Danielle Hixenbaugh had just gotten her first job in print media in June 2011 when she began to see more and more desks being emptied. She recalls, “I was interning at a magazine while majoring in Journalism and I saw a lot of people losing their jobs.”
The journalism landscape was being taken by storm during the digital awakening of that time and Danielle understood that this was an opportunity. She began researching digital marketing, absorbed the new knowledge like a sponge, and quickly fell in love with the practice. “There were so many tools: HTML, Photoshop, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I wanted to learn them all! I had a thirst for digital marketing,” she remembers.
Danielle got a job at a nonprofit as a Web Content Specialist, which quickly grew into a Digital Marketing Specialist role. Next, she worked at Abercrombie & Fitch HQ, where she received a crash course in everything related to retail and e-commerce. That’s when Danielle discovered her love for all things e-commerce.
It’s at this point that Danielle opened her own e-commerce store with her boyfriend (now husband) to sell his handmade woodwork. Although she enjoyed this exciting challenge, Danielle realized that she wanted to create a place for marketers where she could help them grow and be happy. She wanted to create and embrace a marketing process that was different from what she had experienced herself.
That was the beginning of Bloom Digital Marketing, her digital agency, which specializes in growing DTC Shopify stores through comprehensive marketing plans that drive results and profitability.
For Danielle, it’s not about her own success, image, or hiding behind marketing doublespeak; it’s about truly understanding the needs of her clients and working together to create a marketing system that increases their revenue and bottom line. Danielle empowers her clients to join the strategic process by stripping away marketing buzzwords and simplifying the process to make it easy to understand.
“We provide highly personalized experiences for our partners by starting with what matters most to them: their goals and happiness,” she states.
In order to drive results for their partners, Bloom Digital Marketing develops a marketing plan that incorporates three key tactics: paid media, email, and SMS. These channels allow Bloom to create e-commerce results by leveraging different stages of the marketing funnel from brand awareness to one-on-one conversations that meet customers where they are most: on their phones and in their inboxes.
Danielle explains, “If you control only one of the channels, the strategy is less effective. Many people focus on paid media, but people aren’t sitting around with their credit cards out. In order to compound the ROI of paid media, we combine it with the power of SMS and email to drive both returns and lifetime value.”
In the world of e-commerce, money talks. However, it’s not just about the money for Danielle and her team, but about doing what they love and creating a space where marketers can flourish. In Danielle’s own words, “I wanted to build a team of talented people to do amazing stuff with. Money is just a means to create more impact with what we do.”
Bloom Digital Marketing puts people first, meaning their partners and their team. They act on a set of values that is meant to nurture personal and professional growth for every collaborator every day. This atmosphere encourages respectful communication, stimulates curiosity and innovation, and provides a safe space for failing forward and moving on with passion and courage. All this occurs concurrently while the team is delivering results for their clients.
Danielle describes their work dynamic as follows, “We are extremely collaborative. I constantly ask my team how they feel and make sure they are being understood and supported. We accept suggestions from everybody here to elevate the end result.”
She continues, “One of the most unique things we do is personality assessments through a tool called Culture Index. Even before adding someone to the team, we assess people’s personalities, strengths, areas where they need support, and communication styles, so the team and I can adapt to the way they communicate.”
People at Bloom Digital Agency are having the time of their lives doing what they love, what they do best, and helping partners achieve their goals, just as Danielle wanted.
If you want to know more about Bloom Digital Agency’s story or if you want to partner with them, we recommend you visit their website, follow them on Facebook, or send them an email.
