Bilberrry

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We develop curriculum and programming for health sciences graduate students to learn about teamwork and collaboration.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bilberrry?

We hired Bilberry for web design and custom web development. We needed a nice looking and functional student portal.

What were your goals for this project?

An intuitive and mobile friendly online portal for university students to learn about and register for specific educational opportunities at the University of Washington. A flexible admin panel/CMS that allows our staff to easily manage website content and add new program offerings without technical support.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were referred to Bilberrry by a friend.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Bilberrry was included in all aspects of the project. From ideation, design, development, testing and deployment. They helped us define the design and functionality of the student portal, provided recommendations on how to best implement specific features and efficiently executed on the deliverables.

What was the team composition?

Our primary points of contact throughout the engagement were the Lead Product Manager and Lead Designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The student portal has allowed for a more streamlined and organized registration process. Over 1000 students are now able to view and register for programming on the student portal. And, we can proudly direct people to the portal to showcase our programming.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We communicated via phone, email and in person meetings. The team was great at communicating and implementing in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They not only delivered on what they promised on time and on budget, they also communicated the technical aspects of the project in a way that we could understand.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Owner of a fast casual restaurant concept with multiple locations throughout King County.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bilberrry?

We hired Bilberrry to design and develop a custom online catering portal that allowed us to productize our catering offerings and streamline the ordering process for catering customers.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals for this project were to design and build out an online ordering solution for our catering business that allowed us to increase our catering orders and reduce the back and forth email communication between our customers and our operations team.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were referred to Bilberrry through our personal network as they came highly recommended.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Our existing website was built using an out of the box Wordpress Theme that was slightly customized to fit our needs. When it came time to expand our business into catering, the existing theme did not have the flexibility we needed to achieve our goals. When we approached Bilberrry about our needs, they discussed several options we had to choose from.

We ultimately decided to work with them to build out custom designed pages and functionality to achieve our goals. The process involved brainstorming how we wanted our customers to interact with our catering menu, and how to clearly communicate our offerings.

From there, Bilberrry presented multiple design options based on our input. Once the designs and user flows were selected, they moved forward with implementation, testing and deployment of the new pages and functionality. I was impressed with the feedback and communication throughout the process and the speed of which they executed.

What was the team composition?

We worked primarily with a Lead Product Manager at Bilberrry. Other Bilberrry team members who were involved in the project include a UI designer, a Wordpress Developer, a Quality Assurance Tester and a Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Right away we saw an uptick in catering orders with the new website. The simplicity it afforded for the end user had a bigger impact then we imagined. Repeat customers even commented on how much they enjoyed the new website. Made me wish we had done it sooner!

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had 1 main point of contact which made things really easy for us, not sure how they self delegated on their end.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We had an idea of what we were going for but didn't know exactly how to get there. Bilberrry helped us actually think through the solution. They asked us questions related to our business goals and proposed solutions to best help achieve those goals. We felt as though we could give them very high level information related to our business and they could come up with the right solution and also execute on it.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Overall, it was a great experience working with Bilberrry and we were thrilled with how it turned out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director for Taco Time Northwest.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bilberrry?

We wanted to redesign our website to introduce an order ahead platform, with location pages for each of our 80 restaurants. We wanted to drive the journey from click to purchase and make the whole experience smoother than what we had on our existing website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They set up a CRM training program for us and we looked at production deployment. We provided them with designs. They redid the entire backend, set up a WordPress site, and rebuilt the frontend from scratch.

Right now, our in-house person does 75–80% of everything that needs to be done on the CMS. Bilberrry helps out with special requests that our on-site team can’t handle. For example, they set up an online ordering microsite so that each of our franchises can order uniforms.

They evaluated our integration of third parties and reviewed information from Google Analytics, including our integration with Olo, our online ordering partner, and LevelUp, our credit card processor. They also reviewed our SEO and UX and did a lot to improve our site’s visibility.

What is the team composition?

I mainly dealt with Adam (CEO, Bilberrry), but they had at least half a dozen people working on the project. Adam served as our project manager.

How did you come to work with Bilberrry?

We really wanted to work with a local provider, so I did some research on Google and found them on a list of top providers in our area. They were the third company I talked to, and after speaking with Adam and understanding the culture of their company, I came away impressed. The relationship I developed with Adam and the way he presented his team convinced me they would be a good fit for us. The budgeting and schedule were also in line.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $36,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Online orders now make up a small percentage of our total orders, but more importantly, it's much simpler to have an online locations page for each of our restaurant locations. We’re very happy with the website. I did site testing and cross-browser validation and we liked the visual acuity. We’ve also had third party companies look at the backend, the SEO, and the metatags and they’ve been impressed, so Bilberrry did a great job of setting up the basic structure.

How did Bilberrry perform from a project management standpoint?

We had sit-down meetings and conference calls, and Adam came to meet with us a couple of times. Our design team sat in on the conference calls with Adam every week or so. They were very available for us and Adam could deal with anything we needed. They presented milestones on their schedule and it was helpful for us to check in at the milestones.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been very responsive and quick to help us. For example, we moved our Taleo support to ADP, and our HR team has been very demanding because we’re recruiting for 80 restaurants. Adam’s team has been amazing in how they’ve responded to that. We hear probably once a day about an issue with a restaurant site and Adam responds within 20 minutes. It’s imperative for us to be able to collect job applications and they’ve been crucial in supporting that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m very happy with their services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand what you need and be honest and transparent about what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re clear about that, Bilberrry will be clear about what they can and can’t do and they will suggest strategies for getting where you want to be.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of IT for Evergreens Salad, a restaurant chain. I manage a variety of systems and technical projects for restaurant operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bilberrry?

We hired Bilberrry to render web design services that would have been otherwise impossible with our time constraints. 

What were your goals for this project?

Our previous website was something relatively inexpensive that still provide our customers with enough functionality for an overall 'good' experience. We contracted Bilberrry because of their outstanding rapport and communication skills, knowing that we could achieve the appropriate interface that could represent our brand.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The president of my company reached out to many of his connections to review potential vendors we could hire. He has a very specific taste in mind when it comes to representing the company as a whole, and Bilberrry checked all the boxes.

Describe the project in detail.

Bilberrry redesigned our website with a professional finish that better reflects our branding needs. While I came into the project later on, we needed to communicate the development of the concept, strategy, and overall design to a group of senior management that lacked experience with backend web development and IT solutions in general. My role in this project was to provide necessary accounts, process payments, and take over and manage the website as a whole after the project came to completion.

What was the team composition?

The CEO himself served as the project manager. His team of developers chimed in as necessary and worked behind the scenes to finalize all of our content requests.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our previous website was bogged down and increasingly difficult to manage. Now the site performs even better than intended. Overall, our guest experience and feedback on the website has significantly improved.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Bilberrry excelled at management communication and scheduling. The team set the bar for expectations early and let us know if there were complications. They kept things moving extremely smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

No matter our budget or the size of the issue at hand, Bilberrry was ready to go above and beyond to meet our needs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

While I always believe there is room for improvement for any company, I am thoroughly impressed by how smoothly the entire project went.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company is a special effects manufacturer, and I'm a marketing and communication manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bilberrry?

We hired Bilberrry to redesign our 10-year-old website.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a more modern and easy-to-navigate website that provides a great customer experience. We were hoping that this would help us generate leads.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found them through Google and read reviews of their services. I thought they would be the best company for the job.

Describe the project in detail.

After hiring Bilberrry, we had several discovery calls to discuss the look and feel that we wanted for our site. During these calls, we also described the type of customer experience that we were looking to provide. They began working on the site once they felt that they understood our vision.

What was the team composition?

I communicated directly with an account manager and the CEO of Bilberrry.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Bilberry took our old site and turned it into a lead generation machine. We’ve had nothing but praise from co-workers, dealers, customers, and competitors about the look and feel of the website. My whole team is pleased with what Bilberrry did and where the site is today. We loved their customer service and the way they modernized our company image.  

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Bilberrry was excellent with meeting deadlines, scheduling meetings, managing expectations, and responding to my emails. They responded more quickly than any other vendor I’ve worked with in the past, and their customer service is the best I’ve ever received.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their communication was impeccable.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were satisfied with their progress and efficiency at every step of the process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the managing director at Atomic Brand Lab, a portfolio strategy consultancy that helps mid-sized and Fortune 500 companies create ways to unlock acceleration.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bilberrry?

We hired Bilberrry to assist with the launch of a global accelerator program for a major food company.

What were your goals for this project?

Bilberrry was in charge of creating an inviting UX for program info and applications, as well as a usable backend database for innovation pipeline management.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I selected Bilberrry from a number of recommended web development companies. After going through a comprehensive selection process, we felt that Bilberrry met all the criteria for an agile, creative solution provider.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Bilberrry was involved in all aspects of development, including design and programming. The team was also a part of database creation and admin services.

What was the team composition?

I primarily worked with the CEO but engaged with the designer and developer on several occasions. The size of the team stayed constant throughout.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our launch exceeded the number of views and applications we predicted. The final product was simple and engaging on the UX side, and intuitive on the backend.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Once we briefed them on the concept and goal, their team handled all aspects of project management. Our point of contact made everything seamless and efficient.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I appreciate their responsiveness and creativity. Bilberrry approaches every challenge with a can-do attitude, always having a solution or answer.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, nothing I would add.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

During our time with Bilberry, I was the head of product & business operations at Rep, the first cross-channel customer assistance platform designed for online brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bilberrry?

We hired Bilberrry to build and design our custom marketing website.

What were your goals for this project?

Our business needed a marketing website where we can build out landing pages for various advertising channels across target markets.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I’ve known the founders of the company for some time, and have seen their work with other clients. When it came time to hire an agency with design and development capabilities, Bilberrry was the first company we approached.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Before work began, Bilberrry tried to understand our needs and listen to our objectives. Then their team recommended an approach. They provided our team with several options on how to achieve our goals. Bilberrry consulted us on the strategy, design, and development of the website during the process. They also provided insights into search engine marketing and Google Ads. We didn’t have the resources to test marketing channels. Google Ads was something we wanted to pursue to check the new pages within different audiences.

What was the team composition?

I worked primarily with a project manager and sometimes interacted with the design team to look over their work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within a month, we had a new site that achieved our objectives. We were able to launch six Google Ads campaigns to test our messaging.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The team at Bilberrry utilizes a project management system to track all tasks. We were always in the know. There were weekly meetings, but we could reach out to them at any time with questions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I appreciated their honesty when it came to recommending solutions. Their team delivered on time and on budget. Bilberrry always communicated with our team on the status of the project. They asked the right questions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing that stands out. Overall, we had an excellent experience working with Bilberrry.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a startup that's building a platform for video game and eSports content creators. People send us content to edit, produce, and display on our website. Users can pay a subscription fee to view all the content. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bilberrry?

We hired Bilberrry to help us design and develop our web platform. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We designed the initial screens of the website in-house to show how we wanted it to look. Bilberrry developed and expanded on our original ideas. Our website has a lot of different aspects. Our editors work on the admin side. It includes a paywall to access the articles and videos in our collection that are available for viewing. 

Bilberrry proposed add-ons they thought would be useful to flesh out the concept. Since I don't have a technical background, I can't go into detail about the specific programming languages they used. Our website isn't live yet, but we have a staging site in place. 

What is the team composition? 

Bilberrry has offices in both the US and Ukraine. Several developers from the team worked on our website. We had full access to the head programmer Ross (Founder, Bilberrry) and CEO Adam (Principal and Business Director, Bilberrry) and could contact them anytime. 

How did you come to work with Bilberrry?

We searched online for web development companies based in the US because we wanted to work with a domestic team. Of the 4–5 options on our shortlist, we liked Bilberrry the best. The CEO got back to us immediately, and we enjoyed talking with him. Their quote was reasonable and could tell they were honest about pricing. During our trip to Seattle to meet the team, we loved their approach and began our partnership.

How much have you invested with them?

The entire project cost $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first went to visit Bilberrry this past spring. Our project lasted 3–4 months, from April–June 2018. Our website isn't live yet, so we're still working on getting our alpha ready to launch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bilberrry has been absolutely amazing. The CEO and head programmer were both amenable to discussing our business outside of their scope of work. Since they also enjoy playing video games, they're always excited to give us ideas and help us achieve them. They both have a great perspective to share. 

Bilberrry was more than happy to provide extra support beyond their contractual responsibilities. Even though they weren’t compelled to set up our affiliate program and install it on our website, they had no problem helping us. They realized this simple task would help everything progress more smoothly. 

How did Bilberrry perform from a project management standpoint?

I was pleased with Bilberrry’s level of documentation and overall availability. They sent us milestone invoices with a detailed breakdown of all the charges and working hours. The full quote at the beginning laid out the total cost and exactly what we would pay for. They met all our milestones along the way and made sure we knew everything that was happening the entire time. 

We held weekly or biweekly meetings to discuss our progress and consider what modifications to add. Once we invited them to our Slack channels, they were always online. We checked in with each other on a regular basis and exchanged lots of feedback. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I greatly appreciate how straightforward Bilberrry has been with us. They feel comfortable stating exactly what's going on and never try to mislead or upsell us. I enjoy working with people who express themselves honestly. 

Bilberrry is always willing to go further than required to produce results that make sense. We appreciated their critical thinking skills and thoughtful approach to our project. They didn't settle with producing a carbon copy of the concept we sent them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't know if I can come up with any specific thing on the spot. I'm sure there have been times they weren't absolutely perfect, but I can't think of anything specific. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anyone who's interested in working with Bilberrry should have a thorough plan prepared. Future clients shouldn't worry about their website working properly. My only slightly negative critique is that they focus more on function than style. Bilberrry is less concerned about making it look smart or really fancy than with the functionality. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the project manager at Pasco Machine. We’re a metal fabrication shop, and we work with farms and big production companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bilberrry?

We were looking for a team to make a calendar that keeps track of all of our jobs. Our current physical calendar worked for us when we were less busy. Now it has a lot of issues; a job might not get finished on time if a tag falls off.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bilberrry came down from Seattle to Pasco to meet with us and talk about our challenges. Using JavaScript, they created a web-based application so we can access the calendar anywhere. They streamlined our entire calendar process. It keeps track of all our projects. They built features that show us what's past due and who is assigned to different jobs. The calendar also has a filter so we can search for specific things within the app.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one main project manager and one core developer. Additional members of their team worked on the project, but we didn’t interact with them.

How did you come to work with Bilberrry?

I found them through an online search. I typed in what we needed and came up with a list of companies. Bilberrry was the best match for what we wanted to achieve.

How much have you invested with them?

They gave us an estimate of about $80,000 and they stayed in budget.

What is the status of this engagement?

I don’t remember the exact dates. I’d estimate the work took place between February–June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't actually started using the calendar yet. I’m waiting on our managers to give it the green light. After testing it, I know it will help us stay on top of projects as long as our team does what we're supposed to do. The calendar is only effective if the team using it manages it correctly. So if we do that, it'll work great and be a huge benefit for our shop.  

One huge improvement is the feature that shows us who's assigned to what job. With our current calendar, we’re always having to ask each other and trying to remember who was on each job.

How did Bilberrry perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was super accessible. They were very good about getting back to me the same day if I had any questions or concerns. It was never an issue if I wanted to make changes.  They were awesome about delivering on their timeline. If they were running behind, they always caught up quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bilberrry did a really good job of helping us figure out our actual problem and the best way to solve it. We were so focused on trying to get a new calendar that looked exactly like our existing version. At our first meeting, they said let's figure out the core problem and not just focus on how you want it to look and how it functions right now. They made us see that the more important issue was how the calendar should function in the future for the best outcome. None of the other teams we met with did that. Bilberrry took a different approach and that's what made them stand out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they did a great job.

Any advice for potential customers?

Don't be shy in asking questions or requesting changes. We were comfortable criticizing the app, which helped them develop the best possible version. They want to think through every scenario that could happen, so asking questions helps them do that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a managing partner at Altus Alliance, a firm that provides coaching and growth planning for small businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bilberrry?

We wanted to develop an online planning platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bilberrry developed our web-based platform from scratch, which is divided into several sections. Users can define a target audience and value proposition, as well as a three-year strategic plan. There's an implementation dashboard tool for work that's being done in the current year and sections for uploading files, having discussions, and adding collaborators to the plan. There's also a feature that allows users to set deadlines, so collaborators are reminded as a deadline is approaching. We haven't yet linked the platform to others, such as Google Docs or Slack, but may work with Bilberrry to make those integrations as well in the future.

What is the team composition?

We work with Adam (Co-founder and Project Manager, Bilberrry) and about three to five developers at a time.

How did you come to work with Bilberrry?

I knew of Bilberrry through a friend of a friend. My partner, Steve, also had some experience working with them in the past and was impressed by the breadth and quality of their work.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested about $60,000 in their services thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them sometime in 2012 or 2013 to create the first version of the software, but we engaged them again to update it in 2017. We continue to work with their team on upgrades and updates as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bilberrry created a software solution that has helped differentiate our business from others in our industry. Thanks to their efforts, we have a competitive edge when it comes to small business planning. We've received lots of positive feedback from users, including the customers that tried the product during beta testing phases.

How did Bilberrry perform from a project management standpoint?

Adam provides regular updates on project milestones effectively through Basecamp, so we had complete transparency of the progress of work leading up to the launch. They're good at keeping us on schedule as well, sending reminders through Basecamp for any assets they need from our end. In addition to great communication, they also deliver on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Having worked with a lot of software developers in the past, I'm most impressed by their level of transparency and accuracy. The code they produce is clean and has very few bugs or issues compared to others I've worked with. Our software isn't highly complex, so I don't think we've even come close to tapping their full range of capabilities, but we certainly look forward to engaging them more in the future.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest with their team, even if issues or delays come up. They're good at switching gears and handling any situation with complete transparency, so I just suggest communicating honestly on your end as well.