Jacob Tyler

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Ullman Sails International. We're a licensing and brand management company for sail-making companies around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jacob Tyler?

We had an outdated website and as an international brand, we needed an international website that could direct users to our local loft locations. In addition to a main brand website solution, we wanted to create a subdomain template for all of our locations worldwide.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Through full-stack design and development, they built the website on WordPress. In order to link web-users with our loft location, Jacob Tyler designed a loft locator map. It’s essentially a worldwide directory of our representatives that enables customers to find the closest loft to them. They also created a blog that we could post content too and profile the expertise of our people as well as our products.

The other aspect of their work was the creation of a subdomain template. This template allows us to control our digital footprint by easily creating location-specific websites that are intuitive and on-brand. Additionally, template helps ensure we have a consistent aesthetic and web presence worldwide.

What is the team composition?

We worked with their CEO and one developer.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

Les [CEO, Jacob Tyler] had been a guest speaker in one of our marketing coordinator’s college courses. So we looked at Jacob Tyler when we started getting estimates from different web companies. We then met with Les and his team and they were extremely engaging. They had clearly done research on our current web presence and were able to provide ideas and solutions within that initial meeting. Considering they immediately understood our brand, we were confident they could produce the results we needed.

How much have you invested with them?

The total project cost around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took place June 2015–June 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve experienced a significant increase in unique visitor traffic since the redesigned main site and subdomains launched.

How did Jacob Tyler perform from a project management standpoint?

They responded quickly to any question and were generally organized and timely. After sending them a list of items that need addressing, they’d reply with a comprehensive email or even call to talk through the issues. We also used Basecamp to efficiently communicate info to developers as they built the site. This approach allowed Jacob Tyler to keep the project moving and they even delivered the website earlier than promised.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with how quickly Les and his team grasped the voice and aesthetic of our brand. When designing the look and feel of the site, they took extra steps to understand the company’s history and traditions. This enabled them to revamp our brand with modern technology and design principals while remaining true to the company’s origins.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have no recommendations, it was easy doing business with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the marketing manager at Out of Africa Wildlife Park, an animal theme park in Arizona. Located about an hour north of Phoenix and 30 minutes south of Sedona, we educate, entertain, interact, and provide a variety of tours, encounters, and shows that provide our guests with a unique experience different from a typical zoo.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jacob Tyler?

The owners signed a hefty contract with a full-service marketing agency that did not deliver. Additionally, our website was archaic and managed by a separate 3rd-party provider who was not timely with update requests. We sought out an agency that could build a robust website for us – backend and front end – using WordPress, thus allowing us to manage content internally and in real time. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided a list of all the pages and secondary/subsequent pages needed for the website. They put forth a plan with a hierarchy and templates, which showed us how the flow would work. This process also opened up new avenues of opportunity we had previously not even imagined. And again, the editing capability in WordPress. Jacob Tyler trained us on how the content management worked. We saw traffic increase once the site went live and SEO was introduced into the equation. They also worked closely with us to identify keywords that would help us target the appropriate audience.

What is the team dynamic?

Sophia [Digital Producer, Jacob Tyler] is our interim project manager. She has worked with us for only a couple of weeks now, but is already doing an excellent job. Previous to her, we had a long-time manager, Amanda [Senior Brand Manager, Jacob Tyler] who was wonderful.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

The owners were nervous to take on a new agency after their previous bad experience. However, we still needed a new website, and a colleague of ours recommended Jacob Tyler.  We spoke directly with the owner, Les, and he gave us a proposal that was very reasonable for the scope of work. It started with the website. They built our confidence with that, so we inched our way into other projects. We've seen more deliverables and ROIs [returns on investment] from them, but we are always selective about the projects we outsource.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend roughly $100,000 a year with Jacob Tyler, another $40,000 indirectly. Every new dollar spent has always brought a significant ROI.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began work with them in June 2013, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We review our Google Analytics closely, and we’ve been able to fine-tune our target audience. Our sales conversions are up in quality and quantity. Our online audience last year was about 55% repeat business and 45% new customers. This year, we’ve seen 72% new customers and 38% repeat business. That’s a significant increase in the number of people coming to the park for the first time. Jacob Tyler is doing a fantastic job attracting new people, and have really upped our game.

How did Jacob Tyler perform from a project management standpoint?

Through our partnership, all of our account managers have been very good, and always with an open channel of communication. With each new manager comes a bit of a lag time as they come up to speed on our account. In most cases, they had some familiarity with our account before assuming the lead role.  

This scenario sometimes creates a learning curve for both OOA and Jacob Tyler, but we understand we are not their only client and change is a constant. They need adequate production time, and we’ve had to adapt by balancing our irregular schedule. We’re a seasonal business, so we have to be as efficient as possible during the off-season. They do well working with us, in spite of our variability. They understand the dynamics and the psychology at play.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team at Jacob Tyler has always been very creative and flexible to our needs. They have excellent, innovative ideas but aren’t hurt or insulted if we can’t or don't use them all. We work well together because they understand the uniqueness of our business. Knowing when to take a leadership role and when to be sensitive to the politics of a dynamic environment has given us confidence in the decisions we make.

For example, they showed us that retargeting ads would grow conversions over time, and helped us be patient. That guidance did, in fact, lead to substantial online sales increases, so their coaching and counseling is a great strength.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While I consider our communication very good, it's something that can always be improved. In particular, prioritizing projects to better work within our retainer and regularly updating that list. It's a good sign when you have to think this long and hard about areas where they can improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are recognized as one of the premier general contracting firms in the United States since 1930’s, specializing in planning, building and managing facilities in every building sector, including healthcare, aviation, higher education, federal and justice. I’m a virtual design and construction (VDC) manager. I manage the integration between technology and our operations and work with several groups within the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jacob Tyler?

Our website was outdated. We needed to refresh the landing page. Our website didn’t serve the purposes of stating our goals, showcasing our portfolio, attracting better talent, or giving access to news in an intuitive format.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Jacob Tyler team worked with us through wireframing, design development, web development and QA/QC process. Our website is developed on WordPress. Jacob Tyler did both backend development and frontend design work.

What is the team dynamic?

The team dynamic was amazing. We had open lines of communication throughout the process which ultimately helped us get our job done effectively. We worked with Les [CEO, Jacob Tyler], Amanda [Senior Brand Manager, Jacob Tyler], Rami [Senior UX Designer, Jacob Tyler]. We also had a web development team that joined the group during the later phases of the project.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

We approached a number of companies in the industry. We went through the RFP process and selected Jacob Tyler. Their proposal was impressive and complete for what we needed. They did good research on our profile, our website, and what we needed and didn’t need. They were a good fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested over $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2016 until May 2017. They still help in some capacity.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are seeing better results on our website. We ended up with a more enhanced site than we anticipated. We created expectations with our goals and targets. Jacob Tyler went beyond expectations in exceeding our goals.

How did Jacob Tyler perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. I’d give them an A++. From the beginning, they had a good schedule, good budget assigned to this project, and a good breakdown of numbers. Amanda and her team ensured that we stayed on schedule and on budget and that we hit the milestones. In the design process, ideas evolve and needs change. We were demanding more for the process, but Amanda did a good job of ensuring that the schedule was met while incorporating our needs. We had project management tools and charts.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like their design process, which was flexible. Their project management team was good with the tools they used. The people they have are talented. The most impressive element is that we had fun working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust the team. Trust their people. They are really good at what they do. They understand the ins and outs of how web development works. This team has seen this industry more than anybody else. They understand the business and what it takes to get things done.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I am the owner and president of a distillery in San Diego. The primary spirits we make are vodka and vodka infusions. Though we don't make flavored vodkas, we infuse them with locally sourced ingredients such as cucumber, coffee, and pepper.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Jacob Tyler?

It was everything. We were marketing a new brand from scratch. We needed to create the brand, the packaging around the brand, the marketing strategy, and the product positioning.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

The primary goal was to create locally produced vodka that had the San Diego feel and vibe. The first step was to sit down and come up with the basic branding, including the look and feel of the logo, the packaging, the shape of the bottle, the colors, and the overall brand concept. Our packaging and colors changed along the way to reflect the different infused vodkas. Jacob Tyler made branding boards where they put together sheets to conceptualize the different routes we could go with the brand. The process ultimately brought us to the name, "Contemporary Craft."

We also went through the process of determining what the brand story would be. Then we needed a website and advertisements. Jacob Tyler helped us figure out where we should advertise. They designed and delivered everything from the print ads for a few different local magazines, our social media, and our website. They handled everything soup to nuts as far as managing the brand. They helped us refine and figure out the product and company direction. We're now working with Jacob Tyler to help us with branding for a new space we recently purchased including its interior design pieces.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

I had seen some of their work in the past and was impressed with what they were doing. When I first sat down and talked to them, they had some really cool ideas about how to attack the market. They wanted more than just our business. They were really excited about delivering clever, out of the box ideas to build a brand in a market that's already saturated with big brands that have large advertising budgets. In addition to their expertise, I liked the fact that they were excited about digging in and figuring out ways to differentiate our brand.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We've spent about $100,000-$150,000 over six or seven years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them October 2010 and have been working together ever since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We’ve gotten exposure in the media, but it’s hard to track that directly back to sales because we’re such a small company.

How did Jacob Tyler perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve been assigned to different project managers over the years and some have been better than others. We’ve always had a project manager and sometimes it’s been Les [Owner, Jacob Tyler]. They use a project management system called Basecamp to manage what's going on. It's easy for me to go on there and post something I need. Not only does the project manager receive my emails, but also whoever else might be working on the project. It allows us to stay in the loop and make sure we're all in check. In the beginning, we were working with a team of two or three people, a project manager, and some design folks. There have been a few times where we've had bigger marketing pushes where we brought in a few more people to help to ad copy and other tasks. They've always been really good at being responsive to us. They've always managed to turn things around and get it done when I come to them with such a last minute project. They jump through hoops for us.

What distinguishes Jacob Tyler from other providers?

They’re really invested in the brand. We’ve gotten business from bars interested in selling our product because the Jacob Tyler staff talked to them about us. They really care. I'll regularly get calls from them about new opportunities for our brand or events where we should market our product. This isn't something that drives any revenue to them but they are still invested. They go above their call of duty.

Is there anything Jacob Tyler could have improved or done differently?

Their project management could be a bit more fluid. They're so eager to please that a lot of times they promise things that they struggle to deliver. We will then be slammed at the last minute trying to get something done. I would suggest that they have a bit more communication from their team about their real bandwidth.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The Swedish Program is a study abroad program for American colleges and university students affiliated with Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden. I’m the executive director and chairman of the board of trustees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jacob Tyler?

Our website was six or seven years old, and we wanted to develop a brand new website that would attract and lead to more students applying and enrolling our program. We had received feedback from former students and staff that we needed a new website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Jacob Tyler did the frontend design and backend development of the new website. We have students applying online so they developed all the necessary software for students to apply.

My point of contact and project lead was Sean Connacher and Les Kollegian. I also worked with the web designer and backend tech people who developed all the software.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

I live in San Diego and did a Google search for LA, San Francisco, and San Diego. I liked Jacob Tyler’s website the best. I had an in-person meeting with their development lead and was impressed. I met with Les Kollegian, CEO, and was very impressed with him as well. Their office was cool and given my demographic of college students, I wanted a website that was perceived as cool. They submitted proposals and I was extremely impressed with their presentation.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in May 2016 and the project was completed in October 2016. However, I am continuing to work with Jacob Tyler on other projects as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We immediately received great feedback on the website from prospective students, faculty, and study abroad advisors which is our main clientele. Our applications increased by almost 30%. The website was obviously a big success.

How did Jacob Tyler perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great at listening to what we wanted instead of trying to impose ideas. They sincerely wanted to hear what we thought we needed, but they were also proactive in suggesting their own ideas as well. The kickoff meeting entailed a conference call with our entire staff, including staff in Stockholm. I was, again, very impressed with their ability to listen.

What did you find most impressive about Jacob Tyler?

I was most impressed with their attention to detail and by their overall concern with our satisfaction. Whenever there were issues, they were addressed immediately. Their attention to detail, personalized care, and customized approach are what set them apart.

Are there any areas Jacob Tyler could improve?

I honestly cannot think of any areas where Jacob Tyler needs improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a cancer diagnostic company in Carlsbad, California, focused on research and development and clinical trials. I work on several projects as a project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jacob Tyler?

Since breaking off of a larger company and becoming our own individual company, we needed to create a new logo, our branding, and website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started off with a kickoff meeting. Jacob Tyler sat down and had an in-depth conversation with us to really understand what we do, how we do it, and what sets us apart. There were three gentlemen in the room for the kickoff, including the CEO, and they were very attentive. They asked great questions in order to understand what we were trying to accomplish as far as sharing how we stand out.

We are wrapping up the first phase of the project, which was the branding and logo. The ideas they came up with for the logos were fantastic. They were very thoughtful in the design and why they chose what they chose - the colors, the fonts, everything.

They also created a bunch of taglines that were wonderful. We were really impressed and very pleased with the outcome. Everyone across the board picked the same logo and loved it, so it was a really easy and enjoyable process.

We just signed an agreement for them to develop and design our complete website, so we can another kickoff meeting coming up. I had heard about another company that used Jacob Tyler to develop their website and the result was very impressive, so I'm excited to see what they can do for us.

There are several people on the entire team. The CEO of the company has been very hands-on. He's done a lot of the design work himself. He also has a writer that did a lot of the research for taglines. There was also another project manager that had a lot of input.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

I made the recommendation for them to bid on the project because I had heard of their work and have known of their CEO from fellow associates in our industry for years. We had several other vendors come to the table with other bids, but Jacob Tyler’s was the most comprehensive one. They’ve been doing this for a very long time, so I knew that they were very reputable and trustworthy.

How much have you invested with Jacob Tyler?

We’ve spent approximately $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first began working with Jacob Tyler in March 2017, and we'll work with them throughout the rest of the year to complete the website. They're already thinking of what they want to do, and I'm looking forward to getting started. The website should be done by October, if not sooner. After that, there will be more marketing materials to create since they're completing the branding guide. I completely trust them with everything.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We'll have more trackable data points after the website is complete. Then, we'll be able to track how many visitors it receives, what users are looking at, and which pages are successful.

Qualitatively, there has not been one negative comment about working with Jacob Tyler. They've really been on top of the project from day one. We love the work so far. It's been fun to share it with the company. The feedback has been great.

How did Jacob Tyler perform from a project management standpoint?

They use a program called Basecamp. It's a constant feed of discussions and projects. All the forms are in one place. You're given notifications when someone is discussing something on Basecamp - it's all connected and it's right there in front of you 24/7. These guys update it all the time. There's constant activity on it, so you can see that the whole team is on it, they're all working on it together, and everything is in one place, which is really nice.

What did you find most impressive about Jacob Tyler?

The personality of their CEO is especially engaging. You can tell he's energetic, creative, and on top of it. He has really good ideas that show his experience. He's extremely well-connected — everyone knows of him and loves his work. I'm thrilled that, as a group, we chose them because they've been spot-on since day one. It's been fun to work with them.

Are there any areas Jacob Tyler could improve?

At this point, I have no complaints.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We're a health care consulting firm that specializes in advising government, nonprofit, and commercial clients on health care-related matters. We have more than 300 staff members including dozens of subject matter experts on a myriad of topics.

What is your role at the company?

I am a principal, and director of strategic communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address with Jacob Tyler?

I came on board as a strategic hire in spring 2012 to help our company develop its communications business line. The first thing I recommended was a re-branding and total rebrand of our corporate website because it was sorely outdated.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Jacob Tyler was hired to completely overhaul and update our brand as well as the design of our website, our own developers were primarily responsible for the build out.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

We researched firms that could offer us the services that we needed and selected four to provide us with proposals and presentations. In the end, we decided to go with Jacob Tyler.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I think the total bill was around $98,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in June 2013 and finished in June 2014. Things would have moved along at a quicker pace if not for all of the cooks in our kitchen. We have two CEOs and they don't always agree, so it slowed down the whole project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project, and are there any metrics you can share?

The results have been great, the website has won several industry awards, but most importantly, both of our CEOs love the rebrand and the website. We are making some tweaks to it based on usability testing we did with our key audiences, but nothing too major.

How did Jacob Tyler perform from a project management standpoint?

Jacob Tyler offered a brand architecture that I thought was a wonderful exercise for mapping out all of our services and business areas, and how they all relate to one another and tie back to the core. That to me was special.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

They did not seem to have an editor on staff. Some of the doctors in my firm noticed grammatical errors in the rationale descriptions for colors or photos or fonts. It was internal, but our colleagues still took note of it.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was updated on October 11th, 2019, by the client. The original star ratings were: Overall - 5, Quality - 5, Schedule - 4.5, Cost - 5, NPS - 5. New content is below:

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your goals for this project?

My goals were:

1. to identify the firm's core values
2. to clarify the firm's mission
3. to develop a brand vision and voice
4. to design a corporate website as a modern brand-messaging platform aimed at our target audiences

SOLUTION

Describe the project in detail.

The 350-person firm was then led by the two cofounders who operated as "co-CEOs," but a larger committee weighed in on the decisions since many staff members enjoy longevity here. We began with Jacob Tyler conducting a brand audit and competitor analysis. Then they led a big workshop over two days to present findings to us and brainstorm as a group.

They then attempted to do a brand architecture to map out visually all of the firm's business lines and content expertise and service areas, but it became far too complex after several rounds and revisions (Jacob Tyler was wonderfully patient with us), and the cofounders decided to move forward without that map. Jacob Tyler then provided us with several logo designs and possible taglines.

Once the logo was agreed upon and we got consensus on the tagline, they then developed a comprehensive style guide that outlined everything from our brand personality, differentiators, voice, tone, tagline, creative rationale, brand mark with color and usage guidelines, photography style and guidelines, and the color palette and typography style and guidelines.

The next phase, which began in April 2014, was to design a new website based on our new brand guide, starting with the architecture and wireframes. Our internal IT dept. built it out in Drupal, and my team developed the content.

What was the team composition?

The vendor had different staff members involved for various tasks. Melissa Kaysen did the branding work, and a lead designer worked on the logo ideas. Others in the web design and development divison of Jacob Tyler worked closely with our web team and with my Communications team.

All the while, our team involved the two cofounders/co-CEOs, our 10 VPs, myself and other colleagues in Communications and Creative, along with other longtime staff members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received excellent feedback on our new website, and, incredibly, it seemed to please a majority of the business leads in my firm! Every expertise area and every service area had its own prominent place in the website's layout, and there was an area for case studies, a place for our mission and vision, a page for career postings and one for our federal and other contracting vehicles. Everyone was happy! That was a GIANT mark of success, and it exceeded my expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was effective despite the fact that they are on the west coast and my firm's headquarters is on the east coast. We used a collaboration tool for scheduling, etc.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I considered it a Herculean feat that they were able to come from their creative hub in CA to the buttoned-down DC area into a firm with federal contracts and a staff culture resistant to change, yet manage to sift through the differing views and personalities (of which there were a great many) to arrive at fresh ideas and a modern look and feel!

In other words, there was an ease with which they handled our public sector work even though they probably focus far more often on the more "glitzy" corporate projects.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only area of improvement that I'd suggest was to have a copy editor check for typos before the presentation of written documents to large groups of staffers.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We're a startup technology company that focuses in defense consulting for the DOD [United States Department of Defense] and other government agencies.

What is your position?

I am the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Jacob Tyler?

For some time we've been trying to transition into doing work in the private sector, in addition to our work in the public sector. The brand we had built was very focused on appealing to the government. We wanted to go through a rebrand that would allow us to market our services to commercial clients; however, we didn't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. It was a tricky situation where we had to navigate a brand that could achieve to both of our target audiences.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They rebranded us, redid our website, logo design, our marketing video – everything. They worked on all of our marketing materials, our white paper templates –anything that is customer facing.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

We asked for RFPs [request for proposals] from four local agencies. Originally, we thought the project was not going to be as extensive as it turned out to be. We went with Jacob Tyler because we felt they had the most technical skills, and the best ability to grow with us as our marketing needs evolved.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It was more than $100,000.

What was the timeline of the project?

The bulk of the work was completed in four months in 2014. However, the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What have been the results of the project? Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Our website was nominated for Best Website from ICANN last year. Their work was a huge benefit to us, business-wise. We've received so many compliments. Bidding for defense contracts is highly competitive, but our marketing is on par to company's four times our size. The credit for that goes with Jacob Tyler.

What distinguishes Jacob Tyler from other providers?

Two things stood out to me; I like how Jacob Tyler integrated with our team, and how when they give estimates, they tend to be spot on.

Is there anything Jacob Tyler could have improved or done differently?

No. In terms of a vendor or a business partner, they're the best I've ever worked with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for a large manufacturer of door hinges and locks. We've been in business for more than 30 years, and sell primarily to distributors. Traditionally, we have operated exclusively in the B2B [business-to-business] space. Recently, however we decided to enter the B2C [business-to-consumer] space and sell directly to customers.

What is your position and responsibilities?

I'm an operations manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business goal you were trying to achieve with Jacob Tyler?

We wanted to establish a separate brand for our B2C division. We asked Jacob Tyler to assist in this process. The new brand an online sales portal that would attract customers looking to buy door hardware online.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We had zero experience in the B2C world, so we approached Jacob Tyler to help us with everything we needed to be able to start selling to customers. This included everything from determining brand strategy, to finding our target audience, and designing our website.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

We looked around for a few local companies. We wanted to work with someone local because it's a little more hands-on, and we'd be able to meet with them face to face more often. We selected about 10 local candidates, and Jacob Tyler won out because of some of the brands they've brought to life. Also, they had more manpower, which was a big consideration for us.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The original quote was about $60,000 or $70,000. We went up closer to $90,000 or $100,000 to get the branding and the site launched.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had about a one-year gestation period before launch, and about nine months of that was just working on branding and brand identity. The last three months were spent on creative design and web development. The site launched in late November or early December 2014. The relationship is still ongoing now. We were on a retainer with them until about two months ago. They still do some branding work for us, but it's not as extensive as it was when we started. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Our sales have continually doubled month over month. We're starting to taper off now, but we're happy with where we're at right now. Starting out with Internet marketing, your site doesn't have any credibility with Google, so you're paying for all the traffic coming in. We're seeing returns now on our SEO [search engine optimization], and we're hoping to lower the overhead on the PPC [pay-per-click] pretty soon.

What distinguishes Jacob Tyler from other providers?

Jacob Tyler has been very professional. The thing that we like the most about them is their design aspect. The design was unique, and it really stood out from the pack. A lot of the Internet brand companies just offer you a one-size-fits-all template; however, Jacob Tyler had a really good idea for what story we should have for our brand, the look, the identity, and the feel. Jacob Tyler stayed engaged in a very professional manner throughout the project and after the launch.

Is there anything Jacob Tyler could have improved or done differently?

I believe they were going through some personnel changes during our project, so we had to switch project managers a few times, which was a little inconvenient. A couple of our smaller projects ended up getting delayed a little but, to their credit, they have tried to make it right with us, and we have no qualms about continuing to work with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work at Quantum Energy Storage. We create large-scale energy storage for micro-grid applications.

What is your position?

I am a senior software engineer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Jacob Tyler?

We wanted a way to show customers how our energy storage systems can integrate with a building. We hired Jacob Tyler to create a dashboard for us to show customers how our storage system can provide their building power. The dashboard would show what parts of the building were using the most energy, and how are storage systems were helping to offset that. Their interface allowed the client to see exactly what's happening with their energy use.

The reason we went with Jacob Tyler instead of working internally is because they had a quicker turnaround, and were more experienced with design and UI/UX [user experience/user interface]. They were able to complete the project in three weeks.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

The project was web-based, and had to be responsive on mobile phones. They provided wireframes, and that was the basis of our whole dashboard. We had the back-end technology ready to go, and then they provided the front end. They also provided about 15 different widgets that we could add on.

How did you come to work with Jacob Tyler?

We looked at a few options. Their website was the first one that jumped out at us because it was clean and put together well. When we met with Jacob Tyler, we saw their enthusiasm, and felt confident that they could pull off the job and do it well. You could just tell from our interactions with them that they were big league.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It was between $10,000 to $15,000.

What was the timeline of the engagement?

The project lasted only three weeks. We moved fast. We met with them and gave them all the information they needed for a discovery phase. We worked extremely efficiently to make that as fast as possible so they could do the design work as quickly as possible. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

We use the dashboard on a daily basis. When we give tours and presentations, we always show off the dashboard. It's a major selling point for us, as it gives a very appealing visual representation of what we're doing. 

What distinguishes Jacob Tyler from other providers?

I felt like we were talking to the whole company whenever we communicated with Jacob Tyler. I don't know if that's because they used the right project management software, but I felt like everything was addressed at some point with someone on their team. I didn't have to go find the right person in the company. The communication was very cohesive. 

We're planning to work with them on an upcoming branding campaign.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

It was totally on us to create the requirements of the project, which makes sense. However, as we've never done a project like this before it would have been helpful if they'd given us a few ideas of what we should be thinking about when providing that.