Whittington Consulting

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Communications of Virginia Association of Counties

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We advocate and educate on behalf of Virginia's counties.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Whittington Consulting to accomplish?

Build a new website

SOLUTION

How did you find Whittington Consulting?

Previous Business Together

Why did you select Whittington Consulting over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned
• They are the best at what they do

How many teammates from Whittington Consulting were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Whittington Consulting has built two new websites for the Virginia Association of Counties. Each time they delivered exactly what we and our county members wanted. Now county leaders, staff, and residents can find pertinent information quicker and easier - thanks to Whittington Consulting. 

Each step of both projects were done with supreme professionalism and skill. They are really good at what they do and have cracked the code on customer service. Whittington Consulting is simply the best.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've seen an increase in traffic and activity. But what we've heard from county leaders and members is the website is beautiful and extremely functional. They love it.

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

Very agreeable. Very professional. On time. Kept me on schedule. Life is hard. Why make it harder? Whittington Consulting keeps things simple and easy. It's a joy to work with them.

What was your primary form of communication with Whittington Consulting?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

At the Virginia Association of Counties - we believe in the power of personal and professional relationship. We strive to build relationships. We consider Rick and the staff of Whittington Consulting as friends. 

We've known them a long time and over that time they have consistently proved themselves to be honest, reliable, and just nice people. Plus they did outstanding work and provided the best customer service. Their uniqueness is the way they build relationships with their clients.

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

We were very satisfied with the work. We can't think of any improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the office manager! We market the whole area of the Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation which consists of Alleghany County, the City of Covington, the Town of Clifton Forge and the Town of Iron Gate.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was created several years ago yet it was outdated. We invested in a new logo and website and hired this team to give us a new fresh look with a robust and updated site with hopes of increasing traffic to the site.

SOLUTION

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

Our board reviewed the work of this team and chose them to enhance our site.

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

We had a kickoff meeting discussing goals, objectives and the content we wanted to see. This team went to work to produce us a more robust site reflecting more of the corporation's services including a connection to VEDP's sites.

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

During this whole process we have worked with a logo designer, a marketing crew, and a web designer as well as others.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I am not sure of our numbers yet but we have had lots of compliments on the rebranding of our organization.

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

There were communications on a regular basis providing all them information they needed as well as regular meetings to make sure we were all on tract.

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

They were very professional, took the time to review our website, and provided a video for me for future reference.

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

Perfectly happy with the content, services when needed, etc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the marketing and communications manager at the Shenandoah Partnership, a regional economic development organization. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Whittington Consulting?

We wanted to build a talent acquisition companion website for our primary development website. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Whittington Consulting designed, developed, and launched our talent acquisition WordPress website. We relayed our needs and required content. Their team then organized that information and created a user-friendly site map, template, design, and taglines.

Whittington Consulting did all of the design work, including several custom modules. One module displayed our monthly podcast episodes, and another was an ambassador program spotlight. After the design was finalized, they developed the front- and backend of our website and launched it. 

Now, Whittington Consulting performs monthly maintenance — they update our plug-ins and user flows. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Rick (Principal), Alana (Senior UX/UI Designer), and Bryan (Lead Developer).

How did you come to work with Whittington Consulting?

I've worked with Whittington Consulting on several projects over the last 10 years. We were in such a niche market, and I knew Whittington Consulting could develop a website to fit our needs. They already understood our unique audience, and I trusted them to execute the project in a way that would appropriately communicate our mission to our audience.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested less than $10,000 with Whittington Consulting on this website development project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project with Whittington Consulting lasted from October 2020–January 2021. However, our partnership is ongoing because we're continuing to add new features. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Whittington Consulting created a website that filled a significant need within our community. We're getting a lot of positive feedback from our partners across the region. Everyone on our staff and our board members are pleased with the website. 

They completely exceeded my expectations — I haven't seen anything like what they developed for us on our competitors' websites.

How did Whittington Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Whittington Consulting really excelled at project management, and their communication was great. Typically, we communicated via phone calls and emails. 

They understood our tight timeline and set specific deadlines to ensure we hit our launch date. The project took less than three months from conception to launch — we could work within such a tight timeline because of how well they laid out project deadlines for my team and theirs. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Whittington Consulting is good at listening to a client's needs and wants — they can turn those into a successful platform for the client. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything for them to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise customers to be upfront with what they want and ask a lot of questions. Whittington Consulting has the unique ability to translate developmental answers into layman's terms. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Clinical Research Associate of the company. 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company runs clinical research trials.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Whittington Consulting to accomplish?

• Website Re-design

SOLUTION

How did you find Whittington Consulting?

HubSpot

Why did you select Whittington Consulting over others?

They understood HubSpot.

How many teammates from Whittington Consulting were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We had asked the Whittington team to help us make our website more modern as well as having it stand out.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After Whittington's work on our website, we were very pleased. It was revamped in a way that was more appealing and eye-catching than ever before.

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

If our team had any questions or concerns, Rick made sure he made the time to communicate with us, which was extremely appreciated. He also made sure to deliver his work on time.

What was your primary form of communication with Whittington Consulting?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The most impressive thing that I found about this company is how communicative they were. They let our team know every step they were taking to achieve the goals we set in place. I was also impressed by the effort Rick made to answer my calls or emails.

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

I think they did everything well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Director of GO Virginia Region 8

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

State-funded Regional Economic Development Organization

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Whittington Consulting to accomplish?

• Update website

SOLUTION

How did you find Whittington Consulting?

Relationship

Why did you select Whittington Consulting over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Relationship!

How many teammates from Whittington Consulting were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Navigation Updates
• Additional Page Creation
• Information Sign-Up
• Page Function Updates
• Staff Training
• Website Design and Development

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Greater reach, more functionality, more views

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

They provided continuous follow-up and communication to stay on schedule.

What was your primary form of communication with Whittington Consulting?

Virtual Meeting

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

Extremely high service levels. They genuinely wanted to help us improve.

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

No