Suits & Sandals

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

The company is Applied Research and Consulting. We are a research firm based in New York City. We do social research, which means public opinion polling, market research, employee research, and data analytics. We've been in business for more than 21 years.

What is your position?

I'm one of the two founding partners of the firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Suits & Sandals?

That's an easy one. Like many older companies, our website had been neglected for a long time. We're a small firm, and we're very referral based, so we often forget we have a website because we don't have much functionality – it's more of a billboard for us. However, Googling a company and checking out their website has become standard before choosing to do business with them, so we knew it was important that we put our best foot forward.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

It was primarily web design. However, we also had conversations around brand strategy and how we wanted to present ourselves to potential clients. As far as the website goes, we wanted something that looked clean and contemporary, and we didn't want it to be too complicated. We wanted it to be light and clean. We wanted to let people know that, "Yes, you came to the right place. This is the kind of research and consulting firm that you were told about. We are the people, and here's how to get in touch with us." They took that assignment and did a beautiful job. They seemed to get it. The best part: they were fun to work with throughout the entire process.

How did you come to work with Suits & Sandals?

My partner was referred to them by a mutual friend. We were impressed by their mix of creativity and business acumen. We felt they could perceive what we were trying to do and the best way to make it happen.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It was in the $10,000 to $50,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

It began in the summer of 2015, and if it slowed down at all that was totally our fault because we moved our office in October, and my partner and I kind of lapsed in some of our assignments. I think the actual project didn't wrap up until January 2016. But, they were always very quick at getting back to us with everything, we were kind of crappy clients in that they were usually waiting on us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The hits we receive are way up, but I can't tell you much in terms of new sales or anything like that because, again, we primarily utilize the website as reassurance for people who have been referred to us. However, overall, everyone is enthusiastic about the site, and I get compliments on it all the time. We're no longer nervous that we're losing people who are referred to us because they're scared off by a crappy website.

What distinguishes Suits & Sandals from other providers?

One thing that I enjoyed about working with Suits & Sandals is how much they enjoy their work. Marketing and websites should be engaging and fun to a certain extent. They were great at bringing that to the project.

Another thing I guess I can point out is that their three main guys – Nick [Dank], Miles [Roxas], and Zach [Brady] – all played their roles very clearly. There was never any confusion about who was really in charge of what function. That's very helpful. It was always clear to both my partner and I who we should be talking to about what. We knew when it was a Miles issue, when it was a Nick issue, and when it was a Zach issue. They were all instantly available to communicate with either email or text or phone, and incredibly responsive.

Is there anything Suits & Sandals could have improved or done differently?

I think they could have done a better job with some of the copywriting on the site. In some sense that's an unfair criticism because we have a highly niche business, and we're the only ones who can communicate it effectively. I guess ultimately they did a good job of pushing us to clean up some of the text, which looking back, needed to be done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company name is Omnibuild. Omnibuild is a construction management firm in New York City. We did about $200 million last year, and have around 125 employees. We build mid to high rise buildings, condos, hotels, etc.

My role here is Director of Business Strategy. I've been with Omnibuild for a little over 8 years back when we had only 11 people. I've been here through the whole length of the organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Suits & Sandals?

We started working with Suits & Sandals back in 2015 when we had a pretty static website. It was very difficult to update, and we had to go through a designer. I know WordPress reasonably well. I've built some stuff, but I'm by no means a designer. We just wanted something more responsive, both for ourselves and our users. Something we could update on the fly and that also had blogs. As we got larger and started competing with the big construction firms in NYC, we knew we needed a website that didn’t take away, but added to our credibility.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

In addition to redoing our website, Suits & Sandals also redesigned our logo, and created a branding and style guidelines book for us that told us where we should use our logo, what size it should be, etc. So they not only rebranded our company, but were extremely helpful in educating us on the best way to have a consistent brand strategy.

How did you come to work with Suits & Sandals?

I actually found them through Facebook. I put a post asking if anyone knew of a good branding firm in NYC. A colleague of mine from a previous company commented that Suits & Sandals would be a company to check out. I took her advice and ended up reaching out to them and a few other companies. Suits & Sandals was not the cheapest, but they weren’t the most expensive either. They were right in the middle. We ended up going with them, first because they were based in Brooklyn, and second because we loved their youthful energy.

How much have you invested with Suits & Sandals?

It was between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first teamed up with them in the summer of 2015, and the website ended up launching in late October.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

As far as metrics go, our visits are way up. I don't even think we were tracking it before, but we know it just wasn't where it needed to be. The first thing clients and everybody else tells us is that the website looks great. It matters because when you're dealing with building owners, the first thing they do to get to know you is look at your website. Making a good first impression is crucial in our business, and the website Suits & Sandals designed definitely does that for us.

Another huge result for us has been the ability to update the site on our own, without going through Suits & Sandals or any other development agency. That has been a huge time and money saver.

What did you find most impressive about Suits & Sandals?

Their response is immediate. If you need something done, they respond immediately. Just two weeks ago I called them at 4:45 on a Thursday, and a client needed a special marketing book. We asked them if they could do it in 24 hours. They called me back in five minutes and basically Nick, the CEO, just shut the whole office down to work on our project. We had to pay him for that, but he didn't have to do that for us. They got it to me at 4:30 the next day. They really are willing to push the relationship forward, and it's not just about the dollars and cents. It's not just a contract. They really are looking to build relationships with people. They're just really fun people to chat with and be around, which I think is important if you're on a long project.

Are there any areas Suits & Sandals could improve?

No. It was really great. They were fair on everything. I asked for a few extra things at the end, and they didn't charge me for it. When they needed to put their hands up, they gave me healthy push back and would say “hey, we love you, but we're a business and we can’t do that for you.” I would work with them again in a second. I think they really run their business quite well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Interchecks Technologies, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We process payments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Suits & Sandals to accomplish?

Website Redesign

SOLUTION

How did you find Suits & Sandals?

Referral

Why did you select Suits & Sandals over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fits our budget
• Good value for the cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Suits & Sandals were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Landing page redesigns 
• Animation 
• Brand identity

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was done within the budget and on time with high quality.

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

They delivered on time and were active in responding to new requirements.

What was your primary form of communication with Suits & Sandals?

Virtual Meeting

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

Professional and responsive.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Suits & Sandals could have done differently?

None