Inverse Paradox

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager at two beachfront hotels in Cape May. I basically do all the updates to the website and the marketing for all of our partnerships like booking dot com and TripAdvisor and things like that.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

Our sites weren’t mobile-friendly and needed some major updates. We wanted more guests to book directly from our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They began by asking basic questions about what our goals were, and they redeveloped our site on WordPress. We created a mock site and went back and forth on designs, making changes as needed. We were able to keep a lot of the same color schemes, which was important for our branding.

Then, once the site was ready to launch, they walked me through a quick training on how to use WordPress and certain plugins so I can update content on my own.

What is the team composition?

I just worked with Sarah (Creative Director, Inverse Paradox).

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

I believe the owners of our hotel are friends with Neil, and when we really needed to upgrade the sites, he connected us to Sarah via email.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $2,000 for each site, so $4,000 total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from June–September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been great. Now I’m able to edit the site for things like changes in room prices. Our new process is way more efficient because it doesn’t take several days for a web developer to implement changes. I can do it myself. Even staff can make suggestions or request changes. We’re able to stay on top of things and haven’t fallen behind.

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

From customer service to organization, they were great. They are absolutely excellent and I would recommend them to anybody, especially to those with local businesses. They're very quick to respond and care about their customers. It really felt like we were being guided through something. Their whole team is great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

How quickly they were to deliver and meet our expectations. Their ability to understand their customer’s needs helps them deliver more accurately. They care so much that they want to get things done and out for us how exactly how we wanted.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any complaints or suggestions for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They definitely know what they're doing. So, if you're having a hard time deciding on something, take their advice, because ten out of ten times they have steered me in the right direction. They’re you people can trust and you're going to get the best services out of using them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior manager of marketing for an IT consulting firm catering to the life sciences and healthcare industries. Life sciences equates to pharmaceuticals and medical devices, while healthcare is comprised of insurers and providers. My role is to manage our marketing strategy and the day-to-day operations of the marketing team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

Our existing website was incredibly outdated. The content hadn’t been updated in almost 11 years, and the design wasn’t up to the professional standards of the space we compete in. We wanted to give it a more contemporary look and feel and improve the user experience.

Our old partners had us draw out the website template, and then they designed based on that. However, we aren’t UX experts, so we found that process hindered the website’s effectiveness. We wanted a partner who’d be able to do dev and UX/UI.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When Inverse took over, we went through a discovery phase, so they could get to know our business and assess the current site. We’d been working with a separate agency for brand development, which caused a few small issues, but we were all able to work together.

After the initial stage, we moved on to the design phase. Inverse used the visual design style guides provided by our other agency and gave us some design options. Once those were approved, we started development in WordPress. We tested the site and requested changes as needed. We went live with very few problems.

Inverse added advanced animation to parts of the site to make it more engaging. They also simplified navigation, condensing numerous pages. When visitors first come to the site, they can choose between life science or healthcare—depending on their industry—and reach content tailored to them.

A main requirement we had was for the site to make our company look much bigger than it actually was at the time. Inverse did this by implementing various features and functionalities to make the site look professional. They only worked on the technical SEO; they didn’t provide any digital marketing or content creation.

What is the team composition?

We contracted Inverse’s CEO for some consulting hours. We also worked with a project manager and a designer.

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

I knew the founder from high school. When I needed a web developer, they were on my shortlist. We narrowed the list down to three candidates and eventually chose Inverse.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $30,000, not including ongoing maintenance.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in December 2016, and the website went live in January 2018. The project took so long because our company had complications with our acquisition, so we delayed for four months.

We have an ongoing monthly contract with Inverse, and we plan to use them for ongoing development as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received comments—both internally and externally—about the design and how easy the site is to navigate. It’s much better than our old site, from a tech and content standpoint. Inverse has been outstanding. We’d hire them again in a heartbeat, without even opening the project for bid.

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a few large on-site meetings for the kickoff and the review of our messaging strategy. We mainly communicated via phone and email, which worked well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

On previous projects of this type, we’d often spend days and even weeks troubleshooting things with the partner. Much to our delight, we never had this problem with Inverse Paradox.

They were willing to work on any task we assigned them, no matter how crazy or difficult. They seemed to care about our project and its success, which meant they’d disagree with us if they thought there was a better solution.

They were also flexible when it came to unique situations, like us hiring another company for branding. Inverse was proactive in making the relationship work so that we’d feel as little tension as possible. Not many other design firms I’ve worked with would be willing to jump through those hoops. Inverse Paradox didn’t just work for a paycheck; they actually cared about accomplishing our project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re lightyears ahead of other firms I’ve worked with. I can’t think of a single problem.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Make sure everything they need is ready and finished. Unless Inverse is contracted to do it, have the marketing work completely finished before starting a project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the events and marketing coordinator for CORA Services. In operation since 1971, We’re a nonprofit that’s assisted families experiencing emotional, academic, and social challenges. We serve the Philadelphia area and have recently expanded into New Jersey.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

We’d been using the same website since the 1990s and wanted a vendor to help modernize our digital presence. We wanted a website we could easily update and one that reflected our brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Inverse Paradox did a great job of getting to know who we are as an organization. They met with a number of people across several departments and listened to everyone’s priorities. They then used WordPress to build a mobile-friendly site to our specifications.

From our landing page, we now have additional resource pages that provide users with information on addressing academic, emotional, or social challenges. They included an ecommerce function that streamlines the payment process for preschool tuition and allows us to accept payments from event sponsors.

We now have online forms so that parents can easily register kids for our various programs, such as summer camps. These forms can be easily exported into Excel files. Inverse Paradox also automated our email list so that users receive a professional reply after making a donation.

In order to make changes on our old site, we had to make costly requests to our original web designer. The layout Inverse Paradox created is user-friendly, allowing us to make changes in-house. They also provided WordPress training to ensure we understood our new system.

In terms of design, they created new graphics based on our logo.

What is the team composition?

The size of the team changed depending on the phase. We spoke with Matt [Cherepanya, Director of Sales, Inverse Paradox] during our initial meeting. Clare [McKenna, Project Manager, Inverse Paradox] was our main point of contact throughout the project.

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

We considered a few companies, but were impressed by Inverse Paradox’s work on the website of the Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, of which CORA Services is a part.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in December 2015 and finished in September 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The easy-to-use layout has made life much easier for both us and our clients. We can make edits easily from our end, and having a mobile-friendly site has made our organization more accessible.

Having modernized our site’s color palette, the new design feels clean and fresh.

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re wonderful. We communicated through email, as well as face-to-face meetings. As the person in charge of maintaining the website, I can say that their in-person WordPress lessons were very helpful. I was new to the CMS, but I’ve learned a lot through their instruction. I can call or email them if I have any questions, and they walk me through the problem in a friendly, professional manner. I'm always being educated about the site and I learn something new each time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the great things about Inverse Paradox is their flexibility. We didn’t know much about web development, but they worked with us and kept us on schedule to ensure the site was launched on time.

They’re also highly responsive. They typically responded within an hour if I had any questions, and any issues were resolved within the day.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They're so helpful, I think they should offer WordPress classes.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Inverse Paradox was willing to meet at our office, but it’s worth visiting their headquarters to get a sense of their work atmosphere. They have a hip, fresh vibe, and their creative team is very friendly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a home services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse?

We have 8 different services and are trying to convey all of those to our customers. We had a very outdated website and it wasn’t working properly. The customers were having a hard time navigating through the site so we really needed something fresh and up to date. We had worked with a web agency before working with Inverse.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started with conducting a questionnaire because we have so many different visions. All of the managers filled out what they wanted, what kind of promotions, and answered all sorts of questions to come up with what content we needed for the website.

Then they put together concepts and different designs using our branding. We reviewed it with the managers. We picked the design we thought would work best. After that, they started designing the website, which is built with WordPress. While they were doing that, internally we were working on writing the content for the website. We collaborated closely with them and they gave us deadlines of when they needed different things, which was very helpful.

The website has all the services listed on the front, with a drop-down menu where users can go in and pick specific services they’re looking for within that area. We really liked that.

What is the team dynamic?

Our team was fantastic. I worked closely with 2 staff members, Sarah [Creative Director, Inverse Paradox], who did the design, and Clare [Project Manager, Inverse Paradox], who was our project manager. I primarily spoke to Clare. I would send her all the copies and she’d give me feedback.

I’m sure there was a whole team of programmers who were developing the website on the backend, I just didn’t interact with them. I did also interact with Matt [Director of Sales, Inverse Paradox], who was my salesperson.

How did you come to work with Inverse?

We received a recommendation from other Inverse Paradox clients. When Inverse Paradox came in and gave their presentation, we were really happy with what they had to say. We reviewed their proposal and went back and forth a few times. They gave us a schedule of how the project would roll out and then followed through every step of the way.  

We didn’t consider any other agencies. Inverse really seemed to have a good grasp on what needed to be done with our website. I checked out some of their other clients and they had nice, clean designs that we liked. They were up to date on the technology and came very well recommended.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2016 until March 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They turned it around pretty quickly. We had a fast deadline of March 1st and they got that done for us on time. We’ve seen a lot more traffic to our site as well as a lot more form submissions. Our volume has gone up. People aren’t complaining that they’re having trouble navigating our site or paying their bills. We’ve seen a great improvement from it. 

How did Inverse perform from a project management standpoint?

They are a 10. I would email Clare all the information and we would go back and forth on that. I sometimes would interact with her daily. They were very responsive in getting back to us. We worked out a really good schedule. Since we have so many divisions, we were trying to figure out which ones to get done first. If I can’t figure out how to fix something or if I have an emergency, they are very quick to respond.

Everything was delivered within our budget. We really had a hard deadline and they delivered and got it done on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a quick response time. They really treat you like you’re their only client.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I was quite impressed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re really good at helping you come up with the concept. If you’re not familiar with what you need or what would work best, they can come up with a great idea for your business and deliver it for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are buyers and sellers of collectible stamps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

We needed a more user-friendly website and e-commerce site. The solution needs to improve efficiency of internal operations, and make it easier for customers to place orders.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The initial scope of work was to help with an e-commerce site that another company created on the Magento platform. They identified why it wasn't working, and fixed it.

They’re currently building a new website and e-commerce site. They send over designs for us to approve, then develop, build, and test both sites. The e-commerce site will include credit card integrations and a shopping cart. It will also have a secure customer login for the shipping and payment portals.

What is the team dynamic?
 

Our initial contact was Neil [Harner, Director of Business Development, Inverse Paradox] and we did speak & meet with him, but our main contact during the building of the site is Alisha who is our project manager. We email and call whenever we want or need to. She is very responsive and helpful.

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

Inverse was one of the companies we spoke with four years ago when we were looking to create the website and e-commerce site. We selected a different company because they were among the less expensive options, and it was a terrible experience.

We were very impressed with Neil, which is why we asked Inverse to step in and fix the problems. They understood our specialized field and did a great job. It was an easy decision to use them again when we decided to upgrade both sites.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial engagement was four years ago. The work on the new website and e-commerce site is almost done.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their fix of the old e-commerce site was very successful. From an aesthetic point of view, the new sites will be cleaner and easier to navigate. We fully anticipate the sites will work better for customers once launched.

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a standing weekly phone call, and they’re available via email whenever I need them. Any requests that I've had, they’re able to take care of in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their understanding of our unique business model is a core strength. They can do anything we ask, seemingly with ease. Neil is knowledgeable and eloquent, and able to explain technology concepts in a way that we can understand.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don't necessarily go with the least expensive option.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My name is Patricia Meyers, I'm the director of marketing for Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group. We are a franchise of Red Robin restaurants covering eastern, northeastern, and central Pennsylvania.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

It was primarily brand awareness. We work Red Robin Corporate, that owns 500-plus restaurants. But we wanted something that was more localized because we are locally owned and operated in Pennsylvania. We wanted our own website where we could control content and where our local guests could visit, as opposed to generalized information from a corporate site. Inverse Paradox created our website from scratch. And when we updated our website, we continued to use Inverse Paradox for minor improvments. The website also incorporated catering and online ordering.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with our account rep to create a plan to update our existing site, which wasn’t mobile friendly. We wanted to have something that had worked seamlessly on mobile and desktop, as opposed to the two separate websites that we originally had. And our parent company, Red Robin Corporate, had updated their website- so we wanted a similar look and feel, so that we're keeping in line with their brand standard. So we worked with Inverse Paradox to create that, and they pretty much kept us in the loop for every single portion of the development process; designing the wireframes, screenshots of what it would look like, creating the site, and then making it functional so that we could test it. And we went through a step by step with them before it went live. It is a Wordpress site.

What is the team dynamic?

I am unsure of the number of developers that worked on the project. Alicia was the project manager. And then there was Claire, who gave us updates that I would need or any functionality items that came up after using the website. When we were developing the website, we spoken often with Alicia in the beginning. But once it went live, we communicated more with Claire.

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

Neil (Inverse Paradox Owner) used to work for our franchise back in the day. He used to work in one of our restaurants before he created Inverse Paradox. So that's how we have that connection with them.

How much have you invested with them?

They host our website. So we actually do a monthly fee which is pretty minimal. It's roughly $200 a year. And when we updated our website, it was cost $10,000 And anything additional that we do is on an hourly rate basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've had positive numbers as far as pageviews and users go, which we're happy with. And since the incorporation of the catering and online ordering piece, we're pretty happy with how everything's working. We're pushing everyone to our website for those two items. I think a big portion of our user increase was due to the fact that we finally merged our two websites. Being able to have this localized site kind of gives us a nice feel of where we're going.

We are more mobile friendly, more eye-catching, which really helps to increase our pageviews. We can actually reach out to everyone that was looking on the phone because before it was very limited. And we know we still have some tweaks that we want to make, but right now we're just very happy with how everything’s working

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

Very well. They're very professional. They were honest and up front with us when we had ideas of what we wanted to do as far as the design. And they gave us their honest opinion of certain things that would work well and certain things where they thought might not. We appreciated how they were keeping us constantly ingrained in the process, so that we knew from start to finish, everything that was going on and approving everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

For them, it's their ability to figure out any problem that we have,. For example, we have a company media kit that we use, and it's a print document, and we thought to try to take that print item and figure out how to make it something that you can read and look through on our site. So it wasn't an easy project because there's a lot of pictures, a lot of information involved in wanting to make sure that it was still easy to view, whether it was desktop or mobile. But they were able to figure that out and take that projects on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No - Inverse Paradox is a great group to work with, and it shows in the fact that we've been partners with them for years.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the senior marketing manager of Dietz & Watson. We are a family-owned company producing over 750 unique items — deli meats, cheeses, hot dogs, sausages, and similar products. When our customers ask for something new, we never tell them no. We have been in business for 28 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

We were trying to update our website and launch a few microsites for brand building and awareness. For a few years, we worked with a larger development firm that managed and developed our sites. However, we realized that they were too big for us. I then went to a smaller, 2-person company in Philadelphia, but the results weren’t what we wanted. We’re always looking to test and push the envelope on new things. Because of this, we needed a partner who could get things done.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The initial project focused on getting off of our old CMS [content management system] and adopting a new user-friendly platform. From a creative standpoint, we were looking to reskin and update our website. The content was more of a merge with our current internal databases, so much of the infrastructure was already in place. It was simply a matter of building a new site backend on WordPress and redesigning the frontend. Inverse Paradox also came up with a few revisions and recommendations for optimization and user experience.

After 1 ½ to 2 months, we had a fire in the warehouse that stored all of our servers. Along with our IT team, Inverse Paradox jumped into action. As a result, we managed to launch the site 6 months early. It didn’t have all its pages, but there were enough for us to have an online presence. Inverse Paradox understood a lot of our concerns and questions about where we would be housing the new site. Inverse Paradox hosted the site on their servers and got our company up and running.

We still had to revise and update the site, creating a final version with a blog and all other integrations worked into it. Inverse Paradox started work on revisions and updates to the wireframe. We had about 4–5 revisions. They worked with our internal team on the creative part. The site was launched with full usability over a 3-month time period. It could have gone faster, but many of the timing issues were on us. We needed to get the right stakeholders to approve the designs. Inverse Paradox remained accountable, and they made revisions on our site within a week of us sending our notes.

We also wanted to have video integration on our homepage slider, preferably with a fast load time. At first, IT told us it would be a lot to ask for because of the required bandwidth. However, we wanted to show highlights of the new commercial we were running. In case consumers saw the commercial on TV and searched for our page, they would know they’ve come to the right place. There were a couple of visual cues iconic to that commercial, and Inverse Paradox was able to integrate that with WordPress. They also gave us a nice tool with which we could load video files for background playback instead of stock images.

In total, Inverse Paradox has redeveloped 5 sites, some of which we’re in the middle of reworking. We also ask them to create new pages and custom wireframes for promotions.

I don’t know how large their team is, which can be viewed as a good thing from a customer satisfaction standpoint. Our account rep has been available every day between 8:30 and 6:00. He answers feedback questions and relays information from his team. There is at least one other, higher account manager who has stepped in on high-profile projects that required additional team members. Inverse Paradox’s principal has also been available at a moment’s notice. It has been nice to see him take pride in the work and provide clarity when needed. There are 1–2 developers working on our site, but I’ve only interacted with the account managers. Some people would view it as a negative, but I don’t mind having streamlined communication.

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

We found Inverse Paradox through one of our designers. I met their principal, who pitched how he could save the project we already had. He also promised to deliver within a certain time period, meeting our key promotional season. Neil [Co-Founder and Director of Business Development, Inverse Paradox] came to us and presented the tools he could offer for getting our development and maintenance under one roof. He told us that he’d either done it before or could take up the new challenge. We were looking for someone who had the bandwidth and team to get answers back to us and grow with our company. It was an easy selection.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Inverse Paradox in February 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Much of our site was meant for building our brand. Our bounce rate has gone down, and our site visits have gone up organically, but I can’t necessarily say if this was a direct result of Inverse Paradox’s work. We have a few other partners and internal teams that are accountable for this.

Inverse Paradox has resolved many of our concerns with customer service, particularly about having interactions with real people. This is important when it comes to kicking off a new campaign or program, all the way down to the day-to-day contact on site and server updates.

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate with Inverse Paradox on a weekly basis. If I have comments or notes for them, I will usually do it twice a week as a follow-up. Our lead contact is their customer service person. He hardly ever says no, but also doesn’t say yes without any thought. They’ve made sure that any project can be executed within the timeframe. They are honest about hours and industry standards. There were no delays from Inverse Paradox’s side. They’ve done a good job from a project management standpoint.

What did you find most impressive about Inverse Paradox?

They’re a true partner. Our fire incident was a nightmare, but Inverse Paradox knew exactly what to do. They jumped right on it without asking any questions. That was enough of a result to make them stand out.

I’m impressed by the fact that Neil is involved in many of the projects and conversations, although he doesn’t necessarily have to be. I don’t think we’re his largest customer by any means, but he’s definitely made us feel valued. He makes sure that the team thinks in a proactive way and not just trying to get the projects done and off their plate. It seems that he’s developing and growing with us as a brand, which is nice.

Are there any areas Inverse Paradox could improve?

No. They’re quite good.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Inverse Paradox?

Make sure that the internal team knows exactly what it wants. Coming in with a clear vision will make the design and development process way more streamlined. Inverse Paradox is a smaller firm, although they do have a lot of resources. They run a lean ship, and they keep costs down because of this. However, the creative, thinking-outside-the-box element is sometimes lacking. They give clients exactly what they ask for, so it’s important to know what to ask.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the email, web, and subscriptions coordinator for RRY Publications. We run a portal called Orthopedics This Week, with articles on the orthopedic industry. I maintain the email and subscriptions database for both marketing and personal communications; I also maintain the website in terms of ads and content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

They were in charge of our redesign 7 years ago when we underwent a complete structure change. We have an in-house graphic designer for site images but we’re not a tech-savvy company when it comes to ongoing technology changes. We wanted to give the site a more appealing presence and drive up its traffic. We had a custom website at the time that had been built by a webmaster; she provided in-house maintenance to its backend but she left the company, and it was time for a redesign.

We had a choice between adopting a standard platform like WordPress or keep using our existing company. There was a significant difference in price when it came to redesigning a new custom site down the road or maintaining a WordPress site. Neil Harner [Director of Business Development, Inverse Paradox] offered us a very good price.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Inverse Paradox was instrumental in providing ideas for our initial redesign and setting up the WordPress backend. They have continued to maintain it for us and apply changes to its design.

We’ve been in business since 2006. The site is content-heavy and needed to have a number of articles migrated to it. It also isn’t mobile responsive, which started the talk about a new redesign. However, it’s also old in other areas in terms of technology, so a complete rebuild would be beneficial. We have been working on this new project for the last 6 months.

We work remotely, but we had a recent meeting at our corporate office with Matt Cherepanya, their sales director, Neil, and one of the developers, as well as my boss and I. Neil brought all the points on the benefits of making certain changes based on the budget we had. He is very conscientious with us, and I would assume he is the same with all his client companies.

My boss expressed what he wanted to do and Inverse Paradox gave us a proposal. They could make our current site responsive but we were encouraged to have a full redesign since we would be going through a lot of work anyway. Also, there are certain components of the site which don’t shrink well regardless, like tables and so on.

We deal with Neil on a consistent basis, but I’ve worked with several others from Inverse Paradox’s team on our website. I don’t know who will take over the project once we sign the new contract.

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

Neil was referred to us by another company we were working with in a completely different area. We respected that company, and Inverse Paradox came highly recommended as a choice for web design; they haven’t failed us yet.

We did receive other quotes and we looked at other big companies in the business, but they were more expensive — I also found them to be cold and impersonal. I rely on first impressions and Neil was personable, answered all my questions, didn’t talk down to me or over my head, and my boss liked the company.

How much have you invested with Inverse Paradox?

I don’t handle contracts, but monthly invoices do come through me. We have an hourly agreement for special requests, like setting up a new ad space for a particular advertiser on our site. Even so, if it only takes the team 15 minutes to do something, that’s all we’ll be charged. Support and new development costs $125 per hour. Our expenditure varies from month to month. We may see a $2,000 charge at one time, but it can be much lower than that.

The complete initial redevelopment of our website was an $18,000 job.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Inverse Paradox in 2010. There was an initial 4–6-month process for the website redesign. We’re in the process of negotiating a new redesign with Inverse Paradox.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We have been very successful and the web traffic has only gone up. Neil has made significant suggestions on what we can do to increase our online presence. We publish an electronic newsletter which goes out 42 times per year. It’s a large HTML document featuring all the updates on our website, from breaking news to small articles. Inverse Paradox helped me establish how it would interact with the website and how it could accommodate up to 40 ads, which we didn’t think was possible.

Inverse Paradox has also been a large source of ideas and information which has helped us raise our traffic percentage and rate. They also provided ideas for our redesign in terms of increasing our database and traffic numbers for advertisers, which I’m looking forward to.

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

The initial website was launched on time and we had a 1-week test period during which we could run it and ensure that the payment gateway worked and that everything else was acting properly.

During large projects, we have daily interactions with the team. For site maintenance, we will contact them 2–3 times a week when one of our salespeople wants to know if we can do something in particular for an advertiser or if the graphic designer is having an issue with how something looks. Inverse Paradox usually responds promptly, but it can take them a couple of days to look at what we’re asking and see how it can be applied to the website.

The collaboration is done mainly through email, which is currently the most efficient way to get a hold of someone, but we also have calls if I ask for it. Inverse Paradox gets in touch with us if there is a question or they need my input.

What did you find most impressive about Inverse Paradox?

I have all the admiration in the world for Neil and his company; if I have a question, they always take the time to spell everything out for me. This web redesign was a good example of that: he told my boss in a nice way that everything needed to be done at once, given that we’d end up spending more money if we did it a piece at a time.

When we started working with Inverse Paradox, they only had a few employees, but the company has grown significantly. This is because they’re a good developer to work with and they take care of their customers. Neil and everyone else in the team I’ve worked with has held my hand throughout the whole process.

They’re easy to work with, and as a non-tech-savvy company, we trust them to do the job we need them to do.

Are there any areas Inverse Paradox could improve?

On the development side, I wish that I was given instructions on how to maintain simple elements. Inverse Paradox probably would have supplied this if I asked for it, but I wish that they’d taken the initiative. Other than this, I have no negative comments. Inverse Paradox is wonderful to work with, and I wouldn’t change them for anyone. Their prices are right and they do a wonderful job.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Inverse Paradox?

Once you give them a perfect picture or outline of what you want, they will lay it out exactly. You have to do the groundwork though since Inverse Paradox can’t read your mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative director of a woman’s luxury clothing and apparel brand. We have an e-commerce website and do a lot of wholesale work. We also have 2 brick-and-mortar stores—1 in Jupiter, Florida and 1 in Newport Beach, California. We’re looking to open 2 stores per year as we venture further. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

In 2014, we commissioned Inverse Paradox to create an e-commerce website for our brand. We had a website before that was created in 2011 by another agency. It was on a platform that is nonexistent and totally antiquated at this point and really wasn’t supported at all. It really didn’t help our business. Our owner found Inverse Paradox, and they had a few meetings about what she was trying to achieve. She wanted to become competitive in women’s apparel in the e-commerce landscape.

Our company was established in 2006, and until going live with the Magento e-commerce website, the business model was basically wholesale. We had some internal conversations because certain directors were thinking that wholesale was the future, while other directors thought that e-commerce was a better investment. 

We wanted to move to Magento because it was a robust platform that could optimize for SEO. We wanted to maximize our efforts in PLA [product listing ads], PPC [pay-per-click], online ads, and affiliate marketing to grow the brand as well as increase revenue from e-commerce and email marketing. We also wanted to enhance our social media presence. This all centered on making our website the hub of these online marketing and brand-building strategies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Neil [Director of Business Development, Inverse Paradox] recommended that we move from the old platform to Magento Enterprise. In 2014, Neil and his team designed the site, and then we deployed it right before the holidays. I came on board at that point with this company based on Neil’s recommendation. The company needed somebody with experience in graphic and web design, e-commerce, and online marketing. I came along to support that venture.

Neil and his team have also been helping us with the retail aspect of growing the brand by moving to Ebizmarts POS [point of sale] system. This system can plug into our Magento-based website and offer a seamless omnichannel shopping experience for our customers between online sales, retail, and in-store offerings. For example, they can redeem gift cards and loyalty points that were accrued online in the store and vice versa.

When Neil and his team originally designed the website, I wasn’t a part of the company, so I don’t have insight into that. I came on board as the site was already designed, but we were really trying to get the website connected to our ERP [enterprise resource planning] system, get all the inventory in check, and make sure all the data were accurate. I was the in-house resource as we deployed the live site.

Last year, we did a major overhaul of the website in terms of design. I designed Photoshop documents and wireframes, and we had internal conversations with marketing and sales departments about our consumer objectives. I put all that to Neil and his team. Then, Inverse Paradox built the website that we had designed, and we went back and forth with testing. The old website was still live, so we didn’t lose any revenue. We kept working that way until everything was approved and we all felt good about the site.

When we deployed the live site, we were expecting unforeseen issues, but we actually had a very seamless experience. We had minimal downtime, if any. Everything was planned in advance. Inverse Paradox has logical thinkers and a strategic approach. They don’t just do the job to get it done. They want to minimize any potential issues that could happen when launching a new website or upgrading.

What are some features that you asked for?

The previous version of the website only spanned about 1,200 pixels wide, so the header image couldn’t extend all the way across the window. Now, for different product pages, if the image is long enough, it’ll span the entire width of the window. We also wanted the pink banner to appear at the top where we can add specific promotions without using space on the landing page banner. The store locator and newsletter signup form were pretty much hidden at the bottom of the old website, so we moved that above the fold in order to build our email database and add more customers.

We now have a fully responsive site that stacks on top of the older version. All these modules are telling the brand’s story. In the previous iteration of the website, we had a hero image, a few new items, and a footer. We didn’t really have modules that we could swap out and include active visual links to tell the brand’s story. In the new version, we put more of an emphasis on creating an editorial feel. Then, we added pages about the lookbook and an Instagram aggregator at the bottom. If any consumers tag our company on that platform, it’ll show up at the bottom of the webpage.

How many resources have been assigned to your project?

Neil is our main point of contact. They had a project manager, Alicia, and then a few developers. More people may have been working behind the scenes, but I didn’t have contact with them. They had enough staff to get the job done without having to find additional resources. We interacted pretty regularly. I understood that they had other projects going on at the same time; they weren’t dedicated to me for 50 hours a week. However, whenever I reached out for an update, they were always quick to respond, even after business hours and on weekends.

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

That decision was made before I joined the company. Inverse Paradox is local, so I think that had a lot to do it with their selection. I believe our owner just asked around or did some online research and found that they were located nearby and reputable.

How much have you invested with Inverse Paradox?

[I can email you that information.]

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2014, and the work is ongoing. They continue to support our website, as we don’t have any in-house developers. I’m a graphic and web designer by trade, but I’m not a developer. We submit tickets to them if there’s an issue, and they’re always responsive.

Currently, they are installing an Avalara tax module on our site to calculate all the taxes for us seamlessly. Neil has also been helping us with POS for our physical stores by integrating that into Magento since the new year. It’s not perfect at this point. We’re figuring out some pain points that we’re trying to resolve. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

We’ve been growing our brand tremendously through the new site. In the first quarter of this year, we’re up 150% versus the first quarter of last year. [I can send you more metrics.]

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve dealt with other agencies before in the past, and Inverse Paradox is by far the most organized and strategic partner that I’ve worked with. We move very fast, so the deadlines are always tight. Orders always seem to come in at the end of the day on a Friday, and they need to be processed quickly. We know that other agencies are out there, but they’ve always done right by us and finished the job quickly and efficiently.

Sometimes, we’ll exceed our budget, but I can’t blame them because they quote based on the specifications and the scope of the project. We tend to pile on elements as we’re working on the project or run into unforeseen circumstances. For the POS system, they quoted an honest number based on their assessment, but it wasn’t until they did some digging that they realized they had to spend a lot of time making sure that the SKUs [stock keeping units] in our ERP system matched the SKUs in Magento. They had to do data processing for hours just to make sure that this worked correctly. We take responsibility for the issue, but they found a solution.

What did you find most impressive about Inverse Paradox?

Their logic is impressive. I’m a creative thinker, so all the tech language gives me analysis paralysis. But, Inverse Paradox understands e-commerce and how the platform works with the ERP, the whole system, and the inventory. They know how the business works, beyond the website. Every time I have a conversation with Neil, I walk away with a better understanding of the industry as a whole.

Are there any areas Inverse Paradox could improve?

I think sometimes the support ticket system is a little cumbersome. Sometimes, I’ll have to follow up on a ticket a day later and ask if anybody received it or where it is in the queue. I get an automated response saying the ticket was received and somebody will look into it, but sometimes they don’t let me know when to expect a resolution.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Inverse Paradox?

Make sure that Neil is the lead of the project. He really understands both development and business and can offer some really good advice about running a company online and being competitive. He’s always ahead of the curve in what’s trending at the moment. He’s not going to let you put out an antiquated website.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Westway Electric Supply is a supply house selling electrical goods. I’m the owner and president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

We have been selling our products online since 2001. I had built a new website around 2012 with another company in Philadelphia. It was a bit of a challenge because of the size of our catalog. We currently have just under half a million different SKUs on our website. They were trying to do this in an affordable manner for me and ended up creating a lot of custom script on a Magento website. But the base model itself really couldn’t handle a lot of the stuff that we wanted it to do.

Because of this, as the years went on, we started running into indexing issues and some other things because all this custom stuff was written basically over the top of the Magento code. We couldn’t upgrade as new versions came out and it started creating more and more issues with the website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I approached Inverse Paradox in 2015, and what they convinced me to do was to rebuild the website using the most current version of Magento. They suggested redoing all that custom script that had been done on the previous website, but instead of hardcoding it into Magento, what they would do is they would try to find plugins or alternatives or create custom scripts that lived outside of the base website. If we did that, any time a new version of Magento came out, we would be able to update and stay current, and we would consistently be able to re-index and do all of the things that needed to be done to keep it functioning properly long-term.

It took a full year to do the rebuild. The breadth of our catalog is so large that things that are normally simple, turn into major projects for us. For example, when I want to manipulate the data on my website in large-scale, I will pull an export file out of Magento, move it into my local environment here, and then manipulate it using queries or macros that I’ve built, and then import that file back into Magento. That export/import function is actually highly complicated in that there’s many different rules that we’ve created over the years. Just as an example, if I had a new image, it’ll automatically overwrite the old image, but it will do this for every field possible.

Then when you start doing this with hundreds of thousands of records, it can become pretty tedious. We had to rewrite custom scripts that could handle that in a timely manner, not take two weeks to complete. That was one of the major hurdles we had with this project.

We also sell quite extensively through paid search, so we needed to create a shopping feed that would go into Google’s merchant center to update it regularly. That was a major undertaking also. We ended up having to create two separate files. One would be like an all-in file that would be updated monthly and then a second one would be a price file that gets updated daily, all of which is done automatically through different scripts. Those are just a couple of the issues that we had to tackle.

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

I wanted to find a company that was local. I like to be able to drive to their office and talk to them face to face if I’m having issues or if we’re talking about new projects and things of that nature. I also wanted someone that was experienced and endorsed by Magento and someone that had built e-commerce sites.

I had my previous web developer outline everything that needed to be done to correct the issues, and I sent this document to the entire list of companies, trying to get an idea of who could handle it. The scope was so large that I only had two people reply back to me saying that they could handle it, and Inverse was one of them. After meeting with them, I was confident that they could, and that it could be done in a scalable manner where I didn’t have to build a brand new site; we could just do a rebuild of the current site.

How much have you invested with Inverse Paradox?

The initial rebuild cost $75,000. I now spend between $1,000 and $4,000 per month with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in 2015, and the project was completed in a year. After the rebuild, I’ve still maintained a relationship with Inverse. They perform maintenance, and then anytime I have special projects or I need something done, I give them a call. I’m still in routine contact with them for all sorts of different things.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

From the year 2015, online sales were just under $2.6 million. For 2016, it was a little over $3.2 million. I would say that they had contributed a good amount to that. The owner of the company, Neil, is extremely hands-on, even in the smaller projects. I feel no hesitation to call or email him directly whenever something comes up that I want to speak to him specifically about.

I’ve had many auxiliary projects that we’ve done since then, and he’s had his hand in all of them since. As a business owner, I really like that a lot. I like to be able to talk to the owner of the company that I’m working with.

Since Inverse rebuilt the site, everything has been much more streamlined and much more reliable. There have been issues, but I’ve never not had issues with my website. I now have someone that I can call at Inverse that can look into it and fix it in a timely manner. I’ve never had any issues that have brought my site down for any extended period of time.

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s very organized. They have a system like Zendesk where every conversation that goes through there is monitored. I know that Neil gets pinged every time I send something through or I open up a ticket, so I know that he’s always watching.

I’ve been happy with the management of each of my projects. Normally when I communicate with them, it’s by email. My primary contact is our project manager, Alicia. I send her regular day-to-day stuff, and if it’s a more technical point, I will start up a ticket so that I know everyone who needs to be involved is involved.

For more large-scale things, especially when I’m thinking of a potential project that I’m considering or I’m wanting feedback from them, I’ll reach out to Neil directly, usually by email. If it’s something a little more complicated, I’ll request a call. If it’s something that I’m really interested in pursuing or something that they want to propose to me, then I’ll drive down to their Langhorne office and they can show me whatever it is that they’re thinking about.

What did you find most impressive about Inverse Paradox?

I really like how accessible Neil is. If I’m having an issue, I know that I can go to the top of the company and get a quick and reliable answer. I also like that they don’t get scared too easily. I had a whole list of companies that I thought could handle my project, but 90% of them didn’t even reply back. Inverse doesn’t get scared off by challenging projects. They look forward to trying things that they haven’t necessarily done before.

Are there any areas Inverse Paradox could improve?

Not really. I’ve been pretty happy with all facets of the business we’ve worked on together.