Solid Digital

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of Bliss Car Wash, an express carwash company located in Southern California. Our machines do all the work; we only do exterior washes with the option of self-serve vacuuming around the property.

What challenge were you trying to address with Solid Digital?

The carwash industry is very old-fashioned and stuck in its ways. It’s very rare to make technological advancements in the industry. We wanted Solid Digital to advance our technology in many different ways. 

First, we wanted them to help us with our online presence and with signing up members through our website. This also led to us wanting to create our own app that will give members access to their vacuum codes.

At some properties, we have limited-time vacuums, which require a code. To make it easier, we wanted members to have a continuous code that they could pull up on their apps so that we wouldn't need to keep refreshing their code.

Additionally, we wanted to reward our members and non-members by allowing them to create accounts. This would allow us to reward them for continuously working with us.

Before we met Solid Digital, we were working with another company that wasn't doing very well.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Solid Digital is currently building our app. They’re adding functionality that will allow members to pull up their vacuum codes. The team also revamped our website, taking it to a more technologically advanced level.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, an app developer, and two designers. We’re very friendly with the CEO who sometimes oversees the project as well.

How did you come to work with Solid Digital?

Our head of IT had done some work with Solid Digital’s CEO previously, and he mentioned that they were a good candidate for building out our app. We got bids from other companies, but this team showed unmatched professionalism right off the bat.

Solid Digital is based in Chicago and Portland, but hey flew their CEO, COO, and web designer down to our offices to meet with us. This professionalism was great. With the other company we worked with, we only saw them once every quarter. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

In May 2019, we gave them a small project which involved building out our e-commerce platform. We’re still working with them, and we’re in the final stages of the app development.

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

Solid Digital’s quality is above standard. You would think you were paying millions of dollars for what they’re doing. I honestly couldn’t be happier.

Our entire team is extremely happy with the work that the team is producing. They are always on time and very appropriately-priced for the work they do and the time and energy they’re putting in. 

How did Solid Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Their structure is refreshing and on point. It’s very easy to reach out to them when needed. We’ve only had one delay because of COVID-19. As a whole, everything that they do is extremely professional and on time.

We look forward to having our bi-weekly meetings because they bring the type of energy, experience, and knowledge that makes us feel comfortable in their work. Everyone in their corporate structure is always there to help and lend a hand.

Even when they’re pressed for time, there’s always someone available to speak to us when the rest of the team might be busy working on another project. There’s never a time when we can’t get a hold of them. We use Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The amount of energy, time, and focus that Solid Digital invests in each project shows that they care. We don’t know if we’re on the smaller or bigger side of their client base, but it doesn’t matter because they put in the same energy across the board. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I honestly don’t have suggestions. Every time we’ve had an issue, it’s been addressed immediately. They communicate constantly with us, and we’re able to communicate easily when we’re disappointed about something.

The team always takes our issues and handles them. Nothing is ever going to be perfect when working with another company, but Solid Digital makes the process easy. When we have a problem, they encourage us to communicate it as soon as possible.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and honest with them, and set your expectations from the get-go. They will rarely set the bar lower than you do. As I mentioned before, I was truly impressed when they showed up to our offices from two different states just for a couple of hours.

Our CEO, who has been in the carwash for a long time, was beyond impressed with Solid Digital’s professionalism.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO for two companies: a home warranty company and a car warranty company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Solid Digital, LLC?

Our websites were very outdated so we wanted to find a vendor to help us with the design and development of new sites. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team took care of the development, design, and SEM for both sites. They helped us choose what platform to develop our sites on. We went over wireframes and branding with their team at the beginning stages of the project. They helped us refine our image and consulted us on how to manage our digital media presence. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Jessica (Engagement Manager, Solid Digital, LLC). I also worked with a developer and Derek (Creative Director, Solid Digital, LLC) who worked on the creative aspects of the sites. 

How did you come to work with Solid Digital, LLC? 

I was searching for firms in the Chicago area and Solid Digital, LLC kept popping up because of their great reviews. I met with them and was very impressed by their strategy, abilities, and willingness to work with me. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $20,000 on this project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in October 2019 and the sites were launched about two months later, in December. 

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

I don’t have any specific metrics to share, but I’m very happy with their work. They add value to every aspect of the project and I enjoyed working with them. We have two wonderful websites with no issues. 

How did Solid Digital, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always on target with timing and budget. They were also keen to keep me on track and would reach out to make sure they had everything to keep moving forward. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Their ability to be agile was impressive. They are unbelievable partners who are smart and strategic. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it was a really good experience. 

Do you have advice for potential customers? 

I highly recommend working with them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

OMEGA is a civil engineering firm focused on construction. My role is Senior Communications and Marketing Manager.

For what projects/services did your company hire Solid Digital, LLC?

We hired Solid Digital to create a new website for our company.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted our website to rival those of our competitors but also be more creative. The main purpose of our website isn't necessarily to secure future jobs, but more so it's focused on recruiting the best talent. We wanted the website to be easy to use, creative and photo-centric.

How did you select this vendor?

Solid Digital had the best of everything! Not only is their team great, but their portfolio is incredible, and their professionalism is unmatched. Plus, their price point was right where we wanted to be.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Created a new website for us Did market research Created two options for us to choose from Meeting coordination Graphic creation Photo editing Copy writing Project Management

What was the team composition?

They had three people we worked with consistently, and a few others who would come in for different things. One designer/developer, one project manager, and one creative director.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our clients and employees really like the website and it's been attracting more recruits!

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

So well! They arranged weekly meetings to stay on top of tasks and used Google drive and Basecamp which made everything pretty easy to manage.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Working with the Solid Digital team is an absolute joy. By far the best vendor group I've ever had the pleasure of working with-- which is saying a lot because I have worked with some incredible and creative vendors in the past. Their professionalism combined with their expertise, organization and creativity is unmatched.

Plus-- they're just a fun group to work with! Solid Digital hires the types of people you'd grab a beer with after work after accomplishing all the things. They were exactly what we were looking for in a vendor-- experts who are willing to manage the project from start to finish. We didn't have to micromanage them or ask for updates-- they were always on the ball and one step ahead of us. 10/10 would hire again.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nope.

Please describe your company and your position there.

¡Salud! The Oregon Pinot Noir Auction is an annual auction in Oregon's wine country, put on by the Tuality Healthcare Foundation. Proceeds from this two-day event fund healthcare and outreach to Oregon's vineyard workers and their families.

As the Event Coordinator, I work with the community to develop support for the events, coordinate all logistics and public relations, and manage volunteer committees.

For what projects/services did your company hire Solid Digital, LLC?

One of our events, the Big Board Auction, relies on a custom software to track and display guest's bids.

The software we had been using for 10+ years had been developed by a volunteer team, and was being maintained by volunteers who flew in once a year for the event.

The front-end design was in need of a major face lift, but the current team could not support this. Also, the risk to fundraising was considerable if the volunteer team was unable to attend for some reason.

We were looking to transition the software to a local contact, and explore ways to improve the user experience and expand our capacity in the process. We needed a team with an understanding of both front and back end design and a way to integrate cell phone bidding into the new design.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to transition the project to a local contact, to dramatically improve the front-end design, and to look for ways to increase capacity by adding mobile bidding capacities. We anticipated that project would aid us in raising funds to support our non-profit.

How did you select this vendor?

Starting with our steering committee, we circulated an RFP and asked for recommendations of local vendors. After discussing a few vendors, we began the process with Solid Digital.

One of our key committee members and staff were involved in moving the decision forward, and the budget and scope was brought to the committee before the project moved forward.

It was important that we were working with someone who could complete the project under the timeline, and that would be available to support the product during the event.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Using an existing bidding database, they developed a new bidding display, created a brand new mobile bidding experience giving guests the option to bid from their phone and receive text message notifications, and created a bidder registration process. They needed to take into consideration the many ways bidder information enters the system and created solutions based on the nuances.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a central project manager throughout. We began with design and transitioned to back-end, function design. We worked with about five central people over the course of the project.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

One of our goals was adding bidders to the event who were not physically at the event. We saw about 50 bidders register who were not attendees, and two of those bidders were successful during the event.

We saw many more bid during the event as well. With limited capacity in our venues, being able to add potential supporters to this event through mobile bidding is a great investment for our future.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was very effective. We used regular video calls to review design, and used Basecamp to track conversations and files.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were most impressed by their patience and ability to distill what seemed like a complex issue into workable solutions. Our team was not very technically versed, so having an expert who could dream up solutions was such a gift. They evolved with us as we went through, and the result was more than we could have hoped for!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nope.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're an online marketplace for farmland rental. I'm the vice president of marketing.

What challenge were you trying to address with Solid Digital, LLC?

Our first website was made in a hurry and had outlived its usefulness. We faced technical issues, and the site wasn't working the way we needed it to. We wanted to integrate our CRM, improve opportunities for lead capture, and create a better site structure overall.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've worked with us on website strategy, design, and development. The new site was built from scratch in WordPress, and Solid helped us better facilitate lead capture from the site and get data into our CRM in a smooth and easy way. Solid helped us build Gravity Forms to facilitate data capture from the site and get data into our CRM in a smooth and easy way. We started with a strategic kickoff meeting, then they came back with some wireframes. We iterated on those wireframes, then they managed all the design.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact throughout the project was our project manager. We also worked with a creative director and a number of developers.

How did you come to work with Solid Digital, LLC?

We evaluated several agencies to help us build a new site. I knew about Solid Digital from my experience at another agency. A client of mine used them, so I knew how they worked and had a good idea of their capabilities. We ultimately chose them for their proximity and their understanding of our business and how we needed the website to play into our marketing efforts. They had great examples, and we had a good rapport with them right away.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019, and we launched in August 2019. Now, we have a support agreement with them for ongoing maintenance.

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

Within a month of our launch, traffic, time on site, conversions, and page views all went up. People engage with our content, and all the analytics are positive. They beat all our previous performance indicators by a wide margin, and they continue to help us evolve. Overall, we were really happy with Solid Digital's level of dedication. We always felt like a priority, even though I know they had other clients. They sped up the timeline and made sure we met all our deadlines. From the beginning, they were willing to do whatever it took to make sure we were successful.

How did Solid Digital, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We were really happy with their project management. I have an agency background, and I've launched several websites in my career. This was the first site I've ever worked on that launched early. We worked very well together, and they were extremely responsive and proactive. They took the challenge seriously, and they made sure the quality met our standards. We used Basecamp to manage the project, and we also had a dedicated Slack channel.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really focus on digital deliverables, and they had a deep knowledge in specific areas. They offered a lot of solutions, and they had a great understanding of WordPress. They were very smart, and they're good people to work with. They care for their clients, and they make sure everything works.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were a couple of last-minute fixes that took a little while, but we did push for an early launch. I understand why those little issues came up, and I don't have any complaints for their work overall.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate with them. They make themselves very available and are very good about checking in. If you follow their process, your project will run smoothly and your site will launch on time.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) represents the professional interests of over 2,700 pilots who fly in the service of NetJets Aviation, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. Established in 2008, NJASAP is governed by a five-member democratically elected Executive Board and supported by a professional staff and over 125 dedicated pilot volunteers. As an independent labor advocate focused exclusively on representing the NetJets pilots, the union maintains robust services and resources as well as a vital industry affairs program that seeks to advance aviation, the piloting profession, and organized labor aviation on Capitol Hill. NJASAP is based in Columbus, Ohio.

As the executive director, I am responsible for providing strategy guidance for and supporting the Association's elected leaders, directing all intra- and extra-organizational communication and managing the NJASAP professional staff as well as our relationships with vendors and consultants.

What challenge were you trying to address with Solid Digital?

We wanted to consolidate access to our three online resources—the website, message board, and member database—by making them available via single credential set within a completely redesigned online community. Previously, the end user had to enter a unique credential set to access each resource. The project demanded the creation of a single sign‐on (SSO) protocol that granted access to end users based on their status in the member database. Once access was granted, the user could seamlessly navigate all three resources.

To measure the success of this effort, we developed five metrics based on giving our 2,700-plus members access to the following:

• a website that was incredibly robust and user-friendly with sharp, clean lines,
• a web resource that put necessary information into their hands quickly and with ease,
• a single login point for members‐only sections,
• a dashboard that integrated with all existing and new web applications, and
• an intuitive user interface that looked consistent across all applications. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided a full range of services, beginning with strategy and ending with continued support. They had a good feel for what we wanted. We had maybe two follow-up, in-person meetings where we got into the nitty-gritty of what we wanted. From there, the project really took off.

Because web design and the associated technology fell squarely within Solid's expertise, we let them take the lead. Of course, we felt more than comfortable requesting changes throughout the process. However, our strategy sessions were exceptionally productive, allowing designers and programmers to get a true feel for NJASAP's vision and run with it.

They completed an SSO with vBulletin as a component. The underlying CMS written in JS was developed by Solid and functioned like an API and database. We appreciated that they’d written this forward-facing technology in a language known to most developers.

What is the team dynamic?

Numerous people were involved, and they brought in whoever’s competency matched the project need at that time. I assume they engaged every person on their team at some point. They handled a lot of that internally, which I appreciate because our project was so massive. We were bringing together three completely unique web properties and asking them to communicate with each other seamlessly. Now, it works like a charm.

Jesse [CEO & Partner, Solid Digital], our technical lead, enthusiastically communicated a vision for the project, and his quiet confidence made me believe that he and his team could deliver what we needed.

How did you come to work with Solid Digital?

I found them online. We met with Naveed [CRO & Partner, Solid Digital] and Jesse in February 2015 in Dallas for a session of planning. I don’t think that our organization really knew what we needed at the time. That planning session gave us enough information to develop the RFP. Once we had the RFP in place, we talked to four different groups, including Solid. In 72 hours, we went to Portland, Chicago, and New York. We ultimately selected Solid because they seemed aware of our technical and creative requirements.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the selection process in February 2015 and officially entered into an agreement with Solid in May 2016. 

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

We couldn’t be more pleased with our redeveloped community. The SSO protocol works without fail to the delight of our leadership, members, volunteers, and staff. The NJASAP online community has been tremendously popular, drawing more members. Since our membership is geographically disbursed, a dynamic online community that features timely, relevant resources is a requirement and now a major asset.

How did Solid Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They excelled at developing timelines and providing prompt updates. We communicated via web conference or teleconference, depending on what was most appropriate. I was pleased with how they handled such a massive project. Any delays were totally due to our organization trying to acclimate to everything that was going on. We used Basecamp to provide feedback to each other and talk about tasks. We used a different online tool when we were talking in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated that they took the time to talk to us and remained flexible. They offer exceptional flexibility, accessibility, and expertise. They took the time to understand our vision and were open-minded. They understood that they didn’t know my audience like I did. They weren’t trying to force something on me that they’d done before because it would be easier or faster.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think that they could have done anything differently. Toward the end stages, I would’ve felt more comfortable with having more in-person meetings. I actually want to feel and see people in the room. I’m sure if I’d asked for that, they would have honored my request. If I had the opportunity to do this project again, I would’ve made all the same choices that we did previously.  

Please describe your company.

MPI Medical is a global leader in PTP, which is prototype to production. We specialize in medical device manufacturing for low-value products. We have engineers in house. Our facility is 66,000 square feet. We do all the tooling and all the design up until full production when it goes to market.

We’re a contract manufacturer specifically for the medical device market. As of last year, we spun off from our company, Spectrum Plastics Group. It’s private equity so we did an official spinoff from them and now we’re a standalone company focused solely on medical. Our niche market is medical device manufacturing with components like bio-injectables. We do DNA testing kits and that sort of thing.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I am the sales and marketing coordinator. I update our website as far as news posts. We have a blog. I get advertisements for us in trade show magazines. I organize trade shows.

What was your goal for working with Solid Interactive?

The purpose of the website was that we needed to rebrand, we needed something fresh to set us apart from Spectrum. We’re a brand new company and we celebrated our one year anniversary in September. 

Please describe the scope of their work.

The work is completed. We now have a monthly maintenance agreement in case there are any maintenance issues that need to be tackled. They’ll handle that.

What was your process for selecting Solid Interactive with which to work?

We worked with a woman, Dawn Brucali. She is part of the chamber of commerce here in the Valley in Connecticut. We knew she was a highly reputable source and she gave us solid information. She had worked with them previously on another company in Connecticut, Inline Plastics, so she gave us that reference. I’ve worked with Dawn before so I trusted her and that’s how we met Jesse [McCabe, founder and CEO of Solid Interactive] and his team.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

The cost range total was $20,000. The amount of hours differed. I think it was $100 per hour. 

What were the results of the project?

The project was quite successful. We had very tight deadlines. We started in mid-February and we finished the entire site in June. They said it could take a year plus, but we had really tight deadlines. We needed to get this website out for our tradeshow that we were exhibiting at in New York City.

We needed to have new branding out there on the Web for our customers to see. I thought their attention to detail and accuracy was really on point. We had weekly scheduled conference calls where I spoke with the project manager, Shuba. I also dealt with Jessica Troop as well, who as another employee, along with Jesse, too, managed the entire project. I especially liked their system called “Atlassian.” It was a JIRA system essentially where I would go and login and I could track their progress visually via seeing what was inputted for the tickets.

It was a backlog of all the work conducted and what progress they were doing. It had visuals as well. It was a concrete way of seeing what they’re doing on their end to see how they develop the site.

Anytime, we had questions or wanted to make simple design changes or copy changes, they were very forward. I know the actual developer who did all the coding, he was great. There were minimal mistakes, if anything. They built this site from the bottom up. It was a custom platform CSS [Cascading Style Sheets], completely brand new design and concept. It was not bought off the shelf from WordPress at all. It was completely custom to what we wanted.  

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

No.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

They are process driven and their team is organized. They collaborate really well together. We had this deadline and they were able to deliver. They are extremely talented. This was a website built from the bottom up. These people know what they’re doing and they succeeded. Their attention to detail, their tenacity, and their overall coding skills from the development side were on point.

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

No. I wouldn’t say anything to improve on. Their transparency was huge with this project.