Cue For Good

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a manufacturing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CueBlocks?

We hired CueBlocks to perform the technical side of web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CueBlocks is providing web development services to our company. For the general web development issues, they assign one person to deal with them. Then, when we’re faced with server-related issues and other complex things, they assign specialists.

What is the team composition?

There are a number of managers I can contact depending on what we’re doing.

How did you come to work with CueBlocks?

I think I did a search, and we spoke to 2–3 companies. However, I couldn’t remember exactly how we hired Cueblocks because it was a long time ago.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent in the region of $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in July 2014, and we’ve been working with them for about seven years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

CueBlocks quickly get things done. If they’re tacking small things, I appreciate that they finish within 24 hours as compared to the previous people I’ve worked with where I’d be waiting a week for their deliverables.

Their team has a professional approach, and they have specialists in various areas. Overall, the project has rolled along quite nicely, which allowed us to have a long-term relationship.

How did CueBlocks perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management process has been great, and we communicate through Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a very efficient organization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think I can really answer that question because they’ve been doing a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any project, have a clear idea of what you need. Normally, CueBlocks charge by the hour, but they’re also open to providing project quotes. They quickly respond, so you have to be prepared to keep up with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a bicycle shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We’re a single-storefront business selling bikes and bicycle accessories.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CueBlocks?

The first issue I had was trying to transition from an older platform to Magento. I’d tried to work with a few different companies, and it wasn’t getting done.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After initially help me fix an extension I was trying to install, they launched my Magento site. They handled both design and development, as well as a later transfer to Magento 2. Post-launch of the first Magento site, they offered us SEO and Google Shopping services, and we’ve been working on that together since 2019. Through the last couple of years, they’ve given me monthly updates as to what they’re doing.

What is the team composition?

I work with nine people regularly, though I have a single point of contact I start projects through. That person is Sumit (Magento Developer), but it’s changed throughout my time with them. One of the owners, Pancham (Co-Founder) is very involved as well.

How did you come to work with CueBlocks?

The first time I worked with them, I was trying to fix an extension I was trying to install. My vendor at the time was struggling, and CueBlocks name was on the support list for that extension. It was very smooth and easy, and I asked them right away if they could help with the Magento transition project. They were easy to work with and very responsive to my needs. It was clear I was going to succeed in launching Magento if I started working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

When it was basic upkeep, feature additions, and changes, we spent $8,000–$10,000 per year. Now, we’re more at $15,000 annually with the addition of SEO. In 2020, we spent over $20,000 with them because of a Magento 1 to Magento 2 transfer.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since March 2017. Their SEO services kicked in in early 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They had me extremely well-positioned when the pandemic hit, and I realize that’s a weird thing to say. A lot of bike shops don’t see a lot of value in their website; they don’t necessarily list their products online like we do because the majority of business happens when people walk in the door. Cycling has become very popular during the pandemic, and in-person shopping has dropped significantly, so we were in a great place with our website. It was amazing to watch. I was actually a bit nervous because our ability to fulfill orders was a bit limited, but it was very fun.

Metrics have increased across the board including organic sessions (up by 53%), new users (up 67%), and organic revenue (up by 156%). Focusing on Google Shopping, we’ve seen a 600% increase in revenue, a nearly 1,000% increase in transactions, and a one-fourth reduction in CPC.

How did CueBlocks perform from a project management standpoint?

We pretty much communicate solely through Basecamp. Yesterday, I wanted them to help sell some products that will do well this year, and I did so through a comment in Basecamp. Sumit translated that and created a task from it. Every once in a while, we’ll communicate through WhatsApp, especially if it’s off-hours, like on a Friday night. It’s rare that I have a phone call with anyone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They under-promise and over-perform. They don’t glue jewels to anything, rather they speak plainly about how much time and money something will take. Then, they do it faster and better than I expect. It happens every time, and it’s unbelievable to me.

We have 10 people working in the shop and not one of them is an IT person. One nice aspect of working with CueBlocks is that Sumit will keep me up to speed if someone very technical comes onto the project. He helps us understand that language, which empowers me to make a smart decision.

Recently, we were having a problem with bots on the site and I needed to add some security. CueBlock’s security resource isn’t someone I work with frequently, and I wasn’t understanding what they were trying to communicate. Yet, I didn’t have to raise my hand and ask for clarification because Sumit stepped in and explained everything. He made sure I got the information I needed in a way I could understand so I could proceed with making a choice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a non-technical person, there are some things that are very exciting, like switching from our original platform to Magento 1, and then from Magento 1 to Magento 2. CueBlocks has a lot of balls in the air in these moments, and I could have used more communication about what they needed from me, or if they needed me at all. I’m excited to see the new website in these moments — and I know there’s a lot that can go wrong — and I feel like they’re missing an opportunity to be excited with me.

There are also times when I need advice, and I’m not 100% sure who to go to for it. Part of that is probably my misunderstanding of that relationship. Most of the business relationships I have involve feedback moving both ways; advice gets thrown around. I feel that I could be getting more advice from them on certain things. This isn’t much of a complaint though because they identified huge opportunities for SEO. Certain products are underserved, so people looking at those products can capitalize on them. Sumit pressed hard to get the SEO project running.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to understand what you’re asking of them. As long as it’s clear what you need, they’ll excel. Be prepared on your side and know what exactly you’re in need of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an affiliate marketing company aimed at educating consumers in the diamond jewelry sector. I am the CEO of the company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CueBlocks, and what were your goals?

We initially brought on Cueblocks to do a broad SEO audit of our website and to then give us page by page recommendations to improve our SEO and CTR. We have expanded our relationship to include technical help for our site (developing custom plugins, integrating other plugins, site maintenence etc).

SOLUTION

How did you select CueBlocks and what were the deciding factors?

I was recommended by some colleagues and was impressed with their communication skills.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Site Audit - was completed within a few weeks. There wasn't much from Cueblocks on this matter as our site was pretty strong by all general markers.

Page by page improvement - Cueblocks has been taking 10-20 pages on our site a month and providing us detailed worksheets for our writers and content creators to use to improve those pages (changing actual content, technical seo points, backlinking etc).

We have since covered every major page on our site. Cueblocks would also recommend additional topics that were related to our current content and would prepare similar worksheets. They have developed multiple plugins quickly and effiiciently. And worked on many wordpress related issues.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We have ranged from 4 to 10 people working on various topics. I am not fully familiar with their titles but Deepanshu and Rajiv were consistently working on our SEO improvements and Girish was the main quarterback on technical issues. Avneet was our original point of contact and would jump in to manage issues when we needed something urgent.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have consistently jumped in rankings on most targeted keywords and improved our overall site authority. We have seen a 70% increase in traffic and an 80% improvement in CTR, resulting in a strong increase in business.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

They have been good overall with project management and have been quick to respond to, and deal with, any emergencies. We mainly communicate via email and basecamp with occasional whatsapp discussions.

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

They were the first company we have tried that did not over-promise and under-deliver. They were quick to grasp what we wanted and, on rare occasions they missed the mark, were able to quickly get back on track.

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

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a farmer, growing organic grains / pulses on my 6 acre farm. I am also the owner of a registered proprietorship firm Honest Farmer. I also own the trademark 'Graintastic' , under which my produce is sold.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CueBlocks, and what were your goals?

For the past 4 years, I have build a market of consumers who buy from me via irregular channels e.g. WhatsApp / Text messages etc. My primary goal was to streamline order management and other processes, so i would be able to scale better in future. Another objective was to engage my existing customers using a single channel!

SOLUTION

How did you select CueBlocks and what were the deciding factors?

As a IT professional myself - in my previous life - i knew i was going to be a very tough client! Apart from technical competencies , i was looking for a team which understood my purpose.

Graintastic was never a consumer / producer / buy / sell type of 'business'. It was a conscious effort towards keeping the soil alive using sustainable agriculture! The owner of Cue Blocks were equally engaged with the same philosophy and this alignment of purpose was something which brought us together.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Our first meeting was nothing about technology! Everyone was keen to hear my story, my journey from IT to organic farming. I think it gave all of us a sense of how personalised this website was going to be.

The scope was; how to deliver me and my philosophy of conscious farming to my consumers. Everything was build around that, mockups of pages were crated, the images, the text, the STORY!

I left most of the decisions - regarding which tech to use - to Cue Blocks team. The page designs happened, which were regularly discussed, apart from the various e-commerce processes.

Each time a process or a page was done, it would be tested by me and the feedback given using Basecamp (which made things easier for all of us). Word press + Woo commerce was used as the implementation platform.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A project manager was designated at the very first meeting. He was coordinating with a team of developers and me. I believe there were 2 dedicated resources and others floating ones, as a need arises. We also engaged graphic designers to pick our icons etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

from WhatsApp to a professional e-commerce site was a huge improvement / upgrade! The product inventory was setup, order management was streamlined, and online payment gateway was a blessing! (no more 'forgotten payments') Because of SM integrations, i was able to run simple promotions to drive traffic to my brand.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

"Basecamp" tool was configured at the start and all communications happens through it. Tasks and discussion threads were created and assigned, making it easier for me to follow multiple conversations. project management was never a one-sided affair, it was always inclusive and accommodating. Even in the times of Covid lockdown, the communication was always a phone-call or an email away! :-)

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

Apart from team's technical competency, it was their forthrightness and keenness to help small businesses which are aligned to Cue Blocks philosophy of a sustainable environmental development. I believe they are keen to build solutions which solve a real world problem, and not just provide a group of s/w engineers who can code for you.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Hmm... a teeny tiny area of improvement, where i think few pages could have been better designed. We did have long discussions over this, and who knows, perhaps they were right! The site is still new, and i will find it out in the next few months. :-)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Peedu's People is a non-profit organization. We work for the Animals (prevention of disease and cruelty) and the Environment. I am the director and co-founder of the non-profit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CueBlocks, and what were your goals?

We hired CueBlocks for the development and design of our website. The goals were:

• Convey what we do to the target audience.
• Create a database of the work done.
• Allow customers to get in touch with us.
• Allow collaborations with strategic partners.
• Help create awareness for the cause and the organization
• Allow more volunteers and partners to find us.

SOLUTION

How did you select CueBlocks and what were the deciding factors?

Cueblocks and its founders are Vegans much like we are. The core of the company and the thought processes align to provide real-life and practical solutions to tangible problems. Cueblocks also has the initiative to use technology to do good. This is perfectly aligned with Peedu's people for the effect we are looking for to create awareness

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Project steps:

• Understanding scope of work.
• Understanding target audience.
• Understanding the core-values and concerns of the business
• Create a project plan for the task
• Recreate the logo for the company base don rages audience and marketing
• Designing basic framework with Peedu's People
• Making suggestions and improvements to create a web template
• Selecting and modifying the template selected and created
• Populating data and pictures. Selecting appropriate forms for the same.
• Trial run and sampling of work done.
• Feedback and follow up on plans.
• Releasing the website and making it go live

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A 5 person team worked with us exclusively and clocked approx 125 work hours to produce the results. They were web-designers, creative artists and project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Outcomes:

• Visits to the website
• Verbal and written feedback about the website

The feedback:

• Most clients found our website very attractive and professional
• Younger people found the website very mobile-friendly

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Project management:

1. Well planned and with constant feedback and course-correction
2. Stage gate process is used
3. Communication is done via the common communication platform. Files uploaded and everyone is on the same page

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

We were impressed by the complete involvement of the entire team and inclusivity and personal stakes in the success of the website

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

The timeline slipped a little but that was mostly due to the pandemic situation

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a direct-to-consumer home appliance company. I’m the marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CueBlocks?

I hired them for Shopify enhancements and design updates for our site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They implemented checkout enhancements, onsite API calls, and integrated a few other apps that we use. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with a project manager, a few developers, and the head of the company. 

How did you come to work with CueBlocks?

I found them on a directory for Shopify Plus partners. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019, and our work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped improve our page load time by 20%. Their communication is incredible, they have a quick turnaround time, and their price is affordable. 

How did CueBlocks perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re really good. I have one main point of contact, and we manage the project through Basecamp. I hear back from them within 24 hours, and they’re always on the ball. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with the feedback that they provided me. I think they helped me implement the best possible solutions. Their expertise is impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

In a perfect world, I’d love it if we could be in the same time zone, but that hasn’t hindered our relationship. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

When working with any development team, it’s important to understand the scope of what you want them to do. That being said, CueBlocks has been good about reading between the lines. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and head of operations at DontKnowHealth, a health information firm. We have a platform that distributes health information.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CueBlocks?

We needed a company to build our product. We wanted to build a really fast MVP to start testing with the users.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They gave us support on how we can start building a really good solution, and they developed a front-facing website, learning management system (LMS), and an e-commerce site so people can make purchases. They suggested three optimal solutions utilizing third party services and combining them through custom code. They used WordPress for the website, LearnDash for the LMS, and WooCommerce for the e-commerce site.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Avneet (Co-Founder).

How did you come to work with CueBlocks?

We knew they were a credible agency, and they were the first ones we approached.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They really helped us with validating our idea without investing a lot of money. They were also able to build really fast. 

How did CueBlocks perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was really good. They let us know who was working on what. We used Basecamp for project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They communicate really well and are really efficient. There were minimal to no delays at all.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could let us know how much is being done so that the financials can be tracked better. It’s not a big deal.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re good at communicating, they will be good with communication as well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of, and CEO at, Language Online Services (LOS). My team of 15 language consultants provides online consulting to people around the globe in 13 languages.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CueBlocks?

I wanted to create a new LOS website using WordPress.

What were your goals for this project?

My goal was to introduce my language services and products in a new and creative way. My old website was designed in 2013 and got outdated.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I got a recommendation from someone I know very well. This person, a language business owner, asked CueBlocks to help her with a new website development a couple of years ago.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

CueBlocks designed my new website from scratch. I provided the content and Cueblocks provided the solutions in how to display my language services and products on the new website. The CueBlocks team was always on the ball and helpful when it came to advice and new ideas.

What was the team composition?

I mainly cooperated with the co-founder and Director of CueBlocks Avneet Sethi Jirman. She was my contact person and a go-between between myself and her team in India.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My new website has been up and running for two weeks now. My current clients and colleagues have given me very positive feedback on the design and functionality of the website. I must wait a little longer to see how much traffic and how many new clients my website will attract.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project ran smoothly, and the atmosphere was extremely laid-back and cooperative. Avneet, the project leader, and her team were reacting to my ideas and suggestions quickly and effectively. I've learnt so much working with them during the three monhts we were creating my website.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Clear communication, customer-focused approach and collaborative spirit.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not what I can think of just now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Manager for an enterprise software solutions provider headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Our products and services to help organisations improve through-life data integrity, enterprise-wide visibility, item-level identification and traceability of physical assets and operational risk.

Our software platform is cloud and mobile-enabled and integrates with a wide-range of auto-ID, asset tags, fixed and mobile reader technologies, as well as primary business systems such as ERP’s and CMMS’s. As marketing manager I look after all marketing communications activities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CueBlocks?

Our company had undertaken a multi-year R&D project to re-engineer and launch a new cloud and mobile-enabled enterprise asset and risk traceability platform. As part of this, we wanted to make significant changes to our website strategy and refresh our brand identity. To date, we had maintained 3 separate marketing websites but made a decision to consolidate under the company brand, narrow the focus of our messaging, and forge stronger connections between all our product offerings.

There were also technical issues with our historical websites – they used different CMS’s which made maintenance inefficient, they were not mobile friendly and the code was not fully optimised for SEO. So it was time to invest in a new website. We do not have any in-house designers or website developers, so we needed to outsource the design of the user interface as well as the development of the code.

What were your goals for this project?

Our initial project goal was to launch a refreshed brand and all new SEO-optimised WordPress website which would integrate our complete product range into one, single digital resource showcasing our leading enterprise asset and risk intelligence products and capabilities.

An important function of the new website was also the integration of a blogging platform which would enable us to publish articles on various topics of interest to prospective customers, leverage this content on social media and other digital channels, underpinning our sales efforts and support our move to new web-based software delivery model.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Upfront, our company compiled an extremely comprehensive project brief and used this documentation to approach a number of web development agencies both in Australia and overseas. We conducted a broad search and very thorough vetting process and at every stage Cueblocks impressed our team with their technical knowledge, their professionalism and their genuine wish to support us within the constraints of our budget to the best of their ability.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we appointed CueBlocks as our web development partner we got straight into work. The initial project brief served us well as a discovery document so that we were all on the same page with respect to our goals and needs.

Due to the highly-technical and highly-specialised nature of our software, we took care of the website content, structure and information hierarchy internally, and asked CueBlocks to develop the wireframe mock-ups and modules for the website user interface which would be reviewed and approved internally on the client side, and then handed back for coding and implementation.

What was the team composition?

Initially we were liaising with the business owners and then once the project was underway we were appointed a project manager as well as a team of designers and developers. We used an online project communication tool called Basecamp which became an invaluable part of the project tracking and team communications and feedback loop.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The result of the project was the launch of comprehensive new website (over 175+ pages of critical content) which showcased all our products, use case solutions, industry sectors and services. The new design was purpose-built to ensure that regularly updated content was significantly more visible so that it would be true living platform from which we can engage more effectively with our target audiences.

We now also have a greater number of contact forms through which we get more of the right kind of leads. We continue to hear positive feedback on the usability, flow, and blog content on the site both from existing and potential customers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Cueblocks were and are extremely responsive to emails. Throughout the course of the project, communication from all team members was clear and effective – which we greatly appreciate as an Australian-based software developer. Issues are worked through logically, methodically, and in a timely manner.

Cueblocks appreciate and understand our need to balance project objectives with the realities of budgets and costs and always come back with a range of options and practical solutions to help us achieve our goals within these constraints. As mention we used an online collaboration tool called Basecamp for all tasks and team communications.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

At every stage, Cueblocks has impressed us with their technical knowledge and their professionalism. And their genuine wish to support us within the tight constraints of our limited budget to the best of their ability. Their communications have been excellent and have made for a relatively smooth web development project journey.

Of course, as with any major web development project there are always going to be ups and downs, unforeseen issues crop up, and changes to project direction and course, however CueBlocks have always responded positively, logically, and in a transparent and timely manner.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Overall, our experience with CueBlocks has been thoroughly positive and we look forward to continuing our work with them in the future. One has to put a high degree of trust in their web development partner, for as they are accessing and working on a critical business, marketing and sales asset.

And for this we can recommend CueBlock’s services without hesitation. In the future we hope to be able to collaborate further on search engine optimisation improvement projects as well as mapping out a potential ecommerce platform strategy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Betty and Biddy, an online jewelry retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CueBlocks?

My skills are pretty limited when it comes to web design and development. If anything went wrong with our site, I wouldn’t be able to fix it. I needed assistance with those hidden fields that I had no clue about.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team at CueBlocks performs management on my Shopify e-commerce site. During the week, I send any requests I have to their team. They log in and fix it, or assign someone to fix it.

Along with monthly management, their team runs my Google Analytics and Google Ads. They’ve also created a few graphics and banners for the website.

What is the team composition?

There are five to six people that work on different aspects. For Google, I have one point of contact, but usually, everything goes through Ravi (Business Development Manager, CueBlocks), and he’d give it to the most suitable person.

How did you come to work with CueBlocks?

CueBlocks was referred to me by a friend who used them previously for her online business.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested €20,000 (approximately $22,000 USD).  

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with CueBlocks started in March 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To show the clicks and conversions, their team sends over monthly reports using Google Analytics. They keep everything transparent as to the work and results.

How did CueBlocks perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management style is excellent. I find their team quite flawless. If I request anything, they deal with it right away. We use Basecamp, which allows me to keep an eye on all of the projects at any given time. We also communicate through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their efficiency in dealing with requests is impressive. I’ve never had to follow-up with them because they’re always on the ball.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand what you’re looking for before you take it to them. Have a bit of grip on what you want, so nothing is lost in translation.