Thrive Internet Marketing Agency

Please describe your company and your position there.

CMO-Officer in charge of planning, development, execution and customer experience for Slingshot Companies. Slingshot specializes in Legal Services with focus on business cultivation for the legal industry by way of digital marketing.

For what projects/services did your company hire Thrive Internet Marketing Agency, and what were your goals?

Create visibility online in a space in which our main competition has deep pockets and venture capital at their disposal.

How did you select Thrive Internet Marketing Agency and what were the deciding factors?

After literally wasting time and money for years with local firms, I set about searching outside of our state. I selected Thrive based on compatibility with our business, online reviews and after talking with Ashton D. - Thrive's Senior Marketing Consultant

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

Thrive is in charge of our SEO (Greg) and our Ad Words (Igor), They came up with a plan, managed our expectations, provided detailed reporting and measurable results

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

Greg (SEO) , Igor (Ad Words), Ashton (Initial point of contact/Consulting) Joe (Team Lead)

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

Our revenue has increased. Our website has a much better conversion ratio. Our Ad spend is better utilized. We have been able to gain traction in desired markets.

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

First and foremost they listen. They fully understand our business and where we want to go. They provide us with detailed reports and work logs. I have no questions as to what they are doing or charging me for. The entire team is literally a phone call or email away. They are very responsive in a timely manner.

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

The measurable results, accountability and superior customer service

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

not right now

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief of operations for a nonprofit organization.

What challenge were you trying to address with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

We wanted to create an online presence and do some rebranding.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Thrive Internet Marketing Agency set up our website and tweaked it. They also trained our staff in managing standard changes. It’s built on WordPress. 

They provided constructive criticism regarding the image and message we portrayed, how it was perceived, and its consistency. They also did some rebranding, helping us get our name known more internationally. 

What is the team composition?

Peter (Web Support Manager) is my main point of contact while Cody (Finance Manager) is our go-to person on the business side. We have interacted with several people throughout our engagement.

How did you come to work with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

We had offices in the same building.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent $50,000–$199,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around January 2008, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

It was quite helpful for us to get feedback and advice on our presentation and perception. Our director is satisfied with the feedback she’s received from donors and partners, and we are quite happy with the quality of their work. 

How did Thrive Internet Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Their organizational skills, including planning, communication, transparency, and deliverables, are impressive. It is easy to see who is responsible for which tasks and to track progress. We have used some project management tools throughout our engagement. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Thrive Internet Marketing Agency is attentive to our needs as a client and seems to genuinely care about our business. They’re all quite positive from the top down. We appreciate the way they give back, not only to their community but also to those in need internationally. They have contributed to one of our projects overseas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing I can think of is some technical problems during a recent phone call. The lady I was speaking to had her phone cutting out repeatedly, making it difficult to communicate and understand her.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be direct with them, and listen to their advice.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My organization, Jones Jones LLC, is a law firm, and I am the executive partner who is responsible for overseeing and managing the entire law firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

I wanted to find an all in one internet marketing company to refresh a couple of things for us. We wanted to refresh our website and roll out marketing for the first time. Prior to this, we had never done any kind of social media marketing. We are a defense firm, so our potential client base is companies and organizations. 

I thought there was a good opportunity to start marketing and get the word out there about the services that we provide. I knew that if we picked the right channels with the right people, and the right followers, we would be able to reach people and notify them of our service but also keep our brand in the back of their mind.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Thrive Internet Marketing Agency does marketing on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. They also did some SEO work, getting our firm higher up in Google searches when people are looking for the type of law that we do. 

They had suggested PPC, but I wanted to launch some of the more organic social media marketing first. They also designed and built a new website on WordPress. It’s a social media marketing platform with a newsletter powered by MailChimp.

Amy (Web Project Manager) helped me with the design of the website and her other colleagues did a lot of the programming

What is the team composition?

First, I worked with Craig (Marketing Consultant), who onboarded me. I then worked with Amy and Allison (Account Manager). Kayla (Social Media Strategist) also helped with SEO.

How did you come to work with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

I think I did a Google search and read Google reviews. Thrive Internet Marketing Agency was really well-reviewed, and I interviewed them. One of the reasons I decided to go with them was because I really hit it off with Craig.

I also chose to go with them as opposed to other organizations that market themselves as law firm marketing places because I felt that Thrive Internet Marketing Agency really tried to get to know my business. 

With the law firm specific marketing companies, I felt like I was maybe going to get a cookie-cutter version. I didn’t think they cared as much about learning about what I did and what our organization did. 

How much have you invested in them?

The website was in the $15,000–$20,000 range. For all of the other services, we spent about $4,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

I partnered with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency about a year and a half ago, around May 2019, and my website launched maybe two to three months ago.

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

We actually got one client that saw a social media post we had and realized that we provided a service that they didn’t think we provided, so that was an additional line of business for our company. 

It hasn’t been very profitable yet, which speaks to the underlying issue that we do a couple of different types of law, and I thought it was so obvious to anyone that worked with us that we do multiple types of law, but apparently to our clients, it wasn’t communicated as well as it could have been.

One of our other clients saw a post on LinkedIn that we did this type of work and wanted to use us. That is how I envisioned one of the metrics for social media. That has happened on two separate occasions, so I consider that to be a great success. The website was impressive. 

How did Thrive Internet Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, I would recommend them to pretty much anyone that is looking for what I was looking for. The communication was really great. They used some project management tools. For example, I had a login, and I could see reports and metrics and how things were progressing.

I didn’t really leverage it that much, but I could’ve if I wanted to. It was available but I didn’t really use it so it’s hard for me to evaluate that. 

As the site was being designed and as the content was being created and copywriting was going on, we saw the site in a piecemeal format, and I was looking at it in this piecemeal format. When it all came together, I looked at it and it wasn’t what I wanted. 

It wasn’t because they didn’t deliver what I wanted, it’s just that I wasn’t communicative enough about what it was supposed to look like visually. When we saw a draft of what it looked like visually, I felt it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. 

I called up Craig and explained everything to him. I was pretty nervous when I did that because I was basically eliminating the month of work that had been done up to that point. I spoke with Craig and Amy and outlined every issue I had.

They said they knew exactly what I was looking for and they completely redesigned the site from the ground up visually so that it was consistent with what I was looking for. They built a website that I felt really proud of and didn’t even charge me a penny more. That was something I didn’t think most companies would’ve done

What did you find most impressive about them?

Thrive Internet Marketing Agency really wanted to get to know my business. I didn’t want the website to be a law firm website, and they understood that better than the other marketing companies that create law firm websites.

I completely derailed the program, but the team was so focused on my satisfaction that they basically recreated the website. They took customer satisfaction very seriously. They were willing to allocate more resources to making sure that it was executed. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we were going back with the copywriting of the website, being a law firm, it was really important that every single word was deliberately chosen because people might go to our website for legal advice. 

In the multiple rounds of content that I provided, some parts were updated on the site and some parts had older content. I am not sure if it was because there were too many revisions going back and forth, which resulted in some mistakes. 

Every time they got a new turn of content, they would almost start from scratch in putting in the information and not try to see what was different and only changing the things that were different.

Additionally, in making sure that headers and footers were consistent on pages, there were a couple of issues. It’s about attention to detail, but they fixed it immediately after I brought it to their attention.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the operations coordinator for AvodahMed, which is an AI technology company that deals with language translation and telehealth services.

What challenge were you trying to address with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

We hired Thrive to create a website for our telehealth services market.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Thrive built a completely new website on WordPress. Their team also designed the platform. We also used their writing services. They wrote a script for an animated video that we created for the website.

What is the team composition?

I initially spoke with a salesperson and then worked with Melanie (Web Project Manager) who was our project manager. I also spoke with two other people.

How did you come to work with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

I googled web design companies and looked through reviews. I then sent out RFPs to multiple companies. After I received proposals, I spoke with a few different agencies and then narrowed our options to Thrive.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly $15,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration started in March and then the website launched in November 2020.

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

We measured the success of our collaboration by their ability to deliver in a timely manner. We also ensured that the website was up to the standards of the technology and medical industries. We’re very satisfied with the quality of their design and development services.

How did Thrive Internet Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team did a great job communicating and meeting deadlines. There was a time difference between our project manager, located in South Africa, and us. However, she was efficient and ensured the collaboration was smooth. Their team quickly delivered results.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed by their response time and how personable their team was. Their salesperson and their project manager were kind, helpful, and accommodating.

Are there any areas they could improve?

After we finished the project, we discussed a plug-in that helped the website become ADA compliant. It would’ve been helpful if we had that discussion at the beginning of the project. However, that’s a new service for them.

We also asked them to help with an integration between WordPress and HubSpot, which we use as a CRM. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anyone on their development team who was familiar with the HubSpot plug-in.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My recommendation would be to utilize their writers for website content. I would also recommend them as a web agency because they did a fantastic job.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of CP Networks. We build and manage computer networks for small and medium businesses.

What challenge were you trying to address with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

We weren’t happy with our website. I wanted to find somebody who was a professional at building websites.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an existing website before we started working with Thrive, but once we brought them on board, we trashed it. The team built the new one completely from scratch, implementing new content as well. The goal was to talk about and advertise our services. They built it on WordPress and optimized it for SEO. 

Currently, we’re getting started with SEO and PPC.

What is the team composition?

We’ve probably worked talked to eight or 10 different people. We mainly worked with Charissa (Web Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

I’ve known of Thrive for a few years. We’ve actually done a little bit of work for them as clients. I knew of them and liked their website, so I went straight to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking in May of 2020, and began development in around September. The website was launched in November, and we’re currently working on SEO and PPC.

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

The new site looks great. Thrive did a good job of making it look really professional. The new content is a major improvement. 

We just launched the site, so I don’t have any metrics, but we’re really happy with how it turned out and had a great experience working with them. We got exactly what we wanted.

How did Thrive Internet Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

I really enjoyed working with Charissa. She made the whole experience flow really easily, and had lots of good advice and good ideas. The communication was really amazing, and they did a great job of keeping us on task with deadlines. We mostly kept in touch over emails, but we had Zoom meetings once or twice a week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive aspect of the project was working with Charissa. Her attitude and her communication were stellar; it made the whole experience. I expected to have a good website at the end, but working with her made it fun.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As far as the website build, everything went well. I can’t think of any areas for improvement. We’ve just started with PPC and SEO, so it’s hard to say, but it feels like maybe the communication hasn’t been quite what I got from the web build.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you need a website, I highly recommend Thrive. They build beautiful, one-of-a-kind sites. Also, if you’re going to make that investment, you have to be prepared to get a bunch of content ready, because it’s a lot of work and you don’t want to squander the opportunity.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an organization that focused on the occupational safety training and consulting needs of companies in all industries. Our goal is to assist companies with the development and growth of their safety programs. We have specialists with years of experience in this industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

They helped me get our business noticed online in our industry. There are tons of companies out there, and I wanted to decrease the time our team was taking to do sales work. I figured that we should let technology work for us to bring in sales and conversions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They work on SEO, content, and social media management for our team. We rely on them to maintain and improve our placement in Google search results rankings. While we’ve pulled away from social media efforts recently, they’re still responsible for sending newsletters to our customers. Additionally, they developed a backend data management and entry interface for our platform. 

What is the team composition?

I work with Matt (Founder) on the management of my account. We worked closely with a developer as well. 

How did you come to work with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

I was recommended to them by a colleague that had used their services as well as those of my previous developer. The past developer was subpar, but my colleague had tremendous success with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency through digital marketing work. I felt that they would be a good fit, so we hired them.  

How much have you invested with them?

Over the years, we’ve spent about $100,000 on their work.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since around November 2017.

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

The quality of their work is strong, and they’re responsive to feedback. I’ve appreciated their willingness to make necessary adjustments to their work. 

How did Thrive Internet Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been spot on with project management. There were a few delays, some caused by our internal team and other caused by theirs. They had to do a decent bit of research to find the right solutions for us, so the delays weren’t a big deal. Overall, the project worked out great. They sent me updates, information, and reports to let us know how much time was being spent on certain tasks. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to overcome obstacles and challenges really stood out. They’re willing to take on new projects that they may not have tons of experience with in the past. It’s great to see companies that are willing to take on a challenge. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would love to have some more communication from them to make sure we’re always on the same page about their progress. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Stay involved with them and ask questions. Collaborations are best when you invest your time effectively detailing your ideas and mission.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Lifetime HOA Management. We manage homeowner associations.

What challenge were you trying to address with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

We hired Thrive Internet Marketing Agency to do our SEO. We obtain 98% of our clients through Google searches, so we needed help with that.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Thrive Internet Marketing Agency does our SEO work. When we redid our website, the team also helped to make sure that we didn’t lose our SEO progress, and they worked with our web designer. 

What is the team composition?

We have one point of contact who is our case manager.

How did you come to work with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

We searched online and interviewed about four companies. I’m a novice in the SEO space and Thrive Internet Marketing Agency had a good sales presentation in terms of explaining the process. I felt taken care of.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $1,500 a month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them about two years ago in Q4, and our engagement is ongoing. 

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

Thrive Internet Marketing Agency does a monthly report that provides us with keyword tracking and analytics. I’ve seen an increase in potential clients clicking on and asking for bids. 

We are very satisfied with the progress of the campaign. Within four months, we were on the first page of Google, in about the top five positions. We then aggressively went to the top three positions.

How did Thrive Internet Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They managed the project well and set their own deadlines. The team is very proactive in their approach, which I like as a small company. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like Thrive Internet Marketing Agency because of their overall experience. The market is saturated with a lot of people who say they can do SEO, but they don’t come with the knowledge, resources, and manpower to get you the resources.

We had someone who promised us the world, and we didn’t see any return. With Thrive Internet Marketing Agency, we saw a huge return within the first three months. They’re a great partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at this point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Value Thrive Internet Marketing Agency’s time and efforts by making sure that you keep up with them. It seems like a large investment in the beginning, but you will see results within a certain time period. It’s a long-term gain, not a short-term one.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing coordinator for ZCS Engineering and Architecture. We’re a civil and structural engineering firm with an architecture department.

What challenge were you trying to address with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

When we brought architecture into the firm, we decided to redesign our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Thrive helped us to redesign our entire WordPress website. Later, their team redesigned a few pages too. After they created the initial designs, we had a day or two for revisions.

What is the team composition?

I directly worked with two different people from Thrive. My initial point of contact, Mike (Sales Team Director), was a sales representative. I also collaborated with Jack (Web Team Director) who guided the web development process.

How did you come to work with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

We initially hired them before my time at the company, so I’m not sure how we originally found them. However, we liked their work. That’s why we went back to them for help.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $3,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

I originally contacted them in July, and they finished the project in August 2020.

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

As we previously worked with Thrive, we knew their team created high-quality products. They did exactly what we asked of them. The pages looked great and exceeded our expectations.

How did Thrive Internet Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Thrive regularly contacted us by phone and email. They outlined the project, and communication was seamless. They made sure that everyone on their team was in the loop. Their team accomplished their goals exactly on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

My initial meeting with their team was held via Skype. We had a face to face conversation, which is always easier when trying to explain one's goals. It was nice to go back and forth with them.

I had questions about the project because I had no previous experience with design projects. Their team did a great job answering my questions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They created the initial designs and then allowed a day or two for revisions. I realized that wasn’t enough time for my whole team to review them and provide comments. While we felt rushed, their team was flexible and worked with me on deadlines.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask questions because they’re available to answer them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of a boutique investment bank.

What challenge were you trying to address with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

Another group managed our website but didn’t attract the expected amount of activity. We needed another provider to set up a new website. Also, we wanted to improve our SEO initiatives to support the platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Thrive built a new website on WordPress beginning the process with a template. Essentially, we had the content ready to go. Their team now hosts the platform.

They continue to provide SEO services to increase the site’s visibility. Their team tries to rank for certain keywords. They set up content to be more easily read, but they’re not creating it.

What is the team composition?

In total, we’ve interacted with six different people from Thrive. I have a day to day contact who focuses on our SEO efforts.

How did you come to work with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

I previously used their services when I had a different firm. As I knew Thrive and had decent success with them, I pulled the project over to their team.

How much have you invested with them?

The website cost about $9,500, and we spend about $1,000 a month on their SEO services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking around April 2020, and it took about a month and a half to complete the website. Thrive continues to manage SEO initiatives for us.

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

Compared to our previous vendor, Thrive has already gotten better results. Their team’s knowledgeable. When I give suggestions, they present the pros and cons. This allows me to make informed decisions.

The website’s young at this point, and the market’s awful at the moment. Frankly, it’s hard to expect much right now.

How did Thrive Internet Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate via phone, email, and Zoom. Thrive managed the website development well. The person who directs our SEO initiatives also performs well. Their team’s organized.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s easy to work with Thrive. Their team delivers what was promised when promised; that’s a unique characteristic. I’m pleased. When talking to other web agencies, I felt that their teams were creative but flaky. Unlike them, Thrive’s professional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In terms of improvement, it’s too early to tell. They market themselves well. I’m hoping that knowledge translates to my business.

Once the website was developed, we had a quick training on how to manipulate WordPress. Their team then provided a bunch of videos. Not all of us love watching videos. They could better distinguish the difference between clients who want videos and those who prefer hands-on training.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with anything, you’ll get out of a partnership what you put into it. If you want them to be timely, you need to provide their team with the necessary materials in a timely manner. Thrive will deliver, but you need to do your part.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO for Petersen Games. We’re a board game publisher in a niche market. Our founder is also a renowned designer for video games. Now we so board games with the same motifs and themes as well.

What challenge were you trying to address with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

When I started, we didn’t have much of a marketing program. Bringing Thrive Internet Marketing Agency was part of my initiative to organize and grow our marketing initiatives.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired them for their social media expertise. So we have a representative that manages our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We provide content and graphics, and they set up the campaigns. They try to get our fans to engage, or they direct them to our website to make a sale. They plan all of that, implement the strategy, and then we discuss the performance after the fact to continue to drive sales.

What is the team composition?

We work with one project manager.

How did you come to work with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency?

Our fan worked for Thrive Internet Marketing Agency and he reached out to us. I was already moving in that direction anyway, so we decided to work with them.

In the past, I’ve worked with various social media groups. I liked that by bringing in Thrive Internet Marketing, I don’t have to worry about anything. I don’t have to babysit them and I’m confident they’re always doing what I need to do.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $2,000 per month (approximately $50,000 in total).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in May 2018 and it’s ongoing.

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

I just printed a report from early on in our engagement, and our most recent report. Looking at the difference, impression has increased from 179,000 to 499,000. So we’ve seen a big boost in reach. The links clicks went from 936 to over 6,000.

When we started working with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency, we were making about $5,000 in website sales, and now we’re making between $20,000–$30,000. Clearly, we’ve seen a big increase in sales, which I attribute to the consistent attention we receive from them and their ability to grow our followers on social media.

How did Thrive Internet Marketing Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always on time. If our project manager ever has a conflict, is sick, or is on vacation, he always lets us know and we can reschedule. We have a personal rapport. When our team was in his area, we were able to meet up for lunch or dinner. It’s been a great working relationship.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our project manager is also very professional. He gets everything done when he says he will and reports on it. Sometimes he offers new ideas for us to try and think about. He wants to do his job well and is dedicated to helping us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re always looking for ways to grow with them. We recently launched a YouTube service and that’s actually a different service. So he said he could bring more people in, but it’s outside the terms of our contract so it would cost more. That has just been a matter of us not having the budget to bring on more services.

This also isn’t his fault, but he isn’t as familiar with our product as an in-house team member would have. So we have to provide the information that he needs to support the post.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You get what you put into the project. So you’ll get a better result  if you remain engaged with them.