Ayokay

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a Marketing Manager at Zespri, a kiwifruit grower.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ayokay?

We were trying to update our web presence, integrating it to make sure that we're getting noticed online. We wanted to communicate our brand story in an interactive way.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled our web design and development. They also managed SEO and content writing. We had blogs that were really helpful at getting attention, some of which articles are still popular today and they were written over three years ago. The work has had longevity, it still looks fresh.

They also handled our social media posts and feeds. They gave an interactive social feel. Since we're in the food and beverage business we have lots of recipes. They created a categorization platform to help users find recipes quicker that meet their needs. If you need something for breakfast, healthy, and gluten-free it made it easy to find the information needed.

What is the team composition?

I believe three people worked on the project.

How did you come to work with Ayokay?

I found them through a referral from someone who did business with them previously.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2017 to January 2020.

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

Every month we received a report from them on the work, and we got reports from Google Analytics as well. We could see that the site was doing much better than our old website. The reports were also very collaborative, which was great to work with.

The blog content was also fantastic. It's still some of the best performing content to this day. We're continuing to leverage that. We love it.

How did Ayokay perform from a project management standpoint?

They did an excellent job at project management. They had numerous tools to help us keep track of all the different deliverables. That was really helpful. They didn't miss any deadlines and pushed us to make sure that we got the most out of the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They stay up on trends. The recommendations they make are rooted in data and experience so you can trust them. It felt like a really collaborative partnership. They did a great job teaching and establishing trust. I always have trust that Ayokay is going to be effective in their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think anything could have gone smoother. Obviously, we had trials, but their communication was amazing so they would implement any changes immediately. They're very flexible and adaptive. They're a good, open, honest, hardworking team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take and listen to their advice. Ask questions to understand. Anytime I had a question or wanted to learn more they were very helpful and I understood the concept more than I thought I could. It became a partnership that allowed us to leverage their work for my brand and company. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of the Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis. We are a private philatophic, nonprofit foundation that provides grants to nonprofits that support health-related causes. Our current work is centered around HIV.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ayokay?

We worked with Ayokay to develop a marketing campaign around HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis, as well as work on our website and other marketing materials.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed and developed the website as well as integrating social media promotions on Twitter and Facebook to drive traffic to the site. The work also includes backend analytics, tracking monthly visitors and where they come from, as well as maximizing SEO and keywords. The team also publishes a blog once a month to help the site stay relevant.

How did you come to work with Ayokay?

I’ve known Jack (Owner) for several years. He and I worked on the same board, so I was aware of him and his firm and saw some of their work from afar. When the opportunity came to find a firm to work with I was already familiar with their service.

I believe they’ve already worked with other organizations on web and promotion assistance and we wanted to give them the chance to at least bid on the project, and they were selected.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost is about $115,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around June 2018 and the project is still ongoing.

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

We get monthly analytics reports that keep us updated on web traffic numbers and things of that nature. The websites they make actually reflect the organization that it’s meant to represent. The deadlines are met, we're pleased with the services and the product they delivered to us. They do a great job.

How did Ayokay perform from a project management standpoint?

They quote a project lead time and always either keep their commitments or advise us well ahead of time why they can’t. The team outlines the process from the beginning and holds us accountable to the process as well, walking us through each of the phases in the timeline. We mainly communicate through phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate the ongoing engagement to keep us informed regarding the monthly blog posts and the changes that need to be made.

Their commitment to the communities they serve is also impressive. They take the time to learn about the organization and the intended outcomes, and then they develop a strategy to best achieve those results in a mutually beneficial way. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they've been great to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you want from them. The content you want is clearly driven by how direct and specific your requests are. They want to give you exactly what you're looking for, but they need your help as the client to make sure that your wishes and intentions are clear before the process starts to avoid a bunch of revisions.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a graphic designer and website specialist at a nonprofit health research organization.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ayokay?

We wanted a relationship with a web development company that could handle to unique challenges from the way our website was built to begin with. We also wanted someone who could guide us regarding SEO.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve expanded our website and have done a number of development projects for us. One of which was implementing a LearnDash LMS for us.

What is the team composition?

I work with Jack (CEO), Crystal (Marketing Director), and Chris (Creative Director).

How did you come to work with Ayokay?

I worked with Jack in a previous role. He was part of a development team that was hired to work on our custom CMS. When the time came, I knew Jack would be a good fit for helping us grow our site’s reach.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2018, and our work is ongoing.

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

We’ve seen steady growth in metrics the whole time we’ve worked with them. There’s never been a decrease. Recently, we’ve seen significant growth due to content related to the COVID pandemic in Indiana.

How did Ayokay perform from a project management standpoint?

We have bi-weekly meetings. They do an SEO report every month using various reporting from Google analytics. We use Teamwork for project management. There, they house different projects that we’re working on, and they have a ticketing message system that we communicate with them on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re never going to tell you they know something when they don’t. If they’re not sure, they’ll help you figure it out. The team consistently delivers on development projects and SEO expertise. They’re also always innovating and staying up to date with the latest changes from Google.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve experienced a lot of growth over the years. In hindsight, it would have been great if they hired project management talent earlier in that process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to have an idea of what you want to do but be willing to be open to other suggestions.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Sales and Marketing for Excel Supplements where we sell proprietary camelina oil products to horses, dogs, livestock and more.

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

Our website was refurbished 2 years ago but we needed some help making sure that technically everything was running smoothly. We needed help with coupon additions, user experience and some overall design improvements.

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

We selected Ayokay because they came highly recommended from a close professional in that community. We were thrilled when they were recommended to us.

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

We began with a few meetings to get an idea of what steps were extremely necessary to move forward. They started with some overall functions that were not working properly in Woocommerce and some other plugins that we had working. Next, we went through and updated much information that was outdated and not properly linked. We were able to add Apple Pay for our customers with great results as well as a CartFlows method to encourage cross promotion to our additional product lines.

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

We worked in tandem with the Creative Director, Marketing Director, CEO and Founder, as well as their support team.

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

After launching our new additions to our website, we have seen sales grow 7% respectively. Our bounce rate went from 26% to 5% respectively. Our reviews and comments directed to our website and social media have also grown about 40-50% respectively.

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

Ayokay has their own communication and project calendar that we were admitted access too that helped keep us organized throughout the projects.

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

I was extremely impressed how willingly they were to work with a small, niche company, that sells very market specific products. They give us the same priority as their larger clients which gives us the ability to keep positively growing.

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

Continuing communication of retainer hours spent and on what items would be helpful so I can more effectively manage the companies budget as we work on future projects.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the GM of the Family Leisure of Indianapolis store and the VP/Partner of the Family Leisure.com ecommerce business. We are a Leisure Products Home recreation retail store with 9 stores around the US with an ecommerce division.

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

They re-built our website to cater more to the ecommerce side of our business as well as providing us with marketing services in SEO, social and email. We were looking for a better UX as well as a site that performs better with conversions, load times, etc...

How did you select Ayokay and what were the deciding factors?

We shopped numerous companies and they were the best suited for our project. Their pricing was fair, their ecomm and SEO knowledge was superb and they were honest and trustworthy.

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

Initial meeting, brainstorming, planning, scheduling, date setting was laid out with goals and projections. We communicated through a shared portal and email and ultimately the site was created through CS Cart.

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

We worked with owner of the company as well as the project coordinator and developers.

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

We immediately saw a 50% boost in online revenue and continue to grow every year by more than 15%.

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

We have a weekly meeting discussing goals and statistics and email back and forth numerous times throughout the week.

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

The one on one planning and speed to complete projects is very impressive! And the results that we have achieved are second to none.

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

I really don't have many complaints about this company.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Tax Attorney with Boxelder Consulting.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ayokay?

We needed an immediate design fix for our website that was not performing and not generating the expected leads.

What were your goals for this project?

To improve our user experience and convert more leads.

How did you select Ayokay?

They were recommended.

Describe the project in detail.

We needed several clean up items related to user experience that an outside web consulting firm identified. Ayokay understood and implemented these fixes in a timely fashion.

What was the team composition?

Small team. Did not change over time.

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

We were pleased with how quickly the fixes were made and the fees were also reasonable. We saw an immediate increase in qualified leads that converted for us.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Quick, concise communciation.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They produce solid work and have reasonable rates.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No.

Please describe your company and your position there.

One WiFi is a cloud-managed customer engagement and digital marketing company. We are a pioneer in cloud-managed WiFi that enables brands to better engage with their customers. Boosted customer loyalty and an increase in repeat visits are the foundation on which our features are designed.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ayokay?

We use Ayokay for a number of applications. Most are used to create industry-leading marketing innovations over our cloud-managed service.

What were your goals for this project?

We want innovative and cutting-edge solutions to our client's needs.

How did you select this vendor?

Ayokay has knowledge, talent, and creativity that aligns well with our own company.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Ayokay has developed a number of applications that marry well into our software and websites to help promote our customers' digital marketing initiatives.

What was the team composition?

Two from Ayokay and two from our side. All worked very well together.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our solution was first to market in our industry., This gained us press and attention in our industry and cross-industries.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We worked well in-person, on the phone, and via email.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their passion for creating great things impreses me the most. They are not afraid to try something that hasn't been done before. They're also experienced enough to have the knowledge of what works and what may not.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of any way to improve their services or communications. They offer great experience all the way around.