Classic City Consulting

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Director of 10KFAM (10,000 Fathers and Mothers)

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

10KFAM is a non-profit that exists to raise and release spiritual mothers and fathers who creatively shape the future of the Church.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Classic City Consulting to accomplish?

• Streamline donor management
• A new website
• Make administrative processes smoother

SOLUTION

How did you find Classic City Consulting?

Referral

Why did you select Classic City Consulting over others?

• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Classic City Consulting were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We initially were in touch with Classic City to assist us with streamlining some of our processes. We knew our website was out of date, however, we knew that was only one piece of the puzzle. We initially brought them on to assist with selecting a new donor management software that we could grow into over time. They assisted with the selection of that software and made sure we could manage it on our own in the long-term. 

Once that was selected, we began building out a new website. The Classic City team built us a custom-built site on WordPress and ensured we had the education to maintain it ourselves. Upon completion of the project, we signed a retainer with them for ongoing support across all of our marketing efforts (email, CRM, and website).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have a functioning CRM for the first time in the organization's history! We also have an up-to-date, rebranded website that reflects well who we are and what we offer. CC has given us the foundation to market ourselves well which is vital for both student recruitment and program and donor development.

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

Classic City uses Asana to help track progress and make sure things stay running smoothly and on time. We never had an issue with them running behind - more often than not they were waiting on US to be able to keep going!

What was your primary form of communication with Classic City Consulting?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The combination of relational acuity and communication alongside technical competence and execution were extremely impressive!

Are there any areas for improvement or something Classic City Consulting could have done differently?

Honestly, I don't think so. They've been a pleasure to work with. Also, we've kept them on a monthly retainer even after the initial large project was completed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder & CEO of Profitable Purpose Consulting

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We help companies certify as B Corporations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Classic City Consulting to accomplish?

• Give us a professional website.
• Guide our web lead strategy.

SOLUTION

How did you find Classic City Consulting?

Referral

Why did you select Classic City Consulting over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Classic City Consulting were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

It started with a professional looking website and grew into an ongoing consulting arrangement, with Classic City guiding our strategy to grow website traffic.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• A website that shows up in Google search results. 
• A tab that highlights my speaking highlights. 
• A strategy that spotlights our experience and thought leadership and drives web leads.

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

They held me accountable, drove me towards deadlines, and gave me brutally honest feedback on my ideas. They weren't yes machines, but they found a way to take my wants and figure out ways to say a realistic yes.

What was your primary form of communication with Classic City Consulting?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

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

The team was incredibly responsive and the CEO was always available. I felt like their most important and valuable customer, even though I knew I wasn't. The service was fantastic.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Classic City Consulting could have done differently?

Honestly, no. I couldn't have found a better partner. They made my budget work, they made my vision work, they continue to be an incredibly valuable partner.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Interim Director of Communications of a nonprofit company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Local church in Atlanta, GA

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Classic City Consulting to accomplish?

• Design and build a website for our capital campaign

SOLUTION

How did you find Classic City Consulting?

Referral

Why did you select Classic City Consulting over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Classic City Consulting were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We hired the Classic City team to imagine, design, and develop the website for our $50 million capital campaign. We provided them with our campaign theme logo, colors, and fonts as well as our objectives of the types of things we thought should be included on the site. Through their own research and expertise, they suggested additional content and functionality elements that could be included on the site. 

They designed the sitemap, the wireframes, and the mockups using copy written by our team, along with a library of images they could use as well. We even threw them a curveball after the project began of asking them to launch the site in two phases based on information we wanted to have available on the site earlier than originally expected. Ultimately, they delivered a great website that represents our church and our capital campaign extremely well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Launching the site on schedule was very important as it coincided with in-person events and our call for commitments from our congregation members. The website was one piece of the communication efforts, so while the site is certainly not fully responsible for the amount of commitments received and money raised, it had a significant part to play. 

Classic City also implemented Google Analytics 4 on our site so we could track traffic and engagement. From the launch of the site, the traffic was much higher than we expected and people spent longer on the site than we thought they would—which is a testament to the design and structure of the site. While we did not meet our full $50 million goal yet, the campaign is still going and the website continues to be a foundational piece of our ongoing communication strategy.

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

Classic City proactively communicated about expected timelines from the beginning and all throughout the project. They absolutely delivered on time, even when we threw a few curveballs at them in the middle of the process. They were flexible and able to adapt, guiding us through the implications of the changes we were asking for so we could make informed decisions. They were very responsive to our questions, always getting back to us within just a few hours when we reached out.

What was your primary form of communication with Classic City Consulting?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

When changes to the plan needed to be made (because some of our timelines shifted), they were gracious, flexible, and strategic. They helped us to understand what would happen if we changed certain timelines and how that would impact the deliverables. They worked hard to understand our goals and helped us to brainstorm solutions that we didn't know were possible. 

We really felt as though they were bringing solutions with our best interest in mind, knowing that we had both limited budget and limited time. It was great to know that they were looking at this project as a partnership.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Classic City Consulting could have done differently?

We were very happy with the process of working with Classic City—both during the project and with the results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the clinical director of a mental health company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We needed someone to update our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Classic City Consulting revamped our website and optimized its performance through WordPress. They implemented several features, such as a booking and appointment system, online training, and a linking feature for our podcast website.

What is the team composition?

We mainly interfaced with Chris (CEO) and a web designer.

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

We came across Classic City Consulting while researching on Google.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $5,000 in this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2018–January 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, Classic City Consulting was an exceptional partner because they were good at listening to and executing my vision.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

The team was highly responsive and communicative throughout the process — they met all their deadlines and delivered the project within budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with their listening skills, scalability, and approach to execution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise having a clear idea of what you want to achieve, and Classic City Consulting will take care of everything else.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the project director and strategist for Rootstock. We consult with small and mid-sized company founders, CEOs, and other ambitious entrepreneurs to deepen, clarify, express, and amplify their thinking. This process elevates them as thought leaders in their fields and helps them ground their brands as the foundation of their best ideas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We needed a high-quality and ADA-compliant website that was on-brand, beautiful, and flawlessly functional.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Classic City helped us design and develop our website in WordPress. We had previously worked with a brand consulting agency that put together our brand guide, which included our fonts, colors, imagery, and the wireframe for our website’s homepage. Thus, we initially provided Classic City with those guidelines along with our requirements for the rest of the website, such as its design and copy.

Classic City took our input to create our new website, and they added to our requirements throughout the project. Oftentimes, their suggestions revolved around things they thought would be better for our site. Classic City’s scope also included testing.

On our site, users can learn more about who we are and what we do. It has a contact page that sends them an email with a deck where they can find more information. Additionally, they can fill out a form to provide us with more information about the kind of project they’re looking for.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from Classic City: Ella (Junior Project Manager), Shane (Web Developer), and Chris (CEO), who oversaw the entire project.

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

A mutual friend introduced me to Chris. Over the years, we found opportunities to collaborate with each other on projects for both of our clients. For example, Chris would bring us in to articulate a brand narrative or craft a messaging strategy for one of his clients. Likewise, if we had clients who needed a digital strategy at a top-notch level, we would refer them to Classic City. When it was time for us to develop our own digital presence, we immediately knew that they would be the right partner for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $6,100.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–September 2022. After the end of our contract, they took some extra time to ensure all of our accessibility requirements were met. Now, they provide us with maintenance services as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Classic City built a terrific website we’re really proud of. They built it so that we can now modify many of our pages using different design blocks, making it very user-friendly for us. It has custom landing pages for new service offerings, which we can create ourselves very easily, eliminating our backlog.

The new site is also very engaging, and the pages flow really well together, so we’ve received a lot of compliments from clients, partners, and new prospects. Thanks to our great-looking and comprehensive website, more prospects are reaching out to us. Additionally, our referral network is now doing a better job of explaining what we do because they have a site to point people towards.

Having this website has also made us feel more empowered about putting into action our own marketing efforts because our site is brand-consistent, has a beautiful design, and has high usability. As part of these efforts, we’ve launched our own blog and a social media calendar.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Classic City met all the deadlines; any delays were on our end. Although the budget increased a little bit, it stayed firmly within their original estimations, so we had no scary surprises.

Something I really appreciated about working with Classic City was that I didn’t have to learn how to use a new project management system just to get the website across the finish line. We simply had a 15-minute check-in call every week over Zoom, and they sent us follow-up emails and progress reports after those calls — our collaboration was very efficient and user-friendly. We also sent text messages and had phone calls occasionally.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Classic City had an exceptional balance between being highly professional and personable. Their team was extremely professional, smart, and efficient, and they were also friendly and excited about us and what we were doing. Moreover, I really appreciated their consultant role. They didn’t just take our ideas and run with them; they also helped us think about usability and gave us great advice, making us reconsider our ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, Classic City’s model of website success didn’t quite match our company’s vision and personality. Therefore, there were a few times when they made recommendations based on their expertise, which were great, but they weren’t the best fit for us. Still, those were small issues that they quickly resolved. I can only advise Classic City to continue finding the right balance between offering consulting and delivering what the client is asking for. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want from the beginning and articulate it as clearly as you can because Classic City is ready to go. Still, if you’re not 100% sure about what you want, you can always provide them with your vision and examples of websites you like and dislike. This will inspire them and give them great ideas to pave the way forward.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the former director of app development and operations for 4 Wheel Parts. I worked there for six years but left about 30 days ago.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We had 5–6 brands under the Transamerican Auto Parts umbrella, and each had websites that were either acquired or developed in-house by other agencies. The websites weren’t managed well; the content and SEO were poor. We didn’t have developers to manage them for the most part. 

As a result, we wanted to migrate those websites over to a consolidated platform that each brand’s marketing teams could manage by themselves. We engaged Classic City to leverage their WordPress WPEngine technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

While I was with the company, Classic City completed two websites. The original website was their baseline, but we did discovery sessions with the brand managers of the two websites. The team’s goal was to improve the websites’ functionality, SEO, and mobile usability. Their resources also did some design work. 

In terms of SEO, Classic City handled the technical SEO components of the websites. They ensured that they were structured properly. We worked with a different vendor to add on the actual content. As a result, they didn’t do any keyword or content management. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and a lead developer. I also had access to their CEO. 

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

Classic City was referred to us by the SEO agency we were using. We held that agency in high regard, so the fact that they’d worked with Classic City on some previous engagements was enough for us to consider the team. As a result, we didn’t do much due diligence — if they provided a recommendation, we trusted them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $7,500 per month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from March–September 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The organic traffic increased on at least the first site that was deployed. Moreover, we experienced a significant upgrade from a design perspective. The website was also mobile-friendly, so its brand manager and my boss were happy with Classic City’s work. 

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Classic City’s project management was great. We used Asana to manage the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I truly liked their follow-through. They set expectations well and provided weekly updates, letting us know what was needed from whom. They coordinated well with our project manager to avoid any roadblocks or delays. They raised red flags if things were delayed and worked around blockers.

Moreover, their communication and overall delivery of work were great. The actual implementation of their technical expertise was impressive, too. The developer delivered everything they said they would at the time they indicated. I couldn’t speak highly enough about them. Everything across the board was excellent. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. I didn’t have any complaints. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Hire Classic City. They deliver on what they promise — they’re an excellent partner. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of The Frame Brain, a consulting business. We help other entrepreneurs to give shape and strength to their business practice. We target creative or non-traditional industries like freelancers, writers, photographers, and so on.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

I’d already done my website design, so I needed someone to help me build a product with more longevity. I’m not a coder, so I couldn’t give it the structure that would allow my business to grow. Since I used a pre-purchased theme, I couldn’t make any changes, although I was sort of happy with how it looked. Overall, I wanted to increase the ease of use and ensure it was set up correctly in its server, code structure, and email connection.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Classic City Consulting has designed and developed my website. Initially, I reached out to them and explained that I built the site on WordPress. They came to me with a proposal about how many hours it’d take to rebuild something similar to the design but with a better structure, allowing me to change content and style. Also, they decided on a different way to format the services I’d listed so it’d be more accessible and with a better UI.

I added them as a user on my site to jumpstart the project, and they built everything out. The team sent me access to it so I could approve it, and I only made minor tweaks on the first phase. Then, I gave them the green light, and they flipped the switch and helped me transfer everything over to ensure that it was working well.

They’ve built the site from scratch within a more flexible WordPress structure, working off the previous design, as I requested. Although I want to do a more extensive design overhaul in the future, my most immediate need is consistency with my brand. Therefore, they’ve worked on facilitating the content updates for the website, mainly doing callouts on the home page, linking the podcast I just launched, and publishing blog posts.

Also, they’ve used custom coding to create style blocks, which I can easily use to pop new content. Those building blocks make the site work well together in all the different sections — I can add a section or swap out the content and still maintain all the header tags, colors, and styling so it’s consistent with the design and brand. 

On the other hand, Classic City Consulting has added a blog. It’s not currently live on my site because I still need to upload the content on my end, but they’ve built it for me as a style template. Additionally, they’ve helped me set up the email inbox that’s tied to my domain name, as well as a Google Workspace that could integrate with it. The team has transferred the hosting from one server to the other, disengaging my WordPress hosting account. Finally, they’ll do maintenance when it’s needed.

What is the team composition?

I interface directly with the CEO. He assigned the work to somebody within his team, but he’s been kind enough to deal with me through the whole project. I don’t speak to the designer or developer that do the work.

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

They were recommended; they’d done projects for some of my clients.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At this time, the website isn’t a profoundly integral part of my marketing. It’s something to legitimate my business and provide more detail about it beyond listing all my services on LinkedIn. I don’t have a lot of inbound traffic yet, but I expect to change that in the future.

Nonetheless, I’m very satisfied with the website. Any feedback I get is very positive — people love the design, and it’s easy to navigate on multiple devices. Moreover, it’s very consistent with my brand, as well as welcoming and approachable. In general, I’m 100% satisfied with their work. Classic City Consulting has exceeded expectations, and they haven’t gone over budget. In the end, they brought more to the project than I’d initially planned.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is excellent. I initially gave minimal direction, and they came back with how many hours it’d take and the order of what they’d do; they only had 1–2 questions. I decided for them, and then they built the rest. In general, everything has been delivered in the estimated number of hours. 

My point of contact is very clear in his instructions. We’ve spent a total of 1–2 hours on the phone for the whole project — everything else is taken care of. The team sticks to deadlines and our budget. Another thing that’s been helpful that many companies don’t do is that they send me an email with all of the information before starting. Additionally, they use Loon as a tool. They even recorded a video to walk me through it, which was really nice because I can watch it at my convenience and refer back to it.

We usually communicate via email and phone calls, and we did a video call when the site went live. They’ve also stayed on the phone to walk me through the process so I didn’t have passwords flying back from my sensitive accounts. I was able to type everything in; they did an excellent job.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Communication is exceptionally good. They always stay on top of things. I never have to call them to check their progress. They’re always ready with an update, videos, or examples of what they’re making. Secondly, they respect my budget and have explained clearly the impact that an extra hour could have in 1–2 places. Also, they’re good at suggesting changes — I don’t feel that I’m being sold anything that isn’t useful for me. Overall, they understand my business and my goal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They’ve taken care of copying all the content and uploading it by themselves, which usually is a sticking point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think about what you want out of your website, how you’re using it in your business, and for which marketing purposes. Classic City Consulting can give you back recommendations of what will work best for you. Not every website will have its inbound traffic coming from a search engine — if you know how your website fits into your bigger picture, they can tailor its design, implementation, and best practices to those specific needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing and communications for Evangel, a private, Christian higher education institution.
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We had some changes to the positions in our marketing department and needed to bring on help with web enhancement and development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have two separate sites — one is for our university, and the other is for our connected seminary. Classic City Consulting helped us enhance, optimize, and expand the web services for each of our websites, both of which are hosted on WordPress.

When Classic City Consulting came in, they did a full site audit to determine important metrics like where users were coming from, how long they were spending on the site, and which pages we needed to optimize. From there, they worked with our leadership team to create a plan to reimagine and enhance a multitude of our highly visible landing pages. Part of this plan was to add more CTAs and try to increase both traffic and actions. 

Although Classic City Consulting was working with our existing brand, they also reimagined it to be more web-friendly. Their expertise made the UX and navigation much easier on our sites. Finally, they shared some best practices for content creation and SEO. 

What is the team composition?

We worked most closely with Chris (Owner & CEO). He has a team of web development subject matter experts who rotated in and out on our project, depending on what our focus area was at the time. 

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

We found Classic City Consulting through another consultant that we worked with who is located in their area. That consultant had a wonderful experience with Chris and Classic City Consulting, and she recommended that we use them for our university website. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Classic City Consulting in early 2019, and our engagement is ongoing. When we first started together, we essentially had them on retainer for larger projects — but as the scope has evolved, we've brought them a lot closer to more of our web development pieces.
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Both our site traffic and engagement have increased month-over-month since we started working with Classic City Consulting — I attribute that directly to their site optimizations. A lot of that growth has also come from a variety of project-specific landing pages that Classic City Consulting created for us. 

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

I give their project management an A+. They are very expedient in their response times and the attention that they give requests, and they have always stayed within budget. They have a great ability to prioritize and still meet project deadlines well. 

We manage projects using a shared Asana board, and we communicate via Slack and Google Meets. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

What’s most impressive is their ability to understand our key messaging elements and who we are as a business. They really did their research — they learned about our organization, our leadership, our mission, and our values, and they made sure to represent us well on the website. 

In addition, they really know their stuff and they're really well versed in both web development and strategy. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any improvements at this time. We’re very pleased, overall, with their work and responsiveness. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Classic City Consulting is top of the line in their field and brings a host of knowledge to enhance any existing work so you can get the best bang for your buck. I wholeheartedly recommend them. 
 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of 10,000 Fathers and Mothers Worship School. We’re located in Colorado Springs, and our mission is to help raise spiritual mothers and fathers who creatively shape the church’s future.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

Classic City helps us by building out the right systems so that our CRM, donation and fundraising services, and all of our marketing efforts are integrated into one platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Early on in the collaboration, I connected with Chris (Founder), and we spent multiple sessions trying to figure out what we needed and how Classic City could advise and consult us in different directions. Once that initial intake was done, they started doing research for us on different kinds of CRMs and donation management software. 

Chris and his team narrowed down a few different CRM options. I was looking for one system that would integrate CRM and student management, alumni, and donation management. They went to work and contacted a company called Kindful, which is more publicly known for building out campaigns, donor management, and fundraising. They determined that Kindful also had the ability to do a CRM for us, which a lot of people don’t know about.

They found a one-stop solution for us that integrates MailChimp and all of our other services, including Quickbook. This solution provides one place where we can integrate all of our systems.

They continue to integrate our systems, and they’re also helping us design our website. Our current website is built on Squarespace, and we're moving to a WordPress platform. We work with an outside creative agency, and Classic City has graciously partnered with the agency to make sure that the website is functional and has the design and style that we need.

What is the team composition?

Chris is my main contact, but through their team, I also work with Dawn (Project Manager). She helps us stay on track and has been a really gentle and flexible guide for us.

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

I received a word-of-mouth referral from other nonprofit organizations that they’d helped.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $2,400–$3,000. We used to pay them a monthly fee for a certain number of hours a month. Now, we're doing a $6,000 project fee for the website, which is spaced out over four different payments.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2021, and they're still helping us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They really listen to the needs that we have and don’t project their solutions onto us. When we began working together, they wanted to understand us, so they did a deep dive into who we are, what we're about, and how we function. Along the way, they’ve helped us streamline that. They’ve also curated a system integration to match our desires. 

Their team is made up of great human beings. They're kind and gentle, but they’re also assertive when they need to be about what they think is best for us. I’ve also found Chris to be vulnerable and transparent in his growth as a business leader.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the beautiful things about the process is that they're very good at creating a roadmap to show me as the business leader where we are in the process, the next steps, and what to expect along the way.

For communication, we text and email back and forth, but we also use a platform called Notion for all of the project management. They're very well-run and organized, which has been very helpful for our organization.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What distinguishes them is that they're nimble and adaptive enough to be able to get in the weeds. The collaboration with them is really pleasant thanks to Chris’s humble posture of service and assertive leadership. He's never been pushy with me and works with every need that we have. He's done so in a way that is loyal to his business and growth, as well as to ours.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I know that would be helpful, but there's nothing that I can think of right now. They’ve been great to work with; their process and the way that they manage the project are beautiful and very helpful.

Any advice for potential customers?

Have a coffee with Chris and share what your needs are and what you're working with. See what he comes up with; he's very creative with his solutions and can make the price point and project pacing match your needs and budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a real estate advisory company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We had opened a storefront and were open for business. We just needed someone to develop a website for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Classic City Consulting developed our WordPress website. I pretty much followed their recommendations — it’s nothing fancy, but it features our story, services, and contact information. We wanted a way to capture the contact details of potential customers so we could contact them. To fulfill this need, the team integrated Ninja Forms for the form capture and automation. The team also handled web hosting for us. 

Since the website in and of itself wasn’t going to give me the visibility I needed, I educated myself on digital marketing to get leads. Classic City Consulting didn’t really offer those services; the workflow they used was standard for any website. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with Chris (CEO). He had someone else do some backend work, but I didn’t interact with that person.

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

I was referred to them by a friend.

How much have you invested with them?

Our total spend was $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did a great job on the design and development of the website. It enabled us to get more customers. We easily collected names, emails, and phone numbers of potential buyers, which was convenient. I’m pleased with the outcome.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was good. The team stayed on target for the most part, but it took a bit longer than it should have — there was a gap for a period because of staffing issues on their side. They had some personnel change on the backend that may have impacted the schedule. Furthermore, I added functionalities like a Ninja Forms survey for visitors to fill in and a calculator, and the additional work might have affected timelines. Otherwise, it went fine. There was a good, collaborative effort. To communicate, we primarily used email and had occasional meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They knew the website design and development space well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would’ve been better if they were involved in digital marketing or had partnerships with marketing agencies. Just having a website on its own isn’t enough — it’s just one step in the process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go ahead and study your potential competitors and what they’re doing on their website to get an idea of what you can do. You can bring that to the initial meetings with Classic City Consulting.