Liqui-Site

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the House Manager, Castle Hotel and Spa.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Liqui-Site?

Over the past year we worked with Liqui-Site an eMazzanti Technologies company to make several improvements to our website.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals for the project were to make the website more appealing and efficient for guests and to generate additional revenue.

SOLUTION

How did you select Liqui-Site?

There was an existing relationship. But once I met Carl and Susan at Liqui-Site, I knew for a fact that, with our personalities and ideas, I could collaborate with them, because I had prior knowledge of web development.

Often developer teams don’t have design or hospitality experience and they may not have full knowledge of what it takes to brand a property. When you do, like the team at Liqui-Site, it makes it a lot easier to have those conversations.

Describe the project in detail.

Susan Chait and I worked on a project to re-invent the hotel gift cards to offer guests more of a Castle Experience. When I first came here, they were utilizing a system where the guests just purchased a gift card for a dollar amount and you may or may not have all the guest information.

We changed the gift card program by making the gift card for an actual spa treatment, or you could purchase a tasting menu or a chef’s table experience. People loved the idea of gifting the experience and it drove revenue. Guests were willing to pay to gift the Chef Table Experience as opposed to a $50 or $100 gift card. It’s been very successful.

It makes a big difference when you can give someone an experience. I made sure to run my ideas past Susan and collaborate with her to see exactly what she thought because as an operations manager, you have to see all sides. Susan helped me create a layout.

And, when it came time to put in the data into the system, she worked to collaborate with the Liqui-Site web development team, making sure that the tedious tables for handling fees and tax were set properly on the website. Prior to this, we had no guest information.

So basically, we started from scratch. Now if someone purchases a gift card, I’ll see the purchaser, who it’s gifted to and their address, so we could have contact with them. If something happened or they lose their gift card, you can still trace it and not have an issue.

Other projects we tackled were updating the room packages page, rotating menus regularly (especially after our Michelin recognition) and adding our Discovery page of destinations to explore during a visit. Guests are planning and we are helping them with arrangements.

I created a calendar planning out the upcoming events that were coordinated with promotional pop-ups on our home page. We even started selling tickets for on-property programming from the website—driven by the pop-ups. As soon as you come to the website, the first thing you would see is our Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day event pop-ups.

For Christmas, we ran 3 maybe 4 events and everybody saw that for months ahead of time. It’s been a page-by-page rework of the website with a lot of brainstorming, always working within our goals.

What was the team composition?

Susan Chait took responsibility for the success of the project, worked with me on design, and managed the team collaboration and schedule. She worked with several engineers at Liqui-Site to complete everything on schedule. Working with Susan is like girl power, and sometimes working with Susan provides me a sense of family because I know she wants what’s best for our company. And I know that, at the end of the day, whatever ideas I have to share with her, she understands the big picture.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Having a website like we do now allows guests to see the true value of the property. Often, someone may seek out a specific property for a special occasion for business or just for an escape because it’s a destination property.

Working with Liqui-Site allowed us to show that we can be all those things, but our true value is in our history and making historic moments in each family or individual who comes to our property. Liqui-Site worked with us on improving our gift card purchase and redemption process which included both online and offline changes.

As a result, gift card sales increased 45%. Since I started working with Susan and Liqui-Site about one year ago, repeat business has increased about 25% from where we were. We became very busy at times! Overall, guest expectations have soared along with an increase in guest relations.

Even during this time of COVID-19, I’m still being contacted about reservations for room packages that were there on the website, because they can see it and they were here before. Seeing that, I understand that our property is very important to people in Tarrytown or Westchester or even in New York.

A lot of guests are coming from the city, and they’re coming from Connecticut. Even our international business is up. This year was the first that we offered pre-sales tickets for New Years and other special occasions that were sold out. This means that when the day comes that we’re past COVID-19 and the Castle re-opens, the flood gates will open up.

Because if you still have that level of engagement with your guests, that means not only a job well done, but you’re also thinking where can I take this next? What else can we do that is like how we did it before? I would love to do more with Liqui-Site.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I would look at our surveys and query’s through our property management system and then I would decide how I could make the next holiday event better. I took that to the executive committee and said this is the next step that we need to take.

Then I would get on the phone with Susan so we could say, by this date we need to do this, and this date we need to put up the pop-up. Susan would always check back in with me. We’d send emails and I would add the chef in so he could make sure the menu was correct.

The timing of Susan’s response was always perfect. It felt good to have someone else on the other end who understood where we were trying to go. I met six of the Liqui-Site team members at an eMazzanti event at the Castle, and I can tell that it’s a nurturing environment.

When you have everybody working together and uplifting each other, you’re only going to get the best from them. I can tell that Carl is a great leader for his team, he is very knowledgeable, and he holds everyone to the same standard. Their ability to execute… you can tell it starts at the top.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

My conversations with Carl and Susan, and the fact that they were protective of us. When you post or share information, sometimes there are liabilities, and they wouldn’t post things that were unclear. It’s always great to have a 2nd, 3rd or 4th eye.

They would say, hey look, maybe we can rephrase this differently. If there were disclaimers or laws or anything of that nature, they made sure we were aware. We didn’t really have any technical issues.

If there were multiple ideas and parties involved and not everybody was communicating, Susan definitely knew how to handle those situations by making sure that everybody came back together and shared all the information that they had collected.

Although Susan is not a part of our own team, she always brought things back together again. I would say, if you are looking for a company that is going to make sure you are represented well, show your best value, share a great story and assure your guests they’re going to have a memorable experience, you have to work with them. I wouldn’t choose anyone else.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I see no areas for improvement. They are part of a great team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Priority Bicycles (Priority) launched as a direct-to-consumer bicycle brand for the masses. Leadership is committed to making the best bicycles in the world at an affordable price point. Our simple strategy of high-quality parts, an efficient supply chain, low overhead, and an online business model has gained national attention. Our goal was to make cycling simple by creating high quality, low maintenance bikes, and by selling them customer direct at an unmatched price. We’ve always believed that you’re not going to find a better bike for the price. Connor Swegle, Chief Marketing Officer

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Liqui-Site?

There are a lot of brands that like the idea of partnering with a bicycle company to help tell a story about health and wellness. For some, it is hotel and resorts, others are campuses, or even consumer brands looking to do a fun partnership. That part of our company’s business has organically expanded in a big way over the last few years. To address the growth in the segment, Priority needed to talk to that audience a little differently. Our challenge was how to retain the message of high-quality, low maintenance at a great price to our different fleet customers such as hotels, resorts and others, to let them know we can do a one-off custom bike for them in a marketing partnership. We engaged Liqui-site, an eMazzanti Technologies company to develop a website to accomplish that vision.

What were your goals for this project?

We engaged Liqui-site (the digital marketing arm of eMazzanti Technologies) with the goal of creating a stand-alone and robust web destination that communicates that message while still being connected to who we are as Priority Bicycles.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Having served as a Microsoft consultant and software company leader, Dave Weiner, CEO, valued his relationship with Carl Mazzanti at eMazzanti Technologies. Still, he talked to a few other companies to explore the development project. We didn’t want someone to work within one of a million templates you have now to band-aid the whole thing together. We preferred a developer that could work with our design and come up with a smart way to bring it to life. Carl and Dave had a relationship, and we didn’t have to explain a million things.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Priority came to the table with some initial designs and functionality, but with over 300 fleet customers, a big question remained. How to build that in a way that works online and is scalable? For each fleet, we wanted to be able to tell that story, blast it out, and really feature it dynamically, so it couldn’t be a static site. It needed to be constantly pushing content out there.” The Liqui-site team looked at those designs, refined them, and over a 10-week period created a stand-alone site and user-friendly, WYSIWYG dashboard to enable Priority’s concepts in the web space. The Liqui-site team was able to jump in and start figuring things out, which is very important when we’re not web developers. If you have to explain how everything is going to happen from the start, it defeats the purpose. Following two rounds of discovery, design, development and training, the site was up and running and we were putting content up. Visually, it looks great, and the technology enables all the functionality we need. The tech is changing all the time, so they were able to help define that and even give us feedback, “hey if you do it this way, it’s going to work better for you.” Liqui-site developed the site in a way that for Priority, a web-based business, but not-web developers, was able to update and use every day. It’s super responsive. And, what’s great about the Liqui-site team was being able to go through and say intuitively, ‘I think you’re trying to achieve this, so let’s build it in this way,’ and coming up with solutions on the fly. It’s a media-rich site that can host hundreds of video case studies along with varied rich content. For us, to have that all in one place was a mighty task. I was extremely happy with how intuitive the technology was to use. Effectively, it’s a drag and drop solution to a media-rich website.

What was the team composition?

Susan Chait, Digital Team Lead at eMazzanti served as the primary contact for Priority. Gizer Gedik- Technical Front End Developer Lorenzo Ciambotti- Technical Front End Developer Sam Nishanth- Software Developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Following two months of intensive effort, the new Priority Bicycles website launched to rave reviews. Liqui-site has given us the ability to talk about a very important part of our business in a way that pushes our growth and communicates the things that we’re excited about. “Personally, to have people be impressed by the site when they see it- shows that we’re doing the right thing. That’s a great feeling for us to have as a business.” When somebody just looks at the site and says, wow, that looks awesome, then that’s the first step in creating success as a retail brand. You’ve opened the door from a credibility and a likeability standpoint. From there, you get into the brass tacks of what we make and how much things cost.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I had a great experience working with Susan, period. She’s very responsive. I can’t stress it enough. When you go to a development company not having the expertise of writing the code, to have someone as an intermediary who communicates well to both parties what’s needed on the business end and what the development team is doing, it’s just so important. And, feeling like you’re taken care of is also important. I had a very good experience working with her and the entire Liqui-site team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I really appreciate Liqui-site’s ability to take leadership in the development process because they have the expertise in that space.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Home Aides of Rockland is a not-for-profit home care agency providing in-home services to frail, elderly, disabled, and chronically ill individuals in Rockland County, New York.

What is your position?

I am the executive director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Liqui-Site?

We wanted to improve the amount of interaction that we were getting and inquiries about our service through the Internet, and we needed a new website.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Originally, we approached Liqui-Site to develop a new website that was very engaging, informative, easy to use, and through which we would be able to have people contact us about potential services either for themselves but, more often than not, for a family member. Then, we broadened the scope of our agreement to include more SEO [search engine optimization] work and then broadened it even further to include regular blogging support and emailing. The SEO was through the website and paid advertisement online.

How did you come to work with Liqui-Site?

I met their chief creative officer, Kelly Campbell, through a program called Leadership Rockland in Rockland County, and I was very impressed with her. I decided when it was time to look for a new website to include her company as one of the ones that we would consider.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It cost between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project has changed through the years. The original project started in 2013, and we are still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We have so much business that's driven to us through the website Liqui-Site built, both through the contact page and because of the population that we serve. Many people go to the website, and then they pick up the phone and call us.

How did Liqui-Site perform from a project management standpoint?

Liqui-Site were very responsive. They have a wonderful platform for communicating with customers that's very easy to use. If I happen to pick up the phone and call, they're always very willing and able to answer my questions.

What distinguishes Liqui-Site from other providers?

Liqui-Site seem to be at the very forefront of new ideas to grow the online presence of a business. They have a blog that I read very often. I'm on their list, and the topics are always very interesting. They're developing new products all the time, which may or may not be relevant to what I need. The fact that they're improving constantly means that I'm not falling behind because they are always looking forward.

Is there anything Liqui-Site could have improved or done differently?

The only thing I can say is when there's been a staffing change, sometimes I didn't find out until I communicated with someone who wasn't there anymore. An introduction when there was a staffing change to the new person would've been a good idea.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Visit Nyack, Inc. is a tourism marketing non-profit organization based in Nyack, New York. We promote the village and its neighboring area as tourist destinations.

What is your position?

I am the marketing director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Liqui-Site?

We needed to build a new custom website for the company. We have a site which was built in-house when the organization was first started, but our needs grew beyond the capabilities of that page.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Liqui-Site was hired to build a brand-new, custom WordPress website for us. We did not hire them for any content marketing, but one of the requirements of our website was for robust SEO to be built into its design. This was one of the key reasons for selecting Liqui-Site to work with.

How did you come to work with Liqui-Site?

We had worked with Liqui-Site in the past on a website analysis. They looked at problem areas within the page and made recommendations, some of which we were able to implement at the time. Our budget did not allow us to do everything which we wanted to do. When we gathered the necessary funds, we put out a request for proposal and received bids from 4-5 vendors, one of them being Liqui-Site.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost with Liqui-Site has been approximately $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Liqui-Site in April of 2016. The site is scheduled to launch on Monday, June 6th. The project had a short timeline estimate of 9-10 weeks. We are within schedule.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We're very happy with the design put together by Liqui-Site. Because we had had a website for several years, we had strong feelings about what was not working on it. Liqui-Site listened to our concerns about the existing page and understood our goals, translating them into a design that met our needs and fulfilled our requirements. We're a very small, lean organization. One of the biggest problems which we had with our website was the fact that it required a lot of hands-on work in order to keep information up-to-date. Liqui-Site was able to put together a much more automated site, which will free up a lot of administrative time on our end.

I've been very pleased with the way in which the website was designed in terms of SEO. Liqui-Site brought expertise for building the site and identifying the keywords on which we will be focusing in order to improve SEO organically.

How did Liqui-Site perform from a project management standpoint?

They've been on-schedule from day one and hit every milestone. Liqui-Site's project management has been very thorough. They kept us on track as well, getting all the required material from us and never letting things slip.

What distinguishes Liqui-Site from other providers?

Liqui-Site found ways of talking us through concerns, ultimately creating an end-product with which we're happy.

Is there anything Liqui-Site could have improved or done differently?

Overall, I found them to be wonderful to work with. Liqui-Site took the time to talk to us about various website-related issues. They have been very responsive about every random concern that came up during meetings, and were never dismissive about anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We publish a set of four niche magazines.

What is your position?

I am the publisher.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Liqui-Site?

We needed to optimize our websites and also wanted to adopt an open environment for them, particularly WordPress. I procrastinated doing this for a few years because there were five sites to update. Ultimately, I decided to bundle them all together and do the work at once.

SOLUTION

How did you come to work with Liqui-Site?

I went through a proposal procedure and evaluated various other companies I'd worked with over the years. I liked what Liqui-Site presented.

I used to live in Rockland County and was familiar with Liqui-Site. I liked what they did and made a contract with them a year ago.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost for my five websites was $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in mid-2014 and finished in 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

As a publisher, we use an industry-specific platform. Our metrics have been growing, but not at the rate I would have wanted. This is mostly due to the fact that I haven't invested enough in doing social media activity. We've kept a low profile because we are in a difficult position as publishers. Our industry has been affected by competition from the Internet, and we need to have our bread-and-butter paid for by advertising. We try to grow our online business connected to our print business, so I refrain from activity which does not directly lead to revenue. People love our websites, but this doesn't produce money for us. They've been kept as a niche in order to grow organically.

What distinguishes Liqui-Site from other providers?

Liqui-Site has a quality team with a high understanding of digital marketing.

Is there anything Liqui-Site could have improved or done differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a senior citizen campus. We offer assisted living, memory care, independent living, hospice, home services, and transportation. We also run a foundation.

What is your position?

I am the corporate marketing director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Liqui-Site?

We wanted to increase traffic to our website, make sure that we were easy to find and increase our social media presence. Most of our customers find us on the Internet. But, even if we're referred through word of mouth, the next step is looking us up online. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

They redesigned our website and run our social media and Google ad campaigns.

How did you come to work with Liqui-Site?

The selection process was very long. We are a nonprofit and are careful with our expenses. We researched several companies that either we found or were recommended. The person working on increasing our site's traffic referred Liqui-Site to us.

We asked each company to make a presentation of their services, and we appreciated Liqui-Site's the most. Their whole team came to meet us, they were very personable, and we liked the follow-up meetings. Kelly Campbell [president and corporate responsibility officer at Liqui-Site] was especially responsive to our questions. I am not trained in this area, so I wanted a reliable company that would help us make the right decisions. Our team thought that they were the right choice.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We pay them around $4,000 per month, but that can vary depending on the type of work they're doing.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together for three years, and we have no plans to stop.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics, or other feedback from this engagement?

The website that Liqui-Site developed is both beautiful and easy to navigate. Whenever we had an issue with any part of the site, they've been able to fix the problem quickly. Our previous social media company didn't understand what we were doing, but I never feel that way with Liqui-Site. They're on top of everything and understand what we're trying to achieve.

Our traffic has increased, which is important, as most of our referrals come from the web. There was an incident where some of our competitors tried to steal our leads by running dubious ads on Google. I don't have more details, but Liqui-Site did a good job of taking care of that problem.

How did Liqui-Site perform from a project management standpoint?

I have a busy job running my department and have to rely on consultants for various services. Liqui-Site is up to date and keeps us up to speed with the latest relevant information. They present the analytics to me in a way that I can understand. A bigger company than ours might employ more broadly knowledgeable people than I am but, in our case, we rely on Liqui-Site. Communication with them is very important.

What distinguishes Liqui-Site from other providers?

They're very creative, coming up with new ideas constantly. If I ask them something, they will usually get back to me the next day. I am never left worrying about something not getting done. We've just implemented live chat on our site. Liqui-Site was helpful in explaining to us how it works.

Is there anything Liqui-Site could have improved or done differently?

No. We're happy with them. Whenever we do have an issue, we're frank with them, and they're responsive in fixing whatever the problem is. For instance, they tend to communicate everything digitally, rather than picking up the phone. I have said to them that, once in a while, we need to talk on the phone. They listened to me on that matter.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for the county of Rockland County, which is located in New York's Hudson Valley just 20 miles north of New York City.

What is your position?

I'm the director of economic growth and tourism for the county.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Liqui-Site?

Liqui-Site developed a new website for our tourism initiative named Explore Rockland NY. The county worked with them from the very beginning of the project on what would be the best way to approach the website, the usage that we were looking for and the look that we wanted.

SOLUTION

How did you come to work with Liqui-Site?

My predecessor was the one that went through the process of choosing them, so I don't know how he went about making that selection.

What is the status of this engagement?

The relationship started in 2014 and is currently ongoing. Liqui-Site helps us maintain the website and update it as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics, or other feedback from your work with Liqui-Site?

We've received very positive feedback on the website, and the number of visitors to the site has increased significantly. Liqui-Site has been fabulous. We are actually going through some changes to the website right now, and we're going to be working with them again. I'm not in the tech business, and sometimes I can get a little confused as to what has to happen behind the scenes of a website. Liqui-Site has been great in educating all of us.

Liqui-Site has been very responsive and very patient as we made changes to the website before it was finally handed over to the county. Our experience with them has been good. They're very responsive to our needs. They're willing to negotiate and compromise in situations where we as a county were a little strapped for cash. They have been very cooperative in helping to control our costs by offering to train our staff to manage the day-to-day operation of the site. Liqui-Site has added a considerable amount of value that went well beyond the scope of the contract.

What distinguishes Liqui-Site from other providers?

The key thing has been their responsiveness. Naturally, we want the site to be up and running and well maintained all the time. Whenever there's been any kind of issue or problem with the website, their response has been phenomenal, even if we've been late in payments. Sometimes, the county takes a while to get payments out but, in spite of that, Liqui-Site has been wonderful in working with us. They were cooperative and collaborative, and we enjoyed that.

Is there anything Liqui-Site could have improved or done differently?

It's hard to imagine what they could have done differently. Their response has always been wonderful, in spite of the nature of the problem. For example, if we notice a typo, they'd make that correction immediately. In terms of being available, you can't beat them. I appreciated the way Liqui-Site got their whole team involved. I always felt like I had more than one person available to help me – that was beneficial. Any problem we found they solved immediately.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

I have a small jewelry business. We do jewelry design and fabrication and previously had a storefront. Our storefront was closed because our landlord did not renew our lease, so now I do business solely online.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I'm the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Liqui-Site?

We went to Liqui-Site because I needed an e-commerce website. I had two information websites that I had created myself, but they were not e-commerce. I wanted something that had a shopping cart and would bring people into the store. My goals were for Liqui-Site to develop a website that could be used for shopping online and to bring people into the store.

Please describe the scope of their work.

Liqui-Site provided website design services as well as email newsletter service. At the time, I was using Constant Contact. I wanted something that would look very fluid on the website, so that people who received my emails and saw the website would see common branding throughout.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting with which Liqui-Site to work?

I interviewed quite a few companies. I spent more than a year doing research and deciding what Web development company to work with. I did research by checking out other jewelry websites, and by conducting very long interviews and getting detailed quotes. I interviewed Web developers across the country. Once I spoke with Liqui-Site, I stopped searching and hired them. I knew I had found the right company.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they've done for you?

The initial cost for the website was around $15,000. After adding some updates and changes along the way, the total is more like $18,000. Their prices are extremely reasonable. I feel that they're worth every single penny and then some.

When did you start working with them, and is the relationship ongoing?

I started working with them about March or April of 2012, and I am still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or general feedback to show the success of their work?

Their overall performance is stellar in every respect. They have not let me down – ever. They have always exceeded my expectations, and I have very high expectations. If I hire a professional to do something, I expect no less than stellar performance. They were just fantastic to work with. They not only met their deadlines, but they consistently beat them.

Is there anything unique about Liqui-Site that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

The ease of working with them is unique. I think there are many companies that are going to give you good results, come through on their promises, and stay within budget. Working with people that can explain things to you perfectly, without taking up too much time is crucial to performance. One thing about Liqui-Site that separates them from the pack is that from the moment I spoke with them, they knew and understood my brand. I don't know what they did in advance of my interview, but when I spoke with them, they knew what I wanted. They knew my brand, and they could explain to me how they could not only facilitate the brand, but also elevate it to make sure it was very impactful and dynamic throughout the website. That was impressive.

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

I don't think so. They did everything I asked them to do.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

The one thing that people really must do is be very clear upfront about what you're asking for and what you want. I'm always very specific about what I want done, which helps them to give me a quote and work efficiently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

Jawonio is a premier provider for people with disabilities, behavioral health challenges and chronic medical conditions. We have a staff of about 1,000 people. We’re the seventh-largest employer in Rockland, New York, and we support and serve about 5,000 children and adults annually in the Mid-Hudson region.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I’m the chief communications and development officer. My responsibilities include forming alliances with families, consumers, and staff. I’m responsible for the strategic communications plan, including the media, public relations, and social media, as well as development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Liqui-Site Designs?

We wanted them to take us to the next level. We were actually one of the first nonprofits in Rockland to dive into social media. I was doing the posting, the tweeting, doing in-house videos, and so forth. We were looking to raise the bar and create a brand for ourselves that had a uniform message and that had a feeling of warmth and welcoming that people should expect in an organization like ours. They came up with a tagline and a logo, and now they’re doing all of the social media across all platforms. Liqui-Site has really changed the awareness of our organization in the community internally and externally.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Liqui-Site developed two websites for us. The first one was in New Jersey, but we no longer have that business. Then they did our website in New York, which has gone through a couple of iterations at this point. Now, they do all our social media and digital marketing. We’re going to do some banner support on our website, and they’re going to be helping us attract business through digital marketing. So, they’ve done our websites, they’ve done our social media campaign, they’ve helped us create a brand and a message, and they’ve taken us to that next level.

What was your process in selecting Liqui-Site Designs with which to work?

We’re a small town, and I knew some people who did some graphic design. We started out very small before we decided to change our collateral materials. At that time, social media was really coming into its own, and we needed a website. So, we kind of just looked around and there was Liqui-Site and two other agencies. So, they were one of the three bidders that we considered. 

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

They gave us one price to create the website and another for ongoing support. I think when we first started, the websites were between $10,000 and $15,000 each. Right now, we have a two-year contract with Liqui-Site at $1,750 a month.

When did you start working with them?

We began working with Liqui-Site sometime around 2009, and we’re still currently working with them. We’re very happy.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any stats, metrics, or general feedback to show the success of the project?

Number one, they have an incredible knowledge of everything that is going on in the digital marketplace. Number two, they educate their clients to give them the ability to do a lot of back-end content management. They look at the relationship as a partnership. So, even though they’re “hired hands,” we really look at them as part of the team.

We work in a platform called Team Works. So all of us, whether it’s someone on the SEO [search engine optimization] side, or someone who’s in the content side, or Liqui-Site, or me or someone else in my office, we’re all together talking about what makes the system work. If something is not right on the website, we’ll talk about it, but we can manage the back-end because they’ve taught us. That took them time, without charge, to teach us. Liqui-Site really helps the client to become self-sufficient.  

Is there anything unique about Liqui-Site Designs that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

I think they excel at the intersection between creativity and technology. They’re absolutely on the cutting edge of what’s happening in technology, but they manage it from the creative side.

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

No. I only wish we had a bigger budget. For us, it’s all about not being able to do all the bells and whistles that we’d like. If we had a budget we could do so much more, but that’s our problem, not theirs. They’re integrating video, they’re integrating relevant key words and they’re doing everything they can.

We’re a small nonprofit that’s very dependent on state and federal resources, but while those resources are shrinking, we’re trying to raise our profile. When we tried raising money online for the first time, we did a huge campaign through Liqui-Site, and we raised more than $100,000 in two and a half months. That’s never been done before at Jawonio. That success is because of what they did with the video, the social media platforms, messaging, and branding. They helped us keep on message every single day. 

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

If you let them do their work, they will do it well. My biggest problem, and again this is on me, was my resistance to let go of what I had done before. They will take you to the next level if you let them. I think that anyone who is willing to let them do what they do will be happy. If you say to Liqui-Site, “What do you think about doing it this way?,” they’re open to that. They’ll look to the client as a partner. They’re not telling you what to do. They’re saying, “We think this is your brand based on what you’ve told us. If you think we should go in another direction, we’re willing to hear that.” You have to supply good information – that’s the key. The key is you have to know your business so that they can do the marketing.  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We’re a nonprofit organization that helps support a variety of social service programs for children in Israel. We do fundraising here in the United States to help support those programs.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I’m the director of global marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Liqui-Site Designs?

Our website was in desperate need of refreshing to make it more visually appealing and easier to navigate. It had a host of problems, and we felt it was not helping the organization to drive awareness and support among donors and prospects. We were clear that we needed to work with an organization like Liqui-Site that is very professional, patient, and understood our needs.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Liqui-Site did pretty much everything, starting with their initial fact finding about who we are to get a better understanding of our organization, our needs, and our goals. They then drilled down into the specifics of what we would need, the specific categories we want to cover, and the specific things in our previous site that we wanted to change or get rid of. They were immersed in all aspects of the website project from beginning to end. They were almost like our own social media department in developing the website.

What was your process for selecting Liqui-Site Designs with which to work?

Initially, we developed a list of companies that we wanted to talk to. We brought all of them in and interviewed them. We were looking for a firm that was not too large because we didn’t want to be one of those small pebbles in the sand kind of thing. We wanted to feel like our business was important, and the project was important to the agency we chose. But, we also wanted an organization that was large enough to be on the cutting edge of the technology. We didn’t want just a single practitioner working out of his or her garage. I guess we really wanted the best of both worlds. We wanted all the expertise of the big company, but we wanted all the responsiveness and attention of a small company. We definitely got all that with Liqui-Site.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

We’ve spent somewhere in the range of $20,000 to $25,000 working with Liqui-Site.

When did you start working with them, and is the relationship ongoing?

We started the project almost a year ago, and we’re just about finished up. We launched the new website last week, and we’re now making additional changes and tweaks to it. Liqui-Site conducted a session for us the other day where they explained a lot of the major things that we could do with the site. There are still some issues where we will need their expertise, but they showed us how we can make minor changes. I’m looking forward to working with them in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or general feedback from the project?

The initial feedback has been great. The comments from a couple of the people here within the organization have been very positive. Perhaps more interesting is that I’ve shared the new site during the soft launch with a couple of people outside the organization. These were mostly friends and family, but one person in particular is sort of in the business, and I knew he wouldn’t mince words if he saw problems with the website, and he thought it was terrific.

So, the initial buzz has been very positive. We do have a little more work to do to fine tune things, but I would say overall I’m very proud of the work we’ve accomplished. It’s something that I can take with me in future meetings to show what our organization is all about.

Is there anything unique about Liqui-Site Designs that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

They have an extraordinarily high degree of patience. We’re a small group, and we don’t have a social media or IT [information technology] person on staff full time. So, Liqui-Site had to answer a lot of questions and show us a lot of things we needed to understand. They were very patient in taking us through the process and explaining everything.

They are extremely responsive. When I asked a question, they’d get back to me very quickly, and that is also very helpful. You think you’ve got a problem that is going to ruin the entire project, and it turns out that they can handle it in two minutes. They made us feel like we were their most important client.

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

I really don’t think there is anything either of us would do differently.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

Have as many of your ducks in a row as you can. Have as much of the content ironed out before you bring them in. The preparation for working with them is crucial.