Revenue River

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director for an aerial lift distributor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Revenue River?

We hired Revenue River to build a HubSpot website and manage SEO. We wanted the website to promote our products and have a learning and media center to build resources and blog articles.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project scope included project planning, UX design, discovery, HubSpot development, redesign, strategy, testing, revisions, website architecture, and the launch. We also had SEO, imagery, content, landing page conversions, HubDB development, and tracking codes. The website was built from scratch. Key technologies included HubSpot and Adobe. 

What is the team dynamic?

We worked with about five people, this included account managers, a designer, and a few developers. 

How did you come to work with Revenue River?

They were a referral. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $40,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between October 2021–June 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

I came into the project in April and was responsible for getting the project over the finish line. Right off the bat, we had issues because they weren’t meeting deliverables, and we constantly had to remind them of things. 

How did Revenue River address the challenges that arose?

We brought up the issues multiple times, and nothing was fixed. We set a meeting with their CEO, account manager, and developer and went through a three-page document with all of the issues and how disappointed we were with the engagement. 

They made a lot of promises for improvement, but in less than a week, we were having issues again. We reached out a month ago about issues that occurred because of something that was done that was outside of our scope of work, and they have yet to respond. 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

This has been a roadblock for us because the site was built very poorly and is full of issues. We’re going to have to pay another developer to fix everything. The mobile site also ranks incredibly low on Google’s search rankings because of how slow the site is. This hurts our organic searches because they didn’t optimize the site in any way. This will be a huge cost for us to fix, and we feel like we wasted $40,000 because everything has to be redone. 

How was project management handled?

Our project manager was not effective, and there was no system in place for management. The communication from their end was terrible, and at one point, they didn’t get back to us for three weeks when we continued to follow up with them. There was zero transparency and no accountability. 

This is one of the worst experiences I’ve had in my professional career. We were told the website would be launched in March 2022, and it took three months longer than that. There are issues on the site that still need to be resolved. 

In what specific areas can they improve?

They need to work on the quality of their development and implement some kind of project management system.

 What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Try speaking to previous clients who have worked with Revenue River because you’ll get more honesty. Bring in someone with HubSpot and developer knowledge to look at their proposals because you might be able to spot things that aren’t correct before you get started.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a commercial production company specializing in TV commercials and print photography for the advertising world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Revenue River?

I needed a website built.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I tasked Revenue River to build a brand-new CMS website using HubSpot that was integrated with my CRM. I gave them a list of requirements and some samples for the website design, but the team presented me with an entirely different design. I then approached the CEO, who told me they were done and never wanted to work with me again. He even started directing profanities toward me. However, his second-in-command reassured me that the CEO didn't mean it and persuaded me to complete the project with them. 

From that point on, it became pretty adversarial — I offered to shake hands and walk away so I could take my business elsewhere. I even offered to pay 50% because they’d only completed 50% of the work. However, the second-in-command insisted that they wanted to finish it, so I agreed and paid them an additional 25%. 

Eventually, they said it was finished and ready to go live when it wasn’t even on a web platform yet. It was still on a testing platform, and the design was unattractive. The team refused to complete the site, so I had to walk away from our partnership. Since it was an unfinished product, I didn’t pay the rest of the 25%. 

Revenue River has now filed a lawsuit against me, claiming that I didn't pay them. In return, I have a lawyer going against them to prove that they never delivered. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with 4–5 teammates. 

How did you come to work with Revenue River?

Somebody had recommended Revenue River for a different project that we did the year before, which they didn't complete, too. Despite this, I called them again because I knew they worked with HubSpot.

How much have you invested with them?

I invested $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business. 

The project cost me a lot of money and time. We agreed upon a timeline of four months, and Revenue River delayed it to closer to a year. I believed that paying them 75% was very fair for what I got. However, I now have to deal with a lawsuit even though I was very civil during the engagement. 

How was project management handled?

Their project managers were good, which is why I stayed for so long. When the first project manager was very obviously not listening, they replaced her. The second project manager was good, but in the end, the team couldn’t deliver. It was a little frustrating because they kept reassuring me that they were listening and that they’d take care of it. 

Some of their people just didn’t listen to my instructions. For example, I gave them a list of design ideas, and the designer didn’t even look at my requirements. That was a month into the engagement, and it never got better. I should’ve just bailed then because the team wasn’t easy to work with, but Revenue River told me not to worry. They promised that they were listening and they would make it right. However, three months after they promised that the site would be finished, it was only 75% done. 

They told me that I was too critical and that people wouldn’t even care about what my website looks like. I disagreed because the website showcases my work — people in my business definitely care about the design. 

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

They’re good talkers. They’re very strong on the sales side — they were pretty good at selling me a bill of goods. I also liked some of their teammates. They had some really good people.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should start listening to their customer and being honest about what they’re capable of doing and what they didn’t want to do. It would’ve been totally fine if they just told me upfront that they didn’t want to do what I wanted. They shouldn’t have assured me that they could do something for me and just not do it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear with what you want, and make sure that you have signed approvals every step of the way.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Creative Director of First Responders Children's Foundation, responsible for creating PSAs and advertising for national TV, radio, print and digital platforms. First Responders Children’s Foundation provides financial support to children who have lost a parent in the line of duty as well as families enduring significant financial hardship due to tragic circumstances.

First Responders Children’s Foundation also supports, promotes, and facilitates educational activities and programs created and operated by first responder organizations whose purpose is to benefit children or the community at large.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Revenue River?

We were looking to take advantage of our Google grant account and needed a strategic partner with experience in the digital realm of Google Ads and keywords. We also hired Revenue River to undertake a digital paid campaign for YouTube with display banners and video ads.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to increase donations and brand awareness, and if possible to learn more about who our donors are, where they live and what they are interested in.

SOLUTION

How did you select Revenue River?

I was not involved with the selection of Revenue River, but a team member recommended them.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Revenue River takes the time to understand our business and your goals to put together a strategy that aligns well to achieve those goals. We appreciate how they make new recommendations (like the youtube and display ads) to expand the campaign to drive results.

What was the team composition?

The team composition has changed over the course of us working together. Initially we had quite a large group from our Foundation on the calls, but we found the most effective recipe for success was to meet in a smaller team that consists of myself (Creative Director and content creator), our Executive Director and our Head of Communications and Strategic Partnerships. On Revenue River's side we are working closely with Meghan Dillow and Iggy Falco right now, and feel we are in great hands.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are incredibly happy with our progress so far. When we began working with Revenue River, we had no experience with Google Grants - or anything with Google! - and it was incredible to learn that we had 10K of "free" money at our disposal to make work for us to increase our Foundation's reach - and thus provide more help to those in need.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Meghan, Iggy and her entire team have been nothing but exceptional to work with. Their communication style is open and friendly, their responsiveness is immediate and always helpful.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I admire their ability to be both creative, outside-the-box thinkers, while also being able to drill down on complex, technical, data-driven problems to find the best solution for our Foundation. They are very patient with our lack of knowledge about this world that they are clearly experts in, which is much appreciated. We feel we are learning a lot from them. It is akin to learning a new language, and they take time to make sure we understand everything, which is not easy!

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are very satisfied with them and personally, I look forward to our meetings, because they are genuinely warm and friendly people to get to interact with. It is a sincere pleasure to be collaborating with them.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on April 8, 2021.

Scott Perrin

Executive Director, First Responders Children's Foundation

Nonprofit

11-50 Employees

New York, New York

$10,000 to $49,999  

June 2020 - Dec. 2021

Project summary: 

A children's foundation hired Revenue River for their digital marketing services. The project's purpose was to establish more visibility and gain more donors.  

Feedback summary: 

With the help of Revenue River, the client managed to increase their reach, receiving more donations from various people. The team's extensive digital marketing knowledge was key to achieving these results. Also, communication between both parties was very fluid during the whole process. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Executive Director

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Revenue River?

Advertising & Marketing

What were your goals for this project?

Increase visibility and revenue

SOLUTION

How did you select Revenue River?

Interview

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Advertising & Marketing

What was the team composition?

We did not write a song.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Increase in visibility and donations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Knowledge of digital marketing.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nope.

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 5

Schedule: 5 

Cost: 5

Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Wealth Management, Registered Investment Advisor. Vice President of Personal Wealth Management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Revenue River?

Develop a series of videos to explain our investment strategies to clients and prospects.

What were your goals for this project?

Attract new prospects and help expedite their understanding of our investment approach. Better educate existing clients.

SOLUTION

How did you select Revenue River?

We researched a handful of firms, but decided Revenue River would be the best fit. We liked that they were local, explained their process well and pricing was reasonable.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail.

5 videos, each approximately 2 minutes. Animation with our voiceover. Taking complicated investment topics and making them easy to understand.

We wanted the videos to be approachable to the general investment public rather than too academic or high-falutin.

Videos explore our approach to the .Com bubble, the Housing bubble, how we score investment risk, our approach to volatility, etc.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

They've been great. Typically we work with 2 or 3 members of Revenue River. Their feedback and responsiveness has really helped this project move along smoothly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have already begun receiving prospective client inquiries stemming from this brand new video content.

We were hoping for something like this later this year, but were pleasantly surprised to start getting notice right out of the gate.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have found the workflow between our team and Revenue River proceeds in a timely fashion with professionalism, well set expectations, and good communication.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The videos they have produced thus far have been just what we were hoping for and within our budgets. It has also be very nice working with Sam, Laurel and the team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

So far, no. Things have been right as rain.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Privo, an AWS consulting partner headquartered in Boston. We help customers migrate their infrastructure data into AWS and then support and modernize that infrastructure over time.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Revenue River?

We needed assistance with marketing and building our brand. We hired Revenue River to build out our CRM and working on campaigns and video strategies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Revenue River is completing work for our business in sprints. The first sprint entailed building our marketing automation foundation through our automation platform and CRM using HubSpot. Their team assists with email automation and HubSpot workflows. Before deploying anything, they use a workflow chart for planning and showcasing how the system works. They’ve also redesigned our website to be more user-friendly and help with buyer personas.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with over 12 people spread across different fields, including a campaign manager that facilitates teams on both sides. We’ve interacted with their video, automation, and web design teams.

How did you come to work with Revenue River?

Revenue River is a customer of ours that we’ve worked with for a long time. Through our relationship with them, we’ve seen how they leverage automation for their internal processes. Since we had a similar need, we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $9,000 a month. The work will be about $110,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Revenue River in November 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Revenue River saved time for our business. Without them, we would’ve had to build on our team. We’ve saved around 50% on hiring. Their team has gotten us to the market much faster. Revenue River’s expertise has helped our productivity and efficiency.

How did Revenue River perform from a project management standpoint?

Our campaign manager is like our quarterback, coordinating between our teams. Our business adopted some of their project management tools and incorporated them into our practice. Their team does an excellent job of keeping everyone on task. We’ve communicated using Slack, Teamwork, and Google Sheets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their overall culture is fantastic. Revenue River is a fun group to work with and have become an extension of our team. Along with their creativity, we appreciate their automation mindset. We trust their team and recommendations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients should make sure they have resources set aside to commit their time to work with Revenue River. They have a team dedicated to working with you and will give 100% as long as you supply them with the resources.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a VP of growth at a water analytics company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Revenue River?

We saw a decline in our organic traffic, so we started looking for a company to help us improve and sustain our website.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they audited every page of our website that had traffic flowing to it. Then, they provided technical assessment and recommendations for optimization, which we executed on. They would make a change, copy a link to a specific page, and send it back to our technical team. They also helped us sustain the flow of the organic traffic.

What is the team composition?

We had an account lead, who was the technical expert we worked with directly.

How did you come to work with Revenue River?

I was referred to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between February–December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The number of our keywords went up, which helped us get to the top of the page. Our organic traffic also improved. Their recommendations combined with our content and marketing efforts helped us make a big progress.

How did Revenue River perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive and great communicators. We mostly used Excel spreadsheets and email to keep track of the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to take on a large website and make progress quickly, adhering to our timeline.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be specific about what you want and what your requirements are. Also, make sure you document everything properly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the founders of Seventh Sense. We’re a time and frequency optimization system for email. We partner with several large inbound marketing developers, including Hubspot, and provide them with data that determines the best times to send out mass messages to individual users in a database.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Revenue River?

We wanted a company that was already part of the HubSpot ecosystem and that could co-market for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started out by testing our system with a couple of their clients. Once they developed an understanding of our services, we asked them to write content posts that would raise our profile with our partners’ clients. The content was featured on our website and social media channels, as well as on their own website, and it explained the achievements our software can yield.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with everyone from their founder all the way down to their business strategists.

How did you come to work with Revenue River?

We looked at companies that seemed to be successful with one of our partners and found that Revenue River was one of the biggest.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere between $5,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We track where our leads come from pretty thoroughly and we’ve seen a significant increase, not just in terms of total volume, but also in conversions and closed business. It’s only been a short time since they wrapped up their work, but our ROI has already increased at least 300 percent.

How did Revenue River perform from a project management standpoint?

We kept in touch primarily via email and phone calls. For bigger clients, they use dedicated project management software, but that wasn’t necessary in our case. They were always responsive and answered questions effectively. Anytime one team member was unsure, they’d call in a colleague who could get us the results we needed, which helped us get the best possible outcomes on our project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were a small fish in a big pond, but they made us feel like a big fish in a small pond. They’ve been a fantastic collaborative partner. I’ve worked with plenty of similar companies in the past and Revenue River possessed a unique level of technical depth. They understand what works and what doesn’t.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything at the moment. Our experience with them has been phenomenal.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be responsive to their needs. I haven’t experienced this, but sometimes when you don’t provide them with the information they need, the workflow starts to lag because they aren’t the sort of people who’ll keep asking repeatedly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the e-commerce manager for ORR Safety Corporation. We’re a distributor of personal protective equipment and safety equipment for the B2B industrial space. This includes oil and gas, rail, and aerospace. Our products provide head to toe worker protection.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Revenue River?

At the time, ORR Safety Corporation was a 65-year-old company with a lot of institutional inertia. We’d always been very old-school sales-driven, but we wanted to get into content and inbound marketing.

Our goal was to drive leads and brand awareness through our website/blog and content. We position ourselves in the marketplace as safety experts, but it was hard to tell just by searching for us on Google. Our in-house marketing team didn’t have a large budget to execute the project by themselves, so we reached out to Revenue River as an agency partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Revenue River helped us come up with an inbound digital marketing strategy from the ground up. Initially, they walked us through building buyer personas, sketching out our buyer’s journey, and identifying the key subject matter experts (SMEs) in our company. Once we completed that preliminary work, they helped us gather relevant information from our SMEs to put into blogs.

Setting up our blog involved a range of services, including blog writing, some design work, and keyword strategies to ensure that our content was SEO-friendly. They assigned web designers to build landing pages and graphic designers to fill in when ours was busy on other projects. After getting the blog and site off the ground, they augmented and continue to augment our PPC advertising efforts, working with Google AdWords and LinkedIn to promote our content.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with three different account managers, one of whom serves as the main account lead. We have weekly meetings with them, and they liaise between us and their team. Currently, I work with Taylor (Campaign Manager, Revenue River). If I have any needs, be it PPC, HubSpot, or blog redesigns, she coordinates with the appropriate specialist and acts as the project manager.

How did you come to work with Revenue River?

My director found them on a shortlist of top agency partners who work with HubSpot.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent between $150,000–$200,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in September 2015, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Two years ago, we read an article about blog subscriptions and knew we had to throw down the gauntlet; we wanted 10,000 blog subscribers. We chose an impossible number for Revenue River to strive for, or so we thought. But, within a couple of years, they’ve gotten pretty close. We’ve seen huge rises in all of our salient digital marketing measures and key point indicators (KPIs). They continue to charge head first toward our goals.

How did Revenue River perform from a project management standpoint?

Their level of project management depends on the account manager, but, in general, they’ve been immensely responsive. At one point, we used Trello to coordinate the project, but we now just work directly with our account manager.

Our current manager is extremely organized and keeps her promises. When she says something will happen, it happens. She's proactive about getting information to us and keeps us informed of where tasks are in the pipeline. For example, if we’re working on a PPC project or landing page, she’ll update us frequently about who is working on what and give us time estimates. The team hits their mark 99% of the time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared to other vendors we’ve worked with, Revenue River excels at understanding a problem and coming up with solutions. The team steps up to challenges and always remains positive even when we encounter setbacks on campaigns. Moreover, they’re willing to try new things. I’ve always felt that they’ve pushed us forward instead of the other way around. They’re real leaders in terms of strategy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re good at taking our designs and mock-ups and realizing them. However, we rely on them to be our digital marketing experts. We’re all trying to learn on our own, but we need them to know all the new information coming out. They understand search algorithms, video marketing, and SEO, but they aren’t as strong with user experience design. It can be hard to get insights into how people interact with the site, where the pain points are, and what best practices are for future direction.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Revenue River is at the forefront of trends in digital marketing, so you have to trust their expertise. Part of what’s made us successful is that we're confident in their abilities and let them push us how they see fit. Other companies that struggle with Revenue River typically aren’t willing to experiment with new methodologies or strategies. They're too set in their ways. But when we listen to Revenue River’s advice and follow their recommendations, they’re typically spot on. There’s no point to hiring industry experts if you don’t listen to their expertise.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Smalley and Company is a business-to-business distributor of construction products. We sell sealants, coatings, waterproofing, concrete restoration, and fire stop to subcontractors. We also work with architects, consultants, and engineers, trying to change specifications when it comes to building commercial buildings and projects. I am the Technology Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Revenue River Marketing?

One of our core values is listening to our customers, understanding their expectations and delivering solutions. We had been hearing that our previous website built on the ASP.NET platform was slow. The checkout process was slow, would freeze up, and had become stale. I think we launched that in 2010 and added the shopping cart feature in 2012. We wanted to refresh and re-engage the website presence, and also tie more directly with our e-commerce into our ERP [enterprise resource planning] system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took the lead on being project coordinator. They put some beta looks together and built the framework for the redesign. We have two software platforms running concurrently. RHIAG is the e-commerce part of it. The challenge was making those merge together. They did everything from start to finish. They also helped write some blog articles. We did a 90-day sprint campaign where Revenue River provided content marketing services. They helped write blogs and created content for Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We wanted to increase awareness of the website and drive more e-commerce business to the website. When we went live in July, they made those marketing efforts.

How did you come to work with Revenue River Marketing?

I’ve had a relationship with Eric [principal] going back to when we had a relationship with the marketing/website company that built our first website. Eric probably made us aware that he had a different company. I had contacted a couple of other companies and talked to their references. After those conversations, considering the price and turnaround time they all offered, Revenue River was selected.

How much have you invested with Revenue River Marketing?

The whole project was over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

All the projects have been completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Some feedback has been that there are things they would want to change on the website. That being said, we also have feedback that it’s great. We had some webinars leading up to our strategic meeting and the traffic is up by 57% over last year. E-commerce is up by 30% year over year.

How did Revenue River Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They did excellently. They have a very intensive project planning chart they follow. I probably slowed it down because of all the content we have. They could’ve probably moved faster, but we needed to make two platforms coincide.

What did you find most impressive about Revenue River Marketing?

They’re very professional and organized.

Are there any areas Revenue River Marketing could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The Chopping Block is a recreational cooking school, retail store, and event venue in Chicago, Illinois. We have two locations: in Chicago downtown in the Merchandise Mart and in a northern city neighborhood called Lincoln Square. We offer cooking classes, private cooking, and events, as well as gourmet retail items. We also have food-friendly wines and craft beer. I am the Marketing Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Revenue River Marketing?

We needed a completely new website. We hadn’t had a redesign in about 12 years, which made my job much more difficult. I became aware of HubSpot and after doing some research, I thought it might be a good fit for The Chopping Block. I was looking for a website designer on the HubSpot COS platform that could do something original that didn’t look like the templates that most of the HubSpot sites look like. I was looking for somebody who could think outside of the box. I needed someone who could convey our voice and brand, but that also utilizes the HubSpot COS since I knew that that was the platform I wanted it built on.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did the complete redesign, from the initial sketches to development. We worked on that project for a little over a year. It’s a beast of a site; it’s over 100 pages, so it was definitely a huge project. We started off with the design team to figure out what we liked and what we didn’t like. At the same time, we went through a whole rebranding process; so we had a new logo, new colors, new look of our stores, and they incorporated that into the look of the site as well. They developed each page of the site in the HubSpot COS, did keyword analysis for our SEO, and meta tag data. They put all that data into that site and optimized the pages for keyword analysis.

How did you come to work with Revenue River Marketing?

I knew about Revenue River Marketing through the work that I do with them at another company. Revenue River Marketing is an inbound marketing agency; however, they do design work, which we wanted. I had met Eric, the owner before, so we had a relationship. When I was looking for designers on the COS, obviously I reached out to him and asked for a quote, compared that with other top HubSpot designers that I found across the country, and decided that they would be the best fit for the project because of their experience, their past work, and the ideas they had for us. I really liked my project manager, Mike Del Cuore, and the design team, so it was a good choice.

How much have you invested with Revenue River Marketing?

It was in the range of $10,000 to $50,000 for our site, and that was everything. We paid them quarterly, and they definitely had deliverables and due dates to meet before next payment; there was never any issue with any of that.

What is the status of this engagement?

All projects are completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We definitely have specifics to report. We actually have a case study on HubSpot’s website. We had 4.6 times increase in our blog views per month, 59% increase in organic traffic in 9 months, and we had 139% increase in website leads in 9 months. This was written after 9 months of the launch.

The site itself is much easier to navigate. We’ve had extremely positive feedback from our customers. The old site was really awful. I actually wrote a blog post with Revenue River for HubSpot about that. As far as the design went, we went with a Pinterest tile style.

The most important thing for me about the redesign is that it’s on the responsive COS. Before, we weren’t mobile-friendly at all; I knew we had to do something. The fact that it’s on that mobile-responsive device design is a huge benefit for me because obviously, everybody is doing things on their phone now.

How did Revenue River Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They did great. Mike, our project manager, was extremely responsive and went above and beyond. I’m the same way, so we actually worked really well together. I was kept informed throughout the process. When we have ever had issues, they have been minor and Revenue River Marketing fixes them quickly.

Even today, I can still email Mike with any questions and they are quick to respond. I feel like I can just pick up the phone and call them. It’s a long-standing relationship. It wasn’t like they did the project and I never heard from them again.

What did you find most impressive about Revenue River Marketing?

The design that Revenue River Marketing was able to come up with and execute sets them apart. Redesigning a site always looks great on paper but often isn’t executed well. Revenue River Marketing was always able to follow through. I’m constantly updating the site and they made it super easy for me to do so.

I’m definitely not a coder or a developer. They made it very easy. I can switch up the video on our website in a matter of less than five minutes. We won HubSpot’s Customer Success Award last year at INBOUND in 2015.

Are there any areas Revenue River Marketing could improve?

The backend of the site could’ve been a little more organized but that is just because I am very organized. Other than that, it was a very smooth process, and they did a great job.