Whelk inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of operations at Yves Légaré, and we're a funeral business. We serve families that are grieving for the loss of their loved ones.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Whelk inc.?

We wanted a website that could help us connect with our customers and a platform the could offer them personalized service. We also wanted them to see our products and have the opportunity to purchase them. Above all, our main goal was to stand out from other competitors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided Whelk with the visual we had in mind, which was very similar to our old site — but much more modern. We didn’t really want our platform to be changed too much so that our customers would still feel comfortable using our site. We wanted our customers to have the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the company through our platform, too.

We gave the team our pictures and the descriptions regarding our funeral business. On top of that, we required them to make our site available in both English and French. After that, they pretty much did everything using WordPress and other programs. One of the things they integrated into the site was allowing customers to purchase and send flowers to their families. More importantly, customers would be able to choose any flower arrangements that match their budget.

Whelk continues to be responsible for uploading our pictures and creating descriptions for each of them. They also program our site’s pages to ensure that it works. Overall, their work revolves around making sure that our site functions well and serves the transactions of our customers. 

What is the team composition?

We communicate with Phil (President) and then he relays our requirements to his team. He closely interacts with us to identify our needs, and he’s also responsible for managing the project.

How did you come to work with Whelk inc.?

I met Whelk through another supplier of mine. The team provided PR services to that supplier. At that time, I was also frustrated with my programmer so I decided to meet them. We clicked and our partnership started there.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000–$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing collaboration began in October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve been very satisfied with Whelk’s work. With our website, we’ve been able to quadruple the sales of our flowers. Additionally, we’ve received tons of positive feedback from our customers telling us how easy it is to navigate our platform, especially the English and French sections of our site.

How did Whelk inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very quick to respond; when I ask them to do something in the morning, they finish their tasks after an hour. We typically communicate using three approaches: scheduling face-to-face meetings, exchanging emails, and reaching out to them through phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I trust them completely because of their human approach to me. They ensure that I’m well aware of the technical aspects of the projects. They don’t assume I know everything — they check if I understand what they’re talking about so we could move forward efficiently.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m sure Whelk has a few weak sides, but I haven’t noticed anything from them. To me, everything has been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them because they’ll take care of you. Be reassured that they’re a great company that will listen to your needs. If you tell them what you want, they’ll definitely deliver. In our case, we're more than happy to be working with Whelk.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Arivia IT solutions Inc provides managed outsourced IT support services , VPS, and physical server management, backup redundancy, and end user support. We also provide website services via or partner Whelk Inc. We also office hosted services such database hosting and VPS. My position at Arivia IT solutions Inc. is president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Whelk inc., and what were your goals?

Whelk Inc provided design services for various websites for our clients as well last our own company along with hosted services.

SOLUTION

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

We had specific needs as per web design, complex programming functionality as well as inter database connectivity we also needed a wordpress specialist. We had project badges fees to respect. Whelk Inc was the best fit.

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

After initial meetings, we scoped out our workflow, planned the websites, infrastructure needs and deliverables. WordPress is the driving engine in these cases, our needs also included connectivity or SQL databases, as well as interfacing with payment processors for transactional websites.

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

We worked with 6 people. Sales, CEO, PMP's, and programmers, infrastructure specialists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Prior to the integration of all the platforms we needed, there was many hours of lost time in manually reconciling the data. After the integration of web/Database integration/VPS we could concentrated on other issues. Site redesigns for our clients greatly improved traffic and clarity of products and services offered.

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

Whelk Inc. used various methods of communication to help move things along. MS teams, Slack, or any Google product

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

They are very professional. Fast and personalized service with expertise.

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 the president of a full service marketing agency. SMGRS provides strategic marketing support to manufacturing companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Whelk inc.?

As an agency principal, it was becoming hard to manage a web department without first hand knowledge of all things web. Relying on employees to lead your web department wasnt working out for us.

SOLUTION

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

Starting with a few web design builds and hosting services through whelk, we quickly saw that we had a good fit. After a couple of months, I decided to move all of our web work externally to whelk and havent looked back since. Finally we are able to concentrate on our core business and have a dedicated team of web professionals handle the web part of our offering.

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

Some of our clients are white label and other builds have whelk involved one-on-one with our clients. From the early planning stage to production and finally having the site LIVE, we have a great system in place which surprisingly is not only cost-effective but a whole lot quicker than the setup we had in the house with three web people on payroll.

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

We work with Phil Ryan, but also work with Alex and Loreen, for additional SEO and creative asks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In one word CONVERSION. The sites whelk builds for our customers offer great navigation, reliability from their VPS hosting platform and the best part is the quick response we get if changes are needed or problems occur.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

That's the main reason this alliance works so well. The synergy is always there as all they do is a web, their focus makes our production needs easy to manage on their part. On the other hand, our staff finds it very easy to go back and forth with Phil and his team as well.

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

They fixed our internal web problem! I trust Phil with all things web. Phil's 25 years as an agency principal are apparent when he explains the web design process to our customers. It's an easy sell every time.

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

As I said, I havent looked back since, I have nothing negative to say about whelk, thats the reason this review is a pleasure to provide to them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Videography & Photography Services Co-owner

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Whelk inc.?

Web hosting

SOLUTION

How did you select Whelk inc and what were the deciding factors?

Great feedback on their services, they were a referral.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Web hosting & Website technical assistance

How many resources from the Whelk inc team worked with you, and what were their positions?

1

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

N/A

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

100% Effective

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

Their great customer service is notable in the collaboration.

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

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a representation business. We represent luxury international accommodation brands to the local Australia and and New Zealand markets

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Whelk inc., and what were your goals?

Whelk originally created our website around 6 years ago. They totally re-imagined and re-designed the website last year, and assisted with further additions to the website this last August

SOLUTION

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

Through personal relationships. Phil and I are friends.

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

After totally redesigning the website, from logos, to the look, feel and functionality of the site, they also added additional "deal" features the the page

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

I only worked with Phil (ie 1 person)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was 100% satisfied with the site

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

I think based on our relationship, I was never hard set on deadlines. Phil helped me when and if he could, which was always appreciated.

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

I guess being in a different country, gives Phil a different perspective, which in turn gives my website a different look and feel to those from local competitors

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

no

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Owner of specialty dental advertising agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Whelk inc., and what were your goals?

Needed a site migration plus update with newer more stable platform.

SOLUTION

How did you select Whelk inc., and what were the deciding factors?

Word of mouth referrals.

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

Whelk was easy to work with and accomplished everything in a timely manner. Since sites are never static they continue to be a resource for ongoing changes to the site.

How many people from the Whelk inc. team worked with you, and what were their positions?

1

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site has been stable since the migration and Whelk continues to be easy to work with an always responding in a more than timely manner.

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

Very timely. Email and phone has worked well for communication.

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

The team's speed and response time were impressive.

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

Nothing I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our organization is a not-for-profit that supports professionals in developing their skills.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Whelk inc., and what were your goals?

We hired Whelk as the technical expert for our website which is on the Avada for WordPress platform.

SOLUTION

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

I found them on the Internet, and had previously consulted with this company on a smaller website project. The biggest deciding factor for me was their responsiveness. You're not given a "ticket number" you're a person, your emails are acknowledged.

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

I create mockups of how we want the pages to look and Phile Ryan makes them work.

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

One. The owner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We meeting all of our deadlines and even going beyond the original scope of the project in many ways.

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

They are excellent all around. No complaints at all.

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

Knowledge, skill set, ability to work in more than one language, responsiveness, creativity, willingness to go the extra mile. I can't choose just one thing.

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

Nothing so far.