Usman Group

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Nicerink, an ice rink manufacturing company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?

We wanted to get a new website for our business.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Usman Group did web development and design for us from scratch. They’ve taken care of everything, including wireframe development, art, graphic design, backend customization, and customer experience efforts. The site they created is aimed to educate people on our services and products in a user-friendly approach.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working directly with Naveed (Principal), and he delegates to a team of 5–6 members.

How did you come to work with Usman Group?

They were referred to us by a friend.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $100,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We’re satisfied with their work so far — they’re taking us close to where we need to be.

How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Navid is great in terms of controlling all the different aspects of his team to ensure that everything’s set up. He keeps an organized process and track of everybody’s tasks to avoid things falling through the cracks. Regarding tools, we’ve used Basecamp, Trello, email, Zoom, texts, and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They keep tabs on everybody and everything — their ability to keep track of the whole project is outstanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they took over our project to make everything work, and I don’t have any complaints about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask them for suggestions.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of The Eden Alternative, an elder care nonprofit organization.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

We contacted them to redo our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started the web development project with Usman Group, Inc. by scoping out the needed work through video chats. After that, we went through a design phase where we redid all of our content. In terms of technologies, they’ve used Figma, where they do wireframes for us to review and tweak until we get the desired product. Consequently, we moved into the coding phase to build the actual website.

Currently, we’re scoping the next phase of the site.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with a project manager who helps link the designers and us. We’ve also worked with Alen (Senior UX Designer) and Naveed (CEO).

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

We sent out an RFP, and we chose Usman Group, Inc. from a list of around eight providers based on our conversations with them and their desire to work with a nonprofit organization.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent $30,000–$35,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

Our site just went live, so we don’t have actual metrics. What I can say is that our Google Analytics and overall traffic are good, and anecdotally, people are impressed with the site, our board of directors loves it, and we’re all excited about the new face of our organization — the partnership has been a great success.

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve been using email for communication. We've talked about improvements, the site's strengths and weaknesses, and other opportunities to make our product better — they initiated that, and I like it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their positive spirit and willingness to work with a nonprofit organization are phenomenal; they’ve been very energized and excited about the project, and I can tell that they care deeply about communicating what we’re doing.

Also, they came up with a striking design that’s very unconventional, which is great for me because our website doesn’t look like everybody else’s.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve talked about getting their developers involved earlier in the process to ensure that everyone is on the same page once we start with the site’s coding. This will also help to avoid time-wasting by explaining the whole thing to their development team all over again. 

Nevertheless, they were totally on board with that and identified the issue themselves.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Develop your content before engaging with them to save time and lean on them for their great expertise — they have a lot of experience in WordPress.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of customer relations at a software company. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

Our leads and sales decreased because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we realized we had to change something. 

We were engaged with another marketing company, but what they were doing didn’t seem to work; they mostly focused on Google advertising. We needed help in marketing and advertising. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Usman Group audited our Google Ads campaign. They gave us recommendations that will improve our ad campaign’s performance and increase our leads. 

Usman Group also advised us to start a LinkedIn campaign, which would be more targeted than Google campaigns as it can reach specific audiences. That’ll be beneficial for us since we’re selling niche software. It’s essential to have a laser focus target with our customers to ensure we’re spending money in the right place.

As our next step, Usman Group has started our LinkedIn ads campaign. They’ve handled everything, including setting up the right copy, description, and ad type. Although we have our graphic designer, Usman Group provides feedback and puts everything together. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Naveed (Principal & CEO). 

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

We knew about them since their office was located not that far from us. Additionally, I’m connected to Naveed on LinkedIn — his posts about marketing resonated with me. 

I researched on Google and saw how many good reviews Usman Group had, and with that, I decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

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

Within the first week of our LinkedIn campaigns, we’ve received three downloads of our software. We’re currently on the 18th day of the campaign and have received eight downloads. Those numbers are already 400% higher than our usual performance. 

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Usman Group has been great at project management. They’re using Calendly to set up meetings, and their process is straightforward. There’s no going back and forth in figuring out what time works best for our teams. We have access to their calendar, and I can check if they are available for the meeting. 

Usman Group is exceptionally responsive and always available; the whole process has been smooth. I can view our project on Basecamp to see what’s going on and if we have any outstanding requests. We use Zoom for meetings. 

Additionally, Usman Group has been proactive in letting us know each time we have a new lead. They’ve checked in with us during those first weeks, and they’ve let us know how we found the lead and how we could contact them. Their team is very helpful with us, especially since we’re new to LinkedIn campaigns. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Usman Group’s industry knowledge and ability to relate to our niche are impressive. They’re able to learn about our company and target our market quickly. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get in touch with Naveed, and after that, everything will go smoothly. Usman Group has a great process when working with new companies and learning new industries. As soon as you get in touch with Usman Group, they’ll take care of you. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product for a digital coaching platform. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

We hired Usman Group to build a secure sign-on feature and API for one of our clients. We also needed them to build web updates for our marketing site. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope of Usman Group’s work includes UI/UX design and the development of a single sign-on feature for one of our enterprise clients. The goal is to design the correct UX for our client’s employees to get into our platform with the least amount of friction.

Apart from that, they also help us with our digital marketing strategy. We’ve consulted them with email marketing, too, but we do that in-house. 

What is the team composition?

We work with a team of 5–7 people, and our main point of contact is Naveed (Principal & CEO).

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

I worked with Usman Group on a project several years ago. Our teams worked on design, strategy, and market research for a product offering. After that project, we went on to work on different things. When I came to my current company, I identified the need for Usman Group to help us with this project. I knew they would be the perfect partner for this, so we hired them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Usman Group in April 2018, and our partnership is ongoing.

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

Usman Group is highly flexible to the scale of our business. They’re willing to work with us and figure out a way to do our requests. The team plans for the future and prepares their resources. In other words, they don’t only do the work we ask them to do; they also serve as a partner in figuring out how we can get the work done with the budget we have. 

Moreover, we’ve been able to work successfully through difficult security requirements. The team has helped us navigate that space in a professional and appropriate way relative to our company’s resources. Overall, the quality of work we’ve recently done has been great. 

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Usman Group’s project management is seamless; everything gets resolved and no balls ever get dropped. To communicate, we mainly use Basecamp, emails, and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They approach everything with an open mind, authenticity, and honesty. If anyone needs an honest and humble partner to achieve their goals, then Usman Group is the provider they should engage. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. If anything, we’re the ones who need to improve and do things differently. Usman group leads us toward getting better at what we do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them, because Usman Group knows what they’re doing. They may not always tell you what you want to hear, but that’s the great part about working with them. They give you clarity whatever the challenge, question, or issue is.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the webmaster for a financial services and research firm based in Hong Kong.

For what projects/services did your company hire Usman Group, Inc.?

Our website framework was about to reach its end-of-life, and in switching over to another framework, we also wanted to update the design of the website. We hired Usman Group to come up with new designs for existing pages, some new pages, and do all the front-end coding for us. We sought a design that would be modern and uncluttered, yet authoritative and effective, while providing a good browsing and reading experience for research subscribers.

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

We looked for vendors through Clutch and similar websites, as well as through contacts. Of about 10 companies that submitted proposals, we chose Usman Group because theirs showed a good understanding of the scope and nature of our request while falling within an acceptable price range.

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

Already in the project outlining phase, we established that the firm was able to meet our specific requirements for the technology (Webpack, PostCSS, Tailwind CSS) and would be able to provide documentation so our in-house developers could integrate the front-end and back-end. Usman Group quickly set up weekly check-in calls so we could keep tabs on the project and both teams could clarify any questions. The day-to-day exchange of information was done effectively on Basecamp. We received wireframes to annotate in Figma, and that is also where final designs were outlined and presented.

One set of wireframes and two rounds of revisions were scheduled. One set of designs and 25 hours of revisions were allotted. It was mutually agreed to extend the duration of this part of the project to make further changes, at a reasonable addition to the cost. The coded front-end webpages were hosted on Netlify and our team could access them from anywhere with any device, making testing and feedback a breeze. Updated code was also pushed to Github, allowing us to start integration with the back-end while the front-end coding was still underway. This saved us a lot of time.

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

We worked with four people: The project manager, the designer, and two coders.

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

We received all the required web pages, plus good documentation. The new site is not yet live, pending integration with the CMS. But we're eager to work with Usman Group in the future.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was quick to respond and eager to make time for us, in addition to our weekly check-in video calls. The rest of the team was very quick to respond in Figma and Basecamp. It was a very effective workflow.

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

Usman Group, Inc. was very dedicated to achieving an excellent end result. They were eager to listen to and understand our feedback. They were flexible when we needed more time or when we requested further changes. The team has an impressive depth of expertise, which allowed them to quickly find solutions to our problems. Also of note was how well they were able to communicate with those involved that had less technical expertise, which inspired confidence.

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

I wouldn't dare suggest changes to a winning formula.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a former executive of a marketing agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

We needed help to develop a custom website for one of our clients. There were unique needs for that project, so we needed someone with more expertise in custom development for that site.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The process was to understand the requirements for our client, so we went through a discovery phase with them. We laid out the specific needs that we had regarding the website’s custom features that we were looking for, and that lasted about 4–6 weeks. 

Once all that was understood, they put a project plan together for us and started working on the development for the website’s frontend and back end with an administration page where we can control the website. That development phase lasted around eight months.

The next stage lasted 4–5 months, and it was focused on testing the site internally and from the client’s side as well. In the end, the site went live and, after that, there was a six months long follow-up process where we made some improvements on the site based on the client’s experience.

What is the team composition?

There were 4–5 involved in the project. There was Naveed (Principal & CEO), and the rest were several of his colleagues.

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

They were referred to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2011–June 2013.

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

We can say that our client was extremely happy. We didn’t run into any challenges or issues once the site went live — we received wonderful feedback from the client.

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. I can’t say enough about what wonderful project leads they were; they kept us on task, were never off schedule, documented every issue that came up, and solved it very efficiently. They’re an excellent partner.

In terms of communication, they spent a couple of weeks onsite. Other than that, we had phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The way they collaborated with us, their openness, and their organization stand out the most. They have their act together, and they’re very human — they understand your needs and document all of that to reach the end goal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they did a wonderful job.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be as organized and open as possible. Also, make sure that you provide all the information available.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of communications and stakeholder strategy for an airport management company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

We were looking for someone who could provide website development services for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re currently undertaking the task of completely rethinking the entire website of our company in terms of design and development. That includes the content, look, and feel of the site.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with foUr people from their team. That includes the manager of the company. A copy content writer, a designer, and a web UX developer.

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

We worked with a couple of other designers before them, but they didn’t work out for us. We were a little hesitant about hiring someone else, but we looked for other providers. We found Usman Group, Inc. through Clutch’s site, and we sent an FRP out requesting quotes. They responded, had a couple of interviews with their team, and we chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $35,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in April 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

Everybody’s pleased with the website development. They’re doing a great job, and that makes me look good — that’s important for me.

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been super responsive, organized, and timeline-driven — that’s been essential for us. We communicate through email and Basecamp,

What did you find most impressive about them?

They listen to their customer’s needs and wants far better than any other designer I’ve worked with in the past. They’re also capable of delivering a vision, and that’s been great for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on. 

Any advice for potential customers?

They’re very organized so, if you’re not, then it’s not going to be a good fit.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a consulting agency. It’s a subsidiary of another company that I co-own with my husband. I deliver expertise and strategy, including a book that I recently published that’s available to the market.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

I engaged them for services dealing with intellectual property; that’s the basis of my book. We discussed the possibility of a digital tool to advance my intellectual property. Late last year, I realized it was a great time to bring digital innovation in the field of strategy to the market. I engaged with Usman Group, Inc. to help me think through how to bring digital transformation to my industry.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Usman Group, Inc. developed the original digital design concept for what I call Strategy Studio. It’s viewable on my website. They led the initial design of our Strategy Studio. Their team brought a design firm to assist me in thinking through high-level concepts and specific deliverables I could promise to my customers.

Usman Group, Inc. helped me think through what was possible with the tool as well as ideated a phased approach. This approach would allow me to manage my budget and make sure it was going to work. They did an initial product development scope of work. The deliverables included a prototype and digital wireframe.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Naveed (Principal & CEO).

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

I’ve known Naveed since 2019. He was introduced to me by two different people. We really hit it off, and I was very impressed with his knowledge and expertise in the digital tool world. When this project came up, I immediately reached out to Naveed.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was from December 2020–February 2021.

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

I was satisfied with the quality of the work and it measured up to my expectations. We went live with our product and then there were small fixes that needed to be taken care of afterward. Usman Group, Inc. was very involved as we worked through the issues after we took our beta live.

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They utilized Basecamp for project management. The communication picked up later in the process as the deadlines were coming close. This worked out well. In some cases, toward the end, we were meeting 2–3 times a week. This worked out great because we were trying to get things turned around for our deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Naveed believes in my concept and believes in me. This is why I reached out to him in the first place. It’s important as an innovator and entrepreneur to have colleagues who believe in what I'm doing and would tell me if they didn’t think it had any promise. Usman Group, Inc. really embraced the vision for my concept and owned it as much as I do. They saw it as a signature for their portfolio too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In hindsight, it would’ve been great to have more communication. Usman Group, Inc. was so busy and devoted to getting the project done that there were a couple of times when they had to update me on what was going on. However, whenever I reached out through text or on Basecamp, they’d get back to me right away.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having clarity of your design and desired business objectives is really important so you can convey them to someone who isn’t as familiar with the concept and business opportunities you are. Additionally, realize that the project is going to cost you more and take longer than you think. Remember that you play an important leadership role in ensuring that what you want is delivered.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former founder and CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award USA.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

They were brought on to help us develop and launch our initial website for the national organization.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Usman Group walked us through the development of our website. They had a website project planner they developed and introduced to us. We worked through as a team, both on our own and with Usman Group. We talked about the fundamentals of the website itself. They took it a few steps further and had us talk about what success looks like for us — not just for the website but with the launch of the organization in general.

Usman Group dove into our audience and had us think about what’d appeal to them with the website design itself. We honed down on the interfaces we developed with them and how user-friendly they’d be for our particular audience. Our audience is typically 14–24-year-olds and a range of adults that’d be mentoring these 14–24-year-olds. Usman Group facilitated that process because we hadn’t thought about it from that perspective.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Naveed (Principal & CEO).

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

A friend of mine recommended them to me. Usman Group ended up being relatively local to where I personally lived so I met with them a couple of times before deciding to move forward with their organization.

How much have you invested with them?

The project was about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement was from October 2016–March 2017.

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

The website looks great. From the beginning, we wanted it to be integrated with an app that was being developed by our international organization in London. It’d allow the youth to track their progress for their awards. Usman Group ended up successfully implementing that.

Additionally, what was unique about them was how strategic they were in helping us develop our website. They went beyond just the design piece and provided the technical aspects of that. Their team helped us take a step back and think about how it’d integrate into our overall strategy as an organization, which I found really helpful. I’m still in touch with Naveed and continue to rely on him as a resource.

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was great and the website was launched on time. Usman Group communicated well. That’s one of Naveed’s strong points. Their team members had a great combination of skill sets. We worked a lot with the team focused on the technical aspects of the web development. They were fantastic to work with and very professional. They were great at communicating things in layman’s terms.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Naveed always approaches things from a holistic standpoint. If he doesn’t have the answer to it, he finds someone within his team or a contracted partner to find an answer. He’s great at networking and bringing people together to work on projects. I found that to be refreshing and unique.

Naveed recognizes where his expertise begins and ends. He’s willing to bring in people who are experts in areas that his clients may need. This approach helps us as clients to navigate through our needs. They’re very strategic and recognize there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I was really pleased with the quality of their work and their approach to it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very open to exploring all that Usman Group is willing to provide or help find for the client. Personally, I was comfortable with Naveed pulling in experts from other areas. Some people may not be as comfortable with that. However, in the end, it delivers a more focused and quality product for you as a client. It’s worth it to be willing to go down that path.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of sales and service of a disaster restoration company. We have 17 locations in the US. I work with our sales and operations teams to make sure we’re delivering the services we provide.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?

We were looking to develop an app that would provide value to our commercial customers across the US. We needed to communicate different messages to multiple clients. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Usman Group provided creative resources to build out the app’s wireframes and create artwork. Then, their developers built out the backend. They developed the app for iOS and Android. 

Usman Group helped us create unique user experiences that depend on which company a user is with.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Naveed (Principal & CEO) directly, and he enlisted one designer and a team of developers.

How did you come to work with Usman Group?

We explained the project to a creative recruitment company, and they gave us a list of companies that they felt would be a good fit for what we were looking to accomplish. Naveed was a good fit — he was easy to work with and really responsive.  

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged them in early 2020, but we didn’t start the project until the end of August. The project launch date was mid-September, and we wrapped up the project in late December to meet our beginning-of-year deadlines.

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

We’re currently in the process of rolling the app out to customers, but early verbal feedback has been very positive. Everyone has been very engaged and responsive to getting signed up and enrolled in the new mobile app. However, we won’t have numbers on how many engaged users we have until the end of the first quarter.

How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything ran smoothly. We had weekly meetings to communicate the process and touch base on updates, questions about upcoming items, or anything that I needed to deliver so that they could keep moving. They were over communicative, which was great.

Considering I was anticipating a long, drawn-out engagement, it was a very pleasant experience overall. We used Basecamp to manage the project and post any updates or requests. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with one other app developer, and Naveed was more collaborative. He wanted to figure out how we could accomplish what we were trying to do, whereas the other provider didn’t think outside of the box. Naveed was more open to ideas and problem-solving than what I’d previously experienced.

Are there any areas they could improve?

That’s a hard question for me to answer because they exceeded my expectations. From everything I’ve heard about the app development process, I was anticipating a lot of delays and uncertainty in the process. However, Usman Group definitely exceeded my expectations by delivering on both of those things: they hit deadlines and communicated with me the entire process. They let me know how close we were to hitting certain things, and we ultimately stayed on schedule. Their timeline was pretty close to on the nose.

Any advice for potential customers?

Just be available. I can see how delays could pile up; my company needed to provide a lot of deliverables to Naveed and his team in order for them to move on, whether that was verbiage or approval for designs. Make sure you’re available to review those things and provide those assets to keep the project moving smoothly.