Sanford Consulting

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Digital Marketing Director for the marketing agency Imaginasium. We serve a roster of clients that are mostly manufacturers all over the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sanford Consulting?

We have an increasing number of clients we were running digital marketing campaigns for, and we needed a better, more cohesive way to track results from disparate campaigns in one dashboard.

Another challenge we had was client prospect data in various forms, and we needed a way to pull that data together to make more sense of it.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a tool that our internal team could use to get insights and make recommendations to clients as well as it serve as a self-serve option for clients to check in on their campaigns at any time they wanted to.

SOLUTION

How did you select Sanford Consulting?

Marcus came highly recommended from someone in my network, and I don't ignore those kinds of referrals as they almost always are the perfect fit (character and skills).

Describe the project in detail.

Once we chose to work with Marcus Consulting, he took the time to understand our challenges and ask probing questions to make sure the solution he was providing was both what we wanted and needed. He created a polished dashboard draft, and then took our minor edits to deliver the final version.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one point of contact, who was also doing the work. But I know they will pull in other resources if need be.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The clients that we put the dashboards in front of loved and found them valuable to understanding what the data meant. Internally we had a much better handle on looking at multiple data sets together and drew better conclusions and made better recommendations as a result.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We were able to communicate along the way as the project unfolded, and they were always responsive to our needs and edits as they came up.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to pull data together into dashboards that tell a story and are easily understandable was remarkable compared to other companies we've worked with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were happy with the quality of the finished product and reasonable timelines.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the service lead for the web and organic strategy service area in Ruffalo Noel Levitz. We are the leading higher education enrollment marketing firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sanford Consulting?

We’ve got a number of higher education clients that have engaged us for organic SEO work. They run the gamut of savvy talent, skill, knowledge, among others. We hired Sanford Consulting to help us serve those clients and work directly with them creating SEO analysis and strategies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Marcus (Owner) served as a subject matter expert. He is doing research to learn about our clients, the academic programs they have, and the products they offer. This helps him determine which SEO strategy is better for each particular client. Then, he does SEO keyword research, including an SEO blueprint, which is a strategy document that a writer uses to develop content. 

Marcus also develops performance dashboards in our enterprise SEO tool called BrightEdge, where he is able to determine SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) performance.

There, he can track the success and the growth over the course of the project. Finally, he is doing performance reporting and making ongoing recommendations for optimization for all of our clients through PowerPoint presentations.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Marcus.

How did you come to work with Sanford Consulting?

We found Marcus through a digital staffing agency that was helping us find someone to fit in the position. He quickly became our SEO analyst rockstar, and now he is working through contracted agreements.

How much have you invested with them?

The amount varies. In the first year, we spent around $50,000–$60,000. This year we have spent around $90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Marcus in February 2019. The partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I would describe Marcus’ success through the lens of our clients’ success. He is a contractor for us and he helps us deliver our KPI’s.

He worked on two different projects that were particularly very successful. In the first one, he was able to increase the ranking of product-related phrases by 60%, improving the ranking to the top 3 search results. Those are the prime positions that everybody wants to get to. He also increased the organic entrances and the enrollment content by 120%, which is a significant increment for B2B customers.

In the second project, he increased the ranking of product-related phrases by 165% in the top search results, and the organic searches and entrances by 71%. The engagement of the posts in social media spread in one month. He created 240 enrollment or sales conversion activities.

How did Sanford Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Marcus uses Basecamp for most of the communication, but he uses our tools to communicate with us. Marcus completes every deliverable on time.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Marcus is absolutely great. He knows the protocol and he takes to it very quickly. He understands the intricacies of the projects and is able to figure out what the right steps to follow are from a generation standpoint. It’s almost like we don’t need to teach him because he just intuitively picks it up. Marcus is good at turning analysis into actions. He has an excellent ability to do his job better than most analysts I’ve worked with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything Sanford Consulting could improve on. 

 Any advice for potential customers?

I highly recommend Marcus because he also works in other areas, including government, B2B, and B2C companies. Honestly, he is the best SEO analyst and strategist I have ever worked with. He is great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a senior consultant for digital marketing and client engagement firm. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Marcus has provided SEO consultation services for several clients of our higher education-focused marketing firm. In each, our goal has been to provide sound organic content strategy and insights in order to drive website traffic and online lead generation among prospective students.

SOLUTION

How did you select Sanford Consulting and what were the deciding factors?

Sanford Consulting was initially recommended by a creative staffing agency. I was impressed with Marcus's understanding of website analytics and search engine optimization across multiple industries.

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

Sanford Consulting conducted keyword research leveraging our search engine optimization management platform and provided recommendations for website remediation and content strategy in order to improve our clients' SEO strategy. Marcus regularly develops client insights and recommendations and presents them in a way that can be readily understood and acted on by our team and the client.

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

One. Marcus Sanford as a principal strategist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Results vary, but each of our clients has benefitted from higher search engine rankings, increased website traffic through the organic channel, and additional exposure and leads for their academic programs.

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

Excellent communications both internally and with the client. We have met regularly to discuss open projects, next actions, deliverables, and deadlines. I have found Marcus to be excellent at managing multiple projects and delivering on deadline.

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

Marcus has a unique blend of technological expertise, combined with strategic vision, and an ability to communicate effectively.

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

None so far.