Jordan Crown

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the senior manager of web and creative services at a nonprofit special interest group.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Jordan Crown?

Our company had a site that utilized a Sitecore CMS, which required constant updates from the engineering staff in order for the marketing team to make minor changes when needed. We engaged Jordan Crown to migrate our content to a WordPress platform to allow for easier edits and maintenance.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the ability to maintain the site without relying on the engineering team. Furthermore, we wanted to add more dynamic features that allowed us to leverage WordPress features and plug-ins.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

My team researched a few firms in the area and narrowed our list down to two. Once we met with Jordan Crown, we made an instant decision to move forward with them based on their past work and experience.

Describe the project in detail.

We followed the standard process of kick-off, sitemaps, wireframes, mock-ups, backend development, frontend development, and training. In addition to the site migration, Jordan Crown updated the UI with custom navigation elements and forms. They were quick to identify scope creep and make appropriate adjustments to find something realistic for our needs.

What was the team composition?

Several members of their team worked in coordination with developers on our end.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We consider the project a rousing success because we launched on time and stayed within our budget. We’ve received tremendous feedback from internal stakeholders and the end users of the site.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our two teams worked in constant communication through Slack, email, and regular check-ins.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I am a big fan of their calm demeanor, high skill level, and willingness to help.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, everything ran smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of business operations for a repair company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jordan Crown?

In addition to giving our website a fresh and clean look, we wanted to update our content to reflect what our business is.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We held a two-week discovery phase that allowed us to walk them through our business and identify the pain points on our website. Those discussions drove the creation of mock-ups, a style guide, and, ultimately, a high-level overview of the design. We went through a couple of design iterations before they took the lead on development. We stayed in touch during the WordPress development stage, but my team primarily focused on gathering and organizing all of our content so that it would be ready to transfer when Jordan Crown completed the website. We imported the date ourselves, but their team assisted when necessary. We then launched the site after a week-long QA process.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with a project manager, a web designer, and a developer. One or two other people joined their team at times depending on the workload.

How did you come to work with Jordan Crown?

Although I initially searched for Chicago-based partners, I found Jordan Crown on Clutch’s website, and they proved to be the best of our five options.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement spanned October 2018–April 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our sales team and board of directors are quite pleased with the site—specifically the professionalism of the design. They feel more confident in introducing the company to clients and pointing them to our website with a sense of pride.

We have experienced increased traffic to the site, and we are receiving more general inquiries and requests for information regarding our products and services. We’ve been able to route those leads to our sales team to generate new business.

How did Jordan Crown perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly project calls, but we were in contact almost daily through emails and Skype. We appreciated their responsiveness and attention to detail in all of their correspondence. We organized the project through a timeline tool they gave us access to. If we wanted to accelerate any task, we navigated that tool with them and identified the activities needed to hit the new milestone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their familiarity with WordPress is especially impressive. When we were in the design phase, we gave them a view of what we thought we wanted, and they gave us several different options to consider. They were also patient as we iterated and customized those designs until we found something that suited us well. Before working with Jordan Crown, we didn’t have any experience with WordPress, but a lot of us now feel confident in using the tools they trained us to use to keep the site maintained and updated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Overall, we always felt that we had their full attention, but there were times that we had to wait to speak with them because of the time difference.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Jordan Crown makes good use of a proposal tool that gave us a clear indication of timelines and costs for services performed at different times during the engagement. We didn’t see that kind of tool with any of the other vendors we spoke with. I’d recommend leveraging that tool with Jordan Crown if possible.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the assistant VP of marketing for Scantron Corporation, a company that provides assessment, technology, and data capture solutions in different marketplaces, such as education, commercial, and small businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jordan Crown?

We had an old website that wasn’t utilized as well as it could be. We needed a partner to build a new site from the ground up and that had up-to-date content and functionality.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started the project by explaining to Jordan Crown what we wanted to accomplish with the new WordPress site and what we wanted to bring over from the old site. We reviewed some potential designs and functionalities to determine the best possible layout. We wanted something that was easy to navigate, had minimal copy, and that would have text pop up when users hovered over certain sections. The old site had become somewhat of a repository for all of our information, so Jordan Crown made the new site clean and user-friendly. It showcases our news and events, using a consistent and logical design to guide visitors to the information they need.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of about six people.

How did you come to work with Jordan Crown?

Our creative director works in Seattle, so we wanted a partner located nearby. We narrowed it down to four companies and chose Jordan Crown because they fit our budget and could meet our tight deadline. They were small enough to provide personalized service but big enough to have skilled workers.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new site was part of an overall branding strategy to make all the different branches of our company more cohesive. When we launched, we got a tremendous amount of positive feedback both internally and externally. People made comments about specific functionalities that were key goals we’d hoped to accomplish, so Jordan Crown clearly met those expectations. Users know where to go and say the website is clean and efficient.

How did Jordan Crown perform from a project management standpoint?

When we first started, we communicated every day. After a while, it became once or twice a week. We had a tight timeline, but they were able to handle it and promptly addressed any problems. They were organized and collaborative, making the partnership work well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re responsive, committed, and knowledgeable. They understand WordPress well and know how to build a great site. Even though they’re a small organization, they have the skill set to deliver a phenomenal project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We both underestimated the amount of content we wanted to transfer from the old site, which set us back a bit.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Don’t let their smalls size be a deterrent. They’re approachable, flexible, and great at what they do. You’ll feel like you’re their only client, so don’t hesitate to work with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Marketing Director for Waterman Steele Real Estate Advisors, a Houston-based commercial real estate company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jordan Crown?

We needed to improve our online site. Originally, our Wix-created site included major functions, such as an about us page, contact us section and a basic list of all of our listings. The site was both confusing to navigate and difficult to update. Our goal was to improve site functionality for both customers and ourselves while also creating a feature that could pinpoint all of our properties on a map.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Jordan Crown is based on the west coast and this was our first time working with a company outside of Houston. We began with an initial meeting that included all of our partners and some members of the Crown team. There, we all introduced ourselves; we shared our company’s mission and story; I shared prepared research; we answered many of their questions aimed towards branding and identifying core strengths; they analyzed our current site’s pros and cons while comparing it against both competitor sites and inspirational sites. Afterwards, their copywriter helped us with brand development and key messaging. This led to a detail-oriented, time-intensive collaboration concerning how all of our content effectively tied in with our key messaging. During this time, Crown also helped us with our website wireframe. The biggest development was with our properties page. Crown helped us find a solution that worked on both desktop and mobile platforms. We were also satisfied with the “our work” page, which now lists our clients and the specific projects we helped them with. Finally, they provided SEO services as well.

What is the team composition?

I worked with one project manager, one developer, one designer, one content manager and one copywriter.

How did you come to work with Jordan Crown?

They reached out to us via a phone conversation and I checked their website. What drew us to work with them was that they had previously worked with a client who also needed a similar mapping feature.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $30,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in October of 2017 and was completed in March of 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of our partners felt like we finally looked like a real company thanks to the web features Crown implemented. Although the company as a whole is still finalizing content details, our brokers have already begun utilizing their bio pages during new client meetings. These pages include their own listed properties, social accounts and past clients and have worked very well for them.

How did Jordan Crown perform from a project management standpoint?

Jordan Crown exceeded our expectations. Everything was very thought out and executed in a timely, step-by-step manner. They helped organize our company and were consistently on time. During the content phase, they met with us two to three times a week; otherwise, we met on a weekly basis.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed with their organization, professionalism and timely performance. Despite time differences, we were still able to contact them anytime during business hours. Crown’s customer service was handled very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would suggest that they allocate more time for the discovery and design phase. This may have created an even more visually appealing site.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you work with Jordan Crown, make sure that anyone who is a part of the project is readily available for hands-on work. This work can take three to six months to complete and deserves lots of collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing specialist for NAES Corporation. We work to optimize the performance of energy facilities across the power generation, oil & gas, and petrochemical industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jordan Crown?

We were struggling to establish a brand through our previous WordPress website. Utility management isn’t really a visible industry, so we had trouble attracting and engaging with new clients. The site was outdated and there were several functionality issues. We brought in Jordan Crown to update and redesign the website to accommodate new clients and apply our existing client outreach and tracking efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Jordan Crown provided a complete WordPress website redesign with additional features intended to improve brand visibility and user engagement. Their team worked tirelessly to perfect our map function with accurate location points and corresponding information. They reprogrammed our menu function with client usability in mind.

Additionally, the company agreed to act as our server provider. Our previous server limited our backend software options. Jordan Crown helped program software in multiple scripts and track our audience through their server.

What is the team composition?

Jordan Crown provided a project manager, two designers, and a developer for the project.

How did you come to work with Jordan Crown?

We interviewed several companies for the project, but Jordan Crow showed the best understanding of our issues and desired goals. They provided a highly individualized and transparent quote that allowed for contract changes on our own accord.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $60,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2017—April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received many compliments from clients and competitors on our new website design and its increased functionality. Our numbers showed a decrease in users that leave the website after only viewing the home page. NAES’s CEO initialized the map feature project over four years ago and Jordan Crown completed it within six months. Their backend services allowed us to connect our website to our CRM and apply our company’s marketing automation platform. Their service improved our outreach efforts by allowing for consistent prospective client tracking across multiple points of contact.

How did Jordan Crown perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed exceptionally well. Jordan Crown followed a clear project outline and promptly alerted our team of any possible delays. We worked with GatherContent, which allowed for effective content sharing and progress tracking. We scheduled weekly phone calls to cover project updates, questions, or concerns. Their team paid close attention to detail and showed an involved understanding of our requirements and goals.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They kept the project on track with a comprehensive approach to inter-team communication. The team archived records and provided follow-up material for all of our discussions, meetings, and logistical agreements.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We were underwhelmed with one of the graphics they made, but I will take the blame on that. We were busy with other projects and I didn’t clearly convey the desired message. We are currently working with the development team to make that fix.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend building the contract to include work order hours upfront instead of trying to get them approved as needed. This approach helped keep the project moving on schedule.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing and communications coordinator for Compass Health, a northwest Washington state-based behavioral healthcare provider. I run our website and social media, and handle branding projects with the CEO’s office and our HR department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jordan Crown?

Despite being a very well-respected and large organization, the company’s brand hasn’t often been a priority. The marketing department is still new, and we’ve focused on making sure our brand indicates the important work we do.

We had an old website that wasn’t user- or mobile-friendly and was difficult for us to update, so we knew we needed a new one. Lastly, we wanted to use the new site as a marketing piece, not just as a resource. We’re a large company that’s been around for 115 years, and we wanted our site to reflect our history and the pride we take in the work we do.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built us an entirely new site in WordPress and walked us through the entire process. They began by reviewing the existing site, then built a new site map based on how we wanted the new site to be organized. After that planning phase, they gave us several design options and outlined the possibilities each offered. We decided on a design our whole team was happy with before migrating existing content to the new site.

Once the project started, we worked with a team of developers to create a refreshed design for the site that still incorporated our existing logo and company’s colors. Plus, on our locations page, they built an interactive map so that users can input their location to find nearby locations and the services offered at each facility.

Jordan Crown also set up Google Analytics for us and showed us best practices for formatting and display.

What is the team composition?

Initially, we worked with one developer and the project manager, but soon, worked with a larger team of developers.

How did you come to work with Jordan Crown?

We were referred to Jordan Crown by an external PR agency we’d been working with for about the last year-and-a-half. They referred us to some developers who they or their clients had worked with in the past. The agency hadn’t worked with Jordan Crown before, but they knew the team had positive reviews and that they were located near us. We met with a few developers for a 30-minute pitch and were immediately impressed by their ideas, so we decided to hire them. It wasn’t a deciding factor, but because they were so close, we were often able to meet with team members in person, which made collaboration simpler. From the beginning, I knew this was the group we want to choose, and ultimately, we had a great time working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They built the site from September 2017–March 2018, and have continued to host the site since then

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since the site launched, I’ve received a lot of positive feedback—both internally and externally—about how easy it is to use and how much it’s improved. By building us this new site, Jordan Crown made us relevant to the community and allowed us to share the work we do.

How did Jordan Crown perform from a project management standpoint?

They exceeded our expectations. In particular, the project manager made sure to explain development or design concepts to me when I needed clarification. He was able to break down the process and explain it in a simple way.

The team was so easy to work with that we ended up six weeks ahead of schedule, with most of our work finished by the end of December. Unfortunately, we had some challenges with a third-party vendor we’d hired for integration of our sites. Jordan Crown worked with them to make sure everything was addressed.

They were open about everything, from cost to the design of the final product. They stuck to their contract, but that just meant they communicated with us when or if they couldn’t provide a particular service. Nevertheless, they made several last-minute changes for us that other companies might not have allowed. Overall, they went above and beyond what we could have done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service alone is incredible. Every single person I collaborated with was great to work with. I know they do other work for clients, but the team seemed invested in our project and wanted to see us succeed. I hoped the site would be successful, but it was a comfort to see an outside party just as invested in the success of the final product as we were.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Hire them. They weren’t the least-expensive option we had available, but they were worth the investment. If I were to go through this project again, I would hire Jordan Crown.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the senior marketing coordinator at a civil engineering, planning, and land surveying company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jordan Crown?

Our site was very outdated. We were looking for a company that could make our site mobile friendly and expand administrative access to our team members.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Jordan Crown oversaw a complete redesign of our previous site in WordPress. We worked together on planning the design, specific pages, menu options, and they began to build out the site according to our specifications. We then carried over content from the previous site. The site is now mobile friendly, there is a slideshow on the home page, and the look and feel has dramatically improved. They also provided substantive input on user flow, and the site is now much more intuitive. They also designed several icons for us, which we are just now starting to incorporate into some of our marketing efforts.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people throughout the course of the project. Josh was our project manager, Karla (Developer, Jordan Crown) worked on design, and Kyrsa (Developer, Jordan Crown) managed all development.

How did you come to work with Jordan Crown?

My boss had gotten a referral, and after interviewing several companies, we decided that Jordan Crown was the best option in terms of pricing and executing on our vision.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $10,000-$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October of 2017, and we launched January 1. They’re still doing some hosting work and updates on the backend, but the development process has concluded.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our internal employees love it. The site is much more functional and reliable than before. It also has a new portfolio section with filter functionality that allows potential clients to easily find relevant projects in our repertoire.

How did Jordan Crown perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re awesome. Josh was incredibly responsive throughout the project. They made everything so easy. Everything was readily available through their web portal, including deliverables for our review and all our contracts. We communicated primarily via email and conference calls, and they used various tools on their end to facilitate the development process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were very impressed with their ability to understand our business. They’ve worked with similar clients in the past, and we felt comfortable with their ability to create a site that addressed our business objectives.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. They made my job very easy, which never happens when you’re building a new site. It was a great experience for me, my team members, and my boss.

Advice for potential customers?

Have a clear idea of the outcome you’re looking for. We knew going into the project that we weren’t looking to reinvent the wheel and were just looking for an update, which definitely helped to streamline the process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of development and communications of a nonprofit organization that provides preschool services to low-income children. We’re the largest group in the Bay Area, serving around 4,000 kids every day through over 50 centers. I manage the website and all other digital communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jordan Crown?

Our website was incredibly outdated and built with iFrames, which were boxy in appearance and didn’t represent us well. We’re a sophisticated organization that’s on the cutting edge of research, policy, and practice, but the website was lackluster and failed to tell our story. It was a temporary solution that lasted for eight years. Our team’s job was to make the website more accurately reflect our organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There was nothing on the old one that we liked—including content—so we started over completely and only kept a couple functions. We started with beginning concepts (i.e., whether we wanted to use photos or computer animations) and then explained to Jordan Crown what we wanted our brand to look like, as well as what we felt was important for first-time investors and parents to see. We started with wireframes and built from there.

Our development communications team is a small shop, and none of us had a background in web design, so we looked at different websites to highlight what we liked or didn’t like about them. None of this was in actual industry language, but Jordan Crown was patient in helping us understand what different things meant so we could translate them to our website.

I was thoroughly impressed with their concepts and implementation. They also trained our team afterwards so they would actually know how to use the platform. The handoff was seamless. We’re still able to reach out to them today and ask questions for small updates that are above our skill level.

We don’t have the in-house capability to handle anything beyond text and photos. If, for example, we have a fundraiser in September, we will work with them to make sure that we have a specific page on our site that links to our ticket registration.

We also use them for hosting. If anything goes wrong, we can count on them to quickly address it.

What is the team composition?

They assigned a design expert and developer who were responsible for implementation and answering questions during the project. We also had a project manager who kept us on task. These were our three main contacts at their organization.

Another main contact was Richard Kachele [Account Executive]. He was the person we reached out to initially, put together the contract, set our expectations, and assigned a design team to us.

The owner of the company would come in from time to time to check in on things. The whole team cared and had a top-down philosophy.

How did you come to work with Jordan Crown?

We were bidding out to different developers since we’re a nonprofit. A member of my team found Jordan Crown, and we had an instant connection with the team. Their proposal seemed incredibly valuable compared to the others because it was highly detailed and presented in a way that we could understand.

The other proposals weren’t as tangible and only focused on the number of hours for specific tasks. Jordan Crown had a timeline listed along with what to expect at each step. The transparency of how long things would take and what they would spend their time on were clear. We felt like we were in good hands and that their team knew what they had to do. We could see the value in working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of the web development project was between $30,000–$33,000. We have a continuing contract for hosting and updates.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2016 and launched the website in June 2017. We now send one-off support and maintenance tasks (e.g., questions and content updates) to their designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

People are really impressed with the website, but especially those who saw the previous one. Every center now has its own page along with a picture of their respective director. Parents find it comforting that they can see who they’re leaving their child with for most of the day. Being able to meet parent needs in this way has done a lot for helping them to get to know us better.

A large private funder in the Bay area recently found our website and offered us a six-figure gift. I don’t think we would’ve even heard from them if we still had the old website. The new site has a warm feel and instantly gives the sense of who we are. It made that funder want to learn more about us. I credit this to Jordan Crown and their ability to condense our image into a digital form.

Our board is enamored with the website, and seeing them this engaged is very exciting. We can tell that they’re proud to tell people about it. We promote it everywhere we go, which is the opposite of what we did with the old site.

Jordan Crown put together a good standard for us by the end of the process. Looking at our website feels like looking at who we are as an organization. For someone trying to make a first impression, this was the best possible improvement we could’ve made. There’s a drastic difference between where we started and where we’ve ended up, and it’s all a testament to Jordan Crown’s creativity, passion, and commitment.

How did Jordan Crown perform from a project management standpoint?

They went back to the drawing board on certain things and listened to us very well. I’m sure they were frustrated at times during the project since we’re not easy to please, but the team never faltered. We now have a very good relationship with them, and we always ask them questions. The communication is top-notch, and I don’t think we’ve ever waited more than an hour for them to reply to a question.

We’re based in the San Francisco Bay Area and they’re in Seattle, but it never feels like there is distance between us. They feel like they’re right next door. They immediately became a part of the team, and this is still how we treat them. We have the kind of relationship where we can ask questions and present our ideas, all while feeling like a priority.

A big reason for our launch date was due to a delay in our content from having to start completely over. I give our project manager a lot of credit in this area because he reminded us all how much time we had to get content ready, even though we didn’t listen. Our CEO had a few passionate points on the website which he wanted to make sure were perfect. We were not upset at all about the delay. Creating a new site and content in less than a year is remarkable since we don’t have any web people on staff.

They’re wonderful leaders and were helpful with the launch delay. They didn’t rush us or make us feel like we were the problem. We could tell that they wanted this to work for us.

They were responsive, consistent, and on time for all of our meetings. I couldn’t have asked for more from a web development team. It was a great experience, and I recommend them to anyone who asks about our website.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We couldn’t be happier with the service we’ve received throughout the entire engagement. Their reliability, consistency, and commitment to excellence are comforting to us. Being able to have them as an extension of our team has revolutionized the way our organization works and raised the level of expectation for our other communications.

Everything we now put out has to meet the standards set by the website, which is exciting. It’s fun for us to keep building off of what they created. We’ve made folders and fliers incorporating elements from our website. There is consistent branding across all of our mediums, and we couldn't have achieved this without Jordan Crown.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing to suggest. They’ve had to tolerate quite a bit from us. We aren’t the easiest client at times, but their attitude remains positive. We’ve gone back and forth on a lot of things, but they’ve been forgiving and patient throughout. Jordan Crown wanted the site to be exactly what we wanted, and it showed in their end product.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Listen to them and let them lead the process. They know what they’re doing. I also suggest writing content when the project manager requests it. Clients should be able to tell Jordan Crown what they like or don’t like. We went back and forth and pitched multiple options. Everyone was honest on both sides the entire time, which led to a great project.

There were never any hurt feelings—only a desire to make it work. They always came up with alternatives. We were always going through their portfolio to see what other things they had done just to get inspiration. They also took us to different websites and asked how we felt about certain elements.

If the client is worried about not hurting someone’s feelings, they’ll end up with something they’re not happy with. They have to be honest and say when they don’t like something. Jordan Crown’s people are professionals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a contracted special products coordinator working in social media marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jordan Crown?

A client wanted help relaunching their outdated website. They wanted to shift more of their business to the e-commerce side and make their site more than just informative.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After several initial phone calls, we met in person so I could meet their team and share my vision with them. Then, they built out the site map and started working in earnest on the site. They contributed greatly to the design, I leaned on them heavily to revamp the appearance. They also helped troubleshoot e-commerce features we wanted to incorporate. This included a contact form that went beyond generating the typical email that goes to sales. It allowed potential customers to start the process of choosing products before they become actual customers.

In addition, they were very informative and advised me on things we should hold off on for the moment, which was really helpful. They gave me the correct verbiage to try to explain to the board why we weren’t going to go with a full e-commerce site.

What is the team composition?

The project manager was my contact person from start to finish. I talked with the owner initially over the phone and he sat in on the launch meeting. Beyond that, I worked with a web developer who still supports the site and two people on the backend.

How did you come to work with Jordan Crown?

They came up in an online search I did for Pacific Northwest-based web development companies. I chose them because of the work they’d done on another site and the great reviews they’d received.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from May 2017–September 2017. They’re still providing maintenance and adding features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The sales team are proud of it and use it as a selling tool. They also use it as a reference point for their clients. Before the redesign, they weren’t proud of the site, so they weren’t using it; it was a wasted expense.

How did Jordan Crown perform from a project management standpoint?

They are down to earth and I always felt like their top priority. Someone was always in touch with me usually within several hours, if not less than that. They were very vocal along the way, making sure that my expectations were being met from beginning to end.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Not only are they experts in their field, but the end result of their work is beautiful. They know what they are doing, they’re very nice people, and they were so easy to work with. They’re very patient in giving me a good explanation and answer as to why things worked certain ways or couldn’t be done. I will use them again in future projects when working with other companies because they were so enjoyable to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is nothing that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Never be afraid to ask a question. At first, I was feeling a little nervous about inundating them with questions, but they love to help and have a wealth of information. If you have a question, ask it, because they have an answer. If they don’t, they will figure it out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

J. A. Watts is a woman-owned professional services firm in the design and construction industry. We offer program and construction management services to owners of infrastructure. I'm the senior marketing manager at our corporate office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jordan Crown?

Last July we started launching our rebrand, and the final component of that required updating the layout and functionality of our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Before we began, Joe Ardeeser [General Manager, Jordan Crown] walked us through Jordan Crown's capabilities. We also held a couple of webinars that were very informative. Their culture and ours were a great match, and there was a good connection between Joe and myself. After those introductions, we received an online proposal that laid out the scope of what was included in the work, as well as extra options, and then we signed a professional services agreement. Everything was automated, and very clearly laid out with a timeline, milestones, and objectives.

To build the site, they started with a "discovery" call to learn more about us, our culture, and what we were hoping for with the redesign. After that, they created some mock-ups for us, and we went through several iterations in a very collaborative process. The next step was development, where they coded the site in WordPress and imported my text, and finally we went through a QA/QC testing period where both our teams evaluated the content. The site is live now and they're currently hosting it.

As far as the redesign itself, they updated our original content and added a new media page that integrates our social media profiles and displays company-related news and press releases. They also created a project portfolio for us, where we can showcase our work, that has filtering options so clients can and look for projects that are relevant to them.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with a project manager, a developer, and a designer.

How did you come to work with Jordan Crown?

I had already researched and interviewed five different companies, but Jordan Crown came into the mix because they cold-called me. It was unexpected, but also perfect timing, and they beat out the other firms. I decided to move forward with them because they offered good value. They weren't the lowest-priced option, but they offered to build us a company intranet in addition to redoing our external website.

How much have you invested with them?

Between $25,000 and $30,000, but probably closer to $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began in May 2017, and the site redesign took a little under 6 months. They provide us with ongoing hosting and site maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site only just went live, so I don't have user feedback yet, but I've received a lot of internal feedback from our employees about how great it is and how it's reflective of our company culture. I also received a ping on LinkedIn from one of our competitors saying how nice the site was, so that was good to hear!

How did Jordan Crown perform from a project management standpoint?

I think they knocked it out of the park. They're very organized. They had a really great online tool that let us log in anytime and view the design mock-ups, and they also used a website called GatherContent, which not only allowed me to easily write all of our content, but also allowed them to access it in order to determine how the content would impact the site design.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They excel at project management and at maintaining transparency. I also think they're very collaborative. They take time to understand what your vision is, and they deliver on their promises throughout the design process.