Fuel Made

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder and CEO of a bedding brand

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Direct to consumer bedding brand specializing in weighted blankets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Fuel Made to accomplish?

• Revise branding
• website design & Build

SOLUTION

How did you find Fuel Made?

Referral

Why did you select Fuel Made over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

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

• Phase 1: 
  • Discovery included: 
    • Strategy workshop 
    • Data analysis and competitor outlook 
    • App audit
    • Technical scoping of roadmap 
    • Site Map 
    • Project Brief 
• Phase 2: 
  • Design included: 
    • UX brand guidelines incorporating existing brand style adapted for web 
    • Global header/footer and nav 
    • Key conversion funnel pages, home, collection, product, cart 
    • Supporting page template 
    • About us page 
    • For desktop and mobile 
• Phase 3: 
  • Build Deliverable: 
    • A fully functioning Shopify website which incorporates all of the requirements outlined in the previous steps 
• Phase 4: 
  • QA & Launch: 
    • Deliverables are A tested, launched and functional website at your domain.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Timelines were always met. 
• Deliverables were clearly defined at each step of the process 
• Communication was clear, concise and organized 
• Look and feel and speed of the site are highly improved.

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

Yes, each milestone was delivered on time. During the QC process, we uploaded our content and discovered questions, additional features to add, and in many cases the dev team was able to add the feature updates without cost, or in the case that there was added cost, the estimate was provided quickly, and in most cases was fair and within budget so that we could add it. 

We lost our internal resource in the middle of the project meaning on our side we caused some delays in the final QC, but the team met with me for multiple calls to hand-hold and explain what was needed inorder to complete population of the site, and without that we would not have been able to go live by our deadline, and we would have missed Q4. 

We continue to work with Fuel Made for ongoing site maintenance, and truly appreciate how streamlined, clear, organized, and efficient our communication is withthem. For each project we request, the site updates are integrated so that we are empowered to manage our own content without relying on a dev to make updates. The user friendly theme updates are a welcome change from our former site, which had been managed by multiple devs adding custom code that we clunkly and hard to work around.

What was your primary form of communication with Fuel Made?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• Their organization and professionalism at each step of the project were impressive. 
• The ease of communication. 
• The transparency and responsiveness regarding requests. 
• The thoughtfulness with which they prioritized potential aspects of the project.

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

A bonus would be a checklist at the end of the project with potential conversion tests to run, as a result of discussions throughout the project lifecycle. Certainly not something to be expected, but a nice-to-have. Apart from that, we were extremely pleased with our experience and no areas of improvement to mention.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder of a wholesale online jewelry store. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuel Made?

I hired Fuel Made to help me with email marketing. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fuel Made runs our email marketing campaigns in Klaviyo. Fuel Made handles everything, from copywriting and design to email concepts and automations. They’re building on the success we’ve seen from existing content and mapping out a marketing plan. As part of that, Fuel Made has also led a rebranding process and rewritten our customer-facing email templates. They make insightful suggestions about our copywriting, email campaigns, and automated flows. 

What is the team composition?

I am in constant communication with two teammates from Fuel Made, including a project manager, and another two teammates join the project on an as-need basis. 

How did you come to work with Fuel Made?

I found Fuel Made through a Google search — I knew what I wanted and determined that they’d be a good fit after looking at their website. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invest $10,000 a month with Fuel Made. 

What is the status of this engagement?

My engagement with Fuel Made began in May 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The automated email campaigns Fuel Made has set up have increased my sales metrics. Our average email open rate is also improving. Fuel Made offers everything I need and executes them well, from copywriting to graphic design. 

How did Fuel Made perform from a project management standpoint?

Fuel Made’s team is very efficient and uses Asana to manage each project — I have complete access to our previous communications, project files, and email metrics. Most of our communication is through email, Asana, and biweekly Zoom meetings. Their team never lets anything fall through the cracks — their internal and external communication is excellent. 

Fuel Made also records Klaviyo demos whenever I have usage questions. Fuel Made is responsive to my feedback and rectifies edits quickly; I review automated emails every quarter. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Fuel Made is a true partner — we’re growing and learning together. Their team is quick to offer new ideas because they’re knowledgeable; they use experiences from other client projects to improve my marketing. I’ve found Fuel Made to be very efficient and knowledgeable; I love the ideas they bring to the table. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Fuel Made should increase their reporting frequency, highlighting successes, project timelines, and places for improvement. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise future customers to rely on the experts from Fuel Made to deliver for them — their team has experience and knowledge in Klaviyo that many customers may not have. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Braxley Bands, and we sell elastic Apple watch bands. We’re located in Austin, Texas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuel Made?

We hired Fuel Made to help us with email marketing and website optimization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fuel Made has designed our website from scratch. For email marketing, they take our ideas and based on that they create emails for us. We tell them what looks good and they do it.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with five people.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing collaboration began in February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen increased traffic and sales because of Fuel Made’s work.

How did Fuel Made perform from a project management standpoint?

They have great communication skills. We communicate through Zoom, email, and Asana.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creativity allows them to create remarkable designs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’m very happy with Fuel Made.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you’re looking for in your project. In addition, be honest with them because their team takes criticisms well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of e-commerce of a consumer packaged goods company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuel Made?

We wanted to redesign our website to help improve our conversion rates and our brand’s overall look and feel.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fuel Made revamped our website; they started with an initial site audit and dove deep into its purpose, branding, and UI/UX. After a couple of weeks, they came back with a prototype made in Figma, which was helpful for us to have a preview of the look before moving onto the coding phase.

What is the team composition?

I worked with around four members of their team, including a project manager, a couple of developers, and a graphic designer.

How did you come to work with Fuel Made?

I found them through one of the websites they designed previously. They had their contact at the bottom of the site, so I reached out to them after seeing their great work. Consequently, I had initial talks with Carson (CEO), and I could tell that they were right for the task.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent $30,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–October 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our conversion rates doubled thanks to their work, and our site’s load speed improved massively.

How did Fuel Made perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management exceeded our expectations; everything was organized, we had regular communication, I was on the loop all the time, and they were on top of everything, going back and forth with both teams. Overall, I felt comfortable with them, and it was a hands-off process for us, which was great because they did all the heavy lifting. In terms of tools, we used Asana.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There were many women on their team, which I thought was important from the brand perspective. Web development is a heavily man-dominated area, and I liked working with a more diverse agency. Also, their technical ability to look at a brand and seamlessly adapt its voice and style was outstanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should look into having cheaper options for people who can’t invest this much. Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know precisely what you’re goals are so they can help you steer the process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

MADSEN Cycles designs, develops and manufactures bicycles and accessories, with a focus on family cargo bikes. I am part owner and President.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fuel Made?

Digital Marketing:

• Email marketing
• SMS marketing strategy including design, content and implementation

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Fuel Made has helped us many times over the years, with website design as well as digital marketing. We have been very happy with their services.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

After an initial kickoff Zoom, we decided what our goals would be for the holiday season. Fuel made would create and schedule all email campaigns from August through January, help to increase open and click rates for all emails, clean up our email lists, fine-tune our flow emails, and launch SMS marketing.

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

There were 4-6 team members from Fuel Made who worked on the project:

• web technicians
• content creators
• designers
• project managers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our open rates increased from less than 10% to over 20%, with some as high as 40%. We also successfully launched SMS marketing for the first time ever, and our SMS list is growing daily. Fuel Made created templates with the new and fresh design elements, that now I am able to utilize in future email campaigns.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had a Zoom meeting scheduled every 2 weeks on Wednesday mornings, when we could assess the progress and make sure deadlines were being met and questions/concerns addressed. Lisa and Hayley were very helpful and lovely to work with on these calls.

Also, if there was nothing to discuss, they were thoughtful of our time and money, and would proceed with email communication if a meeting was not necessary. The flow between the FuelMade team seemed flawless.

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

We worked with an all-female team on this project, and it was a very positive experience. The communication was easy, and I felt like I could reach out at any time. Each Fuel Made team member brought a unique set of skills to the table that worked well with each other.

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

It took a minute for me to understand the flow of Asana, and how they wanted me to communicate through this platform, but we got it - and it worked great!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-owner of Keymaster, a board game publishing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was created quickly and, while functional, did not implement our brand well. We needed additional functionality and to create a visual style that aligned with our storytelling. Additionally, we needed to build out our email marketing strategy, but didn't have the skillset internally to do so.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We first found Fuel Made via internet research, but the deciding factor was receiving a recommendation from one of their previous clients.

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

The processes for both the web design and email marketing strategy were almost identical. We had a kick off meeting where we shared out goals and vision for how we wanted to interact with our customer via an online store along with sharing our brand and style guides. Fuel Made then established a recommended scope the project with a specific deadline in mind, moving some features to a second phase of development. After we agreed upon the scope, interviews were conducted, wireframes were created and reviewed, then the team worked on implementing the agreed upon wireframes and functionality.

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

We worked with project manager, designer, and strategist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw a 70% increase in orders and more importantly, we've loved implementing our brand on both the website and in email.

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

We had weekly touchpoints through the initial project scoping and planning sessions, then bi weekly updates on status. All other communication was done through Asana.

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

Fuel made did a great job of bringing expertise to the table and melding it with our brand goals. They provided recommendation where we had no idea what to do and supplemented the ideas we did have with best pracitce.

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

There could be an opportunity for dedicated copywriting / copyediting support, but that is more a reflection on our companies deficiency in that area.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Satchel & Page, a direct-to-consumer leather goods company in Brooklyn, New York City.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuel Made?

We’re trying to improve our email marketing program. The previous site looked a little dated and didn’t reflect the quality of our products, so Fuel Made is helping improve our site to increase our conversion rate.
 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fuel Made has created a cohesive email strategy including a professionally designed set of emails, copywriting to match the voice of our brand, and a strategy regarding what types of emails to send and when to send them.

Fuel Made is also providing design and coding services for our new website, which involves creating some branded images. When we first started the website project, Fuel Made sent me a pretty in-depth survey with a lot of questions about our brand and about different sites that we like. 

What is the team composition?

My two main points of contact for the email marketing project are Lisa (Director of Email Marketing) and Hayley (Project Manager). I’ve also worked indirectly with Case (Copywriter) and Lauren (Email Designer).

I’ve worked with two different project managers, a designer, and a strategist on the website redesign project.

How did you come to work with Fuel Made?

On Fuel Made’s website, I saw some of the other brands that they had worked with. I did some more research on Google and submitted a request on Fuel Made’s website. Lisa contacted me,  and we set up a call. I provided her with some data, and she logged into the backend of our Klavio and Shopify accounts to review our metrics. 

Using that information, Lisa made some projections about the results we could see if we were to hire Fuel Made. We took some time to make the decision, then eventually hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

I would say we’ve invested $50,000–$60,000 with Fuel Made for their email marketing services, plus about $30,000 for the website redesign.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Fuel Made on the email marketing project in August 2021, and we’re still working together. We began redeveloping our website with Fuel Made’s web development team in October 2021, and that project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of our main goals last November was a Black Friday sale, and email marketing was a huge part of that project. We spent a lot of time in October preparing for it. 40% of our revenue in November was attributed to email, and we grew almost 50% year-over-year from November 2020 to November 2021. 

Revenue from email is the main metric we’re using to measure Fuel Made’s impact on our email marketing efforts. Also, the new website looks a lot better than before, especially on mobile, but the website launched less than a week ago, so it’s too early to report on any metrics. We launched the new site with almost no issues.

How did Fuel Made perform from a project management standpoint?

Fuel Made’s teams have managed both of our projects very well. I don’t think they’ve missed any deadlines, and I would say that their communication is great. 

We communicate daily through Asana, and we have a biweekly email marketing call. Throughout the new website’s design phase, we had weekly calls. Now, we’re coordinating to implement website optimizations via Asana.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really took the time to understand our brand when we began working together. Fuel Made acts as a full email marketing team for us. They execute email marketing strategy, copywriting, and design at a very high level. To get the same skill set in those three areas, we would have to hire 2–3 additional people in-house. 

Fuel Made took the time to do an exercise regarding the design and the strategy of our new site, ensuring that it matched the quality of our products. The quality of Fuel Design’s work has been impressive regarding both the design and the coding. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there are any areas that they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to what Fuel Media’s team says — they’re experts at this, so trust them. Have all your content and assets ready and easy to navigate so that they don’t spend time looking for things. At the beginning of the project, provide them with some guidelines regarding what content and imagery to use. Be a little bit proactive instead of just sending them a huge folder of unsorted files. To cut down on back-and-forth communications, try to be selective in the materials that you send to them.

If you hire Fuel Made to design your website, take your time and complete the survey that they send you. Do some research on your own to find other websites that you like so that those sites can inspire Fuel Made’s work on your website.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of a retail store that caters to a pet owner’s needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuel Made?

We were looking to improve our Shopify platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fuel Made currently hosts and maintains our e-commerce site via Shopify Plus. They’ve devised new features to optimize its user-friendliness and efficacy. Additionally, Fuel Made crafts email marketing campaigns to further get the word out about our business.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Ansley (Email Marketing Expert), Erin (Leading Strategy), and Lisa (Director of Email Marketing).

How did you come to work with Fuel Made?

One of my acquaintances in the industry referred Fuel Made’s team to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Fuel Made started in April 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We consistently gather customer feedback through satisfaction surveys, our primary success metric for Fuel Made’s work. The improvements they’ve generated have secured positive comments so far, which makes us satisfied with their team’s performance.

How did Fuel Made perform from a project management standpoint?

We rely on Asana and Figma for project management and communicate via email. Fuel Made has excellent planning and execution skills that meet our exact needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Fuel Made has undeniable expertise in Shopify Plus customization and maintenance. It’s safe to say that nobody does it better than their team in that aspect.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re happy with their services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set clear communication guidelines and priorities to make for organized pipelines.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of e-commerce and operations of an e-commerce retail store.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuel Made?

We needed help to create our business’ website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fuel Made redeveloped and redesigned our site, which is a Shopify-based platform. We first contacted them to rebuild our coding because it was old, and we wanted a more stable codebase. Their team also helped us redesign landing and product pages; we gave them general ideas, and they started to work from there. After that, we decided to have them on a retainer basis for new projects and general website maintenance.

What is the team composition?

We’ve engaged with 4–6 people from their team, including a project manager that was our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Fuel Made?

They were referred to us in an e-commerce forum that I’m a member of; I talked to a few people that had used them, and after that, I decided to reach out to them. After talking to Vivian (Owner), we decided to work together.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $250,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started to work together in November 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we started to work together, our revenue has grown by about 15% every year, and they’ve been instrumental in that achievement. Additionally, we get constant feedback on how everyone loves the site they created, and we’ve also gotten great NPS scores through the site. Overall, we’re 100% satisfied with the work they’ve done over the years — they’ve exceeded our expectations.

How did Fuel Made perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is one of their strongest features; they always stick to timelines and budgets. In terms of communication, we use biweekly phone calls and Asana, enabling us to have a streamlined and communicative process.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Their expertise and knowledge in the e-commerce and Shopify world are outstanding. They have industry experts and a strong development team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on. I feel that they need to hire as many people as possible because they’re quickly growing!

Any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their ideas and talk through what you’re trying to accomplish. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the e-commerce manager of Sunday Afternoons, and I’m in charge of all tech installations within the company. We manufacture and sell outdoor apparel, specifically hats.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuel Made?

We had an e-commerce software and we were transitioning it from a custom-built into a Shopify build. As a result, we hired Fuel Made to help with our Shopify build and assist us in working with other third parties to integrate other software that we have.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fuel Made enabled us to maintain our current design aesthetic on our Shopify-themed platform. In order to achieve the platform’s merchandising capabilities and the client’s requested customizations, many integrations were implemented by the team.

We’re still collaborating on different things within the Shopify space and how it integrates with our company, but some of their ongoing support involves adding more customizations. They’re also building a B2B website, which started this month.

What is the team composition?

Our primary point of contact is their project manager, but whenever we have technical issues to deal with, we can always reach their developer.

How did you come to work with Fuel Made?

I found them through a company that had used them in the past. When they were recommended to me, I already talked to a number of companies. Fuel Made’s founder really sold their company to me, which led me to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent close to $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began collaborating together in October 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve always been able to accomplish all the things they’ve promised. We also appreciate their ability to explain technical terms into layman’s terms.

How did Fuel Made perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a structured process, which allows them to gather all of the project’s requirements before we sign anything. On top of that, they complete our projects in a timely manner while staying on budget. They’re very responsive, and they communicate clearly and effectively. We use email, phone calls, and Zoom meetings to keep in touch with each other.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re extremely transparent and open. If they think something isn’t feasible, they let us know, unlike other developers who’ll just say yes to our requests.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’m completely satisfied with their performance and how they fit into our overall business.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you’re prepared for your project and ready for any additional work that you need to do to make the project successful.