Hawke Media

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of an automated retail company, and our main business is commercial massage chairs. Our products are usually found in airports, malls, trampoline parks, and travel toll plazas. We operate about 10,000 commercial massage chairs throughout the US, Israel, and Canada. 

We’ve also added a rental kiosk to our portfolio. We have around 150 units placed in multiple mall locations. In addition, we have an e-commerce brand for retail massage chairs and small items such as massagers, percussion guns, and recovery devices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hawke Media?

We initially hired Hawke Media for a website development project. They also offered marketing and other digital services, but we never got that far in the process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The original plan was to work with Hawke Media for web development. We had two WordPress sites: one main website and a subsite. On the subsite, we had an e-commerce store, which ran on WooCommerce. Their team did all the UI/UX design for that subsite using Adobe XD. 

The idea was to take our parent company — which has multiple brands —  and create an events website that would market our B2B services involving commercial massage chairs. It had picture galleries and informational content, essentially telling end users to contact us. We also had Zendesk integrations on the website. Meanwhile, our e-commerce subsite sold retail massage chairs and other small item massagers. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, which was our main point of contact. There were also teams working behind the scenes to produce what we needed. 

How did you come to work with Hawke Media?

We came across Hawke Media through an acquaintance. I was introduced to someone who had previously worked in their team but left to start their own business. That person recommended me to them since he was familiar with the agency. They were a sizable company, and I heard a lot of good reviews about them. 

How much have you invested with them?

I spent around $30,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from February 2019–February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

Hawke Media undersold the project and was in the weeds on development. We did have a good research and strategy process, but almost a year into the project, they dropped it. This was no fault of ours. 

During the scoping phase, they didn’t know what they didn’t know, so they sold us a project that seemed far under budget. I raised this issue with them before we kicked the process off, but they went ahead. Eventually, we ended up in a bad place. 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

Since we didn’t have a history of having an e-commerce website — I essentially hoped to build one with Hawke Media — the business impact was largely unknown. However, I missed a whole holiday cycle of e-commerce sales. I also had half a million dollars worth of inventory in the warehouse, and it didn’t get sold in a timely fashion or as I originally envisioned. The only positive thing we had was a decent UI/UX design — the website looked good.

How did Hawke Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project manager could only be as good as their resources, and that was where they truly lacked. Put another way, the project management wasn’t good because they didn’t have the right resources. 

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

Even though they dropped us, they did hang in there for as long as they could. They didn’t even send an invoice for 8–10 months while they attempted to remediate the issues and work through challenges. However, they probably didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, so they decided to drop the relationship.

Overall, while they had the willingness to stick it out and invest resources to make things right, they quit in the end. I always hoped to work with them on paid search and marketing, but we never got past web development.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Hawke Media should improve their scoping. They totally mismanaged this part, which led to poor requirements and a project that was sorely underfunded. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Bring Hawke Media to shadow your development project. They can give direction to the project in terms of style or brand guidelines. However, I wouldn’t let them run the project by themselves if it’s more than a single product site or page.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a staffing and outsourcing agency. Clients hire staff through our agency, as we provide a lot of low-cost labor that’s highly skilled in specific niches. We specialize in IT, contact center, and BPO services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hawke Media? 

They built our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We moved through strategy, design, and building phases to create our website. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Lindsey (EVP, Services). There were a couple of other people, but I mostly interacted with him. 

How did you come to work with Hawke Media? 

I found them on LinkedIn. Eric (Founder and CEO) is one of my connections. He’s a good guy. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $20,000 on the website. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from November 2020–January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website works well; our SEO vendor was impressed by its loading speed. 

How did Hawke Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They were next level and very professional. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

What set Hawke Media apart was their skill in determining how to build a successful business on the internet. They built a site that would help me turn traffic into leads. For example, they placed opt-in forms in the optimal positions. I didn’t hire them for digital marketing, but Hawke Media planted seeds of digital marketing strategy in my website build. 

They have a track record of helping their clients make millions of dollars, and they applied those skills to my website. If you have the budget to pay for them, then you get access to all their insights. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Leverage their strategy consultants. Their designers and developers are great, but you can probably find those services elsewhere at a more affordable price. If you want to get the most value out of your engagement, then come prepared with smart questions about strategy. Focus on different platforms and techniques (SEO vs. PPC, Google vs. Facebook). This will lay a solid foundation for your marketing plan following the website launch.