Relish Studio

BACKGROUND

I am the Executive Director of James E. Hughes Jr. Foundation

We are a Foundation with an educational website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

• The goals of this engagement are to improve the overall performance of the site in the Attract, Bond, and Connect phases as well as to encourage and nurture longer-term engagement with the Foundation.
• We also wanted to make our site available in multiple languages.

SOLUTION

Referral

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

The work we hired Relish to do was to redesign our website so users had a more clear idea of what we offer.  This included updating our library, and highlighting more features on our site.  In addition, they made it so that our website is available in 5 languages.  It is almost done and looks amazing!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Implementation of multi-language support to improve foreign engagement

Homepage storytelling improvement to increase traffic, improve search results, and improve on-site SEO metrics and visitor engagement.

Other site enhancements to increase content volume, ease ability to access materials, drive engagement.

Yes, all deliverables were done on time.  The only delays were on our end and they were very patient and professional with us. 

Email or Messaging App

We worked mostly with Stu and he was always professional, thoughful, and creative.  We liked that he didn't over commit to anything and was always willing to explore a variety of options to help us find the best fit.  We never felt upsold or pressured in anyway which is such a nice and rare thing in this day and age.

I cannot think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing manager for a regional public accounting and consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Relish Studio?

We initially engaged with another web developer for new website build. When that project did not work out, Relish was recommended to us. After an initial project meeting with Stu and Bret, we felt comfortable to have them take on our new site build.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Relish was referred to us by an agency who has used them for multiple projects. Knowing that another marketer has engaged their services and they repeatedly go back gave me confidence in their ability. My project expectations included good project organization and management, viable timeline for launch, good communication, and nice finished site.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We had a site partly started with another developer. The project wasn't moving along as it should and there was no process for development, which kept delaying it. After engaging a project manager to assist, the PM suggested Relish. We lined up a call with Stu and Bret to discuss the details and issues of the first partly-done site.

Stu and Bret communicated their process, timeline, expectations, and estimated cost. All met my expectations, so I engaged their services to build our new site. The site was on time and our company is happy with the results. I continue to use Relish for consulting and back-end maintenance. They've been amazing to work with.

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

Two - Stewart Swineford and Bret Orton. Stu and I met weekly to discuss progress. Bret was may main contact for programming and site build.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our company is happy and our brand is reflected well with our new website. We have a fresh look and a better and more interactive way to organize web content.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Stu and I were in weekly communication via scheduled meetings. They used a project management software to help manage their work and what they needed from me. Bret was always a quick message or email away and both were quick to respond.

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

Having a tried-and-true process, good project management, and communication are the keys! Relish had all.

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

Nothing of mention comes to mind. There are always little "things" that come up. Sometimes it's within our control, and sometimes not.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a fintech company called Street Cred Capital. We work in the mobile industry, providing third-party lending via carriers to customers. When a customer walks into a store to finance a phone, we’re the third party sitting on the backend of that store infrastructure to provide the lending directly to the customer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?

We needed Relish Studio to manage our marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Relish Studio helps us design and implement our marketing strategy for the mobile industry, which targets customers and prospective carrier clients.

What is the team composition?

I work with Stuart (Co-Founder & CMO) and Bret (Co-Founder & CTO). Bret handles certain branding and creative aspects of the project. There’s also a third person from their team working with us.

How did you come to work with Relish Studio?

When I worked with a previous company many years ago, we looked at some marketing agencies to help with website design, and Relish Studio won that project.

I was impressed with their level of organization and attention to detail; I always kept that in my mind. When it came to our marketing needs with this current company, we didn’t even consider anybody else. We went to them and started working right away.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $120,000 over the course of three years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in May 2018. There have been some brief pauses due to our budget, but we continue to work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s difficult to measure cost versus benefit in marketing. However, I’ve always been a big believer in the presentation layer of a company and their organized and detailed presentation of marketing, and Relish Studio has undoubtedly excelled at all those metrics.

The level of positive feedback from our customers has been very well noted. In addition, I attribute our ability to attract new customers and businesses to how Relish Studio has performed and the excellent marketing strategy they’ve helped us design.

How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Relish Studio has been incredibly accommodating, which is one of the reasons we love them so much. They’re flexible and have a high level of customer engagement. They always help us solve problems and work through issues that aren’t necessarily their issues. We feel like they’ve become a marketing team within our company. That’s how we value our relationship with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Relish Studio always delivers on what they promise and never extends beyond the bounds of their skillset and experience — I greatly respect that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. One thing I respect from Relish Studio is that they’re always willing to say no. They’re very transparent and honest, and if something isn’t within their skill set or experience, they’ll recommend third-party partners.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

To effectively engage Relish Studio, you need to come in with a plan and a vision of who your customers are. If you give them the basics, they’ll build in the rest because they’re experts in marketing, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s not going to be an effective relationship if you come in unprepared and just ask them to build something from scratch.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief program officer at a state-wide nonprofit that enables and motivates people to be active stewards of Colorado’s natural resources. We engage up to 5,000 people in active stewardship work doing close to 100 projects. We also offer a training program and do collaborative coalition work to advocate for stewardship funding and public education around responsible recreation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?

We were launching a new program to help groups launch their own outdoor stewardship program. We were putting together materials that would be available for download. We codified our resources into 16 guides that people could download. We needed a separate website to help people access those guides.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Relish Studio to create our site. They built a good UX to make sure that people could understand what we were offering and how it might help them. The team also made it so our site seamlessly communicates with our database so that we wouldn’t have to do a lot of data entry on the backend. Additionally, they included an e-commerce component so we could bill for our consulting services.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Brett (Author) and Stu (Co-founder).

How did you come to work with Relish Studio?

We selected Relish through an RFP process. We heard about Relish through another contractor, so we made sure they were aware of our RFP. We felt that Relish really understood our business requirements and they had experience in the nonprofit sector. Additionally, they fit our budget and were creative in their approach to our proposal.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $24,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018, and our website was completed in June 2018. We launched our toolkit program in September 2018. We’re still working together on a regular basis with updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we launched, we had about 1,000 downloads of our different guides on our website. We’ve also had good traffic to the site since a lot of people wanted to start stewardship programs during COVID-19. The site communicates well to our database seamlessly. We’re able to pull reports well and it all works well.

How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication was top-notch. They managed the project in a way that made building out this website really easy. They still continue to be available to us if anything comes up. Their customer service was excellent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is very young and laid back in their approach. That being said, they’re very responsive and really get the job done. They’re extremely professional and deliver everything in the time frame that they said they would.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. We all have areas of improvement but Relish Studio was a pleasure to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

A lot of people don’t take into consideration the upfront work and the work that needs to be done outside of a contactor’s time. Upfront, the work really needs to be really good, detailed and codified. Obviously, they can build a great website but the content needs to be driven by the client. They don’t know your work well enough to write copy for you. They can edit your copy and make suggestions, but you’ll need to provide your own copy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of technology for a national nonprofit organization. I focus on the organization’s website, making sure it meets the needs of both our members and our board.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?

I’m a human resources person, so I don’t have an extensive web development background. We needed to partner with a team that could guide us through all aspects of optimizing our website. We wanted to ensure that we were using all the best plugins and that the site’s infrastructure was set up properly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve helped us maintain our WordPress website while also ensuring that any plug-ins and add-ons are integrated into the site properly so they run efficiently. We trust them to make sure our website is secure and stable.

At the beginning of the relationship, they conducted an audit on our existing site. They determined that we didn’t need a new site and worked to fix some of the issues with the site’s code that came from our previous development partner. As the relationship has evolved, we’ve worked with them to find the best possible plug-ins to solve any issues or add any functionality that our members have wanted to see on the site.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Bret (Managing Partner) and Stu (Co-Founder & CMO).

How did you come to work with Relish Studio?

We work with an external company for administrative support. They connected us with another web development firm, who in turn connected us with Relish Studios.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $4,500 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t been tracking engagement metrics for that long, so I don’t have a great historical touchpoint. However, the website has much less downtime and our members have had fewer complaints since we started working with them. To me, that’s a great testament to the stability and security of the site.

In completing the project, they’ve helped me understand how many different aspects of the site could potentially cause an issue for our members. I’ve learned a lot about how to troubleshoot issues from them.

How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been fantastic with their response time as well as the thoroughness of their responses. They can solve problems quickly, which is great for keeping the site operational. We’ve used Basecamp as a primary project management tool, but we stay flexible by communicating over email as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re good people, which makes our work as easy as possible. I’m educated in the field of human resources, so I’m sensitive to professionals in other fields who talk down to me or make me feel like I don’t have the ability to understand their work. Their technical skills are great, but I really appreciate that they never assume I won’t understand something and take the time to explain their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I haven’t had any major issues with anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Consider working with them. They’re a quality organization that delivers top-quality work, and they’ve been understanding of our budgetary situation as a nonprofit. They’ve been proactive in making our site more secure and stable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a podcast host for a national railway trade association.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?

Relish Studio helped me put together and publish my podcast.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they helped me figure out what microphone and software I needed to record the audio. Then I delivered the tracks. I wrote the script for the intro and outro, but they edited it. They gave me multiple music option to choose from. After adding audio, they created a sound-over for an advertisement. Finally, they put the whole thing together, edited it, and published it, Now it’s available on iTunes and wherever listeners get their podcasts.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Stu (Co-Founder & CMO) and one other person.

How did you come to work with Relish Studio?

A friend of mine, who also has a podcast, referred them to me. She was really happy with their work, so I didn’t even consider another provider.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $500.

What is the status of this engagement?

I reached out to them in January 2021 and I accepted their proposal a few days later. I’ve been working with them ever since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They made starting the whole process very easy. As a result, I was able to get my podcast up and running.

How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Everyone met their deadlines. Stu is very good at responding to emails quickly and makes sure other teammates follow up if something is taking a while.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are fantastic. They told me exactly what they needed from me to do their jobs.

It doesn’t require a lot of my time, so I’m able to hand off a lot of my work to them. Our partnership is exactly what I was looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

New clients should have a Zoom call to meet Stu and get to know him before you start working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a novelist, and I own a touring company. I’m the president of both companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?

They created websites for both of my businesses.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of the websites was for my author’s business. I have 11 novels out, and the site provides an overview of those books. There are also images of the covers people can look at.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Stu (Co-Founder & CMO) and his partner Bret (Co-Founder & CTO). Stu helped me with the design, and Bret handled the backend work.

How did you come to work with Relish Studio?

Stu is an old college friend of mine, so we had history together.

How much have you invested with them?

If I had to average the total cost over the roughly 10 years we’ve worked together, I’ve spent around $3,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working with Stu since October 2011. Projects come and go between us — he’ll redesign a website and then we won’t do anything else for a year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The design is nice. It’s professional, clean, and easy to navigate. I’ve heard a lot of good praise from my readers and customers — they’ve also developed the website for my travel business. I’m happy with the ROI they’ve delivered in helping me get my messages out to my supporters.

How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very responsive, which I appreciate. Almost every time I send an email, they get back to me within the same business day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stu is very quick to react to my needs. It’s nice to know that I’m a priority for them when I have a need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve been very happy with their services and that I’ve gotten good value for the money. Relish delivered a very professional website. My business isn’t going anywhere.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Sit down with them and talk about the scope of your project. Communicating needs clearly is important as well. Relish is open to input from clients; it’s a collaborative effort. They’re the ones creating the website, but clients need to provide that specific direction. They’ve certainly reacted to my direction in a productive way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a law office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?

I needed help designing a logo for a new fitness company I started.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Relish Studio created a logo for my fitness company. The team asked for graphic elements, colors, and themes that I wanted to be conveyed. Then, they sent me several logo options to choose from. Finally, the team finalized it and gave it to me in different formats.

They also produce and edit a podcast we produce called “Maximum Enthusiasm”. I send them the MP3 files and the intro quote that I’d like to use. Relish Studio compiles the podcast episode and sends it to me as a downloadable file.

What is the team composition?

I work with Stuart (Author).

How did you come to work with Relish Studio?

Stuart and I belong to the same entrepreneur organization. I knew that what I needed was in his wheelhouse. When it was time to do these projects, I chose him.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d estimate the logo design was $2,000. The podcast he’s been doing pro bono, but I’d value those services at $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2018, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m exceptionally happy with their services.  He’s very timely, prompt, and consistently reliable. He’s always able to execute what I ask.

How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily communicate via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

His ability to be creative and deadline-oriented is really good. Oftentimes super creative people are difficult to pin down and get things completed. Stuart does a nice job of using his creativity for the project ideation and then actually executing on everything quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The clearer you are with your expectations and your objectives, the more you can set Stuart up for success and allow him to execute your missions.

A lot of people come into creative projects without knowing what they want, which leads to a more drawn-out process.

His creative team can only do as much as the customer is able to articulate what they want. Be succinct and direct with what you’re asking to avoid unclear communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a therapist and I own a private practice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?

I wanted to get my name out there and have a profile that looks like me and be very personal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stu (Co-Founder) came in and spent a lot of time interviewing me about what I was looking for and clarifying what those areas were. We looked at different examples of websites to determine what I liked and didn’t like. We worked directly on content including photography, the layout, forms, and graphics.

What is the team composition?

I mostly worked with Stu and then every once in a while I interfaced with the other partner, particularly on copy.

How did you come to work with Relish Studio?

I looked at a lot of reviews and then picked about 10 companies. Then I interviewed those companies either on the phone or in-person and chose Relish Studio. I was detailed in my search this time because I hired someone a couple of years back and it didn’t work out.

How much have you invested with them?

I invested between $10,000–$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2018–March 2019. The length of the time was due to me.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did a really good job with getting my name out there and showcasing what I do best. It was a very positive experience and I’m very pleased. I get a lot of call from people who see the website. I think it took a while to get some traction because I didn’t understand how to put something out there.

How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great; every time I asked for something, I got it. They quickly got done anything I needed and then just sent me an invoice. Relish Studio was very reasonable and very responsive. We communicated either over email or in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stu, as a person, was just really impressive because he really listened and did his research on the psychology profession. I just wanted to do something different and he did that. He understood what I was looking for and he seemed to get the language.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there is nothing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to give them as much as you can on what kind of website characteristics you’re looking for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of project development and operations at an education accessibility nonprofit. We’re creating an education system where the learning that happens both in and beyond school is accessible to all young people.

Our organization co-creates solutions for education and learning with families. Then we pilot those ideas. Once we pilot those ideas to a certain extent, I help grow the different initiatives to reach more families.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?

We needed a web presence when our organization was an infinitive. We had that engagement with another company that eventually turned over. The team at Relish Studio came from there, and we continued working with them. Since then, they’ve been tasked to help us keep our web presence up to date with our work, which has been rapidly evolving.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done two website overhauls with Relish Studio. They were changing things within the existing website to better reflect the work that was going on currently. Our website is hosted on Webflow. Every time I come to them with needed updates, I explain what we need from a programmatic standpoint. They then meet us from the technical angle and tell us what Webflow is capable of doing and how their designers can meet those programmatic needs.

What is the team composition?

I work with Bret (Co-Founder & CTO) and Stuart (Co-Founder & CMO).

How did you come to work with Relish Studio?

As I mentioned earlier, when our original partner dissolved their company, we were still in contact with some of the individuals who worked at that original company. We really liked our experience with those individuals so when they started Relish Studio, we wanted to continue partnering with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $5,000–$8,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started around October 2017. Now, they’re handling maintenance efforts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As we’ve done the mini overhauls over the years, we’ve received feedback that people are able to navigate our site better and that it’s more intuitive.

How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve communicated mostly by phone and email. Our teams have also had a handful of in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The people on the Relish Studio team are absolutely amazing to work with. I’m always amazed at how they meet us where we are. They could’ve easily told us they don’t take clients on Webflow because they primarily work with WordPress. Their team knew we didn’t have $10,000 to spend on a new WordPress site and continued to work with us to provide the technical support.

They allow us to make tweaks to the site within our budget. Relish Studio is flexible in their ability to meet us where we are. What’s more, they’re very fair from a price standpoint. As a nonprofit, that’s always important to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They listen to what their clients need and reverberate what technical capabilities are needed to make that happen. Sometimes, we’ve looked for a strategy partner in what exactly we’re putting on our website and if that’s a good idea. I know some web developers provide that kind of feedback.

In our experience with Relish Studio, whatever we say we want on the site, they do it. My only feedback is if the client wants it, they should get more feedback from them about the type of information that is out there or not.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re so easy to work with and responsive. Have a conversation with them; it’s the easiest way to get them going with your project.