from their end. Having more processes in place would give us higher visibility into the project. I’ve suggested implementing timelines or Gantt charts. However, there has been improvement in this area since work began.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them to guide branding and marketing designs. They are subject matter experts with great ideas for branding and re-branding.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

MAC6 provides collaborative space for small businesses to grow their business. We have a co-working space, co-manufacturing space, and traditional commercial space for businesses. We help support their growth through the different offerings in real estate. We also have a culture focused leadership program piece of our business, which offers a variety of programs to help leaders and their teams scale and break through ceilings.

I’m the director of programs and COO [Chief Operating Officer].

What challenge were you trying to address with Resound?

We’ve been in business for six years. We started out as a business incubator. We worked with startup companies and took them through a 9-month program to help them scale their business and grow. Through that process, we realized it doesn't matter how great an idea is. It’s the people around the idea that make the difference. We started to hone in on leadership training and helping the people in the business, supporting them, helping them communicate better, solve problems, and work productively. We shifted from our incubator model to more focused on real estate and the leadership piece. We were finding that was the difference between success and failure. It caused a lot of confusion in our network and our community because we weren’t great at communicating the message of the shift we had made.

We needed Resound to help us craft a brand strategy and communication plan that would help us educate everyone in the community what we really do.

What was the scope of their involvement?

There was a wide range of things they did with us. They first took us through their 4-hour brand workshop to figure out our identity, our values, what we wanted, and where our business was going. They then crafted a brand shift story, communication plan, and helped us identify and create the story as people who would be in our demographic. Then we created a plan of what the other things that we wanted to accomplish.

They also helped us with our core program offering and helped us develop the content and facilitation piece. They helped us with content with an editorial calendar and assisted us with blog posts, too. Resound created some print collateral pieces for us as well, including a folder and one-pager sales sheets that help explain each of our programs.

In addition, they made a few updates and changes to our website. We’re going to be doing a complete re-do of our website in the coming weeks, which they’ll be helping us with.

What is the team dynamic?

We worked primarily with Mike [Managing Partner, Resound], who is on the large strategy and vision team. We worked with Eric [Director of Creative Services, Resound] on the project management side, but also on the course content and facilitation side. We worked with Kayla [Brand Strategist, Resound] on the content side who helped us with our writing.

When we work on the website, we’ll be with Nikki [Senior Web Developer, Resound] and Douglas [Web Developer, Resound].

How did you come to work with Resound?

They are a tenant of our co-working space and moved in a couple of years ago. When we realized there was continued confusion in the marketplace of what we do, that they were in our backyard, and heard really great things about them, we decided to talk to them about our marketing and brand needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $27,000 for phase one.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2017, and the work is ongoing.

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

Resound helped our team tremendously to clearly articulate what it is that we do. We’ve already seen the results outside in our communities. When we went to events or talked to people, people were finally started to understand what we do and how to engage with us. We saw an increase in leads from our work with Resound.

How did Resound perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. We had a plan and they even created a portal. We would go in and check the status of what was happening with each piece of the project. They were wonderful in communicating with us when things changed or when they needed something from us, so that we didn't delay the timeline. We were able to deliver all the deliverables on time that we set out to do. For the content and course creation, I met with them once a week. On the rest of the stuff, we had deadlines and we would check in when we needed to.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We at MAC6 tend to complicate things. Resound's ability to uncomplicate them and help us clearly articulate our message was wonderful. Their communication was great, too. We were never wondering when something was going to be done. The creative way that they solved our complex problems was impressive. They always looked for a creative solution and worked with us to come up with something. Resound had a clear process of how they were going to help take us through that process.

As a small business ourselves, sometimes we got overly ambitious and wanted to execute ourselves, and just needed a consultant. They were great at stepping in and offering their help when they saw we were taking on too much or didn't have the capacity. Their ability to transition between consulting, telling us what to do versus doing it, and going back and forth, was really helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve worked with a variety of different marketing companies over the years. They really have been the easiest to work with.

Do you have any advice for future clients of Resound?

Allow them to work through their process. Sometimes people in a business want to keep control or try to micromanage the process. Resound can really help. My advice would be to let go a bit and allow them some free reign to be as creative as they can, and to not be there undoing that.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing at a CPA firm in the Phoenix Metro Area. I oversee two other people and all of the marketing functions here at the firm, including branding, proposals, advertising, collateral pieces, content marketing, and marketing budgets.

What challenge were you trying to address with Resound?

We felt that our visual brand didn’t match who we were internally. We were fun, outgoing, and not your typical CPA firm, and we realized we were communicating otherwise. Visually and verbally, our communications were representing an old, stereotypical CPA firm, so I approached Resound to help us completely redo our branding.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a brand audit back in June of 2015 where we spent 3 months surveying clients and employees. We also did some company research on who we are as a firm, and also audited all of our existing marketing materials.

After we used the brand audit to come up with an action plan, we hired Resound again to do the actual overhaul of the visual rebrand, logo, and tagline. They defined our visual and verbal guidelines, and also developed a Remarkabook, which took a few months. They did some minor logo design, brand guideline creation, and also developed our WordPress website.

We had an existing website that was 5 years old, but Resound created a more responsive one from scratch. It’s an informational website, but it also has a lot of contact forms throughout so prospects can easily contact us. It’s also easy for marketing to utilize now, whereas the old site required an external web person to do everything for us, which was costly. We’re now able to edit 95% of the content by using a CMS, which saves us money in the long run.

We have a form on the front that we can change throughout the site. We can also put e-books on it, or whatever kind of lead generation we desire.

How did you come to work with Resound?

I did a Google search for a local company. I came across one of Resound’s old blogs, and I felt like what they were saying about a brand resonated with our company.

I interviewed them along with two other companies, but still liked them the best. They really understood rebranding. They didn’t just want to give us a cool new logo or website, which is what other companies were offering. They really wanted to help us reshape how we present ourselves.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $40,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June of 2015, and we launched our website in October of 2016.

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

There’s usually a lot of negative feedback in a firm with numerous partners. However, between the 18 partners and 150 employees, we’ve had nothing but positive feedback from everyone. Everybody loved what Resound did. Visually, everything was great, and the website allowed us to measure success based on session times, page views, number of visitors, etc.

We tracked the first 6 months for the purpose of submitting for an AAM Award, which we won for the website and the rebrand as a whole. With that tracking, we had 1,200 sessions in the first 3 days of the website launch, which is huge for an accounting firm.

We also saw a 23% increase in page views for the first 6 months, a 20% increase in average time sessions, a 620% increase in visits to the services page, and a 600% increase in visits to leadership page. Our new and responsive website has also seen a 70% increase in mobile users in the first month. Resound really made a positive impact, and every single person within the firm was happy.

How did Resound perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. They were really effective with communication throughout the entire process. We used Google Docs to work on content creation together so we could both have access to it. That’s the only tool we used collaboratively.

They were also very cooperative in working with our in-house team that consisted of myself, a graphics coordinator, and a content writer, which saved us a lot of money.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to work with all kinds of people is impressive. They managed to make everyone within the firm happy, and their knowledge around branding is also commendable. They really understand the whole process from the beginning to end, and they’re also very good at creating a unique design. I didn’t want another stereotypical accounting firm website, because that’s not who we are. They applied sound strategy to give us something that accurately represents our firm.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, because I was able to address any issue with Mike [Managing Partner, Resound] throughout the entire rebranding process. I can’t think of anywhere in which they’re lacking.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the vice presidents and engineers at a small civil engineering firm. We were established in 1995, and we have around 25 employees right now. Our specialty is flood hydrology and fluvial geomorphology, mostly for government agencies in the Southwest U.S.

What challenge were you trying to address with Resound?

About five years ago, we transitioned from a single owner to employee-owned (about 18 of us). We realized that no one in the company was consistent with the brand, and we all communicated with our clients differently, which made us seem unorganized and scattered. Everyone in the Southwest had a different view of who we were and what we did, so we needed to get organized and consistent. Also, our project manager and I felt our brand had aged and the company had grown, so we wanted to develop a brand and logo that were authentic to what we’d become. Our 20^th anniversary was coming up, so we wanted to freshen everything up and get a new site, logo, and maybe even name before then.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first thing Mike [Managing Partner, Resound] and Jeff [Co-founder, Resound] did was internal and external market research. They surveyed employees to learn what the most important aspects of the company were, and they interviewed clients to discover what they thought of our company and what they liked or disliked. They also did competitor research, brand definition, brand auditing, action planning, and budget estimates.

They came back with a report of how we were perceived from the outside and the inside. From there, Mike and Jeff developed a brand metaphor and potential name options. I’d never heard of a brand metaphor, so they walked us through that and even participated in a strategic planning meeting with the whole company. Resound and another one of our consultants led the meeting and talked about the branding process and how to help us all unify our image.

Resound helped us realize that we’re a services company with a niche and a specialty. Our project manager and I helped shepherd the project, such as leading feedback sessions until we finally developed a new name and logo based on the brand metaphor. Unfortunately, the board thought the changes were too much, so they shelved the branding initiative.

This wasn’t a problem with Resound or their process, though. We had some strong resistance from inside our company to outside help, but they did a great job of overcoming that. Mike and Jeff identified a real problem in our company, that we have a vacuum in executive leadership since the ownership transition, so we've been waiting for leadership to develop before we attempt further branding changes. We tweaked the logo a bit, but that was done in-house.

How did you come to work with Resound?

I knew Mike from church, and we started talking about the branding process. I realized it was something valuable, so we hired his team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership lasted from May 2014 to May 2015. However, we need to develop a brand for some new software, and we want to hire them again.

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

While we weren’t able to apply any of the major brand changes, Resound still left us with some great products. We have a brand metaphor, name and logo options, and market research that, hopefully in a few years, we can look at again and better utilize. Other than the physical products, the project manager and I learned a lot about the branding process. Mike and Jeff wouldn’t just go away, draw something up, and then present it to us. They took time to teach us the process, which was incredibly valuable. Without a doubt, the things they taught will be helpful down the road.

How did Resound perform from a project management standpoint?

Their management and customer service was phenomenal. Mike was great at scheduling meetings, coordinating tasks, and keeping on schedule. In fact, he usually had to wait on us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their work product was great. They were responsive, and I was humbled by how much better they were at customer service than us. They served us much better than we served our clients, which is saying something. I could tell Mike really strives to help other companies have the best brand and marketing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing that I can think of.