Evolve Systems

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a nonprofit organization. We assist veterans at risk of homelessness in finding affordable housing and help them maintain their housing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Evolve Systems?

Our website was outdated; it wasn’t user-friendly on mobile devices and had a lot of old content, so we were ready to refresh our web content. We were working with an independent contractor and faced challenges with their responsiveness to make changes. Moreover, their work felt like a patch on top of a patch. Therefore, it was time for a new system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Evolve Systems developed a website for us and offered branding services. They changed our color scheme and redesigned our logo. Although they used elements from our old website for things we still wanted to use, the team built the new site from the ground up because we changed the hosting platform. They advised us on the benefits of different systems and built our site on WordPress. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with 3–5 teammates from Evolve Systems, with two people as our primary contact points. 

How did you come to work with Evolve Systems?

We knew them through another peripheral organization. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $10,000–$25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from January 2020–October 2021. They still offer maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since working with Evolve Systems, we have gotten more referrals for assistance from the website. 

How did Evolve Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

I wasn't the main point of contact for Evolve Systems on my side, so I wasn't tracking them closely. Although the project took longer than expected, I'm unsure how much of the delay came from our end. We used Slack for communication and Basecamp for project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Evolve Systems is a veteran-owned company with a good understanding of what veterans need, which helped us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing they needed to improve comes to mind. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a good vision of what you want so that you can be specific with Evolve Systems. Too much ambiguity can create delays, so the clearer you are about your needs, the more likely the team can assist you quickly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and president of a business consulting and exit planning firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Evolve Systems?

I was working with a different marketing firm that wasn’t performing well, so I felt that I could get a better service from Evolve Systems.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Evolve Systems provides me with marketing services. Among other things, they’ve made some website updates, helped me manage my Google Analytics account, made recommendations for social media content and profile updates, provided me with SEO services, and made some recommendations for contact management. Overall, they offer a holistic approach.

As for SEO, they’ve helped me update our content and keyword optimization. Additionally, they’ve made my site more user-friendly and helped me tie it to other pages, including some of my own.

What is the team composition?

I work with four people from Evolve Systems, including a web content director, a marketing director, and an SEO manager.

How did you come to work with Evolve Systems?

I met their owner at an event, and I was talking to her about my marketing situation, so we started discussing using her company. A few months later, I signed a contract with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around July 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re measuring the success of our engagement by the higher level of activity we’re getting online. I now see more engagement, clicks, and people contacting me through my website.

How did Evolve Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

Evolve Systems’ project management has been fantastic; I’ve had no surprises. We use Basecamp to manage the project, which has worked out really well for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Evolve Systems is really good at communicating and explaining what they’re doing, and they ask a lot of questions to gain an understanding of their assignments. With my previous provider, I didn’t even know what I was paying for, but with Evolve Systems, I know exactly what I’m paying for because they always do what they promise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I really appreciate the work they do for me, and I only have good things to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your marketing expectations because many people misunderstand what marketing can and can’t do for them. Marketing is an investment, not an expense, and it can help you achieve your goals if you have a good strategy behind it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director of a CPA firm, which provides tax, audit, and advisory services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Evolve Systems?

We needed to completely revamp our website. It was a pretty basic solution that wasn’t very conducive to driving new leads or client acquisition. We were looking to Evolve to create a better experience for the clients and prospects that visit our site. Our services also had to be better showcased on the new site to make it smoother for prospects to reach out and inquire about our services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

My in-house writer reported to me, and we did some heavy lifting with the writing, some of the interviews, and collaborating with our internal subject-matter experts. After we gathered that information, we passed it on to Evolve. They truly took the reigns, crafting the overall look and feel of our organization and website.  We also focused on the content of the site and our messaging. It would have been very easy for them to take on everything, but we defined everyone’s role because of our smaller budget.

They built our site in WordPress additionally and then provided ongoing maintenance. They were very responsive and had a help desk ticket system that gave us visibility into our requests. These requests havd different urgency levels, and they prioritized their services in a corresponding manner. They were extremely responsive through this help desk.

We had a small team of people with varying degrees of experience or abilities, and it was nice to lean on Evolve and be able to reach out to them when we needed an answer to a question, an update, or a solution to an issue we were troubleshooting.

What is the team composition?

There were 3–4 people that worked on the project at any given time, all the way from design through help desk maintenance post-launch. Specifically, we worked with designers, content writers, and more. During the development process, there were 3–5 people working at any given time.

How did you come to work with Evolve Systems?

We were referred to them. I was tasked with revamping our professional presence on the web and had some conversations with Marnie (CEO). They started out simple, with us discussing our vision for the site and UX that we thought would be easier for our client to use. The engagement process was very laid back; Evolve Systems wasn’t trying to sell us anything but truly wanted to get to know us and our business and what we wanted to accomplish. We didn’t have a huge budget, but Evolve was. very accommodating about maximizing their cost and value. In my initial conversations with Marnie, I wanted to make sure they had enough work to do, so it was great that they were able to take us through a seamless redesign and restrategization of the website.

How much have you invested with them?

The website came in around $30,000, and maintenance was around $300 every month.

What is the status of this engagement?

They worked together from November 2016–November 2019. A few years ago, we began expanding our content strategy, but Evolve didn’t have a content platform they were using at the time. We moved our website to HubSpot to give us more visibility into specific metrics and marketing automation. We actually stopped working with them at this time because of these limitations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a large increase in web traffic and engagement on all of our different pages thanks to Evolve. Additionally, they provided strong insights, like where visitors are spending the most time on our site. Time on page has increased across multiple pages, and bounce rates have dropped as well. Not only do people navigate to the page they want, but they transition to the rest of the website as well. Before the new site, we saw 1,500–2,000 business sessions a month, and now we see around 3,000–3,500 sessions we want.

How did Evolve Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

If our main contact wasn’t able to get back to us, they had backup people for us to reach out to. It seemed like, no matter when we emailed them, they always had someone to take care of us, responding with an hour or two. At no time did we ever feel like there was downtime or outstanding issues. It felt really good to leave at the end of the day and not have to worry about what was going on with the website or if something would happen tomorrow that wouldn’t be taken care of. They provided great communication throughout. We communicated over the phone, but there office is also only 10 minutes down the road from us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In my 20 years of experience in marketing, I’ve never seen a vendor that’s as on top of project management as Evolve is. They communicated their process and their needs to meet deadlines. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

This was my first big-budget project as a marketer for my firm, and it was nerve-wracking. They never let me down.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When I refer Evolve to other people, I tell them that they’re hiring a full, great process. The key to any relationship is for both parties to understand each others’ goals, objectives, process, and scheduling. Evolve will be able to take the ball and run with it.