CreatiVertical LC

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive creative director of Virgin Island Search & Rescue, a nonprofit organization based in the British Virgin Islands. If someone is out on the water or has gone missing, we’re the ones that go out and collect them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreatiVertical LC?

We had a legacy website to update. As our previous site was impossible to manage if you weren’t a programmer, we wanted to improve the website so that the backend would be easy to use.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CreatiVertical LC redesigned our website. While Nick (Owner, CreatiVertical LC) retained some of the site’s old elements, the majority of the content and design is new. He focused on creating a platform with a backend that can easily be updated.

He also gave me a few SEO resources and walked me through the different processes.

Getting our word out through SEO efforts is important because people often don’t know who to call when people are stuck in the water. In America, they call the Coast Guard, and in England, you call the NRLI—but here on the British Virgin Islands, we’re the primary help resource.

He’s sent me video guides about how to navigate the technologies he’s given us. These references have been really helpful.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Nick.

How did you come to work with CreatiVertical LC?

Nick used to be on our board. Since he was familiar with our organization, we felt that he understood our specific needs and challenges.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent under $5000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019 and the work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Nick’s work has exceeded my expectations. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with him.

How did CreatiVertical LC perform from a project management standpoint?

Nick was very thorough in making sure I understood all of the processes. We used Basecamp to communicate, and he kept me updated about all tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Since I’m the only person manning the project, it’s been enormously helpful how Nick has preempted our roadblocks to get the project done efficiently.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I brought up an issue with him where I needed further instruction on how to use Basecamp and the concept boards. Since I’m not coming from a technical background, I needed a little more support, and he addressed that quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to effectively communicate what you want. He won’t know what to build unless you’re direct and honest.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of an interior design business in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. We do a little bit of commercial work but are focused mainly on residential clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreatiVertical LC?

Originally, we needed a solution for blog writing and social media curation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first began working with them when they were VI Property & Yacht, and they transitioned into CreatiVertical in June. We started to work with them under that umbrella just this past summer with a new blog writer. They do a blog for us twice a week that we collaborate on, which is wonderful; it's nice to have people who are open to collaboration to work with. They put the effort into making their blogs sound like us. From there, they do social media marketing to complement that. Additionally, they've helped us with videos and slideshows with captions.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Nick (Owner, CreatiVertical LC), and we've had three other people from their team.

How did you come to work with CreatiVertical LC?

We first found out about them because their print magazine is also pretty well known in our area and they do a really good job marketing for themselves, so I figured they would do a great job.

Because they were also in the Caribbean, we felt very comfortable, since they understood the region and know that doing blog posts about "Styling Your Fireplace" isn't really where we're at. It was just nice that they had that local connection and can knit everyone together that way. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in June 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've gotten really wonderful results with them on Facebook. We always get feedback from clients or even just people in the community about our blog being very well-written. It's very nice to hear, especially since writing is not my gift ; I do not spell or punctuate well, and for people that I know to say that they read something on our website and found it to be well written feels great. The biggest thing we get out of our engagement with them is notoriety; because of their ability to market and publicize the business, people know us for what we do and they know our look. We know the community has taken that in when they ask us if we did a project because it looks like our work. They have a concept of what we do and what our work is, and it has come from our marketing. 

How did CreatiVertical LC perform from a project management standpoint?

They've been great. The transition has had a few bumps in the road, with figuring out who can do what but everything has been getting completed the way it should be.

We use BaseCamp and AirTable to plan all of our posts and try to keep everyone on the same page. We don't have any structured weekly calls set up, but I don't have any problems getting ahold of them when I need to. If I email Nick and ask if he has time for a call about something, he's always available. They're easy to work with and easy to get ahold of.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The real thing that sets them apart from people I could hire stateside is their knowledge and familiarity of life in the Caribbean. To me, that made a really big difference, especially for someone that's writing for us, that I want to speak like us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would love to see them offer some more inclusive packages for services. It would be perfect if I had one person writing the blogs, writing copy for the email marketing, managing the MailChimp, and doing the blog posting.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to try not to manage them so much yourself, and let them tell you what you need. They have a wealth of skills and a lot of different people available to help. You might not know who those people are at the very beginning, but if you explain where you're trying to go, they can get you there.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Antilles Power Boats, a day charter boat business in the British Virgin Islands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreatiVertical LC?

We were unhappy with our previous web company’s services, response times, and products. We came to CreatiVertical LC as a replacement vendor.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CreatiVertical LC implemented small fixes to our existing WordPress website. We wanted integrations with Travelocity, calendars, and other features. Nick (Business Owner, CreatiVertical LC) first surveyed the site to make suggestions. He then charged us in increments based on small tasks he completed. 

For example, he updated our server and website so our load time would improve. He built features to let us take on bookings and set us up on TripAdvisor and Google Business for extra exposure. We plan to rework the entire website with CreatiVertical LC next year once our high season is over.

What is the team composition?

We only work with Nick. He leads a technical staff on the backend. 

How did you come to work with CreatiVertical LC?

Nick had an excellent local reputation when he was running a different company. We contacted him over the phone for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $2,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019, and the project is ongoing

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Nick immediately set us up on Google Business when we started working together so that we can start counting how many hits we receive. We didn’t have any metrics from our previous provider, so we don’t yet have a year’s worth of data to go off of. But we are getting a lot more information and visits from CreatiVertical LC’s work so far.

How did CreatiVertical LC perform from a project management standpoint?

We keep in touch mainly through Skype calls and Basecamp to stay on top of progress. Nick is very generous with his time. He makes an effort to clarify precisely what our requirements are at each stage. He’s excellent at following through. With our last company, we’d submit requests such as building a Stripe booking system on our site, and after six weeks, we’d find out they hadn’t even started yet. With Nick, we see follow-ups after just six hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In a typical outsourced relationship, we expect to have a point of contact in a nearshore country who liaises between us—the client—and the technical team. Our previous partner transferred us to someone in a distant time zone to handle both communication and programming. That person lacked the English fluency to provide good customer service. 

Nick, on the other hand, makes himself a significant presence in our project. He’s very much the point person on the engagement. When we call him, he immediately gets on our request.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. CreatiVertical LC has done a great job of patching our existing website. When we come back to Nick to redo the site next year, we have confidence he’ll do that very well.

Any advice for potential customers?

If I were to recommend a web developer with great customer service and technical skills, CreatiVertical LC is my go-to.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Owner of Celtic Powerboat Limited. I work with the cruise ships, hotels, and villas, and take their guests on tours off the British Virgin Islands.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreatiVertical LC?

I needed to create a website for my company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, I sat down with Nick (Owner, CreatiVertical), and he gave me various options about the markets I wanted to reach. He put me in the right direction for where I wanted my site to go and recommended photos too. Now, when people get to my website it closes the deal because it captures what we’re all about. CreatiVertical is still on retainer to manage the site and keep it safe from spammers.   

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Nick. 

How did you come to work with CreatiVertical LC?

I was impressed by a magazine Nick was the creative designer for. It was very high quality, and when I spoke to other people that had gotten their websites done by him too, he came highly recommended. I spoke to other providers, but they just didn’t impress me like Nick did, with his knowledge and foresight of what he could do with my website.

How much have you invested with them?

My retainer fee is about $350 per quarter.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working on the website in 2016, and I still have them on retainer for maintenance purposes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My bookings come through the website, so I’m completely dependent on Nick and what he does. Guests often say that my website blows their mind, especially with its drone footage.

How did CreatiVertical LC perform from a project management standpoint?

In the early days, we would get together 2-3 times a week, with his developer to work on the site and make adjustments based on my preferences. We typically communicated via Skype and WhatsApp. I’ve never had to wait for an answer, and they’ve made themselves available 24/7.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Nick has given me great ideas that have differentiated us from other companies, like telling an oral history of each of the islands and providing high quality snacks and champagne on the tour. Nick takes great pride in his work and is very reasonable with cost, while still giving the best product possible. We only talk about payment once I’m happy with the work done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at all.