In 2001, Jeff Schroeffel founded Pittsburgh Internet Consulting with a conviction most agencies still get wrong: client relationships should outlast any single campaign, platform, or algorithm update. Twenty-five years later, PIC is a full-service digital marketing agency and HubSpot Platinum Partner. That conviction still drives every engagement we take on.
This anniversary gives us a reason to look back at where we started, how the industry shifted underneath us, and why Walk With You Marketing® became the framework that defines our work. If you've been weighing what separates a lasting agency partnership from a revolving door of vendors, this post lays out what we've learned over a quarter century of doing the work.
Key Takeaways: PIC's 25th Anniversary and Long-Term Client Partnerships
- PIC has operated continuously since 2001, evolving from an SEO provider into a full-service marketing agency.
- Walk With You Marketing® is a registered framework built on embedded collaboration, not campaign handoffs.
- A 94% client-retention rate over 2022 to 2024 reflects the partnership approach in measurable terms.
- Each service milestone maps directly to client needs, from website development in 2010 to HubSpot integration in 2015.
- The next chapter focuses on AI readiness, marketing automation, and continued strategic evolution alongside clients.
How Pittsburgh Internet Consulting Became PIC
Jeff Schroeffel started the company in Pittsburgh as a two-person SEO and paid search operation. Back then, meta tags were hand-coded, Altavista was a legitimate search engine, and most businesses treated their website as an online placeholder they updated once a year.
The name changed in 2023 when Pittsburgh Internet Consulting officially rebranded as PIC. The scope of services had expanded far beyond the original offering, and the identity needed to match. What didn't change was the operating principle. As Jeff Schroeffel, President and Founder, puts it:
"We have a 25-year track record of helping our clients grow by doing what our name promises: walking with them every step of the way. Marketing has changed dramatically since 2001, but the most important part of our work has not. We work alongside our clients, evolve with their needs, and take ownership of the results."
What Walk With You Marketing Means in Practice
Walk With You Marketing is not a tagline. It is a registered framework that structures how PIC embeds within your team, matches your pace, and aligns execution to your business objectives. The approach follows a cycle: listen and learn, answer and teach, engage and discuss, execute and evaluate.
In practical terms, that means your PIC team operates as an extension of your marketing department. Strategy sessions are collaborative. Reporting is transparent. Accountability flows both ways, because partnership only works when both sides own the outcomes.
The framework reflects one of PIC's core values: We Succeed When Our Clients Thrive. That principle is also why PIC earns trust on a month-to-month basis, with no long-term contracts locking you in.
Found. Chosen. Trusted.
These three words distill the client relationship arc that Walk With You Marketing supports. Prospects find PIC through organic search, referrals, or industry reputation. They choose PIC based on strategic fit, demonstrated expertise, and honest communication. Trust is what keeps the relationship going year after year.
For PIC, trust is earned through open communication, accountable work, and continuous improvement. It doesn't live on a capabilities deck. A 94% client-retention rate across 2022 to 2024, with an average relationship length exceeding five years, shows what that trust looks like in practice.
How PIC Evolved Alongside Clients and the Marketing Industry
PIC's growth milestones aren't random expansions. Each one was a direct response to a real client need. When clients needed more than search rankings, PIC added website design and development in 2010. When inbound methodology matured, PIC became a HubSpot partner in 2015.
Here is the timeline:
- 2001: Founded in Pittsburgh as Pittsburgh Internet Consulting, offering SEO and paid search.
- 2010: Expanded into website design and development.
- 2015: Became a HubSpot partner and inbound marketing agency.
- 2020: Introduced Walk With You Marketing and the proprietary Hero Mission Strategy® frameworks.
- 2023: Rebranded from Pittsburgh Internet Consulting to PIC.
- 2024: Trademarked Walk With You Marketing and Hero Mission Strategy.
- 2025: Earned HubSpot's Custom Integration accreditation.
Today, PIC's capabilities span data-driven marketing strategy, SEO, paid media, email, content, website development, growth-driven design, and HubSpot consulting. Each of those services exists because a client needed it and trusted PIC to deliver.
Why Long-Term Agency Partnerships Produce Better Results
Industry data backs up what PIC has practiced for 25 years. According to a 2026 analysis published by Sortlist, 81% of agency leaders identify strong client relationships as the single largest factor in account retention, ranking above campaign performance and communication quality combined.
The reason is straightforward. An agency that understands your business deeply produces better strategy than one that only knows your brief. Institutional knowledge compounds over time. Your messaging improves because the team already knows what resonated last quarter and what fell flat.
PIC's own results reflect this pattern. Long-standing clients stay because accumulated context makes strategy sharper, execution faster, and collaboration more productive over time. That kind of continuity is hard to replicate in a short-term engagement.
Still Walking With Clients Into What Comes Next
PIC is led today by partners Jeff Schroeffel, Robb Luther, Brad Gerlach, and Blaine Clapper. They're supported by more than 20 strategists, account managers, designers, developers, and marketing specialists serving clients across the U.S.
Robb Luther, Vice President of Business Development, frames the continuity this way: "We've had clients since people were searching on Altavista. The tools may change, but the job doesn't. Figure out what the client is trying to win and help them win it. It's worked for the last 25 years. It'll work for the next 25."
As artificial intelligence, automation, and changing buyer behavior reshape marketing, PIC will keep evolving alongside clients. That means investing in people, technology, and strategic capabilities that drive sustainable growth. It also means preserving the collaborative partnerships at the heart of the Walk With You approach.
In Conclusion: What 25 Years of Partnership-First Marketing Teaches
A quarter century is a long time in any industry. In digital marketing, where platforms rise and fall in half a decade, it's a rare milestone. PIC has reached it not by chasing trends, but by staying close to the clients who depend on the work.
If you're evaluating agencies and wondering what separates a partner from a vendor, look at the track record. Look at retention. Ask whether the team across the table will still be there when the algorithm changes, the market shifts, or the strategy needs to pivot. That's the standard PIC has held for 25 years, and it's the standard we'll hold for the next 25.
FAQs About PIC's 25th Anniversary and Long-Term Marketing Partnerships
What is Walk With You Marketing?
Walk With You Marketing® is PIC's registered partnership framework. It structures collaboration through a repeating cycle of listening, teaching, discussing, and evaluating, so your agency team operates as a true extension of your marketing department.
How long has PIC been in business?
PIC was founded in 2001 as Pittsburgh Internet Consulting. The company has operated continuously for 25 years, evolving from an SEO and paid search provider into a full-service digital marketing agency and HubSpot Platinum Partner.
What does PIC's client retention rate look like?
PIC maintained a 94% client-retention rate from 2022 to 2024, with an average client relationship length exceeding five years. That retention reflects the partnership-first approach embedded in every engagement.
What is the Hero Mission Strategy®?
Hero Mission Strategy® is PIC's proprietary content framework. It positions your customer as the hero and maps their goals, motivations, and challenges so your marketing speaks directly to what they need to accomplish.
Why do long-term agency partnerships produce better outcomes?
Long-term partnerships build institutional knowledge that short projects cannot replicate. Your agency team already understands your audience, messaging history, and strategic priorities, which means every campaign starts from a stronger foundation.
