Avenue Z

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CMO of Fun Spot America Theme Parks. We have three amusement park locations—one in Georgia and two in Florida.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Designzillas?

We engaged Designzillas to help us develop creative assets for our digital advertisements and digital marketing campaigns.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially worked with Designzillas to create a fresh look for our digital advertisements. We were impressed with their creativity, so we discussed ways we could form a stronger partnership. Those meetings ultimately led to Designzillas making design updates to our WordPress website. They also performed some backend work to improve the speed and performance of our site. Further, we’ve relied on Designzillas to lead our implementation of sponsored advertisements on Facebook and Instagram, as well as managing specific Google Ads campaigns—our spring, summer, and company birthday sales events.

What is the team composition?

Our team consists of Jessica (Project Manager, Designzillas), Gage (Digital Marketing Analyst, Designzillas), Danielle (Marketing Lead, Designzillas), and Ryan (Frontend Developer, Designzillas).

How did you come to work with Designzillas?

During our initial search, Designzillas was not on our radar, but we met through a chance encounter and scheduled a follow-up meeting. We felt comfortable selecting them for this work after learning about their company and their history.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in January 2018 and remains ongoing. We extended their contract in January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Designzillas helped us to drive leads and increase conversions in several vital areas. We’ve always done relatively well on social media, but their work with sponsored ads took our performance to another level. Our posts are now more engaging and feature better calls to action. That combination drives traffic to our site and converts into more sales. Designzillas also implemented an e-newsletter to promote our sales campaigns better. Our Black Friday 2018 yielded the best sales numbers we’ve had for that day. Designzillas’ work drove a lot of that success.

How did Designzillas perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate effectively using the Teamwork software, but we also regularly meet in person to brainstorm before starting any large campaign. We gather at one of our offices to strategize and vet everything that will be involved in the work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been very accessible to us, and I’m sure that carries over to their other clients. During our company’s 20th birthday sales event, the Designzillas team was on-site around the clock to help us manage what turned out to be the most successful online sales day in the history of our company. Designzillas has been with us in the trenches—so to speak—which has helped us form a strong bond.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve done everything to meet our expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend that future clients put their ego to the side and learn about the Designzillas process. You have to understand that their feedback is not necessarily criticism. They are trying to make the campaigns better, so you must trust their skill set.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work at a personal injury law firm. I’m an attorney and am in charge of the marketing for the firm as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Designzillas?

Our goal was to obtain new clients through internet marketing, so we hired them to help us.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We hired Designzillas based on their reputation and talented employees.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

From the moment we hired Designzillas, we were blown away by their hard work and dedication. They designed a new website for us and currently work on our organic marketing as well as SEO, paid Google Ads, and Facebook Ads. We were their first personal injury law firm client, and to see them immerse themselves into our field and learn all aspects of it was simply amazing.

What was the team composition?

There’s a full team assigned to our campaign. Everyone has been very supportive and a delight to work with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

As previously stated, we were very impressed with the amount of effort Designzillas put into learning our field of law as well as researching the online advertising trends of our competition. They’re also working hard to find a new way to edge out the competition and have been very helpful in obtaining new clientele for us.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We have a monthly meeting regarding our campaign to discuss what worked, what didn't, and what we plan to do in the future. It gives us an idea as to what we’re paying for since we’re not completely familiar with the online advertising world.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What I find most impressive about Designzillas is how quickly they became familiar with the ins and outs of personal injury law. It’s not an easy thing to just pick up and understand. Within the first couple of months, they were writing blogs for us that contained no errors, which made it extremely easy for us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't name anything at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We import natural architectural materials from around the world, and sell it back to lots of theme parks, zoos, restaurants, [and] consumers on the island.

What is your role?

I am the owner and president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Designzillas?

We wanted to increase our visibility on the Web. Our website was also a little outdated. We wanted to move to a more modern look. At the time, I was terrified, because I had tried it once before with a company, and they nearly closed our business. Unfortunately, they didn’t know what they were doing, so I was very nervous to try it again.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

It was to take our existing website, not to change any of the content really, but to give it a face-lift. Our pages had already been written, we just wanted a completely new and fresh look. We also needed a program or a website that we could get into the backend and edit ourselves. We didn’t want to rely on a company to do all of our edits. We switched to Drupal, and they migrated all of our content to the new system.

How long did the project take?

About four months, and that was probably four years ago.

What was your process for selecting Designzillas with which to work?

We interviewed three or four different companies, and I just felt the most comfortable with them while talking to the owner and team. They were a group of young people, which certainly helped with new ideas. It was fresh life, so to speak. I can honestly say that because I was so nervous of what I was about to put the company through, I think they just really settled my mind and assured me they would stand responsible for anything that happened. They got my business that way.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

About $40,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

The initial project [the website redesign] was completed four years ago. The second project [search engine optimization] is ongoing. It’s been almost a year that we’ve been with them again.

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

We’ve gotten positive feedback from our customers. We’ve always had such a nice, positive response that it’s a very clean site. It’s easy to see, easy to read. So, that is one good indication. We didn’t drop rankings at all. We maintained where we were, and got better. Then about two years later, we thought that we could do better with our SEO [search engine optimization]. We kept the same website but we started looking at another company to do the SEO. We went with another company for about a year.

Designzillas called us and wanted to know why they had lost our business. I was very explicit about exactly why, because we’d dropped in the rankings, and we couldn’t really get a hold of people when we wanted them. They came back again and did a superb job, and we are doing round two with them right now. Technology changes so quickly, and they brought a brand new perspective to the website. The website hasn’t really changed that much. We tweaked it, but it’s all about now the SEM [search engine marketing]. That’s why we’re with Designzillas right now.

How would you describe their performance?

It’s always a work in progress. We never quite know, with marketing, what the results are going to be when we try different things. I think they are definitely a company that’s ahead of the game. They listen to our needs, and they respond quickly. I just love working with them.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

We worked with a very tight team. You really get to know those team members. They know my business inside and out, more so than the other company did. They have really invested a lot of time learning our business, customers, and products. I think that’s what holds their value for me, as a business owner. They know my business already.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

The problem areas that we have, they are getting better and better at. So, there’s nothing that I would say really needs improvement. We have monthly meetings where we talk about it, and within a month it’s improved. I think they’re doing a good job. They should just keep doing what they’re doing.

BACKGROUND

Could you provide a brief description of your company?

We’re a seasonal agritourism business. We’re a farm that also has attractions, activities, and petting zoos.

What is your role at the company?

I’m the vice president. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were trying to address?

We really needed to update our website. I could have just gone to one of those cookie cutter websites and filled in our information, but we really wanted it to be functional with a variety of capabilities like ticket ordering and scheduling, so we wanted to get some experts.

SOLUTION

What is the scope of their work?

They’re developing a whole new website. They are pulling some of the text and pictures off of the old website, but a lot of that is just placeholder until I get around to giving them more information.

They gave me a very detailed, 10 to 15 page summary of the work that they would be doing for us. It was a really nice presentation they gave us. All the technical specifications were in there.

How long have you been working with Designzillas?

Our first meeting was in May [of 2014].

Do you have an approximate completion date?

Right now, we’re aiming for September 1 [ of 2014].

Why did you choose Designzillas with which to work?

We did a lot of Google searches for Web designers. We really liked their portfolio.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms or work-hour figure?

It’s $15,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results so far, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they’ve delivered?

It’s very good. The designer took a lot of time with all of our concerns. I sat down and went through it piece by piece and told them how we thought it would be better, be more functional. He took those comments and really incorporated them and fixed that home page up very nicely. We were very pleased with the results. We’re only done with the home page. He’s working on the other pages right now.

How would you describe their performance?

I like their energy. They’re young. They got really excited about what our business is, and we could tell that they would put a good effort into letting our customers know what it’s all about.

Is there any area that they could improve on or that you would do differently?

As this point, I don’t think so.

BACKGROUND

Please give a brief description of your company and your role there.

We’re a commercial real estate company based in Orlando. I’m the managing director of the office here in Orlando.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

When you approached Designzillas, what was the business challenge that you were trying to address?

We were a new company. We needed a website that people could go to and we wanted it to look professional and look like we know what we’re doing. That was the main challenge. 

SOLUTION

Was Designzillas responsible for delivering the full solution?

Yes.

How long did the project take?

I think it took almost three months. It was in the first quarter of 2014.

Are you still working with them?

Yes, we are working with them currently. They are updating our site to a mobile site.

Why did you select them to work with in the beginning?

We met with a couple of folks and liked what they had done. Tonio [Bianca, strategy consultant with Designzillas] is who we met with. We liked him. We thought the pricing was reasonable and their work was good. That’s why we chose them.

Can you give a sense of the size of the project either in a cost range or personnel work-hour figure?

Less than $10,000 with them originally, [and] $2,500 with them now. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of the results, are there any metrics or user feedback that you can share that indicates the effectiveness of their work?

We’ve had a great response from our clients and people that have visited our website saying that it looks really professional. We’ve had a really good response thus far. They did a really good job.

How would you describe their performance?

Performance was good and what I expected. They were responsive. We’re happy with the result.

On the other hand, is there any area that you think Designzillas could improve upon or that you would do differently looking back?

Not that I can think of at the moment.