Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
I've had a lot of clients compliment us and say they like the website redesign, and they continue to read the blog posts we publish on a regular basis. The software vendor partners we work with are excited about some of the content we’re posting. It’s somewhat of an enhancement to their own marketing programs. The new website is getting noticed, and I think it’s getting noticed because it’s an ongoing, consistent effort, which helps us.
Using the content writers at LForm, we typically have one of our subject matter experts, consultants or support members come up with an idea and do a brain dump for 15 to 30 minutes with someone from LForm. They take everything, synthesize it, do additional research, and come up with what it should look like and how it should be presented. Then, they come back to us with a draft, we review it, and then publish it. Now we can focus more on the ideas and the content from a higher level. We do the same thing with our client testimonials, which makes it easy for our clients because it doesn’t take a lot of their time.
How did LForm Design perform from a project management standpoint?
I think LForm performs fairly well from a project management standpoint. We had a couple of challenges when they had some turnover, but that wasn’t necessarily their fault. Our original account manager was transferred, and then one person left, and now we have a new person. It was all short term. Unless you're working with a massive agency where there’s a lot of redundancy, you're bound to have that eventually.
What did you find most impressive about LForm Design?
I think the best thing has been the working relationship. For us, it really came down to being able to find somebody that can do most of the design, web development, and SEO stuff under one umbrella, and having the skill sets in-house to do so. It was also important that they be able to represent our brand the way we wanted. We wanted to keep our personality and the organization’s culture the way it was.
Our clients appreciate the personal touch brand that we’ve developed over the years. We wanted to make sure that our clients felt that we had their best interests at heart, and that comes through in the marketing, website design, and overall content. Of course, we’re looking for new business and new deals, and we want to bring in new leads, but we’re looking for that to translate into a long-term relationship with our clients.
Are there any areas LForm Design could improve?
The turnover they experienced was inconvenient, but we’re looking forward to this year and streamlining our process. They’re a relatively small firm right now, but they’re going to continue to grow their capabilities, which I think will make them better in the long term. There are certain things they just don't do natively, which is fine for us, but it may be an issue for other companies. For instance, they don't do videography elements, and I'm sure some of the bigger agencies take that into account. We don't need that much from videography, so it doesn't bother us.
The new layout highlighted the retailer’s offerings, directing more users to their pro-design service. Internal stakeholders liked that the layout was more informative without overwhelming customers with options. In the end, Lform Design’s project management skills kept the engagement on track.