Lion's Share Digital

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a company that manufactures thermally modified tonewoods for the manufacture of primarily fretted string instruments like solid-body guitars and basses

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Lion's Share Digital, and what were your goals?

The majority of our work is in major OEM sales. We do have to represent our product and capabilities to the industry at large. In doing so we do generate smaller sales to individual builders so the site had to be both informational and contain a functional store.

SOLUTION

How did you select Lion's Share Digital and what were the deciding factors?

We had seen prior work by Lion's Share Digital and it allowed us to judge that there would certainly be a fit. Lion's Share demonstrated a solid understanding of our fairly specialized market and an aesthetic we felt would represent us well. We are well acquainted with the principal at Lion's Share - communication went very well.

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

Lions Share was able to guide and assist us in providing the basic data underlying the website. They provided mock-ups and choices as far as structure and detail. The give and take were excellent and we feel the resultant website has served us well. We are about to engage in designing the next version of the site and look forward to working Lion's Share again.

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

The principal at Lion's Share managed to project. There were two other designers involved for specific aspects of the work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This website accompanied the start-up of the business and has been strong and flexible enough that only now do we feel the need for a new version - primarily to represent the change and growth of our product.

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

The principal at Tempered Tonewoods needs to be characterized as not very versed in all aspects of Internet Marketing and Sales. Lion's Share gently guided and introduced us to the required forms of long-distance co-op design and implementation.

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

Lion's Share did a great job on their side and was able to coach us through the content generation that was primarily the responsibility of Tempered Tonewoods. They were patient, but persistent when Tempered Tonewoods was slow providing required verbiage or pictures. They always maintained a feeling of confidence and a sense of humour.

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

Lion's Share did a great job of "managing" a fairly illiterate client, Tempered Tonewoods. We look forward to making their job easier next time. Lion's Share is a great web design and marketing company.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the creative services manager at a B2B software company providing software and services to public and academic libraries around the world.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lion Share Digital?

We were looking at a lot of rebranding this year and decided it was time to change things up on our website as well, so we brought on a partner to help us with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team handles full-stack web development as well as creative for our branding and design. The site is built in WordPress, and they have primarily focused on increasing usability, both for our customers as well as for us through the backend infrastructure.

They also worked on translations for the pages in order to help us expand our market reach and other design changes for both web and print. Those deliverables have included infographics, advertisements, and other choices regarding the layout of features and information on the site.

What is the team composition?

I interact with Jesse (Founder) and Alicia (Content Manager) the most.

How did you come to work with Lion Share Digital?

Our VP of marketing had worked with them at a previous company and was very happy with their performance on that project, so she recommended them to us as well.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around January 2019 and are continuing to work with them on development and maintenance work on retainer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any specific analytics, but I do know that there has been a significant improvement in responsiveness and our ability to reach out to our customers on mobile. We’re very satisfied with the quality of all of the work that they have delivered so far.

How did Lion Share Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Their management of the project has been very good. Alicia is always on target and communicates well to make sure we meet all of our deadlines. They are easy to reach, and responsive to any questions or requests that come up throughout our work together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have been extremely accommodating to us. We have a lot of fast demands and needs that require pretty quick turnaround, but they have never shied away from a challenge. They are always there alongside us to figure out a solution, from the troubleshooting process to building the solution to suit our specific needs.

I’ve also found them to be extremely knowledgeable of marketing trends, so they have served as great advisors when it comes to questions I have on usability and design aesthetic best practices.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve already shown improvement in their QA process, which was something we worked with them on and have been pleased by the results of so far. They’re a small team and we give them a lot to do, so their willingness to work with us on those kinds of deliverables is still a net positive to our team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Maintaining good communication and consistently being upfront and honest will really set you up well to be successful down the line in the rest of your work together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the brand manager for the Summer Meltdown Festival, an annual event that takes place outside of Seattle, Washington.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lion’s Share Digital?

We have a pretty aggressive marketing schedule to sell tickets, taking place from October through August, when the event happens.

We relied on Lion’s Share Digital to help us create compelling visual materials for the event. Since we market almost exclusively online through visual content, we needed a high-quality vendor who could understand our unique goals and needs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When they came on with us, there had been a falling out our previous brand manager and the producers of the festival. Our old website — with its high-ranking search performance — needed to be quickly replaced. Lion’s Share Digital built a new WordPress website for us and conducted SEO to supplant that website. After establishing the site’s infrastructure, they executed the proper data migrations.

One of the interesting needs in festival marketing is to list information about all of the 40+ lineup acts who are performing. We specifically requested a data entry feature that allows us, as admin, to list artist click-throughs to artists’ individual pages. The lines of the interactive line-up that the artists are on are particularly important because artists’ managers are incredibly specific about that.

They provided training to myself and our staff so that we could make updates to the site without the developer’s assistance. Even then, they maintained and executed the necessary updates for what they had built.

Lion’s Share Digital also designed poster graphics, which were then transposed onto a plethora of marketing assets. These included the website, physical print materials, individual artist graphics for all the artists on our lineup, announcement graphics for event features, and wristbands for our festival. They designed everything, laid it out, and got it to us in a timely manner.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a small team of around 3–4 people. We worked with Jesse (Owner) when creating the core pieces of art and website structure. We also worked heavily with their graphic designer. They delegated their tasks efficiently within their team, depending on the needs they were addressing for us.

How did you come to work with Lion’s Share Digital?

I came across them through a mutual friend who had done another project with Jesse. In our industry, it’s often difficult to find a reliable provider of compelling visual content. I was impressed by their previous work and how they were familiar with the music space. They quickly understood the importance of our marketing materials and were sensitive to our unique needs.

How much have you invested with them?

I’m not in charge of billing, so I can’t speak to an exact number. I’d guess that we spent above $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October of 2014. We transitioned away from working with them in February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They successfully and very quickly supplanted our old website, which was giving the false impression that the festival wasn’t happening. They paid high attention to getting our graphics right in order to accurately represent our festival. As a result, their visual output was very powerful and compelling.

We sold more tickets than ever before, and we can credit that to our website and our excellent visual representation on social media. That trend continued throughout their time with us.

How did Lion’s Share Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive, and they were willing to use our task management tool to interact with us. They adapted to the way we work in order to communicate most efficiently with us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It felt amazing to work with Lion’s Share because they’re a company that values the humanity of their employees and partners. They take time to foster strong personal relationships. I don’t often see their level of understanding and care with other partners, especially in the music industry.

I’ve also come to greatly admire Jesse’s values and ethics as a person. He’s a legitimately good human being, and his company reflects the importance of taking good care of clients and employees. It’s nice to direct money to people who operate on that level.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were a great fit for this project and did an excellent job. The choice to move on from them was not my choice, and I can’t think of any specific improvements to suggest.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate in defining the necessary structures and identifying how to communicate best with your organization. Laying out the parameters for communication and follow-up will allow them to best support you. Their ability to participate in structure creation to make the collaboration successful is one of their strong points.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Antone’s Record Shop. We’re a small, locally-owned record store that’s been around since 1987.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lion's Share Digital?

We had an outdated website that hadn’t been updated in over 10 years. We asked Lion’s Share to help redesign an e-commerce site. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In our initial meeting, we went through what we expected from the project. There were a lot of updates that needed to be implemented, including a mobile-friendly option and a secure payment system. We also needed the ability to regularly update our inventory. 

After doing a lot of research on the best solution, the Lion’s Share team got us running on a Shopify platform, which they customized extensively. We asked them to take our point of sale system, with around 6,000 items, and give us the ability to export those items onto our website. The point of sale system was an older software, so that presented some curveballs. 

What is the team composition?

I work directly with three people: Jesse (Project Lead), Alicia (Project & Content Manager), and a designer. 

How did you come to work with Lion's Share Digital?

I searched on Google for a while and read about a lot of different companies. I really wanted to work with someone local to Austin, and I saw that while they hadn’t done a store similar to ours, they seemed to be tied in closely with the Austin community and the music community specifically. 

When I first contacted them, they weren’t just responsive but enthusiastic. It turned out to be the best fit possible.

What is the status of this engagement?

I initially contacted them last spring or summer. We’ve been working together since January, and the whole project took about four of five months. The new site is live, but we’re still refining and tweaking certain things, so we’re still working with Lion’s Share.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site launched two weeks ago, and we’ve already seen an increase in sales and mail orders. We’re probably doing at least double what we used to online. We’re also able to now monitor analytics, which is data we didn’t have access to before.

Even after we launched, Lion’s Share didn’t just move on — they’ve stayed on board to follow through with everything and make sure we’re happy. 

How did Lion's Share Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great. I’ve been totally blown away by their organized nature and professionalism. They’ve made me feel comfortable throughout the whole engagement. I’ve thrown them a lot of curveballs, and if there’s ever something they don’t know the answer to, the team spends a lot of time researching the right solution. 

Lion’s Share has addressed every concern we’ve had, and they’ve done so in a timely manner. They’re incredibly dedicated, professional, and easy to work with. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re just incredibly dedicated. Lion’s Share really cares about the work that they’re doing. They want to make their clients happy. Whenever they reach any sort of challenge, they dig in and take the time to come up with a solution that really works.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really can’t think of anything that I’d like to see them do differently. I’ve been so happy all the way through, and I’m glad we’re still working together.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a plan for what you think you might want, and then listen to Lion’s Share’s suggestion and feedback. You’ll learn a lot from their experience, and they’re going to do a really good job for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and head of partnerships at a full lifecycle design, development, and experience agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lion’s Share Digital?

We’ve worked with Lion’s Share Digital from the inception of the company. They help add horsepower and capacity to my existing team. They took on tasks and projects that would have required hiring additional talent for a short time. I would have to take a risk hiring someone from the street, but Lion’s Share were experts in some of the fields I needed help in.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve utilized a range of services, but primarily there’s been some design work, whether it was brand realization, enhancements, extension, or consulting.

There’s also been WordPress design, development, and site implementation. If one of our clients needed to extend their website by five or so pages, we could get Lion’s Share. We’d give them the concept, and they’d work through it in the room with me. There were also circumstances when a new business or an existing business would come in and say they wanted a whole new website with a new vision. Lion’s Share would be my teammate in that situation and help take that project all the way across the finish line.

There was also some general consulting around customer conversion, getting people on board and catching their eye to gain additional impressions. They didn’t just bang on keyboards; it was more full-spectrum service. Not only will they do what you ask, but they’ll also give their opinions based on their experience and knowledge to enhance your pre-existing ideas. They’re active participants rather than order takers. I work in a space where I appreciate that.

What is the team composition?

I’ve probably worked with everyone on Lion’s Share’s team since we’ve given them a broad range of asks over the years. Primarily, I work with Jesse directly because of our friendship outside of work. We have a good rapport that allows us to be honest with each other.

I’ve also enjoyed working with Alicia, who is Jesse’s right-hand, from my perspective. I’ve worked with Alessandra, who is their primary design resource. She’s an absolute Rockstar. There’ve been multiple times when I could have worked with other designers but ended up going to Lion’s Share because Alessandra was available. We love her speed, eye for detail, creativity, and execution.

How did you come to work with Lion’s Share Digital?

I’d worked with them before for four years at my previous company, a development company. They would execute on portions of larger deliverables I was responsible for. When I came over to my current company, I brought them over.

I trust them to deliver up to my standards, as well as my business’ reputation. When I assigned tasks to them, I had complete comfort and peace of mind that they would be handled properly based on my existing relationship with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent around $150,000–$200,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve typically used them to enhance my in-house team, handing over a number of deliverables and having complete confidence that they’re going to be delivered as if I had managed them myself. Because of that, my business was able to take on more capacity and larger projects than I actually had.

They acted as a backbone to scale and enhance my existing in-house team. Whenever I needed that additional talent, they were there to put gas in my gas tank. I could turn them on or off when needed. This allowed me to tailor my business development and marketing around a larger capacity.

How did Lion’s Share Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Maybe this is because of our unique relationship, but I’ve been welcomed into their project management software. It empowers me as a partner business and customer with them to see what’s happening day-to-day. I can comment, drag tickets, and see when things are delivered. I gained the trust to reach out to his team members directly ad ask for needs, wants, inputs. Having visibility into the project status and the ability to ask questions is great.

We have Slack, Asana, and Basecamp at our disposal. I’ve never had a challenge accessing the status of my project in the pipeline.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everyone is like-minded, self-motivated, and has a level of expertise and care for their work that’s built-in. This makes collaborating on projects easier than it would be in other environments. We all have a desire to produce good work and not cause problems along the way. We’re all there for the same purpose. When you have that shared mentality, it’s easy to work with someone. There’s zero dead weight at Lion’s Share.

Beyond their dollar value is the peace of mind they afford me. I knew them beforehand, and therefore had less risk for them, but after working with them they earned my business again based on their consistent performance and delivery. By hiring Lion’s Share to take on some level of work, I was able to sleep at night knowing things were handled. And that is more valuable than dollars.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This might fall outside of their scope, so it’s not really a criticism, but sometimes I wish they had more capabilities other than WordPress. That’s not a fault of theirs, but just my desire as a partner business. I wish there was more that I could partner with them on. They definitely have their nice, though. Anything else I could say would be nit-picking.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

By hiring Lion’s Share you’re gaining access to a team that is going to be honest with you. They have the best intentions and won’t spoon you along. They’ll tell you if something is a bad idea or inaccurate. For me, I think there’s a lot of value in that. A lot of people could provide their services, but that level of honesty can be hard to get elsewhere. They’re true team-members and collaborators. I value how they bring their 25 + years of collective experience as a team to the table.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Beats Antique is a music performance art group. We specialize in producing art through performing live music, playing festivals, making digital content and teaching.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Lion's Share Digital?

Our Manager, Jesse Brede is the founder of Lion’Share Digital. We use Lion’s Share Digital to fulfill our digital marketing/graphic cohesion to attract more users to our Brand and our performances.

What were your goals for this project?

To increase our Brand attraction and assist in digital marketing needs

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Was recommended by another artist.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Collecting assets, creating media based on those assets. Transforming the assets to tell our story from our voice. They work well with clients to really hone in on the goals and artistic aspirations combined with smart marketing tools and ideas.

What was the team composition?

We work directly with Founder, Jesse Brede. There are a few different specialists they will bring on to our team depending on what our needs and goals are.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our digital presence is cleaner and more focused. This cleanliness allows for fans to engage with our project right from the start, and the systems they put in place have helped us to continue to build and attract more fans as well as keeping them around.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Wonderful. They listen and execute!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Attention to detail, knowledge of trends and looks that are ever changing and emerging. Getting the job done within budget and on time!

Are there any areas for improvement?

We have stuck with them for many years due to their ability to keep us moving forward with our marketing. No complaints here!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a producer for a design studio. We do design and help with the execution on large-scale brand events, musical artists, touring stages, and everything in between festival stages.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lion’s Share Digital?

We needed a website that would help us define our vision for potential clients coming to visit. We wanted a slick and clean website that was beyond our scope of skill sets.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a specific aesthetic we were looking for, so we created visuals for them and they transformed them into working deliverables. Lion’s Share Digital created a homepage and organized our portfolio page. They created more contact options on the site for users to be able to get in contact with us.

Since we had a large amount of video and photography content from previous projects, they helped to integrate those and figured out how to best highlight them. They developed it through WordPress and used some other applications.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Jesse (Founder) and Alicia (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Lion’s Share Digital?

We connected with them through our network.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $5,000–$7,500 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January–August 2017. Since then, they’ve been available to help with any questions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received tons of compliments on our site and many people asked for referrals. They also submitted our website for a design award.

How did Lion’s Share Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

It was easy to communicate with them and they responded quickly. They were so patient and adaptable to our own design process. There was constant support from their end and they were always on top of things. They delivered on time, stayed consistent with our timeline, and even pushed us to meet our dates. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were originally wary because previous companies we hired were loose and inconsistent. Lion’s Share Digital immediately put us at ease because they were so friendly and professional. They were very knowledgeable but were also laid back about it.

It was important to them that we were happy with the results. They were in it for the client and were willing to do whatever needed to be done. There was never a question about timing or the amount of effort. We have no complaints and were really pleased with the process. They were able to work with creative agencies, and not everyone can do that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there was nothing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would highly recommend working with them, especially if you’re looking for an elevated artistic design.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a member of the electronic music production and touring group called The Glitch Mob. I’m one of three band members.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lion's Share Digital?

We wanted to update our website and online presence for 2020. Our previous site was built in 2017, and technology has changed so much since them. So, we wanted to refresh our mailing lists and update the overall look and feel of the site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted a new site that represented the new music we’re putting out and could easily be updated by our team. I went to them with our needs and desires for the new site, and they agreed to take on a WordPress development that would yield a mobile-friendly product that could easily be changed when we released new music.

They also were able to build up pages to host our back catalog of music and videos. More specifically, we worked with their design team to create the look and feel we had in mind when we approached them. We wanted something functional, beautiful, and artistic. 

There isn’t anything that we needed that was technically complicated, but the design was very important to us. Because we’re a band, they used CSS to create something that’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. They revamped our Shopify shop for merchandise sales and moved our mailing list over to MailChimp. Now, the Shopify store is integrated into the overall design of the site.

What is the team composition?

I was working primarily with Jesse (Owner, Lion's Share Digital). 

How did you come to work with Lion's Share Digital?

I’ve known Jesse through the music world for years. We had mutual friends in the business and visited each other when we had shows in their area. After seeing a site he created for another band, I was blown away. That sold me on hiring them to revamp our site. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $5,000–$10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the build in June 2019. The site launched that fall, but they’re still helping with basic design updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because he created the site to our requirements, we’re able to update most things on our own. Jesse was the one that suggested that we create something that we can eventually run on our own. In terms of success, many people have commented about how beautiful the site is. When people go to our concerts, the experience has to be consistent and curated. They did a great job of keeping that continuous for us.   

How did Lion's Share Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Having a centralized point of contact was great. Jesse could listen to my requirements and funnel those to his team. It was nice to have a small team with just a few cooks in the kitchen. His reliability and ability to seamlessly communicate was fantastic. He’s a straight-shooter, so it was really easy to work with him. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their consistent integrity in the design process, wanting to create the best result for us as artists, really stood out. The reliability and diligence they show in their work have as been pretty impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with them, and you won’t be disappointed with the results. Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries on what they can do because they’re very versatile designers.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for Seismic Dance Event, a music festival.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lion's Share Digital?

We’re about to start our third year of the festival. In the first year, we needed to get our website up and running. In the second year, we needed to redesign it to achieve more of the vision that we were moving towards. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the entire website on WordPress and consulted on best practices for the site.

Each time we worked with them, we had a kickoff call. On this call, we discussed what we were trying to achieve and what looks we were interested in. Then, they’d go through others’ styles, and we’d work with their design team to come up with design mock-ups and renders for our site. We gave feedback, and then we would go back and forth until we had a final product.

They also created an artist section, which we hadn't asked for but turned out to be an amazing addition to our site. This was a separate page where you saw the lineup and could click on the artists. It would then take you to their social media pages and play their music. It was a really nice touch, and an idea they thought of.

What is the team composition?

My primary points of contact were Alicia (Project and Content Manager, Lion's Share Digital) and Jesse (Founder, Lion’s Share Digital). They worked with a design team behind the scenes who we occasionally also interacted with.

How did you come to work with Lion's Share Digital?

We know both of them from the Austin, Texas music industry. Jesse made some great work for other Austin music entities, so we went straight to him.

How much have you invested with them?

Each was priced on a per-project basis. The first was roughly $4,000, and the second was roughly $2,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began work in 2018, and the work is still ongoing. The work is dormant until the next iteration of the festival.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re great at troubleshooting. If WordPress is having a weird bug, Jesse can discover the problem and Alicia can fix the issues. They quickly resolve any and all qualms that I have with their formidable formatting skills.

I'm impressed at the site’s traffic numbers. Our patrons have given us some fantastic feedback, saying they’re able to find everything that they need. They’ve done a great job of making our site accessible to all.

How did Lion's Share Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

That’s their forte, they’re great. Our relationship was casual and that made the project have a certain ease as we went through the process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their experience in the music festival world was incredibly valuable. They knew exactly what we needed, and how to structure it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, none that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to have a clear understanding of your timelines. We would slip up on our end, and that would cause the project to slow down throughout because we were not aware of all the things that hinged upon our work confirming designs. You need to know that if you miss a deadline, it will impact you in certain ways.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of marketing for Juan Lobo Tequila. We are a 100% blue agave tequila brand based out of Mexico, but our headquarters are based in Austin, Texas. We have been in business for about two years, but we officially launched in July 2019.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lion’s Share Digital?

We didn’t have a website, as we had just launched, but I have a strong digital marketing background and have been in the B2B tech business for about seven or eight years, so I attempted to build the site myself. In looking at all of our competitors, however, we wanted a website that could stand against the big dogs we were competing with in that space. I didn’t have the technical abilities to create something that robust, so I started searching for web developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had our site somewhat built out, but it was really just a placeholder page on Squarespace. They built out our entire site on WordPress and moved over the hosting domain to WordPress and WP Engine.

We’ve also worked with a designer they have staff who drummed up a lot of beautiful wireframes for us. They handled certain graphic elements, some video elements, and incorporated our current brand aesthetic (colors, our text, fonts, and photos). They created an entire site that really reflected who we are and who we wanted to be as a brand. They exceeded our expectations and made us feel a lot cooler than we are, essentially.

I handled the content on my end, but they optimized it, and Jesse and his team really did a lot to enhance our current content to make sure our ranking is as high as possible. They’re including that in our future maintenance plan as we continue to work with them. They also worked with us on our SEO rankings when it came to content creation, visible functionality on the site, execution, and publishing. It was a completely end-to-end service.

I found the homepage to be really exciting. When we were dreaming of how the site would function, Jesse (Founder/Project Lead, Lion’s Share Digital) and his team did a lot of extensive research on competitor brands and dug into the archives of what they have done before. They also dreamt on their side about what they wanted to do that they had never done before. When we were looking at other people’s sites, we thought they were so out there and that there was no way we could achieve that advanced level of web design, but Lion’s Share really did.

They came to us with a lot of different ideas and brought forth some examples of what other sites have done, whether it was in the liquor industry or not. They wanted to include some type of parallax scrolling and animation of sorts to get people involved in the site more.

When you land on our homepage, it is the most beautiful on a desktop. The initial design makes people want to scroll. As they do that, our different products morph onto the screen, as well as different photos. The entire aesthetic changes as they go through the homepage. I find that to be an addicting feel for a user when they are experiencing a fun transition from product to product.

There are so many little details on the site that a lot of people would look past, but Lion’s Share did a really great job of being thoughtful in their design. For example, on the side of the web page there are hash marks that are on the side of our label. At the end of the day, those are all small touches where people are absorbing more and more of who we are as a brand and our aesthetic starts digging into the consumer’s brain.

What is the team composition?

Jesse (Founder, Lion’s Share Digital) was our main point of contact, as well as Alicia (Project Manager, Lion’s Share Digital). She kept me on task and extremely organized. Prior to all the project management meetings, I worked with their designer, who is extremely skilled. She really sketched out our wireframes and all of our design elements. Jesse had a team of web developers who would then take her designs and execute them, although I didn’t interface with them.

How did you come to work with Lion’s Share Digital?

I wanted to work with someone that was here in Austin where we are because we like supporting local businesses. I also thought it would be easier in case we needed to have in-person meetings.

I reached out to and compared quotes from several vendors and Lion’s Share Digital had such a strong portfolio that I felt that they could very easily complete the task. They had incredible reviews online, and I spoke to a few other people in the tech industry who mentioned they had worked with them in some capacity or another. They came highly recommended.

Pretty quickly after I reached out, Jesse sent me a detailed proposal, a strong maintenance plan that would extend after the site went live, a detailed timeline on exactly what to expect, and a very fair quote. It all felt very organized, and I knew that he would be as diligent as we needed him to be for a task such as this. I think that when it comes to your digital presence and your online site, you don’t want to skimp. They are worth every penny in my opinion, but I also felt like there were other people that I spoke with who had a higher price point and a portfolio that was nowhere close to Lion’s Share’s.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in April 2019, and the work is still ongoing. Lion’s Share has executed everything we asked them to do in our contract, and now we’re starting to move into phase two ideas and ways we want to continue improving the site. I believe we will continue to work with them indefinitely to stay up to date on maintenance and security. Jesse and his team are just so easy to work with and we feel that it is definitely worth the investment.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

By the time we launched in July, Jesse and his team had fully moved us onto a WordPress site and developed a splash page to let people know the site was under construction until we finished. Even though it was just a splash page, there were a few things the consumer could do.

Our brand manager has been a high-level executive in the liquor industry for over 25 years and has been absolutely blown away by what Lion’s Share has done with our budget. He’s said many, many times that a lot of the companies he worked with would spend hundreds of thousands to achieve what Lion’s Share was able to do for a fraction of the cost.

One of our content developers, who worked for one of the largest distributors of distilled spirits in his city, has said pretty much the same thing. They are all really blown away by Lion’s Share’s capabilities, techniques, work ethic, and end result. We’re a startup, and we certainly had high goals, but we didn’t think we would be able to execute. Lion’s Share has been able to deliver so much more than we dreamed possible for our budget. We are eternally thankful.

One thing we have been talking through is traffic, and about 70% of our traffic is coming from mobile devices. However, the site was built more for desktop-friendly users, and we do have a little bit of work to do to make things look better for most of our users.

Most of the traffic has been organic traffic, and Jesse’s work on our SEO side has really done wonders for us. It isn’t all due to his content help, as it is also the speed at which the site loads. Jesse did a lot of work to make sure that our site is very agile and fast too.

How did Lion’s Share Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Jesse and Alicia have both been very patient with us, as it took us a lot longer than we expected to complete our content and photos. They would check in with us weekly, if not every other day, and Alicia would give me checklists on things they were still waiting on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The agile team, the value you really get, and the skills they have set them apart. They really have an awesome team of not only fantastic designers but people who can execute on those designs. It is easy to design-out a beautiful site, but to make it work elegantly and rank high on Google is not easy. They’ve done a really wonderful job of making sure the site is beautiful and functions perfectly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. When it came time to launch, it felt like there were a lot of open-ended questions. There were bugs that we didn’t know how to fix, so maybe communication at the very end would have been a little nicer just to feel like we wrapped the project up nicely.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Absolutely work with Lion’s Share whether you are a local Austin company or not. They are extremely organized and incredibly skilled. They will bring your designs to life and will far exceed your expectations. They will bring your site and digital presence to a place that you didn’t know was possible. I would use them time and time again.