Bermont

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Mana Creative, a creative agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bermont?

We hired them to help us create websites for various clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bermont handles our web development needs. They’re in charge of developing and designing websites for our clients. As for our process, all we do is get information from the clients and then have a meeting with their team to go over the requirements and see which ones are feasible and not feasible. From there, they start building each website from scratch. They’re also the ones who created our website, which contains custom features and animations. They use different hosting platforms, including Laravel, Digital Ocean, and Forge.

Additionally, Bermont does SEO and manages Google Ads for our clients. Their team mainly works on developing keyword strategies and writing meta descriptions.

What is the team composition?

We work with three people from their side, including Luke (Director) and Francesco (Operations Director).

How did you come to work with Bermont?

I know Luke personally.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve already done six projects with Bermont, and we spend around $4,000 AUD per project (approximately $2,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2020, and our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All of our clients love the websites that Bermon has built, which just goes to show how good the quality of their work is. As for our own website, we love it, too. Also, we’ve never met a development team that’s able to create custom websites as quickly as they do.

How did Bermont perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done a good job from a project management standpoint; everything is delivered one time and within budget. For project management, we use ClickUp. For communication, we interact via email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with Bermont’s problem-solving skills and willingness to tackle any issue.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

I can’t think of anything at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to spend a lot more time on the design process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Deck Weapons LLC. We manufacture cleaning tools for superyachts and boats.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bermont?

We needed design and development services for our e-commerce site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bermont has helped us design and develop our e-commerce site. They used Stripe for payment processing and hosted the site on AWS. Currently, we’re adjusting some details about the site’s designs, giving it the final touch. Moving forward, they’ll help us with maintenance and updates; whenever I need to change something on the site, I’ll be able to call them for them to take charge of it.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with four people from Bermont, including Francesco (Director of Operations), Luke (Director), and a web designer.

How did you come to work with Bermont?

I was referred to Bermont by a friend of mine. They had helped him develop a website as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $8,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around May 2022, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bermont’s work has been exceptional; they’re very good.

How did Bermont perform from a project management standpoint?

Bermont is very flexible and accommodating to the deadlines I’ve set, and they’ve given me great guidelines to work off of. They’ve also been very good at budget management, keeping the project within the initial budget.

Whenever I send them feedback, they get back to me with updates and page samples for me to review and approve. As for our regular communication, we mainly communicate via WhatsApp. Whenever I have an issue, they get back to me within 2–3 minutes via a WhatsApp message, and if I need to discuss something in more detail, we set up a meeting within the next 1–2 days.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bermont’s strengths are their competitive pricing and communication skills. When I was vetting other providers, most of them were very slow to answer, and their prices were higher. However, Bermont was very accommodating to my budget and needs, demonstrating a willingness to work with me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’ve accommodated every request and taught me things along the way.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have everything prepared before engaging with them.  I didn’t do that, so Bermont had to show me the right direction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and owner of a food company based in South Africa. We make different types of artisanal foods including olive oils and chili oils.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bermont?

We needed help with our branding, labeling, packaging — anything to do with the creative side. They also helped with our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I gave the minimal info and briefs because they’d been working with us for two years and knew what our business was about. They were able to just give me design inputs based on this knowledge of what I wanted. We had a few minor changes and gave them some feedback but that was it.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people.

How did you come to work with Bermont?

They are family-friends of mine. I’ve known them for a long time.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent under $10,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve gotten really good compliments about the packaging — how unique it is. I didn’t want to spend much money on the website and they gave me exactly what I needed for the budget I had.

How did Bermont perform from a project management standpoint?

We contacted them through email, WhatsApp, and phone calls. They’re easy to get hold of and they always answer the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They knew our brand and knew exactly what we needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I didn’t need to give them much of a brief but I think people should give exactly as much info as necessary from their side so no information is lost and they get what they expect.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I run an Optometrist practice in Hout Bay, specialising in a number of arears of visual support and eye healthcare.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Valkyri?

Needed to develop a website for the practice which Valkyri set up for me. They are involved in continuous upgrading and are continuously offering progressive changes that I can implement in line with the industry and current market status.

What were your goals for this project?

Developing a website for the business and looking forward to upgrading to an online store option.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The members are friendly and highly efficient. I received reviews from clients that they had serviced. They are also highly skilled with technology and support us with other IT issues that need resolving. Valkyri also supplies us with hardware back-up related services.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Website development Visual images, on site photographs (video options available) Editorial write-ups Link to all other social media eg Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In etc Online appointment booking options Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Computer Hardware supplies IT solutions and support Communication enhancing products

What was the team composition?

Luke Seeber - Technical advice and development Stefano Montanari - Development and marketing

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website has formed a crucial platform for the business, putting it above the rest. It has also been beneficial by linking it to other social media such as Facebook and Linked-In. We have seen a steady increase in new clients that have used our website to find our business and know what services we provide. We are also able to add new products and services, which is a great way to keep existing clients.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We found the service and project management to be easy and quick in delivery. Changes and adjustments were handled with ease via a simple phone call or email.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The amazing teamwork demonstrated by the members and partners was most impressive. They are a friendly, approachable and professional business to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

owner of an art gallery

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

we needed to update our website to allow for easier online sales

SOLUTION

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

I'm friendly with the owners of Bermont so decided to hire them for the job

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

we discussed best possible changes to make to meet our objects

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

we had Bermont full team working on the design and development of the site

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

we have launched the site and are busy getting feedback from the analytics. Haven't gotten any sales yet.

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

we communicated regularly allowing for changes to be made as we went along

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

They were accommodating to various changes back and forth.

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

none

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Director of SHADE, an on-call authentic designer sunglass rental service within South Africa.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was missing critical e-commerce functionality including integrated payment gateways and shipping, as well as a seamless user experience from start to.end of the online shopping process as a result of the fact that the rental platform which was employed on the old site was not able to integrate with SA payment gateways, acvomodate shipping costs or be embedded into the main e-commerce site.

The goal of this project was therefore to develop an e-commerce solution specifically tailored to suite a rental business model which uses variable pricing models as well as security deposits.

SOLUTION

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

Within SA finding capable e-commerce service providers can be a challenge. I engaged with 3 other service providers prior to finding Bermont and from our first introductory meeting I knew they would be the ones to deliver what 3 other service providers told me was impossible to achieve in SA.

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

The process was very straightforward I provided a brief, the team fleshed that brief out into detailed deliverables based on very efficient follow up engagements. Thereafter we agreed and approved a scope and had our first kick-off meeting. After each sucesive week I was issued a link to the staging site to provide the team with review comments on the in-progress build.

Thereafter the team would address each of my comments and implement changes, where they were of the view that a particular item from my comments could be better achieved or could compromise the user experience or technical functionality of the site the team provided reasons and alternative courses of action.

The build was completed in 8 weeks only because the team was accommodating a specific request from our side to protract the build. The team proposes an e-commerce platform and uses various plug-ins that were not only more cost-effective from an operational perspective (as we are a small business) but also more superior in functionality than tgose employed in the original website.

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

There were 3 individuals who worked on this project, one focusing of back end development another focusing on website design and the other leading the project overall and also working on development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have not yet launched the site officially. Peers reviews however have already been exceptionally positive with comments such as "this site is world class".

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

We met every second week for a 30min status and review session, to align on any open ends etc. I absolutely enjoyed how the team were friendly and engaging yet still met the objective of each meeting without taking more than 30min of my time per meeting.

Over and above these the project lead would give me a quick call whenever there's a change or a new development on the project that required my input or decision making. This made for quick turn around times when it comes to decision making. Closer to the end we had daily whatsapp chats as developments started picking up pace.

The team did not miss a beat or deadline and were ever patient with my slower approach to work, even working around my self-imposed Co straints at times. We used mostly email, zoom calls, voice calls and whatsapp to communicate. Their level of expertise and dedication as the large corporates they work with typically were impressive.

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

They really apply themselves fully to addressing your particular problem statement. As the build progressed some technical aspects were much more intricate than initially expected, in facing these challenges the team were always agile and ensured they they always came up with multiple solutions for me to choose from.

When doing so they also ensured that I was fully appraised of the risks and benefits associated with each option/solution presented and while I was given the final choice, I could also rely on their recommendation in each case.

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

There isn't anything specific I would have liked them to do differently. I think the 3 team members had great synergy and generally just a positive approach to the project and my business.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of an e-commerce retail store.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bermont?

We needed our website updated and redesigned.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bermont evaluated our website and proposed a new layout for us. Then, they designed a new theme from scratch to update and relaunch our Shopify website.

They mostly did design work, and they created categories and subcategories for our products to improve the UX and create a neat, clean look. Additionally, there were some video elements incorporated.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Luke (Director & Technical Lead), who was our primary contact, and Francesco (Director of Operations).

How did you come to work with Bermont?

I found Bermont on Google.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around 28,000 African Rand (approximately $2,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–June 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bermont’s work was quite good, and I’m happy with the look and feel of the website. They attended to any changes I needed, and they continue to support us, fixing any bugs as we launch.

How did Bermont perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly meetings to discuss the website’s status, as well as further changes and updates needed. We used Google Meet to share screens and communicated via email and WhatsApp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bermont has excellent communication skills. I appreciated the ongoing dialogue throughout the process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. The whole process went well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The cost depends on what you want, but they will help you decide the level of development you need.