This agency works across many industries with no particular legal specialization.
How we score →Vivial, now acquired by Thryv, Inc., was an online marketing platform that served over 25,000 small business clients. Now operating under the Thryv brand, it provides an end-to-end business software platform featuring online listings, reputation management, social media management, website building, CRM, marketing automation, and payment processing. Thryv serves multiple industries including legal and finance, helping businesses get found online and manage client relationships.
Vivial spent years as an independent online marketing platform serving more than 25,000 small business clients before its business was acquired by Thryv, Inc., the publisher behind The Real Yellow Pages. Former Vivial clients and reviewers now sit under the Thryv brand, which has broadened the offering from marketing services alone into a fuller small-business operations platform — listings, a website builder, CRM, marketing automation, and payment processing bundled together. Thryv markets industry-specific packages for Legal & Finance businesses alongside home services, healthcare, and other small-business categories.
With 104 reviews and a 4.3 average, Vivial’s feedback is more polarized than most agencies in this directory, and the split follows a clear pattern rather than random variance. On one side, dozens of reviewers describe genuinely positive, personal relationships with named account representatives — Melanie Norton, Nichole Barker, Julie Decuir, Samantha Boyd, and several others appear repeatedly, each credited with patient explanation of digital marketing concepts, proactive monthly check-ins, and real business results. One small business owner described growing from a one-person operation to hiring two to three additional employees over roughly two years working with the platform, directly crediting the assigned rep’s effort.
On the other side is a recurring and more serious complaint pattern centered on contracts and billing rather than service quality. Multiple reviewers describe multi-year agreements with automatic renewal clauses that weren’t clearly disclosed, leaving businesses locked into service they no longer wanted or needed — in one case, a company that had switched phone systems years earlier found itself still obligated under a directory contract signed in 2014. Another reviewer alleges $36,000 spent with no measurable return, explicitly criticizing the twelve-month contract structure as evidence the company wasn’t confident in its own results. A separate review makes a direct allegation of “fraudulent marketing tactics” and “dishonest billing.” Customer service during these disputes is described more than once as confrontational or unwilling to accommodate reasonable circumstances, though in at least two cases reviewers noted the issue was eventually resolved after escalating to a senior service director — suggesting the underlying leadership is capable of making things right, even if the front-line dispute process isn’t always smooth.
Taken together, this isn’t a case of inconsistent service quality so much as two largely separate experiences depending on what triggers the interaction: clients who stay engaged with their assigned rep and don’t need to exit or renegotiate a contract report strong satisfaction, while clients navigating cancellation, contract disputes, or underwhelming ROI report a noticeably rougher experience. That’s a meaningful distinction for due diligence — the contract terms matter here more than they typically would with a smaller, more flexible agency, and a prospective client should read the service agreement’s renewal and cancellation language carefully before signing rather than relying on the sales conversation alone.
Thryv (via the former Vivial platform) is a reasonable fit for a small law firm or accounting practice that wants a single, all-in-one platform bundling listings, website, CRM, marketing automation, and payment processing rather than juggling separate tools, and that’s comfortable with a longer-term contract commitment in exchange for that convenience. The strongest reviews suggest real value is available for clients who build a working relationship with their assigned account rep and stay engaged with the monthly review process.
It’s a weaker fit for a firm that wants short-term flexibility, month-to-month terms, or minimal contractual risk — the recurring complaints about auto-renewal and cancellation friction are specific and serious enough that any firm considering this platform should get the contract terms reviewed carefully, ideally by someone other than the sales rep presenting them, before signing.
Given how much of the negative feedback here traces back to contract structure rather than the quality of the marketing work itself, a firm should ask specific questions before signing: what the renewal notice period is and how far in advance a cancellation must be submitted, whether early-termination fees apply and how they’re calculated, and what recourse exists if the assigned account rep changes or leaves the company. It’s also worth asking how billing disputes are escalated internally, since the reviews suggest front-line customer service isn’t always equipped to resolve them, even though a senior director apparently can. None of this is disqualifying on its own — the volume of genuinely warm, specific praise for individual reps is real and shouldn’t be discounted — but a platform this large, now operating under the broader Thryv umbrella, is best evaluated with the same contractual scrutiny a firm would apply to any long-term vendor commitment, not just the enthusiasm of an initial sales call. Small law firms can compare more options in our ranking of the best marketing agencies for small law firms.
Vivial's reviews split clearly along one line: clients who worked with a specific named account rep (Melanie Norton, Nichole Barker, Julie Decuir, Samantha Boyd, and others appear repeatedly) describe patient, knowledgeable, hands-on support with real ranking and lead improvements over multi-year relationships. But a distinct and recurring complaint pattern involves contracts and money—automatic multi-year renewal clauses that trapped clients into unwanted terms, aggressive collection on early-cancellation fees, one claim of $36,000 spent with no return, and explicit allegations of fraudulent marketing tactics and dishonest billing. Customer service during disputes is described as confrontational or unhelpful more than once, though a couple of reviewers noted the issue was eventually resolved after escalating to a service director. The pattern suggests good day-to-day account service undermined by contract terms and dispute handling that have burned a meaningful minority of clients.
Want to waste $36K without making a dollar back? Call these folks. If they stood behind their results, or even could deliver any results, they wouldn’t need a 12-month contract. I would further add because I used these folks other similar companies won't stop calling. If I could put all these companies on an island and nuke that island until it glowed, I would.
I am not a fan of this business, working with them caused me and my client a constant headache as they constantly changed our contract and continuously underperformed. Their sales team promised very specific milestones and none were delivered and many loopholes in the contract to increase monthly price.
I own and operate a nuisance wildlife company, Remove & Repair Wildlife Services, based here in Columbus, Ohio. I started this journey on my own attempting to learn how to market, publish, and perfect my own business name/image/web design on my own. Shortly after failing miserably, and then being taken advantage of by other companies, I was skeptical at best to let another company control or handle my business media platforms. I was introduced to Melanie Norton with Vivial, by a very close friend, and WOW! Not only was I impressed by her knowledge, and abilities to identify what my business needed, but her commitment to me, my company, and the success of those was second to none. I have been with Vivial just over a year now, and am continually blown away by the effort and work that Melanie, Lauren and the Vivial team have put forth into ensuring that my hard work was noticed and the business I created is not only relevant, but thriving in all aspects. My phone rings non stop, my click through rate is above average, and I cannot keep up with the amount of leads Melanie, Vivial, and my account specialist Lauren Crutchfield have created for me. Every month we meet and go over ways to continue to expand my growing business. I started as a 1 man band at the beginning of 2020, and in the beginning of 2022 I am looking to hire an additional 2-3 employees. I can confidently say that Melanie, Lauren, and the Vivial team are a direct result of that. I am beyond grateful that this company exists, and that I was given an opportunity have them work with me. They have exceeded my expectations, and I have shared them with everyone I know who owns or operates a small business. 10 out of 10, professional, personable, and always willing to go the extra mile for me and my business. THANK YOU MELANIE, LAUREN, and VIVIAL!
These guys know the digital business. Great people to work with.
Vivial and every person I have worked with there, currently Samantha, has been very personable and professional. They are very knowledgeable about their product and do a great job working with you to find what you want to achieve with your business in the world of the internet! :)
Melanie, Holly, and Jordan have been great to work with! Melanie and Holly spent much time with us in learning about our business' background and marketing needs as a commercial/industrial general contractor. They followed up promptly and tailored their marketing plan to our requests. Jordan has been very responsive and creative in helping us resolve our web marketing and branding issues as account coordinator. I would highly recommend Vivial for all your web marketing needs - it has been a great partnership so far for all of us here at B.D. Morgan & Company General Contractors.
BJ Rushing was professional and very knowledgeable giving me advice on my digital needs for my business. Would highly recommended Vivial.
Great company to work with. Fantastic team that actually cares about your company and they are there to help you grow. One of the people who really stand out is Julie Decuir. She has been one of the people I have been dealing with from the very beginning and still stays in constant contact just to make sure we are still satisfied with the product and level of customer service we receive. Thank you Vivial of Dayton for all you do.
We had a REALLY bad experience with this company. They used fraudulent marketing tactics and were dishonest with their billing.
Working with Samantha Boyd has been great. She is very friendly, knowledgeable about their product, and extremely helpful, especially for those whose schedules are so unpredictable. A+
Updated : this issue has been satisfactory taken care of. Thank you to the head customer service executive who actually took the time to physically call and hear where we were coming from and explain their practices. Thank you for actually hearing us and taking care of your client rather than being steadfast in policies and past reasoning even when we could understand your side of business practices. Thank you being more concerned about us than your business policies. Thank you for seeing that our circumstances changed after we should have cancelled. We appreciate your personal integrity. Bob Kaiser’s Repair - Hilton NY We called to cancel our company account in January 2021 because we changed from our local phone company to a VoIP system with our current phone system company. We were also changing owners. They informed us we signed a contract in October 2014 that was automatic renewal and the new directory was coming out in March and we would have needed to cancel it back in November. The contract shows we could have gotten a copy or terms and conditions from their website but it was not stated on the contract that it was automatic renewal. . Now we are being told they sent a renewal letter in November of 2019 which unfortunately we do not have in our files and not even sure we got it . They were less than helpful and will not budge so we now have to pay for something we have no need for. Their customer service is horrible. We just want others to know so they are aware they will need to cancel at least 6 months before the next directory comes out or they will be stuck paying anyway. We have had no personal contact with anyone from their company since 2014 and who really would remember 7 years later if we even knew at the time. We feel as though we were taken advantage of in that they had their money every year with no effort and are unwilling to take care of their clients. Our original billing was directly on our phone bill for the longest time which made sense but it no longer had any value for us to continue with them. Hopefully this will prevent others from being in the same situation or to be aware of their tactics when they sign a contract with them.
From the moment I met Nichole Barker I knew I wanted to work with these guys. Since that time, Nichole, Vinny, and Abby have all been wonderful. It was a big move for us to change everything we have been doing for the past 8-10 years and these guys made it easy and seamless. Would highly recommend them to anyone.
II have been working with Nichole Barker at Vivial. She has been so insightful , Helpful And really great at marketing ! I would recommend her to my friends that has business .
Nicole and Jesscia are amazing. They are very attentive and knowledgeable. Excellent customer service! They will go the extra mile to strategies and answer any questions you have to build your business online.
I have ben working with Hannah Gross for several months now and she is great. She has helped my business move up in the Google rankings at a rapid rate. She is the ultimate professional, and she knows her stuff. WE are very satisfied.
I have been working with Vivial for revamping our website and digital display ads. Bryanna and Jonah go above and beyond to help customers and ensure we have the best results. I can already see results in more customers and sales! We are very happy with their services.
Samantha Boyd our rep. Continues to go above and beyond in her support for our business website. Easy to deal with and very knowledgeable. Thank you!!
It has given me great peace of mind knowing that Adam and his team are taking care of our Google presence! They are always available to help!
I have had a great experience with Vivial for 6 years. They are knowledgeable yet patient with those challenged by social media. I especially enjoyed my monthly chats with Naomi. She thoroughly explained what she was going to do, she recapped our conversation both verbally and written, and was a pleasure to work with. She was a class act!
Terrible customer service. Staff is unprofessional and confrontational. They offer no value for money spent. Small businesses beware and look elsewhere.
We are a small Industrial Electric company and although we had a great reputation by word of mouth we wanted to branch out more and really ramp up our online presence. Our Senior Account Representative Stephanie Brinkman is A MA Z IN G! She always handles any issue or answer questions immediately. We are very happy with our relationship with Vivial.
Started slowly with their services. Tracie was understanding about my hesitance . Currently using their choice plan. Account representative Mike B also helpful. THx to both.
For the last few years, Vivial has done an excellent job for our golf course, Virtues Golf Club. Our Google Web ranking has moved up, and Google Maps has become more functional for our customers. Nicole, our sales rep, always did a good job of informing us of the changes in trend and industry. Dave, our account coordinator, was super diligent on keeping us on track with their marketing strategy for us. Comparing Vivial with our dealings so-called internet or social media companies before, Vivial's pricing was fair, and their marketing methodology was effective. Vivial, keep up the excellent work!
Vivial has been a fantastic partner for our business and our business partners. Nichole is attentive, professional and collaborative. She takes a personal interest in our success and it shows in the way she addresses all aspects of our partnership. Its been a pleasure to work with Nichole and the Vivial team.
I have used many different advertising companies over the years. However, Vivial is hands down a great company with great products and great employees. I am a happy customer. Vivial is, in my opinion, transparent. I personally love receiving monthly calls/evaluations to help me see how my advertising budget is being spent and how the advertisements in general can be improved. Graphs and keywords are great tools used in their monthly calls/evaluations. Not only do I see the advertising results from the prospective calls and emails, I can see hard results (graphs and logs) provided by the advertising company. Their products work and they stand by them every month! Additionally, I do have to say, their staff and sales reps are easy to contact. It makes things a lot easier for me as a business owner to have easy access to my advertising company. I love working with Jane Crossman, my sales rep. I recommend this company for your advertising needs!
I've really enjoyed working with and getting to know Lori Pier. She is smart, creative, and great to work with!
Lori Pier with Vivial is the one of the most client centric and professional individuals I have met working in the digital solutions space. I recommend her highly as a resource for marketing your business or organization.
Very happy with the services of Vivial and Julie Decuir. Professional, timely, and fantastic customer care. Highly recommend for digital marketing needs. Thank you from all of us at Patton Insurance Group
Our company has worked with Vivial for several years. They provide excellent service. We work with Jessica specifically. She is amazing. Quick to respond to questions and very knowledgeable about Vivial's products and upcoming marketing recommendations.
Very nice people and great service! I would recommend them to anyone looking to grow their business. Ben has been very helpful and explains in detail everything we are doing.
It works if you work it! Vivial is a great team member to aid in developing and improving my online business presence! My team member is on the ball and gives me advice and things to do on my end to improve my results. They work hard developing content for my business and their catalog of media and writing team is top notch!
I want to take this time to give kudos to Kevin Diehl and Julie Decuir. I started working with them last year. Kevin has assisted me in branding and maintaining my website and omg it has life and looks amazing. Every month Kevin and I meet to go over my website that makes a huge difference in my business to look at ipdates and revisions to enhance my business.p Julie has a keen eye for the correct marketing strategies my business needs and brings her expertise into my marketing strategy. I am very happy to have them partner with me and help to grow my coaching business with confidence. I highly recommend this team of experts to grow your business
Vivial has been a great asset to my online presence. I would recommend them to everyone needing web based advertising. Ben Villanyi Is a great account manager always answers my questions.
Happy customer! When I didn’t know how to articulate the needs of my small business, Benjamin Szymanski of Vivial used his extensive digital product knowledge to set me up with exactly what I needed. I was provided excellent customer service and peace of mind. Thank you!
The Vivial SEM, SEO and SMM programs are wonderful and highly successful. The team we work with, including Abbey, Hailee, and Nichole, are very qualified, professional, are always available to answer our questions!
I’m sporting my new shirt from my awesome digital agency. I feel my company’s services are so well advertised because of our partnership with Vivial.
I cannot say enough wonderful things about Nichole Barker and her expertise in advertising. She has been so helpful, informative, and knowledgeable when it came to our advertising.
My sales rep- Benjamin Szymanski, was awesome, so informative and helpful.
Carla is amazing to work with!!! She's extremely knowledgeable and a great listener.
Absolutely unhelpful. 0 Results from 7 months & 800$ of online advertising only to be told I needed "ad words" and they needed more money. My fault I picked the wrong program they said would work. Scammers with fancy words and promises. Now forcing 5 months of their admittedly wrong program because I was recorded saying I wanted the advertising. 0 stars if possible.
1 star. I would advise any business owner who is not fully versed in web marketing and running digital ads to stay away from this company. They did nothing for our business except for cost us over $3000 and multiple phone calls which were all headaches. We received no leads and made no income from using this company. Paid for Facebook advertising and after receiving only a few months of it it had stopped. We stop paying because of not receiving service. They canceled our service after not receiving our payment which we purposely did because we did not receive what was promised. We now owe them an early cancellation fee of over $700 and still have not talk to anyone in customer service. They’ve handed this off to a lawyer who upon reading the fine print the contract said we got what we paid for even if it was not what was conveyed to us over the phone. One of the worst digital companies I have dealt with however in the beginning they sold a very tempting campaign. Stay as far away as you can ! edit: Per your reply since I can't reply to your response: Thats a lie, we haven't gotten any calls or emails. edit2: I made a complaint with the BBB and got a response and a phone number. I reached out to the woman and made a payment for only the amount owed. The account is now closed and i will change the review to a 3 star.
Right agreed with other reviewers, Stay away from this company! All they do is to charge you money and do nothing for your business! And when talking about cancellation, well, you just canceled their so called service but not your monthly fee! This company is a joke, will never use them!!
Update: I finally spoke to someone who listened and understood and resolved the matter. I recommend when communicating with sales and/or CS have written documentation not verbal. I have changed my rating from 1 star to 4 due to my last conversation I had with the Director of CS and his understanding and agreement to resolve the matter. BEWARE: I would not use this company, they talk a good game, over promise and under deliver. Then when you try to cancel they give you the run around and never take care of it, long hold times, disconnected calls and blatant disrespect only to keep billing for a product that wasn't used for 3 months. They are now trying to bully our company to pay for services that were cancelled.
Source: Google reviews, fetched July 2026.
Vivial's online marketing business was acquired by Thryv, Inc., publisher of The Real Yellow Pages. Former Vivial clients now have access to Thryv's full suite of business management and marketing tools.
Yes, Thryv offers industry-specific solutions for Legal & Finance businesses, including law firms and accounting practices, with tools tailored to their workflows.
Yes, Thryv offers a free 14-day trial with no commitment and no credit card required.