8gnc (Branded Mayhem Collective)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Moon Wolf Provisions

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Bespoke West-Texas themed coffee shop and handmade goods.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Branded Mayhem Collective to accomplish?

• Web Design and Digtal Strategy

SOLUTION

How did you find Branded Mayhem Collective?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Branded Mayhem Collective over others?

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

How many teammates from Branded Mayhem Collective were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We hired Branded Mayhem to build the entire online side of Moon Wolf from scratch: our website, online ordering, merch store, gift cards, and everything connecting them.

Before Michael designed anything, he took the time to understand our SpotOn point-of-sale system. He mapped out what it could handle, where it had limitations, and what would require additional access. He was honest about what made sense for launch and what wasn’t worth forcing. That set the tone for the whole project.

He built us a fast, mobile-first website around Moon Wolf’s story and brand. It gives customers clear paths to our menu, hours, location, online ordering, merch, gift cards, and loyalty program without feeling like a template.

Online ordering runs through SpotOn, but Michael styled the experience so it still feels connected to Moon Wolf. He also tested it heavily on phones, since that’s where most of our customers place their orders. When we discovered that our in-store and online gift card systems couldn’t talk to each other, he designed a straightforward workaround for customers and gave our staff a clear process to follow behind the counter.

Our merch is available directly through the site, with secure checkout through Shopify. He also handled the launch essentials people don’t always see: Google Analytics, Search Console, on-page SEO, and getting our Google Business Profile claimed and accurate so local customers could find us.

Everything was ready on time for our opening, and it all works together. Michael has stayed involved since launch, handling hosting, monitoring, updates, fixes, and the ongoing care of the integrations. Each month, he reviews the numbers with us and explains what they mean in plain English. He even helped us through an Instagram hack right before our soft launch.

What stood out most was that he figured out what we actually needed, built it well, and stayed around to make sure it kept working.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Brand Awareness

Positive Reviews

Revenue Growth

The biggest result was pretty straightforward: we opened on time. The website, SpotOn ordering, and merch store were all live and working together for our soft launch. As a brand-new shop, we couldn’t afford a delay. We didn’t have one.

Since then, the numbers have kept moving in the right direction.

Our most recent monthly report showed just over 400 active visitors, up 46% from the previous period. New visitors were up 47%.

People aren’t just landing on the site and leaving, either. Our homepage bounce rate is around 23%, and the menu page is around 19%. The menu is our second-most-visited page, and even individual drinks are bringing in search traffic. Yes, our lattes have their own pages, and people find them.

Our email list, the Wolf Pack, has grown to more than 300 subscribers. We’ve had exactly one unsubscribe since launch. One.

Locals can find us, too. Branded Mayhem claimed and cleaned up our Google Business Profile, and now customer reviews and photos come in steadily every week.

The best part is that the site isn’t something we have to worry about. It stays up. Ordering keeps working through SpotOn. When a small technical issue comes up, monitoring catches it and Michael fixes it before a customer has to tell us.

We’re a first-year coffee shop that had its Instagram hacked three weeks before opening. Having the online side of the business quietly do its job, and keep growing, has been huge.

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

I'm a coffee guy, not a tech guy, and Michael never made me feel like that was a problem. His project management style was basically: tell me what you need in plain English, then let me go handle the complicated parts.

Everything was staged so I always knew what was next. He started with a discovery phase before building anything, so there were no surprises mid-project — we knew up front what our POS system could do, what it couldn't, and what the plan was.

Then the build rolled out in clear steps: website, then ordering, then merch and the Google stuff, each one reviewed with me before it went live.

On timing: everything landed when it was supposed to. We had a hard soft-launch date, and the site, online ordering, and POS integration were all live and tested before doors opened.

For a first-time shop owner juggling a buildout, inspections, and hiring, not having to worry about the website timeline was a gift. What stood out most was how he responded when things came up: When I sent over our drink menu, he was already looped in with our POS onboarding team and coordinated directly with their reps, so I got to stay out of the middle.

Same with the technical back-and-forth about API access and integrations: he chased their support people himself, followed up when they went quiet, and just kept me posted.

Three weeks before soft launch, our Instagram got hacked and the account was taken over. I emailed Michael that night; he had a recovery email blast out to our whole subscriber list the next morning at 9:45. That's not even "website stuff", he just jumped in because we needed it.

After launch, he set up monitoring on the site, so problems get spotted and fixed before I ever see them. Most of the time I find out something broke after it's already been handled. Communication was mostly email with quick turnarounds, no jargon, and honest answers, including "that's not worth your money" more than once, which is rare and appreciated.

What was your primary form of communication with Branded Mayhem Collective?

• In-Person Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Two things.

First, the honesty. Most agencies would've happily sold me the fancy version of everything. Michael did the opposite. He started by figuring out what our systems could actually do, then told me straight what was worth building, what wasn't, and where the limits were. He put "here's what we're NOT building and why" in writing before we started. I've never had a vendor talk me out of spending money before. That built more trust than any pitch could have.

Second, the range. He's one company, but we got a designer, a developer, an SEO person, and basically a technical operations guy all in one. The same person who leading our strategy was hands on with our site, who was also on email threads with our POS company's onboarding reps, setting up our Google presence, and monitoring the site after launch.

There was never a "that's not my department" moment. And honestly, he treats Moon Wolf like it's his shop too. When our Instagram got hacked before launch, he didn't wait to be asked or check whether it was in scope. He just helped. We're a small local business, and he made us feel like his biggest client. That's the unique part.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Branded Mayhem Collective could have done differently?

If I'm nitpicking: some of the integration work depended on our POS company's support team, and there were stretches where we were both just waiting on them for API access and answers. Michael stayed on top of the follow-ups and kept me updated, but if I could change one thing, it'd be setting my expectations even earlier about how slow third-party vendors can be. That was their pace, not his, but knowing that from day one would've saved me some impatience. 

The other thing isn't really a criticism: our gift card process between in-store and online is a manual workflow for my staff rather than fully automatic. Michael was upfront from the start that automating it wasn't practical for a shop our size, and he was right, but it's on my wishlist, and when we're bigger, that's the first thing I'm asking him to build.