Why Read this Small Business Case Study?
Consumers and business owners regularly engage in self-guided research about products and brands before engaging with the agency business owner or making a purchase. Case studies are a great way for you to build trust with Impact Zone by learning about the real world results we’ve achieved for another client, in this case, a dog groomer.
Background Information
Below you will find a list of questions that will cover the essential elements the work we have performed for clients just like you. This information should be used when you are gathering information ahead of contacting Impact Zone or when trying to decide between us and another agency.
What type of business does this case study describe?
This business is a single-owner, small dog groomer business located in a small city. The first owner started the business in the 1970s. The current owner has run the business for about two decades, and she is the second owner.
Which specific product or service or Impact Zone’s does this business use?
The dog groomer business uses website design, development, and maintenance, as well as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) implementation and maintenance.
What does this dog groomer case study demonstrate about Impact Zone?
Our ability to deliver quality services over time that adapt to the changing needs of the client and search engines.
Section 1: About the Client
What industry are they in, and what is their position within the industry?
The client is a master dog groomer who owns and operates her business in a small city in North Carolina.
What are important details about this client that relate to your business?
The client has one location and employs three people.
What does the client say about the services she receives from Impact Zone?
“I get as much personalized attention as I need, a concern and desire to know the unique needs of my business, and interest in presenting my company in a good light. I get so many compliments.” —owner and groomer Jill Kaplan, Dog Stylists, Inc.
Section 2: The Client’s Challenge
What issue, challenge, or pain point did the client want Impact Zone to address?
The client needs to maintain an updated website that appeals to her clientele, that is not “cute”. She also needs to maintain her top positioning in local search. In addition, as a small business, Jill has a limited marketing budget for website building and maintenance, and SEO implementation and maintenance.
Why did they have this problem?
The client has consistently maintained a top position online. She wants to maintain that position.
What was the client’s expected outcomes from working with Impact Zone to solve their stated problem?
The client wanted an attractive, appealing website that displays the latest services and pricing. She wanted to maintain her online positioning in search results after she changed the physical location of her business.
Why did this client engage Impact Zone to help?
The client and Jewel Ward have a personal and professional relationship. Jill groomed Jewel’s two Standard Poodles for 10 years. Around 2007, Jill expressed frustration over her then-current web designer and developer. Jewel offered to help and as of March 2019, a 12-year long-term professional relationship has continued.
Section 3: Impact Zone’s Solution
How did Impact Zone approach the challenge?
Jewel Ward interviewed Jill Kaplan and gathered her website requirements. Jewel is able to work inexpensively to create an attractive solution for the website by using standard (free) WordPress themes or StudioPress themes over the Genesis Framework.
Jewel chose free images of dogs from Unsplash to keep costs down. She has worked on websites and in information search and retrieval for many years, so she applied that expertise to Jill’s website, SEO implementation, and online positioning.
How was the client involved in this stage?
Once Jewel gathered the initial requirements, she built the site and added the SEO implementation. At various stages of the project and upon completion, she checked in with the client.
What was the solution?
The solution for the websites over the past 12 years has been to use either free high-quality themes from WordPress.org, or to use StudioPress themes with the Genesis Framework. The current theme is Outfitter Pro on the Genesis Framework by StudioPress. The website is hosted on DreamHost. Jewel maintains the site monthly.
Regarding the SEO, Jewel checks the search engine results pages and Google Analytics and Search Console results regularly. At various times over the years, she has monitored the website’s performance via SEO software such as Moz or SEMRush.
What was the timeline?
The length of time to implement the websites and SEO solutions has varied over 12 years, but from start to finish, it generally takes 3-4 months.
Section 4: Results for the Client
Did Impact Zone’s solution solve the client’s stated problem or accomplish their objective(s)?
Yes. Clients regularly praise the website, and Jill’s business ranks #1 or in the top 3 regularly in search engine results pages, and it has for years.
What immediate benefits did the client see because of Impact Zone’s work?
In the last round of website work and SEO implementation c. 2017-2018, the client was able to maintain her online positioning after the physical move of the dog groomer business. We launched the new website to correlate with the move.
What benefits should our client see because of Impact Zone’s work over time?
The client will see a steady influx of new and existing customers, as they are easily able to find her business online. Jill has been able to maintain her online positioning. The website is designed with simplicity in mind.
What are the specific measurements, statistics, and/or ROI data we can share that clearly demonstrates the value of the solution/service/strategy Impact Zone provided?
The statistics below demonstrate the value of the websites Impact Zone has built and maintained, as well as the SEO we have implemented and maintained. Over time, visits to the website have increased substantially.
Which one of those data points does Impact Zone consider to be the most important? Why?
As you can see from the data going back to 2011, the client has received a steady increase in traffic over time. Currently, the client’s business is booming.
The green highlight provides the month of highest traffic, which coincided with the client moving to her new location. The statistics show that after the physical move of the business, the client’s traffic has remained steady and then increased.
If you would like to learn about other data points that demonstrate success, i.e., Google Analytics results regarding bounce rates, keywords, etc., we are happy to provide them to you with Jill’s permission.
Does the client agree that Impact Zone solved her problem or helped them achieve their intended goal?
Yes. Jill has been very happy with the results. She is willing to provide a reference.
Now that you are at the end of this dog groomer case study, if you have any questions, contact Impact Zone and let us know! We are always happy to answer your questions
