pb+j

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President of Valley Ridge Furniture

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Home Furnishings Retail 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire pb+j to accomplish?

• Build an Ecommerce platform designed around high quality/ luxury furniture retail

SOLUTION

How did you find pb+j?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select pb+j over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from pb+j were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The project included the development of a large-scale Shopify eCommerce platform designed to support both our brick-and-mortar and national online growth strategy. This involved extensive product data organization, custom integrations, logistics and shipping structure, customer experience development, SEO foundations, collection architecture, and the implementation of systems capable of supporting a continually expanding catalog of premium furniture and home décor products across Canada.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since launch, the platform has created measurable growth for Valley Ridge Furniture, including consistent week-over-week increases in online traffic, significant growth in national brand visibility, improved lead generation for both retail and contracting divisions, and the establishment of a scalable foundation for long-term eCommerce expansion across Canada. The platform has also generated strong online sales momentum while successfully integrating the operational complexities associated with large-scale furniture logistics and delivery.

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

PB&J managed the project with professionalism, strong communication, and a solutions-oriented approach throughout the entire build process. While certain stages of the project extended beyond the original timeline due to the complexity of the platform and the challenges encountered along the way, their team remained committed to moving the project forward and adapting as needed. The development of a large-scale furniture eCommerce platform involved numerous operational and technical hurdles, including product data management, custom functionality, integrations, logistics structure, and user experience refinement. PB&J remained responsive throughout these challenges, consistently working collaboratively with our team to identify solutions and keep progress moving in the right direction. Despite the complexity of the project, PB&J followed through on their commitments and successfully guided the platform through to launch. Their professionalism and dedication were evident throughout the entire process.

What was your primary form of communication with pb+j?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What stood out most about pb+j was the depth and diversity of their team. They leverage resources and talent from around the world, with individuals bringing specialized expertise in different areas of eCommerce development, strategy, integrations, user experience, and technical execution. For a project as complex as the Valley Ridge Furniture platform, that global depth of knowledge proved extremely valuable. Each team member contributed unique strengths that helped solve challenges efficiently and keep the project progressing forward. Their ability to combine specialized expertise with strong collaboration created a level of capability that was highly impressive throughout the entire build process.

Are there any areas for improvement or something pb+j could have done differently?

One area that could have benefited the project would have been a deeper discovery and R&D phase prior to the original scope and quoting process. As the project evolved, it became clear that the long-term vision and operational complexity of what Valley Ridge Furniture was ultimately looking to build was significantly more advanced than either side initially anticipated. The platform involved many unique challenges related to large-scale furniture eCommerce, logistics, integrations, product data management, and future scalability, which created several major roadblocks throughout the process and extended timelines beyond original expectations. While those challenges at times created stress for both teams, PB&J remained committed to working through the issues collaboratively and ultimately delivered a successful launch. In hindsight, a more extensive upfront planning and technical evaluation stage may have helped better define the true scope and complexity of the project from the beginning. That said, we appreciated PB&J’s willingness to stay engaged, adapt, and continue pushing the project forward despite the evolving demands of the build.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Cheif Wellness and Brand Officer of AwearMarket.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

AwearMarket is a curated non-toxic wellness marketplace that helps people shop cleaner, healthier products for themselves, their homes, and their families, all in one trusted place.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire pb+j to accomplish?

• Help build the infrastructure for AwearMarket.com.
• Relay the brand’s overall look and feel to the consumer.
• Create a seamless onboarding experience for the brands joining our marketplace.

SOLUTION

How did you find pb+j?

Online Search

Why did you select pb+j over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from pb+j were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

PB&J helped bring AwearMarket to life from both a strategic and technical standpoint. Their scope of work included helping us build the infrastructure behind the marketplace, shaping the overall brand look and feel, and guiding the development of a scalable, user-friendly platform for both customers and partner brands. They supported the project from early idea and concept development through execution, helping us think through the big-picture vision while also managing the practical pieces needed to launch and grow the business. Their team was incredible. Organized and it really provided structure to us as a start up. 

Key deliverables included:

• Website infrastructure and backend development

• Brand design direction and visual identity support

• Strategic planning around marketplace functionality and scalability

• Brand onboarding systems and user experience development

• Website buildout from concept through execution

• Marketing, digital advertising, and growth strategy support

• Ongoing guidance around platform organization, functionality, and customer experience

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although we were only partnered with PB&J through the launch phase, the impact of their work was immediately visible in the professionalism, functionality, and overall user experience of the platform. They helped create a strong foundational infrastructure that allowed AwearMarket to launch with confidence, clarity, and scalability in mind. Their team brought a high level of organization, communication, and strategic thinking throughout the process, helping transform a large vision into a polished and operational marketplace. The final website reflected the elevated brand feel we were aiming for while also creating a seamless experience for both customers and partner brands. Their early infrastructure and strategic guidance positioned us for growth and gave us a strong foundation to continue building from post-launch.

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

PB&J’s project management was exceptional throughout the entire process. Their team was consistently timely, highly responsive, and always available to support our needs and requests, even under an extremely tight launch timeline. Not only did they meet deadlines, they exceeded expectations in the level of execution and professionalism they brought to the table.

Lindsay and Dimitri specifically absolutely knocked it out of the park for us. They were true problem-solvers at every stage of the project. As we navigated unexpected challenges with the platform we initially planned to use, their team remained calm, solutions-oriented, and proactive, always finding a fix and helping us move forward without losing momentum.

What stood out most was their willingness to be hands-on through every detail, big or small. They made a very complex build feel manageable and were an instrumental part of helping us successfully execute and launch AwearMarket.

What was your primary form of communication with pb+j?

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

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

What impressed us most about PB&J was their willingness to truly roll up their sleeves and become invested in the vision alongside us. Their team consistently put in the time, energy, and attention to detail needed to execute at a high level, while also bringing thoughtful creative input to the table.

They didn’t just complete tasks, they actively helped guide the brand in a way that kept everything aligned, on track, and cohesive. That combination of strategic thinking, creativity, and hands-on execution is rare to find, and it made them feel like true partners throughout the process.

Are there any areas for improvement or something pb+j could have done differently?

One area for improvement would simply be deeper platform-specific guidance within Shopify Collective and the app ecosystem surrounding it. Because our business model is unique and highly layered from an e-commerce standpoint, there were moments where we later discovered quicker or more efficient structural solutions than what we initially implemented.

That said, this did not negatively impact the overall success of the project or our relationship. If anything, it’s simply an opportunity for even more streamlined efficiency in future builds of this kind. Overall, PB&J remained incredibly supportive, adaptable, and solutions-oriented throughout the entire process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the E-commerce Manager of Industry of All Nations

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Industry of All Nations is a research, design, and development office founded with the commitment to rethink methods of production for consumer goods, bringing productions back to the original makers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire pb+j to accomplish?

• Increase Conversion Rate
• Increase Revenue
• Implement a complete Homepage redesign

SOLUTION

How did you find pb+j?

Online Search

Why did you select pb+j over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from pb+j were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

Key deliverables included first fixing the design and UX of the site header and resolving longstanding issues on the account/subscribe page. We also needed significant updates such as a complete homepage revamp, functional improvements like a back-in-stock notification feature, dynamic low stock badging, and a redesign of collection pages for better visual cues. The goal was increasing conversion rate and revenue.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Conversion increased and we have seen and been able to maintain solid revenue lift!

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

Oh, wow - where to begin - the PB+J team excels in communication, exhibits immense patience, and shows incredible flexibility. Tasks were toutinely delivered on time, and in the rare event of a project being pushed, the communication was 10/10 regarding the reasons why.

What was your primary form of communication with pb+j?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They are not just skilled engineers but also true problem-solvers. Projects that were out of reach with other developers in the past were successfully realized by their talented team. It’s uncommon to find an agency that not only possesses exceptional technical skills but also excels in project management and client collaboration. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something pb+j could have done differently?

pb+j was instrumental in the success of our website! We are extremely happy with their 'unlimited' dev model and would highly recommend to anyone who wants to scale their DTC ecom presence.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Marketing of COWS Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

COWS sells premium ice cream and whimsical cow-themed parody merchandise.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire pb+j to accomplish?

• Create User Friendly Website
• Create Website that translates to our brand
• Increase online revenue by creating a functional and fun website

SOLUTION

How did you find pb+j?

Online Search

Why did you select pb+j over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from pb+j were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

PB + J worked with COWS to create a new Shopify website (was previously on woo-commerce). They covered discovery, UX/UI design, development, and QA. They re-platformed the COWS website on Shopify and created a core suite of functionality and performance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we only launched the website a few weeks ago, it is tough to measure success from the new site this soon. However, an overwhelming amount of feedback has poured in saying how user friendly the site is (a main goal), the amount of (labour time) it has cut from office staff here, and sales have been quite steady since the launch.

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

PB + J were always available to answer our questions when needed, in a very timely manner. We felt that we were supported and made a priority right through kick-off up until post-launch.

What was your primary form of communication with pb+j?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We felt throughout the project that our needs for the project were always considered. It felt very much like a "team-work" approach throughout rather than PB + J rushing to get the project done.

Are there any areas for improvement or something pb+j could have done differently?

Although we are very happy with the design of the COWS website, we thought we could have been provided a few more design options to choose from - walked through. This is the only part that it felt slightly rushed; however all our concerns and questions were always answered.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Digital Marketing Manager of Harris Seeds

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Harris Seeds provides high quality vegetable seeds, flower seeds, plants and supplies to commercial growers and home gardeners throughout the United States.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire pb+j to accomplish?

• Website Redesign

SOLUTION

How did you find pb+j?

Online Search

Why did you select pb+j over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from pb+j were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

UX/UI Website Redesign Key deliverables included: 

• Discovery Website 
• Health Check/Audit 
• Goals & Buyer Personas 
• Tech Stack 
• Creative Pitch 
• Site Map + Buyer Journey 
• Business Rules 
• Final Design/Build (Wireframes, UI Concept Design, Mockups, Development)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

pb+j designed a stunning website that sets us apart from our competitors. Their expertise in UX/UI and in-depth knowledge of our business resulted in a visually appealing and flawless site that is much more user friendly and intuitive. 
During development, pb+j upgraded our site to Shopify 2.0, allowing us to customize and edit the site on the backend much more easily. The addition of metafields allows us to sync data between our ERP and website so we can provide valuable and up-to-date information to our customers. Enhanced navigation and site structure help customers browse and find products more efficiently. 
Expandable and collapsible accordions and drawers and a new Quick Shop feature gives users control over the information they see. Product status, requirements, and restrictions are prominently displayed and shown upfront through flags/banners on the product pages and in the shopping cart so that users are well informed throughout the buying process. New cross-selling features were implemented to increase our AOV by suggesting complementary products. 
The Learning Center makes resources and blog articles more accessible to users, enriching their overall experience on the website. All in all, pb+j successfully addressed various aspects of our website to make the shopping experience effortless and enjoyable for our customers. Their combination of design expertise, technical proficiency, and understanding of our business has resulted in a significant improvement in our online presence.

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

Deliverables were completed on time. They were flexible with the delays on our end.

What was your primary form of communication with pb+j?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

It's a pleasure working with pb+j. They are knowledgeable, professional and responsive. They go the extra mile.

Are there any areas for improvement or something pb+j could have done differently?

Although we are pleased with the outcome of the project, we would have liked more communication and more frequent status updates.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Ops of Pappy and Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Direct to consumer bourbon lifestyle goods that celebrate theVan Winkle family heritage around quality and authenticity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire pb+j to accomplish?

• Create a branded landing page on our site to highlight what our loyalty program is.
• Design the email templates for the 5 major Loyalty Lion communications.

SOLUTION

How did you find pb+j?

Referral

Why did you select pb+j over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me

How many teammates from pb+j were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Loyalty Lion Landing Page ​ Built within the Client's existing Loyalty Lion account, which has already been setup: ​ 

• Loyalty Program Landing Page—design and development of a public, static loyalty program explainer / landing page to match the Client's existing website styling and branding, including: 
  • Up to five (5) standard loyalty page sections 
  • One (1) design concept and mock-up 
  • Two (2) round of revisions Loyalty drop-down added to main site navigation (as/if decided) ​ 

Loyalty Lion Email Templates ​ Built within the Client's existing Loyalty Lion account, which has already been setup: ​ 

• Branded Email Templates—design and development of Loyalty Lion email templates to match the Client's existing brand styling, including: 
  • Up to five (5) standard loyalty email templates Incl. Welcome, Reward Availability, Points Expiration, Monthly Reminder, Birthday 
  • One (1) design concept and mock-up each 
  • One (1) round of revisions each 

Note: this does not cover Klaviyo flows or porting or anything outside of the Loyalty Lion app

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A completed landing page that brought the user interface we were looking for, and allowed the user to link to the new account signup page. Completed email templates that were blessed by marketing and were able to test within the LL environment and worked.

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

Yes - Tom was an amazing resource. Very complete considering one week to put it together and come up with the team. The SOW was first class - super detailed and well designed. No surprises - and they completed all benchmarks as they wrote in the SOW.

What was your primary form of communication with pb+j?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The team was super flexible, prompt, and professional. Feel like they would customize or find a solution to anything we asked.

Are there any areas for improvement or something pb+j could have done differently?

No feedback from me around improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President of FPM Solutions CPAP and Medical Devices

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a leader in the treatment of Sleep Apnea, combining best-in-class clinical outcomes with the premier client experience in Ontario. We pursue perfection in customer satisfaction, clinical therapy compliance and client health outcomes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire pb+j to accomplish?

• Increase Conversions
• Improved CEX

SOLUTION

How did you find pb+j?

They originally developed our Ecomm site

Why did you select pb+j over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from pb+j were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

1. Taste Test Diagnostic - Discovery, Audit, Insights, Set-up (one-time) 
   • Brand onboarding and site orientation; 
   • The Agency will have a chance to become familiar with the Client's brand, company, and website structure and setup 
   • Intake and discovery (buyer persona, competition, pains, goals etc.); 
   • Complete website review and performance audit; 
   • UX (buyer journey, arch, functionality etc.) 
   • UI (design, ease of use, character etc.) Document Ref: RXZ2X-WTXGV-DJCMJ-LVTXI Page 2 of 22 
   • Content (copy, tone and voice, clarity, conversion etc.) 
   • Dev (tech-stack, hygiene, speed, etc.) 
   • Strategy and Analytics (traffic, channels, devices, drop-offs, goals etc.) 
   • Data Benchmarking and performance baselines of the existing website; • Your biggest opportunities and insights packaged into a final CRO Domination Cookbook; 
2. Accelerate CRO 
   • Implement, Test, Iterate, Observe, Report, Repeat (ongoing) 
   • Growth Strategy and CRO Cookbook based on Taste Test ndings; 
   • Cookbook to outline tests, tasks, modications, and/or mini-projects aimed at accomplishing the highest degree of success possible 
   • Will encompass website and landing pages both mobile and desktop 
   • Conversion Rate Optimization and Performance Management; 
   • Top four to ve (4–5) tests, modications, or expansion recommendations worked on and completed each month—essentially, what we put forward to test or as recommendations we will also complete and will be what is feasible within the project constraints
   • Creative analysis 
   • Focus on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Average Order Value (AOV), Abandoned Carts (AC), Purchase Frequency (PF), website speed, and overall website performance opportunities at all stages of the buyer journey 
   • Data and Analysis; 
   • Detailed analytics, data trends, and insights provided through monthly reporting 
   • Account Management; 
   • Bi-weekly status meeting 
   • Monthly reporting and metrics updates 
   • Quarterly progress and business review w/ Co-Founder(s)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Baseline metrics were CVR, AOV, PF, ToP and AC. The measurable outcomes were increased revenue (10X ROI) driven by user engagement and increased conversion rates.

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

Overall the experience was extremely interactive and positive. They were extremely quick to respond to any inquiries we had, in or out of scope. They maintained regular communication and delivered items on time, with purpose and detailed explanation.

What was your primary form of communication with pb+j?

Virtual Meeting

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

I found PB&J to be very close to their customers. Form the top down we felt very well supported at every step of the journey. They are obviously experts in their field, but bring an extremely refreshing culture to their clients. They became an extension of our organization during the project.

Are there any areas for improvement or something pb+j could have done differently?

Nothing that really comes to mind. Overall a very pleasant and rewarding experience working with the entire team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Brand & Marketing Manager of The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Grizzly Paw shares engaging experiences for all within the heart of the Canadian Rockies by offering second-to-none hospitality and top-notch craft beverages - with a focus on providing the ultimate working experience for our employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire pb+j to accomplish?

• Add brand value by helping us differentiate between our different offerings
• Develop a beautiful and functional site

SOLUTION

How did you find pb+j?

Online Search

Why did you select pb+j over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned
• Impressive portfolio of previous work

How many teammates from pb+j were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

With 2 websites and 4 physical outlets that are very often confused for one another by our customers, we needed a solution to effectively communicate the differences between our locations while modernizing the entirety of how our brand is represented on our website. We opted to partner with PB+J to merge the contents of our main site and online shop into one Shopify site. This included updating virtually every pixel from our outdated site - starting from scratch. The team at PB+J helped us: 

• Effectively identify our goals with the collaboration of all the key members of our team (about 8 people)
• Layout the structure of the new site in a way that serves those goals
• Recommend 3rd party solutions
• Optimize sales on our online store
• Update all the visuals and copy
• Present an accurate representation of our brand to customers and future prospects

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• We've had a noticeable drop in customers reaching our physical locations with confusion about which one they are at.
• Compared to our Christmas period the year before, we saw: 
  • a 400% increase in online store sessions
  • a 23% increase in average order value (AOV)
  • a 11% increase in overall sales
• We've yet to reach our hiring season this year, but I anticipate a huge increase in applications due to the new "Careers" section PB+J helped us incorporate.

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

The team at pb+j was always organized and motivated to reach our deadlines. We communicated mostly through email and Slack, and every team member was always very prompt in their responses. There were a few delays from our end as the client in providing some updated content, but PB+J was still able to get the site published in time for us to reap the benefits over the busy Christmas Season!

What was your primary form of communication with pb+j?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I found the initial workshop that the team provided at the beginning of the project super insightful. It brought all the key team members together that are not necessarily involved in the project, but definitely impacted by the results of the site. PB+J led the workshop, and we were able to gain a lot of understanding of what our goals are. Additionally, with a background in Graphic Design, I was very impressed by the visuals the design team was able to produce.

Are there any areas for improvement or something pb+j could have done differently?

I think they could've communicated a bit more about what was going to need to happen on our end to publish the site. There was a bit of confusion around the web domains with our previous developer that resulted in our site being down for about a day as we were trying to go live. Nonetheless, PB +J was right there to help where they could.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Shock Surplus

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We're a specialized online retailer of aftermarket automotive performance products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire pb+j to accomplish?

• Increase Conversion Rate
• Increase Average Order Value
• Decrease Return Rate

SOLUTION

How did you find pb+j?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select pb+j over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from pb+j were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

PBJ was to provide a modern update to our original Shopify 1.0 theme, on to the new Shopify 2.0 platform. There weren't any advanced UX/UI needs, just improve upon what we were already doing, with a Shopify conversion rate reporting at 1.3% for the trailing 6 months, corroborated by google's data showing 1.25%. 

They were to migrate our store to the new Shopify 2.0 theme, which should improve the overall speed of the site. They were to use photo and video assets that we created and produced. Following up to the theme update, PBJ was to undergo a conversion rate optimization effort to further improve upon the current conversion rate. 

Our reasoning was that if we already had a 1.3% conversion rate, and had a 'premier ecommerce design firm' modernizing our shopify store, we would see at least the same conversion rate with the update, and then increase the conversion rate from there during the CRO phase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The only measurable success of the project was the return rate that decreased by about 50%, through the inclusion of a 'fitment verification' app that we provided and had as part of the implementation.

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

Project management was somewhat a mess. When you thought they understood your business and needs and customer, they still brought a generic approach to the user experience. They never dug in to what was already working on the previous/current theme in terms of user experience paths that we had already been tracking in hotjar and google analytics. 

One red flag for all future customers, where we learned a very hard lesson about, was that verbally in meetings we discussed split (A/B) testing the previous theme to the new theme, to make sure the metrics we were concerned about, were actually improved. But when it came time to do this at launch, project management stated "It wasn't in the Scope of Work, so i'm sorry, that's not in the plan right now." 

Launch wasn't on time, even though we weren't attached to any hard release dates, we aimed for August, but instead launched in October. I would say mainly because of the lack of understanding the integration needs and timelines with our search software. The project management team on our project were fired the week of launch, after we had experienced weeks of poor attitude from the lead. This says a lot about the quality of the project from the get-go.

What was your primary form of communication with pb+j?

Virtual Meeting

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

They have a charismatic leader who will assure you of everything, but like most agencies, they don't have the team to back up their promises with a solid deliverable.

Are there any areas for improvement or something pb+j could have done differently?

Split test the previous design vs. the new one! Upon the conversion rate cliff discovery, (which our team brought to attention, not theirs), they blamed our traffic! Saying we were *suddenly* sending unqualified traffic to the site upon launch, which were not converting. Utter hogwash, and we could prove it 5 different ways. 

They could have their project management keeping an eye on important metrics for the client upon launch to make sure there weren't any important UX problems (there were). We asked numerous times for in-writing explanation and ways they were going to measure the 10x ROI they were guaranteeing, never received it. 

So when we launched, their 10X guarantee was being handled based on the conversion rate at launch (1%), not our original conversion rate (1.3%). So an agency launches a new theme, not taking into account ecommerce best practices or previous things that were already working well, and uses their own standards for an ROI guarantee, again, hogwash.

Company Responses