pb+j

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Lil Helper, and we manufacture baby and family products.

What challenge were you trying to address with pb+j?

We had a WooCommerce website, and we hired pb+j to help us move to Shopify.

What was the scope of their involvement?

pb+j developed our website from scratch, and they built a robust backend because we were operating in multiple countries. They helped us manage our operations better, and one of the things they did was to set up an inventory system. They also helped us have an authentic look.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Katy (UX Lead), Justin (Lead Frontend Developer), and Julio (Head of Design).

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $80,000 CAD (approximately $63,000 USD), including taxes.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership ran from October 2020–July 2021.

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

pb+j finished the project more or less to our requirement. There were a few things that could've been better. Despite that, we felt that they tried whatever they could to deliver what we needed while working with the restrictions they faced.

How did pb+j perform from a project management standpoint?

They showed excellent communication skills. We used Asana as our project management tool. We also used email to communicate and had weekly meetings on Zoom for 30 minutes to talk about project updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were extremely hardworking, and they tried hard to give us everything. If they couldn’t figure out some things, they didn’t give up right away. For example, when the UI design we wanted didn’t go according to plan, they went back and forth with us until we were happy with what they produced.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve set our expectations straight at the beginning of the project. Other than that, they were pretty good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know that pb+j will try their best to deliver what they promise.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a B2B food packaging manufacturer.

What challenge were you trying to address with pb+j?

We started the business on a shoestring budget because we’re self-funded. We needed to redo our brand and transition from a startup to a more defined company. We also had a poorly functioning website, and we needed help to make our e-commerce platform grow.

What was the scope of their involvement?

pb+j created our branding, icons, and logos — they gave us a new visual identity and tone of voice. Additionally, they developed a fully functional e-commerce website using Shopify that allows our customers to order food packaging online. 

pb+j has already completed the website, and it’s currently covered by their 30-day guarantee period. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Tom (Co-Founder) and a project manager, and they’ve deployed both their branding and development team for our account.

How did you come to work with pb+j?

We found them through Clutch. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $105,000 CAD (approximately $84,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

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

pb+j’s work is outstanding; we’re already seeing a major uplift because of it, and the results have been impeccable. They’ve transformed our brand into something that’s well-defined and people can understand.

pb+j has tried to understand our business and our end customers, which many other agencies don’t even do. They also took the effort to understand the packaging industry — it’s a boring industry, but they’ve helped us modernize our brand.

For the website, pb+j did exactly what we’ve asked for.   

How did pb+j perform from a project management standpoint?

pb+j is good at project management — it’s one of our favorite things about them. We have bi-weekly project management calls, and whenever we need something, we can email them. We communicate through Zoom and a project management tool. 

Initially, I thought our time zone difference would become a big problem. There’s a 6–7 hour difference between us, but it has worked out well in the end. pb+j schedules calls at 1 p.m.here and 8 a.m. on their side. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I have a background in venture capital, and I’ve worked with a lot of branding and web development agencies. Many of them won’t understand what the business is and what the project goals are — they just want to get everything done quickly and rush out of the door. pb+j is not like that.

pb+j really understands our business. They took the time to look at our competitors and understand what our consumers want, and they based their development on that. They didn’t just develop an identity that didn’t have a purpose. 

pb+j’s work has been great. Anytime we have problems, it’s sorted very quickly. Their whole package is just impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m normally critical of the vendors I work with, but I’ve had such a good process with pb+j. I can’t think of anything that they can improve.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and VP of sales and marketing for a company that is just being built. Our goal is to sell living spaces, but we will start by selling modular motorcycle garages. We will make our designs in France, but we will produce and assemble them in Canada.

What challenge were you trying to address with pb+j?

I needed someone to build my website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

pb+j is building my website on Shopify. I requested pages on the site describing my products, their details, and how to order them.

What is the team composition?

I'm working with a project manager and a developer focused on UI/UX. I’ll be working with two other people, so I’ll have a team of four people in total.

How did you come to work with pb+j?

pb+j was recommended to us by a freelance digital marketeer. I checked their website and saw that they had been awarded as one of the best 10 agencies in Canada a few years in a row by Clutch.

Additionally, I looked at their work and thought that they were very creative. Their work was unique compared to other agencies, so I contacted them.

How much have you invested with them?

Our site is going to cost us around $25,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2021, and the project is ongoing. We’re still building the site, and I estimate that it will be finished around October 2021.

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

pb+j is very well-organized, professional, structured, and knowledgeable, and the person that is developing the site has been amazing.

How did pb+j perform from a project management standpoint?

pb+j always meets the deadlines on time. Additionally, they’re very good at nurturing these types of projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

pb+j is very creative, and they’ve built a very special relationship with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

pb+j is very professional and technical, making small companies like mine lost when we don’t understand the language around website building. They should be aware of that and try to communicate better to make things easier for their customers.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Your project has to be very well-defined, and everything has to be done upfront, so it is easier for pb+j to develop a solution that fits your needs. Additionally, make sure that you explain your knowledge limitations upfront.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're Three Bears Brewery and Restaurant. It's a brewery and restaurant in BANFF National Park.

What challenge were you trying to address with pb+j?

The opportunity was to create a branded website for our brewery. We needed a great website specifically built using Squarespace.

What was the scope of their involvement?

pb+j communicated what their team needed to know for the project and then collected the data. We basically followed their lead, giving them the requested information. As we had a strong sense of the brand and concept for the brewery, we designed its website together. We’re about to develop three more websites with them.

What is the team composition?

I’m primarily in contact with Tom (Co-Founder) who creates quotes and timelines for projects. He then turns the project over to this management team. We work with probably 5–6 members of their development team too.

How did you come to work with pb+j?

We specifically searched for Squarespace developers and then contacted them through their website.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent close to $90,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We brought them on board around 2017, and we’re still working with them.

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

Google Analytics proves that our website has high visitation and rankings. If we developed the platform in-house, there would’ve been a hefty price tag. Their team created our website and then handed it to us. We have 100% control of our website's assets, which is wonderful.

How did pb+j perform from a project management standpoint?

Depending on the project, we’ll communicate every week or have only two major meetings. They use Asana for project management and another tool for visual presentations. Their team's extraordinary.

pb+j brings all the right people to the table during projects. During development projects, agencies will only have a designer or middleman working with you. We had meetings with coders, designers, and project managers with pb+j. Their project managers kept the project on track. Their designer brought our vision to life. And their developer advised us on what was and wasn't possible. They also spoke intelligently to the website's functionalities.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have highly creative minds on their team, including their founding members. It didn't take pb+j long to understand our goals because their team had an amazing ability to absorb our brand vision. Their team also led with visual presentations, so we were part of that decision-making process. pb+j also ensured we sat down with the right people, so we were never disconnected from parts of the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our team had challenges with timelines. Rather than being punitive or allowing the project to suffer, they introduced a pause mechanism that allowed us to manage the schedule based on our needs. Their team was quick to fix those challenges.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be super organized during the intake process. Understand your brand and concept but also be open to their ideas.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at Hearing Assist, one of the largest direct-to-consumer (D2C) hearing aid companies in the country. We distribute directly to consumers, but we also work with retailers such as Wal-Mart, and we’re poised for growth in this new market.

What challenge were you trying to address with pb&j?

A web developer built a good and standard D2C response website for us. However, it didn’t have the premium medical look and feel that could benefit us, so we hired pb&j to redesign the website. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially went through an interview session, where pb&j asked us interesting and in-depth questions for them to understand the look and feel that we wanted to convey on the site. Then, they introduced us to more site functionalities and features. 

Afterward, pb&j started working on the site’s aesthetics and built a solution that worked with our backend CRM system. They built the website using Shopify and educated us on all the apps, plugins, and analytics we could use, which were far above and beyond what we were operating on prior to their involvement. 

What is the team composition?

I first spoke to a salesperson, but I was quickly turned over to a team of three main players. Now, we’re working with Katherine (Lead Producer), Katy (Lead UX Designer), and Justin (Lead Developer). 

Katherine serves as our overall account representative who guides us on everything. Katie is an in-depth guru who knows how to explain everything and solves all of the questions that we have. Meanwhile, Justin is a high-level programmer who makes our requests work well within the website.

How did you come to work with pb&j?

Our outsourced digital marketing team referred pb&j to us. The marketing team was doing well in terms of SEO and Google Ads, but they pointed out that they could be doing so much more if we operated on a better platform — we’d have better insights into everything, and we wouldn’t be leaving money on the table. We listened to them, and they forwarded us to pb&j, who they had worked with before. We’ve built a high level of trust with the marketing team, so their referral stood out. 

After talking to pb&j, we gained confidence that they’d build a website that had the premium look and feel that we wanted. Everything looked good, and the pricing was reasonable, too. As a result, we didn’t have any reason to shop elsewhere. Outsourcing a web development team referred by the digital marketing team — two groups that knew one another and worked well together —  was a win for us, so we went on with the engagement. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $80,000 on this engagement. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership began in October 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. We had a 30-day deadline after the site launched to tighten things up, but that recently expired. At this point, they’re only doing maintenance for us.  

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

The website is launched, and everything is functional. From an aesthetic point of view, the partners we work with and the people who are familiar with our business love the site — it’s getting good reviews. 

Meanwhile, in the D2C world, results are found in the money. In other words, we should be getting better ROI. However, it’s too early to see anything in relation to that since we’re driven by huge national TV advertising. We’re also in a down cycle now since we’re launching new products, getting new spots, and reconfiguring things on the market. Overall, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison until the media goes up, which should happen in the coming month or so. 

To sum that up, I won’t know how this project will shake out until another few months. That being said, I’m confident that we’ll see good results based on how the business is viewed by the public. 

How did pb&j perform from a project management standpoint?

Their intuition has been excellent; they’ve quickly realized that we aren’t receptive to using apps for management functions. We’re four people in our company, and our partners have to work within our confines. When we’re ready to provide data, they should be ready to take it; when we’re ready to sit down and review what they do, they should also ready. As a result, we don’t need apps and allow ourselves to be managed by third-party tools. 

The project manager is Katherine, and she schedules our calls. Usually, the calls happen, but sometimes they don’t, which is often our fault. We may be locked on something else at the moment. However, these things never derail them. pb&j knows how to keep the project moving forward, and they communicate with us effectively — they’re very good at this. 

We’ve done a lot of Zoom calls, emails, and phone calls. To manage the project, pb&j uses a tool similar to Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

pb&j is extremely competent and easy to work with, and they’re a technologically adept team. That’s the key to the success of this partnership; they understand our vision and keep us on track. I appreciate our direct communication, and the members are all impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If something can’t be done, they need to make me understand and repeat it endlessly until it’s truly clear. 

At one point, our backend system didn’t function properly as it formerly did because of a payment card industry (PCI) compliance issue between Shopify and our website. As a result, we had to modify our customer service procedures. 

They brought this to my attention on multiple occasions, but I was still surprised that we couldn’t figure it out easily. I wouldn’t attribute blame to anyone for that issue, but I wish they had ensured that I understood it. In the end, however, it all worked out. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you tell them all your needs in terms of your website. Have all your images, content, and assets together, and they’ll do a good job at developing your website. You can’t outsource everything — this is true with anything — and you have to dedicate your time to give the team what they need in order to be successful. 

This has been a part of our team's challenges during our engagement with pb&j. We’ve been strapped for time and resources, but we ensure we’re giving them everything they need. A lot of businesses think that everything’s going to be done by an outsourced team. That’s not true; such a partnership still involves a lot of hands-on management no matter what. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Respondent 1: I’m the general manager of an online store.

Respondent 2: I’m the owner.  

What challenge were you trying to address with pb+j?

R1: We wanted to rebrand and redesign our online store.

What was the scope of their involvement?

R1: First, we went through an identity exercise and they delivered a style guide and branding components. They were also supposed to enhance our Shopify Plus website and add new features. They designed the UI/UX, wrote copy, conducted user testing, and led QA.

What is the team composition?

R1: We were in touch with eight people in total.  

R2: We dealt primarily with a producer.

How did you come to work with pb+j?

R1: We searched online and ended up contacting a number of agencies. I contacted pb+j specifically because of their Clutch reviews, and they ended up being our pick.

How much have you invested with them?

R2: We spent about $100,000 CAD (approximately $79,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

R1: The project lasted from August 2020–January 2021.

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

R1: We just launched and are still fixing some things. Overall, the look and feel of the website is nice, but to this day, our wish list hasn’t been completed. There were a few items that we discussed initially, but they eventually came back to us and told us they couldn’t do them.  

They also were supposed to develop a French site, but they never delivered it.  

R2: Overall, we were somewhat satisfied. However, I still think the site is worse than before. We’ve had to hire another person to finish up the project, which has increased our project cost.

How did pb+j perform from a project management standpoint?

R2: Communication was a bit of an issue. Towards the end of the project, they weren’t as responsive as we would have liked. Our project manager still hasn’t responded to an email I sent weeks ago.

R1: Our partnership started off quite strong, but little by little, it became difficult to get in touch with them. There were a lot of things we had to do on our own due to a lack of feedback and guidance from them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

R1: I really liked our branding experience. They visualized our thoughts well and I’m quite pleased with how our branding turned out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

R1: They could improve their communication skills both internally and externally.

R2: For example, if we needed them to fix something, we had to contact our project manager who then had to talk to her team. IT would have been easier if we had access to whoever was doing the work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

R2: New clients should find a way to work with the person in charge of each aspect of the project. For example, if they’re working on branding, they should speak directly with the branding lead.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a nutrition company. We manufacture, market, and distribute our own line of vitamins and dietary supplements.

What challenge were you trying to address with pb+j?

We hired pb+j to do a review of our digital platform and then redevelop the functions of our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The pb+j team did a UX/UI review of our entire site and looked at best practices, then installed a new theme that was more responsive. They also help us with some of our copywriting, and they’ve given us some ideas for concepts in terms of design. 

The team has also provided us with more general ideas around function and given us advice around general CRM management of our customers.

What is the team composition?

We work with five or six people, including Tom (Co-Founder), Kyle (Co-Founder), Katherin (Lead Producer), Katy (Lead Designer, UX), Katie (Designer), and a copywriter.

We mostly work with Katherin, who’s our project manager and arranges most of the conversations with the rest of the team.

How did you come to work with pb+j?

We found pb+j through a referral from someone we were working with. We were considering three different companies, but we decided to work with them because we felt they really understood e-commerce, and we liked some of their previous case studies. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $45,000 CAD (approximately $35,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since September 2020. We finished most of our work, but we’re still ongoing in the final stages.

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

Metrics-wise, the project was more so about design concepts — understanding and hitting timelines in terms of their development stages. We haven’t really tested the updated site to see if it’s more efficient and a better experience than our previous one. However, we’re happy with the overall product as of now.

How did pb+j perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re quite good. Even though we’re halfway around the world, they’ve been able to stick to timelines. The pb+j team were very accommodating and helped us quite a bit. There were some delays, but they were few and nothing we didn’t expect or understand on our side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed with pb+j’s project management skills. They also have a great understanding of some of the technical data and other aspects. Their knowledge, patience, and communication made this one of the better experiences we’ve had with a vendor.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they’re doing a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do a little bit of homework on what kind of website you want to build, and be really clear about what your goals are for the site. From there, pb+j can help you take your initial thinking to the next level.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work with Jamieson Wellness, a global health and wellness company. We have a suite of brands in the vitamin and mineral supplement space. At the time of the project, I was a marketing director for specialty brands.

What challenge were you trying to address with pb+j?

We brought an aging brand into our portfolio, and it was in need of a positioning refresh. We worked with pb+j to evaluate the strengths of the brand as well as how it would live among our collection of other brands. The main objective was to produce creative that would help us to strengthen and express our new positioning within the marketplace.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with pb+j for a number of years. On this particular project, they put focus for a time on digital marketing, providing the full creative suite. The team developed our print and digital ads, and they helped us launch a consumer promotion contest with mostly digital and in-store components. The pbj+j team also offered us creative design.

What is the team composition?

We worked with the project manager along with the creative director and designer.

How did you come to work with pb+j?

I knew one of the co-founders, and was familiar with his work. I saw pb+j did a really great job of design and brand storytelling, so we started small with a couple of digital projects just to get their help. 

We saw how great they were helping to bring the brand to life, and we found they had excellent designers and storytellers. Over time, as we’ve developed our digital programs with them, we’ve continued to see their capabilities at a higher level.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was between $40,000–$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This particular project took place from August–September 2019, but we’ve been working together for years.

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

The pb+j team completed the project very quickly. They did a great job of understanding the brief and asked really great qualifying questions. They came back with a great range of creative design, which is always good to see — we could’ve gone in about three or four different directions. 

The best part was pb+j’s ability to package up and show us back what we asked for, but then also push us to think differently. The experience at large was great. They kicked it off with a strong understanding of what we needed with a few different potential design directions, and they did so quickly.

How did pb+j perform from a project management standpoint?

The team had a good number of people on the project, and they all responded to everything quickly, usually within the same or next day. All of our timelines were hit, even though we went out of scope a couple times. 

Working directly with the creative director was really helpful, because we didn’t have to go back and forth through a middleman — the process was really efficient. The team managed the project perfectly well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What pb+j does really well is the brand story. The team finds really unique ways to stand out in their creative and messaging. They’re a bit quirky, so they’re able to think differently from other agencies we’ve worked with, and it shows in the quality of their creative. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was nothing negative about the project that I would want them to improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let pb+j get involved in the creative process early. I’ve found on some projects, I would give them the brief and they would execute. But, if I gave them the idea and some parameters and we brainstormed it together, I found it was a much better result. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a consultant for the fashion and retail e-commerce company that employed pb+j. The retailer manufactures licensed boxer briefs.

What challenge were you trying to address with pb+j?

We hired them to build a new website for a new brand launch.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had enlisted them to design and develop the entire e-commerce site. We came to them with a specific brand vision and goals. We wanted the site to be optimized for conversion but also encapsulate the brand’s objective.

From the beginning, they worked with us to identify the site structure and design that would accomplish both of those requirements. The team took our creative brief and assets to repurpose them into an optimized website.

The team at pb+j did everything from strategy, concepts, and the site's ultimate development.

What is the team composition?

In total, we worked with four people that included a project manager, designers, and a developer.

How did you come to work with pb+j?

A few years ago, we had a conversation with them regarding a different project. We ended up re-engaging with pb+j with a new proposal. While we had different conversations with other groups, we decided that pb+j was the best fit because of their previous work, price point, and our conversations.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We brought them on in June 2020, and the site went live in December 2020.

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

The conversation rate is extremely healthy. People are responding very well to the site, and we’re extremely pleased with the final product. We’re happy with how it looks and the amount of revenue it’s yielding.

How did pb+j perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’re phenomenal. They’re super organized and diligent. They propose timelines and schedules and ensure that everyone sticks to them.

Their entire process is conducive to achieving goals within a set timeline.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed with the discovery phase and its subsequent process. They spend a lot of purposeful time understanding our needs and brand. After doing competitive research, they presented that to us to align with our goals and vision.

That initial discovery phase was extremely diligent. Their project management style was also very top tier. The journey to get to that final product was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything bad to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be ready to move quickly. They throw a lot at you, and all of that is necessary for the project to be successful. They’re big on communication. If clients are eager and open to collaborating with them, the better the project will ultimately be.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and Director of Ears To You Mobile Hearing Clinics. I manage all operations and work with specialists and audiologists that work within the technical role in our business.

For what projects/services did your company hire pb+j?

We hired pb+j to form a brand identity and website that would be memorable as well as cutting edge and industry leading. We wanted to break the mold of the known and existing hearing clinic experience and provide a hearing appointment that caters to the needs and schedule of the end user/client/patient.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to begin with the logo and branding and morph it all into a website that would be easy to use, easy to digest for all target customers, and easy for others to share within their social circles.

How did you select pb+j?

We were recommended pb+j by another web-design/hubspot specialist individual that stated if we wanted to do something different than everyone else and go against the grain to check out their services.

Describe the project in detail.

Upon selecting pb+j we spoke with Tom about the scope of necessary work. A proposal was created and adjusted after another couple phone discussions and from there, the team went to work.

Katie and Katherine were integral parts of the creation of the brand and website and were in constant contact in order to ensure the correct vision was being implemented and we were covering all the mentioned action items from the SOW. The detail surrounding pb+j team members as well as their organization and familiarity with the work that needed to be done was second to none.

What was the team composition?

Team composition was consistent of what I would call Tom, "the coach" creating the plays necessary for success. Where he then delegated to Katherine and Katie "team" to execute said plays for success and make sure that everything was on par with my and my business standards.

A copywright specialist was brought in towards the end of the SOW to make sure everything was clearly stated in a proper tone of voice we were going for and the rest is history.

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

Website launch and peer testing within the industry resulted in a significant uptick in usership as well as conversation surrounding the business itself. It is a wonderful conduit for scheduling appointments. The brand, colours, and overall tone of voice has been integral in setting us apart from all other competitors in the industry and is extremely noticeable with our end users.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The effectiveness of workflow between their team and ours was seamless. Enough said. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome and better team to work with to bring my vision to life.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I found most impressive about this company the organization of team. I think it is important to have a tight-knit team to work with where everyone can have a singular vision to move forward for the customer and pb+j had just that.

Their team was fantastic and everyone knew what was going on and when. PB+J showed incredible integrity with their work. They were honest and always were available if a question or concern came up.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.