Helping purpose-focused businesses thrive.
We create conversion-focused marketing solutions for purpose-focused businesses and nonprofits. Our commitment to “Purposeful Design” is built into our ethos, as is our pledge to purposeful living through environmental stewardship.
You’ve always been a go-getter. And thus far, you’ve been able to handle your organizations’ marketing on your own. But something’s missing. Predictable donor and volunteer engagement.
All the work you have been doing simply isn’t building the relationships and opportunities you need to keep your organization moving forward leaving you feeling SUPER frustrated and powerless. You often wonder, “Is all this effort even worth it?”
We get it. At Relish, we believe every organization should be able to thrive through marketing. We understand the frustration experienced when your efforts aren’t connecting.
That’s why we create online campaigns that help you cut through the noise and inspire your audience to take action. Imagine the relief you’ll feel when your marketing is working for you.
Ready to make your nonprofit thrive?
Focus
Portfolio
We work wth a wide range of growth-focused clients seeking to gain visibility online. Our client list includes: Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, Valen Analytics, GroundFloor Media, Key Enhanced, Faction Media, Brightstar, Collins Cockrel & Cole, CIG Logistics, Techstars, Intermountain Wind, Lighthouse Conferencing, and Startek, to name a few.
Altitude Community Law Website Design and Development
Altitude Law is a Denver based law firm specializing in Community Association and HomeOwners’ Association (HOA) legal services and education. The firm is well known for its culture of fun, friendliness, and an eagerness to help. They provide a large volume of historical information and educational materials on their site to help navigate a variety of HOA problems and challenges that can arise. Altitude is well known for its community outreach and engagement through educational workshops and training.They already had decent search engine results placement but were eager to do a rebranding that reflected their culture and personality and incorporate a more modern look and feel on their site.
ChallengeAltitude approached Relish to assist them in making their website easier to navigate and to improve the educational engagement opportunities for their target audience. The overall goal was to ensure that the wealth of information and resources they had developed over the course of their tenure was easily accessible. The firm also wanted to rebrand so that their clients felt the fun and eagerness to help that is present in the office but was not reflected in their original site.
Results/SolutionsRelish commenced with a deep exploration of Altitude Law’s audience, culture, and wealth of assets to produce a variety of design options for their new site. The WordPress-based integration needed to focus on fun, be friendly and accessible, and showcase not only the positivity associated with the firm but create improved organization and content design to engage with their target audiences. Being a law firm for HOA organizations, the site needed to allow individuals without a legal background to quickly find the resources needed for their HOA situations. Relish sourced photography and bright colors to help reinforce the story and deliver a truly unique website experience-when compared to other law firms.
Association for Experiencial Education - Learn Through Experience Website
LTE had a strong desire to create a new website that would enable its parent organization, the Association for Experiential Education, to increase the reach for its partner programs and facilitate connections between these service providers and the general public. LTE wanted its website to highlight the vast amount of connections and partners they work with. Because of how quickly their partners were updated and how many people would be working on the site, Relish had to create a database solution that would allow the LTE staff to quickly and easily update partner information on the website. They wanted the website to become an anchor for their outreach and engagement efforts.
ChallengeTo successfully create a new website that would address the database needs for both the LTE staff and visitors to the site, Relish had to craft the data structure and search features to enable LTE staff to manage their partner information as well as allow visitors to search and gain access to partners to contact for their services.
SolutionTo approach this project, Relish created a new logo for the organization and developed outreach strategies, online presence, and supported organic search leads through SEO services, inbound marketing, and paid search efforts.
Relish helped to develop a database and search mechanism within WordPress that helped LTE staff easily update the site when new partner organizations came on board as well as designed a user-friendly interface and search mechanism for site visitors to use to narrow down resources that best fit their educational needs.
ResultsWithin the first year, the new LTE site’s traffic grew to attract over 3500 visitors per month and created over 8000 connections per year for its partner organizations.
Maximum Enthusiasm - From an idea to 5-star rated podcast in under a year
Strategy, set-up, and editing of a kickass, new podcast
OverviewThe Maximum Enthusiasm podcast is designed to explore living one’s life fully optimized. On each episode, host Megan Hottman sits with different influencers and positive people who are maximally enthusiastic, fully optimized, best life followers! Megan currently has a large backlog of episodes available for listening and 5-Star review on iTunes and Google Play.
ChallengeMegan had never started a podcast before but was interested in an interview format and concept to introduce awesome people doing awesome things. Megan’s background as an athlete and entrepreneur made her want to create a solid product out of the gate. Because this project was starting from scratch, Megan did not have equipment, knowledge, branding, or support systems in place. Approaching Relish studio, Megan asked for support in learning and developing a solid program that would engage her audience.
Results/SolutionsBecause Relish did not focus primarily focus on podcast production at the time, we leveraged our standard processes and apply them to the podcast. Starting with Relish’s structured intake process, we were able to identify and understand Megan’s needs and where her skills landed. From there, Relish worked to provide support through research, asset creation, podcast editing, and general marketing advice to allow Megan to excel at booking and interviewing her guests. After overcoming some initial technical hurdles around equipment and how to best set up and record optimal audio, we were able to help build a podcast that attracted a faithful audience, spun up nearly 30 episodes in its first 4 months, and achieved a 5-star rating on iTunes.
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado: Stepping Up Stewardship - Nonprofit eCommerce
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) approached Relish and asked for assistance in creating a new, eCommerce website to expand their mission beyond Colorado. This new site would enable the VOC to provide resources and tools for organizations outside of the state. These resources will help them gain access to and purchase support materials that help organizations navigate the complexity and challenges of developing a volunteer corps and sustainability projects. The site needed to be easy to use, integrate CiviCore-a non-profit-focused CRM, and be able to be built upon and expanded as the organization’s business grows.
ChallengeVOC recognized the power of their brand and how to leverage it’s strength to engage an expanded, diverse audience. The challenge with this project came primarily from the integration of their website with the non-profit-focused CRM system, CiviCore. Complex integrations needed to be made which required Relish to develop unique coding and website solutions to make the CRM systems function seamlessly. These integrations were critical to enable interested parties to effectively engage with the system and move through the interface smoothly.
Results/SolutionsTo successfully integrate the CiviCore CRM into the site, with the necessary customization to make it work, Relish created a custom web design on the WordPress Platform to provide a pathway-driven online experience for accessing and purchasing volunteer coordination resources. We also used CiviCore’s API to integrate the CRM with the new site to enable the usage of analytics tracking, eCommerce interactions, and single-database management systems for user engagement and tracking. The complexity of these systems were designed to not interfere with the user’s experience and in fact makes everything from a user experience seamless and easy to use.
Branding, Collateral, and Web Design for Colorado Law Firm
Overview
Collins Cockrel & Cole, a Denver area law firm had recently celebrated their 40th year in business and approached Relish for help with a brand refresh, website design and development, and strategy. The firm wanted to focus their efforts on positioning their firm as a modern, forward thinking leader in their space to ensure that they would attract and retain top clients and talent.
ChallengeBecause of the firm’s established brand and 40-year history, there was trepidation that the brand refresh and update would be unnecessary and, with a majority of their clients being long term retainers or referrals, some stakeholders were concerned that modernization of their web presence could be a distraction.One of their biggest fears was a brand update could potentially disrupt their current successes and change the brand too much to where their business would not be seen in the same leadership role within their peer community. However, they also recognized that their outdated aesthetic could be a deterrent for future expansion of the organization particularly in terms of recruitment of younger lawyers.
Results/SolutionsTo build stakeholder trust, during the exploration and discovery phases of the project, Relish studio was sensitive to capitalizing on the firm’s rich history and using that information to build the brand foundation. From there, we developed a full profile for their marketplace, target audience, and internal style demands. Relish then created new brand elements (logos, guidelines, email signatures, collateral, signage, etc.) and a custom, responsive website which we deployed on a new, user-friendly CMS. We also designed and developed print ad materials for use in industry publications and delivered all of these materials prior to an industry trade show during which CCC was able to present these new materials to their target audience. The new update was appealing and attracted a much younger demographic which will greatly help with future hiring endeavors.
Valen Analytics - Refreshed website, refreshing results
An advanced data and analytics provider turned to Relish to reinvigorate a tired site—and ended up renewing its relationship with customers.
The WhoWorking with property and casualty insurers who are looking for modern approaches to pricing, risk selection, claims triage, and premium fraud, Valen provides data analytics to help improve underwriting profit.
ProblemValen’s website design and content were dated—and the overall approach was too product-centric for a marketplace that had come to demand more.
SolutionRelish’s customer-focused approach to “purposeful design” was a perfect fit. A fresh and modern design complimented a website newly reorganized around customer needs.
BenefitThe new site produced lifts in almost every major metric—as well as happier staff at Valen and a more satisfied customer base.
The challengeEven though Valen’s website was already built on the WordPress content management system, Valen needed to focus on their clients’ needs, pain points, and the company’s own solution. The website was getting in the way of demonstrating how Valen’s data analytics platform worked to alleviate those pains.
The solutionDiscovery and strategy sessions helped zero in on the problems Valen’s customers were having, the results that Valen could deliver, and the way to present their solution to make a connection between the two.
The resultsRelish built a new website and gave Valen the tools to update it themselves, building a back-end editor for easy page layout and content creation. A tight integration with the Marketo marketing automation suite also gave Valen the ability to quickly create at will landing pages that match the new web design.
The bottom lineRecent stats show traffic from the home page to the contact page is up 45%. Landing page views have nearly quadrupled, and conversion rates have risen from 12% to 17%—evidence of the power of a clear focus on the customer. Within three years, Valen was acquired by Insurity.
Reviews
the project
Web Design & Development for Stewardship Nonprofit
“Their communication was top-notch.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
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.
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.
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.
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.
the project
Web Dev for Nonprofit Organization
"They’re good people, which makes our work as easy as possible."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
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.
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.
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.
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.
the project
Podcast Production for Podcast Company
Our partnership is exactly what I was looking for.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m a podcast host for a national railway trade association.
What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?
Relish Studio helped me put together and publish my podcast.
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.
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.
the project
Website Development for Novelist
"Relish delivered a very professional website. My business isn’t going anywhere."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
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.
What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?
They created websites for both of my businesses.
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.
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.
the project
Logo Design & Podcast Editing for Fitness Company
“I’m exceptionally happy with their services.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the owner of a law office.
What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?
I needed help designing a logo for a new fitness company I started.
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.
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.
the project
Web Dev for Therapy Private Practice
"Stu, as a person, was just really impressive because he really listened and did his research."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m a therapist and I own a private practice.
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.
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.
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.
the project
Web Development for Education Accessibility Nonprofit
“The people on the Relish Studio team are absolutely amazing to work with.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
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.
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.
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.
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.
the project
Website Development for PR Company
"They deliver quality products above our expectations."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the co-founder of a digital agency called CenterTable that does digital marketing communications.
What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?
We hired Relish Studio for website development.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Relish Studio is developing our website on WordPress. They’re implementing a number of capabilities including user profiles, maps, and geography capabilities.
What is the team composition?
We work with Stu (Co-Founder) and one other person.
How did you come to work with Relish Studio?
We’ve worked with them for a number of years and continue to do so because we’re very happy with their work.
How much have you invested with them?
On this project, we’ve invested between $15,000–$25,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We began working together in January 2011 and the collaboration is still ongoing. We wrapped up about four different projects within the last year.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We measure the success with them on a number of different levels. Number one is the timeliness and ability to meet deadlines. Number two is quality and completeness. Number three is the measure of success by our client's satisfaction and happiness. We’re very happy with their work and they make our lives easier.
How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re great at meeting deadlines.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They deliver quality products above our expectations, which is really all we can ask for.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, there's nothing.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Bring them in early and in the planning stages so that they can truly help shape the development and the project itself. They’re great at being task-oriented and delivering what was asked for, but they really excel when you bring them into the planning stages and allow them to share their expertise and knowledge from the beginning as opposed to just being delivered a set of requirements.
the project
Dev and Marketing Strategy for Mobile Advertising Agency
“I trust them—they’ve put themselves in a position where we would defer to them on anything if we had doubts.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m one of the co-founders as well as the COO of Carrier App Traffic, a mobile advertising agency. We promote and market apps on our platform and our customers’ phones, usually in collaboration with mobile phone carriers and other agencies. We’ve been in the mobile space for about 18 years.
What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?
At that time, we had zero web presence. We wanted to create a brand identity in order to improve our marketing and recruit better advertising partners. We also wanted to have tools for updating all kinds of online messaging, including social media, in a simple and efficient fashion.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They’ve taken a coordinated approach to creating a successful online presence for our company. They’ve helped us with brand strategy, web design, inbound marketing, and SEO [search engine optimization]. Together, we defined the scope, identified our goals, and built client personas, which set the tone for the brand identity and the resulting marketing collateral. Afterward, they gave us options that ranged from the conservative and middle-of-the-road to the more creative. It was great that they gave us a few different tracks since it helped us see the possibilities. In the end, we felt that the middle ground would best represent our company.
What is the team dynamic?
We dealt mostly with Stu [Co-founder and CMO, Relish Studio], Brett [Co-founder and CTO, Relish Studio], and 1 other person.
How did you come to work with Relish Studio?
We’ve worked with some interesting partners, and Stu was one of them. He reached out to us when he formed Relish. It was an easy decision to work with him again considering our past history. We had created some successful business ventures together, and we were appreciative of his efforts. We also respected his ability to solve problems and achieve objectives.
How much have you invested with them?
So far, we’ve spent $21,000 on their services.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in October 2015, and the engagement is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
I must admit I haven’t spent much time measuring their impact. However, I can tell you that having a presence in our space is important, and they’ve helped us achieve that. We now have cohesion and consistency in our messaging. Having a clean, professional, and positive message helps us establish credibility and gives our partners the confidence that we can get the job done. We’ve received compliments on the work Relish has done, which is a good indicator of success.
Since they’ve provided us with effective tools, we can now do things on our own in a nimble fashion. We don’t need a marketing team to manage these tools since they can be handled by account managers, which is an advantage for a small company like us. Even people who don’t typically engage in this part of the business can give input. While I can’t equate it to dollars and cents, their work has put us in a spot to make money.
Initially, I volunteered to take this project on and work directly with Relish. SEO was new to me, so I required a certain level of orientation and simpler tools, which I had to teach to others. I came in with no knowledge of the category, and now I feel like I know enough to accomplish things that are important to the company. They did a great job with that.
How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re very collaborative. They communicate clearly when setting objectives and meeting deadlines—they couldn’t have made it easier for us. Our team uses a variety of project management tools while they use Basecamp, which is very easy to work with. We have regular weekly meetings. They respond quickly to our questions, so they aren’t handling everything during our meetings.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Trust is the biggest thing, and I trust them—they’ve put themselves in a position where we would defer to them on anything if we had doubts. I don’t feel the need to negotiate with or question Stu if he wants to go in a direction that I’m not quite sure of. So far, he always tells us when something’s right or wrong, and we’ve done the same. If there is any gap, he’s reasonable and meets us in the middle. You don’t always get that with similar companies, where you feel like you need to cover your exposure. In the future, if Stu finds himself in a different industry, we’d probably work with him if we needed those services as well.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Since they’re a small company, I wondered if we could get enough time and effort from their team. We didn’t want to be outsourced to vendors or assigned to junior staff. Despite my initial concerns, they are doing great. Any mild trepidation I had around their capacity was unfounded.
the project
Web Design and Dev for Insurance Company
"Relish stands out in their ability to be a business partner and not just a tech development firm."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
Valen Analytics is an advanced data and predictive analytics firm, serving the property and casualty insurance industry. We are known for building underwriting risk models that help insurers price and assess risk. I am the chief marketing officer.
What challenge were you trying to address with Relish Studio?
Our website was out of date and we had done a pretty big pivot in terms of our market and product’s positioning. We’re moving from a packaged-up solution to more of solution selling. We’re breaking apart our individual capabilities so that we can communicate to our prospects all the many ways in which we can solve their problems. It required us to overhaul all our messaging and positioning and the way we talk about our products and solutions and capabilities. We set out to find a web development firm that could produce a great looking modern website, but would also want to partner with us to think through how to make that message come to life on our website.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We started out by outlining the way Valen was messaging and positioning at that time and what the evolution would look like. It was a great collaboration between ourselves and the Relish team. They were passionate and inquisitive about our business and our market, the problems we were trying to achieve, and understanding our customers with us.
They understood that their job is not just to code a website, but to help us win in the market and having a website be our central hub for accomplishing that. We spent a good amount of time making sure they had a very solid understanding of where we were, and where we were headed and why before we created a graphic or a copy for web pages. This was the first phase.
During the second phase, we started to create the website architecture and made sure we had something that was going to support what we needed. Relish’s process for this was thoughtful and organized, which I really appreciated. They stood out in their ability to really think this through with us and create something that was going to work for Valen.
Then there was the final execution. We used the website to do a brand refresh and to revamp our visual presence and professional image. We wanted the website to drive how we would execute our brand across all our other collateral presentations. The third phase was getting the brand look and feel right, making sure all the copy and content supported it, and then the production of the website.
How did you come to work with Relish Studio?
I was doing a broad search of firms. We are based in Denver, like they are, but we were open to Denver based firms or folks elsewhere. They were recommended to us. Given the complexity of our product solution, I needed someone who could understand enough about predictive analytics and insurance to be able to help us simplify that message. It’s a big challenge, and we needed someone who had enough professional background and business acumen. I chose them over the other firms because I felt as a web development company, they had the right level of business acumen, and I really liked the way in which they organized projects. They take the time to learn about you and then walk you through a good, organized project management timeline. We just clicked.
How much have you invested with them?
The website redesign cost between $40,000 and $50,000. We have used them on an ongoing basis for various projects.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in 2015.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Website traffic has trended up. We have increased visitors who come to the site and submit a form. So, from the known to the unknown visitors. For all of the key metrics, we saw improvement. Organic traffic, time on site, people registering and filling out forms and creating leads for us to nurture; we saw meaningful progress for all of those metrics that we outlined with them at the beginning.
How did Relish Studio perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re outstanding. I highly recommend them. We communicate by phone, email, and since we’re local, we do get together in person from time to time.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I’ve worked with many web development firms over the years. Relish stands out in their ability to be a business partner and not just a tech development firm. They rise to the top for me with their understanding of how important that is. When picking a website provider, not everybody rises to that level.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Nothing comes to mind.
Relish Studio’s work helped their client attain over 1,000 downloads of their guide materials in the first month. The new site receives healthy traffic and it speaks to their client’s database effectively. The team is responsive and professional. Relish’s customer service is second to none.