Seattle Design Group

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Second Nature Services is a Landscape and Property Maintenance company serving commercial and residential properties since 2000. Owner

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Seattle Design Group?

To design and produce a positive web presence through web site development as well as providing ongoing support services.

What were your goals for this project?

Establishment of a positive online business image aimed at increasing prospective customer interest.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended to me by a trusted mutual business acquaintance.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Multiple web site designs to keep up a fresh look. First rate service including prompt updates, maintenance and flawless hosting.

What was the team composition?

I worked exclusively with our project manager and owner of Seattle Design Group, Vera Pascal. This personal touch was greatly appreciated. When ever I needed to communicate, it was good to know that I would be talking with someone who was on the 'same page.'

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The exceptional work and support from Seattle Design Group over the last 20 years has provided us with a great ongoing source of new business with relatively no other major advertising.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Management was arranged via phone and email as this is what works best for me. It was very effective and I felt no need for anything more.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was first impressed by the way I was made totally comfortable. I was somewhat apprehensive making the initial contact due to my lack of knowledge of websites at that time. I soon came to understand that that would not be an issue. I guess the best way to sum it would be to say -their dedication to their clients, their high level of professional services and their friendly, helpful approach.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not in my opinion!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

White Light Publications was a marketing company to promote for sale vehicles for auto dealerships in the puget Sound and Portland regions. My position was President of White Light Publications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Seattle Design Group?

To build and maintain the company websites.

What were your goals for this project?

To give our client an online presences for the advertised vehicles in our magazines.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The owner of Seattle Design Group and I have been friends and I knew the quality of her work.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Designed, developed, maintained and hosted our company websites for Northwest Cars and Trucks Magazine and Northwest Local Coupons Magazine.

What was the team composition?

We only worked with the owner of Seattle Design Group Vera Pascal who was the project manager for the websites.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The exceptional work that Seattle Designed gave us an online presence to support the magazines. Even though the websites were not designed as a direct revenue stream, the increase in sales to the magazines was very apparent.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

As stated above, we worked directly with Vera and that made it very streamlined and easy.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The efficiency, I did not have to deal with anything. They handled the project from start to finish and they needed very little input.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing and sales for US Sheepskin Inc, a sheepskin product manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seattle Design Group?

Our website, which hadn’t been updated in 20 years, needed revamping.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In our partnership with Seattle Design Group, we’ve gone through four iterations of redesigns in total. 

The team performs regular website maintenance and optimization, keeping track of our search engine rankings and making changes where appropriate. 

They’ve also secured a notable platform that we host our website on.

What is the team composition?

There were three people involved in our most recent project. I worked with Vera (Owner, Seattle Design Group), a photographer, and an artist.  

How did you come to work with Seattle Design Group?

After conducting research on web designers to refurbish our website, we narrowed our list down to three options. We found Vera was not only a web designer, but the president of Seattle Design Group, which includes photographers, artists, and other design resources.

She stood out as a preferred candidate and was also closest to us geographically. I met with her in person to discuss the direction of the website, and our conversation led me to decide she would be the best fit for our organization.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2004, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Vera does an extraordinary job with our website. 

When we were designing our website she was able to quickly find an artist to produce a logo, which has since become one of the market’s most recognizable equine logos. It demonstrates to our clients who we are and what we do as a company.

The photographer she put us in touch with was also fantastic in producing a collection of different images that have received a lot of positive feedback. Our wholesaler customers commonly use the images to promote our products through their own websites. 

Each redesign is met with very positive reviews from our clients. They highlight the ease and intuition of the user experience. Recently, the team helped guide us through the process of transitioning from strictly B2B to offering a retail component as well.

Also, Seattle Design Group has been very thorough in their QA practices.  

How did Seattle Design Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Vera has been a great resource for our digital marketing strategist, and the two of them have been working together since the launch of our retail component. She guides our strategist through the backend processes of minor bug fixes and other edits. There are probably about 10 different tools at their disposal.

Whenever our hosting service experiences any issues, Vera is usually able to offer pragmatic solutions to get it running smoothly again. She’s usually able to accomplish this in an hour or two, which is valuable time in the e-commerce sphere. She understands the importance of quality assurance.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was very impressed with my initial meetings with Vera. She displayed a sense of confidence and likeability in our first interview and answered my questions well. I immediately felt comfortable working with Seattle Design Group, and the engagement has worked out really well since.

Are there any areas she could improve?

It would be fantastic if she moved her office into our building. She’s very available whenever we need.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to come in with as much information as possible, because that allows you to develop a story rather than creating something from nothing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a household staffing agency. We find nannies and household managers for families. We also do corporate backup and temp services. Sometimes we staff hotels with nannies for clients that are staying there.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seattle Design Group?

We hired Seattle Design Group years ago. When the internet became popular, we needed a website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When our engagement began, Vera (Owner, Seattle Design Group) built our company’s website from scratch. We had discussions about what features the site should have. At the time, I was also the president of a national organization that I needed web development services for as well.

What is the team composition?

I’ve only directly worked with Vera.

How did you come to work with Seattle Design Group?

After I talked to Vera, I was very impressed. I didn’t think about hiring anyone else.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Seattle Design Group began in 2003.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Vera has been maintaining our site, keeping it running and relevant. Clients have always commented on how our website is easy to use. It has everything on it that should be on it. The website has been great for our business.

How did Seattle Design Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily communicate through email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Vera is fabulous. I have no complaints.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I know of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients should communicate what they want. Ask Vera for her expertise, and she’ll take care of everything you need.