A boutique digital strategy firm
Usman Group is a boutique digital strategy, market research and web design firm that helps organizations plan and execute successful communications and technology initiatives that are elegant, cost-effective and easy to implement.
- Analysis: We are research-driven, and dig deep to understand the needs and desires of your customers and how you want to better serve them.
- Strategy: We collaborate with your team on creative, proven, actionable approaches that will bring your organizational and business goals to fruition.
- Execution: We have an extensive, trusted network of experts whom we work closely with to ensure that your strategy has a practical way forward.
- Measurement: We help our clients articulate what success means to them, develop metrics to measure them and establish feedback loops for continuous improvement.
headquarters
other locations
Focus
Portfolio
National Safety Council, Priceline.com, Robert W. Baird & Company, Davita, Chicago Sun-Times, and the University of Chicago.
Internal Communications Development for Priceline.com
Priceline.com helps people get discounted rates for travel-related purchases such as airline tickets and hotel reservations. The challenge for Usman Group was to design a robust company intranet that was as engaging as its consumer-facing marketing and serve as the primary hub for all internal company communications. The team developed an attractive and easy-to-use internal communications portal that their global workforce could rally around and truly adopt.
Web Development for National Safety Council
The National Safety Council engaged the Usman Group to create a stand-alone branded website that would provide information about the latest automotive safety features and provide answers to drivers' questions. The challenge was that the site would have to appeal to drivers of all backgrounds and ages. The Usman Group decided to make the site direct, intuitive and highly skimmable to capture and keep attention. They used easy to recognize icons in lieu of text with quick, fun quizzes to help steer users to crucial car safety information. The NSC was so happy with the website, they promoted it through multiple traditional media channels and outlets, including outdoor, print, TV, radio, social, paid search and web banner ads.
Web Development and Marketing for Cressey & Company
Cressey & Company is one of the most experienced and successful healthcare-focused private equity firms in the country, but they were frustrated with their website. The main issue was their brand identity which was all over the place. Usman Group took on the content development, strategy, and web design. They developed a strategy to augment the content experience that would bring the pages to life. The end result was a site that worked flawlessly on a variety of systems.
Poplar-Prairie Stone Crossing
Vantage Leadership Consulting
Strategic Mobility Group
Selective Search
ShopperTrak
Achieva Wealth Advisors
Michelle's Interiors
Lincoln Park Institute
University of Notre Dame
Lifeline Vascular Access
Specless
Gordon Salon
Chicago Sun-Times
Make Up First
Merel Family Law
Lambs Farm
North Shore Trust & Savings
Myefski Architects
Reviews
the project
Website Redesign and Dev for Financial Messaging Business
"We always knew where we were in the process, and what we had to do next to keep the project moving."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the former VP of sales for Swift, a sales force effectiveness agency that offers training development, digital, and meetings and events capabilities.
What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?
The website wasn’t performing at the level we needed, and it was difficult to find via Google search. Brand recognition was also a challenge.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They started from scratch, taking the old website down and creating something new that would be more effective. They were responsible for everything from creating the images to writing a lot of new content. Their writers interviewed Swift staff and then wrote the first draft of the content. They'd send us the draft to make any additions or changes before doing a final proof. It was a very collaborative process.
Beyond the content, they put a lot of thought into the brand and the imagery, as well as what should be on the homepage versus the rest of the site. It wasn’t just a cookie-cutter website design. In terms of SEO, they made sure the keywords people searched for actually correlated with the content on the new site.
What is the team composition?
We had a project manager and we also worked directly with certain people who owned different parts of the project (i.e., writers).
How did you come to work with Usman Group?
There was a relationship with Usman Group prior to my joining Swift because the two companies used to share office space. I also knew Naveed (founder, Usman Group) from the board of the local chamber, so I was enthused to work with him.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent between $25,000–$50,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked on the website design from January–March 2016.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Before I left Swift, we found the number of people going to the site increased significantly and there was an increase in people making inquiries online. The project was also successful in that people are able to actually do a Google search and find out more about Swift. A website is impactful when people can find it by putting in one keyword.
How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re incredible in terms of communication and how they work collaboratively. I think the biggest challenge was dealing with the people on the team at Swift. What one person wanted, somebody else wouldn't. Usman Group had to understand psychology and how to reach consensus. They handled it really well. Naveed is very professional in his approach and really good at keeping everybody at an even keel.
Their office is right next door to Swift so we were able to meet in person as needed. They used a software application to track the collaboration, which was really great. It showed who owned each step and what information was needed. There was a big team working with us, so it was very helpful in simplifying the project management process.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The level of professionalism really stands out. We always knew where we were in the process, and what we had to do next to keep the project moving.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I don't think so. Nothing really comes to mind.
the project
Digital Strategy for Healthcare Services Provider
"Usman Group has done a nice job of listening, learning, and maintaining an inquisitive nature"
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
Our company is a leading provider of ready-to-use compounded sterile preparations. I was the senior global marketing manager of the company. For my second collaboration with Usman Group, I was the senior communications manager of a different group.
What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?
We had the challenge of communicating a fairly complex business proposition for hospital pharmacies.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Our previous website had been created by a strictly tech company; the value of Usman Group was that they helped us present our message from a marketing perspective, allowing technology to work for us. Usman Group provided a collaborative approach for helping us detail the message that we needed to communicate, finding a way to share it with potential customers in an easily understandable manner. We could also quickly make updates based on industry evolution.
Usman Group initially put together a workshop that brought people from different parts of our organization together. Members of sales, marketing, and leadership worked together, honing what we needed to accomplish and what parts of the message would work well on the site. From there, Usman Group helped us sketch wireframes and identify content. They brought in partners who could help us with writing and assumed all coding responsibilities. Their team worked through our quality assurance processes.
How did you come to work with Usman Group?
I had worked with Usman Group for a previous company and found them to be flexible and transparent. They had a very good structure around how they would communicate and help us break down a very big project of creating a website down into manageable pieces, walking us through the process and providing experience from past clients. We grabbed the best ideas from a variety of industries.
How much have you invested with Usman Group?
The cost of Usman Group's work was around $110,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with Usman Group in October 2014.
Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
The website was only recently launched because we were held up in a regulatory process. I'm not working for the company anymore, so I don't have any stats. I have followed the site, and it looks very nice. Usman Group did a great job of finishing the project. During our past engagement, Usman Group did a great job of integrating the site into our PR activities, allowing us to see a huge spike in our traffic. We were able to link and bring people in, getting them to understand the message of our releases.
How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?
Usman Group laid out our process and key milestones, setting dates that helped us determine when we needed to finish the content. They were very good in terms of transparency. We had a weekly status call, which allowed us to know where we were on the pieces of each project. Usman Group was responsive and supplied sufficient resources for the tasks. Any holdups were due to a lack of resources on our side. Usman Group helped us understand the trade-offs and what we could do to still meet deadlines within these limitations.
What did you find most impressive about Usman Group?
Usman Group's curiosity about the industry was very helpful. Rather than making our project fit into the technology at hand, Usman Group came in and learned our business, understanding our challenges and showing us how the site could allow us to communicate our message better. This was especially useful in our complex and regulated environment. Usman Group had a great perspective for what we were trying to accomplish. They were responsive to questions and concerns, bringing in the right resources and people to the project. I consistently learned new things while working with Usman Group, which was good on a personal level.
Are there any areas Usman Group could improve?
No. I was very happy with them.
the project
Web Dev for Food Production Company
"You're not just another project and number to them. They form a relationship with you that stays..."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
ICL Food Specialties is a functional food ingredient supplier to the food and beverage industry. I am the global branding marketing specialist.
What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?
We’re owned by a bigger company called ICL Group and we have several different divisions including advanced additives, fertilizers, and food specialties. All of the information for each of the varying business units was on one combined website that wasn't functional for the business needs of our specific food industry customers. There was a lot of information unrelated to our business to sift through. We wanted to create a microsite for the food specialties business unit that served the needs of our customers and allowed us to present our information in a clear, concise, and more organized manner than before.
What was the scope of their involvement?
The project was collaborative from start to finish. We started with an in-person brainstorming session with my boss and me and three members from Usman Group. We outlined the strategic needs and then worked on the wireframing and identifying what the different pages and functionalities were. We selected images and worked on content creation. The site was built on WordPress. For the frontend, I was giving them content and images and they were helping with the placement and creation of it. They trained me how to update it after we launched. They were very receptive throughout the entire process. We still work with them on maintenance and updating the backend of the site. We are also talking about some new projects on inbound marketing and search engine optimization.
How did you come to work with Usman Group?
I had worked with them at a previous employer on a similar website project. I loved the team and what they delivered so they were the first group I sought out for this project.
How much have you invested with Usman Group?
We spent $30,000 on the website project and the maintenance agreement is for $5,000 per year.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with them June 2015, and the work is ongoing.
Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
All of the feedback internally and from customers has been very positive. They made a very heavy video site to make us stand out from our competition. Because we are in the food ingredients business, it’s important to show the functionality of food. The videos help reinforce the benefits of our products. The selected site layout and design also gave us a platform on which to make internal videos. They have a good cross platform for content generation, so I can put something in a new section but tie it back to the different market pages. At the bottom of our market pages, we have the contact us form to drive inbound leads. We put just enough information on the site that they have to contact us to get more. We now get double the inquires and requests generated from the website. I check periodically how many views the videos are getting and there is definitely a strong and notable interest on views that can be tracked.
How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?
They couldn’t be easier to work with. They use Basecamp, and that makes it very easy to communicate about the project and with the team. They always met or exceeded all deadlines and stayed within our required budgets. They are very responsive as well. I don’t think I’ve waited more than a half day to get answers to my questions. We worked with multiple people from their team. There is one person that handles general questions and administrative requests. At different stages of the project, I dealt with the actual designer. We also had communication with the president, Naveed. He would check to make sure everything was going well.
What did you find most impressive about Usman Group?
They’re generally involved in what you’re trying to do and they really try to get to know your business and what your goals are. You’re not just another project and number to them. They form a relationship with you that stays, which is why we’re using them for additional projects and why I sought them out again after working with them the first time. Usman Group seems to be far more involved in all aspects of the process than other agencies I've worked with.
Are there any areas Usman Group could improve?
I’ve been extremely pleased and would absolutely recommend them to others.
the project
Website Design for Real Estate Owner & Operator
"The process was seamless and they felt like an extension of our team."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
Pine Tree Commercial Realty is a retail real estate owner and operator. We buy and manage shopping centers around the country. I am the senior VP of brand creative and omnichannel marketing.
What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?
We try to help our retail tenants market better to the local community as an added value of working with Pine Tree. We were looking at different marketing techniques that we could leverage for some of our small shop tenants. One thing we thought would be an easy sell was a website. We worked with Usman Group to make a self-sustaining WordPress website for our tenants. The tenants can craft their own secure logins and update their site with promotions, in-store events, etc., at no cost to them so they can better market to the community.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We had our own ideas in mind when we approached Usman Group. We came to them for advice based on work they had done with a company called ShopperTrak, which is a company involved in the retail sector. I’m the only person in this office that’s not totally focused on the financial aspect, but focus on the aesthetic instead.
I really liked Usman Group’s portfolio in terms of color, design, and cleanliness. I gave them full authority to help us design the website template. They developed the frontend and the backend. Our first kick-off meeting was a long meeting where we went through different wireframes and ideas of how people would interact with the site. The meeting was far more thorough than I thought it would be and was a great experience. That keeps me coming back to them for more work. In terms of collaboration with my team, all of us were involved with them. The process was seamless and they felt like an extension of our team.
How did you come to work with Usman Group?
I found them on Google and they just happened to be local as well. I was looking at other firms around the country. I chose them because of their profile and previous work with ShopperTrak. We were sold on their capabilities based on their creativity with their own website and their portfolio.
How much have you invested with Usman Group?
We spent $20,000 on the website project.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with them in October 2014, and the website was completed in December of that same year. We continue to work with them on other projects.
Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
The website ran smoothly and was eye catching. It was exactly the simplicity and cleanliness we had asked for. All the tenants that we’ve shared the site with love it, and we’ve made two more websites based on that initial design, which is a testament to that first website’s capability. We haven’t been able to replicate it at every center because of budget reasons, but hopefully, we will in the future. We’ve had a lot of success in leveraging this aspect of our marketing program to our capital partners who are investing in these shopping centers with us. Having this website with its different capabilities, functions, and design has been a great sell to other investors.
How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?
Usman Group went above and beyond our expectations in terms of service and technical support. That’s why we keep going back to them. I can’t recommend them enough. The fact that they’re local has nothing to do with it because we rarely see them. We operate digitally most of the time. We utilize Basecamp to communicate with each other.
What did you find most impressive about Usman Group?
We have worked with other groups in the past but Usman Group takes the time to be extra creative in their solutions. In every meeting, they ask questions about our industry that other companies didn’t care to ask or didn’t know to ask to figure out what the best route is to get the most return on investment. Their questions helped them understand our business and it shows through their work and the quality of the website.
Are there any areas Usman Group could improve?
No. We haven’t had any issues with them at all. Their support has been wonderful. If there were any glitches, they were quick to find them before we even did, and were honest about it and would fix them.
the project
Website Re-design for Manufacturing Company
"I found Usman Group extremely easy to work with. They easily converted my ideas and passion...into a concept that I could get on board with."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
The company sells solution based food ingredients where we strive to provide solutions, enhancement options, and reduction options that help our customers discover new ways of elevating their product or finding a solution they didn’t have before on flavor, cost, texture, etc. I am a marketing specialist.
What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?
We needed to completely redesign our website because the branding was extremely outdated and our domain was 13 years old. It was not up to the standards of quality that we thought it should have to demonstrate our high-quality solution based ingredients. We wanted to incorporate lead generation opportunities that we didn’t have before. We talked about ideas on how to present different ways for people who found us via the internet and search engines to reach out to us and figure out what products work best for them. We wanted to make it possible for the user to find us easily and to have a streamlined process for them.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Usman Group provided project management skills to help us achieve a series of goals, which included: increasing our site visitors, creating a brand that’s in line with all of our trade shows and ideas, and devising a strategy that would allow us to move forward as a solution provider. They also optimized the site to make it easier for our customers to navigate and generate more leads coming in through the website. They assisted in lining out the entire project, hitting deadlines, and making a team that worked directly with me as well as one of my other colleagues in order to deliver without fail. They also created custom website pages that were handcrafted to meet our goal. They created a beautifully designed website on WordPress that has a lot of fluidity, and it's easy for our customers to understand the information and navigate to the page that would help them in their projects. Usman Group worked with me to select photos that would go on the main page and went along with our theme and ideas.
They also established a set of new brand guidelines that we identified as a business unit for the first time. The brand guidelines would streamline all of our marketing efforts that made sense to our customers and created an identity for us. We had a copywriter help us establish different keywords that made sense to our customers searching on the search engines. We identified a page or two of words that made sense to who we are and how people are finding us right now. Those words were then implemented into each page on our website, including the home page, product pages, solutions pages, careers page, etc. We haven’t worked with them on SEO [search engine optimization] efforts.
How did you come to work with Usman Group?
Usman Group was recommended to me by another group that used them and had such positive experiences with them that I knew I wanted to get an idea of what their work was like and what it would be like to collaborate with them on a big project like this. We vetted a couple of vendors to understand the quality of work they do and their project management skills to achieve that customized branding and result that we wanted to flow through all the pages of the site.
I found Usman Group extremely easy to work with. They easily converted my ideas and passion as well as theme and branding into a concept that I could get on board with. We hired them because they demonstrated such a knack for understanding of what our needs were and where we would like to take the concept. We wanted a high return on our investment.
How much have you invested with Usman Group?
We spent $29,000 with Usman Group on the project.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with Usman Group in April 2016, and the work was completed in August 2016. We have a contract with them for a set number of hours to help with any issues that come up. They help us better optimize Google dashboards, etc.
Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
I look at Google Analytics daily, and the metrics are constantly changing. One consistent metric is the bounce rate, which has gone down dramatically. Regarding organic search, it has plummeted down, which is what we wanted. We wanted people to use those keywords in the search engines and find us based on something they’re looking for and not leave. The average session is a lot longer, and the bounce rate has decreased. There are more lead generations than before. On the previous site, we had a login feature where customers could access documents, etc., but now, the number of leads from the internet where people are interested in what we do has increased dramatically.
As the marketing department, we wanted to increase our capability of generating new leads through our website because we wanted to represent ourselves in a way the customers would appreciate and understood what we’re doing and they would want to reach out. We’ve seen consistent feedback from current customers as well as strong potentials coming through this website that have said the website was easy to follow. Also, it’s easy for them to find products that make sense to meet their goals.
How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?
Usman Group utilizes a couple of tools and platforms to optimize project management. If I get busy, they always made sure to follow up with me and created a group dedicated to success. Their platform reminded me if I needed to submit anything to help them stay on schedule. If there’s something I’d like to add or change, they can tell me how that would change the deadline. They’re also flexible and open to new ideas.
What did you find most impressive about Usman Group?
The quality of their transmittance of my message is impressive. Usman Group listens to the customer. They understood exactly what I wanted even before I knew that I wanted it. Once I communicated to them what I liked and what my goals were, they took that information and created a beautiful, highly interactive, and fluid website. Their ability to communicate the work, passion, and ultimately, the brand itself into a well-designed website, is phenomenal.
Are there any areas Usman Group could improve?
Overall, Usman Group is phenomenal, and I would recommend them to anyone. We did encounter a small glitch at the end of our project, but that was also because we had a unique situation with our website hosting. We had to have it on a certain hosting environment, which was unfamiliar to them. Nevertheless, they learned quickly and adapted to what we needed according to our IT guidelines. It was a learning curve for them, but they were still able to deliver what we needed.
the project
Digital Strategy for Consumer Analysis Business
"All of the team members bring something unique and valuable to the team. Working with them has been a pleasure."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
ShopperTrak is the leading people counting solution for brick and mortar retailers. I lead digital marketing and strategy for the Americas.
What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?
We were acquired and then the day the acquisition went through, we were acquired again. That made for a lot of business challenges. When I first arrived at the company, we were migrating from one marketing automation solution to another. The Usman Group made sure the entire migration process was seamless from beginning to end. They were an extension of our team and also served as a sounding board when things were difficult. They answered difficult questions and were honest with us.
What was the scope of their involvement?
The Usman Group helped us navigate through a website migration as well. They helped with the design, backend, security, and also SEO [search engine optimization] and paid search. In terms of SEO, they gave us keywords but it was a team effort. In the end, they were solely working on the backend. They have experts that go in and make sure our vision becomes a reality. Since I started working with them, we’ve ramped up our services twice. When I started, we were using basic web services and then we ramped it up one notch to more advanced services with the web. We just recently began another agreement for social media.
How did you come to work with Usman Group?
They were here when I arrived at the company. I could’ve hired another agency but they developed a relationship with me and made sure that I felt comfortable working with them, so I didn’t want to look elsewhere. That was important to me.
How much have you invested with Usman Group?
We spend an average of $12,000 per month for their services.
What is the status of this engagement?
I personally started working with them in September 2016, and the work is ongoing.
Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
Last week we decided to implement another opportunity for conversion on our website at the bottom of our blogs. That was implemented at the beginning of last week and when I reported on it this week, we had a 13% increase in conversions from that opportunity. That’s an example of something we discussed, implemented, and the results we received. When I arrived at the company, we were on page eight for retail analytics, and we’re a retail analytics thought leader in our space. That was devastating to me, so I had conversations with the Usman Group about that and they optimized around those keywords, so we’re now on page two. I trust their technical expertise and I refer to them when I need to. We have an internal IT team and when I need to talk to them about security audits, I loop Usman Group into the conversations to make sure that I’m speaking to the technical terminology thoughtfully; they’re always supportive throughout the process. Their work is on par.
How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?
They have project managers and also experts, which is phenomenal. I’ve never seen any other agency do it like this and I love it. We have two project managers working on our account and have bi-weekly calls. We use Basecamp to post projects and documents, and we use that as a way to communicate as well. They send me a weekly recap with data that I can send to our senior leadership, which they really enjoy. If I have an urgent project, I send them an email and they respond right away.
What did you find most impressive about Usman Group?
They are a true partner which is something that’s very unique. They are an extension of my work, which is very comforting. I can tell that they feel that their work is a reflection of me and our organization and they’re proud of that. Our relationship is more of a partnership and I appreciate that tremendously.
Are there any areas Usman Group could improve?
I always think there’s room for improvement but I can’t think of anything that stands out to me. I truly believe they’ve bent over backward to make sure that I’m successful.
The number of site visitors and the amount of visibility have increased markedly since Usman Group was first engaged. Their consistent communication and professionalism justify the investment and make them a valuable partner.