BMG Media Co.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m president of SECURATECH, a security services provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BMG Media Co.?

I wanted a better online presence and to drive people to my website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started by asking a lot of questions. We discussed what I was looking for and reviewed my competitors in order to come up with a strategy to drive business to my company. The next step was me sending them all our pictures, text, and other information regarding our products. Then they designed and built the website. They were able to add an automatic bill pay system through our billing software, which links to manufacturers that we work with and ties into our backend software system. They also do graphic design and produce all of our print materials (e.g., flyers, brochures).

What is the team composition?

I work with 3–4 team members.

How did you come to work with BMG Media Co.?

They were referred by some friends who spoke highly of them. I’d looked at several other companies but I was very impressed by their work.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent between $15,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018. The site launched a few months ago, but the branding and graphic design work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're getting a lot more calls and a lot more people going to our website to get free consultations. It's also been convenient for our existing customers to be able to pay their bills online, which we could never figure out how to do before. That new feature is generating revenue for the company. They went above and beyond to make it as user friendly as possible for our customers.

How did BMG Media Co. perform from a project management standpoint?

I deal with other marketing companies all the time and BMG Media is the best in the business. Blake (CEO, BMG Media) returns emails faster than anyone else. It could be a Sunday night or whatever, and he's on it. If I need a flyer or a brochure made, or something updated on our Web site, it's done immediately.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They listen well, and their turnaround time is great.

Any advice for potential customers?

Doing a little homework before you start makes the process easier. Get all your thoughts and ideas together of how you want your site to look and what pages it needs to have.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a Media Manager for  Risk Consulting Partners, an insurance brokerage firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BMG Media?

Our previous website was made by someone working for our company at the time, but it was very basic and didn’t have a lot of strong design aspects. We decided to go with BMG to give it a definite refresh.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the site on WordPress and did all the editing through Flywheel. We broke the site down page by page and I made a layout of how I wanted to look, with different categories and headings, including sub-menus, at the top of the page, as well as our logo and a drop-down menu. From there, it was a matter of giving them content and other things to work with, so that they could figure out the best way to present it. I detailed which aspects had to be presented on which page, based on what I thought would look nice. Then they would come back with their take on it, which was always a lot better, and made more sense than what I previously thought.

One of the things we really wanted included were dropdown menus. We wanted to list all of them in order so that they could be clearly seen. When first getting to our homepage and scrolling down, certain elements now popup instead of just being loaded on the page from the beginning. In terms of pictures and the font size, they didn’t just throw words onto a web page. They also put our testimonials at the bottom of the page so people can scroll through them. They coded our location at the bottom of the page to lead to Google Maps so that users wouldn’t have to copy/paste the address. They also help us with malware protection and with any additional work.

What is the team composition?

I personally worked with their founder the most, as well as another of their team members, who they brought in later to work on the layout. They also had coders and designers working in the background.

How did you come to work with BMG Media?

The people in our St. Louis office looked around and talked to people they knew. I wasn’t involved in the selection process until we were down to two separate companies that they’d heard good things about from either friends or clients. It was between BMG Media and a company in California. After interviewing them both, we decided on BMG because they were able to do the things we wanted at a lesser cost, and within a shorter time frame. The other company required additional costs for some of the features we requested, but BMG had those as part of their offer, and they assured us that they could deliver them without any trouble.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January until April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve heard great feedback, especially inside our company. The main goal was to make the site available as a tool to refer clients and potential clients, so that they could look at what we do, and sort through that. The old website didn’t have any of those capabilities. It had very limited information about our practice areas. They definitely helped make it possible to let all those areas shine.

One person from our company reached out to a client, who brought up the website without being prompted. They mentioned that they were working for a larger company than ours, but our site put theirs to shame.

How did BMG Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated at least once or twice, and sometimes even multiple times, per day, but I never felt like I was bothering them, which was good. I could send them something and they would give something back within a half hour or an hour. I wasn’t waiting for days, which I’ve definitely had to deal with in the past. They were nice and cool to work with, and we had a great creative back and forth. They always took what I said and gave me an option right away, so that if I didn’t like what they did with my suggestion, I could get that opinion right back to them, and they would make the change again.

They were great at understanding our needs. They came back with a list of the tasks they’d completed, and asked for our thoughts on the layout. It was very collaborative. Their single point of contact approach was nice, as it didn’t require me going back and forth with a lot of different people which can cause edits to be missed or misinterpreted.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design capabilities are great. It was nice to see where we started with the ideas and layouts I gave, and where we ended up. They also stood out in terms of responsiveness. It felt as though they were on my team, instead of just being some people I was working with, who might have been working against me a bit. I felt that we were definitely a team.

They fit all our needs. The process of redesigning a website is never stress-free, but they made it as close to stress-free as possible. They followed the vision I outlined, but also made it better. There were a lot of little things we would have never originally thought of.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I can really think of, no. The process was as smooth as it could have been.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be a little more organized in the beginning, and make sure that you talk to all your team members about what exactly they want on the website. It’s important to invest more time in developing ideas before bringing the information to BMG Media, so you’re not faced with tight deadlines down the road.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am Director of Creative Services at a medical communications company that provides scientific and creative services to pharmaceutical companies with new drugs in the pipeline.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BMG Media?

We needed our website to be redesigned from scratch to be more secure, user-friendly, and professional. We also wanted SEO services and a fresh look for the brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They wrote the content and designed a dynamic layout with frequent reviews and recommendations from our team, and also coded a more advanced backend.

What is the team dynamic?

The leader of their team was Evan [Content Marketing, BMG Media], and I was also in contact with Blake [Founder] and Rachel [Lead Designer]. They may have had other team members contributing behind the scenes, but I only interacted with these three.

How did you come to work with BMG Media?

We looked at a lot of companies both locally and at the national level, and had trouble finding the right combination of expertise and competitive pricing. When I found BMG they were a perfect fit and had the added benefit of being relatively close by. When we spoke on the phone they were very attentive and inspired confidence that they would be able to complete the project on time and without any issues, which made me feel comfortable giving them our business.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $15,000 to $16,000 total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began at the beginning of August 2017 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While the site hasn't officially launched yet, internal feedback has been very positive from our internal team. Their work has been great and for the most part they have efficiently incorporated all the changes we've requested.

How did BMG Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They have been excellent. They always bring a positive attitude, enthusiasm, and a high level of professionalism. They are also very responsive in communication, which has been almost daily for this project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their drive to go above and beyond to make us happy is very comforting, and I never have to worry about them dropping the ball. They also are very professional, timely, and have good attention to detail.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve been incredible to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

New clients for BMG should feel confident that they will get the job done well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of sales for a voice carrier partner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BMG Media?

A part of my role is marketing, and we used them for help on our websites. There were no challenges as such, but we were rebranding, and we had to redesign our website and daily entry system. We had a 30-60-90-day goal, with milestones along the way.

The old site was outdated. We have over 500 locations, and it was important for customers to go on our website. The old website was the first thing I decided to change when I joined the company. Our senior leadership team is old-school; they don’t understand the social media concept yet, but they’re starting to. In terms of risk versus reward, we might have to pay a bit, but it will be worth it in the long-term.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BMG Media worked on the whole concept for the system we use for sales and reporting. They created our whole intranet, WordPress websites, and data-entry system.

They automated what we call the “commission scrub”, which allows associates to review where they’re standing on a daily or monthly basis, in terms of commissions. We provided information and BMG Media implemented all necessary calculations. Employees can access our intranet from mobile devices, to look at their leaderboard rankings.

Another feature was our customer feedback tool. We can use it to access clients via text message or phone call, and setup appointments which are entered into a calendar. We receive reminders on a daily basis, when logging into the system.

They also handled online marketing for us.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with Blake George and one of his designers directly, on a daily basis. We spoke directly during the first 2 months, after which we used email.

How did you come to work with BMG Media?

We contacted 6 different companies. The fact that BMG Media was from our area made it easy for them to come and meet with us, whenever we needed anything. We also considered companies in Chicago and New York, who were willing to have resources stationed out in our Detroit office. This was good of them, but we really appreciated the culture and energy brought to the table by Blake George and his team. They were a good fit with our values and what we do.

How much have you invested with them?

Confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with BMG Media a year ago. They met our initial deadline in 2 and a half months, and we expanded the collaboration for another 3 months

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new website can take users anywhere with one click, it has contact info at hand, and the pictures were updated.

Our intranet site was more of an investment, and we didn’t expect to see an increase in business because of it. It was a matter of taking care of our people, giving them easier access to features, and having a better work-life balance.

We have pulse checks and culture surveys every 6 months. The site was a big item with our employees—they were satisfied with the system, and felt more comfortable entering sales through it.

It was a direct investment for our people, and it led to them selling more. Our business is definitely better because of it.

How did BMG Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We were expecting to be delayed by a month or 2 for the second run, but BMG Media delivered on time, which was a big win for us. We went a bit over budget on the intranet site, but it was expected and worth it.

One thing we appreciated about them was that, even though they had multiple clients, we got their attention every single day. Many people promise this, only for it not to happen, but, with Blake and his team, we had daily calls and weekly meetings. He and his designer were there every single time.

Our intranet was a large project, and we had 20 questions on a daily basis, on different issues. We had 2-3 stores testing it before we went live, and there were times when I would send BMG Media emails at 8 o’clock at night. They got back to me on time. The testing automation and level of response we had were huge.

Not every conversation was great, since we could get on edge sometimes, but they were great for the most part. I would use them again.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism—BMG Media committed to what they said they would do, and did it. They stuck to their guns, and their culture was good—they were always enthusiastic about what was going to happen, and reassured us about the project. We needed people like this to get us to the next level.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be on-point, say what you want, and stay on top of it. If the project is large, it will only be successful if the client is engaged with it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Mansour Companies. Our principal focus is real estate development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BMG Media Co.?

Our website didn’t portray the right image to existing clients or potential business partners. We wanted to display our real estate asset portfolio more clearly and efficiently online, so the new site needed to be an upgraded one-stop shop for bankers, real estate brokers, and business professionals interested in our company. 

We also wanted to produce regular newsletters.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In our initial meeting, Blake [Founder, BMG Media Co.] asked what we wanted to accomplish. He wanted to understand what we needed visually, and drew out the first mockups on a whiteboard. We kept an open dialogue, and he called me regularly. Their office is only about a mile from ours, so I’d go in about once a week to look through the details and give feedback.

Our principal aim was to market vacancies at our shopping centers. We’re a multifaceted company with several revenue streams (retail, franchise, credit card processing), and we wanted a more consolidated online presence. The new website shows site plans, tenant lists, and geographical locations for each of our properties. If you want to open a shop, you can click on any shopping center and view the lease rates and dimensions of the vacant spaces. The newsletter and business cards they produce for us help drive traffic to the website.

What is the team dynamic?

About 70% of the project was handled by team members, but my personal interaction was with Blake and Rachel [Lead Designer, BMG Media Co.]. Additionally, Evan [Content Marketing, BMG Media Co.] builds the newsletters with Blake.

How did you come to work with BMG Media Co.?

Blake is a good networker, and I’d heard a lot about him from several people I know, including another real estate developer he’d done work for. My team interviewed a few people, but I got a good feeling from him. I thought the process would be hard, but he made it seem easy. He showed me his other work, and his price seemed reasonable, so I decided to hire him.

How much have you invested with them?

The initial package was around $10,000, and we pay between $150–$200 per monthly newsletter.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started on the website at the beginning of 2017. They still produce our monthly newsletters and update the site as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new website really helps as a visual aid for loan refinancing. Bankers understand our asset portfolio better than just on paper, and it helps tremendously with brokers. Everyone compliments me on the business cards they produced, and I can hand one to a broker and direct them to our website. We don’t need to send unnecessary emails about vacancies, so their involvement has made my life a lot easier.

Overall, it’s helped streamline our business. Our call rate and need for broker representation is reduced, and we present a much more professional appearance to potential tenants.

How did BMG Media Co. perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very engaged in the beginning. As we progressed through the project, we spoke about three times a week. I’m a visual person, and I liked that he invited me to the office instead of trying to explain things over the phone. They’ve done well, and we haven’t had any budget or timeline overages. Whenever I need something updated, I just send it over and they take care of it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They make things look so easy, and I haven’t seen any issues. They delivered everything I wanted.

Advice for potential customers?

Meet with them first to discuss your vision. Once they understand what you want, the rest is easy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the manager of a commercial real estate company that owns and manages apartments and retail shopping centers. We have 1,000 units of apartments that people can lease directly online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BMG?

Our goal was to get more people to our website, which was pretty standard. Aside from the marketing website, we also needed help with designing logos.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve redesigned our website and made some aesthetic changes. Blake [CEO, BMG Media Co.] also designs logos and business cards for our company. However, he doesn’t do search engine optimization for us.

What is the team dynamic?

Blake is my main point of contact. I also communicate with an assistant and 1 or 2 other women.

How did you come to work with BMG?

They were referred by a friend who had used them before. We looked at 4 other companies, but the response time was our deciding factor.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $30,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2016, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m not fluent in WordPress, so it’s good to have someone who is responsive to the changes the website required. He has made the website look great and work great. We’ve been happy with it, especially since we’ve increased occupancy. Since we’ve engaged with BMG, we’ve been steadily at 95% occupied.

How did BMG perform from a project management standpoint?

They are exceptional. I’ve worked with a lot of developers before, but Blake’s response time is better than the others. That’s why we went with them. The turnaround times are spot on, and they make sure that everything is fixed. We speak often through text, phone, and email.

The website redesign was an easy process. He’d send a couple template options for us to choose from, and he would make changes as we talked.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We are impressed with the fast response and the ability to contact him at any time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve been great.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Most people don’t stay at corporate resorts anymore but prefer smaller boutique hotels. That’s what he is. I’d recommend him to someone who is looking for a different experience instead of the same cookie-cutter company. If you want someone responsive who will get the work done, send you multiple options, and not try to overcharge you, then use them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a business development manager for a property development company. I am the owner and CEO of an event planning business. BMG Media has developed websites for both of those companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BMG Media?

We wanted to have an interesting, unique, and eye-catching website. After meeting with Blake, their founder, he was able to address those goals and deliver the site.

The property development business only had a basic website that was outdated and had no real attention-grabbing potential. We wanted a website that would be different than anyone else’s in our industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BMG Media developed the first website for my entertainment business. After I saw what BMG Media had done for my entertainment company, we had them design the site for the real estate company.

During our first meeting, Blake brought printouts of our old website and explained why it was outdated and why the technology we were using was bad. He made recommendations for more up-to-date images and animation, scroll bars, layouts, and options for viewing the material. We let them take the requirements and run with them.

For the real estate company, we provided a slew of pictures and a framework of what we wanted to see. They took our vision and created the site from there, adding features we hadn’t thought of.

The website has a different layout than the standard model of clicking on a page and going to the next one—it’s more like a cube that keeps turning, displaying what our company does. That was Blake’s idea, and we’re putting the finishing touches on it now.

BMG offered to help us with SEO, but we have our own developers, and we market through word-of-mouth and the brokerage world. So it isn’t really a need.

What is the team dynamic?

We worked with three or four people from their team, including Blake, during all stages of the project. He has always been my main point of contact for technical items and day-to-day operations. We also had a contact for the site content and a couple of people in charge of layout fixes.

While finishing up the entertainment website, I spoke with Blake two or three times per week, and daily during the final stage. I am speaking with him daily as well now, while we’re completing the new real estate website.

We communicate through email and phone calls, depending on the situation. For something quick, we have a phone call, but if I need to process my thoughts on something with the whole team, I write an email.

How did you come to work with BMG Media?

I am fond of word-of-mouth and personal recommendations, rather than internet searches. I found BMG Media through a combination of all of the above. They had a great rating on Google, but I also asked company owners I knew. Those who had used BMG Media highly recommended them.

We also considered the company that made our previous website, and one or two others, but I never ended up accepting meetings with them. I was just collecting cost estimates.

We met at my office, and Blake came prepared with his vision for the website. He detailed his expertise, provided cost estimates that fit our budget, and we were able to strike a deal. It was easy for me to hire him on the spot.

How much have you invested with them?

Between the two websites, the cost was upwards of $30,000. The real estate site has cost upwards of $15,000 so far, but the price will continue to rise as we add more features to it.

What is the status of this engagement?

The entertainment website has been live for four or five years. Over the last year or so, we started working on the property site, which should be going live within the next month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The entertainment company website has been very successful. Through the site, I was able to lock down venues for either private events or ones I promoted through the company and liquor sponsors.

How did BMG Media perform from a project management standpoint?

In my business, I need accessible partners, and BMG Media is one. If I send them an email, I receive a response from Blake or someone in his office within an hour. He tackles emergencies immediately.

I’ve had some problems with the real estate site’s hosting provider and firewalls. When I’ve needed to get BMG Media and my IT company together, they’ve worked quickly, without stoppingg until the task at hand was complete.

The one-year duration of the project was my fault, not theirs. I put the project on a backburner after working on it for a couple of months and picked it up again.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness and creativity.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. What they provide is perfect for our needs.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Give them a shot, let Blake use his vision and creativeness, and then determine if you like it or not. BMG Media is creative enough to take what they’re given and run with it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a partner and the managing director at Fortis Net Lease. We are a commercial real estate brokerage company based in Farmington Hills, Michigan and sell our product nationwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BMG Media?

My company needed a proactive website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Any website development takes time to come to fruition. One of the best assets I’ve found working with BMG Media is that Blake [Founder, BMG Media Co.] and his team were able to talk about my idea, what we wanted to accomplish, and how we would go about doing that. From there, we moved to a mockup creation or staging phase, looking at different ideas. There was an information pull from my company and theirs, in terms of what we wanted to write, followed by an integration of all the content and the launch of the site. The process is collaborative. We look to BMG Media for guidance on putting our ideas toward the creation of an actual website. The process has been good, in my experience.

A couple of years ago, we worked together on a site called DollarStoreProperties.com, as well as on FortisNetLease.com. We’re currently in the midst of overhauling the latter site, and will probably create an additional offshoot in the next couple of months, for which we will be engaging Blake and his company.

We have continued to evolve into the newest technology in terms of website design, animation, layout, and aesthetics. They have helped us remain cutting edge in what we’re putting out in comparison to our competitors. In addition, there have been features I came up with that Blake brought back to his development team.

One specific feature that I haven’t seen anyone else do is listing all our properties on the site and allowing users to change the ranking of all the properties, making it so that no property will ever be the top position or the bottom position all the time. Every time a user comes to the site or refreshes it, they will see a different property in the number one position. The reason we wanted to do that was that we didn’t want to give any one property more exposure than the rest. We have the same fiduciary responsibility toward every seller we work with and wanted to give them the same benefits. If someone else and I were to look at the site at the same time, we would be seeing different properties in the number one position. This can be verified by simply refreshing the browser. I came to Blake with this idea, and he and his development team came up with a way to make it work.

What is the team dynamic?

We have worked with nine to 10 people in total from their company. On the current project, I have been using three or four of those people overall. My main contact is Blake, but I’ve also been in daily communication with his lead designer, Rachel, and other people from the group. We communicate on average three or four times a week, multiple times per day. I’m a detail-oriented client, and they’ve understood that and met my needs.

How did you come to work with BMG Media?

My introduction to their company occurred over three years ago. We searched online for a media or website design group in our area, and spoke with a few companies and looked at their creative portfolios. After more research and reviews of their past work, we decided that BMG Media would be the best fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent over $50,000 on their services overall. For this project specifically, the cost was $15,000 to $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The DollarStoreProperties.com project started at the beginning of 2016, between February and April.

We started the latest project around two months ago. We’re still in the coding and design editing stage but hope to finish it by the end of October. The typical project timeline is two months, but it depends on how detailed we get. I usually send back multiple edits.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

DollarStoreProperties.com is a proprietary website which I’ve used for selling real estate. Since its launch, we have attained over $100,000 in revenue, directly from that website.

How did BMG Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was delivered on time and within budget. I have zero complaints about this aspect. We’ve communicated through a mixture of emails, text, phone calls and meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The reason we’ve continued to use them is that we’re happy with the end products and the level of dedication and collaboration from start to finish. I am particular and detail-oriented, and I warned them of this, but I am the type of client BMG Media caters to.

We’ve worked with developers in the past who were simply average. Blake and his company are definitely the best strategic partner we’ve found for creating websites, logos, marketing material and other things of this nature. Oftentimes, in today’s business culture, companies won’t take the time to sit with the client, understand their ideas, try to improve upon them and make them come to life. I’m not a tech-savvy person, which is why I was looking for someone who could help me help my company. Blake and BMG Media were compassionate about what we were looking to do and very helpful. They were willing to take the time and talk to us about ideas, platforms, how to use the backend and more. These are the reasons I view the relationship with Blake as long-term.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’ve found that, to this day, everything has been enjoyable. I’ve been pleased with everything and have no areas of improvement at this point.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My name is Damian Kassab, and I am the CEO of Persisteplan Software. Our main product is called B-File, a platform system for Allstate insurance, specifically for retail locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BMG Media?

We wanted to improve out outward-facing presence to the world and leverage their media expertise in website design and development, video production, and backend programming. The main goal of our website was to produce revenue; it could be good for building brand recognition, but, if that didn’t translate into dollars, it wouldn’t matter.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Many companies will want to sit down with the customer and talk about the product. But Blake, their founder, took the extra step; he and his team went with me to an Allstate office to see our product in use and understand its environment. They couldn’t have made the connection in terms of design without taking this step.

We have 15 levels of pricing all of which integrate with Stripe, which is how we take credit cards and ACH [Automated Clearing House] transfers. BMG Media was able to work with those APIs, making sure that the signups would work seamlessly for the customer.

They created video content as sub-layers of the website. In terms of look-and-feel, they did a good job.

We have recently added a one-click-button for the Spanish interface. When files are sent to non-Spanish speakers, they can be converted back to English with another button press. The feature sounds simple, but there was a lot of work required for it.

We’re currently running a promotion for the month of October, which requires creating email designs for MailChimp, setting up what subset of our customer base will receive it, what the content is, and so on.

BMG Media worked on my website, but we’re also constantly upgrading the software in terms of look and feel and running promotions. They’re currently improving what we call the “Super Admin System” for customer support.

We’ve also rolled out a virtual-employee service for which BMG Media is providing video production, frontend and backend coding and integration.

What is the team dynamic?

The team size ranged from eight to 10 people. We interfaced with different people depending on what we were working on. There were different people for visual aspects, content, backend coding and so on, with some overlap. It was a focused process. We spoke daily throughout the course of the project.

How much have you invested with them?

BMG Media has performed a number of functions for us, so the costs get intermingled. I’ve spent more than $200,000 with them so far. That sounds like a lot of money for just building a website, but, as a software company, we do much more than that.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with BMG Media two or more years ago. It’s been a substantially long relationship, and we continue to make changes daily.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our revenue has increased substantially, and the product is phenomenal. The number one agent to date in the entire U.S. is my customer. He’s using B-File as his platform system and can confirm that his status is 100% attributable to the 2.0 version of the tool, which BMG Media is responsible for. It’s been a collaborative effort, and we’ve created a product that works incredibly well in the field.

The Stripe integration is one of our key features, and it has worked well. Not only can customers pay and signup; they no longer have the trouble of working with the complexity of our previous website.

How did BMG Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always available and know when to push back when I want something unrealistic. BMG Media has done a good job.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their vision for the end-product look is great, and they have good responsiveness. I can call about an urgent change, and have it done immediately.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really. If I had any, the relationship would have ended a long time ago. Blake is a hands-on person; although he could delegate more, the reason why the company is so good is that he is so hands-on. He could hire more and let go of the reins a little.

BACKGROUND

I’m the associate creative director for an umbrella entity of multiple restaurant groups in Detroit. Our corporate office includes 5–7 people, and we have 200–300 on-site staff members. Our target market is high-energy dining with a fresh yet hospitable approach with striking interior design and instilled culture.

I manage the art for all brands’ print and digital content from start to finish. I also lead marketing initiatives for the restaurants via social media and collateral and act as our PR agency’s point of contact. My responsibilities also include CRM [customer relationship management] and conceptual development for the entire brand, making sure that all aspects are succinct and consistent with our corporate identity across various mediums.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We needed assistance with web development for our new restaurant, Prime + Proper in Detroit. Our founder and owner is friends with some of the team members at BMG, and they were signed as our vendor before I started working at this company. BMG is a small business located around the corner from our corporate office, which is always convenient. 

SOLUTION

We were looking to display our brand in a visually striking way based on my team’s UI/UX designs, and we also wanted to be able to edit the content ourselves in a way that would translate to the hard coding. This included various pictures, menu layouts, press page, concepts, team member features—everything that could boost our SEO and analytics and help us understand our visitors’ impression of the website and our product. This project lasted about 1 ½ months from concept to launch. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

The website successfully launched before our opening day. Our prospective customers can now view our menu online prior to our opening, which is driving more excitement for the opening and giving the public a glimpse of our restaurant. We’re also actively marketing on social media to build strategic anticipation for our distinctive steakhouse in Detroit. Through this increased outreach, we’ve received praise on the design of the website as well as the restaurant, which has not yet debuted for the press. We’ve already achieved national design prestige in the restaurant world. The website also gives us much more leverage with our PR agency and makes our brand more cohesive and attractive for guests and restauranteurs.

BMG had great customer service and quick turnaround times. Plus, they’re located nearby and were always available for meetings to discuss different UX aspects of the project, especially when transitioning from web to mobile interface designs.