Hancock & Rowe

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Stay In A Pub

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Stay in A Pub is a carefully curated online collection of boutique pubs, traditional coaching inns & affordable pub accommodation throughout the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Hancock and Rowe to accomplish?

• Create a new room booking flow
• Increase conversions
• Understand user behaviour

SOLUTION

How did you find Hancock and Rowe?

Referral

Why did you select Hancock and Rowe over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned
• Highly Recommended

How many teammates from Hancock and Rowe were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The Stay in a Pub website is dedicated to promoting and facilitating pub accommodation bookings across the UK. However, our referral business model saw friction in the user journey blocking conversions as users were being taken to external sites to complete their bookings.

Our aim was to improve the user journey for visitors and conversion rate for member pubs.

Guided by insights from Hancock & Rowe's User Behaviour Audit (https://lnkd.in/eMtKCeQD) and with the support of web developers, Branch and technology provider TXGB (Tourism Exchange GB), our platform now has an end-to-end booking feature that has been thoughtfully integrated into our existing brand and website to create a much smoother experience.

The new and improved booking flow went live at the end of 2024 and the plan is to roll out throughout 2025. The project has now expanded to work around refining the UX and UI taking into consideration the new flow and past learnings and informed by our SEO and content strategy.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

New booking flow implemented. Adjustments to take into consideration learnings at testing stage. Improvement in conversion goals. 

44 recommendations made for improvements

New page designs to assist conversions

119 insights delivered into user behaviour

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

It has been an absolute pleasure working with the team at Hancock & Rowe, Their expertise has given us new-found confidence in our booking journey, enabling us to better support our pubs in today's challenging market. They consitenty deliver on time, are always available to disucss our service challenges and work collaboratively to strategize solutions that meet the needs of both our users and our business.

What was your primary form of communication with Hancock and Rowe?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They're incredibly personable, excellent attention to detail and always proactive. They take all the pain out of the need to track progress on meeting project objectives. As a small team, this has been a fantastic help for us.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Hancock and Rowe could have done differently?

I can't think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Manager of GoodOaks Homecare

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provide bespoke visiting and live-in homecare.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Hancock and Rowe to accomplish?

• Create a better user journey for users on our website
• To refresh the design of our website

SOLUTION

How did you find Hancock and Rowe?

Referral

Why did you select Hancock and Rowe over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Hancock and Rowe were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

To design a new homecare website that reflected our brand, our values and the services we provide. The website had to be easy to use, direct users to their local branch and encourage people to get in touch to find out more. Our aim was to increase conversions on the website for each local branch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still in the early stages of gathering data to determine if conversions have increased since going live. We have had brilliant feedback from clients, our care professionals and our branch owners to say how great our new website looks and how you can really get a feel of the brand just from using our website.

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

Hancocke and Rowe were great in terms of realistic lead times, and honest and open communication throughout. They always took on board our feedback and were quick to respond to any emails or questions we had.

What was your primary form of communication with Hancock and Rowe?

Virtual Meeting

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

How much time and effort went into understanding the sector as a whole.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Hancock and Rowe could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CTO of MYSA Global, a hospitality exchange company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hancock and Rowe?

Our platform was built around connecting service companies with corporate clients. We needed a vendor that could help us develop a digital audit application to audit all the properties that go into our system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The deliverables for this project were a client web page, an admin interface, and a mobile app. Hancock and Rowe handled all of the designs for these three platforms, which included icons, colors, and user workflows. They used Adobe XD to create the designs.

We started the engagement process by discussing who our target audience was, what the application was about, and what sort of customers would be working on the administration.

What is the team composition?

We worked mainly with Jason (Owner & UX Director) from Hancock and Rowe.

How did you come to work with Hancock and Rowe?

I chose Hancock and Rowe for this project because of their pricing and because I thought we had the best chemistry with them compared to the other vendors we talked to. We also appreciated how flexible Jason was and how excellent he was at what he does.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around £18,000 (Approximately $22,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April 2021–February 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don't really have metrics because the products haven’t been launched yet. However, we’re definitely happy with the look and feel of the products they delivered.

How did Hancock and Rowe perform from a project management standpoint?

Hancock and Rowe was excellent in terms of project management. They met all of our expectations and delivered everything on time.

We primarily communicated through Slack and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were most impressed with the speed at which Hancock and Rowe delivered what we asked for. They were also great at thinking about scenarios and opportunities that we might not have thought of.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we have no complaints. The entire engagement was incredibly smooth, and I’d be happy to work with them again.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to listen to them because they really know what they’re doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a company called The Wine Box Merchant. We buy and sell authentic wine boxes and champagne crates.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hancock and Rowe?

We needed them to create our website and design our logo and fliers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hancock and Rowe developed our website from scratch. I provided them with the content and they just incorporated it into the site. Additionally, their team designed our logo and fliers. They continue to support us with their web maintenance services.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with one web developer and one graphic designer from their team.

How did you come to work with Hancock and Rowe?

I knew Jason (Founder & Director) because we worked together on a previous project. I trusted his services, so it was an easy decision to hire his team for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent under £10,000 (approximately $14,000 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve just launched the website, so there aren’t any reliable metrics yet. However, Hancock and Rowe’s work looks promising — we’ve received great feedback so far. They’re a professional team who work with me well, providing good solutions and applying positive changes.

How did Hancock and Rowe perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate via email. Hancock and Rowe’s project management approach is impressive — they’re a responsive team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hancock and Rowe has the ability to listen to our needs. They’re also a very experienced team in their field of expertise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything off the top of my head.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a good grasp of what outcomes you want to achieve. We’ve had a positive experience with Hancock and Rowe’s team because we provided them with that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer for an AI writing assistant company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hancock and Rowe?

We hired them for overall branding, logo design, brand guidelines, and marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hancock and Rowe designed a website from scratch. We provided the copy and they handled the imagery, visuals, color, and layout. In addition to the branding work, they developed a logo for us.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a branding expert and UX expert.

How did you come to work with Hancock and Rowe?

I reviewed a few different designers, maybe three or four, and selected them on the strength of their previous work.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from January–February 2021, but we are furthering our partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

People love the website and it has had an incredibly high impact. It fulfills the creative brief and a lot of really clever concept work went into it, so we’re very happy with the results and the output they delivered.

How did Hancock and Rowe perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very proficient and professional. The communication was over email, Slack, and telephone. They used Harvest for time tracking and they used a combination of  G Suite for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of thinking that went into the content and the end result were of very high quality. They went above and beyond.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there is nothing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They do a good job of onboarding and you’re in good hands.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Pulling Together Kent. We make scrub bags for all care workers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hancock and Rowe?

We originally engaged them because we needed a logo.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hancock and Rowe created a logo to be used on the back of the bags, as well as for Facebook and a URL image. They also designed and developed a website, completely from scratch, and provided all of the content for us. For the distribution of the bags, they made certificates so that we could give one to everybody who helped in making the bags.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people.

How did you come to work with Hancock and Rowe?

One of the volunteers recommended them and we invited them because of how big our group was. They became part of the team and involved in the project.

How much have you invested with them?

Hancock and Rowe actually didn’t make a profit off of this. They just volunteered to help.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in May 2020 and wrapped up that September.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All of the work they did was absolutely spot on. A lot of our elderly users found the site a lot simpler than trying to scroll through Facebook. Also, some of the comments from the staff were also positive and they found it easy as well. We were able to arrange a courier that came from across the UK. Because of Hancock and Rowe’s work, people knew that we were there for them.

How did Hancock and Rowe perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed fantastically. There were no missteps or misinformation of any kind. If they needed something, they asked and we gave it to them. That’s why they came to our monthly meetings; so they could be apart of it and know what was going on. Then, they were able to figure out what the best next steps were. They’re brilliant.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hancock and Rowe were amazing. They were at the meetings to listen to what we needed and they acted on it for the good of the community. They were involved rather than just sitting on the surface, waiting for information to come to them.  I think they worked really hard and served their community flawlessly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think there are.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Allow them to come on board and actually talk to them. Communication is key; you need to make sure that you’re allowing them to have good discussions with you because that’s the only way they’ll ever know what you need.