COLAB

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Director of a supply chain, logistics, and transport company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a moving, storage and logistics company serving individuals, families and businesses on the East Coast and around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire COLAB to accomplish?

• Redesign our website to be more user-friendly for the various stakeholders and business lines we have
• Drive additional leads through our website

SOLUTION

How did you find COLAB?

Referral

Why did you select COLAB over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from COLAB were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

CoLab is our web development, design and strategy partner. After designing our site, they maintain it ensuring we are constantly evolving the site based on best practices and ensuring there are no bugs or issues. They help us with user experience and any design/development projects that come up. 
They also work closely with our SEO vendor and digital marketing/social media vendor to ensure we're all accomplishing business KPIs together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Time spent on the site 
• Lead volume

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

CoLab's project management team is top notch. The communication and ownership is amazing, and they not only respond to our needs but rather anticipate them and proactively bring items to us to address. We have never once had a concern over budget or timeline that wasn't clearly communicated well ahead of time. If there is a concern, our team provides a pro/con list of tradeoffs so we can make the best decision with the data at hand.

What was your primary form of communication with COLAB?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I feel like I can approach anyone at the company - from someone entry level to their CEO. The company is small enough that we are not just another client, yet big enough that the expertise of the team is stellar. The team truly cares and is an extension of our team. They aren't just a vendor

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

No, I truly am so thankful for the guidance and knowledge of the COLAB team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a statewide advocacy organization that provides teacher and student training programs. We focus solely on the state of Virginia but are also part of a national initiative.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with COLAB?

We started in 2013 as a tiny nonprofit. We grew faster than we could keep up with our marketing efforts. Our webpage was a semi-functional WordPress page that didn’t have the interactivity needed for individuals to register for our programs. We also found that individuals invest in a platform that's pretty, but we didn’t have time to put lipstick on this pig.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

COLAB developed our WordPress website. Their team managed frontend and backend development as well as created the frontend design. We provided their team with content that they enhanced to better integrate into the experience of using the webpage.

We partnered with them again this year. For a specific initiative, we created a web app for schools and participants to pin themselves on a map of Virginia. COLAB integrated the backend of our web app with our website, allowing students to access the app and us to promote it.

What is the team composition?

The team that I met was not the entire team that worked on the project. I met with two project leads—one on development and one on UX. I had a member of my team who worked with them more closely.

How did you come to work with COLAB?

A mutual colleague recommended COLAB. While this was a paid project for them, it was also a labor of love for their staff. When they heard that we had issues, Eddie (President and Founder, COLAB) was interested in helping us.

What is the status of this engagement?

COLAB created our website in 2015. We had a usable product within a short period of time. We go back to them when we need revisions to be made.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There was a significant jump in traffic on our site. The product's viewed regularly by everybody from parents to government officials of Virginia to national policy and advocacy organizations. When we talk to individuals, most of our story's told already. When we started our organization, we weren't able to register participants online and it was far too complicated to consider registration for multiple sections. COLAB made the registration page navigable. Teachers rarely experience issues and thousands of teachers register annually through the website. We have good searchability, so people can find us easily. Their team's SEO work was clearly effective. They created a product that allowed us to communicate rapidly.

How did COLAB perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a quick turnaround. If you have a question or need a change, they’re on it and contact us right back within an hour or two.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a wonderful team and members of our community, which is important to us. I suspect anyone would feel that way whether contracting COLAB from Richmond, Virginia or Richmond, Ontario. Their team makes it feel that you’re working with friends who have your best interests at heart. They’re really nice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Call them, speak clearly, and tell them your needs. They’ll take care of you.