Overhaul

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

HAVEN is an online and brick and mortar mens retail store with an inline brand as well as offering other global and Japanese apparel. My role with HAVEN is managing and overseeing all e-commerce and digital marketing related activities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Overhaul, and what were your goals?

We initially hired Overhaul to redesign our site, provide better ways to sell online and design a more pleasant digital experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Word of mouth. Overhaul provided superior development and design that we could not find anywhere else.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We worked with Overhaul for over 10 years so there were many projects, big and small, that we worked on. Such work included website redesign, custom development for displaying content, 3rd party app suggestions, marketing and analytics integrations, brand development, custom email/newsletter using campaign monitor, website speed optimization and advisement on potential technology additions to the website. I’m sure there are more but there was a lot over the 10+ years.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Matt was our main point of contact. As to the team available, I am unsure.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Overtime our website and branding improved. As we saw our digital presence grow required the speed of our site needed to be faster. While I don’t have measurable outcomes, I know that we saw improvements.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We initially communicated through email but as communication methods improved, we communicated over flow where we could chat and see how the development or project was progressing.

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

There was a lot of areas of the website and not being around it daily, I could understand why it would be tough to have an idea of how parts would function. If ever there was an issue, Overhaul knew the problem right away, what needed to be done, and would address it.

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

My two areas of feedback where Overhaul could improve is more thorough testing prior to launch and firmer timelines.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and financial director of Three Boars Group. We have multiple restaurants and a consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Overhaul?

We needed help with branding and design tasks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Overhaul started by making branding efforts for my consulting company. After that, we brought them on board to take care of my restaurant’s interior design and branding, including our menu look, coffee cup design, and other collateral materials. In addition to that, they’ve taken care of our website and social media presence.

Overall, it’s a no-brainer to bring them in whenever we need any aesthetic improvement for our shops’ identity and overall branding needs.

They generally interview us to develop a concept by running through the brand story to jumpstart every project. We also have follow-up meetings to see if our brand or demographic has evolved so they can change their approach to help us market our business.

In terms of social media, they’ve helped manage our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

What is the team composition?

We’ve generally been working with Matt (General Manager) and two other team members of their team. In addition to that, we’ve also been involved with web developers and designers.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we’ve spent around $150,000 CAD (approximately $114,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2010, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their branding matches the vibe and feel of our restaurants’ personalities — they’ve done a good job nailing every joint's identity.

How did Overhaul perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re good at meeting deadlines and staying within budget. They also manage their work hours according to our requirements so we can be aware of how much we’re spending, which is helpful for us. Regarding communication, we’ve used Google Workspace, phone calls, and in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their most outstanding attribute is their ability to understand our brand identity and build on that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — I only have positive comments on Overhaul’s work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep upfront communication to ensure that everyone’s on the same page. Tell them the goals you’re looking for and what you’re hoping to achieve at a certain point. Also, provide consistent follow-up and feedback on their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the principal of a marketing agency called On Purpose. We work on marketing strategies for B2B companies and look for teams to help us implement different pieces of the process.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Overhaul?

We needed help building an e-commerce site for our clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Overhaul is doing e-commerce platform development from scratch using Shopify. We provided them with business requirements, a brand identity, and brand visual guidelines. They were responsible for creating the site map, its site design, the UX, and the general development.

Their team is also helping us with the information architecture and the site's inventory.

In addition, they're integrating the email marketing tools, helping us launch the site, and providing training to the client on how to use and manage the platform.

What is the team composition?

I've been working directly with three people from their team, but there are also 4–5 members behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Overhaul?

I've worked with them in the past, and they've done other e-commerce development work that I liked.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent $60,000–$65,000 CAD (approximately $46,000–$50,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the partnership in January 2013, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All the sites perform well in load times and are flexible and scalable for the customer. Also, we've never had any issues with websites not following best practices, and they've always brought much of that knowledge to the table.

Overall, our customers are always satisfied.

How did Overhaul perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is straightforward; they're always committed to deadlines, responsive when I send emails out, and great with setting up shared documents and things like that.

Regarding tools, we usually use Google Docs and file sharing services. We also check in based on the milestones they set at the beginning or according to their ad hoc updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're great at sticking to what they're good at and don't pretend to be a Jack of all trades. Nonetheless, they have partners they can always refer us to or bring into a project if it's something that's outside their specialization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on.

Any advice for potential customers?

Let them explore the ideas more and give them freedom in the concept phase of a project because they're very creative.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of Garden Party Flowers, a top rated florist in the heart of Vancouver, BC. We specialize in large events, weekly corporate orders and online orders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Overhaul, and what were your goals?

Overhaul was hired to redevelop our existing site that was built on Wordpress and Shopify. As the original website was close to 8 years old, Overhaul also did a rebrand, including new logo, fonts and colours. The goals were:

• Migrate all content to Shopify, without losing SEO rankings
• Improve the online customer experience - Add more features to the product and subscription pages
• Reduce/remove the back end issues we band-aided over the years
• Make the brand look more premium but still approachable

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were familiar with Overhaul, as Overhaul developed the Shopify sites for several of our friends such as Haven. They also had tons of experience developing on various platforms for other clients, which gave us confidence they would do all the right steps for us. They worked within our budget and were very transparent with what we could afford to accomplish. They were based in a similar time zone and were easy to communicate with.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had a kick off meeting to discuss our challenges and vision. This was followed up with multiple meetings with our entire team to see examples of what we liked and didn't like in terms of branding, site designs etc. We got to know different members of the team very well over the course of the project, and they were all on the same page and knew what we wanted to accomplish. We never had to explain or remind different team members on what goals or tasks still needed to be completed. They were able to show us a close to working example based on concepts using tools like Figma.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had 3 main people working with us. One worked on brand and identity One was the web developer One lead the team and coordinated the meetings

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We were able to launch in the summer, and since COVID made weddings and the ability to have weddings a moving target, we captured a large number of last minute weddings. The brides loved our website and how easy it was to book an online consultation. Conversions on our online store went up, as did the average order value.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Communication was great, we had regular meetings via Google Hangouts, as well as emails to communicate. Even after launch, if we had questions of issues, replies came fast, as did solutions.

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

It was a fun experience to work with their close Knit team. They are a very versatile team with a lot of in-house talent under one roof.

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

Overall the experience was great and I can't think of anything that needs improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of Barber Ha, a local barber shop. Our trained Barbers specialize in traditional straight shaves, clean cuts, beard and mustache shaping.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Overhaul, and what were your goals?

Our previous website was made by Ovehaul many years ago, so going into the pandemic was a perfect inspiration to re-platform from Wordpress to Shopify. This enabled us to sell products, memberships online and just generally update our online presence.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We chose this vendor because of their understanding of our business, our brand and the existing relationship. We have great trust in Overhaul's abilities and their team in general.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Overhaul has a process that runs through discovery to understand our needs, into a design phase and then development/deployment of the store. Their process seemed really well thought out and we got everything uncovered early on. Everything went to schedule and we ended up getting everything we needed and even some things we didnt know we needed.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked mainly with Mathew from start to finish but did interact with other members of the design and developer team at various points in the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We get many compliments on our website from clients and although online sales have slowed down now, it was a huge part of how we weathered the COVID storm. The ability to sell product, services online. Our site is much easier to update now and less in need of constant maintenance that it's on Shopify.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had a project plan presented in one of the first meetings and basically stuck to that, meeting with agendas sent in advance every few weeks.

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

It's really clear how much they know about the Shopify platform. I do not remember a time we asked a question they did not know the answer to right away. We also love their design aesthetic, I'm not sure there are any other providers here locally with the level of design Overhaul has.

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

We would love some additional support on growing our ecommerce side of the business in the future!