The House London Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager at Jisc, and we’ve got about a thousand employees. We provide the UK National Research Education Network (NREN) with internet connection for every university and college, as well as technical services on top of that connection. It’s a half-and-half charity and government-funded.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The House?

I manage a product or service called Step Up that teams EdTech startups with universities in a more trusted way. As a result, we needed to build a website from scratch and that’s why we hired The House. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They basically did the majority of the build and design of our WordPress site. The House continues to provide ongoing maintenance. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Michael (Founder & CEO) and one other team member.  

How did you come to work with The House?

Jisc and The House have an ongoing relationship. Since the team has been contracted before by our company, it was an easy decision to engage with them. They’ve also been used by other departments within our company. 

How much have you invested with them?

For years worth of maintenance, we’ve spent $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working directly with The House in July 2020, and we continue to collaborate.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been really pleased with the platform — it’s pretty slick. Our site reflects the innovative and technologically advanced nature of the services that we are offering, so it’s something we are very happy with. It has also been a key tool for us to engage with startups. Overall, it has worked really well for us. 

How did The House perform from a project management standpoint?

Whenever I request something, they make an effort to fulfill it. Their communication skills are fantastic. Michael never seems too busy to respond and quickly takes action. 

We tend to have quarterly check-ins. However, if we’re commissioning a little bit of extra work on the side, we might have a couple of regular meetings to see how the work goes. That comes with pretty regular email contact too. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The House's customer service is very good, and they are a nice company to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything because they tick the boxes for us. There’s nothing that The House can’t do for us. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Michael is friendly and amenable, and as long as you’re the same, I think your relationship will be really good. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of an education company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We optimise the workflow and timetable for K-12 schools with our cloud based timetabling platform

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The House London Ltd. to accomplish?

• Create our brand identity

SOLUTION

How did you find The House London Ltd.?

Worked together before

Why did you select The House London Ltd. over others?

Company values aligned

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

• Create a logo and brand identity to provided brief
• Deliver vector files

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We recieved multiple options to choose from in a timely manner. When we decided on logo, subsequent tweaks and requests were delivered quickly.

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

Michael delivered on time. He was also proactive in checking in on other needs. 

What was your primary form of communication with The House London Ltd.?

Email or Messaging App

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

Their ability to deliver to the brief and in a timely manner

Are there any areas for improvement or something The House London Ltd. could have done differently?

There were no areas to improve whatsoever

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of a UGC review optimization company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Revolutionizing the UGC landscape to deliver reviews to the platforms where consumers are and where it matters the most for your brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The House London Ltd. to accomplish?

• Branding and website design

SOLUTION

How did you find The House London Ltd.?

Clutch Site

Why did you select The House London Ltd. over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from The House London Ltd. were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Website design
• Branding
• Motto
• Tagline
• Service description
• Logo

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our experience with the agency was great:

• They successfully designed our website and logo
• They delivered everything on schedule. 
• We were particularly impressed with the creativity and attention to detail in the design. 
• The marketing materials, including taglines and service descriptions, were thoughtfully crafted and aligned perfectly with our brand's vision. 

What was your primary form of communication with The House London Ltd.?

Virtual Meeting

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

The final results delivered by The House London Ltd. exceeded our expectations and left us thoroughly satisfied.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The House London Ltd. could have done differently?

nope

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the COO of Oslr

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The best doctors incorporate teaching into their practice. Oslr makes it easy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The House London Ltd. to accomplish?

• User centric design

SOLUTION

How did you find The House London Ltd.?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select The House London Ltd. over others?

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

How many teammates from The House London Ltd. were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The House really taught us the value of user centric design. Ensuring we really had a good understanding of our customers and defining priorities, before developing was key.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

An application built with the values of our doctors and students foremost from the start, has gone on to help train over 2500 medics.

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

The House London Ltd.'s staff took the time to understand our project. They delivered high-quality work on time every time.

What was your primary form of communication with The House London Ltd.?

In-Person Meeting

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

Personable, yet very professional team. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something The House London Ltd. could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at Educating Beyond Borders

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Educating Beyond Borders is an education not for profit company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The House London Ltd. to accomplish?

• To sell 5 new products in the next month
• A way to boost sales to recover financially from Covid 19
• How to market and sell our new products to raise the money we need to fund our work

SOLUTION

How did you find The House London Ltd.?

Referral

Why did you select The House London Ltd. over others?

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

How many teammates from The House London Ltd. were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

We approached Michael for help with our challenges of marketing and selling our new member product we have developed to recover financially from Covid 19 and generate cashflow to get us through the cost of living crisis and fund our work. We needed help to find the best way to connect with a new audience and target customer base we don't have a relationship with yet. We needed a way to boost our chances of successfully getting the sales we need within a very type timeframe - less than 1 month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a clear marketing strategy and suite of promotional material we have developed to help us sell our new product We have been promised access to 5 building sites across London to run our event to promote our new product We have received an offer to introduce us to 5 CEOs to buy our new product we are selling at the £1000 per unit price 

Michael has advised would be a more popular offer and better suited to our target market We have secured investor backing for our project opening 65 Clubhouses we will use to run events and offer our new product across London and the UK because of our investor has confidence we are able to competently market and sell our events and product.

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

Michael really took the time to patiently listen to what we had to say. Using his online diagnostic document to help brief him about our challenges and concerns we needed his help with was the best experience. 

His approach was very empathetic - he occupied uncomfortable space with us,allowing us to admit where we fall and fall short without making us feel badly about ourselves. He focused on what we do right and gave us a way forward that is authentic for us, that is a right fit for our brand we have grown painstakingly over 15 years.

What was your primary form of communication with The House London Ltd.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Michael is able to see our challenges of revenue generation in a very difficult economic climate as an opportunity for our business. He took the challenge level right down for us. He has left us fired up and excited for the future.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The House London Ltd. could have done differently?

The team is really amazing at what they do. Honestly - we don't know how he can do what he does any better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CFO of an International Business Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

International business

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The House London Ltd. to accomplish?

• Create a family of logos

SOLUTION

How did you find The House London Ltd.?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select The House London Ltd. over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fits our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from The House London Ltd. were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

Modify logo mockup and generate alternate versions, and refine the result. Deliverables were logo files, font and AI file

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Design success

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

Delivered on time, solid response to requests and ideas

What was your primary form of communication with The House London Ltd.?

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

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

We were pleased with their flexibility and prompt responsiveness.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The House London Ltd. could have done differently?

Not really

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Department Manager of an arts, entertainment & music company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Theatre Ticket Agent

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The House London Ltd. to accomplish?

• Redesign our logo
• Produce brand guidelines

SOLUTION

How did you find The House London Ltd.?

Online Search

Why did you select The House London Ltd. over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Could provide quick turnaround

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

We were looking to modernise and refresh our brand by updating our logo, and to solidify our identity a little more by producing brand guidelines, identifying fixed fonts and colours that we wanted to associate with our brand.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• We now have various new logos for use across web, email, social, as well as a doc of brand guidelines.

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

Feedback was taken on board and amendments made as needed, with very quick turnaround to accommodate the limited time we had to spend on this project. Calls were detailed to ensure that items were delivered to brief.

What was your primary form of communication with The House London Ltd.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I was impressed by the quick turnaround of the project and any needed amendments

Are there any areas for improvement or something The House London Ltd.  could have done differently?

In our case, no.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of (a/an) Design

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Interior Design and Brand Strategy

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The House London Ltd. to accomplish?

• repositioning of our brand

SOLUTION

How did you find The House London Ltd.?

Other

Why did you select The House London Ltd. over others?

• High ratings
• Company values aligned

What was the size of The House London Ltd.’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

5 individual sessions to assist with our internal brand strategy and positioning as well as our external offering

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Management team get together and discussion
• Ongoing discussions gathering momentum

What was your primary form of communication with The House London Ltd.?

Email or Messaging App

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

Very flexible with our needs. They were always on time and good listeners! (We often go off at a tangent)

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

Adaptability and breadth of knowledge

Are there any areas for improvement or something The House London Ltd. could have done differently?

It would be great to do a session in person!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for Claire House Children's Hospice as Head of Communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The House?

We wanted advice to develop our email marketing strategy. House were able to help us implement the first phase of our plan, and design some email marketing templates, so that the internal team can easily build their own mass emails.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

An agency we were working with put a message on a specialist forum. House were one of the agencies that came forwards for the job - after speaking to them, they were by far the most knowledgeable about the subject.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Working out the phases of the project, deciding on the best solution for the templates, testing them and signing them off internally.

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

Only one. Michael CEO and founder.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our first mass email using the new template goes out in June.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great communication, work done well and to schedule.

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

Michael obviously cares about the work and is very good at what he does.

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

None really, I hope to do more work with this agency in the future.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Marketing and Communications Director for a medium sized education charity, Action Tutoring. We engage volunteers to tutor disadvantaged pupils in English and maths. The tutoring is delivered through partnerships with schools. We are supported by over 2,500 volunteers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The House, and what were your goals?

Our website was beginning to look a bit tired, with some inconsistencies in design and layout. The previous build was small-scale. Our brand was also in need of a refresh. It had good recognition and the values were well embedded but needed updating to ensure it was reflective of the charity we had become and in line with our peers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We researched the agencies peer organisations had used. We also used recommended supplier lists from a couple of digital and communications charity sites. We shared our brief and received proposals from seven different agencies. The deciding factors were price, timescales, recommendations, previous work and how well they'd interpreted the brief.

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

The House reviewed our brief and outlined the project phases. We initially met once a week to discuss actions and progress. They designed the site map and wireframes, we fed back and refined them. They also ran a workshop for the brand scoping and proposed three different concepts.

Again we fed back to refine the designs. Once the build was underway we met less frequently but were kept updated via Google Docs. We drafted the content and uploaded to the new site. The House supported with finalising the design and functionality. They were also on hand for the launch and available to fix any bugs.

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

Michael was our main point of contact and worked closely with us throughout. He particularly focused on the design and structure. Later in the project we also worked with George on the website build and he supported with the technical queries.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't run any in depth analysis yet on the impact of the new site and brand. We'll wait for around six months to do this. Anecdotally we have received very positive feedback about the site and the brand from our team and our peers in the network.

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

The House was incredibly responsive and adaptable to our requests. We met regularly at the start of the project on video call and then corresponded over email and through Google docs as it progressed. There were some small technical challenges and staff absences, on both sides, which meant the project overran but we were all aligned on the new timescales.

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

A very personal approach, very responsive and an end result which we are incredibly proud of. Also good value for money.

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

It would have been interesting to spend more time on the brand scoping and reviewing the site map and pages to make sure it really resonated with our audiences, but appreciate that may have required more time and budget.