Twirling Umbrellas

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations for a property development and management company. We run a variety of medical assets and residential portfolios that doubles as a vacation rental complex.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Twirling Umbrellas?

We needed someone to expand our efforts in web development, digital marketing, and the SEO space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Twirling Umbrellas serves as an extension of our digital marketing efforts, and they provide us with a wide variety of services, such as backend development, ad buying campaign strategies, Google Ads management, and keyword research.

They also provide us with Google integrations to ensure our servers remain highly efficient.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Chris (Founder & CEO) and Carla (Marketing Director).

How did you come to work with Twirling Umbrellas?

They were recommended to us by a colleague who I used to work with a long time ago.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent around $500,000 CAD ($380,400 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in November 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a significant increase in our conversion rate since partnering with Twirling Umbrellas. They’ve also helped us outrank some of the industry's most prominent property rental services. 

The quality of their work is outstanding, and their team has been key in helping us hit all our goals and ensuring that we’re ranking at the top for our keywords.

How did Twirling Umbrellas perform from a project management standpoint?

They implemented a more relaxed approach to budgeting, and they’ve never missed a deadline. Furthermore, Twirling Umbrellas doesn’t require a lot of supervision; they understand how to manage time-sensitive tasks and fully commit themselves to their deliverables as if it’s their own.

We use Semrush for reporting and typically communicate through Zoom, phone, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their biggest strength lies within their overall company structure and how they’ve built their core competencies. They take relationship building seriously, and the process of communication has been fully transparent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There hasn’t been anything I’ve given them that they can't respond to.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to come into the partnership with your goals and expectations because it helps the team achieve the best results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of a Science Institute

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to update our old web site to have a modern look. We also needed to make the information more accessible to the general public while maintaining the rigor needed to provide information for people applying to our programs.

SOLUTION

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

We searched a number of vendors by looking at web sites they developed. Twirling Umbrellas had experience with sites like ours and we like the design of the web pages they had as examples.

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

We had a complete redesign of the website after providing a list of requirements, a description of communication goals, examples of web sites for other operations we liked, and a joint analysis of the old site. They did a complete redesign, went through an extensive editing process based on our feedback, delivered a draft structure that we populated with details, and redid some pages that needed changes.

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

We had a project manager and two people on a design team. There were others that handled technical aspects (programmers) but we did not meet them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just launched our site so we have no metrics. But the site is much easier to manage and we have removed issues with various conflicts in presented information. The site itself is nice looking and meets our goals.

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

We had regular contacts with the team, especially in the editing phase.

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

They gave us a professional site that is much easier to maintain and has a modern look. The organization of the site provides a lot of information for a general viewer while giving the precise information needed by applicants.

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

not really.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Valens Groworks is a supply chain partner in the cannabis space aiding licensed producers of cannabis with testing/analytics, extraction, post-processing, formulation and product development. I work in business development, marketing, IR and PR.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ten/17 Digital Cannabis Co.?

Ten/17 does a variety of services for us including podcast production, copywrite, design and more.

What were your goals for this project?

2 things drive our marketing at valens, authenticity and authority. With a rare opportunity to be a touch point with many LP's in the space, Valens is able to provide education and understanding on the industry through it's vast experience in the space. We capitalize on this positioning for marketing and that is what Ten/17 has provided for us.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Some of the team members have been with Valens since the start, but they continuously show up by learning about the space, understanding who we are, and going above and beyond. Thus, we've never strayed too far from them.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Website design and development, copy write, digital assets, podcast production and more. They are integral to all of our marketing needs.

What was the team composition?

Ryan, Carrie, Chris, Carla, Christine

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Podcast listed on top 100 health-related on iTunes, blog content heavily read, outreach from cannabis/marketing industry folk on the quality of goods provided, etc.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Extremely, always in touch, always available. Vendors take feedback with pure class and build upon it. Being in the cannabis industry, we are extremely limited/restricted by The Cannabis Act's promotional regulations thus it's been a lot of learning and adjusting and they are always diligently strengthening their understanding and open to feedback on this wild journey we're on.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their due diligence and commitment to understanding the industry were impressive. There is a science behind cannabis and its extraction and its clear from their ideas they understand that.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I am always extremely pleased with this team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Making Lemonade is a health business consulting company. I’m a registered nutritionist. I have just transitioned from doing client consultations for nutrition into doing business consulting for other nutritionists and other health experts. I provide consultation services to new or experienced nutritionists and other health practitioners or experts. I help them get their businesses up and going. I also do health writing for other practitioners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Main Street Creative?

I needed help with my entire website. It’s something that I had tried to do entirely myself, but I am not the most technically skilled person. After about a year of trying to learn all of these new strategies and techniques and trying to get a WordPress platform figured out, I turned to Main Street Creative.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They completely reconfigured the website for my nutrition consulting business. Now that I’ve transitioned into a new business model, they’ve actually facilitated that transition. They did the new website for it and made the transition easier for me. They helped me organize and strategize how that move would go. It’s been helpful in more ways than just website development. They did search engine optimization and content management as well. I left it up to Chris Stevens’ [Owner, Main Street Creative] discretion as to who was going to be the best people to work on my project.

They’ve worked on three websites for me in the past year. We started with MakingLemonade.ca and that coincided with another project, HormoneReboot.com, which is a women’s health program. Now, we’ve transitioned MakingLemonade.ca into KristaGoncalves.com

How did you come to work with Main Street Creative?

I learned about them from the recommendation of a health professional in Kelowna. She just couldn’t say enough great things about them. I called them up, and it was definitely one of the best business decisions that I’ve made.

How much have you invested with Main Street Creative?

Each project has carried its own financial budget. For the initial work, I spent $1,500. It was another $1,500 for HormoneReboot. Our current project just went live in the last few weeks. I don’t know what the total investment will be for that project. I have an ongoing monthly commitment to them. If you’d put it all together, it’s probably around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2016, and the work is ongoing. I plan to keep them onboard. I feel like they’re part of my business team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Main Street is kind of a one-stop shop for me. I’m sure other companies don’t need to employ so many of their skills, but I have the full package with them. They’re keeping track of all of my metrics, and we go over those on a monthly basis. In terms of the benefits of the SEO work that they’ve done, the traffic that’s been driven is phenomenal. The collaboration has been nothing but positive. I can honestly say that I’m really not quite sure where my business would be today if we haven’t made that connection a year ago.

How did Main Street Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. If anything, they kept me on schedule. They help me to establish a schedule and we work very closely together in keeping everything on task. They’re really helpful in prioritizing what needs to be done on a month-by-month basis. I have gotten exactly what I’ve asked for. I’m someone who is very hands-on with my own website. They respect that and they honor that, and they work with me to facilitate that because I’m not a coding expert. I’ve got a great team of professionals there, and they clearly love what they do. It’s all well and good that you can feel good about the company or the service or just the person that you’ve chosen to help you with a particular task in your business. And for me, that was all things to do with website, content, SEO, and digital marketing. We’ve seen also seen results from their work. It’s rare that all aspects of the experience would be so positive. I’ve recommended them to several friends and clients of mine.

What did you find most impressive about Main Street Creative?

I have several friends and family members who do exactly what Main Street does, but I chose them based on the recommendation of a health practitioner. I wanted someone who had experience in that arena, in my niche. That stood out for me, and that’s why I gravitated towards them in the first place. Second, they were local and willing to meet with me in person. That’s actually a rarity in this digital world. We don’t get to have that face-to-face interaction. That’s what has stood out above and beyond what I know about other similar companies or similar services, including my own friends and family members who do this very work. They weren’t willing to provide that level of service to me within the exact same budget. I might’ve gotten the same quality from other people, but that has really stood out for me. Chris personally has sat down with me on a number of occasions and has taken the time to work out things in person. That was important for me and the kind of work that I do. Ultimately for the type of business that I’m in, my website is literally my storefront. That’s been absolutely incomparable.  

Are there any areas Main Street Creative could improve?

We had a positive interaction. Nothing comes to mind that I would ever construe as a negative experience or something that need to be improved on.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Main Street Creative?

Be as clear as you can with your vision. It’s very uncanny how they can tap into what your vision is and help you to make that happen in a digital sense. It’s amazing when you’re trying to just say words or images, and they are able to bring that to life within a website for you. I came in with perhaps not as clear vision as I would’ve liked, and they actually helped me to pull that together and organize it a bit better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative director of a graphic design, branding, and marketing services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Main Street Creative?

I needed a website that really represented my brand and who I was, the whole personality because we’re a little different. Also, I needed something that would stand out in the local market. We’re in a rather small city in Canada.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had a website that I was not happy with, so Main Street Creative scratched it and started from scratch. They handled both the design and development. It’s on a WordPress platform because I wouldn’t accept anything else. They also did the SEO [search engine optimization]. The website was just completed, and I’m planning to go back to them to go through the SEO together to see if anything additional is required for marketing.

How did you come to work with Main Street Creative?

I actually knew the owner of Main Street Creative, Chris, because he was my coding instructor years ago. I looked at a few companies, including one in the UK, and his proposal was just perfect, so I went with them.

How much have you invested with Main Street Creative?

I spent $7,200 in Canadian dollars [$5,300].

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from early February to April of 2017. The website is done, but I would work with Main Street Creative again if I have other projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any stats yet. The quality of their work is excellent. I’m very happy with what they did. Main Street Creative made it easy and stress-free. I’m a happy customer.

How did Main Street Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The deadlines were off, but that was partly my fault. I think we had planned to complete the project by the end of February or early March, and it was done in mid-April. A lot was going on, and Main Street Creative got really busy in the middle of it all. They remained communicative throughout the process and let me know about delays. I had to email them once to ask about the next step, but they were generally the ones prompting me.

What did you find most impressive about Main Street Creative?

Main Street Creative's team takes the time to understand the personality of the business. I looked at a lot of other companies, and they were all offering gorgeous websites, but they weren’t an exact fit for my company. They were one-size-fits-all, whereas Main Street isn’t.

Are there any areas Main Street Creative could improve?

It would have been good to have more scheduled updates, maybe once a week, letting the client know exactly where we’re at in the website development, what the next step is going to be, and if there are any issues.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Director of CASI-ACMS

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Training and certification of snowboard instructors in Canada and internationally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Twirling Umbrellas to accomplish?

• Web site redesign
• Adopt new content management system

SOLUTION

How did you find Twirling Umbrellas?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Twirling Umbrellas over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Twirling Umbrellas were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Redesign of current web site to be more modern, user-friendly, and overall more effective.

Convert existing web content from Joomla system to Wordpress.

Integrate with existing back-end member database system.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• New site accomplished the goal of providing a more user-friendly experience and user interface design.
• Navigation of site improved.
• Integration with existing member and course database system improved.

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

Single point of contact ensured effective project management. Access to other team members, if required, ensured that any issues were addressed. Consistent communication on progress and tasks, and on-time delivery.

What was your primary form of communication with Twirling Umbrellas?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We were pleased with their communication and quality of work. They also took the time to understand the project and needs.

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

Post launch training / orientation could have been more thorough with regard to new systems (online shop for example).