KO Websites, Inc.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Fairview Fire Protection District delivers fire protection, emergency, and medical services to the unincorporated area of our county. I'm the general manager.

What challenge were you trying to address with KO Websites?

One of the objectives we had as an organization was to be more transparent to our constituents. We wanted to build a website that would present our organization and its purpose to the community and meet our transparency requirements, so we were looking for a company with expertise in web development to help us with that.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted to be able to share our strategic plan, minutes of meetings, and budget on our website. We met with KO Websites and discussed our needs. After that, they presented a conceptual proposal to our board for review.

We went through a few iterations before we reached the final product. We were trying to meet a criteria established by our state association, which has a number of benchmarks. We didn't lay out the transparency requirements to KO Websites, but they did their own research and included the requirements in their proposal.

The website is designed in a way that meets all of the transparency standards and has a detailed contact page. In addition, they did some SEO work for us and continue to update the site when needed.

What is the team composition?

Their owner was our primary point of contact throughout the whole process. Now, if we have an issue, we send them a work order and whoever is available takes care of it.

How did you come to work with them?

We learnt of them by word of mouth. We wanted to find a local company that we could meet face-to-face. After our board of directors looked at their proposal, we decided they were a good fit for us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between May–August 2017.

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

They met all of our expectations in terms of design and we're very happy with the result. We've moved from being in the dark ages to having a transparent and functional website that is easy to use. We’ve already received positive comments from people in England and around the world.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

Their customer service is excellent. They delivered what they had promised and met all of our deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very responsive to feedback and interested in our project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we were happy with everything.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The name of the business is Ben's Roofing Incorporated, and we are based out of Oakland California. We are mainly a re-roofing contractor. I am the President.

What challenge were you trying to address with KO Websites?

Five years ago, when I started, I was trying to find a company that was small enough, yet could build a welcoming website with an industrial feel. A lot of companies that I talked to were too big and wanted the website to be more corporate, which I didn't like. When I met with Ken and his team, I explained to them that this is a startup company, and we only have one chance to draw some people to the website and convince them to stay on the site. I thought they did a phenomenal job with the first website, and since then we've reviewed and upgraded it. The upgrade is much better than the first one.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I provided all of the material to them, and communicated what I wanted to see on the website. I needed them to put it together as seamlessly as possible. They did a remarkable job with the information that they were presented. They know what they’re doing, and have made the process really easy for me.

Their biggest help was the placement of the information and photographs. I didn’t know what the homepage should look like, and KO Websites designed it. They also made sure that all of our listings on all of the free public listing areas are the same. I didn’t realize we were listed in so many different places. Whereas before, there were different phone numbers and addresses, any information about our business online is now consistent.   

A couple of years after the initial website launch, it made more sense to have search engine optimization and help draw people to the website. They compiled a list of keywords. There were certain words I didn’t want to focus on, and we added a few.  We've now at a point where we're actually turning customers away, because we're too busy to actually help them. We now receive more organic phone calls, both in the commercial and residential space, and I attribute this to the SEO.

How did you come to work with KO Websites?

I found them online just through a Google search. Their name kept appearing in different searches. I talked to about six companies at the time, before I decided on KO Websites. Part of it was that they were local. I wanted to be able to sit down with somebody and have that personal touch. I saw some of their work and they had already done websites for a few other contractors, not necessarily roofing. So, they had a very good idea of how the website should be laid out. They probably spent a little bit more time with me, in terms of walking me through the process and what the website could look like. Everyone else was more interested in signing the contract and then having that discussion. In contrast, KO Websites spent probably two hours during a meeting before I even decided to go with them. So, they made it really easy for me to select them as the company that would build my website and foster my brand.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2012 and the collaboration is ongoing.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested $11,000 annually.

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

I get a monthly report, which shows me a breakdown of what keywords are being used to find our website. It's a very detailed report. I read it to get an idea of any changes that need to be made, based on certain conditions. Going into the winter, we'll add and get rid of things to enhance the SEO. The report is a reminder to me of things that I need to watch for, and we stay in constant contact with them via e-mail if changes do need to be made.

How did KO Websites perform from a project management standpoint?

They are fantastic. Usually within 12 hours of when I send an email, somebody has already responded to my inquiry. If somebody is not in the office, emails get bounced around quickly, and I'll get a response from somebody else that I wasn't expecting. I've never had an issue communicating with their office by phone or email. In this day and age, that's critical, especially when we need to make a change to a website that needs to happen right away. It has been really easy to work with them.

What do you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service obviously stands out. I haven't worked with anybody else, so I don't have a very good point of comparison, but I don't have any complaints. I’ve never had an issue with my website. I've been very happy with what they've done. One reason why I continue to stay with them and invest the money that I do is because they provide me peace of mind knowing that I have somebody taking care that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Like I said, I don't have any complaints with the work that they've done for me. I really can't think of anything that they could do better.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Based in the Bay Area for more than 28 years, we provide IT Services & Products to a wide range of clients, including Government, Enterprise, Small and Medium Business and Non-Profit Organizations. Services include:

• IT Staffing
• Managed IT Services
• Professional IT Services
• IT Project Management & IT Consulting

As Business Development Manager I'm responsible for growing our footprint through new partnerships, new industry verticals, and all things marketing.  

What challenge were you trying to address with KO Websites, Inc.?

We were looking to outsource a portion of our web marketing strategy to free-up internal resources to concentrate on more strategic sales opportunities.

What were your goals for this project?

We're targeting small to medium size businesses and KO websites helped us craft our message and website to accommodate the type of customers we’re looking to engage online for more inbound leads.  

How did you select this vendor?

We found KO websites online after interviewing many similar firms. They were abundantly visible for the type of services we were looking for which is exactly what we needed. Overall project is 6-12 months.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The strategy as previously mentioned... we needed help optimizing our website and web strategy to target small and medium-size business. KO Websites optimized our website to maximize our search-abilty and match our services to the right client prospect.

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

We started seeing results right away with far more consistent traffic hitting our website.  This led to more inbound opportunities for grow the segment of business we had intended to pursue.  

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They did indeed cover the scope agreed to and are flexible with their services that suits our needs and hits their strengths.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We made the right choice picking KO Websites. We like working with them because we get a personal engagement with them which fits really well with our company culture.  That combined with their expertise makes a great partnership we'd like to continue.