2 Visions

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Creative Director of Underbunks

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Supersized storybook art for kids.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 2 Visions to accomplish?

• Design and build a DTC brand from the ground up.

SOLUTION

How did you find 2 Visions?

Online Search

Why did you select 2 Visions over others?

Principal's expertise and temperament

How many teammates from 2 Visions were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Our situation was somewhat unusual. We are a startup with a great new product idea, but no prior DTC expererience. We hired Yates to  make sure our ignorance didn't drive us into bankruptcy. As our engineers worked out the final design and manufacturability issues, we went to school with Yates, learning what a viable business would look like and how to build it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

As mentioned, our case is unusual. We have been working with Yates in the prelaunch phase and won't have sales metrics until the fall. But his input has been a vital part of the website design, the photo and video shoots, the marketing plan and the very DNA of the brand. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We meet weekly on zoom. Content in these meetings has been driven by a combination of:

• whatever fire was burning hottest at the time
• a more systematic, holistic approach to learning the business and what to look out for.

We found this approach to very responsive and extremely useful for where we were at. The most useful thing was being able to test our assumptions quickly against Yates' experience, rather than through our own extended period of trial and error. 

What was your primary form of communication with 2 Visions?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Yates is extremely easy to work with, smart and very experienced in the ways of DTC. We had two extended meetings with him before hiring him and were convinced he had what we needed to help us get our product launched. Hiring 2 Visions was the best decision we made, and we have never regretted it.

Are there any areas for improvement or something 2 Visions could have done differently?

n/a

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former CMO of a nursery products manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 2 Visions?

We needed help streamlining our digital marketing efforts, including SEO and paid search campaigns. 2 Visions also helped with strategic visioning for our product mix and structuring our internal operations. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with 2 Visions for 2–3 years as a strategic counsel for our marketing strategy. We worked on several initiatives, and 2 Visions supported our marketing efforts in the e-commerce space. 2 Visions supported us in improving our website’s UX and performance to increase sales and conversion rates. The team also performed SEO consulting and market research and analyzed our product mix.

What is the team composition?

We worked with the Yates (Founder & Principal).

How did you come to work with 2 Visions?

I’d known 2 Visions before, and when I realized I needed outside help, I reached out to them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with 2 Visions from 2018–2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We measured success through their strategies’ performance. We knew we were on the right track when we implemented a strategy that worked out.

How did 2 Visions perform from a project management standpoint?

2 Visions delivered work on time and was responsive to our questions. We communicated via Google Meet and phone calls, and I occasionally traveled to their location to have in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve found that other service providers provide niche services, and as a small business, we couldn’t afford to go to different agencies for different areas. 2 Visions provided the necessary approach for our business without limiting to one aspect of our digital marketing, and this was really helpful because we didn’t need to educate a new vendor about our company. 2 Visions was a one-stop shop and helped us to streamline our marketing efforts. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

2 Visions’ prices were reasonable, although, as a small business owner, I think they could’ve been more affordable.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

2 Visions is a very analytical team, and they can condense a lot of information and synthesize it into what the client needs to know. I recommend potential customers have a clear idea about what they want and leave the rest to 2 Visions because they have the ability to reach their client’s goals and do what needs to be done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CTO of JEDCo Brands, Inc. Our company specializes in apparel and offers multiple brands and licenses. I've been with the company for 22 years. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 2 Visions?

When we initially brought Yates (Founder & Principal) in, we were looking for strategic objectives for what we could do with the business. At that time, our business was known as Buck Wear and the licenses we had obtained were not cohesive with what our brand Buck Wear represented. We knew there was a disconnect with our branding and message, so we brought in 2 Visions to assist with e-commerce marketing, strategy and provide business consulting.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

2 Visions and Yates provided valuable recommendations on utilizing our expertise in creating art for various licenses and establishing a brand by catering to other people's interests. This helped us shift our business strategy from struggling to figure out what to do with the licenses, to creating art for other people's passions.

We had a long-term engagement with Yates. He visited our site occasionally and conducted in-depth analyses with stakeholders and key positions in the company to understand our operations and how they integrated with each other. 

Yates had several one-on-one sessions with the owner where they delved deeply into our strengths and weaknesses and planned out our future direction. After gathering all the information, he returned with a comprehensive plan. He presented us with a detailed document outlining the various actions we could take. 

At the time, we did not proceed with the plan as originally intended. However, we later implemented a similar yet distinct vision.

Our company acquired a license with a well-known car company that greatly enhanced our business. We changed our name from Buck Wear Inc. to JEDCo Brands, Inc. to better reflect our collaboration with various creative licenses under one umbrella. This move allowed us to create a more cohesive brand identity instead of having the car company license under a hunting and fishing brand like Buck Wear.

We talked about expanding the web platform beyond e-commerce. We wanted a site dedicated to building that passion and being authentic with the collective group going there. 

We expanded the range of licenses in our group, showcasing the overall culture of the car company. This involved apparel and included blogs and brand ambassadors who attended events and photoshoots to boost engagement on the site and demonstrate our passion for the brand. Yates supported us in this effort, and the 2 Visions team assisted in developing the JEDCo Brands website. 

Yates was also working with the owner of the company and our executive team to help build out a strategy. While we had some visions of where we wanted our business to go, we needed strong metrics. 

As a team, we didn't have a strategic initiative per department, so we worked together to define our objectives for 2023. We identified ownership for each aspect of the plan and delegated responsibilities for managing it, reporting on progress, and determining critical priorities for the company.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with Yates.

How did you come to work with 2 Visions?

The owner received a referral from a friend who specialized in website development, but not specifically in e-commerce. He recommended Yates and gave us his information. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with 2 Visions from March 2018–January 2023. 

Due to layoffs at the start of the year, we had to reassess our financial situation. Therefore, we've decided to temporarily halt the project until we can gather and analyze the necessary feedback.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

In the past, we've had several e-commerce sites, but this particular one has exceeded our expectations.

Yates was involved from day one. He was active in actually helping us come up with the name that we chose. We took a site with no brand identity, and by the end of 2022, we were shy of $2 million in sales via the website alone. 2 Visions contributed largely to the success and strategy of making JEDCo into something more than just another e-commerce site that happens to sell the car company's licensed apparel.

How did 2 Visions perform from a project management standpoint?

There were no problems with performance. The 2 Visions team had weekly meetings with the marketing director of the website. Yates was in town occasionally, every other month, and visited to talk about the business strategy overall and the e-commerce. He divided the work, and if they weren't experts in it, they would help us outsource to other teams. He often also helped manage those teams, such as our Google AdWords campaigns and managed the third parties and subcontractors that were doing work for us.

The team utilized Slack and occasionally had Zoom calls when necessary. Additionally, we had the option of phone calls and emails depending on the specific situation. We used either Trello or Jira, depending on the situation. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed by how quickly the team was able to visit us and understand our industry. I don't believe Yates had prior experience working with an apparel company like ours. However, in just a week or two, he was able to discuss our strategies and the challenges we faced with precision. 

I was impressed by his ability to comprehend the obstacles that are hard to explain to those outside the industry. It felt like he'd been working alongside me for 20 years. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I'm not aware of any improvements. 2 Visions knocked it out of the park for the most part. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I suggest investing more effort in having the 2 Visions team physically present and engage in face-to-face discussions. That was a huge help. 

In the past, we've worked with outside consultants. However, having 2 Visions visit us in person and take the time to understand our business while meeting with various departments was crucial. Their ability to recognize and consider factors that weren't initially brought up but still affect the discussion was extremely valuable.

The engagement could've been conducted remotely, but it was beneficial to have them physically visit us and witness our circumstances firsthand. It certainly sped up the process and wouldn't have been as effective without the onsite engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing, e-commerce, and branding. We are a startup apparel company that specializes in comfortable clothing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 2 Visions?

We were looking for ways to learn and optimize and strengthen our position in the marketplace.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired 2 Visions to help us build our team in tangible ways that increased our confidence, performance, and business results. They’re tasked with helping us increase our conversion rate, strengthen our SEO, and help us understand how we can attract more customers, grow our existing customer database, and drive lifetime value with our existing customers.

We started the engagement by conducting a series of meetings. 2 Visions flew to our headquarters and hosted a day-long workshop, where they got to the very center of our issues and took the time to understand our goals and develop a road map so we could achieve those goals. We have really large financial and growth goals, and we are in an incredibly crowded market, so we’re trying hard to create a unique product. 2 Visions has helped us sharpen the pencil and figure out ways to stand out in a crowded market.

2 Visions provides ongoing training to our team, which includes everything from placing Google Ads all the way to developing our website strategy. Our main platform is Shopify Plus, but they also help us with our customer outreach efforts on Facebook, Instagram, and Google.

What is the team composition?

We primarily interface with one senior leader from 2 Visions.

How did you come to work with 2 Visions?

We found 2 Visions through a series of articles that they published on their website, which showed us that they were a thought leader in the e-commerce marketing space. As we got to know their key leadership members, we started to see a lot of good chemistry and similar experiences in terms of what we were looking for. They understood what we needed and proved their capabilities very early on.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We've grown about 40% in sales since we implemented the strategies that 2 Visions has helped us with. We're pleased with the results so far.

How did 2 Visions perform from a project management standpoint?

2 Visions has performed well in terms of project management. They’re very responsive, timely, and thorough with their work. They do a great job of setting and managing expectations and following through.

We primarily communicate through email and weekly Zoom calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

2 Visions brings a holistic, comprehensive approach that is more business strategy-centric that allows us to make holistic, broad brushstroke changes that will affect not just one part but every part of our marketing mix.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re completely satisfied with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to keep an open mind and a willingness to undo some preconceived notions you might have and to take some calculated risks.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was hired by a wholesale apparel business to develop and grow their DTC business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 2 Visions, and what were your goals?

Our company hired 2 Visions to help build and grow the DTC e-commerce business. 2 Visions also worked closely with specific team members on goal setting, growth, and management.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

The owner of the company had selected 2 Visions prior to me joining the team.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

2 Visions created a comprehensive plan to build and grow the JEDCo DTC e-commerce business. This included website development and optimization, Shopify and MarTech guidance, merchandising, paid advertising (social and SEM), content development, and SEO.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked directly with Yates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Under the guidance and support of 2 Visions, we built a strong in-house DTC capability that developed a multi-million dollar business in 2 years.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Yates is extremely focused and is able to adapt his teaching style to the individual. They were always prepared and able to pivot quickly no matter what came up. His solutions and recommendations are always strategic, and his ability to build concise plans and projections provides a clear path forward. Our weekly, hour-long zoom meetings were always productive and fun. They were always the highlight of my week.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

2 Visions is different from any other consultancy I've worked with. They care on a deep and personal level. It's not a one-size-fits-all program. They take the time to understand the business and its people and develop clear, attainable, and realistic plans.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Working alongside 2 Visions and Yates has been a highlight of my career to date. If anything, they go too far above and beyond, which may ultimately be unsustainable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former COO at Buck Wear.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 2 Visions?

We needed help with consulting services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

2 Visions provided consulting services for many parts of our business, including strategic planning, executive coaching, operational consulting, and business startup consulting. We initially had several conversations to provide background for our company and the challenges and opportunities we faced. We also provided all the documentation they requested.

They focused on strategic planning and executive coaching. 2 Visions helped us with our strategic planning process. They also evaluated and recommended some e-commerce strategies to take advantage of opportunities.

What is the team composition?

We only worked with Yates (Founder & Principal Consultant).

How did you come to work with 2 Visions?

The owner of the company found them; it was probably a referral.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $500,000–$600,000 over time.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2018. I’m no longer with Buck Wear, but they were still working with 2 Visions when I left in May 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We got a lot of positive results from their executive coaching. The e-commerce site took off and generated huge gains every year since its launch in 2019.

How did 2 Visions perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was terrific. We used Asana and Trello, depending on the people involved at that point in the process. We communicated through phone, video calls, and visits to our facility. They set up a meeting scheduled that was well-planned out.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had an incredible ability to relate to people. Due to that ability, they worked well with individuals and groups. Moreover, 2 Visions’ team was extraordinarily smart and insightful. They listened well, and their recommendations were well-thought-out and well-reasoned.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were the best.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anybody who engages with 2 Visions needs to listen to them; they offer excellent information.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CMO of Sam Ash Music

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Sell Musical Instruments

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 2 Visions to accomplish?

• Grow E-Commerce Revenue

SOLUTION

How did you find 2 Visions?

Online Search

Why did you select 2 Visions over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from 2 Visions were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Legacy Family Owned Business looking to improve our D2C e-commerce business. Spent years working on our digital expierence. Wanted to grow revenue by 15% annually, lower development costs, and accelerate customizations. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• 47% YOY Revenue lift
• 50.5% increase in CVR
• 72% YOY lift in average purchase per user
• 24% increase in engaged sessions

We also realized increasing ROAS and decreasing CAC significantly.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

• Excellent structured project management. 
• Sessions were informative and clear agendas were supplied for all meetings. 
• Very flexible workflow that adapted as ressources changed. 

What was your primary form of communication with 2 Visions?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

2 Visions has great knowledge of our business structure and how that could be leveraged into success. Very skilled in areas usually reserved for specialists. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something 2 Visions could have done differently?

NA

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of Eventide Pennant Co. We specialize in custom pennants for decor for help customers celebrate kids and family milestones.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 2 Visions, and what were your goals?

We hired 2 Visions to help create a broad vision for our company and to get a better idea of how to streamline our e-commerce sales.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

2 Visions was recommended to us, mainly because of Yates’s character, reputation, and his world view.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had multiple in depth conversations where I was explained

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

1, Yates

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Not measurable.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Always very timely to set up and attend video meetings

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The company’s mindset is most impressive. Yates is always concerned with my well being and the well being of my company. He has my best interest in mind always!

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None