by Tom Smodic | Nov 15, 2022 | What We're Up To
The UpCity “Best of” Awards have returned after a successful inaugural year in 2021. To commemorate the top 50 B2B providers in each U.S. state and Canadian province, the UpCity “Best of” Award highlights the tremendous work being done by our partners and more in their local area.
Awards are given based on the UpCity Recommendability Rating, which was developed to determine a B2B service provider’s credibility and trustworthiness, giving UpCity the confidence to recommend them to potential buyers seeking their services.
We are proud to reveal that Spark Marketer Support has been recognized as a Best of Tennessee Award winner by UpCity!
UpCity is a B2B online marketplace that connects businesses to trustworthy service providers.
With 70,000+ listed providers—from digital marketing agencies, consulting firms, development specialists, and many more—over 1.5 million businesses have used UpCity to find exceptional partners for their needs.
UpCity’s proprietary algorithm pulls from digital data points like reviews (both on UpCity and other third-party review sites), rankings in relevant search results, domain authority, website speed, and user experience to connect businesses with high-quality service providers like us.
Heidi Sullivan, SVP of Product & Marketing of UpCity, had this to say about Spark Marketer Support:
“Spark Marketer proactively works to provide the missing ingredient in their clients’ portfolios. Congratulations to the team on winning a 2022 Best of Award!”— Heidi Sullivan, SVP of Product & Marketing, UpCity
This recognition has been driven in large part by our 5-star reviews on UpCity. Here are a few of our favorite pieces of feedback we’ve received from our incredible customers:
“We have been so pleased with the services that Spark Marketer has provided to us. Their customer service is amazing and they really know what they are doing. They have truly been a huge asset to us and they have a sincere desire for us to succeed. I am very thankful to have them be a part of our team.” – Tommy Nelms, September 2019
“We have been working with Spark Marketer for over nine years and it has been the best investment we have ever made. Their knowledge of today’s marketing and internet world is unsurpassed. They treat you as a partner not as a customer and truly care about you and your business. I would highly recommend. They may be more expensive, but they are definitely worth it.” – Linda R, September 2019
Thank you to UpCity for recognizing us as a 2022 Best of Award winner. As our customers’ marketing partner, we work hard to collaborate and want to recognize our customers for their partnerships as well.
by Taylor Hill Carter Harkins | Dec 31, 2016 | What We're Up To
Taylor & Carter here. We’ve had several conversations this year about all the things that have come our way and how grateful we are for the opportunities we’ve been given to work with the greatest clients in the world and the best employees a company could ever hope to have, and for the relationships that have been formed or solidified this year. Without a doubt, it has been another great year, personally, and in our business. Looking back, here are some of the ways our company has changed, shifted, and come into its own this year, and what we look forward to going into 2017.
The Vision Summit & Client Tour
One of the things we are most grateful for this year is the people around us who have continually pushed us to get better, be better, and get ready for the next chapter. Early in 2016, we received some very wise encouragement to really look at our business from the inside-out, and started by closing down our business for two and a half days. During this time, we gathered the Spark Marketer staff off-site, in order to hone in on what is most important to us, and define our Core Values, Purpose, and Mission. We called it our “Vision Summit,” and it was amazing what came out of those sessions! We are now very clear and intentional about our company’s Core Values, and what our Purpose is, which is “To build a better world by strengthening Blue Collar Businesses.” If you haven’t done this for your business, I would highly recommend doing it in 2017.
Taylor Hills & Avery Soderman of Wells & Sons
Taking a client tour up the East Coast and through the Heartland this summer was also an eye opener, giving us a glimpse into the challenges that many of our clients face. While a lot of you are in the same industries, it doesn’t mean you all have the same marketing challenges. It was incredibly insightful to be able to spend some time with our clients, one-on-one, and to hear their unique challenges. This tour has made our commitment and resolve to staying in front of any changes in online marketing that much stronger, in order to help our clients at the highest level possible.
What Drives Us Forward
Developing our Core Values, Vision, and Purpose, together with our nationwide “Tour of Clients,” have been the two driving forces behind our plans as we gear up for the future. Getting clearer on who our customers really are, as well as who and what we want to be for them, has been the most important thing we have done to date. It has impacted the focus of the podcast, Guys In Trucks, as well as the future products we would like to create to help blue collar businesses better serve their customers.
It’s Personal
But there is something every business owner knows, even if he won’t admit it: Your business cannot grow or change unless you do. This year, Carter and I knew we had some work to do personally in order to lead Spark Marketer and Guys In Trucks into the future. We attended quite a few conferences, seminars, and groups this year to help us become better leaders, planners, and doers , and to get us to the next level. We also hired several coaches to help us stay on track, because we know we can wander around a bit if we’re not careful.
So what exactly are we doing? It’s really simple: We are preparing ourselves for what is next. Working towards the future with great intent. Getting as many ducks in a row as we possibly can, knowing that ducks don’t walk straight. Why? Because we’re going big! That’s right. We have decided to dream big and go after it, just like we talk about on Guys In Trucks. We now have a mission and a purpose that are clear – and they are big. They are much bigger than just the two of us, in fact. And they are powered 100% out of a desire to impact the world, not just grow our personal net worth.
Taylor Hill & Carter Harkins
A Big Purpose Requires A Strong Focus
In fact, the decision to pursue our stated purpose means that there will have to be more changes very soon. In order to better align and focus our ongoing projects and platforms with this purpose, we will be changing the name of our podcast to The Blue Collar Proud Show early in the first quarter of 2017. We are writing a book by the same name (just drop the word “show”), and who knows what other opportunities might emerge. If it helps us fulfill our purpose, then we are open and willing to consider it.
One Life
We’ve all got one life to lead, and we decided we want to live ours doing what we love: Serving others. We can’t think of a group of people that deserve that service any more than blue collar business owners. So, we are dreaming big and we want to do big things for this industry. We love you guys and believe it’s time to start a movement. We are Blue Collar Proud and hope you are too!
Happy New Year!
-Taylor & Carter
