Imagination Media

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of Graves RC Hobbies, a retail hobby storefront and online shop that ships worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Imagination Media?

We needed greater customization for our website, and for it to be more responsive overall. My business required integrating the site with a large retail database for our product inventory, which was a complicated but non-negotiable requirement.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our biggest priority was that they provide us with a live inventory that worked with what I already had in the store’s extant software, which was Microsoft’s Retail Management System. Imagination Media had to fully integrate their site with the RMS. The most challenging part of the work for them was that our site needed to connect to a fairly intense online database of at least 27,000 different SKU’s at any one time. They continue to provide maintenance and upgrades for us, including freshening up the site’s design and updating its security patches. Soon, we will begin talking about a bigger change to the site’s overall template and tightening up the coding.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with the owner, who delegating individual tasks to his staff.

How did you come to work with Imagination Media?

We took about six months to review the different attributes and strengths of relevant companies. Imagination Media were more responsive and just generally were a better fit for us than their competitors.

How much have you invested with them?

In that initial work period, we spent under US$8,000, but I have them on a continuing monthly retainer.

What is the status of this engagement?

I engaged their services in May of 2014, and the main website was completed about two months later. The maintenance work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although I have been tracking the success of our website and business using Google Analytics, I do not have any concrete numbers to share at this time. In terms of operation, aside from one issue with our webhost (which was not connected to Imagination Media’s work), our site has never gone down or had security issues.

How did Imagination Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We used phone calls and interactive internet sessions for regular communication. Overall, their project management was very good. Our project lead—Imagination Media’s owner—was continually tweaking his in-house workflow to get us an even better response.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because they are not a gigantic company, they are able to be more responsive. I was able to actually pick up the phone and speak directly with their owner, which is a rarity in this business. He is constantly hiring new people to expand the company and keep up with his personal work standards. Imagination Media has become an integral part of my business and I hope they never go away.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When you are looking for a contracted partner, keep in mind that you should not necessarily prioritize the speed of work. Instead, look at the potential quality of the end product and their ability to follow-through.