2021: A HawkSEM Year in Review

A look back at where the HawkSEM team has been, where we are, and where we’re headed.

Plenty has happened during 2021 here at HawkSEM. Though this year could accurately be classified as “chaotic” overall — thanks a lot, continuing pandemic! — our team stayed focused on goals, clients, and getting the job done.

From growing our team and expanding our client base to new initiatives and more, here’s a look back at all we achieved in 2021 — and a preview of what’s to come.

Seeing serious growth

Over the last 15 years of its existence, HawkSEM has gone through several phases of evolution. From 2020 to the end of 2021 alone, our team doubled in size, spanning nearly 30 different states across the U.S.

We added new employees, departments, and roles to our roster to help us better serve a wide range of clients while ensuring our team members have manageable workloads that allow for a healthy life-work balance.

Charting new territory

Speaking of departments, in 2021, the Hawk team added a new Client Success team. 

Already, we’ve seen this department do wonders to shrink our client churn, and we’re beyond excited for all the ways the CS team will continue fostering great relationships between our digital marketing pros and clients.

Making team member happiness a priority

We’ve mentioned before all of the ways that remote work can boost mental health. And while that’s true, it can be difficult to bond with your team members in the same way you would IRL when you’re scattered across various states and time zones.

In the spirit of prioritizing our team members’ happiness, we’ve found ways to keep each person at Hawk’s happiness top of mind.

Earlier this year, we were thrilled to expand our benefit offerings, and we’ve worked to make sure fun is part of day-to-day life, from swapping silly GIFs on Slack to planning virtual happy hours and even hosting an online gift exchange during the holidays.

Not only that, but we recently brought on our first People & Culture manager, who will help us continue to come up with even more creative ways to stay connected.

Our best attempt at a team photo from our all-team meeting in December 2021.

Revisiting our client personas

We regularly preach to our clients about making sure they’re targeting the right client base, and we like to take our own advice!

As part of our Year in Review all-hands meeting, we discussed our client personas, how they might have shifted from years past, and who we want to work with in the future.

More so than focusing on industry or size, we talked about the traits that often yield the most successful client relationship for us.

Namely, we’ve found that good communication, realistic expectations, and being synced on goals are all things that often bode well for us when it comes to new clients we’re partnering with. 

Launching an internal education program

All in all, the HawkSEM team has more than 300 years of combined marketing experience across nearly every digital marketing category. Yes, you read that right!

With that in mind, we wanted to come up with ways to put all this knowledge to good use — outside of getting great results for our clients, of course.

That’s why we created Hawk Academy, an internal education program that’ll allow our team members to continue expanding their skillset and learning from one another. We’re excited to launch this program in 2022.

The takeaway

It would be impossible not to be excited about the significant growth we’ve seen here at HawkSEM over the past few years. 

But, even as we continue to grow and evolve, we will keep our mission in mind all the while: to delight our clients, support our teammates, share innovative marketing ideas, and lead with optimism, all in the name of achieving greatness together.