May 31 2018

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TopSpot Team Member Spotlight: Alissa Rifai

At TopSpot, our commitment to our clients starts with our team. We always strive to hire extraordinary people who will bring the passion, confidence, eagerness to learn and a positive attitude that is necessary to set us apart from other companies. That being said, we are pretty fond of our team members and rely on their knowledge, growth & passion to help us be an extension of your company. We highlight different TopSpotters each month so you can see why we believe we have the best team out there.

May Team Member Spotlight: Alissa Rifai, Client Success Manager


How long have you been working at TopSpot, and what do you do here?

Alissa Rifai TopSpot Client Success ManagerI have been at TopSpot for over 5 years and have been lucky enough to work across many departments and in various roles. I started working at TopSpot as an SEO Specialist and about 7 months later, I moved into the Team Lead role of one of TopSpot’s Customer Relationship Teams where I remained for almost 2 years.

My next position was as TopSpot’s Client Onboarding Manager, where I was able to work directly with our paid search department to help support onboarding new clients. Going from working mainly with our Customer Relationship Teams (or CRTs for short) to the Paid Search Department allowed me to work closely with our PPC Account Managers and gain another area of expertise as well as bring my knowledge and experience from the CRT side!

At the beginning of 2018, I moved into a role that is not only new to me but also new to TopSpot! As our Client Success Manager, I am responsible for understanding every touchpoint our clients have with us, so I can identify areas of improvement and develop our processes so our clients can be as happy and successful as possible!

What is your favorite part of your new role?

Moving into my new role as Client Success Manager has totally shifted the dynamic of what my days look like. I have been able to step into working more intimately with our team members across all departments. It has been so cool to be able to bring my client facing experience together with each department and ultimately connect the lines and find areas where we all can be better.

“Knowing that I am responsible for ensuring our clients have the best experience possible with TopSpot; I love seeing that reflected in the growth of our clients as well as our team.”

What has been your proudest moment working at TopSpot?

I am happy to say that I have had many proud moments over the years, and now that I am in the role that I’m in, I honestly am proud of how much I have grown. TopSpot has proven to be one of the best teachers, both with the hands-on experience I have had, as well as the people I have been able to collaborate with & learn from. I sometimes surprise myself with how much I have learned and the difference in my confidence with speaking on what we do and how we do it! Having been here for 5 years, I have had the opportunity to help others grow in their roles and see TopSpot grow by leaps and bounds as well. Being a part of that history and what is yet to come is pretty cool.

What do you enjoy doing on your days off?

Traveling as much as I possibly can! I have been lucky enough to experience some truly amazing places and make an effort to go someplace new at least once a year with my partner in crime (and new hubby!), Stephen. Some recent destinations we have explored include Ireland, Sao Miguel in The Azores, Barcelona and Thailand. I was born and raised in the Detroit area of Michigan, so I also visit there as often as possible to see my family. I also love cooking. You can find me doing that almost every day of the week! I enjoy calligraphy, doing DIY projects around the house and going on adventures with our 2 pups (who are the greatest) Charly and Ellie!

Alissa and her husband, Stephen, on their recent travels along with their dogs Charly & Ellie.

What drew you to work at TopSpot originally and how has the company changed since?

My story about how I found TopSpot I think is a little different than most. Being brand new to Houston, and Texas for that matter, I knew I wanted to work in marketing, but I didn’t know anything about the area or what my options were. I came across the Houston Book of Lists one day, flipped to the internet marketing section and TopSpot was the first company I saw. After researching them a bit more I was drawn to the more industrial side of marketing, I hadn’t worked in that space before so I was intrigued. I wasn’t even sure if they had any available positions but I sent my resume anyway and well, here I am over 5 years later!

It is fun to think about TopSpot then and now. Not only have we grown to over 100 employees (when I started there were around 40), but we have also moved offices to allow for that growth. The people who were here when I started in 2013 have grown so much in their roles, and we’ve been able to celebrate some of life’s big moments together. TopSpot has always been made up of talented people but it’s impressive to see how we have evolved in our strategy and designs over the years. We’ve done some pretty awesome things!