Company: The Digital Hawks, Downers Grove, IL
Company Description: The Digital Hawks is a digital marketing agency that focuses on working with small and mid-size businesses and white labeling for small and mid-size agencies providing them both media buying and client management for a low, flat-rate monthly fee and an advanced tech stack to help level the playing field among the giant brands in advertising. Jen Davis is Founder/CEO and sole employee.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Female Solo Entrepreneur
 Nomination Title: Jen Davis
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2022 of the nominated woman, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below:
- Briefly describe the nominated individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 199 words used.
Founded by Jen Davis in 2020, The Digital Hawks is a favored digital marketing firm specializing in paid search. Jen, having worked in the field for over two decades, harnessed her commitment towards serving small-scale ventures with high-quality digital management, a niche she identified during her freelancing years post her 21-year agency tenure. She brings her big brand PPC experience and tech stack to the management of small business accounts.
The name inspired by her spirit animal, the Red-Tailed Hawk, The Digital Hawks embodies resilience, serving underrepresented businesses that often get overlooked by larger agencies. Jen's vision is to ensure these businesses, and their linked families, thrive by offering comprehensive paid search management. At the beginning, the firm provided affordable flat-rate services for low ad spend accounts. In a strategic move, White label PPC management was introduced in May 2022, catering to the needs of other small agencies and acknowledging the industry's gap.
Showing impressive growth, Jen now works with 12 agencies, which equates to 62 end clients, as well as 22 direct clients and she increased her revenue by 136% in 1 year and managed spend by 294% in 2 years, securing a prominent place in digital marketing.
- Outline the nominee's achievements since July 1 2022 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
The Digital Hawks experienced remarkable growth since July 2022 from a focus on client growth and success.
An average client under Jen’s management experienced annual growth of:
Conversions: +110%
Cost: +70%
Cost per conversion: -14%
Revenue: +141%
Others saw more dramatic growth. One experienced a 431% surge in purchases with an 87% budget increase and 64% reduction in cost per purchase. Another saw leads expand by 454%, with a 58% budget increase and a 71% cost reduction per lead.
This client progress catalyzed a 136% surge in Digital Hawks' revenue from July 2023 to June 2024 over the previous year, and a remarkable 294% increase in the budget that Jen manages over two years. She managed $11MM in 2023 and expects to reach $15MM in 2024.
Furthermore, The Digital Hawks invested in the same advanced technology stack as top agencies (iProspect, Havas) use for enterprise brands (Clinique, Draft Kings), helping to level the playing field for small businesses in PPC. This includes Skai, a sophisticated PPC management software for data-driven insights, automation and AI, allowing Jen to perform optimizations quicker, allowing more time for implementing creative solutions, strategy development and execution and A/B testing. No other solo entrepreneur is known in the space to be providing this technology.
The agency boosts a NPS score of 71.43 from its most recent quarterly customer satisfaction survey (Q2 2024). Client retention rate is over 80% each year for the last 2 years. Lastly, 4 agency clients have been active for 3+ years.
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the nominee's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
The Digital Hawks' growth, under the stewardship of its sole employee, Jen, stands out for its unique combination of personal interaction, vast experience, and strategic use of cutting-edge tech. Contrary to the typical agency structure where responsibilities are split between a media buyer and a client manager, Jen expertly fills both roles. This allows her to address clients' queries instantly, negating the need for unnecessary follow-ups, often experienced in conventional setups.
Moreover, clients managed by Jen benefit from her 20 years of experience, a rarity in an industry where those handling small businesses usually have less than 2 years of practice. Regardless of the clients' spending capacity, they have direct access to strategies that arise from her expertise in managing both small and large brands.
Not resting on her experience alone, Jen has invested in advanced technology equivalent to what larger, funded agencies use. This puts The Digital Hawks on a competitive footing with top-tier organizations in the sector.
Jen's exceptional strategy and hands-on involvement led to a higher-than-average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 71.43, compared to the industry standard of 591. This high satisfaction level contributes to an impressive client retention rate of over 80%, surpassing the usual 50-75%2 rate seen among other agencies. She also has several clients that have remained with her for over three years, when typical client stays with an agency for less than three years3.
1 Retently 2024 NPS Benchmark for B2B
2 Sakas and Company, Karl Sakas
3 Forbes Agency-Client relationship
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 201 words used.
- Screenshots of P&L for 7/1/2022 - 6/30/2023 and 7/1/2023 - 6/30/2024 in accural mode. Files named: P&L 22-23 / P&L 23-24
- Screenshot from Skai PPC Management tool (client names blacked out) for 7/1/2023 - 6/30/2024 compared to 7/1/2022 - 6/30/2023 for difference in cost, conversions and cost per conversion (note this is only clients that were fully active during these timeframes, and not totals for all clients managed over the 2 years). File named: Skai Client Performance YoY
- Screenshot from Skai of all client cost managed 7/1/2023 - 6/30/2024 compared to 7/1/2022 - 6/30/2023 showing the 294% increase and over $11MM managed. File named: Skai All Cost Managed YoY
- Q2 2024 quarterly client satisfaction survey responses (names/companies redacted). File named: Client CSTAT Q2 24_Redacted
- Q1 2024 quarterly client satisfaction survey comments. File named: Q1 2024 CSTAT Comments
- 2023 client satisfacation survey comments. File named: 2023 CSTAT Comments
Footnotes:
1 Retently 2024 NPS Benchmark for B2B: https://www.retently.com/blog/good-net-promoter-score/
Screenshot of graph attached. File named: Retently
2 Sakas and Company, Karl Sakas: https://sakasandcompany.com/client-turnover-rates/
Screenshot of quote for Karl Sakas attached. File named: Sakas
3 Forbes Agency-Client relationship: https://www.forbes.com/sites/avidan/2023/01/09/as-agencies-scramble-to-make-money-they-will-eventually-end-up-embracing-the-gig-economy/
Screenshot of paragraph with highlighted area. File named: Forbes
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