NoA Ignite

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Digital Marketing Manager of a labeling company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

As leaders in labeling, our company creates innovative solutions that address the full range of barcode labeling and artwork management requirements for companies of all sizes and across a broad range of industries including manufacturing, clinical trials, CPG, food and beverage and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire NoA Ignite Poland to accomplish?

• Our primary objective is to maintain and optimize our website to increase its value in the sales pipeline, focusing on generating Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs).

SOLUTION

How did you find NoA Ignite Poland?

Optimizely representative suggestion

Why did you select NoA Ignite Poland 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 NoA Ignite Poland were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

This project encompasses a comprehensive approach to website strategy, design, and optimization, executed through a series of deliverables and ongoing enhancements. Below is a summary of the key deliverables and the scope of work:

Key Deliverables and Achievements:

1. Code & Process Migration: Successfully migrated code and processes from the previous agency, ensuring a smooth transition and optimization of the existing digital infrastructure.
2. 2024 Planning: Developed a strategic plan for 2024, focused on enhancing digital presence, improving user experience, and aligning with broader business objectives.
3. Enterprise Strategy Workshop and Plan: Conducted a high-level workshop to develop a tailored enterprise strategy, laying the groundwork for long-term success and alignment across the digital landscape.
4. New Promotional Banner: Designed and launched a new promotional banner, enhancing visibility for current campaigns and improving user engagement.
5. Homepage Masthead Update: Updated the homepage masthead to better reflect brand positioning and improve user engagement with a refreshed look and feel.
6. Visual Updates in the Navigation Menu: Introduced visual updates in the menu to align with industry best practices, enhancing usability and accessibility across the site.
7. Form Updates for Best Practices: Revised the design and functionality of on-page forms to follow best practices, reducing friction and improving completion rates.
8. Content Page Visual Updates (Ongoing): Currently working on visual updates for key content pages to optimize for higher conversions and improved user experience.

Summary of Collaboration and Support:

The team’s commitment to a project-by-project approach has enabled efficient and focused optimization, with substantial progress made in enhancing the website. The collaboration has been marked by quick, responsive communication and a well-rounded team with specialized skills, including hands-on testing and timely adjustments.

A proactive approach to tracking setup, seamless user testing, and detailed guidance for enterprise strategy planning has made this collaboration productive. Support on GA4 and GTM setups, compliance with GDPR, and prompt bug resolution by the development team have reinforced this as a well-rounded partnership. Additionally, continuous project management oversight ensures alignment, budget tracking, and efficient progress across all initiatives.

Moving forward, the enterprise strategy project will further refine the website strategy, providing opportunities for cross-functional alignment with broader marketing initiatives. The team’s dedication and attention to detail set the foundation for a successful continuation of this partnership, aiming to build on current successes and create impactful digital experiences.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Website business performance; Conversion rates; Generated MQLs

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

The project management has been efficient, driven by a consistent track record of on-time delivery, proactive communication, and an adaptive, agile methodology. Every deliverable has been completed within the scheduled timelines. This punctuality reflects the team’s effective coordination and strong commitment to maintaining progress and meeting deadlines.

The team has remained highly responsive throughout the process, consistently available via Slack, email, and Teams calls, facilitating easy alignment on project requirements. Additionally, the use of Jira for task management has been invaluable. Through Jira, we’ve been able to track all tasks and tickets, monitor progress, and address updates or concerns in real time. This collaborative tracking system has made it straightforward to oversee each project component and quickly make necessary adjustments.

Overall, the project management has been adaptive, collaborative, and solution-focused, making this a productive partnership that meets expectations.

What was your primary form of communication with NoA Ignite Poland?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What has been most impressive about this company is their forward-thinking approach and proactive guidance. They don’t simply respond to requests; they anticipate needs and provide thoughtful solutions that enhance our projects. Rather than waiting for us to identify every detail, they actively create strategic plans and implement updates they see as beneficial for our goals. 

Their guidance goes beyond task execution—they offer insights that help shape our overall digital strategy. By proactively scheduling workshops and discussions, they guide us on best practices, ensuring our website remains optimized and compliant. This kind of partnership has been invaluable. The team's ability to think ahead, advise on strategic direction, and implement solutions autonomously has truly set them apart and made a significant impact on our success.

Are there any areas for improvement or something NoA Ignite Poland could have done differently?

So far, we’ve been very pleased with the agency’s work and the proactive, strategic approach they bring to every project. At this point, we don’t have any specific areas for improvement in mind, as they have met and often exceeded our expectations. We look forward to continuing this positive partnership and seeing how their solutions continue to benefit our projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the marketing manager at a pharmaceutical company, overseeing digital products that add value to our medications. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NoA Ignite Poland?

We hired NoA Ignite Poland to help us develop the technical side of a digital solution for three northern European countries. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It took about a year to prepare for this web development project, and NoA Ignite Poland worked with us to develop the processes. Their team led discussions with our internal IT team to determine how to proceed with development and comply with our industry's rules. Then, NoA Ignite Poland worked with our in-house team to design and build the web-based solution in Drupal. Their team actually ended up doing extra work because our in-house team was overloaded with other digital transformation work. 

The solution has been launched, so now NoA Ignite Poland provides ongoing support. They make any platform changes I request. We're also working together to test the solution's success in northern Europe to see if we can expand it into other regions. 

What is the team composition?

We've had direct contact with NoA Ignite Poland's developer and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with NoA Ignite Poland?

NoA Ignite Poland actually reached out to me. They'd developed digital solutions for another pharmaceutical company and offered us their services. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested $200,000–$900,000 with NoA Ignite Poland on this project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with NoA Ignite Poland began in March 2021, and it's ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The digital solution has been recently soft-launched, so we don't have any specific success metrics. Since we're in the middle of an internal digital migration process, it's impossible to do a larger launch now. However, we will have concrete metrics later this year. 

How did NoA Ignite Poland perform from a project management standpoint?

The teammates I work with daily from NoA Ignite Poland are very friendly and responsive. My team often has issues meeting deadlines, but NoA Ignite Poland never does. Typically, we have weekly meetings with our in-house team and NoA Ignite Poland. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

NoA Ignite Poland is always willing to go the extra mile. Their team is collaborative. I'm not a technical specialist, and NoA Ignite Poland worked with me to set up this project when our in-house IT team was too busy. NoA Ignite Poland has been a huge help and is very pleasant to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing for NoA Ignite Poland to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise customers to hire NoA Ignite Poland — they're helpful and dedicated to being true partners.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO for an amusement park or indoor key center. We focus on indoor activities, and I’m responsible for our digital platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NoA Ignite Poland?

They supported us and did further development work on our core platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

NoA Ignite Poland developed our core platform, which consisted of the website and a backend ticketing system. They also provided technical support for our products and our e-commerce site and ensured all our in-house systems were connected and functioning correctly.

Aside from the development, NoA Ignite Poland was also in charge of the platform’s UI/UX design and gave us valuable business development advice.

Everything was built from scratch. The ticketing system was an access system for customers — it was a separate system for the physical access gates. Additionally, it was integrated with our platform, which generated QR codes and sent them over to the physical access point.

What is the team composition?

We had a total of two developers and one project manager from their company. Last year, we had two additional developers for a couple of months.

How did you come to work with NoA Ignite Poland?

The company is part of a Norwegian company. We started using their Norwegian developers and then switched to Poland in January 2020.

How much have you invested with them?

We probably spent around $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2020 and ended the partnership in July 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were very effective — they delivered the new products fast. Their ticketing system has been efficient, and it works for all our customers. We haven’t experienced any major crashes, and those small things have been fixed quickly as well.

Also, they’ve helped us correct some incorrect assumptions we’d made about our business model in January 2020. NoA Ignite Poland has switched focus to other business areas, and they’ve effectively implemented those changes and created new products for us.

How did NoA Ignite Poland perform from a project management standpoint?

It was great. They didn't give us false hopes of doing things quickly. Their team made realistic estimates and deadlines, and they always held them.

We communicated by DMs and texts almost daily, and we had weekly status meetings. We also used Jira as a project management system.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They weren’t afraid to tell us when they thought we were mistaken, focusing on the wrong thing, or rushing. NoA Ignite Poland had their own opinions, and they discussed them to approach things differently with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't come up with anything. We didn't end engagement due to any problem with them.

Any advice for potential customers?

You should probably have an in-house resource who understands technology and can discuss it with them to get the most value out of the engagement. Also, be prepared for discussions and ready to invest some time in meetings.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a web editor for an international development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NoA Ignite Poland?

They did translation services for our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

NoA Ignite Poland did the translation, localization, copywriting, and publishing of editorial content for our 14-language-source website. They also did SEO, AB testing, analysis, and optimization for our pages. They weren’t responsible for the content, but rather of its translation, optimization, and publishing. They did keyword research for many of our articles and worked with the optimization of the language versions, not the overall optimization of the website.

What is the team composition?

The team varied over the years, but we had around 8–14 people. Most of them were translators, and we had a project manager.

How did you come to work with NoA Ignite Poland?

Every fourth or fifth year we have a tender, and they won the competition.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from April 2011–April 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They won several international awards and prizes. The number of users grew steadily, too; we had 40–43 million page views this year on all our language versions. We were very happy with their quality translation services.

How did NoA Ignite Poland perform from a project management standpoint?

NoA Ignite Poland was very service-oriented and always delivered deadlines on time. They were very structured and easy to work with. Most of our communication came from our side. We spoke directly between our office in Poland and their office in Norway. We also used Jira to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We had a very complex website, and they were great at taking everything in. It wasn’t only about the translation, since they had to oversee publishing and that differs from other translation services. They needed to take into account a lot of cultural differences, have a lot of knowledge about Norway and its tourism, and know how to make things look beautiful. It was also not just pure translation — some of the content needed reinventing and rewriting, and they were able to deliver the whole picture.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that I can come up with, no.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Circassia Group PLC is a company focussed on helping improve the quality of life of millions of people suffering from respiratory diseases through its NIOX range of FeNO (Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide) devices which help diagnose and manage asthma.

The company is the leading provider of point-of-care FeNO (Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide) measurement and monitoring. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. As Head of Digital, I am responsible for ensuring that Circassia, and its products, are marketed using the highest standards of digital.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire NoA Ignite Poland (formerly Making Waves Poland)?

We hired Making Waves to assist us in the creation of content for out brand new content marketing platform. As we did not have content expertise in-house, we needed an external agency to assist us in the development of engaging and creative content for our products.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals where; to increase the presence of our products in search engine results, have something to share alongside our existing social media content, and to provide our sales team with some engaging content to share with customers. In turn these goals were designed to assist us increasing sales of our products.

SOLUTION

How did you select NoA Ignite Poland (formerly Making Waves Poland)?

Pawel reached out to me via email in the first instance. Usually I do not respond to cold emails, but because I loved the branding and name of the agency, Making Waves, I was keen to check them out.

Making Waves's online presence was one of the best I have seen for an agency, this attracted me to want to find our more information, and when we discovered that Making Waves offered content creation, we added them to our list of contenders.

During this phase we asked all of the companies we were considering to create a proposed piece, Making Waves excelled at this challenge and created the best piece out of the ones from the agencies we were considering.

Making Waves also conveniently offered trans-creation options in the markets that we were operating in, which was another amazing plus to working with them.

What was the team composition?

We worked with Making Waves from a content perspective, Making Waves were represented by Peiterjan and another teammate for the content creation and Carina for the German trans-creation.

Circassia were represented by myself and Leonhard Muller, the Brand Manager for EMEA.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Content Marketing helped us successfully get in front of new potential customers, and to have something to share with our existing customers. This lead to an increase in website hits and demo requests.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Absolutely spot on! Making Waves were perfect from the communication and team-work side.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The ability to be able to look after so many elements of the marketing process, and the overall design and structure around the work that they can produce.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We had a few issues with English content creation, that were ironed out eventually. It would be great if this could be improved on in the future.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a technical lead at The Royal Mint, which is one of the oldest organizations in the world. It's 1,100 years old, and the organization builds currency coins for the UK as well as about 60 other countries around the world. Apart from that, we sell precious metals such as gold, silver, and platinum.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Making Waves Poland?

When we engaged with Making Waves, we were transforming our digital department and were aiming for a hybrid solution. Our internal developers worked with external developers to create products that delivered against business requirements. As part of this process, we hired Making Waves as our development partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have helped us work within a hybrid model as a team. So far, we have delivered four projects with them. One of them was a total transformation of our website. It was a digital transformation, so we moved away from Angular to React.js on the frontend.

The site relied heavily on Episerver CMS and Episerver Commerce. This is one of the most complex commerce implementations around, so the initial task was really tricky.

Another project they helped us with was related to an implementation we needed for our site. We created new trading platforms for automatic trading. These are big, standalone features on our website. Making Waves built them.

What is the team composition?

We have a hybrid model, and they were very flexible. If we need a developer, they will arrange that for us after we communicate the need. We can work with the developers for four weeks, six weeks, or a month or two months— it just depends on our requirements. Then, they provide us with a developer with that required skill set.

The developers work in our team and sprints, but they cycle off the team when their work is completed. Sometimes, there were 4–6 developers, while other times there were only two developers. It varied across projects.

How did you come to work with Making Waves Poland?

We went through an extensive tendering process and one of the tenders was from Making Waves. That's how we selected them as our development partner.

How much have you invested in them?

It wasn’t a fixed-term project. When their developers started, we paid them per day, so the cost depended on how many developers were needed. I think we spent more than £300,000 (approximately $411,600 USD) in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with them began in February 2020, and this project only lasted three months. However, their developers still work with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As far as my team is concerned, the biggest metric is on-time delivery. They've done whatever we asked and delivered on time.

Their developers are talented and don’t need a manager to communicate with us. The projects they worked on are standalone features on the website, so it'll take some time before we know how successful they are.

However, it was a successful engagement without any sort of communication gap. They know what they're doing and deliver whatever they promised on time.

How did Making Waves Poland perform from a project management standpoint?

We don’t need to involve managers and can directly involve the developers in our work. They work as a team in our sprint cycle, which is great. There is no communication gap, and no one needs to handhold.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their turnaround time is good, and they do everything they can to accommodate our needs. For example, if we need developers on really short notice, they will try their best to arrange it. We inform them a month in advance when we need extra developers, but sometimes a high-level requirement pops up that requires more resources than we anticipated. They arrange that within days.

Their developers did a tremendous job. They really know their field and are very strong in Episerver CMS and Episerver Commerce expertise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they are really good as far as their work is concerned.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I only worked with them on Episerver CMS and Episerver Commerce, which is a very niche. market, They know what they're, but I haven’t worked with them in any other technologies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO and founder of a renewables company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Making Waves Poland?

We tried to move a desktop application over to the cloud and make it web-enabled. We needed someone with web expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided cloud consulting services using Azure. We defined an MVP, and they executed the plan. They recently delivered our MVP.

What is the team composition?

There are four people. On average, we have two full-time teammates. There’s a designer, a lead, a frontend developer, and a backend developer.

How did you come to work with Making Waves Poland?

We had a long-term relationship with them. After discussing our needs with them, we signed a contract with the possibility of terminating the project at the end of one month. Now, it’s been running for all of 2020.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about €200,000 (approximately $24,300 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had an open contract and have continued on because we’re satisfied with the progress. They accept our changing scope throughout the development, knowing we'll set a final date as we approach the finish line.

How did Making Waves Poland perform from a project management standpoint?

They were in our office for a period before COVID-19, allowing us to collaborate directly. We used to have two meetings per week, prior to the pandemic. Now, we meet once each week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They pick programmers that are excellent within their field. The developers are skilled and efficient.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everyone has room for improvement. When starting a project like this and don’t know exactly how demanding it will be, it's easy to run into bottlenecks. I’ve been in software development for so many years and know that there aren't going to be easy solutions to our problems. Of course, we would love to be further along in the project right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with them. If I were to start this project over again, I would still choose the team they offered us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the digital communications manager for a global nonprofit organization that develops educational programmes and delivers assessment for students age 3 to 19. We support over 5,000 schools, in more than 150 countries across the world. It’s my job to maintain, run and publish content through all global corporate digital channels for the organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Making Waves Poland?

We needed someone to redevelop our public-facing website as well as the CMS.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope was very broad. They handled everything from the technical build to visual design to frontend development. Along with that, they conducted a number of business workshops across the organization. In their frontend work, they created a style guide for us to inform our design and development of other web properties. That way, our brand could visually align all other sites through UX. In other words, they created a target look and feel for our brand.

After a year of completely reworking the website, it went live. It’s still the site that we’re using today. Despite completing the project, they’re still our go-to site development and design vendor. We contact them to provide routine enhancements, adjustments, and IT support to the site.

What is the team composition?

There was a project manager, a technical lead, and a business manager on their end.

How did you come to work with Making Waves Poland?

We sent out an RFP for the work and began interviewing potential vendors. Our team ended up going with Making Waves Poland because they had the strongest proposition. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $500,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The site redevelopment took place from June–December 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest success of the site what how comprehensive the change was. We reworked the technology in the background, visual design, interactive design, and even the governance that dictates the way we operate the site. Their team’s visual designs were particularly significant because they function as the face of the brand, most visible to our clients. Their work has contributed considerably to our brand’s look and feel. 

How did Making Waves Poland perform from a project management standpoint?

We have an open, transparent relationship with their team. That’s key to our success over time. They have a structured workflow and implemented tools to streamline our cooperation. We interface mostly on Slack and Jira to mitigate the backlog and stay on-task.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The consistency and quality of their support impressed us. We’ve been engaged with them for several years, working with many different account managers and personnel, but the quality of service has always been very high. The transparency with their team has created more of a partnership than a client-vendor relationship. They’re able to contribute to our strategic thinking as well as deliver technical developments or enhancements.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any solid criticisms of them. There will always be challenges when working with an external vendor, but it’s all about how you’re able to deal with them together. It all has to be dealt with openly. We wouldn’t have continued our long-term partnership if we had serious concerns or challenges. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend creating an open, collaborative partnership with them through meetings and conversations. Give them space to come back to you with strategic advice. It’s the same advice as I’d give to any other vendor.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is a Swedish-based global medical tech company. We have operations in about 140 countries and approximately 10,000 employees worldwide. My role as the director of tools and platforms within marketing and communications is to support the organization with resources that enable marketing, professional communications, and sales to be able to run their parts of the business effectively.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Making Waves Polska?

Making Waves Polska has been our key technical and digital agency, so they are the supplier of all of our connected infrastructure when it comes to communication. Anything that’s related to a public website portal or external-facing platform has been at least in part developed by their agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our public web runs on a frontend server which comprises the core CMS system that we use and that Making Waves Polska is responsible for within our company. Whether its new projects, product integrations, or digital experience improvements, they’ll work on it for us.

Our most recent major project has been a digital experience platform. We wanted to make sure that any channel we need to use to communicate with the outside is directed through this platform. Making Waves Polska helps us with both strategy and development, making sure everything is on one platform and that the platform itself is connected to our digital assets management system.

What is the team composition?

We work with both Swedish and Polish members of their team, and I interact primarily with their client director in Poland, a project manager based in Sweden, and a few of their top developers. They usually divide the work on their end into teams with particular skillsets in front- and backend or analytics.

How did you come to work with Making Waves Polska?

We have been working with their team in some capacity since they before they operated under that name, as well as before I started with this company.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started interacting with them approximately two years ago in 2017, and we are still working together today.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I mentioned earlier that they started working on a connected personal experience platform. As an example of the effect their work has, that project has allowed us to meet our internal business stakeholders and launch websites much faster than before. Thanks to their development work, our processes are able to run at a much more rapid pace across pretty much all of our departments.

How did Making Waves Polska perform from a project management standpoint?

The best model for us so far has been to scale up and down our involvement with different teams within their company that have different areas of strength. When we request a certain skill set they are very quick to respond and propose individuals who are particularly well-suited to that project.

We have a meeting before every quarter where we plan our priorities for different projects, which gives them time to plan accordingly. Once the projects actually start, we have weekly standups, and my team works even more closely with them by communicating through Jira. That also helps us to have more visibility on project progress and can move through different phases more easily.

One area we’ve made progress in is connecting everything in one place so that all the suppliers and other companies we work with on certain projects can effectively collaborate. They’re very flexible, so the focus of their work is generally on helping us with whatever our biggest needs are, and overall it works out really well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It feels like we are an important customer to them and they’re really making an effort to help come up with solutions. The Making Waves Polska team is far more responsive than I’m used to, so I’m very happy with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The recent change in project managers we had in Sweden slowed down our progress. I think that transition could probably have been managed a bit better or more quickly, but that is the only thing I really think could be improved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Any time you try to engage with an IT partner like Making Waves Polska, it is better to make sure it’s a partnership. If you have an attitude from the beginning that you are not just coming to them with a final solution and getting it delivered exactly, but that you have a back and forth that benefits both companies, it will lead to a better final result. You have to leverage the competencies that they have to try to form an alliance as partners on a project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital for MatPrat, a company that works for Norweigian farmers and promotes their products through three websites for different target audiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Making Waves Polska?

We wanted to create a hub to gather all our different websites and systems. We wanted one company to be in charge of everything digital, instead of needing to shop around all the time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They began by migrating our main website to them, then later to Episerver. They made major changes to the main website, doing all the backend and frontend development, and added a log in section where users can create their own content, as well as an integration with a system that hosts our images and videos. They later developed our two other websites from start to finish, including graphic design, UX-design, backend/ frontend development, and digital advisors. They’ve also developed our chatbot and voice for Google Assistant.

What is the team composition?

We have a full-time core team of two backend developers. There’s an extended team that is available when we need them which includes a project manager, a frontend developer, a designer, and a third backend developer. We also have a bigger resource pool, if we need a digital advisor or other competencies, plus we stay in close contact with the manager.

How did you come to work with Making Waves Polska?

We did some research, but I don’t remember exactly how we found them. There was a large process with several companies involved. We ended up with three and then chose Making Waves Polska.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in 2014, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re really happy with all the work they do; it’s a good solution and much safer. The website is improved and combined with our SEO work, we’re at an all-time high on Google. Everything is integrated and all systems are talking to each other. The team is proud of what they do, and they deliver good technical work, setting up a system that can handle traffic peaks.

They also make little improvements all the time that are really good, giving suggestions on how to do things differently. We get a lot of good feedback which just gets better and better; they’ve allowed us to maintain our position as the leading food and recipe site. Developing our chatbot was something they’d never done before, but instead of getting something off the shelf, they built one from scratch really well.

How did Making Waves Polska perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything is very transparent. We work closely with them and they’re like full-time colleagues now. We mostly use Slack and have meetings on Skype with their project management. It’s been a very smooth, long-term collaboration even though we’re located in different countries. We thought it would be a challenge, but the communication has been easy with both project managers. There’s also a lot of contact directly with the developers, which is good and prevents things from getting lost in translation.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We no longer have to worry that something might go wrong. There’s no stress, and everything just works. All the systems are up, working, and ready, and their team is so easy to work with. If something does go wrong, they fix it instantly no matter the time of day. They’re very competent people and it’s very reassuring to have them as a partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. It would be nice to be in the same country to work more closely and spend more time with them, but it’s already set up well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would highly recommend them to contact Making Waves Polska, and give them a chance. You will not regret it.