Bop Design

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

TAG (The Accounting Group) is an outsourced accounting and software solutions firm.  TAG provides outsourced accounting B2B services and is a Sage Construction Software Partner.  With five office locations throughout Southern California, we focus on small-to-mid-sized companies and high-net-worth families.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bop Design?

Bop Design was selected by TAG to redesign our Wordpress site and optimize the brand identity. They provided SEO, CTA's to drive business leads, and integrated our different company divisions.

We have four distinct divisions here, so we wanted to keep them separate on our website, but also make them a cohesive story on how they all kind of fit together.

We had a previous WordPress website. It was not responsive and not very elaborate. It was pieced together, with not too much content, very little infographics, and an unpopular color scheme.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

As I recall, they came in with two or three separate ideas. It was a team approach on how they thought they were going to elaborate the divisions, focus on separating the services that we provide, and what the audience was that we're going to reach. They explained SEO to us: how pages rank, and how to capture all the keywords to help our website rank.

They made our website responsive and easier to scroll. On our previous website, there was just a small template, a small frame; it that barely captured one page. We could put a lot of content and information within one long, scrolling page. They changed all our colors, so we went from four oranges and yellows that were completely ugly to four different colors that represented a different division within TAG. It made things a lot cleaner and easier to navigate.​​​​​​

What is the team dynamic?

Jeremy took the lead and was more like the project manager. We had Kara, who was doing all of the design and branding work. There was another person that helped with SEO and content, and probably one other person. I don't know how many other people working behind the scenes.

We had same people throughout the whole project and we communicated at least once a week; we do check-ins.

How did you come to work with Bop Design?

I came in new to the position. I didn't think the previous team was a great fit, so I interviewed four different firms, they came out and gave us proposals and pitches. Our whole team, the management team and I, all decided that Bop was going to be a great fit. They weren't priced the lowest nor were they the highest price, but they gave us the most detail in their proposal. They really listened to all our needs, captured them in the proposal, and outlined exactly what they were going to do for us.

It was extremely easy. The proposal was so detailed with all the different pieces they wanted to work on; they put a calendar in with due dates. We knew where we stood every week, and we could check on the progress they were making. If anybody held up the project, it would have been us, TAG, coming to agreement on making decisions. It really moved along exactly how they proposed that it would.

How much have you invested with them?

I reach out to them almost quarterly for different small, little projects. They've helped us with three landing pages for Google AdWords, and they also tweak those and continue to maintain those. I'm working with them right now to create new pages for our construction software division. We've eliminated a software on our page and added a new one, so I'm working with them right now. In total, maybe 20 grand.

What is the status of this engagement?

It was four year ago. Bop works with TAG on an on-going basis to add more pages and functionality to their website. Bop also creates landing pages for Google AdWords and works with TAG to make sure the PPC campaign is running smoothly and on-budget. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've definitely seen an uptick in traffic which has resulted in at least quadrupling our number of web leads. So a lot more people have been finding us on the web either organically or through these Google AdWords. We probably only had maybe 2 a quarter, 3 a quarter with our old website, and now we're consistently at 15 to 20 a quarter, which has resulted in a lot of new business for us in different regions of the country.

How did Bop Design perform from a project management standpoint?

They're always on top of it, so very organized. They respond within 24 hours if I have a question. They get on the phone or a GoToMeeting, so we're seeing exactly what they're working on, and they don't nickel-and-dime you. If I have questions, they're not going to charge it to an hourly rate. They just kind of take care of it. And they're easy with their billing. For any of the new upcoming project work, they're just very fair in their pricing.

I mostly would just email Jeremy or Emily, or who is ever in charge of whatever they're working on. If I recall, there were a couple of different tools that they used when we were building up the website. Some had to do with changing up the sitemap and/or adding content. There were a couple of technology tools that they used to streamline things and make it a lot easier for us to all be on the same page.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bop's pricing, turn-around time, and attention to detail is fantastic.  They are a great team to work with and are dedicated to providing the best services and truly want their clients to succeed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I keep working with them. It's been a great relationship, they're easy to work with, and I've definitely recommended other companies to reach out to them. I think it really started from the beginning when I went on a long process with interviewing three or four other firms to take on this project; I knew that they were going to be a good fit. And they haven't disappointed yet.

Do you have any advice or recommendations?

I think it's always good to compare proposals and pricing - so you don't necessarily have to go with the cheapest solution. You should get a better understanding on the team and their approach, and make sure that the proposal is really what you're looking for. All the pain points of your current website that you don't like, explain everything that what you're looking for so that whoever you hire really provides the best solution and walks you through exactly what you're looking for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the Founder and CEO of VeraVia. VeraVia is a boutique integrative health and wellness retreat that provides customized all-inclusive, comprehensive, and structured programs based on each guest’s unique health goals in a high-end luxury Five Star resort setting. All of our programs include our 4 pillars: fitness, nutrition, naturopathic medical, and wellness (behavioral) in a holistic approach to treat the whole person from the inside out. Our all-inclusive programs range from our 3-night Reboot Express, to 1, 2, 3, or 4 week stays. Our clients are typically busy professionals who are looking to make lifelong changes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bop Design?
We searched a lot of companies, but most of them were very large companies, which we weren’t interested in. Once we found Bop Design, we set up a meeting with them. We liked what they had to say, so they were the only ones we interviewed.

We wanted to rebrand because we were new. I had come up with a logo and name on my own. When we met with Jeremy [Principal, Bop], he recommended that we come up with a name that could be trademarked. Based on that, they [Bop] did research on names that could be used and that also could be trademarked for our specific type of business. Then they came up with 5 or 6 options, and we selected what we liked from those. After the initial naming and branding of the company, they also helped with original website design and creation, ongoing SEO including regular blogs, e-books, social media management, and Google Adwords campaigns.

As a new company in a high-end luxury space having to compete with numerous well-known brands, we were able to achieve approximately 170% growth year over year, obtain numerous press releases in major publications, and rank at the top of SEO search results for our major search terms. Bop also assisted with ongoing website refresh designs to keep our site looking modern and refined it to align with our brand as we grew and modified our company focus. They also added new features to benefit our clients.

Our target market is the high-end, international luxury wellness traveler. Bop effectively assisted with targeting quality leads that were interested in our product and could afford it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
We didn’t have any web presence at all. We told Bop we wanted our brand to be a luxury, high-end boutique type of product that was highly individualized and customized. Based on those descriptions, they came up with the website design, logo design, taglines, etc. They now manage the SEO for our account and write blogs for SEO purposes.

What is the team dynamic?
I worked with the 2 principals who were my main points of contact. At the beginning, I spoke with them once a week over the phone or in-person. We also communicated daily via email. Now during the maintenance phase, I speak with them once a week. They would send drafts, and I would comment on them. They would send updates or suggestions as well. They had a team of 2 people who worked on the design side and 1 person who worked on the programming aspect of the website.

How did you come to work with them?

I found them on a Google search.

What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in August 2013 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Bop's initial and ongoing efforts helped us achieve consistent 170% annual growth rates in income and new clients.

How did Bop Design perform from a project management standpoint?
Bop effectively met all project deadlines with exceptional product deliveries and responded very well to last minute change requests from us. They stuck to initial price quotes always.

What did you find most impressive about them?
What's unique is that you get a firm with experience, technical and graphic skills of a larger firm, but with the individual attention from the owners.

Are there any areas they could improve?
I would not have them do anything differently.

Do you have any advice for someone wanting to start a project with them?
They managed the process well. I don’t feel there’s something that I would advise somebody to do differently to get the best results. I trusted them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Evergent Group runs 4 staffing, payroll, and consulting companies. I’m the Marketing Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bop Design?

We needed to redesign 2 company websites. They had been built on a static Dreamweaver platform, with design and code being separate. Any updates meant re-uploading Dreamweaver files to the site, which was an archaic process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bop Design developed our websites using WordPress, which allowed us to manage content online. We've also used Bop Design for a redesign of our website for Suna Solutions, which was launched a few days ago.

Bop Design has full in-house resources, and they also engage independent contractors for copywriting, which was managed for us.

How did you come to work with Bop Design?

I researched a number of web companies, and sat down with a couple. I didn't get the feeling that any of them grasped the concepts or the direction which we were aiming for. After another request for proposal and Google search round, I found Bop Design. I looked at their website and read about their company. Bop Design stated that they believed in SEO, which was a big touch point. We wanted to become more searchable, and found that Bop Design practiced what they preached. They are SEO experts, and showed up first for this type of search. One of the companies that responded to our bid had a price which was 5 times higher than our offer. Bop Design understood where our budget was, and gave us what we wanted.

How much have you invested with Bop Design?

This information is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Bop Design at the end of 2015. Our first 2 websites were launched in February, 2016, and the one for Suna Solutions was launched a few days ago. We're planning on developing a 4th website for our company using Bop Design.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was always impressed with Bop Design, from our first meeting onwards. We had an immediate connection, and Bop Design seemed to understand where we wanted our business to go, and what the look-and-feel of our site was supposed to be. Bop Design was informative throughout the process, giving us a deliverables timeline, and stayed on top of things. The only delays came from our end, when we were too busy to provide content which Bop Design requested.

How did Bop Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Whenever I needed something, I received a reply within minutes. Bop Design provided great customer service, and even invited us to their own web launch party. The relationship has grown and continued to flourish throughout the entire period. I was able to email Bop Design's project manager and receive a reply immediately on any question, even after the website launch. This showed that Bop Design really cared about our company, not just about the money.

What did you find most impressive about Bop Design?

We never felt that we hired a web design company, but rather that we were having some friends do it for us. If we didn't like something, we could tell Bop Design's team, and they wouldn't be offended. I could ask for any changes and have them implemented.

There are tons of companies which claim that they're good at SEO or design, but after looking at their own websites, it's easy to see that they're not optimized for organic searches, and have bad designs. Bop Design is not like that, and they definitely practice what they preach through an expert SEO team.

Are there any areas Bop Design could improve?

I can't think of anything. I was always impressed with Bop Design whenever we worked with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work at a tattoo laser-removal clinic based in San Diego.

What is your position?

I am a Dermatology Nurse Practitioner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Bop Design?

We needed a more user-friendly version of our website. Our company has been in business since 1999, so we've had to evolve along with the internet, in terms of web design. At first, it was all about print media, but things have obviously changed.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Bop Design redesigned our website, based on the existing design. They also created a mobile version of the site and performed monthly maintenance.

How did you come to work with Bop Design?

I'd heard about Bop Design through colleagues and friends, but I did my own online research. A developer whom I know, had some great things to say about Bop Design as well.

We had received at least 3 bids for our job offer and interviewed each person. The owner and Bop Design's top designer came out to us initially. They looked at the ambiance of the clinic and what our branding was. They listened to our needs and came up with a proposal. We chose them based on their proposal.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total redesign cost was between $8,000 and $10,000. We also opted for monthly website maintenance with Bop Design.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our website redesign finished in 2014. We maintained a relationship with Bop Design, but we've recently sold our clinic. Even though I wasn't paying for Bop Design's services any longer, I was able to contact them with questions, at no additional cost. Bop Design has given me some very useful information, above the call of duty.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We went from a very remedial website, to something which had a lot of pop. The medical tattoo removal field is dependent on before-and-after photos. A big problem for our company was that people stole our photography, passing it off as their own. Bop Design came up with the solution of putting watermarks on the photography, in order to slow that down. I'm not a tech person, but I was able to scan photos and upload them to the website with the watermark applied to the picture automatically, as a functionality of the website.

In addition to this, Bop Design included a slider at the bottom of each page, showing a movement between the before and after pictures. I was able to work with it, despite my limited computer skills.

Bop Design gave me a very good operating manual as well, and I could email them any time I had a question.

What distinguishes Bop Design from other providers?

I've appreciated Bop Design's consistency. They stayed on time and were good to their word, which was quite refreshing. We've had some not so good experiences with other website designers.

Is there anything Bop Design could have improved or done differently?

I wish I could say something, but Bop Design was fantastic and I've appreciated their level of professionalism. They didn't overpromise, instead they gave us realistic expectations of what could and couldn't be done.

BACKGROUND

BioFire Diagnostics LLC is a privately held clinical diagnostics company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company manufactures and distributes its proprietary diagnostic respiratory panel, FilmArray RP, which operates on its user-friendly FilmArray system, to hospital-based clinical laboratories in the U.S. and E.U. BioFire is continuing to develop a broader test menu for its FilmArray system, including a blood culture ID panel, gastrointestinal panel, and a meningitis panel. The company prides itself in a comprehensive understanding of what matters most to its customers, and continues to make great strides to ensure that its products remain reliable, user-friendly, and on the cutting edge of innovation. 

The company also currently holds over 70 patents related to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The company has used its extensive patent portfolio to successfully market nearly 200 products to the clinical, research, and military markets. BioFire collaborates with various U.S. governmental agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. Additionally, researchers, medical technicians, law enforcement officers, and soldiers in the field, use company devices to detect or study disease-causing organisms.

My role as the Digital Marketing Specialist is to manage day-to-day brand websites, operations of social media platforms, as well as develop, implement, track, and optimize campaigns across all digital platforms. I also create and manage new digital marketing tools, email marketing, public relations, as well as read and interpret web analytics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We had multiple websites for our company and products. All sites were outdated, had poor navigation, were not user-friendly, and overall lacked visual appeal. Potential leads and customers using the site could not find the information they were after, and that lead to high bounce rates and poor user experience.

SOLUTION

They improved our page by simplifying our site map and making the menu and navigation a lot easier and more user-friendly. Bop Design updated our design, implementing a continuous scroll, rather than requiring users to click deeper and deeper into the page in order to get to their information. The buttons are now much easier to use as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

The project, on Bop Design's end, is completed. They've offered us a 30-day window for SEO tracking and making optimizations. We're still within that process, but everything has been handed over to our company.

Bop Design is awesome to work with, compared to all of the other developers I've known in the past. I have no criticisms. They were always on time in terms of deliverables and execution. Our company was the slow one. The work was done during December, so everyone was hit-and-miss.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I am working with an aerospace company – Hydra-Electric.

What is your position?

I've been their head of marketing since March 2014.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with BOP Design?

The company had a sub-par website with very poor functionality and usability. It was very poor in terms of communicating our message, and the company had zero marketing. The marketing function had been dormant for about two years, so I really had to rebuild the marketing foundation, and the first step was the website.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

It was a complete website redesign. I used to manage websites for other companies, so I'm fairly knowledgeable, although my technical knowledge is a little bit outdated. I was really looking for somebody who could help me with that. I had a sense of what I wanted in terms of information architecture, but the concept of responsive design was new to me, so I wanted somebody that could do a responsive design website. I also knew that I would be using Bop Design, or I expected to be using them, for other marketing design purposes. That kind of came later, but they've been great in that sense.

How did you come to work with BOP Design?

I'm in a marketing organization called MENG – Marketing Executives Networking Group – and I posted there. I'm sure Jeremy [Durant, principal at Bop Design] responded to me directly. I was looking for a Web design company that was specialized in business to business. We had a limited budget, so I was looking for somebody that worked well with smaller companies.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It was approximately $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them at the end of August [2014], I think that was our first kickoff meeting, and then the website went live on December 9. Since then, they've helped with digital products as well as design for print and other products. They've done everything from designing our banner ads, designed our presentation folders, given me templates for our data sheets, and created the graphics for our booth for trade shows. Also, when I do promo products, if I need something higher level done, then I go to BOP.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

They were pretty much on track, time-wise. There was a little bit of delay on our part. I would say they have been very efficient in terms of turning things around and getting us stuff when they said they would. The design work has been great. I've gotten so many compliments on the website itself.

I think the one great thing about working with them is, a lot of times, they'd present an idea, and I would push back and say, "I really want it this way." Sometimes, they'd say, "Okay, great. We can do it." Other times, they would push back and say, "It's really going to be a mistake because of X, Y, and Z." They would educate me on something. We had a great working relationship. They balanced well between being flexible, but not being a pushover. They were open to my ideas, but also let me know when they felt strongly that what I was proposing wasn't going to serve our objective.

What distinguishes BOP Design from other providers?

I think what I liked was, I worked directly with the designer, and she had a great grasp of both design, UI and project management. In other web design firms with whom I've worked, the designer only focused on the design aspect. There's three roles; the project manager that keeps things on track, there's somebody who's got the design vision, and then there's the role of making sure that the user interface, functionality and usability makes sense. I think what was unique about Bop is the chance to work with a professional who could manage all three.

First of all, we started out with Emily [VonSydow] in charge of project management, then I got switched to Kara [Jensen], and at first I was like, "Wait a second, we were supposed to have a project management person. It's not right here." Then, they explained to me that Kara is well versed in all three of those areas, and I was just enormously impressed in working with her for all three. Since then, once the project wrapped up, Emily has been our project manager; she has been great, too. I feel I can go to either of them.

I've just really been impressed with the caliber of the people at Bop Design. I liked the professionalism, efficiency, and the flexibility they offer.

The other thing that really impressed me, in them winning our business, was their knowledge of content marketing. I think that is the differentiator. The other thing that I really appreciated is that working with the post launch has been fantastic, in terms of working out a very reasonable monthly retainer. That's been really effective.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

They migrated the color of our logo, and it wasn't apparent until after the fact. They probably thought that we didn't really have a color palette, that it was OK if they just punched it in one direction. But, this should have been a more explicit conversation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a custom software development company. We actually partner with many different companies to provide them with development and testing teams.

What is your position and responsibilities?

I am responsible for the marketing, sales, and delivery teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Bop Design?

Our website was really outdated, and we hadn't made it a focus to work on the website. We had managed to gain new projects and clients without having to do that, I guess. Although we have great internal development teams, I just thought it would be easier to work with Bop Design, to move it off our plate and have them help us with designing a website that reflected our value proposition, and also to develop a site, and help us with the launch. They really helped us soup to nuts.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

I met with Kara [Jensen, creative principal at Bop Design] very briefly. I think we probably spent a couple hours together, maximum, and from what I recall, I just told her what I had in mind. I had some documentation, but a lot of it was just in my head. She said, "OK, well here is the process." She laid out a really simple process of how it was going to work, which actually I was really concerned with in the beginning because it was almost too simple. She took that information, went away and told me to trust the process. I call it the "Kara magic."

She came back with a couple of different designs, and they were great. She really got it very quickly. From there, we chose a design them, and then we worked on imagery, we worked on graphics to get certain concepts across. The last piece of it was the copywriting. We had a couple of hiccups, like you would with any project, but I really think they did a great job of putting it all together.

Kara really helped us with understanding our value proposition and translating that into a really simple design, which was great. Then she and her team selected all of the graphic and photo elements. I created a baseline for the copy, but then they did all of the polishing, which was great. They really simplified and made my words a lot easier to understand. Then they went into development. The site is built on WordPress. They helped us with the launch, they worked with our IT [information technology] group to launch the website, and they continue to maintain it for us when we had changes.

How did you come to work with Bop Design?

I think I've met with Jeremy [Durant, the business principal at Bop Design] at a networking event. It was many years prior. He and I talked a little bit. It was one of those things where it's like, I really need to redo the website, but I never got around to it. I talked to him many years before.

I actually engaged several other marketing agencies locally, for the project, and I wasn't really happy with their whole approach. They were making it a much bigger project than what I really envisioned. I called up Jeremy and said, "Hey, Jeremy. I really just need someone to come in and help us take our value proposition. We have a buyer persona, we know who the target audience is, we know who our ideal companies are, and we have that compelling value proposition, I just really need help in translating it."

He said, "Sure, I can absolutely help with that." He came in, and the first time I met with Kara I felt really comfortable. I really felt like she really got it really quickly. Unlike other marketing agencies, they weren't trying to come in and reinvent the wheel, so to speak. We just really connected with Kara and felt like she really understood what it is that we were trying to do. That's how we got started.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I paid $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They rebuilt our website in the first quarter of this year [2015]. We started working on the project in January, and I believe we launched end of March, and we still work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We received really fantastic feedback from customers, from our own employees, even from people who are applying for jobs. I've been building up the marketing and sales team, and people comment, "Wow, your website is so easy to understand – it's so clear. We totally get what you do." To get that kind of feedback, compared to what our site was like, it was such a poor representation of who we are. For the Bop team to take that and turn it into what it is today, I really commend them for that.

How did Bop Design perform from a project management standpoint?

I think I mentioned a couple of hiccups but, overall, working with Kara and Jeremy has been a really pleasant experience. With timelines, everything always takes a little bit longer than you had originally envisioned. We tried to pull that back in as much as possible. We had to swap copywriters or copy editors midstream, which was partially a reason for the delay. Other than that, I think that the entire project has been really successful.

What distinguishes Bop Design from other providers?

I really think of them as a marketing and graphic design agency. For me, the strongest service line that I've worked with them on is graphic design. I think Kara really differentiates the company, and just does a fantastic job of understanding what it is that we're trying to relay, and putting that into a design format that is simple, elegant, and easy to understand. She's really talented.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

I would just say that Kara, for example, is really talented, and working with Kara is different from working with some of the other members of their team. They're responsive, they're very service-oriented, they really try, but she's just really talented, and I think that's hard to replicate.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We do speech coaching and presentation skills training, primarily for corporations.

What is your position?

I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Bop Design?

It all involved a rebranding of my company. I have had the company since 1993 and, in the past, I was primarily focused on creative direction and production for large corporate events. Then, in 2008, I began to refocus primarily to the speech coaching. In 2011 or 2012, I contacted Bop for a complete redesign of my website and a new logo. They also helped me go through the renaming process. They provided support for all that.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

It's primarily been design work, and now it's extended into some content marketing. They've also done development and the back-end – the whole nine yards.

How did you come to work with Bop Design?

Actually, as the other part of the process, I was relocating from Chicago to San Diego. I wanted to find a local company here in San Diego. I went through a typical search process on the Internet.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

To do the logo design and create the entire website and everything, it was around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The collaboration is still ongoing. Probably about six months ago [January 2015], I hired them to do content marketing, which I was failing at miserably when I was doing it by myself.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I went from zero presence on the Web. I think my domain authority has gone up. They've actually had a big impact in this process of marketing because they're doing the content marketing and Google AdWords, and all that kind of stuff. I've gone from one visitor a day to hundreds.

What distinguishes Bop Design from other providers?

They're very good creatively. The logo they designed for me won an award. They have great customer service. They're very focused on customer satisfaction. They really understand small, business-to-business companies.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

If I had any issues, you can see the growing pains that they're going through. Things have always worked out great, but if there were ever issues, it's usually based on them growing and getting more clients.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are a mass notification company. We work with a lot of larger businesses that use notifications to send out to their employees when there are disasters. Our biggest areas are disaster recovery and business continuity. We also have solutions for IT [information technology] alerting, to automate notifications to various employees.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I am the senior marketing manager. I handle most of our digital marketing, so the website is one of the things that falls under my responsibility. We have a team of about four or five here. We have a designer, copywriter, and marketing coordinator. I manage our relationships with vendors, sales, and all of our digital marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Bop Design?

Our old website was awful. It was bad from a usability perspective. On the back-end side, it was very hard to make updates and to change things the way we wanted to. We wanted to update our site to have a little bit more of a modern look.

We like to think of ourselves as an innovative, cutting-edge technology company, and our website did not represent that. So, one of the biggest goals was to do that, to make it easier to manage on the back-end, and to improve our search engine optimization as well, so that we're in the top results coming up for things like "mass notification" and "emergency notification."

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

They did pretty much everything. At first, they worked on the design to give us an idea of what the site would look like. We gave them feedback on the design. They made several adjustments and then took on the full development of the site. We used WordPress, so they were not only working on the front end but also designing the back-end interface so that we could make changes to various pages. Bop Design did everything, pretty much, from start to finish.

What was your process in selecting Bop Design?

We wanted to make sure we were working with a local vendor, so that we could have some face-to-face meetings as we were going through all this. The first thing we looked for was Web companies in San Diego, and Bop came up as one of the top ones. I think there were five to seven companies that we made initial contact with. Probably four of them ended up responding and coming in to meet with us. We met face-to-face with those four different companies before we finally ended up selecting Bop.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

I'm sorry, but that information is confidential.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

When was the project completed?

I think we started looking for vendors around November [2014]. It was the end of November, or the beginning of December when we first started working with them. The relationship is still ongoing. We have a monthly retainer with them to handle any issues that come up with the site – any minor changes that we need to make. They also monitor general things on the site, make sure that our version of WordPress and all the plug-ins are up to date and that there aren't any problems going on with the site.

What were the results of the project?

The general feedback for the site itself has been completely positive. We hear nothing but good things about the way it looks. On the back-end, we're very pleased with the way that it's set up. It's a lot easier to make edits than on our previous site. It's sort of night and day from the way things used to be, so from that perspective, it's been all positive.

Do you have any statistics or metrics on the project?

As far as SEO, it does take some time for that to bump up, but we are seeing some improvements in some of the more specific keywords that we're targeting. We haven't, as yet, seen as much improvement in the broader ones, the big ones that we're looking for, but we're still hopeful that with more time we will get to that point.

What differentiates Bop Design from other vendors?

The biggest thing was that the scope was never an issue after the project started. You always begin with an initial idea of how the project is going to go, and then things change through time. With other vendors, when things change, they would say that these changes are out of scope and that we have to add this much more money to the project. We never once had that conversation with Bop.

Things changed pretty drastically halfway through the project, and we had to do a soft launch of the site before we did the full redesign. Even with a big change like that, there was never a discussion about us having to pay more because things changed. We made this agreement at the beginning, and their job was to deliver it, period. I really appreciated that, because it allowed us to focus on the project itself without having to worry about there being incremental costs along the way.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

Not much, to be honest. They've been great to work with and very responsive. The communications with them have been good – very organized. I can't really think of much else that I would say to improve. I guess that's a good thing, but we've never really had any issues with them.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

I would say to have some metrics and some goals in line – some very hard, specific things that they would like to achieve at the end. Then, make sure you are measuring your progress against those. It's very easy for a vendor to just finish a website design and say they're done. But, you want to make sure you have something as measurable and concrete as you can to compare to once the project is finished. That will more easily allow you to gauge success on other factors beyond just having a new website.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I'm an executive at Red Star Contract Manufacturing

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Red Star combines in-house mold design and tool building, precision injection molding and insert over molding, CNC machining, device assembly, and sterile packaging and kitting to support medical device OEMs from development through commercial production. As a U.S.-based, ISO 13485-certified contract manufacturer, we help simplify your supply chain, maintain consistent quality, and scale production with confidence.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Bop Design to accomplish?

• Full Website Redesign

SOLUTION

How did you find Bop Design?

Online Search

Why did you select Bop Design over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Bop Design were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Full website redesign

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Enhanced Branding and Lead Generation

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

On time and on budget

What was your primary form of communication with Bop Design?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Red Star Contract Manufacturing had very nice people to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Bop Design could have done differently?

Everything was great.