Due North

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Loved & Loved Again

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are an eCommerce retailer of vintage and new jewellery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Due North to accomplish?

• Generate more sales via Shopify with improved store theme and UX
• Link store to Klaviyo to improve email sales
• Increase SEO effectiveness of Shopify site

SOLUTION

How did you find Due North?

Online Search

Why did you select Due North over others?

• High ratings
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Due North were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We wanted to completely re-design our Shopify theme and functionality to improve sales on the platform.

Major delivereables were:

• UX research
• SEO research
• A customised theme to overhaul UX including brand evolution and
• Development to support pulling metadata from Etsy to support structured filters
• Link with Klaviyo to support more effective email flows and campaigns

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The store's UX is now dramatically improved, leading to better conversion rates

Email sales are now a core part of our sales mix

SEO has started to grow keywords, traffic and sales

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

Project management was good. The team is very responsive with communications, jumping on calls whenever we need help.

We had some issues with a third party vendor and they provided a lot of support to help, which was outside the original scope of the project.

What was your primary form of communication with Due North?

Virtual Meeting

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

UX research and innovative website designs to support our business goals.

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

Not really.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chairman of C P Business Consultants Limited

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Business Consultancy for small and large Companies

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Due North to accomplish?

• Create a Charitable website

SOLUTION

How did you find Due North?

Referral

Why did you select Due North over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Due North were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Full design and implementation of a Charitable Website,with easy access for purchasing the charities array of products and services

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Demonstrated great deal of Accuracy,worked to strict timelines, and understood completely our beliefs,products catagories,our potential future client base,and where we are today and where we like to be in the future.

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

Every stage of the project was met with a complete understanding of our requirements, adding additional ways of achieving our goals in a professional and expert manner. We had total trust in the company from initial inception right through to completion and implementation. Aftercare has also been exceptional, with a quick,rapid response to any queries,which is so important in the business world today. 

What was your primary form of communication with Due North?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The owner Tim  took a proactive lead role in the project,his expert advice,professionalism, and patient manner made the project highly enjoyable even under the tight deadlines.Tim is so well structured and his planning is exemplary,coupled with his attention to detail and deliverary a joy to work with!. 

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

Absolutely nothing could be added to the professionalism of all involved and execution the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the principal and owner of Koto Financial Services Limited.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Due North?

We needed someone to build and maintain our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Due North has built my website from scratch and now maintains it. The team has also ensured that the SEO content is linked to our social media and everything we do. They've also collaborated with our graphic designer.

Since we’re in a heavily regulated industry, we often need to have risk warnings amended on the website for our clients. There are always tweaks and changes that we need to make to our website, so Due North provides us with ongoing support and makes updates whenever needed.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with Tim (Director) and Samantha (Client Success Manager).

How did you come to work with Due North?

I personally knew Tim.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around £4,000 (approximately $5,400 USD) on the website. We also pay £70 (approximately $90 USD) a month for regulatory updates, hosting, and other services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2023, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Due North, we have an attractive and easy-to-use website that looks and functions well on desktop and mobile devices. Moreover, the SEO work that Due North has done in the background has helped us rank high on Google search results. We've also asked customers to give us feedback on our website's functionality and usability, and we've only received positive comments on its look and feel.

How did Due North perform from a project management standpoint?

Due North is a great team. They sit down with us more than once to discuss what we need and give us regular updates. They're very accommodating to little changes based on the market and changing regulations, and they're always on hand to make those changes very quickly. For communication, we use email, Microsoft Teams, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I would like to give a shout-out to Tim.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Due North is approachable and down to earth, and they talk to us in an understandable language. They're always on hand to help and are very responsive. Moreover, the work they do stands out for itself; we've received a bespoke website that we're very proud of, and the clients seem to like it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's nothing I'd have them improve. I would only recommend them to keep being approachable and down-to-earth. It makes a big difference, especially when people are looking to build websites and marketing platforms. They need that calm voice and not to be made to feel like they don't understand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager for a commercial fitout and construction company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Due North?

We needed help with web hosting and e-commerce development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Due North hosts our three websites and has designed, developed, and maintained our WordPress e-commerce site. The team has used Elementor Pro as a page builder and Worldpay as a payment system. We've provided the content, and Due North has built our e-commerce from scratch.

What is the team composition?

I only work directly with Tim (Director).

How did you come to work with Due North?

We found Due North through a business leaders meetup and received recommendations from former customers who had worked with them. I liked what I heard and saw their reviews online, so I contacted Tim. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around £30,000–£40,000 (approximately $40,000–$53,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Due North in 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Due North successfully hosts our sites and has completed our e-commerce website, ensuring it's SEO-healthy. Additionally, users are buying through our e-commerce site.

How did Due North perform from a project management standpoint?

Tim sets realistic deadlines and is always in contact throughout the process. We provide a lot of content, and he does the algorithms. Overall, the project management is nice. We mainly communicate via Zoom and phone calls, and we occasionally meet in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Due North is easy to work with, realistic, and efficient. We get value for our money and are happy with our engagement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything that Due North can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend talking with Tim and getting to know them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of REG247. Our company sells personalized registrations in the automotive industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Due North?

We needed a platform to promote our millions of products, so we hired Due North to set up an e-commerce website for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Due North built our e-commerce website from scratch. They handled the entire process and helped set up a CRM system in the site's backend. They implemented various functionalities into the system, such as automated emails and responses. Moreover, their team created our customer inquiry forms and connected them to the system, where all of the data we would receive gets stored.

The site is already finished, but we’re still working with Due North on other components of the platform. 

What is the team composition?

We work with three people from Due North, including Tim (Director of Sales).

How did you come to work with Due North?

Due North was referred to us by someone I know who had previously worked with them. We actually got about five different quotes and had conversations with other companies; however, their team seemed to be the best fit for our project because of their competitive pricing and experience in working on e-commerce projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about £30,000 (approximately $38,000 USD) on this project; it'll probably hit £40,000 (approximately $51,000 USD) once everything's finished. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Due North in January 2024, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results have been good so far. We’ve received about 600 customer inquiries monthly from one of our channels. We've also received 120 purchase inquiries.

How did Due North perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team has set a clear plan and structure in place, so we always know what's going to happen. They also meet our deadlines consistently. We communicate via email, phone calls, and Zoom.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to shout out to in this review?

Tim has been really great to work with. Before deciding to work with Due North, he actually came to see us in person to discuss their plan and explain what platform would be best for promoting our products.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re most impressed with Due North’s extensive experience in e-commerce. They've brought our platform to life from scratch and integrated it with a CRM system. In that regard, they have good, all-around knowledge of not just how to list products but also how to remarket them to customers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we haven’t had any issues with Due North.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder and Director of TSCC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We sell private, professional coaching and a set of products connected to support the offer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Due North to accomplish?

• Set up new website for a new division

SOLUTION

How did you find Due North?

Referral

Why did you select Due North over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Due North were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Web guidelines and UI / UX development
• Create new B2C website on Shopify
• Set up our inventory on the site
• Manage the go live

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Website delivered in less than 8 weeks
• SEO performance strong, almost immediately
• Strong brand representation
• Good conversion rates compared to old website

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

We had a dedicated customer success manager who helped with day-to-day project management. Outside of that, we had weekly reviews on Zoom.

They're very responsive.

What was your primary form of communication with Due North?

Virtual Meeting

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

They were really keen to champion our customers. Even if this meant challenging our understanding. They helped bring user research to support key components of the website.

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

Not that come to mind