Mankato Web Design

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO for Interwest Distribution. We sell 3M window film, 3M paint protection, 3M sun control film, and 3M safety and security film to a network of dealers who install our products onto people’s homes, cars, or buildings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mankato Web Design?

I hired them to redesign and develop three websites.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed all three sites and developed them from scratch on WordPress. Our corporate site was outdated. It was about 8–10 years old, so they came in and completely refreshed the site.

Then they built a consumer-friendly automotive website for end-users to learn more about our products such as window tints or paint protection film on their cars. Finally, they built a third platform that targets interior designers and architects. For example, they might use frosted glass to create privacy for conference rooms in a corporate setting.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Matt (Owner).

How did you come to work with Mankato Web Design?

I did a bunch of research and went through several different agencies. Many of them were too expensive for our budget. I narrowed my search down to local companies and focused on agencies located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

I found them on Google Reviews and looked through some of their samples. I interviewed them and some other agencies as well.   

How much have you invested with them?

One site cost $15,000, the second site cost $12,000, and the third site cost $5,000–$6,000 (approximately $32,000–$33,000 in total).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from October 2019–January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we were happy with their work and plan to continue working with them on projects in the future. They’ve completed development, but I still bring them on for smaller projects every once in a while. For instance, if I want to refresh something or add new content, they would scope it out and work on it on an ad hoc basis.

How did Mankato Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

In all three of our projects, they delivered within one week of the projected completion date. Usually, they completed the project a few days early, but they delivered a day or two late for one project. However, they were working on that project between Christmas and New Year and several team members were out, so it was understandable.

We usually communicated via phone calls but we also corresponded by email, especially when they had questions about content for the sites.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were a great value. The cost relative to the quality of their work was very good. I also like that they always provide a timeline. They consistently do what they say they will. They’ve also walked us through their process, so I know what to expect from them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can do content, but it’s an extra cost, so I ended up writing the majority of the content.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared to build content yourself or to pay for their services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Swor and Gatto, P.A., is a personal injury law firm based out of St. Paul, Minnesota. We’ve been around since 1981 and have an operating staff of approximately eight people: three attorneys and five staff. I’m one of the three attorneys, handling the marketing and advertising for our office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mankato Web Design?

When we switched over to Mankato Web Design, we were looking for a company that could rebuild our website and provide some SEO-related work, including directory and link updating.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Mankato Web Design took over our website from our previous provider and rebuilt it along with a mobile version. We then started to do some additional directory and SEO-related work,  eventually hiring them for blogging services. At various times, we started to do some PPC work, but it was never very extensive.  

Currently, I meet with Matt approximately twice a year, and we speak quarterly basis — just on things that they’re interested in doing like redesigns or contract renewal. Beyond that, they send me periodic emails.

What is the team composition? 

My communication has primarily been with Matt (Business Owner). I’ll also speak to his staff 10%–20% of the time.

How did you come to work with Mankato Web Design?

We’d gone through a few providers before landing on Mankato Web Design, each provider offering slightly different services. I don’t remember exactly how we came to find them, but I recall that we had a meeting with Matt to go over what we wanted to get out of our contract. 

After we discussed our goals and potential spend, we walked through the steps that we’d need to fulfill our project. The initial steps involved Matt buying back our rights, website, and licensing from our previous provider before we could shift over to his company.

How much have you invested with them?

It’s somewhere around $10,000–$12,000 per year. Anytime we do our periodic web and mobile redesigns, the cost leans on the higher end of that range. We’ve likely spent around $100,000 with them, so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them as early as October 2012, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There’s no question that we’ve seen a significant uptick in business since engaging with Mankato Web Design. For a firm our size, we’ve gotten anywhere from 250–350 new cases per year, and our call volume is up, too. Some of that is due to increased organic Google searches, which they’ve built from practically nothing.

However, it’s hard to say the extent to which they’ve driven our growth because we have a multiplatform marketing strategy — there are just too many factors involved to attribute a single result exclusively to their efforts. A lot of our advertising is also purely brand recognition due to the advertising limitations in our industry.

All I can say is that I believe their web designs work. Anytime we install a new project, I give it about 18 months to operate on its own to see if it helps to increase our business, even if it’s anecdotal evidence. We’re very happy with our website and are generally pleased with the quality of Mankato Web Design’s services. External stakeholders and other advertisers have also complimented our website. 

How did Mankato Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Matt and his staff are proactive about getting things in front of us. As someone who’s not particularly tech-savvy, having a team bring up materials or suggestions helps me stay on top of when I need to do a site refresher. 

As I mentioned earlier, Matt typically reaches out once a month or so via email to tell me what they’ve done. We also get quarterly calls and meet in person twice a year, or at least we used to before COVID-19. That’s more than enough contact for me since I’m not looking for hand-holding. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Having the ability to craft a personalized structure with Mankato Web Design has helped us quite a bit. They’ve been hugely valuable for a small firm like us because they allow us to keep our costs down — the pricing was far more competitive than other providers. I liked that their services followed an a la carte setup as opposed to a packaged deal. Our previous advertisers theoretically provided more services, but those services weren’t a fit for our industry. As a result, we were paying multiples more for a lot of stuff that we didn’t need.

What also distinguishes them is their proactive responses. It doesn’t feel like they’re shoehorning a message into a specific time frame. Instead, it seems like their staff is actually reviewing our assets, identifying new components that we might need, and comparing them to what our competitors’ sites are doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I like our materials and what we have for the site, but I don’t know enough about the field to know what I’m missing. That makes it harder for me to provide a proper evaluation. In general, I’d say we don’t really have a lot of complaints because they’ve been effective at meeting us where we need to be. If I see something on another site that I think we should have, they’ll set up an honest conversation with me about whether or not it makes sense to implement it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just talk to them about your expectations, goals, and budget. Mankato Web Design can afford to be more personalized in their approach because they’re a boutique provider. That’s the advantage that they bring over larger companies. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a hydraulic shop called Custom Hose Tech. We have two locations — one in Wilmington and another in Rochester — where we can replace anything that has to do with hydraulic connections and hoses. We also have a mobile service, where we do on-site replacements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mankato Web Design?

When I contacted Mankato Web Design, our website was horrible. We did virtually no digital marketing, so we had almost no online presence. They've helped us turn that around.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Mankato Web Design developed a new website for our shop. Matt (Business Owner) sat down with us to figure out what we were all about, and I filled him in on our industry and the types of customers that we’d reached out to. From there, he built us a website. Some of the cool features included a blog section and a pop-up that asked users if they were sure they wanted to leave our website. There were also two spots where users could click to call either our Bloomington or Rochester locations.

After Matt delivered the site, a digital marketing agency reached out to us to handle our PPC. We quickly learned that the agency was too big for us and didn’t really care to learn about our company. After working with them for about a year, we decided to switch over to Matt since he actually took the time to get to know our business.

Matt currently does our SEO and PPC. He writes blogs twice a month and manages our Google and Facebook ads. 

What is the team composition? 

I work with Matt.

How much have you invested with them?

It was $2,500 for the website, and now we spend about $750 per month on our digital marketing efforts. If I need to make any additional changes, I pay an hourly charge.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Matt in September 2016, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Matt sends me data once a month on how my site and digital marketing campaigns are going. He does a great job of figuring out the right keywords to target versus the ones that aren’t working. Over the years, we’ve narrowed our range down to some pretty good search terms that work well for us.

How did Mankato Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Aside from the quality of Matt’s work, the most valuable aspect of the relationship is that he’s there for us when we need him to be. Anytime we have to do something right away, I just call him, and he gets on it immediately. He does a great job at project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The blogs he writes are incredible. You’d think that he’s been in our industry for years based on what he writes, but he’s never even worked in our field. That’s pretty impressive to me. Not to mention, he’s always right on top of our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more information that you can provide to Matt, the better the quality of work you’ll get. He does a good job of digging things up himself, but giving him information will get you the best bang for your buck.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manufacturer’s representative for a manufacturers’ representative firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mankato Web Design?

We wanted to clean up our website and make it more user-friendly for the manufacturers we represent as well as the customers who buy our products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Mankato completely revamped our website. I had general ideas for how I wanted the website to be, but they also helped us decide the best format and recommended various different layouts for content. After Mankato made mockups, we made edits until everyone was happy. Their team then put it all together using WordPress. The website's most important feature is that we can make minor edits ourselves, so we don’t have to reach out to Mankato.

All of our plug-ins need to be updated on a monthly basis to properly interact on our website. Mankato handles all of those updates for us.

What is the team composition?

I was exclusively in contact with Matt (CEO & Founder).

How did you come to work with Mankato Web Design?

I found them through Google, and Mankato happened to be in close proximity to my office.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $5,000–$10,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our partnership around March 2018, and they still handle all of our updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We can handle updates quickly, which is a big benefit. Everyone who visits our website thinks it’s fantastic, at least everyone in our specific industry. It’s been a great experience working with Mankato.

How did Mankato Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

As no one on my team knew how to design a website, Mankato walked us through the entire process and informed us about best practices. We mostly communicate via phone and occasional Microsoft Team meetings. Matt is responsive. If I need something done, it’s usually done in 10 minutes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

For us, responsiveness is their most valuable quality because we’re constantly evolving. Our website needs continuous updates, and they’ll get them done in minutes. Their team quickly adjusts as needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have an idea for what you want and be able to clearly illustrate it. Mankato can take your idea and run with it. If I had to redo the project, I would research other websites to come up with ideas. It took us a little longer to get through our website because we didn’t know what we didn’t know.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president of Warm Rain Corporation manufactures fiberglass bath fixtures.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mankato Web Design?

We needed our website to serve multiple targeted audiences. We have 4 target audiences that use our website for different purposes. We have architects/engineers, plumbing/wholesalers, plumbers/builders, and the general public. Each audience has particular needs and designing one website to fit all the different needs was challenging.  

The architects/engineers need extremely detailed information including Revit (3D) files, AutoCad files, specification and measurement files to take our information and to install it into their software. They also need to know specific information on each unit to make certain they're meeting the proper codes for their particular project.  

Our plumbing wholesalers need to be able to quickly obtain information on available models with features and benefits, dimensions, and code compliance.   
The plumbers and builders also need the above information plus specific measurements for making sure the unit physically fits the application.  It also helps them prepare the job site (framing pockets, drain design, valve, etc) for when the unit arrives. The general public uses the website to review available designs, features and benefits, and to learn about the product quality and the company

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Mankato was instrumental in creating the overall layout of the website. I met with them to review the different markets we wanted to target and the information we wanted the website to feature. They then designed and built our website on WordPress.Mankato developed the website with different areas for our different audiences. They built an area for architects and engineers to find CAD and Revit drawings and review blueprints to plug into software. Mankato also added pictures of our different products and information about products’ benefits. They included basic product information for wholesalers too. Their team uploaded lots of PDF versions of installation and measurement sheets for users to download onto their computers. As master plumbers install our products, Mankato also uploaded installation videos, demonstrating the unique capabilities of our products and reducing the plumbers' installation times. Their team still continually updates the website.

How did you come to work with Mankato Web Design?

I found Mankato through a reference. A friend of mine previously worked with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2016, and we’re still working with Mankato.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the reasons that I like working with Mankato is that they listen to my goals and then come up with ways to achieve them. Their team’s able to take rough outlines for what I want to accomplish and then turn it into reality. The website performs exactly as we hoped it would perform with all of the functions we expected.

How did Mankato Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

We closely work together. Everything’s on time and on budget. Our communication’s free-flowing, so we’re going back and forth smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I want to work with companies that I trust. Whenever we encounter a challenge, Mankato jumps on it immediately. I’m an early morning person, so I often send emails between 4 a.m.– 5 a.m. Quite often, their team responds before 6 a.m. They take care of any issues whether it’s early in the morning or late in the evening.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t see any opportunities for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as specific as possible about what you want but also allow them to be creative with the design.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the President of Metro Heating & Cooling, LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Mankato Web Design?

I have hired Mankato Web Design to design 2 different websites for my Company. They also handle my ongoing SEO/SEM marketing, and all other digital marketing strategies

What were your goals for this project?

My goals for this project were to strengthen and grow my business through online advertising and overall awareness

SOLUTION

How did you select Mankato Web Design?

I interviewed multiple different companies and Matt at Mankato was my overall favorite

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Mankato Web Design created two websites for my Company, they did all outlay and design work, and now continue to handle our SEO and SEM services

What was the team composition?

I worked with the owner of the company, Matt

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since working with Mankato Web Design, my business has doubled in employee size and more than doubled in revenue. A lot of this success I owe to Mankato, who keeps my phone ringing

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The results! The results speak for themselves.. Matt is very knowledgeable and I believe Mankato could help any company grow through online advertising services.

Are there any areas for improvement?

none