The Digital Agenda

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the president of the Passport Store. We specialize in processing and expediting U.S. passports and foreign travel visas in as little as 24 hours. We also offer international travel consultations and take passport photos that are ready in minutes. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Digital Agenda?

I initially hired The Digital Agenda for marketing and SEO services. As they started the on-page SEO work, they showed me multiple reports which contained about 160,000 warning and errors which would have taken over a year to fix.  Instead, The Digital Agenda fully redesigned and launched an entirely new website. Not only was it a success but it also took less time than they initially predicted.

What were your goals for this project?

Our website's passport processing page is relatively straightforward, but the visa section is more complex. It indicates which countries a specific passport holder needs a visa to visit. Depending on whether clients are traveling for business, school, or tourism, clients need a variety of services and documents. Our platform lets users fill out applications, create accounts, upload documents, or place and track their orders. It indicates a full listing of both our service fees and those clients will incur at different embassies. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found them while searching online for both local and nationally located developers. Of the many teams I spoke with, I hired The Digital Agenda based on their past reviews, portfolio,  knowledge base and availability.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The Digital Agenda designed and developed both the frontend and backend of my website. Functionally, it lets client easily pull up requirements based on their citizenship and travel destination.  Users can fill out forms online, upload documents and photos. After they pay embassy fees and our company's service fees, they can track their order and use a live chat support function.  The team is also responsible for my SEO and marketing.

What was the team composition?

I worked directly with one main point of contact, which was how I wanted it. For design and development, it's always easier to interface with one person whether they delegate the work to others or not.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not one person had placed an online order during the 3-4 years we'd been using our old website. As soon as we launched The Digital Agenda's new site, we received our first online order that very evening.  Since our nationwide e-commerce service is about 90-95% of our revenue, the team's deliverable has made a significant impact.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The Digital Agenda's project management was the best I've ever had. Not only was Richard the person I dealt with always available, but he also set deadlines and would still finish them early. I never heard them say anything I needed couldn't be done.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I dealt previously with three other developers throughout the four years my company has been established, and none of them can remotely reach Richards level of knowledge, understanding, expertise, and design. There have been times where I've been on a Skype call with Richard for hours as he helps me and guides me with ideas on how we can make everything better for my site and company.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

No, everything is perfect in my opinion.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Allure Skincare and Lash is a day spa based in Denver, Colorado with an additional location in St. Petersburg, Florida. We provide services including facials, massage, and eyelash extensions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Digital Agenda?

Our company needed a new website, as well as support for Search Engine Optimization to drive our web traffic and increase sales.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Digital Agenda built a new website from scratch, hosted on WordPress. Their development work included online booking integration, maximizing our chosen platforms, and a full online store for product purchases. To improve our marketing efforts, they also provided SEO services.

What is the team composition?

Richard Gravine, the lead project manager, was our main point of contact. Even if that wasn’t his formal role, he made us feel like he was. He worked with a team of developers to complete our website.

How did you come to work with The Digital Agenda?

We found The Digital Agency via a recommendation. We've worked with a number of different companies that do web design throughout the years, but this was the first detailed project that we contracted from start to finish.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested over $20,000 dollars at this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've worked together for five years, since August of 2012. They're continuing to provide SEO services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After our SEO push over the last year or two, we've seen a significant increase in our traffic on our Google business account and the associated analytics. The metrics prior to our focused SEO plan show significantly lower numbers.

Not only have we attained our desired results, but they've also helped us formulate and execute a plan to see continued benefits. With their coaching, we’ve developed a systematic approach to staying current and relevant on our blog and social media feeds.

How did The Digital Agenda perform from a project management standpoint?

Richard does an excellent job. Their team pays close attention to detail and takes great care of their customers. We usually communicate with Rich through e-mail, and he promptly replies. Depending on the request or stage of the project, they'll either take care of the issue or we'll schedule a conference call. Products in our store are constantly changing or being discontinued. They've been very responsive to our requests, even for minor tweaks to the current site.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Digital Agency clearly explained the exact nature and specific impacts of their work, along with our company’s role. Offering frequent consulting helped us better understand how the different elements of the SEO process work. Even though we're a smaller client of theirs, they made us feel important and took care of us. SEO is an ongoing endeavor, and they've supported us every step of the way. They've been extremely great to work with, and I have nothing bad to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Effective communication is key to a rewarding engagement. As with any company, we get so entrenched in our work that we assume everyone else completely understands our business. We were very conscious about this tendency with The Digital Agenda, and carefully described the nature of our business. I suggest doing the same, because they were very receptive. Providing them with detailed information helped them develop a sharp understanding of our business goals and methodology.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a sign company and i am the owner

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Digital Agenda?

We hired The Digital Agenda and Richard C. Gravine to duplicate my vendors website with permission allowed.

What were your goals for this project?

to have it done on time.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected this vendor through www.thumbtack,com

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The real problem is that they took our $3000.00 and they did not provide anything they just took our money and ignored us.

What was the team composition?

No team just one person named Richard C. Gravine who was not very helpful

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

because of this theft of my money and no website delivered to us we had to cancel our business venture.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

project management was very unprofessional and it turned out to be a scam because they did not do any work on our website.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

No strengths what so ever, their biggest strength is their ability to lie very well.

Are there any areas for improvement?

yes they could improve by not taking someones money if they are not planning on doing the job that was paid for.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the President of PaulRudeen.com. My company provides golf instruction. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Digital Agenda?

I needed to restore a hacked and wiped website.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to provide extra value for my students.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I interviewed several vendors. Rick (Lead Project Manager, The Digital Agenda) was the most professional and confident person I spoke to.

Describe the project in detail.

Rick basically rebuilt my site. He recovered my hacked content, which included a lot of video material and text, and sharpened the site’s entire look.

What was the team composition?

I worked exclusively with Rick.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I have my site back and its better than it was before. They pulled off a miracle.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were always there for me and answered any questions I had.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their results were outstanding.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, not that I saw. I’m a happy camper.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a beauty boutique that offers permanent makeup, eyelash extension, and skincare services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Digital Agenda?

I needed to build a website.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted the website to be modern, clean, and functional.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found them on an online search.

Describe the project in detail.

I've provided all of the content, guidelines, and feedback. They handled the website's development.

What was the team composition?

One person was involved.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Traffic isn't high yet, but search results are okay.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They did pretty well for the most part. I've used Skype to manage the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to listen and apply that information in the work was noteworthy. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

I was put under tremendous pressure at the end of the project to buy other services. I don't like to be pushed to buy something I don't need or can't afford.