Lform Design

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are a fingerprint biometric software developer located in Wall Township. Our customers include AT&T, LexisNexis, and the Cleveland Clinic. Our partners include IBM, CA Technologies, and McKesson. We provide fingerprint authentication software to replace passwords and for companies to increase security.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the vice president of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Lform Design?

I operated my own advertising agency, and when I saw that they needed a VP of marketing, the first thing I saw as a point of vulnerability was that their website needed vast improvement. When I joined the company, that was one of my goals. I worked with an agency out of New York City that had worked with them for the past 10 years. Whatever company I was with and whatever project I was working on, I tended to work with them. But, I felt there was always time for a refresh.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Lform has helped us primarily with the website design and development. They’ve helped us with our branding and our logo; that’s a new logo on the website. They helped us with some messaging, as well as designing PowerPoint slides, so we have a whole new look and feel there. They’ve helped me with some other things with respect to some documentation and so forth. But, their primary  mission was to build us a new website.

What was your process for selecting Lform to work with?

The way I found that original company was by doing a capabilities study. I had five agencies come in to pitch their sales talent and their presentation of creative talent. I did the same thing here in 2012 and invited my existing company to come in and present. One or two of my colleagues here had some colleagues in the industry, and I asked them to invite them to present. We did a search online, and we wanted a company that was in Manhattan or New Jersey to work with. I came across Lform in my search, and so did my intern. We had them in as a group of five, and I could see right away that they were quirky. Ian was detail-oriented and had a business savvy and acumen that would help me.

I knew directionally what I wanted in a website, but I wanted the website company to make it look better, give it a 21st century feel and a bit of a "wow" effect. It's an update, with the imaging, marketing, and messaging and not just to be an order taker, but to provide me with some consultative advice.

We conducted the five-company test, and we put proposals in for all. The prices ranged from $15,000 to $35,000. We ended up selecting Lform to work with.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

I just did a conference call to discuss refreshing our home page slides. I'll turn to Lform and say that we need to develop five rotating slides. I'll ask them for a price and tell them what I’m looking for, the same look and feel, probably with two bold lines, two supporting messaging lines, and then some images. They’ll give me a price. They always work within price, within deadline; communication is always open within business hours. Everything is very sturdy there. They’re a tight-run agency. You can sense from Ian [Loew, Lform Design’s owner] that he's a no-nonsense kind of fellow, and that’s how he runs the business, in a sense.

We're a public company, so I have to put out press releases and our CEO is pretty exacting about announcements and so forth. They have a tool, a management system that I use called the [Admincal]. I could go into my website right now and post news, post a press release, edit copy, put up new documents or collateral, put up new images, all without them being involved. Right now, right here, I can do that. I’m not the most Web-savvy guy in the world, or the most technical guy. It's a pretty easy thing to work with: You log in and there’s a directory. If you want to change your events, you click on it. It says "Add New" and you click on the wheel and it brings you to whatever event you have. It's almost like a Word document. Do you want to delete it, change it, or add an image? To me, that’s an intangible value.

Lastly, I like their mannerism. I’m a demanding guy. If I’m going to write you a check, if I’m going to put a vendor through scrutiny and I choose you, there’s some good news and bad news. You’ve got my business, but it comes with a certain level of demand and expectation. That, I hold very high because I didn’t have to choose you. I chose you because you proved to me that you had that capability. Lform has never let me down.

I use WordPress to edit my blog. Lform added that and did a nice job. I manage that through WordPress. The rest of the site is in a Web management system, and it's easy to use and update.

I use the tool on the left that I can use to put in a video, an event, or news. If I click Events, it brings me to a list of all my events. I click New and it brings me to an intuitive document to fill out. If I go to Industries and want to add, change, or edit what's up there, such as a guideline or compliance change, I can just change it.

Companies like IBM, CA, and Oracle typically run their Twitter feed on the side of their websites. Part of my challenge as the VP of marketing is that I have to get feedback from a lot of people: VPs, CEOs, the board, and investors. That column is designed to be like our Twitter feed. Since we don’t have that many significant tweets, we changed it to be our announcement area. Some days I like it; some days I hate it.

I wanted a clean, white background, and I wanted something with an Apple look and feel, a nice, smooth technology feel. We have a lot of little things going on because we're a thread, we're a piece of something. We don’t make a single product. We fit into healthcare, government, and mobility. We tried to lay it out in the best way we could with Ian's direction and hard work. We felt very happy with where we landed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

They have shortened hours on Fridays during the summer. If your client has a sensitive action after 2 o'clock on a Friday, that’s going to fall to level one customer service. That would be an area where I think they can improve. When you’re dealing with a smaller, boutique agency, there will be personality quirks. I happen to enjoy all of theirs.

Sometimes, they can be a bit steadfast in their manner, maybe on pricing or a change. If they don’t quite see the direction that you’re going in or if you didn’t communicate it well, they’re going to give you a little pushback. I enjoy that because I don’t want a laydown. If I want a laydown, I just have my work up on a website, and then I shouldn’t pay anybody thousands of dollars. I want my direction improved upon on a website. That’s exactly what they accomplish. They are great listeners and phenomenal note takers.

If there is some constructive criticism, it is that they have to throw a bone or a soft price to the client, just to maintain the linkage of the relationship. Everything can’t be looked at as a retail transaction. That’s the area in which they can improve most.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Controller of DCI SIGNS and AWNINGS INC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Manufacture and service of commercial Signs, Awnigns and Canopies

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Lform Design to accomplish?

• SEO

SOLUTION

How did you find Lform Design?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Lform Design over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Lform Design were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

SEO and Website Development & Performance

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Website development and analytics

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

Monthly meetings, Discovery Reports and Recommendations

What was your primary form of communication with Lform Design?

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

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

Lform Design’s organization and team were impressive.

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

none