Zen Agency

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of Cupidpaw.com

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We sell pet products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zen Agency to accomplish?

• Build a custom designed dropship website
• Use WooCommerce for the shopping cart
• Integrate Flxpoint for product sourcing

SOLUTION

How did you find Zen Agency?

Online Search

Why did you select Zen Agency over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Zen Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

For this project, we partnered with Zen Agency to create an ecommerce website dedicated to pet supplies. Our main objectives were to develop a visually appealing platform that is both user-friendly and fully equipped to handle online sales through drop shipping. Deliverables: 

• Custom Website Design and Development 
• Integration with Flxpoint 
• Ecommerce Functionality 
• Drop Shipping Capabilities

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working with Zen Agency to launch our pet supplies ecommerce site was a transformative experience for our startup. From the outset, Zen Agency understood the importance of not just creating an online store, but building a platform that resonated with pet owners. Their team provided a clear roadmap from design to deployment, ensuring each phase aligned with our business objectives. 
Zen Agency's creative team brought fresh ideas that perfectly captured the essence of our brand. They crafted a site that is both visually appealing and easy to navigate, which has been crucial in attracting and retaining customers. Integrating Flxpoint for drop shipping capabilities was a major aspect of the project, and Zen handled it seamlessly. 
Their technical expertise made the complex inventory management processes, and order fulfillment automation look easy. This integration has been pivotal in allowing us to offer a wide range of products without the need for physical inventory, streamlining our operations, and reducing overhead costs. 
Since the launch, we've seen a steady increase in traffic and sales conversions. The feedback from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the ease of use and the quality of their shopping experience.

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

Zen really nailed it with their project management. They were spot on with their timing, always getting things done when they said they would, which kept everything on track for our website launch. They were really good about keeping us in the loop, too, letting us know what was going on at each step so we never felt out of the loop. 
Whenever we needed something or had to make a change, they were quick to help out. They didn't fuss about it; they just got on with it, which made our lives a lot easier. It was like they were part of our team, always ready to chat if we had questions or ideas, and that made the whole process feel more like a partnership. 
Overall, working with Zen was straightforward and stress-free. They made sure we were happy every step of the way and managed to pull everything off without any hitches. It was a real relief knowing they had everything under control, letting us focus on the rest of our business without worrying about the website side of things.

What was your primary form of communication with Zen Agency?

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

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

We were impressed by their incredible attention to detail and the personalized approach they took with our project. They didn't just give us a one-size-fits-all solution.

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

Zen Agency delivered impressively across all aspects of our project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of an ecommerce company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

E-commerce small business

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zen Agency to accomplish?

• Rebuild website with a modern design
• Improve site and API performance
• Develop a custom plug-in

SOLUTION

How did you find Zen Agency?

Online Search

Why did you select Zen Agency over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from Zen Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope of work was to rebuild or ecommece site, that had been migrated from a different provider, allegedly to address performance issues. This included a new design, a high performance back end server, and migration of data and plug-ins from the old site. An audit of plug-ins was also supposed to happen to avoid migrating unnecessary plug-ins. The second main piece of work was as to develop a custom plug-in to handle workflows at checkout.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This project has been a complete failure. The project ran about six months over schedule, and we had to chase Zen Agency constantly for updates and progress. The new design ended up just being a basic WooCommerce template, and we had to fight to get some best practice things like trust badges and other items to meet the desired goals of improving conversions. 

Site performance is worse than even - We get a D rating on GT Metrix and API performance is the worst we’ve even seen in 3 years of operating. They massively underscoped the work required to develop us a usable plug-in for our checkout workflows, and we had to have multiple calls walking through the requirements as they were not understood at all. 

They failed to test it on mobile, cause numerous lost sales, and it only gives us about half of the needed functionality so this will need to be scrapped and rebuilt by another developer. During the build we had issues with order data being handled outside the US, by subcontractors, that trigger duplicate calls to several of our production services and resulted in more lost sales as this appeared to be fraudulent transactions.

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

The project ran basically double the estimated timeframe, and we had to chase constantly for updates, have repeated conversations, perform QA that they were failing to do, and generally chase them to find out where all our money had gone. Their order of deliverables was backwards, resulting in them having to repeat the same tasks. 

Once it became clear they had under budgeted time to deliver what we needed the immediately moved to “that’s not in the contract” and delivered a broken plug-in, that solves some front end issues, but none of the backend workflow we need. 

After escalating multiple times to the owner of the company we constantly heard “we’ll get this over the line”, but nothing changed. It was only once we started asking for the entire project to be scrapped as they were showing no ability to successfully deliver, that they finally started paying attention and released something.

What was your primary form of communication with Zen Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Nothing. Even basic site maintenance that we are paying for, as part of our hosting package, has caused multiple errors and outages that they have not identified until we escalated to them.

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

It’s not clear whether they over promised on what they are capable of delivering, made mistakes during the scoping of the work and were not able to translate this into actual requirements for their developers, or just couldn’t see how poorly things were going. 

I would strongly encourage anyone considering working with them to be extremely explicit and granular about ever item to be delivered, insist on financial penalties in the contract for delays, escalate loudly and early, and only consider them for very small pieces of work until they can prove their ability to deliver for your business.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Wholesale Agri Business. Marketing Director

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our annual tradeshow needed the order process to be optimized to use the company website as the order entry portal with direct connection to the accounting software.

Zen was able to take excel files and transform them into an order form that submitted orders directly into the company system. After implementing this order form, we were able to process in two days orders that would have taken two weeks. Amazing.

SOLUTION

How did you select Zen Agency and what were the deciding factors?

We had recently built a website and had sought out a company that could host the site and would also be available to help up design and grow the company's online business. The website used WooCommerce, and Zen specializes in this particular shopping cart. We were already a customer when we asked about updating the order process of the company's trade show.

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

Our company was using old technology, manual labor, to process hundreds of orders after our company's trade show. Zen showed us how to build an order form, for all of our vendors, and connect these orders with our accounting software.

Afterwards, tradeshow orders were submitted instantly, and order tallies were finished the day of the show. A really great improvement for us. They worked hand in hand with out accounting software company to take these trade show orders and automatically enter them as orders within the accounting software. Much was done out of our view, connecting the website and forms and then the automation of the orders into our system.

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

We worked specifically with Samantha and Tar. Sean also lent a hand in the beginning. They each hold different titles but work together to send the project to the specific specialist. I am sure each played a part and others as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were thrilled with the outcome. Our tradeshow order forms worked perfect. Orders submitted were sent into our system directly as orders ready to ship. All orders were in house by the end of the show. For us, this was amazing. A great help and a much-improved order system.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had several Zoom meetings. Very efficient.

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

They solved issues thoroughly. They host our website but are there for when problems arrive.

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

They could sometimes work a little quicker.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-owner, designer, and web manager of Fastpitch Power, a virtual training program for fastpitch softball that runs on WordPress and WooCommerce.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website, which I had originally designed and built, was outdated and very bloated. As a web designer and WordPress developer myself, I was very aware that so many improvements have been made in theming and page builders since the latest iteration of our site was launched. I had been desperately wanting to do a redesign for about a year, but since I maintain Fastpitch Power on the side of a full time job, I was never able to piece together enough time to make it happen. I hired Zen Agency to help me get my redesign vision implemented on a cleaner and more stable foundation.

SOLUTION

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

Zen Agency was one of several vendors I was considering from WooCommerce's listing of suggested experts. It was very important to me to have control over the design process, since my aesthetic goal with the redesign was to coordinate with our new mobile app that I also designed. I struggled to find an agency that was willing to relinquish control of the design process (and most wanted over $30k). I settled on Zen because they were willing to collaborate with me, and only do the work I actually needed for a very reasonable price.

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

I tasked Zen Agency with rebuilding our site based on a mockup I created in Figma and supplied to them. They were able to duplicate my design exactly using Beaver Builder. They also implemented a system of housing our content in custom fields, rather than in the page builder itself. Finally, they assisted with migrating the new design from dev to live, and assuring a smooth experience for our existing members.

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

I interacted with 5 people total, 2 who served as points of contact and 3 designers/developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I'm extremely happy with the results. The custom field system in particular has drastically cut down on my site maintenance time, and it will make any future redesigns much easier to implement. Comparing the dev to live site also helped me uncover some possible server side speed issues that I can now investigate with my host, whereas before I had no idea where to begin with diagnosing my site speed problems. The new site hasn't been launched long enough to have metrics from it, but we had been putting off advertising out of fear that our old site couldn't handle growth, and we are very excited to be able to start promoting our products more.

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

Everyone I worked with at Zen was extremely communicative, and they finished their work in a timely manner. As I also participated in the redesign process, I found them extremely easy to collaborate with as well. They tailored their explanations to my level of WordPress knowledge. They were extremely helpful in answering my questions and making changes.

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

I was so impressed that I had almost zero changes to the site design after I gave them my Figma file. I was expecting to have to compromise quite a bit, but they really executed my vision with extreme care, and the tweaks I had to make were so minor I doubt anyone else would have even noticed them.

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

I really have no complaints!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the vice-president and webmaster of the International Waterlily and Water Garden Society, which is a not-for-profit organization. (we wear many hats).

The IWGS international fellowship of water gardeners includes new water gardeners keen to learn, experienced water gardeners eager to share, commercial growers, hybridizers, botanical gardens, university professionals, hobbyists with wide ranging experience, aquatic plant specialists, fish specialists, manufacturers of water garden products, installers and retailers, and others who appreciate the delights of water in the landscape.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to have our website updated. Our website was becoming obsolete and could not accommodate the type of functionality our Board wanted to present to its members.

We did not want a "cookie-cutter" type website that so many not-for-profit organizations had, and spent a few months in-house, outlining our expectations and creating a requirement document for a re-developed website, to ensure that our new website was going to meet our expectations.

SOLUTION

How did you select Zen Agency and what were the deciding factors?

We put out an RFP to companies that had been recommended to the Board. Our decision to select Zen was based on their willingness to work within our budget, and their suggestions on how to provide the functionality we were looking for, within the budget we specified.

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

We had a kick-off meeting with the Zen team and our IWGS project team, which was a challenge to organize as our team members were in Australia, England, Alberta, Canada and Kansas, USA.

The Zen team introduced their team members and the web developer who was assigned to work with us through the project development. We were given timelines as to when each phase would be delivered to us for testing. Our first step was to re-brand the site with a new theme. 

The second step was to identify key requirements to ensure we developed those first, followed by secondary requirements. Zen identified they would use a Genesis framework on Wordpress, along with the ACF admin.

It was important to us to have a website that our organization could update ourselves, as we had limited funds to spend.

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

Web Design theme Manager Project Manager Web Developer These were our "Go To" people during the web development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to move from a manual membership registration system to an online registration system which managed renewals and expiry dates. This was a huge benefit to our organization, both in the time-savings to our board members and in efficiency.

We now have a regular income from our membership fees. We are now able to offer our members some "perks" to their membership by offering them additional information and resources which are behind our membership paywall.

Our site can be accessed in any part of the world, including those areas where internet speed is an issue.

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

The team kept in contact with me, mostly by email, but were also available by phone whenever I needed to discuss a problem with them, or if I needed an answer on how some functionality was to be managed.

I was always able to contact my developer when I phoned, or got a return call within a few hours if they were unavailable. Having this immediate contact was incredibly helpful. I was notified of the implementation dates of key pieces of functionality so tat I could plan for testing.

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

I really appreciated being able to communicate directly with the web developer. This person did not change throughout the development so it was always easy to identify what my issue was and ways of correcting the problem.

I also appreciated that they created videos showing how to access and manage the website. This was important as a Board Member has a maximum term of 6 years. I wanted to be sure that there was a record on file for future board members.

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

Zen continues to host our website, and provides on-going enhancements that our IWGS web team can't figure out how to create ourselves. So far, everything continues to run smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief visionary officer for Legacy. We’re a trucking business, hauling freight, brokering loads, training truck drivers, providing expert witness, and doing consulting. We have several segments to the business, including the newest addition: Luigi Legacy Cuisine, providing various food kits.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zen Agency?

We needed branding and web development done for a new segment of our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a website for our truck driving school. Users can sign up, pay for classes, and see the schedule. There is an interactive calendar, as well.

They also did digital marketing, managing Google, social media, and email campaigns. Emails were automatically sent to the leads generated through the website. 

They are currently working on the website for Luigi Legacy Cuisine. There is a master website, where users can see the different food kits offered, and place orders.

The team created the brand for that business, including logo and packaging. They designed each section of packaging, such as ice packs to keep perishables cold, salt packets, yeast, flour, etc. based on the ingredient lists we provided. 

What is the team composition?

I work with four people, including Joe (Founder/CEO) and David (Creative Director/Branding Expert). 

How did you come to work with Zen Agency?

My wife – our President and CEO – found them. I met with them to discuss the services we needed, and we decided to work together.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $42,000 on web development, plus we have a $750/month retainer fee.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around January 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website for the truck driving school works great. We’ve generated so many leads that we need to hire more people to teach classes. We acquired customers very quickly, and more than doubled the business we were doing before they built the website. We have reached the point that we make a good profit on every class we hold. 

How did Zen Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re doing a great job – I would rate them very highly. We have Zoom conferences and email, talking a couple of times weekly, and I visit them occasionally. They are available, and very responsive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have the best designs out there. I’m blown away by their artwork and the creative minds behind it. They deliver what they promise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Build a rapport with the team members who will be working with you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Executive Director of The Waverly Community House, a not for profit serving Northeast Pennsylvania residents with educational, recreational and cultural opportunities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Zen Agency?

Our website was created 15 years ago and was in dire need of updating . We approached Zen based upon a recommendation from a graphic designer who recommended them based on creativity, expertise and service.

We have since developed two additional sites with them and are constantly striving to update and improve.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase traffic, promote our business and make it user friendly.

SOLUTION

How did you select Zen Agency?

Zen was selected after reviewing a number of proposals from other web design agencys and upon receiving positive recommendations. In addition we did have a few initial meetings to discuss the proposal and were impressed with the depth of detail.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected this vendor we have a series of meetings as the first website was built to ensure that it met all of our needs. This process was followed for two more websites, each of which continue to serve our needs. Our relationship has continued for almost a decade and the business relationshiop

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager who worked with us on the website development along with his team. We have since worked with support staff and the owner has taken an active interest in our service and needs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within a short period of time we saw increased traffic on each of the sites and increased interest in our business. The websites are now an integral part of our interaction with and promotion to the public

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Customer service and ability to adapt over time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were satisfied with the pace of work and they were receptive to "ASAP" changes adaptations as required.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at McGregor Industries

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Manufactures and Installs Steel Components

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zen Agency to accomplish?

• Relaunch our website
• Website Maintenance and Hosting

SOLUTION

How did you find Zen Agency?

Online Search

Why did you select Zen Agency over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Zen Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Zen assisted in the redesign and relaunch of our existing website  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Website was launched on budget!

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

Zen kept me on task and managed all deliverables and timeline

What was your primary form of communication with Zen Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Zen is great to work with and is very responsive and helpful.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder and President of Bib Flip

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We operate a marketplace where runners can buy and sell their entries to races.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zen Agency to accomplish?

Create the marketplace website

SOLUTION

How did you find Zen Agency?

Referral

Why did you select Zen Agency over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Zen Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Zen built our site entirely from scratch. Leveraging existing technologies, they designed the site, built the underlying processes and connected us to payment services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Releases of the various web pages when they were ready

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

They were extremely responsive to our needs. I had stated upfront that quality and cost control were the most important factors, while speed was not as much of a priority. With that, things have taken a bit longer than I initially expected, but the team has done a great job of managing expectations all along the way. Everything's been delivered on time; we've just adjusted the mutually-agreed timeline as we've gone along.

What was your primary form of communication with Zen Agency?

Virtual Meeting

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

The account/project management has been tremendous-- great communication, an empathetic understanding of what we're trying to accomplish and a really good job of finding creative solutions anytime we ran into a roadblock.

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

At times I sensed they were under some resource constraints balancing a number of projects and with us as a smaller project it felt as if resources were temporarily diverted. So, an area of improvement might be in the area of load balancing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Product Manager Tiny Dog, LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provide pet supplies to pet parents.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zen Agency to accomplish?

• Assist with Google
• Import Products
• Redo Website

SOLUTION

How did you find Zen Agency?

• Online Search
• WooCommerce Suggestion

Why did you select Zen Agency over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Zen Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

-New Website -Mobile Friendly -Import products -Website Hosting

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

New website with support after the fact to keep it running well.

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

The timeframe was a little longer than expected but the product was worth it in the end. Communicated effectively.

What was your primary form of communication with Zen Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

As an online service provider for e-commerce company, they really knew their stuff.

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

Might have been a little faster, more communication would have been good in the early stages of the project.