Agency,Mai?

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Inventive.Media is an independent publishing consultant business. We work with a wide range of publishing clients in the UK, US and Europe. I’m the founder and the creative development director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Agency,Mai?

I hired them to build me a couple of websites. A couple of colleagues and I set up a content marketing agency tat the end of last year called JetMedia.London. I needed a web development agency who I trusted to implement the design that we had in mind and to build it quickly and effectively at a really good price with fast turn-around. This was something of a test case because I wanted to build a new site for my own business, which is Inventive.Media. I was so impressed with the service and the price that I trusted them to do my own site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I did the visual design and supplied Agency,Mai? with PDF visuals. They did all the coding work on WordPress. There was a certain amount of mockup work in terms of the size that I required and the dimensions of the images. They were very good at interpreting my PDF visuals and turning them into code. I wanted very high attention to detail, and I got a high-quality relationship. With web design, you’re really buying into a relationship because there will be updates that need to be made as time goes on. I worked specifically with Kevin and with Jelena [Project Manager, Agency,Mai?].

How did you come to work with Agency,Mai?

I was introduced to Kevin Hassall [Founder, Agency,Mai?] several years ago by a mutual friend and colleague who has a content marketing agency called Furthr. I was collaborating with Kevin on the design of the Furthr site when Agency, Mai? was just first launched. Kevin has a lot more resources and Agency,Mai? is a much bigger business than it was back then. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in September 2016 and my most recent project with them was launched in April 2017. I will continue working with them. I have an e-commerce site that I want to build with Shopify and I feel confident that Agency,Mai? can help me with that.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

These are marketing sites that are primarily used as points of reference, so I don’t have any numbers yet. However, we have a demanding, very visually literate client base for both sites, so their feedback is valuable to us. Right now they think they look great and work well.

How did Agency,Mai perform from a project management standpoint?

Jelena was my primary source of contact; as the project manager she is outstanding. She manages the project using Basecamp. They give frequent updates, frequent communication, and deliver in a timely manner. Their attention to detail is great.

What did you find most impressive about Agency,Mai?

The most impressive thing is what they build for the price. They’re really professional and they provide very good value.

Are there any areas Agency,Mai could improve?

One of the reasons why the price is so good is that they build what you design. They do have very powerful full-on web design expertise, but it’s not so obvious how they package and sell that as a really effective service. I think that they have more power than they know. I’m a creative, editorial, and development director. I know how my website needs to be. But for other clients who don’t, I think they could offer a really valuable service there. They just need to work out how to make it easier for clients to buy into that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

River + Wolf is a naming agency that also does brand writing. I’m the chief creative and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Agency,Mai??

Our work began when our website was first launched. We had worked with another developer and there were many issues as the design proved completely non-responsive. When Agency,Mai? inherited this massive problem, they redesigned a good portion of the site to ensure it read well across all viewpoints. Over the years, they've been in charge of maintaining the website and doing design updates.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website was originally built on Perch, but that made updating cumbersome, so they switched us to WordPress. Agency,Mai? did this quickly. Over the years, they have continued working on both the design and backend of the website.

How did you come to work with Agency Mai?

Agency,Mai? was recommended to me by a web designer who had happily worked with them on several projects.

How much have you invested with Agency,Mai??

We have spent more than $25,000 over the course of our relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Agency,Mai? about three years ago. Since then, we’ve consistently worked with them on our website. They do everything with incredible speed and efficiency.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Ever since Agency,Mai? did our web redesign and improved its functionality, we've had great responses. Our client base has been steadily increasing since we first launched.

How did Agency Mai perform from a project management standpoint?

Agency,Mai? has been excellent. They deliver on everything and don't stop working until we are fully satisfied. And when the need for a fast turnaround arises, they are very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about Agency Mai?

There’s a human quality to Agency,Mai?. They have a deep-seated desire to get things done and done right. They don’t stop until the problem has been totally solved, and the client is happy. They take their work very seriously and their ability and talent in both development and design is extremely helpful.

Are there any areas Agency Mai could improve?

I’ve been extremely happy with everything Agency,Mai? has done. Every engagement has proceeded smoothly and the results have been top notch.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We pursue a variety of verticals, including the production of thermoelectric devices and refrigeration systems. I am a product manager working for our medical refrigeration department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Agency,Mai??

We needed someone who could help us build our website and make it more customer-friendly, in order to become a lead-generator for the company.

Another key challenge in our industry is that we have to be discoverable, and people need to understand our content and how our value proposition differs from conventional refrigeration. We do not have the luxury of waiting; Agency,Mai? has been fast and flexible in helping us overcome challenges as they pop up.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Agency,Mai? has built our backend, allowing us to retrieve analytics data through it. The first goal was to simply get a website up, after which we started optimizing it. After they developed our website, they’ve also expanded into doing video work as well as graphic design pieces. They’ve handled all the backend and frontend elements. We simply have calls with Agency,Mai?’s team and tell them what we’re thinking about. They will then tweak those specs, making them better in many cases. In terms of team composition, I get in touch with our contact, pitch the idea, get a high-level overview, and have Agency,Mai? implement it.

How did you come to work with Agency,Mai??

The previous person in our marketing department found Agency,Mai?. I started working with them when we needed web edits, and Agency,Mai? was the company that worked on our stuff previously. I found out quickly that they were very good and helpful, so we expanded their role. It was easy for me to have a comparison because my previous employer had just done a redesign, and I had been in charge of it. That effort was difficult and time-consuming, and it didn’t get us what we wanted. Compared to that company, Agency,Mai?’s team are all-stars.

How much have you invested with Agency,Mai??

The cost of Agency,Mai?’s work has been between $120,000 and $150,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Agency,Mai? in 2014 and keep an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

In 2016, compared to 2015, our sessions and page views have been up by over 200%. This is good, but, what really matters to us are actual goal conversions. Everything on the site is now aimed at making people contact us and request a quote, which is the natural progression for this type of product. If someone is going to invest in a medical grade refrigerator, they will want to have more details from our salespeople. The website needs to generate warm leads so that our people can call prospects who are already interested in the product and answer their questions.

In the past year, we've raised our leads percentage by 800%. We’re currently working on how we can convert better by having call-to-action buttons on every page and those kinds of things. Agency,Mai? has been helpful in optimizing these on the backend. They delivered different milestones throughout and have worked quickly. They can turn around a new page or design in less than one week.

How did Agency,Mai? perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always consistent in their delivery. Agency,Mai? uses Basecamp, on which we enter all our projects, including deliverables, drafts, comments, and deadlines for each one. This is helpful since it allows me to easily go back and find past work without having to go through Agency,Mai? every time.

What did you find most impressive about Agency,Mai??

Agency,Mai? has done a good job of hearing what we wanted. Many web designers have problems with actually building what the customer is requesting. Agency,Mai? can take a look at our requests, propose better alternatives, and lead us to a result which is better than what we originally requested. I need the creative people to be creative instead of doing exactly what we’re asking for. Nine out of ten times, Agency,Mai? is saving me time and effort. Since the website is a big task, the more I can avoid being involved in it, the better. They also keep us in line with the site’s consistency. We use different vendors for different things, so it’s important to have Agency,Mai?’s input on what elements can work well together. They can use their creative minds to see things which I would miss.

Agency,Mai? can also look at things from a business instead of an art point-of-view, which is very valuable for us. A site can have great textures and be artistically significant, but if it doesn’t move refrigerators, it doesn’t help me. I would rather have a lesser artistic statement that is more appealing to customers and drives leads.

They’re a great agency to work with, and there’s no job that is too big or too small. Agency,Mai? responds quickly on Skype, and the general level of service is great. I’ve recommended them to my previous employer. If I ever work for another company, I’d bring Agency,Mai? with me and not use anyone else. They’re just that good.

Are there any areas Agency,Mai? could improve?

It’s hard for me to think of a situation when Agency,Mai? let us down or didn’t do the job. They’ve constantly exceeded our expectations.