Firefli

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as the IT director for an ophthalmology practice in the southwest Virginia area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Firefli? 

We were trying to address a few things with Firefli. The first one was our digital presence in terms of both social media and our website. Initially, we needed to create a new website that was relevant and updated. We also had no social media presence at all, so Firefli helped us establish that. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website was by far one of the biggest projects we did with Firefli. It consisted of planning and development phases. Initially, we talked through different ideas, and they provided us rough outlines and wireframes of how the website would look like. 

After that, we started filling in website content until we arrived at the final review and design, referencing our old website for content. Our team made sure that our old website contained the language and specialties we covered as a practice and the technologies we used. Given that, we asked Firefli to use that data and put them in layman’s terms for better SEO. The site itself ran on the WordPress engine, making it easy to maintain and update. 

Moreover, Firefli did extensive research because we had to comply with certain rules and standards, such as those from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). For instance, the site must have good contrast and should have easy-to-read and scalable fonts for people with vision impairments who may be looking at our site. Our old website didn’t adhere to that, so Firefli ensured that the new site complied with such rules.

At present, Firefli does all of our digital marketing efforts and social media ads, serving as our full-suite marketing partner. They also help create content for channels like Facebook. On top of that, they respond to people who leave positive and negative reviews for us. They’ve also shot a TV commercial for us and created TV and newspaper ads. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with two people from their team. Designers work in the background, while other teammates go over the content and wording of the website. 

How did you come to work with Firefli?

I used Firefli’s services at another company, and I loved the collaboration and the detail that went into that project. As a result, when the doctors at my current company were looking for a better and newer website, I didn’t hesitate; I set up a meeting between them and a few people in our organization. We absolutely fell in love with their presentation of what they’d provide for us, so we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested more than $200,000. We have a yearly budget, and that’s divided among the sub-companies in our company.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first meeting was around August 2018, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Firefli’s SEO efforts have driven traffic to our site and improved our organic ranking on Google. Our website traffic has gone up considerably, generating thousands of views every month. In terms of social media, we’ve greatly increased the number of our followers.

How did Firefli perform from a project management standpoint?

Firefli’s project management is fantastic, and they’re absolutely professional. The team is well-organized and always on top of everything. They’re on schedule with what they build and deliver. Meanwhile, we use a tool to track website metrics, where I can make notes for them to see. To communicate, we use email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Firefli team listens and tries to understand our profession to speak according to how we operate. Instead of simply making a website or creating digital materials, they truly want to learn how our business runs. Overall, they've become almost like employees of ours — that’s how engaged they are. The team is now very much familiar with the ins and outs of our practice; they communicate that back to the public as we want, and other vendors can’t do that. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. Since our engagement has turned out so well, I don’t have any negative feedback to put down. The partnership still works well for us. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Sit down and have a meeting with Firefli. Let them show you what talent they have, and listen to the collaborations and projects that they’ve been through — you’re going to realize that you’re in the right hands. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing team manager for a textile company, and I’ve been with them for over 20 years. I mainly work on our digital properties and websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Firefli?

We needed to check our websites’ ADA compliance to know how much out of compliance we were and to what level of detail. That was when we hired Firefli; we needed them to audit one of our websites. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Firefli analyzed all of our website's pages. This was a fair amount of work because the site was available in four languages, and they had to follow rules as they audited it. They gathered information across around 4,000 website pages, and they had to sort them out, too. 

The deliverable was a report of all the ADA issues they found per page. The report must also contain an estimate of the cost to resolve such issues since we wanted to know if it was easier to start over rather than spend a lot of money fixing those issues.  

What is the team composition?

We engaged with 3–4 people from Firefli, including their owners, an account representative, and a technical lead. 

How did you come to work with Firefli?

We’d kept a list of agencies, and we’d go to one of them when we needed certain services. Looking at Firefli’s skill set, they seemed to be a good match to what we were looking for in this project. We had also done other projects with them before, so we knew they were very good at what they do. We hired them because of that. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $16,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from June–November 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Firefli came back to us with a final analysis of the website, and they were able to examine all the code. We found out that the cost to fix the website greatly outweighed the cost to replace it, thanks to Firefli’s audit. As a result, we were able to make a decision. 

Overall, they were good. We received an SoW quickly, they showed us what they were going to deliver, and then they delivered it. Above all, they provided an excellent report. 

How did Firefli perform from a project management standpoint?

In this engagement, project management tools weren't needed. Firefli simply presented us the tools they were going to use for ADA compliance — plenty of ADA compliance tools could be found online — and showed us the results they’d get. From there, they did their job, and we moved on. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Firefli team was easy to deal with, and we clicked with them quickly. On top of that, they understood that not everything was black and white and that business decisions could drive direction. When they offered suggestions that didn’t fit our business model, we could easily say no. Other agencies would argue with us over things like that, but Firefli didn’t. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’ve never disappointed us, so we highly recommend them. They’ve always delivered.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the communications director for Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, a research center within Georgetown University. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Firefli?

We needed to make security updates and developments through our website, and we hired Firefli to tackle both of those tasks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with Firefli on a number of web projects. One of those projects was a major research study about the status of women in America. We ranked all 50 states and DC to figure out which states were best and worse for women. Our data and findings were compelling, and we wanted to make them accessible in a more interactive way online.

As a result, FireFli created web pages about the research. They also created specific pages for every state, giving more information about women’s rights and status in a particular state. The team also developed new features for our pages, such as pre-populated Tweets that users could use. Viewers could also embed quotes and photos of the people that we interviewed. Overall, it was a big undertaking.

That project was also a collaborative process. We provided the research study and written report, and the Firefli team figured out how to highlight our key findings on a web page. We also wrote plenty of content for the pages. Our organization had its own WordPress website to start with, so the team only added to it and created new pages.

At present, we’re working on 4–5 other projects in addition to basic website security maintenance. Some of these projects are heavy on data visualization, while others are more focused on database and resources management. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with around seven people from their team.

How did you come to work with Firefli?

We conducted extensive research to find Firefli. We were initially working with another company, which wasn’t a good fit anymore. We then picked Firefli because we wanted a versatile group with a range of expertise. We wanted a team that could take a whole range of projects and that we could work with over and over again in different capacities.

Moreover, when we were shopping around for vendors, it was clear that Firefli was going to be easy to work with. They were responsive and spoke to us respectfully. They could also simplify technical subjects for us. On top of that, they were excited and passionate about our work. They came up with cool ideas to help showcase our research, and that made them a good fit for our project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In just one month, over 10,000 people visited the webpage Firefli created to showcase our research study on American women. We’re a small research center, so that’s a good number for us. That report has also been shared by high-profile and prominent people on social media. The page features they’ve created have also brought on more interaction and interest in the project.  

Apart from that, the Firefli team has saved us time. We don’t need to constantly follow up and ask them about their progress. They’re competent, which saves our team time, and that’s valuable.

How did Firefli perform from a project management standpoint?

Firefli has been exceptional in terms of project management, especially Alex (Account Coordinator). We communicate via email and Google Meet. I prefer to correspond via email, though they have their own system for coordination on their end. They also use different software to show us the wireframes and mock-ups of the designs into which we put our feedback directly. 

I don’t work directly with developers because I don’t have the technical expertise or vocabulary to talk to them. As a result, I work with Firefli’s project management officers and the heads of their organization. We come up with the scope and vision for the work, making sure that we stay on track. Then, they relay my feedback to the more technical people on their team. 

Some of the vendors we’ve worked with have ended up going over budget or having delays on deliverables without giving us a heads up. This isn’t an issue with Firefli, and I appreciate that. They’ve stuck with our budgets and timelines. If anything funky comes up, they’ll be proactive and let us know the situation. They’re also solution-oriented, and they just want to take care of us — they always have our best interests in mind. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The fact that we truly feel we’re taken care of is impressive. We feel that we’re going to end up in a place where we’re happy. We’ve also had truly open communication, and they’re very receptive to any kind of feedback we give. Overall, we’ve had a good working relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. The biggest challenges come from our end, and I appreciate Firefli’s ability to put up with us and find a way forward.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of (a/an) Education

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Youth Development organization

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• 25th Anniversary Video
• Marketing clips to use in future campaigns

SOLUTION

How did you find Firefli?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Firefli over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

What was the size of Firefli’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

45 minute feature length film showing 25 years of history of our org.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Feature length video

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

Items were delayed but the timeline was very short to begin with. Final deadline was met.

What was your primary form of communication with Firefli?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They had the willingness to collaborate with partners and be creative with deliverables to meet budget needs.

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

FIrefli worked within the scope of what we were able to pay and afford.