BlindDrop Design Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I serve as the technical copywriter for Calgary Homeless Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to coordinating funding and services to help individuals experiencing homelessness.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BlindDrop Design Inc., and what were your goals?

Calgary Homeless Foundation hired BlindDrop Design Inc. to revamp its main website, as well as four other ancillary sites. Our goal was to make the website an easily accessible source of knowledge for our stakeholders, including the public and other agencies in the homeless-serving sector.

SOLUTION

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

BlindDrop Design Inc. was selected based on pre-existing knowledge of the expertise of Creative Director, Lucas Arnatt.

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

Over the course of a year, BlindDrop Design Inc. delivered wireframes and established the WordPress sites. The company then worked with members of Calgary Homeless Foundation's team to refine the website and create or port over content ahead of the launch. Following the launch, Calgary Homeless Foundation asked BlindDrop to provide WordPress training to its staff.

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

One: Lucas Arnatt, Creative Director.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Calgary Homeless Foundation is still measuring the outcomes of the project, but the new websites were received positively by internal staff and present a clean and updated image of the organization.

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

Calgary Homeless Foundation predominantly communicated with Lucas at BlindDrop through email and video calls. Lucas is very responsive and always provides timeframes for the completion of the work.

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

In addition to his ability to develop websites that improve an organization's image, Lucas is a top-notch trainer for his clients. He understands how to break down the different aspects of WordPress in ways that empower his clients to take control of the site.

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

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We provide destination wedding planning services as well as travel agent services.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I'm the owner and the lead planner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with BlindDrop Design?

I was just starting the business, so they helped me create my brand and then built my website as well.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

They created my logo, helped with graphics on my truck, created our posters and business cards, and designed the entire website. Now, they've done my Google+ page. They've helped me with creating banners for trade shows. They did both Web development and design

What was your process for selecting BlindDrop Design?

They happen to live right next to me, and we already knew each other a little bit.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

It was less than $10,000.

When was the project completed?

I started working with them in 2011-2012. The collaboration is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

It's been awesome. They've really helped me. They've done a really good job. I thank BlindDrop Design for a lot of my success. Everything from the website to the marketing projects have been high quality and up to expectations. We haven't had any issues on projects, and the results have been valuable to the growth of my company.

Do you have any statistics or metrics on the project?

The SEO [search engine optimization] part is great, I'm always at the top of relevant Google searches. Our location on Google has really improved from work with BlindDrop.

Is there anything unique or special about BlindDrop Design that really makes them stand out?

I tried to work with some other agencies, but I don't think they were really seeing my vision. I think BlindDrop was able to help me fulfill my vision, but also make it better. They've given me a lot of tips and things along the way. I couldn't have done it without them, to be honest.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

No. As far as they're concerned, I think they've been great. I have absolutely nothing.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

I was just starting out, so I didn't have a lot of information on how to market, how to do any of that, and they helped show the ropes for everything for me. Honestly, I was a blank slate before they got me. I was building the whole business and learning everything as I went. So, for me, just taking everything that they say because they're brilliant. They're really good at what they do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

K&W Audio is a high-end audio/video company that does home automation, home theaters, and audio systems. We do delivery, installation, and programming as well as retail sales, and we've been around for almost 40 years.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I'm the president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with BlindDrop Design?

Our goal was to increase advertising to find new clientele. We do quite well with word of mouth, and when we get somebody, we generally keep him or her for a long period of time. Of course, the dynamic has changed. We used to do a lot of advertising in the paper and that sort of thing but, as time has gone on, we wanted to go where the majority of people for companies like us.

Please describe the scope of their work.

When I originally went to them, I wanted a website that allowed me to do updates and changes to it, rather than having to wait for a Web designer to do it. Our website is important to us and, as an electronics company, it means a lot if our site doesn't represent precisely who we are. Because electronics change all the time, it's important that we be able to change it to reflect that.

So, I was after a design that would allow me to do what I want to do, but I'm not a techie guy as far as coding and all that. I wanted a platform that allowed me to make modifications, and I wanted a custom-built site that specifically reflected what we did. I wanted our company's personality to come through. We are the high-end A/V company in Calgary, the one single brick-and-mortar store that's been around for decades, and the one that is well known for having expensive cool gear. I wanted to make sure that our site showed that.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting BlindDrop Design?

I really don't remember. We've worked with them for a very long time, and we had worked with others to begin with. I became aware that he was doing that sort of thing, and we morphed as we went along. There was never a time when the experience turned out to be a bad one.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

The work went through several different phases. I probably spent more than $10,000 and less than $20,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

We've utilized them for more than a decade, and the relationship is still ongoing. I'm working with them right now on doing another arm of our site that relates to online sales.

Do you have any statistics or metrics on the project?

The metrics I get are excellent. I love it when people cold call me and say they can put me on the front page of Google. I tell them to go to Google right now. If we show up on the first page and customers find us and make a phone call, then he's done everything he needs to do, it's up to us from there.

We also advertise with Yellow Pages, and their rep recently reviewed our site and said it's the best website he's ever seen. So, there's never a time when I'm not super happy with what we got.

Is there anything unique or special about BlindDrop Design that really makes them stand out?

The thing I like about BlindDrop is, I can send an email off to them at any time. Just the other day, we had a glitch on the site actually related to the cache in my own computer, but I didn't know that. So, I sent an email, and within a few hours, at night, I got an email back saying that it was fixed. So, just great service – fast service. If I have an idea, we can have meeting, and I don't get a bill for it. When I ask for advice as a consultant, there's never a time I've gotten a bill, and as a result, I've always gone back to them when I'm ready to have the work done.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

Nobody's perfect, but I can't think of anything. I'm happy with what I've got.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

The thing I like about is that they're personable. You're always talking to somebody who listens, and for me that's a big thing. There are a lot of knowledgeable people who want to tell you about their knowledge, and for me, the most important thing is to say, "I want to tell you all about what I need," and then you can apply that. There's a lot of times you get talked over before you get to the point where you feel comfortable that you've imparted all of the parameters that you're after. In that vein, make sure that you can sit quietly on the phone and listen while somebody talks, even in a non-technical way, until they start to slow down.