The Alfam

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Foster Brand is a marketing and brand development agency designed to promote and enhance leading beverage and new lifestyle brands. The team at Foster Brand has the breadth and depth of knowledge within this category to lead up-and-coming brands to the next level.

Our success lies in our pursuit; creating market presence for our clients that translates their brand to a lifestyle image, not merely a trend. With 15 years of industry expertise, Foster Brand is responsible for shaping the vision and growth of luxury spirit brands such as Hpnotiq, Sparkling Nuvo, and now Birthday Cake Wines. I am the CEO of Foster Brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Alfam , and what were your goals?

The Alfam provides a variaty of services in which our team needed a rebrand, mobile application, strategy, web app, and content for all our platforms for company and our clients. The designed and developed multiple projects to reach our goals.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were referred by the Vice President of Foster Brand. The Alfam had already completed a personal project with them separately. After interviewing with them, we chose them based on affordability and location.

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

The Alfam and I worked on a few projects under the Foster Brand group. Our onboarding consisted us meeting to lay down all our thoughts in a template The Alfam created. They did some research and came back to speak to all the stakeholders. After that, they would speak to the team again as a part 3 of the onbaording process to ask us any questions or final concerns. They would send a proposal, outline, timelines, milestones, expectations, variables, and assignments to be completed on our side before.

In our kick off meeting, we would go over all the documents. The start date and end date was assigned and the team would have 2 week sprints. We would have 2 to 3 meetings set up per week, however we were in contact with the project manager 24/7 for any additional comments. In live meetings we would go over upgrades and make notes. This happened based on the schedule. We would get weekly reports on upgrades.

Once the project was completed, our internal team will check it alongside their QA specialist. We would then do a campaign for a soft launch then we would market to the masses with a campaing and/or event. Two weeks after launch The Alfam did check ins for training and send us a manual of how they planned to maintain the projects. They provided quartly reports and one major report per year. However, we were in constact communication with the project manager anytime we needed.

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

We worked with the project manager, the assistant, two designers, and two developers. There were other members for other projects like the app developer, brand specialist, and digital marketer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our launch event was a success with new partnerhsips. Everyone loved the new upgrade.

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

The project management style was flexible. The timelines were flexible as per request as our organization is quite flexible. We did reach deadlines. It was nice to meet in person and communicate on video chat and phone.

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

The customer experience with The Alfam was top-notch. They took care of all our needs and was very patient with all I thoughts and ideas.

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

There has been approvement with structure that I appreciate for the project to go more smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

RA Travel is a boutique travel agency committed to changing the world one traveler at a time. With nearly four decades of expertise in the travel and tourism industry, RA Travel is a cultural institution focused on providing world-class customer service. As the Vice President of RA Travel, we are committed to provide travel for the more influential people in the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Alfam ?

Our website had gone through four versions of development since our company launched in the 90s. To compete, we needed a major upgrade and be more digital for our younger clients. We hired The Alfam to rebrand and upgrade our website for bookings.

SOLUTION

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

We met a member of the team at a networking event. After telling them our pain points with previous developers, they assured us that they can do the job for us. After a few meetings to understand how the process worked, we hired them and we were extremely happy. With the result.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

With the entire rebrand The Alfam scrapped all our previous websites to pull any important content. They organized it and then had our team sit together to organize the important content for the website. Once the content was all organized and approved by both teams, The Alfam delivered the first draft of the website in one week. We went through it together in our office and made notes and some updates. Two weeks later The Alfam updated the website. After reviewing for another week or so we launched. After the launch The Alfam came in to train our staff and did the foundational needs for our social media marketing. They set us up with Google Business and other digital marketing platforms to promote us. We had about eight training sessions to make sure we knew what to do since we wanted an inhouse marketing person to continue with our promotions.

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

The lead manager, a designer, and a developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since launching, all our clients have loved the booking site. We had an uptick of 25% newer clients.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team was able to hold meetings in our office to guide us in the right direction. Other than that we communicated via email. They also trained our staff for upgrades and maintenance.

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

I liked that The Alfam was hands-on, and they were flexible with our schedules as we are very busy. They were able to hold meetings in our office and help us with small tasks almost immediately.

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

Not that I can think of at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own an online gourmet food company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Alfam?

We needed help with branding and website development. We wanted to build an interactive e-commerce website where users could place orders, and we could easily update our menu and pricing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Alfam helped us with the whole nine yards, including everything from branding to website design and development. After interviewing stakeholders, the team created our color scheme, logos, and font. Then, they built a new WordPress site from scratch and implemented the new design aspects. They also worked on our brand messaging and matched our written content with pictures. When we didn’t have the images they were looking for on hand, they purchased pictures for us. 

Since we’re a food company, The Alfam has also linked our website with delivery services such as Uber, Grubhub, and DoorDash. The new website has enabled users to place online orders during our kitchen’s operating hours. The Alfam has also been responsible for hosting and maintaining the website. 

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with Shauna (Manager). 

How did you come to work with The Alfam?

We had worked on a project with The Alfam a few years ago and had a good experience, so we engaged their services again. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $7,000 in the project with The Alfam.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with The Alfam between October 2020–January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Alfam has delivered a site that aligns with our brand and includes all the requested features. Since launching, we’ve seen an increase in traffic and received a lot of positive feedback; everyone loves the website.

How did The Alfam perform from a project management standpoint?

The Alfam executed an extensive process to accomplish everything we asked for. They were very communicative partners; we regularly maintained contact with the content and design teams. We communicated via email, text, and phone. 

The team always met deadlines and worked within our budget. They worked hard and delivered quickly; they knew what they were doing. Compared to other service providers, The Alfam created high-quality deliverables at an affordable rate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Alfam’s biggest strength was the quality of their results. They were very passionate about executing what we asked, which was fantastic. Rather than just delivering a simple website to collect a paycheck, they worked tirelessly to achieve perfection. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always room for improvement, but The Alfam delivered everything we asked for. I have nothing they could improve on. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you clearly outline your idea and content so that The Alfam can deliver a beautiful, functional website.