BB Agency

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President - Strategic Solutions of a technology services company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provides technology-enabled services and expertise for various types of fund strategies

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire BB Agency to accomplish?

• Building a completely new marketing website
• Creating various static product visuals for marketing purposes
• Developing animations showcasing our technology capabilities

SOLUTION

How did you find BB Agency?

Referral

Why did you select BB Agency over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from BB Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

This was a wholescale redesign of our static marketing website, including redoing the entire information architecture, the brand identity, shifting the focus to be more technology driven while maintaining the personal touch and expertise. 

Key deliverables included a full UX report based on analysis of our current website and interviews with our existing clients, developing personas and user journeys, wireframes for each page, the UI design for each page, and multiple product visuals and animations. We did the copywriting and web development and testing in-house.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

BB Agency was critical to successfully helping us redesign our core static marketing website as part of an overall effort from our end to enhance our brand image. The quality of their work was excellent across the board, from their UX research to the UI design to their product visuals to even some elaborate animations. 

We have utilized these visuals and animations in other marketing and at conferences with very positive results from management and visitors. We have yet to launch and get the measurable changes to conversion rates, but we suspect it will be a huge improvement.

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

They quickly adapted to our changing requirements and were willing to work through some intensive iterations and redesigns. Despite the time zone differences for their team in Europe and ours in the US, we found them easy to work with and the overall work delivered on a timely basis. During the project, management had some changes in strategic goals, and we were impressed with how BB Agency was able to incorporate those into our project as well.

What was your primary form of communication with BB Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We were referred to BB Agency from another satisfied client of theirs, and after showing this client the work BB Agency did for us, even they were impressed. Their pricing was also very reasonable, and they were willing to scope the work to suit our exact needs. As changes happened on the fly, the additional billing was fair and did not hold up the overall project. We were very happy we went with BB Agency for this work.

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

Some of the communication near to the end of the project could have been a bit smoother, and we didn't find some of the project management tools that BB Agency was using as useful just with the way we functioned in a more Excel and email-driven industry. That said, these are minor issues that did not hamper the overall project in the slightest.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for Nexudus, a very niche software company that does SaaS for co-working spaces, and I’m in charge of customer experience. I deal a little bit with the support of things as well as the design side. We aren’t a very big company, so we tend to wear multiple hats.

We don’t exactly have or run co-working spaces ourselves, but we offer the software that does that. Our company also does corporate management for clients who have very large offices, and those who need some sort of logistics for booking systems and things like that, as we offer that type of service as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BB Agency?

This project was a reworking of our full customer-facing experience and all of that was done through BB Agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This project was unique because we weren’t necessarily doing anything that is our branding. Because we do SaaS, the website we were reworking is for the end-user, our customer’s customer, which means that what we built isn’t necessarily something that works with our branding. It’s not centered around our branding; it has to be something that’s very clean, easy to use, and very adaptable so it can cover thousands of different customers across the world.

The website also works in different languages and some languages are read left to right or right to left, depending on the language. We have customers in the Middle East, Japan, and Korea as well. With those kinds of language variations, the design needed to be very flexible and adaptable.

BB Agency focused on the rebranding experience to begin with, which was really cool. They still did some research around our branding and what we do. However, when we dove into the project, we had to leave that behind to an extent and really focus on the end goal. Our end goal was to create something that was could be easily translated across thousands of different accounts.

What BB Agency was working on was a little different than they are used to. They had to adapt and do quite a bit of research to make sure everything we were setting up adhered to industry standards when we are doing certain things online. Our platform offers quite a wide range of services. We do everything from booking, which has a very specific kind of flow when it comes to the UX, and we also have a regular store where people can purchase products or sign up for a subscription.

There’s a range of services that we need to be able to provide. It’s pretty full-on, and there are a lot of different features. We went through a very extensive range of pages and features that we had to cover and make sure they could not only fit into one category but also be spread throughout our whole customer base, which is quite a task.

What is the team composition?

Throughout the course of the engagement, we worked with UX researchers, a head designer, and a developer. I had one point person for each stage of the project.

How did you come to work with BB Agency?

We did quite a bit of research in the beginning, looking at different agencies, some we had worked with in the past and some that had been recommended. Our team also found some agencies just through searching online and trying to find ones that do the kind of design we were looking for. Basically, we top-listed five different agencies, went through the whole process of getting an estimate, and a quote from them.

With BB Agency, they were also able to do the development of the website, so not only could they do the design, but they could implement the design. Because we’re a small company and our developers are focusing on other products, this was a really great fit for us. BB Agency could rework everything and implement it which left us free to focus on other areas. In the end, we decided to go with them because they could go through the whole range of projects from start to finish.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $48,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in December 2020 and wrapped it up in March 2021. In total, it was about three and a half months for the redesign and implementation as well. We have another project starting with them next week, so we’ll start a new engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re just about to launch the website next month. We’ve already started user testing and have about 50 different customers using the template. These are customers that we have long-standing relationships with and ones that know what was coming and were willing to test it out for us.

As far as feedback goes, we’ve had quite a lot of positive feedback. One of the big things is the feedback around usability issues that we were having with our previous version of the website. Those issues are now gone. A lot of the things we did with the redesign basically realigned us with industry standards. All of the things that the system offers are now very intuitive and easy to use.

The customer doesn’t need a learning curve to go through the website, whereas before it was designed as if it was being developed by developers, so it wasn’t always as intuitive. One of the big things we’re expecting — and right now it has been confirmed by the small number of customers we have using it — in terms of usability, the end-users find it more user-friendly and it’s a lot more intuitive than it was before.

The project did go a little bit longer, but part of that was because we extended some things so it ended up extending the work because we implemented features along the way. There are few things that we can never account for in a design, but that is expected. It has been a really well-received redesign so we’re very excited about it.

As a caveat to that, not only was the engagement the design of one product but because our software and our website are not only white-labeled, it has to be used across all those instances. Then, the same kind of website is redesigned or reiterated three times because we have three different product bases. We have the co-working website, which is basically for spaces that need management for co-working.

We have the corporate offices which become a little bit different because it isn’t a subscription because customers don’t necessarily have to pay for bookings because they’re part of that company. The system needs to be adapted a little bit there. We also have a third iteration which we’re just launching now with the redesign which is what we call virtual communities, and that’s basically for selling online content.

We do everything from courses, online events, and virtual meetings. All these different things can be run through the software. They come from the same design template and build on each other but there are variations. It wasn’t only designing one website but it was also designing one and then iterating it across three products.

Now, they have handed off the design so the one thing we’re having to do is just test it and make sure that we’re accounting for things that we can’t without the customers. That was the only part that we had to take over, but that was expected, and it was part of the proposal and contract that we had worked with.

How did BB Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

For us, it was also a little bit of a learning curve because we hadn’t worked with an outside agency for design. From the beginning, we had an expected date of delivery dictated from the proposal but it was extended due to us implementing some features and coming to grasps the number of things the software does. It was way more extensive than it seemed to be.

It did end up extending the project but it was very transparent, and BB Agency was very communicative so we always knew what was happening and we didn’t have to chase after them. When there was a delay, they talked about why there was a delay. They basically walked us through the steps so we were involved in the process the whole way. There were a few delays but again, as we were part of that conversation it didn’t really feel like it was a blow or that it threw us off.

We had a Slack channel we communicated through so everyone that was part of the project — both on their end and on ours — was involved in the conversation at all times and everyone was on the same page.

What did you find most impressive about them?

BB Agency did a great job of taking general ideas and some very loosely termed flows or processes and then put them into a concrete UX experience. From our end, we don’t have any in-house designers and I’m as close as we get with the UX side. When it comes to being able to describe elements or describe how we want things to look or feel, we don’t necessarily have the right vocabulary to communicate a lot of instances.

Not necessarily with BB Agency, but in the past, I’ve worked with designers and found that it’s very hard to find ones who can translate that right into the design that we are looking for. BB Agency did a good job in grabbing these abstract concepts that we threw at them, brought them down to earth, and applied them to a design that was really good.

For me, that was probably the best part of working with them. I didn’t have to walk them through the details. I gave them very loose guidelines and they were able to bring things down to what we were looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There could’ve been an improvement on both ends, so we can’t really fault BB Agency for it. The one thing we struggled with in the beginning was that there was a little bit of a misunderstanding around the scope of the project in terms of what the platform does. Because we have quite a lot of different features and those features are controlled by space operators, there’s a lot of variability in what can come out.

While we were already working with a fairly good-sized website, the fact that each customer gets to choose their own setting as well as disable and enable things just makes the scope of the project way larger than I think BB Agency anticipated. In the beginning, there was quite a bit of misunderstanding around that.

I guess room for improvement would probably be just clarifying the scope a little bit or asking the right questions in the beginning so that we are all on the same page in terms of scope. Again, there was an open line of communication so we did get there but it took a little bit of time in the beginning.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a very clear understanding of what you need. As long as you clearly define what needs to happen or flow, BB Agency is able to translate that vision into something amazing. It’s just making sure that you have a very clear understanding of what you need and make sure you communicate that. Once you do, they can really take it from there and give you something amazing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BB Agency?

Once we knew what we wanted to build, we needed help with the design and branding. Being engineers, everything worked extremely nicely, but it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BB Agency designed an internal dashboard for our users. We knew which data we wanted to include in the dashboard, but BB Agency handled the layout, design, and visual language. They also helped us with the information architecture. We had the font, shadows, color palettes, and other HTML basics, and they took care of that. They handled our logo and brand colors, too.

They designed our external website and landing pages. The team designed our first website, which had about six pages. As we grew and our site became more complex, I reached out to BB Agency to re-build it.

BB Agency also designed a plug-in for mobile apps that has three screens. They kept iOS and Android design rules in mind as they did so. Finally, we hired them to do HTML and CSS splicing. Our work together is ongoing.

What is the team composition?

I talked to one of the founders about what I needed, and we got an estimate. Once I accepted their proposal, they connected me with one of their designers.

How did you come to work with BB Agency?

A friend knew them. I went on their Dribbble account and loved everything that I saw there. They were in the top 10 when it came to agencies. I gave them a smaller project, they delivered, and I was super happy; the rest is history.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000–$49,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After they delivered designs to us, my users commented on how beautiful they were. The designs are still beautiful 6–12 months after they implemented them.

When I report to my co-founders, I always say that there is nothing to improve when it comes to design. Users are constantly asking for new features, but we do not get any negative feedback on the design, such as something being cluttered or unattractive. I don’t have to worry about design, which is great.

How did BB Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m super happy with project management. They use InVision to provide suggestions and ideas. We also communicate via Skype, as we’re remote.

Every 2–3 days, we get proposals and new screen iterations. If I have a small request to move something, the designer takes care of it seamlessly. When it comes to being more subjective, such as logo design or choosing a font, someone works closely with the designer, and then that individual jumps on a call with me. He’s a genius — he translates my non-design comments into their language and, in 2–3 days, the designer comes up with precisely what I had in mind. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re specialized in the design of dashboards.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can only say good things about them right now. Whenever I need something, we just hop on a call, and they understand within 15 minutes. Whereas an in-house person said he would need two months to do the CSS and HTML splicing, it took BB Agency four days.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’m very involved in the moving parts and telling them whether I like a color or not. Try to give the designers the control, though. If you give them a bit of freedom, they will deliver things you couldn't even imagine.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a B2B SaaS company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BB Agency?

We wanted to rebrand and create a new website with a fresh look.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They reviewed our current business and compared us to others in the market. In addition to reviewing our products, they assessed our voice, what we stand for, and our team culture to determine who we are.

Then they went into the design phase. At this point, they presented color pallets, logo options, and fonts.

Once we selected those brand details, they used InVision to create mockups and design the rest of the website.

Then they created frameworks for each page and developed the platform using Webflow. Since the site launched, they’ve continued to work on improving the site.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a lot of different people in their organization, but we always had a single point of contact. That project manager brought in different members of the team depending on what part of the project we were in. For example, if we were working on the website, their UX developer would meet with us. In total, we worked with 6–8 people with highly specialized skillsets including a lead designer and web developer.

How did you come to work with BB Agency?

They’re considered one of the leading design agencies for SaaS companies, so I’ve heard about them for years. They’re known to be very creative and push the threshold for those in our industry. When we decided to rebrand, we interviewed several different agencies. We felt most comfortable with BB Agency because they seemed to understand what we wanted. We worked with the owners throughout the sales process and they were very communicative.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $80,000–$100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2020 and they’re still working on the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They launched the site about a month ago. So far, we’ve seen an uptick in everything from trial conversions to demo sign-ups compared to our older site.

How did BB Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They communicated well and they met all of our deadlines. If they had any issues, they let us know about them ahead of time. They submitted everything using Dropbox.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really appreciated that we’ve worked with the same person throughout the engagement. It created consistency between the sales process and the project itself. Other companies often have different people working on the sales pitch and it creates opportunities for miscommunication. Because we’ve continued to work with the same people, they clearly understand what we’re looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At this point in time, I don’t see anything they need to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their process. They will provide a lot of different options, but generally, they’ve put a lot of thinking behind them. They’re very experienced and know what they’re doing as designers. If you listen to them, they will help elevate your brand and achieve your goals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Wibbitz is a SaaS B2B company with an online video creation platform. I am the CMO, overseeing all global marketing and communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Balkan Bros?

We wanted to rebrand in order to address our expanded customer base. We needed new messaging and design and to position ourselves on more of an enterprise level.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided a messaging guide, along with as much written and verbal information as possible, to express what we wanted. Balkan Bros managed the design of the full rebrand, including a new logo, product logos, design language, fonts, color palettes, image styles, and all relevant assets to implement it.

They revamped the website, building out new pages in a more modular format. There are new modules that can easily be flipped side to side if we want to move things around without needing the help of a developer. 

The team integrated Marketo forms with the right design and styling, as well as Comeet for our job listings. They also provided a solution for videos to play on the page, with images loading first and videos running in a popup box. The website is built on WordPress.

What is the team composition?

Matej (CEO) handled business issues. We worked with the lead designer and lead developer, as well as a project manager. 

How did you come to work with Balkan Bros?

Our in-house designer found them on Dribbble. They met our criteria for doing branding and website development at reasonable prices. We liked the quality of their work and felt they were a match for our company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000–$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June 2019–January 2020. We work with them on a project-by-project basis now. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new logo is much better than the old one, and we’ve completely embraced the new brand identity. We are very particular regarding brand and design, and we’re extremely happy. We got positive feedback from customers and investors. It was a very organic evolution in who we are as a company. 

How did Balkan Bros perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager did a good job. We communicated directly with the designer and developer via Slack and phone. They usually met deadlines and handled delays in a professional manner. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Balkan Bros listened well, and they were very efficient. I liked that they were a smaller company, which allowed us to interact directly with the people doing the work. They were creative problem-solvers who were up for any challenge. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

If I did not know what I wanted, it may have been a more difficult engagement because they weren’t assertive in pulling the information out of me. I needed to push the information to them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The team had valuable insights. If you’re not getting feedback from them, ask them for it. Call them if you need clarification, and they’ll talk it through.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a digital product strategy, design, and development agency in New York City and with offices in Seattle and San Francisco. We build a lot of complex digital products, websites, and apps. I’m one of the four partners and also head client solutions, so I oversee sales, marketing, and partnerships. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Balkan Bros?

In theory, we absolutely could design and develop our own website. However, we had so much client work on our plate that we didn’t have the time or resources to do it internally. We tapped the Balkan Brothers to help us reconceptualize our entire web experience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Balkan Bros handled the design and development of our website. We started out in discovery, which included gathering our requirements and what we were looking to accomplish through the redesign and redevelopment. Then, we moved into a design phase, during which they helped us figure out the general flow and architecture for the site.

We then moved into a branding exercise. They helped us create a new logo, branding, colors, fonts, and general look and feel, all of which they applied to the architecture that they created. They then began developing the site on WordPress. On the frontend, technologies included HTML5, CSS3, and React.js. They built out a PHP-WordPress backend, with a couple of integrations with things like Mailchimp and analytics platforms, such as FullStory and Google Analytics. It’s all sitting on top of AWS.

They made the website very modular on the backend, by which I mean they made it easy for us to manipulate and change on our own, without having to go back to them to make changes. We appreciated that and were impressed by their ability to architect that backend on WordPress in a way that allowed us to modify it from then on out.

We still work with them when we have certain needs we can’t do internally. They continue to help support the website.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager, and then we’ve also interacted with designers and developers.

How did you come to work with Balkan Bros?

We did a survey of the landscape and tried to figure out what the best design shops were. We found Balkan Bros’ portfolio on Dribbble, and they had some great sites there. We liked their aesthetic, price point, and experience.

How much have you invested with them?

The total has been about $175,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around July 2019, and the core design and development was done in about three months. We’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The fact that the backend is so well-architected on WordPress allows us to manage it directly, and I think that’s pretty rare. A lot of people say they can build on WordPress, but then you need to rely on them to continue to update the site because it’s hardcoded. Balkan Bros created nice templates so that we can move pages around, change elements, and edit text.

We also really loved the logo they came up with as well as the brand elements. They extended that brand to a template that we used for our pitch materials and deck for a keynote presentation. They were able to take the design and deliver it across the different mediums that we needed, from web to decks and documents.

How did Balkan Bros perform from a project management standpoint?

Balkan Bros met the deadlines we expected. Communication is solid; we use Slack. They’re always very receptive and able to jump on stuff when we need them to, so there have been no issues there.

We use Jira to add tickets and let them know what we want them to work on next. That works really well. They handle the tickets and then tee them up for us to review from a user acceptance testing perspective, and then we move them to complete when they’re done. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their WordPress web work is clearly a skillset. They’re pretty top-notch with branding as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think we would’ve liked for them to go a little bit farther down the path of more animation. They did an okay job with that, but I think we tapped out their skillset on the animation front. If anything, they could improve on their ability to deliver more complex animations.

Any advice for potential customers?

Provide feedback and iterate quickly and succinctly. Make sure you use some sort of project management tool to manage the design and development effort.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the senior manager in charge of experience design for a large insurance company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Balkan Brothers?

We were a little bit short-staffed and in need of design help, so we reached out to Balkan Brothers. We have a complex product, and the insurance industry is pretty boring. It's not as if we're developing sites like what Nike, Apple, Google, or other tech startups are creating. We're creating insurance sales flows, and it's complicated.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Balkan Brothers has helped us with digital design and front-end development on a number of projects. It's a major two-year project that they're helping us out on, so it's not going to launch until the middle of next year [2017]. Essentially, Balkan Brothers has worked hand in hand with our team to create original designs for web and mobile experiences. They've taken those designs, prototyped them, and built them out. For one project, we wanted multiple concepts, so we worked with Balkan Brothers and another freelancer at the same time. We ended up going with the direction that Balkan Brothers came up with.

How did you come to work with Balkan Brothers?

We looked at Dribble, Behance, and other design community sites and found the work that Balkan Brothers was doing. We reached out to them and they responded to us right away. We set up a call for the next morning via Google Hangouts. We had great chemistry, and they were eager to collaborate with us. Balkan Brothers was also able to get started right away, so it was an  easy process to select them.

How much have you invested with Balkan Brothers?

During the course of the past year, we've probably spent between $40,000 to $60,000 with Balkan Brothers.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our involvement with Balkan Brothers kicked off sometime last year. I don't have an exact date, but it was probably around the third quarter of 2015. First, we asked them to do a small project, and that turned out well, so we've been working with them ever since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't launched the project yet, but we've done user testing and focus groups for the designs created by Balkan Brothers. The results show that, nine times of 10, their work is outstanding. Our internal business stakeholders and internal customers have been happy with their work. There's always a risk for combativeness when working with outside designers, but we have not encountered that issue with Balkan Brothers. They've been open about our feedback and direction. It's a two-way street with them. Our designers don't feel like they're working with an outside company. They feel like the Balkan Brothers designers are an extension of our team. Balkan Brothers work efficiently and quickly, so we don't have to wait for days or weeks to get something back. We see results the next day or a couple of days later. Balkan Brothers is excellent in terms of overall speed, efficiency, and quality.

How did Balkan Brothers perform from a project management standpoint?

I don't know if it's a weakness, but I can definitely tell they're a small shop. They have three guys, and I think they use some freelancers sometimes. But, if there's something that is extremely urgent, the Balkan Brothers team is very responsive. We have many means of communication, and we're constantly going back and forth about changes. Typically, we use Google Hangouts for phone calls and video conference calls so that we can share screens. We use Slack and Basecamp for project management like to-do lists and uploading files. We also use EnVision for reviewing work. They're up-to-date on all of the latest software, apps, and sites. I think we stretched their capabilities and resources when we had them work on a second project concurrently a few months back. We noticed a little lag on their part, but it just happened once or twice. We were aware of it, and they let us know that they were working on projects for other clients. I think any small agency with just a couple people is going to have those issues. They communicated that to us, and we didn't have any false expectations.

What did you find most impressive about Balkan Brothers?

I work with many outside vendors and external third-party design and development shops. One of the things that stood out was how easily Balkan Brothers ingrained themselves into our process. Typically, when we work with outside shops, it's hard for people to understand what we do, why we do certain processes, and how things function. I'm not sure that the Balkan Brothers team totally comprehends everything we do, but it's never been a roadblock. They just do what we tell them to do, and they enhance the areas that they can using visual design. Balkan Brothers doesn't get in the way of the actual functionality and the nature of our sales flow. This is often challenging for outside vendors since they like to have their own spin. They like to understand it and, sometimes, they don't fully understand it, so it's a battle on whose direction to follow. With Balkan Brothers, we never have that issue.

Are there any areas Balkan Brothers could improve?

I think they do an amazing job, given their current resources. I'm surprised that they're not working with big United States brands. I think they probably will at some point when they get some name recognition. They're outstanding.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Vast Conference is a collaboration company focusing on conference calling and online meeting solutions. I am the vice president of sales and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Balkan Brothers?

Balkan Brothers helped us with a handful of things. We moved from a nonresponsive to a responsive design, and that was a huge change. Balkan Brothers handled website development for our marketing websites, our user panel and the back office for accounts administration. They also helped us with our brand refresh.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Balkan Brothers have been involved the majority of our processes. They helped us with the design of the pages as well as content and branding. Balkan Brothers handled our blog, which is on WordPress, but the main site is a straight HTML site. We're a Windows shop here.

How did you come to work with Balkan Brothers?

We looked at a number of different creative groups on Behance and Dribbble. We identified the creative eye of Balkan Brothers's design team, and we liked all of their work. From there, we reached out to them and had initial conversations about processes, the team, and scope of work. We liked the ideas that they were bringing to the table, and we've been working with them for a few years now.

How much have you invested with Balkan Brothers?

We have invested $50,000 to $200,000 with Balkan Brothers.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with them in January 2015, and we are currently working on our third project. We continue to iterate with them as well, so it's not just one solid project. We have a regular working process with them as well. For big projects, we contract work with them and bring to them a project that we want to do. We will then spend the next couple of weeks detailing the scope of the project and the pricing. If there's any additional work, we typically move to an hourly arrangement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I wouldn't have any statistics to share with you, but the overall feel of the website and brand as a whole has become much more professional. I would attribute that as a direct result of working with Balkan Brothers. We've worked with big design teams, in-house folks, and outside contractors, and we found a great fit with Balkan Brothers in terms of communication and staying on task.

How did Balkan Brothers perform from a project management standpoint?

Balkan Brothers performed well from a project management standpoint. That's one of the things that attracted us in the first place, and it is also part of what's keeping us there. Working with inspired, creative folk can be awesome and wonderful. However, it can also be very frustrating because of the need to stay on schedule. Structure is required in order to hit goals. I feel that with Balkan Brothers, we get both. We get a lot of inspired work, and we get a great creative team at our disposal. But, that team is very conscious of deadlines and final results. Balkan Brothers used InVision, Trello, and GitHub. These tools helped us communicate well, stay organized, and document everything. When you're working on bringing a big project down to a more detailed level, things could get lost, overlooked, or ignored completely. That's not the case with this team.

What did you find most impressive about Balkan Brothers?

I feel that Balkan Brothers is very aligned with what we're trying to accomplish. The relationship is never combative. They can also tackle very complex issues, such as workflow, dashboard, and admin design. Balkan Brothers is very open – communication-wise. We can call or meet with them anytime, eliminating a lot of potential confusion. They welcome that type of conversation on a regular basis, which is something that I haven't experienced while working with other teams.

Are there any areas Balkan Brothers could improve?

As far as their working relationship and process, I have nothing negative to say about them. The way they execute things is solid.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Balkan Brothers?

Aside from the tools, it definitely helped to have regular calls with Balkan Brothers. The calls keep us on track and significantly cut down text-based communications.