VisualFizz

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a partner at a retail business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website needed to be developed for a new concept. In addition, we needed some short-term social media and graphic design support. Our goals were to get launched quickly and under budget.

SOLUTION

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

We were referred to Visual Fizz and I am so glad we were. They were confident in delivering our project on time and were so amazing throughout the scoping process.

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

We had a kick off meeting to outline the web development needs, which has evolved into routine project calls covering all aspects. Currently, there are several initiatives that Visual Fizz handles for us.

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

We worked with at least 5-6 people from the team, led by Dan and Callie.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website looks terrific, and the social media marketing and design support continue to be ongoing. We're even looking at adding more workstreams to Visual Fizz from other agencies because they've been so incredible.

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

They are extremely communicative and the emails/calls are very thoughtful.

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

Delivering a big project ahead of expected time and below budget is rare. To do it with an incredible team was the icing on top.

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

None, they're amazing

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an organization that runs a no-code developers marketplace. We do software development and marketing for our customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VisualFizz?

We engaged VisualFizz to help us build our online marketplace.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We began this project with another developer, so when VisualFizz came on, we gave them access to the initial code. We also held a kick-off meeting where we shared documentation regarding the requirements and our goals for the marketplace. The VisualFizz team has been responsible for designing and developing our marketplace, which sites on top of WordPress. They’ve performed PHP and WordPress development work to build the platform according to our documentation. 

The platform is a marketplace for employers to post their development projects. Once an employer has posted a project, developers can bid on the project and wait for a response. If the developer wins the bid, our platform opens a workroom, facilitating collaboration between employers and developers. Workrooms provide a dedicated space to manage projects, collect funds, share status updates, and communicate via a messaging tool. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Dan (Founder & Managing Partner) and a lead developer.

How did you come to work with VisualFizz? 

I found VisualFizz online and evaluated them against other local and national companies. I was impressed with their portfolio and that they were based in Chicago, so we moved forward with the engagement.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested roughly $100,000 in the partnership with VisualFizz. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with VisualFizz in September 2021, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

VisualFizz has played a critical role in developing our marketplace. We’ve used development timelines per task to measure success, and they’ve hit 90% of the timelines we’ve set. We’ve also assessed the quality of their development work, which has been fantastic. We’ve had very few bugs, and they’ve immediately remedied the minor issues we’ve found during testing.  

How did VisualFizz perform from a project management standpoint?

The VisualFizz team has performed well from a project management standpoint; we’ve used Trello and monday.com to move the project forward. They’ve been flexible and accommodating when we’ve changed their tasks. We’ve communicated via Slack and email and had weekly development meetings via Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

VisualFizz has dedicated a team of knowledgeable, high-quality developers to our project. Not only are they capable from a development standpoint, but they’re also talented at design. They’ve consistently taken my ideas and improved them, which I’ve appreciated. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing VisualFizz could improve on; I’ve been happy with them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend listening to their ideas and treating VisualFizz like a partner because they have the potential to make your project better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Respondent 1: I handle patient intake and marketing at Granzow Lymphedema & Lipedema Center, which specializes in the surgical treatment of lymphedema and lipedema. I reach out to potential new patients, give them information, and do an initial phone intake. 

Respondent 2: I work part-time on content creation. I’ve been brought on as a freelancer and assist in social media management. I create such things as video testimonials and other digital content creations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VisualFizz?

R1: For 10 years, we had another company handling the nuts and bolts of marketing, which primarily included patient reviews and our website. They also updated us on SEO and our website’s traffic.

R2: Our previous provider also told us they were working on SEO and that we were ranking with many different keywords, which turned out not to be the case. 

R1: The agency gave information to the doctor, who became busier and didn’t have a dedicated office manager keeping tabs on their work. Two and a half years ago, we hired a new office manager, who decided we needed a change of pace, so we wanted to identify a new company to take over.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

R2: VisualFizz has migrated all our website and social media content, tweaked it, and updated it at our request. We had redesigned the site before they came on board, and the team has taken over the website and cleaned it up. They started by doing a full analysis of our SEO and backlinks, where they found a lot of missing pieces and broken links, especially regarding the SEO work the previous agency claimed to be doing. VisualFizz smoothed out the site’s backend.

After their analysis, the team broke down the site’s problems and where it was lacking. They offered recommendations on what we needed to focus on and how long it would take them to fix the site. When our previous agency was handling the website, it had a lot of issues, false reports, and slow loading times. We asked VisualFizz to address those issues.

R1: Meanwhile, we took back ownership of the social media function. VisualFizz makes sure we stay educated on SEO and marketing to help us. The team has also done some separate projects for us. For example, when we started working with them, we wanted a brochure-like handout for new patients, and VisualFizz did some research and helped us create that. They’ve also helped us prepare for a couple of conferences, providing marketing collateral for the events. 

What is the team composition?

R2: In the beginning, I worked closely with Dan (Managing Partner) to negotiate the agreement. 

R1: Dan and Marissa (Managing Partner) continue to attend our regular meetings. However, we primarily work with Rachel (Sr. Project Manager), who is our point person. We’ve also worked with Laura (Digital Project Manager), who acted as our interim project manager for two months during parental leave.

How did you come to work with VisualFizz?

R2: I did a general search and found VisualFizz on a website for digital marketing agencies. I went through around 15 candidates from that site; I put in some requests, vetted companies through interviews, and sent them proposals. 

Our decision came down to Dan’s thoroughness and eagerness. He told me he’d send me the proposal after a couple of days, but instead, he got back to me the same night we talked. Moreover, he presented the information thoroughly and was very interested in working with us. I didn’t get that same vibe from any other agency, so we chose VisualFizz.

What is the status of this engagement?

R2: We started working together around January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

R2: Thanks to VisualFizz’s work, we’ve seen a drastic improvement in our SEO results. Since their analysis, they’ve focused on specific pages we needed to focus on, and we’ve seen more traffic and time spent on those pages, which has been key for us. Conversion rate is another important metric, and we’re heading in the right direction in that regard. 

R1: We’ve been very satisfied with VisualFizz. What’s unique about our practice is that we only have one surgeon. Our competitors tend to be part of facilities or educational groups, so it isn’t as easy for patients to learn about their surgeons since they’re part of bigger institutions. Meanwhile, our website offers a lot of helpful information — that’s the beauty of it. 

As for the team, they’re always responsive and efficient with their time. I put in requests through Rachel, who is always there for us and easy to work with. Therefore, we were concerned about her going on leave a couple of months ago. However, Laura came in as our interim manager and did an amazing job. She was knowledgeable and gave us advice just like Rachel — we were very impressed. We also appreciate that they didn’t pull Rachel from our project after that. 

My priority is working with the patients, and marketing isn’t second nature to me. Therefore, I appreciate that VisualFizz is very proactive. For example, they brought up creating goals for 2023 at a recent meeting. They scope things out for us because we’re busy, which is important to me. In January 2023, the team will get their first opportunity to show the doctor and us what they’ve done, where the changes have come from, and what they see for our future. With this meeting, new ideas will come around, whether about our identity or other types of advertising we could do.

How did VisualFizz perform from a project management standpoint?

R1: They provide monthly SEO reports, and we have a bimonthly meeting with Rachel. 

R2: VisualFizz gives us regular updates on their progress, whereas the other agency gave us one-page reports without a detailed analysis. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

R2: VisualFizz’s follow-through is what sets them apart from other providers. They commit to their reports, and they’ll follow up with us if we’re not responding in a timely manner. For example, if a blog is due soon, they’ll check in on us. They’re a constant reminder of things we need to work on. 

R1: Our previous provider had a sales approach, and we didn’t always know what was happening. What I like about VisualFizz is that we’re very like-minded in many ways. They’re not pushy but come to the table with their ideas. They’re also knowledgeable; when Marissa comes to the meetings, she’s very confident and knows her stuff. 

Patients come to us because our practice has a good reputation out there. Our patients deal with a 9–12 month delay wait for services, and sometimes we have to turn people away. Therefore, we knew from the start that we didn’t need much outside advertising since we couldn’t handle many more patients. We needed to fine-tune our existing system and make it more current and relevant. VisualFizz understands that and helps us do just that. 

Moreover, they don’t tell us what to do — they work with us. We feel comfortable with our relationship; Dan stuck with us, even when we took the time to decide to engage with them. Slow and steady won the race; when we hired them, we were confident about our decision, and we’re still very happy with it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

GGLeagues is a recreational esports league management platform that brings recreational esports to all gamers across the United States. GGLeagues works with 450+ cities and over 100 universities to being esports programming to their communities. I am the COO and co-founder of GGLeagues.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

VisualFizz was hired to increase our user growth through Google Ads, Social Ads, and SEO. Additionally, VisualFizz provided business development expertise to help grow our brand.

SOLUTION

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

After doing a ton of research online and meeting with a handful of different companies, we finally met VisualFizz. They responded quickly and were extremely helpful from the first conversation we had.

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

First, we did a full overview of our current business, past marketing, and goals for the future. Second, we worked on the strategy of marketing through Google Ads and Paid Social (Facebook/Instagram). Third, VisualFizz provided feedback for various areas of our marketing efforts to help us improve as a company.

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

We worked directly with Callie, Dan, Marissa, Ross, Sydney, and Rebecca. They were all fantastic!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

GGLeagues saw a considerable increase in user growth in just a few short months. Additionally, our SEO and marketing became more refined.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had bi-weekly meetings between the teams and VisualFizz always responded to our emails within a day. The workflow was quick and responsive.

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

VisualFizz was extremely invested in our company which is unique to find from agencies. We felt they cared about us and the outcomes of our business.

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

No, they have been fantastic to work with!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Administrative Officer at The Counselors of Real Estate. The Counselors is an international organization of high profile property professionals which include principles of prominent real estate, financial, legal, and business advisory firms, as well as recognized leaders of government and academia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire VisualFizz?

Our website was created by a vendor that no longer supports Wordpress, therefore they could no longer serve our needs nor could they revamp our Member Search area.

SOLUTION

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

We looked for vendors who specialized in WordPress who could assist us in maintaining our current website, refresh some of the pages and images, and revamp the Search Feature to better serve our members' needs.

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

We had a series of meetings to discuss the functionality we wanted to add. We needed potential clients to find CREs by searching multiple areas of expertise, disciplines, area served, designations, member location, property type, and company name. We also wanted potential clients to narrow searches or broaden searches according to their needs. And we wanted an 'email the CRE' function. We had several meetings over a series of months.

VisualFizz took on this project after our old vendor dropped the ball. The old vendor had begun building out the functionality and VisualFizz took over. It turned out that the old vendor really missed the mark in the initial stages, which hindered VisualFizz's progress.

Our old vendor had no real documentation on the back end functionality of our website, so VisualFizz was forced to learn and document as they worked to rebuild the entire Search functionality. Working through these issues took extra time, but we are very happy with the end result.

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

In total, we worked with 4 people, the 2 Managing Partners, a Project Manager, and a Developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The member feedback we have received has all been positive.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The VisualFizz team has been extremely responsive and eager to jump on a call, if necessary.

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

I appreciate their responsiveness and willingness to work with us. We had a very small budget but they have been willing to work within the parameters we have requested.

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

No. I hope we continue to have very good experiences working with VisualFizz. So far, so good!