Coldsmoke Creative

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the e-commerce manager at Parkway Music, and we’re an instrument and music gear retailer. We sell guitars, basses, pro audio gear, keyboards, drums, and more.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coldsmoke Creative?

We needed help moving our current e-commerce platform over to Shopify. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coldsmoke helped us migrate around 50,000 products from our previous platform to Shopify. They made sure our systems between our point-of-sale software and Shopify worked correctly. 

This was mainly a consulting project. They helped us through the process of developing the new website, and they advised on best practices. We had already launched the website.

What is the team composition?

I worked primarily with Pedro (Shopify Senior Developer).

How did you come to work with Coldsmoke Creative?

We found them through a Shopify partner program after signing up for Shopify Plus. They made the introduction, and our encounter was part of a pilot program that Shopify was giving to new clients. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August–November 2021.  

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

We saw an over 100% increase in year-over-year sales in just three weeks. 

How did Coldsmoke Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Coldsmoke was great at communication. I had a weekly meeting with Pedro, and he was instrumental in keeping the project within our timeline. He laid the roadmap for us to succeed in our full migration and launch. We primarily communicated through Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Coldsmoke went above and beyond to help us successfully migrate our website. They were dedicated to the project, and they weren’t overly concerned about their hours. They were focused on having the development done correctly. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have somebody technical on your team that will communicate with them. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the eCommerce Director at a company in the medical aesthetics/beauty industry

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

Our website was created on an outdated platform and was becoming increasingly difficult to manage. We hired the Coldsmoke team after hearing a few recommendations to help us migrate our site to Shopify and redesign it to improve CRO. Since the migration, we’ve been seeing a steady increase in conversion rates, engagement and overall site speed. Needless to say, we’re extremely pleased with this result.

How did you select Coldsmoke Creative and what were the deciding factors?

We searched online for local companies specializing in Shopify and shortlisted 3. After interviewing them, we chose Coldsmoke based on their past projects, detailed project management and cost estimate.

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

We had a kick-off meeting to discuss our goals and expectations and then the Coldsmoke team sent over a detailed task list for us to review and approve. They use both Slack and Teamwork for project management and ongoing tasks and I found them to be extremely accommodating, detail oriented, easy to work with, and very timely.

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

We worked directly with the PM and lead developer as well as other design and development members as needed. Communication was seamless.

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

After launching our site we saw an increase in conversion rates, site speed, and traffic. Following the success of this site, we’ve contracted Coldsmoke to develop a new B2B2C site for us.

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

We had weekly meetings and both Slack and Teamwork for ongoing tasks.

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

I have nothing but good things to say about our experience with Coldsmoke. I've worked with 8 dev companies in the past and they all came short in one way or another. Coldsmoke was a whole package, they were creative, detail-oriented, easy to manage, responsive, and cost-effective.

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

Nothing that I can think of.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a retail marketplace with both brick-and-mortar locations and an eComm platform, operating in the contemporary fashion space, specializing in footwear and streetwear. We also have our own product line, and regularly collaborate with top brands in the footwear, apparel, and accessories industries. I am the Director of Marketing.

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

Initially Coldsmoke was hired for various site tweaks and optimizations, but they have become collaborative partners in various aspects of our eComm platform including the development of a standalone site for a recent collab of ours, anti-bot strategies, and current redevelopment of our main site to bring it up to speed with best practices.

How did you select Coldsmoke Creative and what were the deciding factors?

I had originally found Coldsmoke through Shopify's partner portal. I had reviewed their services, examples of work, and read reviews. After a couple of initial conversations, I found great synergy between our two companies, which is certainly vital in any relastionship.

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

A good amount of this is confidential. In general, Coldsmoke Creative is highly collaborative and attends various meetings, brainstorm sessions, and even vendor vetting where it may have some effect on dev.

We collaborate closely via various means and to solve technological challenges, constantly looking to optimize the user experience.

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

I have worked with 2-4 members of Coldsmoke.

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

For the most recent project, we had a very smooth release facing extraordinary traffic and checkouts with a full sell-through in minutes, with little to no bot activity.

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

As mentioned, Coldsmoke is highly collaborative, clear communicators, and not only deliver upon directives, but also have plenty to offer in terms of ideas and strategy. They have been a true pleasure to work with and always adhere to timelines and expectations agreed upon.

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

I find that they have a genuine passion for what they do and care about the work they put in. They are driven by results and it shows in their approach to taking on projects and seeing them through.

When we first started working together, it was more for one-off tweaks, but we have built upon that relationship and they are a very trusted partner of ours.

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

I have nothing but praise and appreciation for Coldsmoke Creative.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of SimpleCrew, a mobile and web app for managing teams. We’re a small team of six people. Our clients use a monthly recurring subscription model to access the mobile app, which they use to manage their field teams and track the work they do using GPS photos.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coldsmoke Creative?

We have a small team and having our designer also build the website slowed us down. After a page or two, we realized we needed some extra help in order to get the site launched. Our previous site was so old, and it was not a good brand experience for anyone who wanted to use SimpleCrew. We’d already redesigned and rebuilt the mobile app and the web app, but the website was really outdated. 

Our team also needed to launch the website very quickly because it serves different market segments. With COVID-19 going on, we were waiting to sell ourselves to these segments. Our team was looking to accelerate the launch of the website with Coldsmoke. There was also a tight competition with another company, so we really had a hard deadline.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coldsmoke Creative fully developed our new marketing website, which has blogs with different case study downloads and different landing pages. It also includes email integration, newsletters, and sign-up sheets for lead management. The website was built on WordPress using Elementorand is mobile-responsive.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with Louis (Developer, Coldsmoke Creative) and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with Coldsmoke Creative?

They were highly recommended by a trusted friend, so we chose to work with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $15,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Coldsmoke from June–September 2020.

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

Our conversions have gone up since the start of our engagement. Customers have also reached out through the new site and said it looked great and they really liked it. It was built very well, giving us a good brand presence and doing a much better job of selling the benefits of our company. There are also more educational resources available on the site that help with conversion.

How did Coldsmoke Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great. The Coldsmoke Creative team definitely met expectations and deadlines. They were good at delivering a fully responsive site without us having to do a lot. When they took the design and built it, it was actually done. You could simply check the mobile and web app and know things were ready to go. 

Another thing we also liked was we could work directly with the developer as a technical team. It was a more efficient way of getting things done and cut out inefficiencies. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Coldsmoke Creative excels at communication. They were extremely responsive any time we had any questions or were giving feedback. The project manager was always on top of everything and any small change here and there was done quickly with minimal effort on our part. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, Coldsmoke Creative was exactly what we needed. I would definitely reach out to them again if there was something we couldn’t handle. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If they’re someone who’s fairly technical, work directly with Coldsmoke’s developer — if that’s something you feel comfortable with. That was a real added value for us. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Sheehan Associates, Inc. is a media consulting firm and I’m the director of operations.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coldsmoke Creative?

We hired them to redesign our website, which was pretty dated and we hadn’t done an overhaul in several years. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted to make our WordPress website more modern and mobile-friendly, so their team handled changing the design to meet those requirements. They changed the design layout and revamped the content and made some changes for the complete overall. They host the site, so they’ll be making any changes moving forward. 

What is the team composition?

We mostly work with three people directly, but two primarily support us. There were other people involved, but not that we dealt with directly. 

How did you come to work with Coldsmoke Creative?

My boss had worked with them on a separate, independent project and liked what they did there. He hired them because he thought they’d be a good fit for this project. 

How much have you invested with them?

The cost is a little shy of $37,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2020. The site was launched recently but they will continue to do admin work for us. 

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

We only launched less than a week ago, so the primary metric is that we all really like the new site. Everyone who has seen it outside our company has given us great feedback on it. 

How did Coldsmoke Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They have been great. We mostly use Teamwork to manage the project and communicate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are super responsive and very helpful, making them easy to work with. Any time we have a question or concern, they get right on it. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing in particular comes to mind. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Though this project was fairly limited, I’d recommend them highly. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

We design craft products, including stamps, dies, glitters, papers and more for people to make their own handcrafted cards and papercraft projects. I am the founder and one of the directors of this family run company based in the North East of England, UK.

For what projects/services did your company hire Coldsmoke Creative?

We had a website which we had build in around 2013 on an old platform. Since the company has grown, we had very much outgrown our old system and website, we'd have a big launch and within minutes our website would crash and be offline, which was just as frustrating for us as it was for our customers. We were at a point where we couldn't grow the company any further without replatforming and moving our website.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to streamline our website and have access to more indepth reporting, which for a growing company is so imported. We are also very focused on our customers and wanted them to have a user friendly experience on a website which is easy to use. A problem that we had with our old website was that we couldn't offer product bundles, something which is so important. We also wanted to offer our customer related upsells, and be able to integrate email automations into our website by using the Klaviyo email system. The long term goal of this project was to find a partner that we could work with to grow the company, and be able to keep offering the best solutions to our website users as our business grows.

How did you select this vendor?

We chose this vendor via the Shopify Partners programme. As soon as Mark reached out I just knew that Coldsmoke were the right company for us to develop our website with. From speaking to Mark he took the time to understand exactly what we wanted from the project and what we were looking to achieve, nothing was impossible to Coldsmoke, and where we found something that we wanted to further develop to suit our company Coldsmoke found the perfect solution. From the outset we had a clear idea of costs for the project, which from a budgeting point of view was great, we were also told at the time if any further development work we needed doing was outside of the scope, which was great as Coldsmoke were completely transparent about the project costs from the outset and also how we could reduce the costs if we needed to to suit our budget.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Coldsmoke took our old website, and move everything over from our old platform. We firstly chose a theme which was installed and customised on the website. They undertook finding all app's that would be required for the website, i.e. product reviews, bundling, loyalty scheme, upselling, wishlist etc and offer me options which I then chose, these were configured. There was some custom coding also required within this project, we wanted an invoice set up to save time when we are picking and packing orders, as we had a special label integrated, this took some development work but Coldsmoke worked with us until this was perfect. We also had 2 landing pages custom coded on the project which work effortlessly and fit in seamlessly with the web design, we wanted countdown clocks adding, newsletter sign up, text and images to these pages, the time was take to make sure that these pages were perfect before we launched, I was given the opportunity to sign off and feedback at every stage. We also moved our email system over to Klaviyo which Coldsmoke integrated with Shopify.

What was the team composition?

The project was managed by myself and Emily. It was great to have Emily as my one point of contact throughout the project. Emily always replied to any emails or feedback in a timely manner and managed the project superbly throughout, nothing at all was too much trouble.

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

First our foremost for us our customers are the most important part of our business, so we wanted to delivery a user friendly elegant website that was simple for them to use. We were amazed at launch to receive such positive feedback that the website was super easy to use and so much better than our old website. We have had no technical problems with the website since launch and have had big launches with a lot of traffic being directed to the website at once, the website had remained stable and functioning at a fast pace. We have been astounded by the sales figures that our new website has produced, sales are up by on average over 30% a month, this has exceeded our expectations. Our website conversion rate is also up by a healthy 2%. We are also now able to pick, pack and dispatch orders quicker due to the new streamlined system.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

From day one of the project Emily was my point of contact, who again took the time to understand the project and understood exactly what we want to achieve. The project was managed in a very timely manner and despite working in 2 different time zones this didn't cause an issue or hold the project back in any way. For the project we communicated by Teamwork and had regular Google Hangout calls, which were always a good way to discuss the project and how we were moving forward. Every point that was discussed in the meeting was always action-ed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What I found more impressive about this company is how the time was taken to discuss our needs and exactly what we needed fro the project. At no point did I feel like I was given a 'sales pitch' about the company, I understood Coldsmoke as a company, and they really took the time to understand my company, which helped the project. I also really liked having one point of contact through out the process, as this made it easy to communicate. Coldsmokes knowledge of ecommerce is also excellent they were able to provide advise along the way which proved to be invaluable.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I honestly don't think there are any areas for improvement. We have had a very positive experience with Coldsmoke and I would be happy to recommend. We also look forward to working with them in the future to continue growing our website.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a locally owned meat distributor who specialize in custom cuts. We serve restaurants, hotels, and catering companies throughout the DC-Metropolitan area. I am a project manager who is also responsible for client services. I oversee our online store.

For what projects/services did your company hire Coldsmoke Creative?

Since the COVID-19 outbreak we started selling our product direct to consumer. We needed to set up a website quickly and start shipping to customers. We reached out to Mark and his team at Coldsmoke to help us learn and utilize shopify in order to get our products out there.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to set up a website featuring our items and to get them to the customer. We needed to link our new e-commerce site to our original website so customers knew where to find out how to order. There are a lot of logistics to take care of due to the fact that our product is perishable.

How did you select this vendor?

Coldsmoke was recommended to us by a friend. I had seen work Mark and his team had put out before and knew this was the team to work with.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Coldsmoke designed, developed and executed our online ordering system for us. The did everything from linking our domain from our original site to the new one, organizing products and shipping settings.

What was the team composition?

I worked directly with Mark on this project- as he was the lead.

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

This project has been extremely helpful for our business. The restaurant industry was hit hard by COVID-19 and most of our customers stopped ordering due to their establishments being shut down. Not only has this helped us bring in sales but we have been able to deliver restaurant quality product to peoples homes. Its been great getting to know a new customer base and Coldsmoke made it possible!

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was on point. Coldsmoke was always responsive via email and telephone and answered all of our questions and provided solutions for problems we were facing.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their turn around time and the ease they displayed during the project stood out.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I dont have any. The biggest issue I have ever had when working with developers has been communication and Coldsmoke hit it out of the park!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a locally owned brick and mortar store in Bozeman, Montana.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coldsmoke Creative?

While we did have the store to close due to COVID-19, our owner wanted to get an online presence. She’s a perfectionist, but we needed to be able to generate sales during this time.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team at Coldsmoke Creative developed and designed our Shopify site. They helped get all of our content on the platform. We had an issue with our size charts and their layout. They weren’t translated well to mobile, so Coldsmoke Creative tweaked those for us.

What is the team composition?

I primarily worked with Mark (CEO).

How did you come to work with Coldsmoke Creative?

We reached out to them after finding them in the Shopify expert marketplace.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve roughly spent between $5,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2020.

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

The team worked quickly to get the site up and running. Our owner prides herself on giving our customers a tremendous in-house experience. It was vital for us to capture that online.

Coldsmoke Creative worked hard to make our site unique for our customers. They went above and beyond to make sure it stood out from others. They were meticulous in getting all of the small details perfect.

We couldn’t be happier with how this engagement turned out.

How did Coldsmoke Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

While in the beginning, we did do a decent amount of set up over the phone, I usually would send Mark an email. Most of our correspondence is through there. Anytime we reach out to them, they’re responsive. It’s a super quick turnaround with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I can’t build them up enough for being so meticulous with all of the small details. We’re definitely perfectionists, and their team was extremely patient with that. I noticed during our first call with them that they were interested in hearing what we were looking for. They took the time to listen to what we wanted and expected.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I don’t feel that there’s anything. We’re so glad that we found Coldsmoke Creative.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Coldsmoke Creative is great about asking your wants and needs. If you communicate with them, they’ll go above and beyond for you. I’d definitely give them a shot because they’re amazing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the deputy director for women.nyc. We operate out of New York City Economic Development Corporation and our goal is to amplify and create opportunities to help women in New York City succeed in their businesses and careers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coldsmoke Creative?

Our previous website was pretty bare-bones and so we hired Coldsmoke Creative to redesign our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Beyond redesigning, they managed our site and helped us with design and email strategy. They created an email pop-up that displays over the homepage when it’s first opened and worked on better integrating our Mailchimp. Our design consultant worked with Mark (CEO, Coldsmoke Creative) to design the page and then Coldsmoke created the wireframes from that for us to view. They also helped to streamline our website navigation and implement new feature ads.

We had a salary negotiation workshop and we wanted to create a new landing page for that, so they helped us develop and create a page that allowed people to sign up. They integrated the page with an external plug-in and made sure the page was feeding directly to our Mailchimp tool.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Mark and Emily (Project Manager, Coldsmoke Creative).

How did you come to work with Coldsmoke Creative?

They were already working with the company when I was hired.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2019–January 2020.

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

Since the new website was launched we've had a lot of traffic and we’ve also received good feedback on the design and functionality.

How did Coldsmoke Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really good. We had regular check-ins with them, so we’d call every week. They were very responsive and always on time for every project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were really good at providing advice and consulting on certain things that we were interested in pursuing, but weren’t sure about it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Now that they’re gone and we’re managing it on our own, I wish we had discussed the Mailchimp component a bit more. It’s through no fault of their own, but we are unsure of a few things in terms of how the emails are being pulled from our website. Although when our contract ended, Mark and Emily were open to us reaching out.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and founder of Beacon's Closet, Inc. We run four clothing exchange stores. In other words, we buy, sell, and trade vintage and modern clothing with the public.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coldsmoke Creative?

We needed a system to execute our Sell by Mail service. This would allow customers to upload photographs of their clothing in hopes to sell them to us. We wanted specific views of the items—front, back, tag, etc.—and we wanted to guide how users format their photos.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created a portal through Shopify, where users can upload their photos. This is done through click-and-drag motions as well as manually entering information. Coldsmoke Creative developed a mechanism that automatically assigns customers a code. This code made it easier to organize and reference the submissions.

Through this automated code, we can generate approval codes for the items we want to accept and buy. Once we receive an item, the system automatically pays the customer. Coldsmoke Creative’s system allowed this process to flow smoothly and effortlessly.

How did you come to work with Coldsmoke Creative?

They were referred to us by a contact from our web development company. We initially worked with them because of an American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance issue. They were adaptable, flexible, and very communicative during that whole process, helping us remedy that lawsuit. After that, we knew we wanted to work with them on building this portal.

How much have you invested with them?

For this portal project, we’ve invested about $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2018 for the ADA compliance project, but this project wrapped up in April 2019.

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

In one calendar year, we’ve grown from 49 submissions to about 460. We’re very happy with the success of the portal. The more we market it, the more people are responsive to using it. Coldsmoke Creative’s system allowed our processes to flow smoothly and effortlessly.

How did Coldsmoke Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team’s responsiveness was wonderful. They were available whenever I reached out, even if it was after hours. I noticed a constant effort to get back to me right away and provide the information I was seeking. I was very happy with their communicative approach.

I was also very satisfied with the deadlines they gave us. Their team was realistic on project timelines and transparent throughout the process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been happy with everything. When they said they’d do something, they did it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go ahead and work with them. They’ve been very good to us, and I don’t have any hesitation recommending them.