Milo Digital

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

Kuvera Partners has attractions in four different markets across the U.S., and we have a self-storage facility in Southern California. Milo Digital has been involved with projects for all of our business.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I'm the director of corporate communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Milo Digital?

Initially, we had a vendor who had created a website for us several years ago. When it was appearing live, the proportions weren't correct. So, I went looking for Web developers, I came across Mitchum [Owen, founder and chief technical officer] and Milo Digital, and they fixed it for us. Then one thing led to another in terms of other work they continued to do with us.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

It's been primarily development, not the design side, but extensive development of websites. Our websites tend to have a lot of needs and tools built in, various forms, for example, that are very specific to us. They've also been able to create a back-end, what we call our admin portal. We use that to manage email templates that are custom, literally one-off but they come from a template.

The back-end they built for us serves all of our markets and has an admin function where I can add users. For example, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, I can set it up so that only our Pigeon Forge people have access to the Pigeon Forge templates or information, and so on. It's a very well-managed system. They also have reports that feed into that admin panel. We were able to sync up a smart sheet we're using with our storage facility, for leads, then be able to calculate conversion rate reports, and that's been very helpful. So, a pretty extensive variety of coding and development for different purposes. They also manage the DNS [domain name system] for our websites.

What was your process for selecting Milo Digital?

I was online looking for Web developers, so just a standard Google search.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

Because we're doing so many things simultaneously, we revert to an hourly rate rather than a per project cost. They're great about their billing too. As I mentioned, we have multiple entities, so they are able to set it up so that, when their invoice us, their time is invoiced directly to the multiple entities, which is very helpful accounting-wise. I think the total is between $25,000 and $50,000 annually.

When was the project completed?

After fixing the initial problem, we had, then we had them do a whole website, and that was around the beginning of 2011. Our relationship is still ongoing, and they're very important to us. We have weekly meetings because we have so many ongoing projects – everything from tiny tweaks to larger projects. It's worked out well to have weekly meetings with our marketing staff and Milo, to see what projects are open, what's ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

Milo Digital has become invaluable to our organization. We rely on them for so much that needs to be out online to promote our businesses. They're a reliable partner to make sure that updates are made when they're needed, and that the design looks good. They're able to make things live when we need them live. They provide support, making sure our Google Analytics is turned on right. Without someone reliable to do that, it would handicap a business like ours.

Is there anything unique or special about Milo Digital that really makes them stand out?

I think their responsiveness is unique. Mitchum has a wonderful combination of technical knowledge and business sense, and business knowledge. He can talk about what our goals are, and then he is able to ask great questions, and frame the development work in a way that meets the goals we have. He's able to ferret that out of us because he has a connection to both things, and that's hugely valuable and different. Also, the fact that they engage with their clients in a way that makes you feel they're part of your team, almost like an in-house part of the team, not just a vendor. They remember past projects we've done, and they're able to build on those, or redo things we might be revisiting again.

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

No. I think we've had a natural progression of the work we give them and how they fulfill it. On the very rare occasions when they've been issues, like when our website went down, they were very quick to address the issue, follow up with us, and let us know what was happening. Mitchum is conscious of workflow and management of his projects, and the people who are the resources. Anytime there's been a little hiccup, they've always been very upfront, and things have gotten resolved quickly, and it's nothing to worry about.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

One of the things that Mitchum is great about is, if you are not completely clear on what your goals are, he's very good at asking you questions that will make you think about things you didn't already address. So, somebody going into a relationship can feel very confident that, even if they're lacking in some knowledge, he won't let them just fall through the cracks. He'll provide that extra information to ensure they have all of the features and benefits they might be able to use.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We technically have two companies. We are a real estate brokerage focusing on entertainment-style homes, and then we have what we call a film locations service, where we broker properties for filming.

What is your role in these companies?

I am vice president and one of the co-founders of both companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Milo Digital?

We engaged Milo Digital very early on, actually in our first year of business. We hired them to get a website up and running. I came from a tech industry and was in IT [information technology] before getting into real estate, so I spent a lot of time working with them to identify what we wanted our website to look like, what kind of content would be on it and what kind of functionality we wanted.

So, we worked very closely with Milo Digital to create the website. They really put together a whole proposal – the whole nine yards with the design and everything – and then executed that website. Since then, we've had numerous revisions and feature changes, and we've continued to work with Milo Digital on those types of projects as well.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

When it came to the website creation, it was really everything. We had a very basic idea of what we wanted, held several brainstorming meetings and talked about different functionalities and what was possible. We then refined that to determine what our needs were. Milo Digital took it a step further, put in some design and made some layouts. We made some changes and, at that point it was really for them to execute the plan.

In time, we've added a lot of other features. Milo Digital redesigned our email newsletters. We have a service we use for that, and they worked with us to create the template for our email newsletters, giving them a consistent look and feel.

Any time there's a problem with the website or a new feature we want to integrate, we'll work with Milo Digital. We make the request, they come back with suggestions, and, once we've approved the design, they'll create and execute the change.

What was your process in selecting Milo Digital?

I think I was referred to them by one of my clients, and then we met them in person. They explained their experience and, at the time, they'd been working with some established companies, so they had good references. So, I think that referral was the start of everything.

Can you give a sense of the cost of their work?

I don't remember specifically, but I think the initial design was somewhere in the $5,000 to $7,000 range. We continue to spend $2,000 to $3,000 annually working with Milo Digital just because we have different needs come up.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

When did you start working ?

We started collaborating with them probably six or seven years ago, and we continue to work with their team. Milo Digital has grown quite a bit in time and continues to provide us with good service, so we have no intention of changing.

Do you have any feedback or metrics on the project?

Our website is more a place for us to advertise the properties that we represent. It's not necessarily the point of sale. So, we don't really track leads to the website or anything like that. I do know that we get a lot of positive feedback on our website and its functionality. The people in the industry seem to feel that we've done a really good job with the design. The website shows our properties really well.

Is there anything unique or special about Milo Digital that really makes them stand out?

They're definitely very hands-on. They've spent a lot of time working with us, creating our entire website. They were very involved in the process, guiding us on what was possible and offering suggestions based on our input.

They're also a group of young people, so they tend to be very up to date. They're on top of the latest technology, and they've got a good design look to them. They do high-end work at a cost that is very reasonable. I feel like we have a very good website that was probably half the price of what a high-end firm might charge.

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

Not necessarily. I think they've done a good job as they've grown and put in a support system. If we make a request, it is tracked and updated on a regular basis, so we're able to monitor the progress of any open requests we have. They've also implemented a support for VIP clients, so they can take care of their top clients. Even as they get more customers, it's nice that we're able to put in a request and get a timely response. We're treated as a higher-end customer. I think they have done a good job overall. Finally, I think communication is key. If you assign a project to a vendor, and there's no follow-up or you're not sure of the status, that can be a challenge. I haven't really had that issue with Milo Digital.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

It would be to be open minded. Again, I came in this with some tech background, so I thought we knew what we wanted. During those early discussions, we realized that there were some features or functionalities that we hadn't considered, and there were times when they were able to improve our process by suggesting different ideas. I think a client of theirs needs to be open to those suggestions because that's their specialty. I try to listen to what they have to say and understand it. I really haven't had any issues, so it's hard for me to say where there's been trouble or a challenge anywhere along the line.