Torchbox

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.
I am the Head of Website of Oxfam GB
Describe what your company does in a single sentence.
Oxfam is a global movement of millions of people working together to end poverty.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Torchbox to accomplish?

• To rebuild our corporate website
• Provide SEO consultancy
• Web design and development
• Website analytics and insight

SOLUTION

How did you find Torchbox?

Referral

Why did you select Torchbox over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Torchbox were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We needed a new supporter-focused website that would help us to bring Oxfam's Engagement Strategy to life. This project was wide ranging, including an in-depth discovery phase, a re-modelled information architecture, and a new look and feel to reflect our new branding. The work was phased which meant we released sections of the new site as they became ready so we could quickly learn as much as possible about our work. 

This user-centred approach transformed our approach to digital, and had an instant impact on our results: with a sizable increase to our average donation amount, and conversion rates almost doubling. Sinec this project began our work with Torchbox has extended into Website Analytics and SEO.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Conversion rates and average donation value increased. Our overheads dropped significantly which means we are now able to continuously enhance and improve the website rather spend our time and resources on bug fixes and support which was the case previously. Another key outcome has been a transformation of our internal ways of working: user-testing has become routine and more value is placed on user-insight around the organisation as a whole.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They were fully embedded in our team andeffectively became colleagues through the course of the project. They tailored their ways of working to our needs while still retaining Agile principles. They made sure the right people were in the room too - so rather than work solely with the digital team, they also ensured relevant stakeholders from around the organisation were present.

What was your primary form of communication with Torchbox?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

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

Their culture is a very good fit withthat of Oxfam. At no point did we feel we were given the hard sell, and we tended to come in well under budget on most sprints. We've never had a relationship with an agency as constructive, as transformative and as enjoyable as the one we have with Torchbox.

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

We can sometimes be very awkward to deal with but they seem to take that in their stride. Our relationship with Torchbox is very transparent and feels more like a partnership. We really haven't had any issues worth mentioning in the 3-4 years since we started working together.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a digital project manager with the MS Society.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We contracted Torchbox for analytics and SEO. Our aims were to understand our traffic figures in more depth, and work on improving organic traffic to our site.

SOLUTION

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

We carried out a Request for Proposal process with at least five agencies prior to choosing Torchbox as preferred supplier. Our aim was to find an agency with expert knowledge in SEO in the not for profit sector.

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

Our brief to Torchbox was to carry out a review of our analytics and make SEO recommendations. They delivered audits and a roadmap with analytics, technical and content actions. This was to tight timescales. Actions were clearly presented in a way that we've been able to delegate internally and track. We have found the people at Torchbox to be knowledgeable, flexible, friendly and well organised. We look forward to seeing the impact of their hard work over the coming months.

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

Torchbox assigned an account / project manager and at least 5 other resources in analytics and SEO have been involved most of the different times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're still implementing Torchbox's recommendations and look forward to assessing measurable progress in traffic and keyword rankings over the coming months. However, we are already seeing a significant increase in impressions and increasing instances of taking Feature Snippet status.

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

The account / project manager allocated to us from Torchbox was excellent and inspired confidence. Deliverables were managed in a ticketing system (Codebase) which avoided any miscommunication or confusion as to status. Meetings were always purposeful and well managed.

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

Their professionalism and knowledge are most impressive, which has been shown by each team member we've spoken to.

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

We've yet to identify anything they could do better!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The ONE Campaign is a global campaigning organization. We pressure governments to do more to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, and empower citizens to hold their governments to account. I'm ONE's Content Director. This includes overseeing our global social media channels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Torchbox?

We're developing ONE's first global content strategy. We want the strategy to be as robust, and data-driven as it can be. We hired Torchbox to do a complete audit of eight social media channels. Torchbox were asked to deliver insights and recommendations as to what content worked to meet specific organizational goals.

SOLUTION

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

We shortlisted and interviewed a number of agencies based on a brief that we circulated. Torchbox impressed us in three specific ways:

1) understanding of the brief

2) willingness to adapt to meet our requirements (including taking on competitor analysis)

3) competitive costs

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

We had a kick-off meeting to drill into the project specifics. Torchbox developed a measurement framework which would guide the audit. This was particularly impressive. The team then audited over three years worth of content. At the end of the audit, Torchbox presented their findings, along with a series of recommendations and insights.

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

At least 3 Senior Digital Account Manager Digital Marketing Consultant Lead Web Analyst

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered clear recommendations on content performance. We have 3+ years of data to inform future strategy. We have a better understanding of what our audience likes and how we can work in partnership with them to achieve our goals.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent.

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

Commitment to detail. Willingness to understand our organization; our goals and our needs.

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

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Digital Projects Officer in the education department of Trades Union Congress (TUC), the head office of most British trade unions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Torchbox?

We needed to refresh an existing online networking platform used by hundreds of our union workplace representatives to network, collaborate and share advice.

The online platform site was created many years ago and in order to check we were still meeting the needs of its active users, we needed Torchbox to help us do some in-depth user and potential users research to identify if the site was still fit for purpose and what changes/updates would be most relevant to our end users that meet our wider organisational objectives.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Torchbox had previously worked well with colleagues within our website/ media department, so this organisation was recommended to me via other internal department work colleagues.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We began with a series of discovery meetings to communicate and understand our vision.

Torchbox came back with a comprehensive well thought through research plan, including incorporating stake holder interviews, user and potential user interviews and a series of focus groups using our different demographic groups of users to understand user behaviour and choices made to interact with our platform and how we can do better/ do differently to connect more effectively with existing/new users.

What was the team composition?

I worked closely with the Head of Research and a Research Officer at Torchbox. We had regular project check in/update meetings and they made themselves contactable via Slack communication platform. Special thanks to Lindiwe and Annie at Torchbox.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This research phase of our project was the first phase. So the results from Torchbox's thorough analysis is helping us to identify suitable solutions for stage 2 of our project. We wouldn't have been able to do this without the work from Torchbox.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Torchbox was an absolute pleasure to work with for our research project. We had regular engagement through the project update meetings which they arranged.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Most impressive was how Torchbox understood our brief perfectly in a short period of time. They also worked with us in a timely, professional manner to help us investigate our subject matter. They were cognisant of our needs, gathered enough evidence and offered honest recommendations. Their thorough analysis has helped us identify suitable solutions.

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

Everything was on point from Torchbox, there is nothing I would liked them to have done differently. All objectives were completed on time, with a few days spare for any last minutes amends, which we didn't need to use. We hope to work again with Torchbox in the future,

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior technology and website manager of PATH

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Global health and medical devices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Torchbox to accomplish?

• Review and audit current content and information architecture
• Propose new menu categories based on user testing
• Implement new information architecture and migrate associated tagging structure

SOLUTION

How did you find Torchbox?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Torchbox over others?

• High ratings
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Torchbox were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Torchbox partnered with PATH for an end-to-end process of designing and implementing a new top-level information architecture and menu for our website. This included reviewing our website information architecture, assessing SEO value of sections and more than 4,000 pages, proposing and user-testing new top-level menu categories and page titles, and then implementing the new structure including developing several new page templates and migrating tags on more than 2000 pages.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

New top-level structure for the website successfully implemented, with more than 3000 pages migrated into new directories in that structure.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Torchbox runs a very tight agile project management approach with strong communication and successful delivery.

What was your primary form of communication with Torchbox?

Virtual Meeting

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

High quality work delivered with strong project management at a reasonable cost.

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

None