Armix Group

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a dental company. When we worked with Armix, we sold dental insurance and dental plans.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Armix Group?

We needed a web development and SEO services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Armix Group redesigned both the front- and backend of our website. They handled the project from beginning to end. What’s more, they organized offshore developers for us. Their team also optimized the web pages for SEO.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Vladimir (Technical Director and Senior Project Manager). There was another person as well as 3–5 offshore developers.

How did you come to work with Armix Group?

I knew Vladimir before the engagement and wanted to work with him on this project. He had done good work in the past.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from March–July 2017. Vladimir provides occasional maintenance for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website’s design is good and the user base has increased a lot in response to the new content. Regarding SEO, our traffic has increased by 200% and there’s been an increase in leads. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what produced the results because it isn’t PPC.

How did Armix Group perform from a project management standpoint?

When I express my ideas and desires, Vladimir is always quick to understand them. Often times, he comes up with his own ideas and plans to carry it out; I like that. We mostly communicated via phone as well as occasionally through emails and meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Armix Group is very convenient to work with and up-to-date in their industry. Vladimir presented platform options and helped me choose the right one that fit my need. It was helpful that he speaks both English and Russian. They care about the project and take pride in presenting their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any areas for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to explain what you want in detail. Vladimir is smart, very knowledgeable, and quick to grasp concepts. He will deliver.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company is called Special Airplane Tours, and I’m the founder and CEO. We are travel coordinators, and we do sightseeing flights in New York City.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Armix Group?

When we opened in 2015, we needed a website built, and we wanted to optimize it to show up on SERPs in New York City and New Jersey.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started by building a website on WordPress from scratch. We had a lot of meetings before the site went live, in which I showed them my ideas, they showed me what they had come up with, and then we went back and forth until it was ready to launch.

Some of the features they built included a booking system that integrates with third-party card processing, as well as PayPal and bank accounts. I also wanted there to be a map of the flights and descriptions of the flight, so they created content for the site and then optimized it and ran Google Ads, email marketing, and other efforts to help us increase our search rank.

What is the team composition?

There were several members of their team working with us, including a designer, a head of strategy, and then two people writing blogs and other content.

How did you come to work with Armix Group?

I knew some other business owners who had worked with them before and strongly recommended their services, so it was an easy decision for me.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, the project cost around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first started in December 2015 and continued optimizing and maintaining the site until January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results have been great. We get a lot more traffic and are ranking on the first page of Google for our targeted keywords. Because of that, we got significantly more bookings and have been able to continue to grow, which translated to all of our paychecks. We were satisfied with the work that they completed for us.

How did Armix Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very professional throughout the process, so they documented everything from our meetings and delegated the work among their team very effectively. We communicated through email and phone calls, and thanks to them, the project was very easy for us to manage from our end. They really know what they’re doing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Communication is really important, and they get a perfect grade in that regard. They always respond quickly, are very straightforward, and most importantly, they listen. That’s not always a given with companies that you work with, so we really appreciated it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have no complaints at all.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to explain what you need as clearly as you possibly can. As long as they understand your requirements, they will apply their expertise and be able to provide whatever you need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and director of The Art Story Foundation. We’re a nonprofit that teaches art history to an online audience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Armix Group?

We needed to bring new users to the site. The platform is essentially an encyclopedia, so we wanted to bring in interested consumers to read the contents and contribute links. It was our goal to make it as easy as possible to find us, use us, and share us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were the main SEO and UI managers throughout this ten-year process, strategically working on technical SEO and design. Before bringing them on, we had a general SEO approach that their team agreed with and followed. We wanted to keep things as clean as possible to build a sustainable SEO practice for the long-term. That idea has always been with us, but the hard part was implementing the work with a reliable technology company.

What is the team composition?

There are usually about four people on the project, one of which is a project manager. The headcount fluctuates depending on our needs. 

How did you come to work with Armix Group?

I know Vladimir (Technical Director, Armix Group) personally, so I’m familiar with some of his earlier projects with Armix Group. When looking for a partner, I recalled his diligence and ability to build communities online in the earlier years of SEO.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we spent about $150,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in the spring of 2009 and are still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we’ve seen strong trends over the years. We’ve gone from having just a few users to growing into a comfortable position as an established company. Our three-year growth rates are very high in terms of visitor sessions and returning visitors. 

How did Armix Group perform from a project management standpoint?

In general, everything ran smoothly. Typically, we determine our overall needs and attack the problem holistically. It’s a fairly easy process with them. Everything from discussing what needs to be on our a page to overviewing a final design has been smooth. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with many SEO specialists and web developers. Armix Group looks at the right metrics and handles itself with professionalism. They combine the functions of an SEO shop and a digital marketing agency. That’s pretty rare in the marketplace.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While I sometimes wish their work was done faster, this stuff takes time. Especially as we expand our content to thousands of active pages, they’re excellent with timing given the complexity of the project.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Consider many agencies, but you have to appreciate the quality, unique offerings of Armix Group. Find the right partner that works for you. This group has the ability to appeal to many different types of businesses.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CTO of a baby wearables IoT company. Our wearable baby monitor alerts parents of any interruptions in breathing as well as important stats about the baby, rollover alerts, temperature, etc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Armix Group?

We needed help with mobile app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with mobile app development, a hybrid MVP and native using Objective C and Java. Our device sends alerts and stats that need to be displayed on an iOS and Android app. Alongside me, they were closely involved in the design and operations work. There was a very active back and forth of suggestions in terms of both the design and architecture.

What is the team composition?

I mostly interacted with Vladimir (Technical Director/Sr Program Manager, Armix Group). He organized everyone on his side.

How did you come to work with Armix Group?

I was looking for someone who I actually knew personally. It was based on trust and previous work. I chose someone I could trust with this. The initial development is super important. It’s a base for everything else.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from mid-2015 to 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application was well received; it was a successful effort. We’ve sold more than 100,000 devices after actively being in the market for quite a few years.

How did Armix Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They did the requirements, architecture, and scope in sprints. Project management was one of the best parts—communication and organization was very good. We used a variety of tools including Excel, Asana, and one other.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and work ethic make them stand out. They’re responsible, prompt, and manage delays efficiently. Ultimately, they’re on top of things.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know what they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I highly recommend using them as they were essential to our success.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a nonprofit community center, but we do a lot of human and social services work because we are located in an immigrant community. I oversee all of our operations including IT and marketing. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Armix Group?

Our website was extremely outdated and we wanted to upgrade it and have more options. Also, part of our business model includes programs for children such as summer camps and swim and dance classes. The parent community was demanding a newer product and wanted something that would allow them to complete an online registration form and find information more easily. I think one of the biggest challenges we were trying to solve was answering that demand and moving our whole structure into the current decade.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Armix Group created an entirely new website for us using WordPress so that our in-house staff could easily update it as needed. I know they had to do a lot of custom development, for which they used PHP. Once the website was updated, we also wanted to market ourselves, so we tasked Armix Group with some SEO work. They helped us get a Google grant for nonprofits, which is basically free advertising money to help get the word out about our services.

We’ve worked on several projects together and they do custom updates for us. Right now, for example, we’re building a new website for a women’s center, which is completely separate from the first one. Armix Group has also worked on other program-specific SEO. We also did a large project with camps as well as a project for our ESL classes with them.

What is the team composition?

We’ve primarily worked with their technical director, who is from the community. He understood our business model and the community issue we were trying to solve. There’s definitely been a designer on the team, and I believe there have been other developers who worked on custom solutions.

How did you come to work with Armix Group?

They were recommended to us by someone else that had built a website with them. As a nonprofit, we had to go through a process where we solicit at least three bids for any project over a certain amount, and Armix Group’s bid was the most competitive. Additionally, I also wanted to work with someone from the community in order to make the design process easier because they understood our clients.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in May 2006, and the collaboration is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our traffic jumped once we released the new website and did some of the optimizations, and within the first couple of months, it almost quadrupled. We’ve seen growth in our programs and I attribute a lot of it to the new website and definitely the SEO work. We’re on the first page of results now, which is a big thing for us. We show up in the top results of organic searches for a bunch of other keywords, which has brought us a lot of clients.

How did Armix Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Armix Group is easy to work with and responsive. Because of our nonprofit structure, we went through several rounds of reviews and there was a board committee that had to sign off on certain things. We had to come back with a bunch of changes, and they weren’t made all at once.

Armix Group was open to that. I’ve had issues in the past with other companies because we do go through several rounds of reviews, but with Armix Group, we were able to keep the cost manageable and go through all the changes we were asking for.

They really had to teach us everything about the SEO process from the beginning because this was new to us altogether. They had to explain how it works and the value of the work they were doing, and I appreciated that because I felt like we received lots of training for free as part of this process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Armix Group recommended the best hosting for the website as well as a great e-commerce tool that was both simple and affordable. I felt that they were really focused on our needs as a customer, and it made the process a lot easier.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One of the things that I got feedback from the board about was regarding the handoff process. There wasn’t a formal handoff as we were continuing the work. They probably could’ve ended the projects better or in a more structured manner. However, I don’t know if that is more on us or them, though probably on both.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

From our experience, I would say that a company should really understand and research what they want to build. It took us a little while on the frontend because all we knew was that we needed a new website that was more responsive to the needs of the community, but I don’t think we understood exactly what that meant and the process took a long time.

The first one they came back with wasn’t what we were looking for, so we had to go back and look at the parameters. Once we understood the product we wanted, it was smooth sailing from then on.