Tower33

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization is called Premier Fitness Camp. We are a luxury live-in weight loss fitness resort for people from all over the world. We get clients from everywhere looking for a retreat and they're all there to become their healthiest selves. I’m marketing director, so I manage all the verbiage, the copywriting, the layout of our website, and messaging, and I work with Tower33 Digital on our digital marketing and SEO efforts.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tower33 Digital?

We always joked that more people that live in Dubai knew about us than people who lived in the United States. We also had a very heavy website that read as page after page, with broken URLs. It was really chunky and messy. They helped us achieve a little bit of weight loss as well with our online presence.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They mainly focus on our digital marketing and SEO efforts, specifically trying to help us boost our revenue. This came from traffic on the site and new leads that were tracked through online forms. These all significantly improved with us: we had more leads, turning into relevant leads, which turned into booked clients. They also do some social media and email marketing as well as some Google AdWords pay per click management. We worked closely on creating content.

They overhauled our entire website from our existing WordPress site. Our website was outdated and old, so they had to do a lot of work on the back end. A lot of our clientele tends to be older, so we wanted to make the website as easy to navigate and user-friendly as possible, regardless of the age of the user. We wanted to include more features like videos, which they helped us plan, create, and post to our website. For example, we wanted to create an easy click-through navigation from the home page alone. Also, on every single page, there's an opportunity to fill out a lead form. So again, just helping us catch the leads much better.

How did you come to work with Tower33 Digital?

Anthony and I were actually previously coworkers at a digital agency and Premier Fitness Camp was our client. So fast forward, we both left the agency and went our separate ways. Months later, I went in-house with Premier Fitness Camp with their marketing director and knew that Anthony has started his own company. So I decided to give them a chance and we haven't been disappointed.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2014 and it’s an ongoing engagement.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don’t know the specifics financially, but we spent a significant amount.

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

In 2017 year-to-date, we have more book revenue than any year in history. Every single month for the past few months has been a record-breaking month, which has been amazing. Comparing Q1 and Q2 in 2017 to 2015, we have 60% more leads, 75% better conversion rates, a 37% increase in book revenue, a 60% increase in revenue from organic search, and a 50% increase in revenue from searches alone. We also had a 178% improvement in paid search conversion rates and we reduced our cost per lead from $171 to $99.

How did Tower33 Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They were fantastic. I could call Anthony at any time and he would pick up right away or call me right back. It was very open and organized with phone calls and emails. Everyone that I worked with was extremely easy to work with and made me feel like I didn't have to be organized, which was refreshing. We used Basecamp to talk, but it was largely up to my preference if I wanted to just pick up the phone and call instead. We also have a lot of in-person meetings because I live down the street from their office.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their transparency and openness. Anthony and I have been in situations before where I didn’t feel like I could be fully open about what I was doing or saying. It’s different with Tower33 Digital—we can easily have conversations, whether it's good or bad. He tells us even if it's if it's a negative thing and presents a way to fix it. It makes it much easier

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everyone can always improve. A year ago or so, we talked about being more proactive on next steps, like what we need to do for organic search. However, after we had that conversation, they became more proactive. Overall, have far more positive things to say about them than negative things.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a brand strategy and design agency located in San Diego that’s been around for 7 years. We work across many segments, including lifestyle, consumer goods, tourism, and travel. Our primary focus lately has been on retail and commerce. I handle internal communication, which includes social media, events, leading our SEO, PPC, and paid media efforts.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tower33 Digital?

Our biggest challenge was finding the resources and time to curate a strategy for improving our organic traffic. We were in the process of readjusting and rethinking how we wanted to position our company. There is a lot of back and forth in our industry in terms of clarifying whether a group is a design or creative agency. Many of these things fall into the hands of having a solid SEO strategy in place that attracts new business.

We were launching our new site within 6 months, and I needed someone who could build a platform for us to grow with, educate us, and give us an understanding of best practices. All of this had been lacking beforehand, but it’s something Tower33 has done a good job of accomplishing.

Tower33 helped us position ourselves as a global agency. I didn’t think there were any other agencies in San Diego that would be willing to work B2B at that level, which is why I reached out to them.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The work was strictly organic. I wanted to gain their trust, and get a better idea of what Tower33’s vision was with growing our keywords over time. I had a solid idea of what needed to be in place, but it was nice getting their input and having them provide due diligence in running many of these tasks for me.

The biggest thing was that we set out for a 3-month partnership, and within that time, Tower33 ran through traditional links, technical, and content audits. They gave us roadmaps for each one that identified everything needing to be changed, and also gave us guidance on how they would approach the situation. This gave us a lot of breathing room to consider whether we wanted to focus on marketing or branding first.

Initially, we went through a rapid process. We were planning to launch the site within the first 3 months, but it ended up getting drawn out due to design.

In the kick-off meeting, we went through their vision on how we could improve and reach our goals. One of the biggest things Tower33 did up front was running an early analysis of how we were currently ranking. This provided a lot of justification concerning where they were getting their sources from while remaining transparent with all the software and platforms they were using to get those ratings.

For many clients who deal with digital marketing and SEO, there are so many technical terms to understand, and it’s easy to get them confused. Throughout the process, my CEO and I asked questions about simple items, like what numbers actually meant. Anthony [CEO, Tower33 Digital] and his team always had answers and reasoning for them.  

For me, everything seemed standardized and easily approachable. It wasn’t until we started diving into those process that I started seeing the benefits of why I hired Tower33. Not only were they local, but they were easy to communicate with on a daily basis, and we felt comfortable asking them questions. They provided reasoning for everything and also gave us links and knowledge resources for educating ourselves. It was an educational experience more than anything, which speaks volumes of our trust in them.

Tower33 is still helping us manage day-to-day here, even though we’re past contact.

What is the team dynamic?

We primarily worked with one team in a collaborative effort. I worked with Anthony [CEO, Tower33 Digital], and he would reach out to Nate [Search Marketing Coordinator] in order to weave a strategy for us. The daily communication was through Anthony [CEO, Tower33 Digital], who coordinated with his team, then got back to us if there were any questions.

How did you come to work with Tower33 Digital?

I’d known Gary [Chief Strategy Officer, Tower33 Digital] for a couple years. He was at another agency previously, and I stayed connected with him. At the time, we were ramping up our new website, so I contacted him through LinkedIn and realized he was working at an SEO agency. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what Tower33 was all about. Anthony [CEO, Tower33 Digital] had also worked for an agency where I was previously at, but joined 1-2 months after I left. It was always a matter of word of mouth from personal relationships.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $10,000-$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Tower33 in October 2016. We worked through January-February 2017, and then the engagement was closed. Tower33 continues providing guidance to us.

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

After the first 3 months of launching our new site, we saw an instant increase in overall traffic, specifically from organic searches. Our traffic increased by 187% month over month, and it’s still increasing now. This was the most significant result of Tower33’s work.

From a marketing and branding perspective, as opposed to an SEO specialist one, I was curious what the actual ROI was going to be. I was most interested in keyword ranking, since this is the foundation of SEO in general. Tower33 told us that it’s generally tough to gauge, but they could basically guarantee a one-position increase for all the keywords we’d build strategies for. We ending up advancing an average of at least 5 spots per keyword, depending on where we were before. Some of them were hard to rank for because they were already in the top 10. Overall, this was the defining moment in actually seeing the value of our engagement with Tower33. Page authority has gone up by 15 points since the launch.

How did Tower33 Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Anthony [CEO, Tower33 Digital] always gave us a heads up if they needed more time to get back to us on something. For the most part, he was quick to respond and provided what we needed within a week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a very good understanding of the core strategy that needs to be implemented. Tower33 does a good job of fighting for what they believe in, as well as backing up their ideas for strategy with statistics and references. It’s evident they are passionate about their work, and they’re very good at it. I would be a little weary if I’d given them feedback for our ideas and they never questioned any of it. The small, intangible things make them stand out, like their day-to-day team. Also, Anthony [CEO, Tower33 Digital] responds within 30 minutes to an hour and is always available on weekends. Not having had experience with an SEO agency before, the process has been enjoyable, and not as painstaking as I thought it would be.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For the most part, Tower33 was pretty dialed in. The biggest improvement they could make would be giving us a bit more guidance on how to execute certain things. We were given roadmaps and documents for everything needing executing, and we had a solid understanding from the beginning concerning what those things were. However, many times, I had to research and implement things on my own. This is understandable, though, and it’s probably different for clients who only pay Tower33 to execute. Giving more guidance and clarity around some of our questions would be nice.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of sales and marketing for Zephyr, which is a real estate development company in the state of California.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tower33 Digital?

We were aiming to grow our online presence and seek new clients through digital marketing platforms.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tower33 provided SEO [search engine optimization] services for our website. They also handled Google pay-per-click ad-buys, remarketing and social ads, backend engineering and strategy on our website, and detailed marketing journeys for customers in different markets.

We’re using a different agency for content creation and branding, and I handle all social media engagement work myself.

What is the team dynamic?

They have a team working on the project, but I’ve been directly in contact with Anthony Miller and Gary Ware, the principals of the firm. I’ve also worked with other associates on Google Ads and email marketing specifically.

How did you come to work with Tower33 Digital?

When researching companies for digital services, many firms had a sales team who would make a good first impression and then disappear, leaving you to work with people who lacked passion or connection.

I did not have that experience with Tower33 Digital; they allowed me to continue working directly with the principals on everything, which was very important to me at a human level.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve worked with them on several different projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Tower33 around April 2016 and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We’ve grown our interest list, which is proof of success, but I can’t provide month-over-month figures. However, the results have been positive so far.

How did Tower33 Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

The collaboration has been great. We email, have monthly meetings, and Tower33 sends us a weekly project summary.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think that, in any discipline, the people who live, breathe, and really respect their craft, will earn my respect. This is why I picked Tower33 — I know that Anthony and Gary work hard on learning the newest trends and best approaches. They are my choice for anything digital and know exactly what’s coming up and what’s about to expire. I need to have people on my team that I can rely on to be masters of their craft and Tower33 is just that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of. However, in the past, we did have a project manager other than Gary and Anthony, but it didn’t work out so we went back to using them as the main points of contact.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for ElliptiGO. We make outdoor elliptical bicycles, and I'm the senior visual designer here. I do the visual design, the website design, and a lot of the technical maintenance of the website.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tower33 Digital?

Tower33 was hired to help us with the website migration. When I first started with the company, it had a terrible website. I started redesigning it, and as I had to transfer content from NetSuite, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to WordPress. I hired Tower33 to help me in the transition with SEO migration. The website is 250+ pages. It’s large. I needed someone to help make sure I had all my redirects in place.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The main deliverable was a comprehensive spreadsheet of all the pages that were living on the old site and then helping me map them on the new site. In the scope of the website migration, it was gathering the URLs on the old site. There was no AdWords help at all.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked directly with Anthony. He's one of the founders.

How did you come to work with Tower33 Digital?

We worked with Tower33 after being recommended through a marketing consulting we were using at the time. I also knew somebody who knew Anthony and recommended him, so that's how he came about. He's very knowledgeable and smart, and so I decided that he would be the guy for the project.

How much have you invested with them?

Just under $5,000.

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

The website redesign was a huge success. It's night and day. Just because of that project - and definitely Tower33 was part of it - our direct to consumer sales went up 200% just from the new website.

How did Tower33 Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very professional and very responsive. I would be on the phone with Anthony until 7 o’clock at night. There's been a lot of times where I just can ping him and ask him a question and he'll help me. That's fantastic.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don't know if I would have made it through the project without Tower33. There were so many times where Anthony was the voice of reason in development meetings. He helped fix development problems even though that wasn't in the scope of this project. They were really instrumental in helping because the WordPress developer that I hired dropped the ball lots of times.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really don’t have anything negative to say about them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company designs and produces travel bags and accessories. As managing consultant, I oversee online growth and other company-wide initiatives. Sometimes, the projects I oversee are assigned by the company owners and other times I initiate them myself. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Tower33 Digital?

We were trying to expand online sales. We wanted to drive traffic to our website through different digital marketing solutions. The goals were all financial and sales, but it translates back to traffic.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They consulted and worked with us to figure out our needs and to set goals. It was a very inclusive and thorough process. They made recommendations for our business based on a combination of elevating existing practices and introducing new digital marketing strategies.

Tower33 buys all of our online advertising through Facebook, Instagram, and Google and collaborates with us on the content of the ads as well as placement. On a monthly basis, we work together on putting together creative, and we also work on more long-term strategy, making sure what we’re creating is right for our audience.

What is the team dynamic?

We work primarily with two people. One is a more of a senior strategist, and one is a more of day-to-day account rep. Both provide a lot of value to our organization through their expertise and experience with digital ad buys, content development, audience targeting, and general business acumen.

How did you come to work with Tower33 Digital?

We wanted to work with a local boutique agency with a small team and a desire to help our organization expand. Tower33 was started by a highly skilled team who had left other agencies, bringing together some diverse and extensive experience in a small company with a start-up atmosphere.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2016, and the work is ongoing.

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

Month over month, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in online traffic and sales. This past month we saw a return on investment that far exceeded our expectations. We’re hitting our targets and are thrilled with the results.

How did Tower33 Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very timely and very friendly. A big part of their job, especially with us as a client, is finding language that makes sense to people who have cross-functional roles and are less experienced in the language and innovations of the ever-changing world of digital marketing.  They’re also really good about general communications such as providing agendas before we meet and emailing follow-ups after a meeting.

They provide us with a monthly report, which is great as well as a custom weekly summary. We asked them to adjust the way they do the weekly report for us in the beginning and they were happy to re-design it to fit our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Getting to know them as people has been really important. I’ve worked with a lot of agencies in the past. I also used to work at an agency for many years. Account teams are notorious for changing and revolving - especially smaller accounts such as ours. I appreciate the continuity of having a small, very responsive, friendly team. I feel like we are friends and we are all in this together. Gary [Chief Strategy Officer, Tower33] and his had a baby a few months ago, and he sent me photos from the hospital of the newborn baby. This level of connection and service between an agency and a young brand is priceless and will be mutually beneficial as we grow.

They’re confident in their knowledge, not only about our brand, but also the industry in general. We have learned so much from the Tower33 team and we love hearing from them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing they could improve. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner and one of the brokers of a residential property management company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Tower33 Digital, Inc.?

We hired them for SEO work.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to rank number one for key terms in our industry.

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us.

Describe the project in detail.

Tower33 analyzed our site and implemented SEO best practices. They focused on keywords that are highly competitive terms in my industry—"San Diego Property Management" and "Property Management San Diego." 

What was the team composition?

The team consists of a project lead and two other specialists.

Can you share any statistics or metrics that speak to the quality of their work and impact of the engagement?

Within six months, we ranked first for the most competitive keywords in our industry. We were very happy with the results.

How did the Tower33 Digital, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They initially provided a clear plan with the scope of work and what the costs would be. Their team was very good at communicating, met all timelines, and quickly replied to emails and calls.

What impresses you about the Tower33 Digital, Inc.?

They delivered excellent and impressive results. Their clear communication and expertise in their field also impressed us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, none that I can see.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of WeckMethod, which is a BOSU Fitness company created to push the fitness industry forward. We develop proprietary products, training regimens, and real-world solutions to improve everyone’s athletic performance, regardless of age or ability.

For what projects/services did your company hire Tower33 Digital, Inc.?

We approached them to manage our Facebook and AdWords Campaigns in addition to providing strategic marketing advice.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to improve our marketing performance while lowering our cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

How did you select this vendor?

They reached out to us as a referral.

Describe the project in detail.

They manage our existing Facebook and AdWords accounts.

What was the team composition?

I work with their main account manager as well as two support staff.

Can you share any statistics or metrics that speak to the quality of their work and impact of the engagement?

Tower33 Digital has reduced our CPA and dramatically improved our conversion rate.

How did the Tower33 Digital, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been outstanding.

What impresses you about the Tower33 Digital, Inc.?

They’re dedicated to their performance, taking ownership of processes and finding proactive solutions.