Search + Gather

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a manufacturer of organic food products. We based in Canada and distribute products in both the US and Canada, as well as some international markets. I’m a co-owner and the director of sales and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We had been working with a US-based agency providing similar services, and we just weren’t getting the results that we were looking for. We also wanted to bring the supply of this service to Canada, versus having it in the US. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Search & Gather provides us with continuous management of our online advertisement services, so PPC and paid social initiatives. They also do some monthly SEO maintenance and overview for us.

They assist us in a number of facets, and they provide a lot of general consulting and advisement on what we should be looking at or considering. They’re always willing to point us in the right direction if we ask questions. 

What is the team composition?

I’d say there are 2–4 people involved. Our primary contact is Amanda (Digital Strategist), and then Michael (Digital Designer) does a lot of the design work. We have frequent contact with Doug (Co-Founder & Creative Director).

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

I looked at local options through online search and reached out to a few different firms. I had a good feeling about Search & Gather after talking to some references and seeing how they had their company displayed online.

How much have you invested with them?

We have a monthly retainer with them that comes in at about $5,300 CAD (approximately $4,000 USD). We’ve been working with them for about eight months, so the total would be around $40,000 (approximately $30,200 USD). That doesn’t include our media budget.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in quarter one of 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a harder time measuring direct impact because we don’t sell online. However, what I can say is that our web traffic has increased significantly since we switched from the previous agency. Additionally, the optimization of our paid campaigns online has improved, so we’re seeing better cost-per-clicks as well as retention of visitors with remarketing initiatives. We’re really pleased with the strategy that they’ve brought to the table. 

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

I’d give them an excellent rating there. Amanda is the spearhead of it all, and she’s really on the ball. She’s very good at taking notes and following up on conversations, so I never feel like I have to scramble to get things together. We primarily communicate via email, but we do have biweekly progress and update calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their outside-of-the-box, strategic approach to utilizing funds is impressive. We spend roughly $10,000–$12,000 CAD (approximately $7,500–9,000 USD) a month on PPC, and they look at that and really try to make every penny work. They don’t go with the standard approach that a lot of other agencies take. They’re really creative individuals who are focused on driving every penny of spend to some value. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I’d have a hard time criticizing anything right now. We’ve had really good success with the program. The fees are reasonable, and the people are good. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Definitely leverage their expertise and their outside-of-the-box, creative approach to doing things. They bring a lot of New Age knowledge of how things are changing in the digital world. They’re a younger organization with individuals on the younger side running it, so they bring a lot to the table as far as knowing what’s changing in the digital world and how to leverage these things best. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of an online home decor business. I also lead marketing for the organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We needed to launch our brand, so we started working with them from the organization's early stages.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Search & Gather helped us to build and launch our digital marketing campaigns from scratch. They worked with us to determine how our brand collateral would translate best into the digital space. Their team created our keyword strategy. They work on PPC and paid social ad campaigns for platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

They also did a bit of print creative design work for us. Their team created a print brochure. It’s hard to have a digital representation of colors created and they helped us develop a brochure with print accurate colors. Their team worked with a printing partner to make sure that the digital/printed colors matched the actual color the customer would receive.

What is the team composition?

We have three primary contacts: Kristian (Senior Digital Strategist), Michael (Designer & CRO Specialist), and Doug (Co-Founder).

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

One of their clients provided a referral and said that Search & Gather would find a way to make digital marketing work for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with them in October 2019, and the partnership’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They focus on hitting our ROAS (return on ad spend) and revenue goals.  Their team’s transparent about campaign outcomes, which makes the relationship strong. We have also received a ton of great feedback on the brochure.

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

They set up accounts that provide me with full insights into the backend of social + search ads. Their team also gives weekly high-level reports. They’re very responsive in their communications. If their team needs to look into a question, they will tell us an appropriate timeframe of when they’ll get back to us. They don’t avoid any questions. Search & Gather's also proactive about trying new strategies and making recommendations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been working with the same team members since the beginning of our relationship with Search & Gather, which has been great.

They’re ready for anything. Their team takes on projects based on what they think will be best for us. They’re with us every step of the way in terms of our growth. Their insights into digital marketing trends are very helpful. I can’t say enough good things about working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t say there’s anything for them to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them like a partner. Give them as much information as possible. Be direct about the results you want, and they’ll readily answer them with a plan.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a smart home company. We make smart thermostats and home monitoring products. I’m the digital marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

Before working with them, we were spending a lot of money on driving traffic, but it wasn’t effective and our cost per acquisition was very high.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

 I work with Search & Gather to run all of our paid digital campaigns and a slew of different channels, with the objective of driving e-commerce sales. They’ve been able to make tweaks based on data, and it has had an impact over time.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Amanda (Digital Strategist), Michael (Operations Director), Kristian (Senior Digital Strategist), and a designer named Michael (Designer & CRO Strategist).

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

I was brought on after Search & Gather started on the project. My understanding is that there was an RFP process and we considered several different agencies. Search & Gather stood out because we wanted to work with a small agency that felt like an extension of our team. We didn’t want to feel like just another client. We wanted a partner that was very hands-on.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $100,000 in agency fees.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020 and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve reduced our cost per acquisition from $700 to $40–$50, so it’s more affordable. Just about every metric we track has been improved, such as cost per impression (CPM), cost per click (CPC), cost per rating point (CPR), and return on ad spend. Month over month, year over year, we’re doing better and they made me look good.  

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

I feel as though I don’t need to micromanage them. They’re easy to get ahold of. The main day-to-day takes place over Slack. Any other objective-based thing is usually sent via email. We touch base weekly to go over how things are going. It’s uncommon that I don’t hear from them at least once a day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They know their strengths and they’re true to that. They’re a true partner. It doesn’t feel like I’m working with a paid agency; it feels like I’m working with teammates, and that makes a huge difference.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would like to work with them in more ways in addition to paid digital. They’re a small agency, and there’s definitely an opportunity to grow in the scope and channels we use. I believe in their work culture, so more opportunities to work with them would be great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Early in, I came in ready to take the reins. I was very eager, but the best thing I could have done was to trust them in what they do and give them the power to do it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a marketing research and consulting firm. We use consumer data to help clients make decisions on product launches, advertising campaigns, pricing, and customer satisfaction.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We had difficulty finding the right people to talk to for our surveys. This was especially difficult when the surveys involved hard to reach populations. Some of our clients specialize in niche products and finding people who buy those products was a big challenge. We had run out of runway with our other partners.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Search & Gather helps us to reach more of our clients' niche consumers. Their team reaches target audiences that are ideal consumers for our clients. They also help us convert consumers into survey respondents.

Their team leverages their knowledge of how to seek out audiences and refine the background to find the optimal consumer. Once they have a process, they scale it up. Now, their team’s built into almost all of our proposals.

What is the team composition?

Typically, we communicate with 2–3 people from Search & Gather.

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

We found them through our network. We both operate in Toronto. We approached Search & Gather because they’re experts at targeting and audience building and optimization. We approached them with a beta test and it was an exceptional experience.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in December 2018, and it’s an ongoing engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Search & Gather essentially makes each project easier. Whereas before we might’ve struggled to hit our targets using the sources we had, they’ve helped us to meet our targets quicker. Their team also helps us to reduce costs.

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

Search & Gather leans into an iterative approach in managing a project. Their team’s thoughtful along the way. They don’t come to the table and push a standard approach.

They’re responsive and keep to deadlines. Their team’s rational in their recommendations for spending our budget. They help us to best spend our budget on targeting an audience.

They’re true partners, so we don’t see them as a vendor. It’s easy and enjoyable to work with their team. Search & Gather goes the extra step on almost every project with us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their work ethic stands out to us. They also care about doing good work. It’s hard to find people who are passionate like them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing stands out. For an agency like them, it’s important to stay up to date on the latest methods, which they do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

First and foremost, give them a try. I understand that new approaches can be difficult to sell to clients, but I advise you to give them a try at least once.

This isn't an issue with them but be clear with your expectations. Be as detailed as possible because the more details you give them, the more creative they can be in their process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run marketing at a technology-enabled design services company. We use a slightly newer business model and sell to enterprise businesses. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We wanted to rapidly learn from our market before launching planned paid search programs.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After I offered the project to them, we scoped out the work together. They’re now in charge of all paid search and social with our company. That includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, and Bing. We’re trying to leave no stone unturned with them, investing time in all major social and search platforms. Going forward, we’re looking to experiment with YouTube and Pinterest. 

What is the team composition?

We have a single day-to-day contact. However, because this is an ongoing partnership, we’ve likely worked with the entire company. They all contribute. 

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

Before I joined, we were using paid search, but I had a gut feeling that we should love to a more outbound model by testing several different messages. I wanted to work with someone who knew Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter inside and out. I’d worked with them before in a previous role and knew they could handle the work. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent under $10,000 each month with them. It’s a flat monthly fee.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2019, and our collaboration is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the first few months of our collaboration, we launched our new brand, website, and pricing. We launched the bulk of our new branding materials in September 2019. Shortly after, we launched their paid programs. Even in the first few weeks, we saw great results. We’ve been scaling since then. 

We track, discuss, and adjust metrics on a weekly basis. They’re good a reporting to meet my desired style. That way, we’re able to make several informed real-time decisions together. It’s a work in progress as they ramp up and learn more about our business.  

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a Slack channel but get most of our work done during our weekly meeting over Google Hangouts. I enjoy the rigor of that communication structure. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They haven’t been too stringent about where they put their effort, which is great because we’re constantly pivoting. Their team offers the flexibility that we need to operate in the ways we prefer. The boutique nature of their work makes them ideal for this type of project.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are several other channels that we may want to try in the future, but they don’t have experience with certain channels. In those cases, they wouldn’t be able to help us with the work. It would be nice if they could develop expertise in new areas. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I made sure to schedule a half-day kickoff meeting with them to ensure that they understood our business inside and out. That day involved brainstorming sessions and top-line messages. After that day, the tone was set for the rest of the project. We also met in December 2019 to bond, which was nice because they’re such an integral part of our operation. It’s helpful to do those things to embed them into your day-to-day. That’s what builds long-term relationships.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior digital marketing specialist at a company called eSight Eyewear. We make electronic glasses for the visually impaired. We’ve developed a proprietary technology that helps individuals accomplish daily tasks and participate in activities. I’m responsible for our lead generation efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We realized that we needed a smaller agency that could operate on the same timeline as us. Our previous agency was very bureaucratic, and we wanted a new partner that could dive in fully to the details of our digital marketing strategy, while still moving at the same pace as us.

To be more specific, we wanted a company that, if we presented an idea on Monday, could be executing on a plan by Wednesday, as opposed to going through multiple review processes. We also wanted more efficient testing of new concepts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a Facebook advertising test to understand their ability to generate leads through social media. They knocked it out of the park, which led us to give them access to our Google Ads the next month. On top of doing that PPC work, they’ve also been able to support us with other services, like landing page design.

What is the team composition?

Amanda (Digital Strategist, Search & Gather) is our account manager. She’s my main point of contact, and I have one-on-one meetings with her every week. At the beginning of the partnership, I worked closely with Doug (Creative Director and Co-Founder, Search & Gather). He’ll step in and help us with big-picture discussions, but Amanda handles the day-to-day operations. Michael (Digital Designer, Search & Gather) does creative and technical work for us.

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

We’ve been struggling with our search advertising and decided to start looking for a new agency. Search & Gather popped up in my initial Google search, and that gave me the impression that they probably knew a thing or two about search advertising.

I looked at five different agencies, but Search & Gather ranked higher and had a more beautiful website than all of the others. They were also responsive as soon as I reached out. When I talked to Doug, he told me about the company’s values, and I got the sense that everyone there feels super invested. The culture and the fact that they seemed trustworthy was a welcome change from the agency we had at the time.

How much have you invested with them?

For the Facebook ads, we pay about $6,000 CAD (approximately $4,500 USD) per month. There was an initial $3,000 CAD (approximately $2,200 USD) set up fee, which put us at a total of $9,000 CAD (approximately $6,700 USD) in September. Once we added search ads, the total monthly cost grew to about $9,125 CAD ($6,800 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Search & Gather in September 2019, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because our product is niche, our cost per lead is relatively high compared to other targets in the market that we’re targeting. That being said, within the first month, Search & Gather was able to cut down our Facebook cost per lead by more than 50%. When we added Google Ads, we saw dramatic improvements there as well. 

Even with other projects, like with the call scheduling on the landing page, they’ve been able to improve our connection rate from 25% to 35%. We’ve also seen a significant improvement in the quality of the leads, which means that the higher volume is translating into a positive impact on our business. With our previous agency, we were paying double and getting probably half the value.

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

Search & Gather works as hard as we do, seemingly at all hours of the day. They’re always willing to jump on a call to clarify, and they have a holistic view of the lead generation process. 

Our previous agency just managed our budget and ad spend; they relied on us to develop creative and handle our Salesforce backend. We also had to create and manage our own landing pages. Having Search & Gather has been a huge improvement from that. They’ve been able to integrate everything well through Salesforce, often pulling reports to show us the results of their testing.

We use email to stay in contact, and I always get a response right away, no matter the time. We have a weekly meeting cadence, and usually at least one additional call per week. Search & Gather is always willing to go above and beyond, much more so than our previous provider. For example, right now, have our project manager Amanda working with our chatbot provider to fill in gaps from a technical perspective. We would’ve never gotten that from our other agency.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very aware that our next challenge will be improving lead quality, and they’re constantly coming up with experiments and recommendations. Their ability to move quickly and solve problems has been extremely beneficial. Most other agencies don’t have that kind of proactive, dedicated approach.

I love the fact that I can offload core responsibilities to their team because it frees me up to do more strategic work. For example, I used to handle all of our manual reporting myself, and I found myself always updating our previous provider about A/B test results and landing page edits. We faced a ton of incongruencies because it was so hard to keep everyone aligned with the overall strategy.

With Search & Gather, I don’t have to worry about any of that. They do creative work in-house, they A/B test their copy, they test their landing pages, and they’re always optimizing towards our sales goals. I save so much time by working with them, and they move even quicker than I anticipated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve only worked with one other agency, so it’s hard to compare, but I think they could benefit from understanding our backend and our organic rankings as well. Granted, we only hired them to do paid ads, but organic leads are a part of that overall strategy. That’s just a suggestion though; I have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of how hard they work. Search & Gather has the capacity to give you high returns within a short timeline. Let them handled the basics, and you’ll be freed up to work on strategy. If you trust them and give them a clear direction, they’ll deliver excellent work for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Nerd Digital, an agency that specializes in SEO and analytics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

Our main objective for all of our clients is to increase ticket sales. One of our clients runs a series of events across the U.S. and Canada, and they needed help targeting certain demographics and driving ticket sales in specific locations. They also wanted to move away from more traditional marketing, like print, to digital.

We subcontracted our client’s digital marketing needs to Search & Gather. Although my company specializes in SEO, we didn’t have the expertise or agility to deliver the scope of services that our client required. They also made a lot of change requests and wanted to be on several platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our client’s target demographics have varied over the past three years, and Search & Gather has tailored their digital marketing approach accordingly. They do SEO and run ads on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google. The team also helps with influencer marketing.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Drew (Operations Director and Founder, Search & Gather) and Amanda (Digital Strategist, Search & Gather).

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

I found them through my network. When my client reached out to me for SEO work, I passed this work on to Search & Gather. I already had a trusting relationship with Drew, so I decided to give them a try.

How much have you invested with them?

Our account management fees have varied between $1,000–$5,900 CAD (approximately $750–$4,450 USD). We started with a small contract of less than $2,000 CAD (approximately $1,500 USD) for a show in Boston. Since then, the budgets have grown. We’ve had contracts for more than $30,000 CAD (approximately $22,600 USD) for a single show. We’re planning to do a bigger contract this month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Search & Gather in October 2017, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Based on previous reports and Google Ads Manager, Search & Gather has driven a 20–100% ROI. Despite the changing requirements and wide-ranging scope of our client’s work, Search & Gather has delivered on everything they’ve wanted. They’ve led the transition from traditional to digital marketing.

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

We use email, phone, and WhatsApp to communicate with Search & Gather, and it’s been exceptional. Our client’s team is very large, and their internal communications are complicated because they don’t use any type of cloud service to manage their documents. Instead, all of their talent is on a single Excel sheet, which makes it difficult to begin the process of organizing a new show. If we need to make a change to the show, we must contact around twenty people. Our client’s email threads are often long and disorganized. Search & Gather has done an exceptional job navigating this tough contract.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have short turnaround times for getting our ads live, and these ads often undergo a lot of changes. For instance, if a celebrity cannot attend a show due to unforeseen circumstances, the show’s organizer needs to replace the person and run different ad campaigns. We may know three weeks or just twenty minutes in advance. Search & Gather has been super flexible and makes these changes quickly, which isn’t something we’ve been able to find anywhere else.

Search & Gather has also gone above and beyond with influencer marketing. Our client had an agreement with an influencer marketing agency, but they didn’t do a great job managing the relationship once the deal was brokered. Search & Gather stepped in to make sure that everything was executed and delivered.  I cannot overstate the value of that. They care about completing the job and doing it well.

Our client wanted to experiment with different ways of advertising on Facebook, such as boosting posts instead of just running ads through Ads Manager. Search & Gather enabled our client to do so, even though we didn’t achieve the results we were looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think they’re doing as well as they can be with this client. They’ve made recommendations and requests, but the client is just a bit slow to adapt.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I would advise leaning on them. They’re smart and responsible, so clients shouldn’t be afraid to go to Search & Gather to delegate how things are going to get done. Give them a goal, and let them figure out how to do it. Don’t tell them that you want Instagram or something else; allow them to understand who you’re targeting and what you have that’s special, and they’ll do the rest.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at an entertainment agency focused on speakers. We also do brand campaigns and celebrity endorsements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We wanted to improve our online presence, primarily on Google. We’d been in the industry for a long time, but we didn’t have a ton of experience with optimizing websites. Search & Gather came in to address that challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They delivered digital advertising and full SEM services to our company. We were looking to drive traffic and leads toward our site, so Search & Gather has optimized our site on Google and Bing. They’ve also tested some strategy on Facebook and LinkedIn, experimenting to see what takes and what doesn’t.

What is the team composition?

I worked primarily with Michael (Digital Designer, Search & Gather) and Doug (Co-Founder & Creative Director, Search & Gather) on the project, but there were definitely others on their team working on it too.

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

Doug and I previously worked in the same building. We reconnected at a tech industry event, and I brought the project up. He showed interest, so I reached out to them feeling confident in their capabilities and price point. We also appreciated their apparent willingness to work hard on our behalf.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between $1,200–$1,500 with them every month.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in November 2017, and the work is ongoing. They’re our go-to partner in this area of work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen great lead flow as a result of their work. Our online presence has attracted the attention of high-level organizations that otherwise would be very difficult to engage with. We’ve been able to drive a very consistent flow of work to our company through the SEM implementations, as opposed to the scattered leads we got before. That’s the most significant benefit. 

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

Using email and monthly catch-up meetings to review trends and potential changes, the project has run very well. Their team turns in regular reports while maintaining a responsive, supportive professional relationship with us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their friendly, casual company culture perfectly matches our style. They’re realistic, fun to work with, and always get things done according to plan. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We feel like we’re in a good place with them because they're always advancing and trying out new ideas.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Like any business relationship, it’s important to build a strong foundation to rely on with partners. Additionally, it's helpful to stay in their line of sight, keeping them interested and engaged in helping your business grow.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior manager at HiMama. HiMama is a software service B2B company that makes software for childcare centers to use to manage the center and communicate with families. I’ve been at the company for around three years now and manage all of our inbound lead generation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We were looking to expand our paid advertising efforts. Our company was really just getting started with advertising on Google Adwords and Facebook, and we wanted to see whether or not we could scale that up to be a bigger part of our inbound lead generation strategy more generally.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Search & Gather focus on scaling up a few of our paid channels; Google Adwords, Bing, and Facebook are the main focuses. They have also helped us get into some more experimental PPC channels, so over time, we’ve tested ads on LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and a few others as well. Essentially, we’re hoping to allow them to help us with our strategy and management of all our paid channels going forward.

What is the team composition?

We work with an analyst and another person who is an analyst but serves in a directorial role as well.

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

They came pretty highly recommended to us from another marketing director in our industry.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Search & Gather in March 2018 and are continuing to work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best evidence to show from the project has really been our growth rate. Our ad spending over the course of our work with them has increased 7–10 times over. We have a target cost-per-lead that we aim for and we’ve been able to stay pretty close to that number throughout the year, which has been a really big deliverable for them.

We’re now a venture-backed startup as well, and as such are trying to go through a period of fairly rapid growth. A big part of that is being able to scale these channels while maintaining a positive return on our spending, and we’ve been able to do that successfully with Search & Gather.

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

We pretty quickly fell into a cadence of holding half-hour meetings once a week, and then longer planning sessions once a quarter that usually lasts a couple of hours. They come into our office and we’ll work together on what our priorities are for the next couple of months.

There’s quite a bit of communication via email, including weekly reports from them with all our metrics and campaign performance for the week. We also usually include some correspondence with our marketing operations team to ensure we’re linking everything up correctly between our sales team and our marketing software.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was really impressed in the first place that they were willing to scale with us over the course of the process. In the beginning, we didn’t have a lot of ad spending and there was a lot of discovery to be done in terms of how to position ourselves through these different paid channels. They’ve been really helpful in giving us the resources that we need to continue to scale.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think as a startup, creative talent was much harder for us to come by and we could have used a little bit more support on that side, but they’ve hired a lot more folks into their team to help with creative elements since then, so they’ve sort of tackled that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would tell other startups that it was really valuable for us to start working with them as an agency pretty early on in our existence because it saved us a lot of time on figuring out the basics of how to scale up our paid channels.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder of a financial services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Search & Gather?

We reached out to Search & Gather to manage paid advertising services for two different initiatives. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Search & Gather manages our paid advertising campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, expanding our campaigns to different regions in the process. They've also helped create and optimize our landing pages. 

What is the team composition? 

We mostly work with Doug (Creative Director and Co-founder, Search & Gather) and Amanda (Digital Strategist, Search & Gather), but also had some initial conversations with Drew (Operations Director and Founder, Search & Gather).

How did you come to work with Search & Gather?

They were recommended to us by one of their previous clients and we were very impressed by their overall knowledge in the digital space. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested between $200,000–$1 million thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since around November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Search & Gather has exceeded all of our expectations thus far, significantly decreasing our cost per acquisition (CPA) while increasing referral and conversion rates. They've also optimized our landing pages, which has had a positive impact overall. 

How did Search & Gather perform from a project management standpoint?

Amanda has been great about managing campaigns. She's very proactive and responsive overall, staying in regular contact with us each week by phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their overall performance and ability to manage client relationships sets them apart. In addition to driving down our CPA and increasing conversions, they've also been very proactive about pursuing next steps, rather than waiting for us to reach out. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd just definitely recommend working with them.