Maintaingo

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the project manager for the company Square Tomato, and I manage all of the in-house projects.We do all sorts of advertising: print, media, social media, outdoor, email, all sorts of different advertising. We also help clients establish brand and help them develop websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Maintaingo?

I have used them a couple different times to outsource some of our web design and development work for our clients because we don’t have those technical resources in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For our first project with them, we had a general wireframe for a landing page that our clients needed to add to their site. Well, actually, we let them work with us and the client directly to develop the desired wireframe and design. So we had all the design elements. We had created all the art and copy and all of that, but they did all of the development and design on that one particular website.

The first landing page that they did for us, they had to include a video, links to a PDF e-book things. They were great consulting with the clients on giving them direction on keeping each viewer on the page in order to increase conversion rates and not sending them off to different places.

For example, the client did want several links throughout this landing page to go off to an e-book. They’re just great. The whole team is really great to work with and put up with a lot of revisions. And, yeah, they were great.

They’re also working on building a full site for another client. They had to work with Marketo, and for which they were very, very familiar. So there was at least-- well, there multiple Marketo forms, but one main one. The worked on the video, like I talked about, different products that they had to get acquainted with in order to do a better job designing the website, the landing page.

They also gave us some assistance with an animation, a GIF, banner, and a website banner that we did.

How did you come to work with Maintaingo?

As an advertising agency, we have connections with a lot of web developers. That’s one commodity that you don’t have in-house, as a small agency. So Devon and his group were by far the most professional, most adept in not only in the development in what they do but also in working with the clients. So that made it a no-brainer.

How much have you invested with them?

Everything cost around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in Fall 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any numbers, but I can tell you that they are very conscientious of deadlines, and they are never the source for not meeting deadlines. We’ve only ever gotten positive feedback on their work.

How did Maintaingo perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent - always cheerful, always positive, always staying on top of everything. They’re great at communicating with us and being responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Other web developers I’ve come across have not always been very professional. This company presents very professional, very thoughtful, very courteous, and with full knowledge of their expertise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-owner of Avalon Glassworks, a glass blowing studio in Seattle. We make art glass, paper weights, bowls, and gifts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Maintaingo?

My goal is to be found online more easily. I wanted to get new clients and more traffic to our site, but mainly to be towards the top of search engine pages.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ve been working with the company for a while, even before they were called Maintaingo. Initially, they transferred my whole website from an HTML site to a WordPress site. I chose the basic template, Pinboard, from WordPress, and then Maintaingo customized it to what I wanted. I provided all content that was put on the website.

Since that initial project, they’ve been handling various parts of the site, including all updates.  We used to have our own shopping cart software, but I decided to switch to an Etsy platform for our online sales. Maintaingo helped me integrate the Etsy platform on our website so that it looks fairly seamless. Even though the checkout process takes you to Etsy, you still see all the products on our website, avalonglassworks.com. That was one of the big projects they did.  

I had come to the table with some SEO work already done, but they took over and improved what was there. They also helped me set up Facebook advertising campaigns, and worked on our logo, creating a more horizontal and larger type version. Overall, their job is to make suggestions on how to improve the site.

How did you come to work with Maintaingo?

I originally met the owner of the company, Devon, [Owner, Maintaingo] through our local chamber of commerce. He came into my shop one day when he was early on in his web development business and said, “We could help you.” I said, “Yes, you can.”

How much have you invested with them?

At least $8,000 over several years. I don’t think they charged me for some of the work, like the logo. It just appeared and I said, “Great. I love it. Let’s go with it.” 

What is the status of this engagement?

We first started working together several years ago and our work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s made my life a whole lot easier. The amount of time I spend doing updates and uploading content has been reduced by 50%, if not more. It is so much easier to maintain the site. There’s a certain amount I can do myself and there are other things I ask them to do. We are doing pretty well with our online sales. When we converted to the Etsy platform I was concerned we would lose sales, but we ended up gaining sales.

How did Maintaingo perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re quite responsive. I like that. They charge me incrementally. They don’t charge me for a whole hour if it only took them 10 minutes, which I really appreciate. I work weekends and their staff usually doesn’t but if I email them on a Friday, they'll respond quickly and ask if it’s okay to do on Monday. Of course, I tell them it’s no problem. They’re very sensitive to doing things quickly. Even if there’s going to be a small delay, they always inform me of it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They definitely have a lot of integrity; whereas other companies that I had worked with years ago never gave me any idea what I paid for or if I got my value. Maintaingo always keeps in touch with me about what they’re doing, how long it’s taking them, and what it’s costing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some things I opted to do myself when I saw what their cost was going to be. It was transferring data and updating copy points. At least I felt in control of what work I was going to do and what work they were going to do.