3.7 Designs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Marketing and Communications of Huron River Watershed Council

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

HRWC is a nonprofit environmental group dedicated to restoring and protecting the Huron River in Southeast Michigan.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 3.7 Designs to accomplish?

• Create a new website
• Provide on-going technical maintenance and support for the new website

SOLUTION

How did you find 3.7 Designs?

Referral

Why did you select 3.7 Designs over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from 3.7 Designs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

3.7 Design reconceptualized HRWC's web site starting with the most critical elements, the objectives of the site, and the user audience. With an understanding of the website goals and target
audience they developed a detailed website strategy, and a new plan for the information architecture, designed new objective-­driven layouts for key pages, and crafted an emotionally engaging, intuitive visual layer. The deliverables for the project included:
• Sitemap
• Strategy document
• High fidelity design concepts
• WordPress content management system
• Fully built out and tested website

3.7 has continued to provide routine ongoing technical support and site maintenance, including developing Gravity Forms for use on the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

New site launched. Downtime of existing site minimized and optimal performance.

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

Their project management was thoughtful, organized, attentive, and communicative.

What was your primary form of communication with 3.7 Designs?

• In-Person Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Customer care and ongoing support. Also attention to detail and commitment to satisfying our needs/wants.

Are there any areas for improvement or something 3.7 Designs could have done differently?

They're already the best.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Former Director of Global Marketing & Sales of an automotive engineering firm.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide software and engineering services for the automotive industry, focused on sheet metal forming simulation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 3.7 Designs to accomplish?

• Increase organic search engine visibility to accelerate growth.
• Generate more qualified leads via SEO, Inbound, & PPC campaigns.
• Generate educational/lead nurturing content to help potential customers be more informed about purchase decisions.
• Address a variety of user personas that the website needs to serve.

SOLUTION

How did you find 3.7 Designs?

Prior Engagements

Why did you select 3.7 Designs over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Prior Experience

How many teammates from 3.7 Designs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

3.7 Designs was engaged to act as an external team member. The option was hire a single highly-skilled marketing professional. Or, hire an external team that cost less but delivered a wider range of skills and could avoid being singularly bottlenecked.  That choice was proven to work extremely well. The Chairman unsolicitedly told me, after the initial implementation had been rolled out, 'that was the right choice.'

The specific deliverables were a new website, a SEO-backed content marketing strategy, Salesforce integration, and, fundamentally, a new lead gen platform.  This worked very well for us. After discovery, they provided a project plan and worked with us to deliver in timely fashion. And, on budget.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

On time delivery of key items:

1. 1. New website
   2. SEO strategy
   3. Salesforce integration
   4. Email marketing

Overall, they had outlined their grademark "Growth Driven Design and Inbound" program. In my opinion they delivered exactly what they promised.

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

Yes. My own company inability to meet delivery dates were the only cause of missed dates. 3.7 Designs met all their delivery commitments on time.

Communication was through their Monday.com project management tool alongside active weekly meetings between 3.7 and ETA led by their project manager. Wherever there were issues to resolve, they did so proactively, communicatively, and in timely fashion.

What was your primary form of communication with 3.7 Designs?

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

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

Having dealt with other similar organizations, I had a basis for comparison. Key attributes:

• Ross - As the champion and executive driving this initiative, there were times where direct engagement with the Chairman and CEO were called for. Ross does an exceptional job communicating with senior executives. He worked with me to confirm how messages needed to be targeted and delivered very well. COuldn't have been happier.
• Team - The key members of 3.7 were very good in their roles. Questions/concerns were addressed, not just adequately, but completely. Including addressing concerns we had not yet thought to ask.
• Customer-center focus. The 3.7 team wanted to make sure we were being properly served. I found it rare to have a partner that really did 'feel' like a partner, external or not. They did a very good job meshing with us and driving forward to meet the stated objectives.

Are there any areas for improvement or something 3.7 Designs could have done differently?

As a personal preference, I would have appreciated in-person visits. Particularly early-on while making the CEO feel comfortable. But, to be honest, the video calls did work just fine and got the job done.

The reality is, my own company was where all the problems lay, particularly from a content creation perspective. That was a large issue which 3.7 could not have impacted.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Department Manager of Robertson Morrison

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide mechanical and sheet metal services in Ann Arbor and all of Southeast Michigan.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 3.7 Designs to accomplish?

• Redesign our website to increase construction bid submissions
• SEO audit and improve search rankings
• Increase sheet metal outsourcing opportunities
• Increase residential lead generation

SOLUTION

How did you find 3.7 Designs?

Referral

Why did you select 3.7 Designs over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from 3.7 Designs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

3.7 Designs resdesigned our website to increase our footprint in new markets and increase lead generation. Part of this process was also an SEO audit and SEO sprints to increase our organic search results. We received KPIs, client personas, competitive audit, site map, UX strategy, site map, QA testing, and UI concepts and execution.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Increase in 5 new sheet metal leads per year, 5% growth in residential lead generation, increased search engine visibility by 2.5%. 

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

We held in-person or virtual meetings for key milestones dates, weekly status emails, lead contact for all ad-hoc and timely questions. All meetings were followed up with meeting notes and action items clearly noted. I always received a confirmation of my question or inquiry with an estimated response if they could not answer right away. We never experienced any communication issues with anyone working at 3.7 Designs. 

What was your primary form of communication with 3.7 Designs?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The team we had on the website redesign were extrememly knowledgable about industry trends and upcoming changes in technology. They could clearly explain the reasoning and reseach that went into their site map and UX recommendations. They would also recommend other updates, like domain name management, to improve overall security. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something 3.7 Designs could have done differently?

While they did provide hands on website training at the end of the project, it was on the client to do any formal documentation. Providing training guides as part of the training process would make it an easier transition. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive of Eve Hansen. We sell across multiple channels and do low seven figures in annual revenue.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 3.7 Designs?

We had no experience with website design, graphic design, or creating converting landing pages, so we engaged 3.7 Designs to revamp part of our website and create converting landing pages to which we could run ads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

3.7 Designs created landing pages for three different products of ours. The team developed various iterations for each product landing page, and then A/B tested their driven traffic. We optimized for conversion and tried multiple layouts to improve the traffic and conversion. Additionally, 3.7 Designs provided consulting on an overall website optimization perspective and layout. Unfortunately, that was all the budget we had to work on. Otherwise, we would have requested more from them.

The team designed the landing pages from scratch. Since we couldn't provide new creatives for them, they took our existing marketing creatives and made them work for the landing pages. We provided the marketing materials for the products, including the features, benefits, and what the product was designed to do. 3.7 Designs then researched keyword trends and what was working for each category. They optimized the landing pages and subsequently optimized keywords.

We used Shopify, and since we were using a templated site, they couldn't create custom landing pages. As a result, we used Shogun, a plug-in for Shopify that allowed us to build on top of the existing templates and create custom pages. The team made around 15 different pages.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Ross, the CEO, and Declan. They were the two main touchpoints I can recall.

How did you come to work with 3.7 Designs?

I've known Ross in a business context for over 10 years.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $5,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

For this engagement, we worked together from July–December 2019. We still engage with them on and off, but only on a consulting basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first drafts of the designs blew me away. Previously, we had been using cheaper designers, but 3.7 Designs' sheer quality of the work and how elevated it was really stuck out. They were actual professionals and elevated how our products came across.

I don't remember specific numbers regarding quantitative results, but it was part of our launch strategy. Previously, our website was doing below average in terms of conversion rate. The industry average for us was around 3%, and our landing pages ended up being between 4–6%.

How did 3.7 Designs perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered on time and stayed within our budget limits. We communicated via email.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Ross and Declan. The most positive thing about Ross is that he lives and breathes marketing and design. He loves creating things that didn't exist before and is passionate about what he does. That's part of what's allowed them to succeed as an agency. He's extremely punctual and has strong communication. He pushed me when I wasn't providing enough clarity, and it allowed for accountability from both parties.

What did you find most impressive about them?

3.7 Designs' level of professionalism and the quality of their work stood out. They weren't the cheapest because they delivered high quality. It wasn't a rushed job; they set expectations upfront. The designs were highly elevated and brought out the best in our products. They looked great.

Moreover, the communication with the team was solid. 3.7 Designs took feedback very well. I also appreciated that, thanks to their expertise, they pushed back when we had terrible ideas, which was a good thing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve the speed of their first draft output. The first renderings and mock-ups blew me away, but it would be nice if they were slightly quicker.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want. If you come into an engagement not knowing exactly what you're looking to get out of it, it won't work, no matter who it is. Be very clear and set clear expectations. This can open up a conversation about how reasonable the expectation is and what can be achieved. Finally, fill up your end of the bargain. Speak up because the outcome depends on your input as well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the founder and CEO of the company. The person responsible for all major decisions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 3.7 Designs, and what were your goals?

After 6 years in business, it was time for the company to go through its second rebrand in order to continue competing in a highly competative market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I met the company's founder (Ross) at an industry event.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

The stakes were high given that the website received over one million visitors per year, and my business operated in an extremely competitive market. The brand had to resonate, but more importantly, the website itself needed to convert these visitors into customers. Ross and his team took me by the hand and guided me through a very thorough strategic process. I had never experienced this before from any agency (and I have experience with many). They wanted to understand every aspect of my business so that they could strategically craft a brand and format that was optimized for conversions (i.e. increase revenue for the business). I felt like I was part of the process, but that they were in control. I leaned heavily upon their expertise, and they were not afraid to take the lead. Milestones were met, with occasional delays, but what project doesn't have them? The important thing is that we got everything exactly right. They also stayed within our agreed to budget.

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

I am unsure. My understanding is the entire team worked on the project at various points.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The launch of the new brand was a success, and I began to measure the impact. The results were clear: the company was making more money than it was prior to the redesign. This was no accident and a direct result of working with them. The redesign and extra income helped me to secure a buyout from one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States.

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

We had regular meetings (weekly) and communicated very clear tasks through Basecamp and their internal project tracking tool.

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

Their understanding of human emotion triggers when scanning a website. This translated to a very intentional designed that was optimized to convert visitors into customers.

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

Some milestones went past the target date, but it's better to get something out that is done right than to rush.