Magic Logix

Please describe your company.

We are a French data software firm. We help companies utilize all of their data and gain maximum value. We have about 500 employees and we do projects all over Europe.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am in charge of all the online marketing.

What was your goal for working with Magic Logix?

They were recommended by my manager, who I think had worked with them before. He told us that they could handle our work. We figured out that they were experts in data warehousing, so we employed them for this Web type work. They seemed like a good fit for our organization based on their capabilities and experience.

Did their work involve Web development?

No. They did not make the website for us. We engaged them after we already had an updated and modern site. We wanted them to improve the usability of the site so that more people would use the site and enjoy it.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

I’m sorry, but that is confidential.

What was your process for selecting them to work with?

One of our managers worked with them before, so we already knew about them. We were told that they produced great work, so it was an easy decision to negotiate with them and choose them for the engagement.

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from this project?

I do not have stats or metrics, but the work is successful. We are satisfied, and I think the users are as well.

What else is unique or special about Magic Logix that makes them stand out compared to other IT firms?

They are not in Paris, but we talk all the time. They check in with me almost every day virtually to talk about the work. They always keep in touch and update me on their progress. They are very responsive and hard working. I like their approach and methodology, it is very easy to work with Magic Logix.

Looking back on the project so far, is there anything that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

I was not working with my company when we started the engagement with Magic Logix. I cannot speak for him, I do not know his opinions. The only minor thing that I can say involves progress reports.

When I started working with Magic Logix, we did not have a system to report progress. Sometimes, we didn't know what they were doing, and we became a little nervous. I had to set up this system to talk regularly. That has helped a lot, it is no longer a problem. 

Please describe your company.

Actian Corporation is a software vendor that sells to the high-end computer market, Fortune 500 and others.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the vice president of marketing. I run marketing for the team.

What was your goal for working with Magic Logix?

They managed our website and did additional work. Their work had to do with campaigns and SEO when needed. There was a time when we had a change to downloads using online means, and they helped us to that with SEO in the marketing campaign, which worked pretty well.

Please describe the scope of their work.

A framework years back, we had them design a new website for us. Magic Logix did the implementation of that and brought it up live. That was a development project. We had a contract with them to maintain that website for us, in addition to all the changes because we couldn’t make the changes ourselves. The website had to be controlled by them.

Once the website was up and running, we started looking at online downloads and search engine optimization for the new website. They helped us with that as well. That was effectively the four things they did for us. Between then and now, we’ve had a number of changes to the website through acquisitions of companies and such. We need to bring new things to the website that speak of development. They help us do that as well.

What was your process for selecting Magic Logix?

When we first went out to market, we looked at three agencies. We chose Magic Logix because they offered effectively everything in one. It was a complete service. They maintained the website, they did development, they did small amounts of graphic design for us, and they also had SEO and DBC capability. It was all in one. That was the main criteria.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

I don’t have the numbers offhand.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

The last project was completed in July of 2013.

Can you assess their performance?

Magic Logix has been very good. On the whole, they delivered to and above expectations. They are very good, very responsive. They are quite ready to tackle new projects at short notice, which is often the case for organizations like ours that have activity that comes out of the blue. If we have an event like a big meeting, we need to change our website. There are other things related to the acquisition, like posting the press releases, driving certain microsites for the other groups and so on. They responded to those very successfully. They are good.

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

Yes, we did. I don’t have the numbers offhand. For example, for SEO, we set out and identified 10 keywords. We looked for those 10 keywords to be in the top 10 when we did a Google search on those words. Once a week, we got together to fine tune that campaign. That was fairly successful; half of those words were in the top 10 on the search, and two or three of them were number one. That was very successful. That was one metric.

On the other side, we were driving downloads, and we didn’t want to measure impressions and the kickthroughs. We were just looking at the outcomes, and the outcome was driving a specific evaluation product. We saw a fair increase in that through the program.

Not quite on target for a lot of instances, but when we were targeting this download to [our key people], we had hairdressers and butchers downloading the product, which was a bit distracting, but we managed to fix that and move along. Overall, I would say those were the two key metrics for Magic Logix in the campaigns that we did.

In the website, we looked at driving traffic and SEO driving traffic, which was moderately successful. I wouldn’t say it was spectacularly successful, Web traffic increased dramatically as a result of all the syndication work that Magic Logix did for us. We had moderate increases, but not dramatic.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Their CEO is extremely responsive, and I love that work ethic, that was good.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

As they grow, they will have to delegate some of the work to his people, whereas everything went through him. That’s a good way to keep control and keep people synchronized. As we grew and as they grew, it starts to become more difficult.

The second thing is that some of the services were starting to become expensive, and it wasn’t just me. As a result, the two companies have worked on five or six different projects. They can’t use them anymore because they’re starting to become prohibitively expensive. Those are the only two things I would think about for changes. Overall, they’re very good.

Could you briefly describe your company?

We're an agency that does work for different companies, mostly in the shoe and apparel business. 

What were the business challenges you were attempting to address when you initiated the projects with Magic Logix?

We were attempting to launch a new eCommerce site in Mexico.

How did you select Magic Logix as your solution partner?

We were looking for someone locally to make a more complex Magento site.

Could you describe the scope of the project in terms of components? Did it include custom design, development, training, or support?

It was a relatively small data project for a larger company in Mexico. Magic Logix developed the site that was designed by the team in Mexico. They provided a wide range of custom backend development for the site, which mostly served to enhance the functionality. 

When was the project completed?

Probably about six months ago.

How satisfied are you with the work they've delivered?

I'm quite satisfied. We were very surprised by their nuance expertise, but the project definitely moved well beyond the estimated timeframe. They produce high quality work, to be certain, but if timing is a crucial factor, then there's some room for improvement. 

When working with Magic Logix, is there anything that you consider unique or special compared to other developers that you've worked with?

I think that the sales team or our account executive was very involved from a personal level, and very open to all the issues and problems speaking in different languages. I would say that was definitely, at that point, a negative for Magic Logix because they didn't have anyone in the Hispanic sector. When it came to Magento and the developer, the head of the project, and the customer, account executive, both of them were very personally involved in the sense that, if some emergency happens on Saturday or Sunday, they would stop whatever they’re doing, and pay attention to it. 

In retrospect, are there any areas you believe they could improve upon or that you might do differently as the client before approaching a project of this nature?

I think they should have had someone who spoke fluent Spanish from the very beginning. It's been very difficult to work when there is no one able to communicate effectively, where they can speak and understand the culture in Mexico, which is always a problem when you're trying to make the backend connect with different systems.