SEM Nexus

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive for an online search engine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SEM Nexus?

We hired them for a suite of activities from site design to four major milestones for development including API integration. We also hired them for UX/UI design and migration from another site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website was hosted on GoDaddy and was built with WordPress; we were also using AWS. 

What is the team dynamic?

We never had a project manager, we just met with the CTO. 

How did you come to work with SEM Nexus?

SEM Nexus was a referral. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $18,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between January–February 2023. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

We were told the project would be done in six weeks, and after 12 weeks had gone by, we decided to move on without them. 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

They delivered the work, but it was never finished. We paid them for all of the work, but SEM Nexus gave us an incomplete project. We’ve had to hire freelancers because the work was incomplete.

How was project management handled?

They were unpleasant to work with, and they didn’t communicate at all throughout the whole process. We never had meetings or updates from them even though we reached out. SEM Nexus got aggravated at us for reaching out and told us that we were wasting their time. 

We reached out via email and were told to sign up for a time slot on their calendar, but we were chasing them down the whole time to follow up on work. In many cases, SEM Nexus would show up late or miss the meetings altogether. 

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

We thought their UX/UI design on the final website was good. 

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

I would recommend not hiring them, but if you do, expect to do a lot of the work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My name is Daniel Behnam, I’m a project manager at the company. The company is a construction company specializing in commercial and retail build outs in the NYC metro area and surrounding areas.

The position of Project Manager focuses on managing the job site and all trades in order to deliver a custom tailored build out for the customer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SEM Nexus, and what were your goals?

SEM Nexus helped us run our in house digital marketing campaign on Google Ads to acquire leads.

SOLUTION

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

We searched them up on a google search.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

They’ve set up our ad account, and have run the campaign for it. We received regular reports from their reporting dashboard. SEM Nexus also helped us set up our conversion event so that we could monitor their performance.

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

4 members Mike, ceo Neil, campaign manager John, designer Rafael, copywriter

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We’ve been working together for a little while now and we already have a bunch of new leads.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow has been really good. We have weekly meetings with Mike and Neil. Once in a while other team members would jump in as well.

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

They are really quick to respond, polite and set realistic expectations. A lot of other companies promised us some lofty goals that I didn’t think were possible, and Mike cleared that up for us within our first few meetings. We’re really glad we had the call with them before proceeding with the other firm.

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

They weren’t the cheapest solution we’ve seen, but they definitely made up for it in quality. Looking back, I don’t think I’d change anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of trucking review platform Truck’N headquartered in Dallas, TX.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SEM Nexus, and what were your goals?

We wanted to develop a user friendly mobile app for truckers to access our tools. Semnexus was hired to completely save a disaster of a project built by previous developers. Due to my amazing experience I’m also using Semnexus for marketing purposes with hopes of them bringing great traffic to our platform.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online and read a ton on reviews on different app developers. After speaking with Semnexus and discussing their plans, cost, etc.. I trusted it was a good plan to move forward with them.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

After our initial discovery call we decided to meet twice per week via video call. Our meetings were to discuss changing visions and the objectives of the app. We were provided a wireframe detailing each feature of our app so that. Seeing that wireframe brought confidence to this project. A month in I had a TestFlight iOS version of app. We were giving frequent updates to test. They were always flexible and open minded with all conversations in regards to seeing the vision come to life. App was beta tested prior to going live.

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

A project manager (Marco) was our main point of contact. What I appreciated most about him is that he was very realistic with his deliverables. Of course I’d want everything completed in minutes but Marco set real expectations and always delivered on everything he ever stated on time and in great detail.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We chose Semnexus after a bad experience with previous development company. Night and day comparison in our experiences with each. Semnexus exceeded our expectations with the completion of our project. The completed version is user friendly and very simple to navigate. Semnexus focused on the details and it shows.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The project manager (Marco) was very polite and always professional. He was very related which I personally appreciated especially being new to the tech world. He never over promised and under delivered, in fact he was the exact oppposite at times. On several occasions things weren’t smooth (that’s every business relationship) but he always took ownership versus coming up with excuses. We met twice per week via video calling.

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

Their attention to detail was beyond our expectations. The wireframe was very detailed. The finally product on both iOS and Android was even better. They did a thorough job completing this project. I was so impressed with their work that I decided to stay and let them complete the marketing also.

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

We wouldn’t change much other than ensuring we understand some of the technical terms. Honestly not much I’d change due to such an amazing experience.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Business liaisons officer and company compliance

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SEM Nexus, and what were your goals?

We wanted them to develop a social media app similar to Instagram bu specifically for food. Revenue would be in the form of paid adverts from the hospitality industry. App is on both GooglePlay and iOS.

SOLUTION

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

As we wanted a social media app we were impressed by SEM Nexus's reviews especially within marketing and thought they would be a good fit.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had lots of meetings especially at the beginning, however the app was created in Flutter which was not stated on the original proposal and they failed to deliver on time, in fact they didn't finish the project as it should be, instead they simply gave up as they lacked the expertise to perfect it in the way it should of operated.

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

Just 2 the CEO Mike and his so called COO Marco

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

They failed to deliver on time, as soon as they app was live and so called "finished" according to Mike & Marco there were numerous issues in fact half of the features simply didn't work on certain androids and numerous issues on iOS. They were expecting US THE CLIENT to be able to test the product on every android and iOS.

I've never come across an app development company that puts an app live without thoroughly testing it. For months & months they would try to tweak or correct something only to cause another major issue & this went on & on and the CEO became defensive and quite frankly dismissive.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

In the beginning it seemed great they were communicating well mainly by video conference, but sadly, they were out of their depth with our project and lacked the expertise to complete it and we are now spending more money on another development company to correct all their coding errors. Marco the COO talks over you instead of actually listening and Mike sat in meetings with his hands covering his face as every meeting the errors kept going on and on.

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

Their ability to sound like they know what they're doing, however the reality is the complete opposite.

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

Communication with Marco the COO was at times difficult and at worst condescending. When things started to go wrong they were unable to cope and got frustrated with us because their expertise was inadequate for such a big project. I would NOT RECOMMEND them for App development.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My name is Mason Kalaty, and I’m the founder and CEO of Uptick. Uptick is a software consultancy/IT firm. We also utilize our own custom CRM to assist in our own inbound prospects as well as our clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SEM Nexus, and what were your goals?

Digital marketing and campaign management for clientele.

SOLUTION

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

We found them on Clutch. I spoke with them to decide if they would be helpful and they seemed promising.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

SEM Nexus provided us with the following: Setup and ran multiple digital campaigns across Facebook and Google. Designed the ad copy and creative for our advertisements. Setup web analytics and in depth funnel analysis. Monitored and adjusted our campaigns for optimal performance.

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

We worked with 2 people from SEM Nexus, our campaign manager and the owner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Within a month of starting with them, our client already started seeing more traffic to their products, and ultimately more conversions.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There were initial challenges in communicating with our assigned campaign manager, but as soon as I brought this up, Mike stepped in and resolved the situation. Since then, our communication has been seamless with weekly standup meetings and regular communication through Slack.

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

They were attentive to detail on all of the technicalities of the project. Also, they didn’t shy away from showing us exactly what they did and why they did it. Everything made perfect sense from the very beginning.

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

Organization and initial communication could use work. Sometimes it was a little challenging to retrieve work they’ve done for us in the past, and in the beginning our communication was not stellar. They need better processes on reporting and communicating with clients from the onset. With that being said, as the campaign progressed, they attended to all of our concerns.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Istruzi is a business management platform built on Ios to address the specific needs of Golf Swing Coaches. Istruzi uses digital and automated alternatives to every aspect of a golf coaches teaching business. Our automated booking platform enables player self serve session booking, payment processing, storage of content and teaching material, and long term player/ coach communication and collaboration. I am the founder and CEO of Istruzi.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SEM Nexus?

Digital Marketing campaign management

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Introduction from my development firm

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

• SEM suggested user Event tracking and also Integrating user events from my developers for tracking in Amplitude
• uses Branch for smart links and tracking origination of user traffic
• building the content campaigns for Apple, Google, Facebook (Instagram)
• We spent a lot of time trying to figure out why our FB ads were not integrating and getting approved. This was not the fault of SEM - it was all on the FB side. their team was very attentive and constantly trying to find or suggest fixes.
• managing the budget and cost per click per my feedback
• managing key words per their advice
• outreach and procurement of UGC from influencers to use for marketing material

What was the team composition?

Founder Mike scope and understood the need Aligned Digital Marketing Campaign Manager - Jeffrey

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Once we got to the app store, we need to add new users to the platform and build out waitlist. within a few weeks of launching public ad campaigns, we saw an immediate lift to net new coaches downloading and creating profiles on our platform. Which allows us to incrementally onboard those coaches with 1 v 1 sessions.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

With any partnership we had to work on early project start up and integration of tools. Our tool stack is not their base stack so that took some extra time, which was expected. We also had to work through alignment of SEM campaign managers, but Mike was responsive, took my feedback seriously, and took action right away when it was necessary.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Flexibility and attentiveness to Istruzi as a customer. They also know what they are doing and take the time to research topics or questions they may be running into for the first time. Because Mike is an entrepreneur and running a successful business, he also know what it takes and understands the unique challenges of building a business.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

Alignment of Ad Campaign managers to projects who have demonstrated or cleared a certain level of internal training. We understand, its not fair to expect everyone to be professionally mature and/or adept right away. to address this, there should be some combination of: training, mentoring, on the job shadowing, or direct pilot/ co pilot support when adding new Campaign managers to an active customer engagement. this will ensure near term and long term positive results and value delivered.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and co-founder for Yogi-Go, Inc. Yogi-Go through the Yogi-Go Fitness app connects individuals looking for an in-home, private workout with the certified personal trainers and yoga instructors in their area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SEM Nexus, and what were your goals?

Initially, we hired SEM Nexus to handle the marketing for an app made with another developer. That other developer failed to provide the app we needed, but SEM Nexus has onboarded a development team that we quickly hired to help salvage our project.

We needed a mobile app that would utilize location services to connect people looking for fitness instructors. It also needed it to handle the communication, booking, and payment for an easy and secure experience.

SOLUTION

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

We already had a working relationship started, so the choice was easy for us. At the time, we had already seen open communication and on-time deliverables that were satisfactory to our needs (in marketing).

When our existing app failed to meet expectations, the SEM Nexus team shared there honest opinions about the project. Honesty and open communication were key to our business relationship's success. The quality work in the deliverables is a close second.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Once we decided to build a new app with the SEM Nexus team, we had a series of meetings to create a new wireframe design that included the key functions and preferred visual elements. The development team again provided suggestions and shared their opinion with us throughout this process to help guide us toward success.

The app was designed for both iOS and Android. It included two different user types: one as the client looking for location matched service providers. The match is based on fitness exercise tags and location data for the provider. Clients can send booking requests and pay in the app, as well as engage in chat before and after sessions.

Push notifications and automated emails keep the users informed of various reminders and actions to take. The app even has a rating system to feature on the user profiles.

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

For development specifically, we worked directly with the CTO. He helped get our project on track from day one design to development and execution of the app. He continues to be our point of contact for all revisions and support moving forward.

He is very easy to work with and schedule call times with when you need more conversation than an email.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The app development process was a little slower than we initially hoped for, but the resulting product has an excellent design that is visually appealing and user friendly.

After just over a month of advertising, we have passed the 500 downloads benchmark with a growing base of interested users.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Since we had one main point of contact, it was easy to discuss next steps throughout the project with the person in charge of our development work. We primarily communicated via email and video calls on Google Meet set up several times a week during design phase, then down to weekly and as needed check ins.

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

The ease of communication and the willingness to share an opinion that was counter to our thought at times. We had and a lot to learn about that we needed in an app and even how all of these elements work together, so they provided education and guidance throughout this process.

It was wonderful to have a working relationship with someone who will push back and challenge our thoughts on something, which ultimately leads us to the best option.

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

During development and testing, the app was occasionally shared with us to review a change or update that was not even present or corrected in our test. There a number of reasons that this might happen, but it did give us the impression that there was a miscommunication internally or perhaps a just missing the double check to verify task completion with the work.

We wanted to be a part of the process, so this might be different for other projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a dating app. I’m also the founder and creator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SEM Nexus?

I wanted to hire a marketing company to help me market my app through GoogleAds, Apple Search Ads, Facebook Ads, and Instagram Ads. My goal was to get the word out that there was a new app in the market to give customers and clients the ability to join and create profiles on.

SEM Nexus was doing great at first, and I was initially very happy with the team and how professional and supportive the team was. I was impressed with the ads that they created for me to run on various platforms and I saw the potential of working with SEM Nexus to create a success for my app with their expertise.

Unfortunately due to internal issues, majority of the employees at SEM Nexus quit and that impacted the performance of the company on my app. The second month of my engagement with SEM Nexus was nothing like my first month, and that is why I updated my original review to reflect my experience with the company. After my second review was published, Mike (CEO) reached out to me to alleviate some of my concerns and to help me resolve the issues that I was having with the company. Mike was extremely apologetic and sympathetic to my concerns, and he offered to refund me my second months retainer costs to alleviate the issues which is very admirable, and I want to make sure that he is recognized for that for helping me resolve my issues.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SEM Nexus does my digital marketing. I also work with their social media director to get influencers to launch the campaign. They’ve also done my graphics, my ads, my video promos, our description in the App Store and Google Play, and keywords.

What is the team dynamic?

After initially speaking with Mike, he put me in touch with a project manager, as well as someone to help with social media and influencer marketing.

When the team is working together and on the same goal, they work pretty well together and is very well cohesive. I know that there are new employees in training, and these employees will become an asset when they are fully trained and ready to take on any project and task.

How did you come to work with SEM Nexus?

I interviewed several teams on Clutch that were in my price range for my project. I chose SEM Nexus because of the quality of work that they showed me as well as the potential to get more investors from their network of investors. They also will create your VC prep for investors and that to me was something that was not offered by any other company.

How much have you invested with them?

$15,000-$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I have decided to work with another company to help me market my app at this point but I have no issues with Sem Nexus as they tried to do their best to their ability to help me and my project and I appreciate that.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

Initially was great, then it was not so great after the employees quit, and now that they are rebuilding their company back to where it was, I have no issues. The CEO has tried to help me as much as he can and I really appreciate that.

How did SEM Nexus address the challenges that arose?

Mike refunded me my second-month retainer in good faith attempt to alleviate the issues that I was having with the company. I appreciate this gesture as it was very appreciated. I have limited resources to market my app at this stage so this really helped me try to fix the problems that I was having with my marketing plan.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

Initially was great but then it did not work out for me in the end. I am happy with where I am now with my company as I am working with another vendor and I have been refunded half of my costs with SEM Nexus and that is admirable.

How was project management handled?

It was handled to the best ability. Unfortunately when the company lost employees that affected my outcome and goals. However I have been compensated for the mistakes that were made.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

The visuals and ads that were created for me on my first month were really great.

In what specific areas can they improve?

Account management needs improvement, however this will improve with time as the current employees become more seasoned and experienced.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Really do your research before hiring any company. I find that a crucial to your success.

UPDATED REVIEW

Ali Ashouri

CEO, Dating App

Social Networking

1-10 Employees

Los Angeles, California, United States (26487)

$10,000 to $49,999

Mar 2022 - Ongoing

Project summary:

SEM Nexus was contracted to provide social media and digital marketing services. They set agreed-upon goals for users and downloads at the three-month mark and made initial strides to develop creative. 

Feedback summary:

After missing promised targets by 90%, the vendor ended the relationship and has not refunded any of the cost, despite the client's requests. The client reports high turnover and costly time spent training new resources. When they elevated concerns to management, executives were nonresponsive. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a dating app. I’m also the founder and creator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SEM Nexus?

I wanted to hire a marketing company to help me market my app through GoogleAds, Apple Ads, Facebook Ads, and Instagram Ads. My goal was to get the word out that there was a new app in the market to give customers and clients the ability to join and create profiles on.

SOLUTION

What is the team composition?

The first person I spoke to was Mike (CEO). He told me what his company offered, and everything sounded great. I was particularly excited about the connections with investors that they said would be available to me after I worked with them. Other companies didn’t offer that, and I was looking forward to the ability to raise more money to continue marketing my app. They promised that, after marketing my app on Apple and Google for three months, I would have 10,000 users and 10,000 downloads.

After speaking with Mike, he put me in touch with a project manager, as well as someone to help with social media and influencer marketing.

How did you come to work with SEM Nexus?

I found them on Clutch, along with a number of other companies inside my price range. I interviewed them separately and thought that SEM Nexus had the best pitch for the money I was going to spend.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $15,000–$20,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since March 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

We’ve hit that three-month mark, and I have 930 downloads, not 10,000. I paid them a retainer for the creative work during the first month, and I was very happy with the results. I then did a first Clutch interview, as they’d done what said they would so far: create the app store listing and create a few ads. They haven’t done anything since then, however. The project manager and a number of other resources quite simultaneously, and even after giving the CEO time to hire new people, I still had to train the resources they assigned.

Moving forward, they created ads that targeted the entirely wrong population. My app is only for women, and they were targeting ads to men, meaning I was wasting money. I even had to remove those people from the app because it wasn’t for them.

How did SEM Nexus address the challenges that arose?

After bringing these issues up with the CEO, he said that they were going to end the partnership because they didn’t like working with me. I haven’t received any money back.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

I didn’t receive any sort of professional marketing — no ads, no social media posts — and I was paying them a $4,000 retainer. On top of that, they kept changing the terms of the contract. When I first did an influencer contract with someone, the only cost was to the influencer, but the second time we did a contract, SEM Nexus instituted a 20% fee for themselves on top of the influencer cost. Additionally, they told me I could pay by credit card but then they never disclosed that this incurred an extra 3% fee. All of these fees were piled on top of them not delivering. They kept changing the terms of my contract without telling me to make themselves more money.

I can’t believe I wasted my time and resources with them. Why did I spend all this money when I have limited resources and could have gotten serious, professional help elsewhere? They also promised me that I would get data back on my app, and I never received a single data set. I had app tracking software installed, even paying for it, and SEM Nexus never used it.

How was project management handled?

Initially, when the relationship was solid, they delivered on time and were available and accessible. They even gave me their phone numbers. Responses to my emails came quickly, and that was nice.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

Initially, their connections with investors stood out. I never reached the stage of getting to meet with them, so I don’t know if that was true or something they just said to get my to sign on with them.

I don’t know if they were more effective at an earlier time, but they’re not doing well with their current structure.

Star Ratings:

Overall Rating: 0.5

Quality: 2.5

Cost: 0.5

Schedule: 0.5

Willing to refer: 0.5

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Gorjian Acquisitions is a privately held real estate investment firm based in New York, specializing in acquiring and operating opportunistic value-add properties. As the firm's Vice President, my obligations include overseeing all Real Estate Acquisitions and JV Equity Investments at Gorjian, and in doing so administrates micro-level investment strategies, financial analysis/valuation, due diligence and investor relations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SEM Nexus, and what were your goals?

Our digital presence prior to working with SEM Nexus was very poor, our website was awful and did not encourage engagement. Additionally, our methods of outreach and communicating with prospective partners was not efficient.

SOLUTION

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

We decided to go with SEM Nexus after a consultation, as the whole team was on board with solving and understanding our issues to make us a better company.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

Upon reviewing our website, SEM Nexus brought in a consultant to build us a new site optimized for our business. They were there every step of the way to ensure the content, layout and SEOs were all in line. Next, they automated our outreach campaigns, allowing the Gorjian team to spend more time deal-making and less time sending out emails and cold calling. Finally, SEM Nexus began a targeted LinkedIn ad campaign that brought in website visits and inquiries.

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

We worked with an entire team over at SEM Nexus, each team member had a specialty.

• Email Marketing
• LinkedIn Ads
• Graphic Design
• Website Monitoring

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

With full credit to SEM Nexus, our web presence is now top notch, with record setting website visits and engagements. Email outreach automation has made a very important impact on our business. We can certainly credit multiple transactions and investments to the help received by SEM Nexus.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Having a shared slack channel made communication with SEM Nexus super easy!

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

The company would respond to us in the middle of the night, and there was never a task they could not do.

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

They could have a better software or portal to manage ongoing tasks/projects.