Plug and Play

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Director of Tobias Oliver

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide professional interior design and interior architure services to the high-end resitential market with an ecommerce presence offering high-end homewares. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Plug and Play to accomplish?

• New Website
• New Branding

SOLUTION

How did you find Plug and Play?

Online Search

Why did you select Plug and Play over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Plug and Play were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We asked Plug & Play to create a new website with new branding to reflect the level of design we strive to achieve through our interiors.  We requested the website to be editorial in style but very user friendly. We asked for an ecommerce store that was simple, easy to use, and let the products shine out.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website has only been live a month therefore we are not yet in a position to apply measures that would mean anything however I can say that I know I can speak for not just me but everyone that has worked on the project and seen the new website are blown away with the finished result. 

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

Dino, our project manager, is excellent.  There's no two-ways about it; he's throrough, thoughtful and always felt like he was on our side.  Even when the project has finished.  We had some complexities through the project but Dino always managed to pull the team together to keep the project on track.  Towards the end of the project for the last month we had multiple daily check-ins with not just Dino, but other team members too, which really supported us in the move to the new systems environment.

What was your primary form of communication with Plug and Play?

Virtual Meeting

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

They listen and deliver as promised. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Plug and Play could have done differently?

The only area I could say there could be some improvement was at the end of the project, whilst we has a lot of support, we had very little time to get the work done on our side.  If we had a couple more weeks I think this would have taken some stress out of this situation.  But, other than that I can't say how Plug and Play could have improved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Brand Manager (App and Website Projects) of Third Space

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Luxury health clubs in London.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Plug and Play to accomplish?

• Develop our new website
• Consult on mobile app UX
• Build mobile app wireframes

SOLUTION

How did you find Plug and Play?

Referral

Why did you select Plug and Play over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Plug and Play were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Rebuild our website including: 

• UX design
• FE & BE development
• SEO strategy and implementation
• Hosting and security setup
• Third-party integration

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Successful transition from the old website to launch our new website

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

We had an excellent experience working with Plug and Play on developing our website. From start to finish, the team was incredibly responsive, always addressing our questions and concerns promptly. Their professionalism was evident throughout the project, and they provided valuable insights that demonstrated their knowledge and expertise in web development.

The website was delivered on time and we are thrilled with the final product. Highly recommend working with Plug and Play!

What was your primary form of communication with Plug and Play?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Most impressive was our project manager, Beth's exceptional project management skills. From the outset, she demonstrated a clear and organised approach and kept us informed at every stage. Beth's ability to break down complex tasks into manageable milestones and deliverables ensured that the project stayed on track and met all deadlines. 

The Plug and Play team's (led by Phill) strong expertise in web development was also evident throughout the project. They offered insightful recommendations and solutions tailored to our specific needs, and their technical knowledge was exceptional.

The team executed everything efficiently without compromising on quality, making the entire experience the most seamless digital project we have worked on to date. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Plug and Play could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager for Give a Grad a Go Recruitment, a graduate recruitment company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Plug & Play?

We were looking for an agency to help us revamp our website. Originally, we were just going to use a design agency and work with the developers we already had.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we went through an ideation phase, during which we told Plug & Play everything we wanted from the project and the ideas we had for the website's design, features, and functionality. Then, they came back with a detailed quote in a spreadsheet detailing each task and feature required, along with their cost. This helped us prioritize which features would be launched first and which ones could be moved onto phase two of the project.

Once we chose the most important features for the site, Plug & Play started with the design process. We required a whole rebrand for the site, so they came to us with three different concepts. We were able to choose elements from each one and adjust the designs until we were happy with the colors, the brand, and the logo. 

After the design phase, Plug & Play worked with me to understand how our business worked and how each feature of the site would work according to that. Then, they put together the wireframes and ensured everything was working correctly. The wireframing phase took a few months, after which we did a lot of revisions to ensure we hadn’t missed anything.

Throughout the revision process, we also consulted with our chief operations director and other people on our team to get their input and ensure we weren’t missing something we hadn’t thought of before approving the wireframes. Once approved, Plug & Play started the actual website design on Figma.

Their team designed the main 20 pages of our site, and once we were happy with those designs, they moved on to the development phase. There was a lot of back and forth between Plug & Play and us during this stage as we were deciding between different drop-down menus, categories, content, and more.

Once Plug & Play developed the site, we went into the testing phase, during which we tested the site ourselves. Plug & Play also did some QA, in which we were involved to ensure the site worked properly. When we ensured that the site worked well and efficiently, they transferred it onto our server so that it was ready to launch.

Currently, we’re on a retainer with Plug & Play. We’re now working on phase two of the project, which includes refining the site’s features and addressing things we weren’t able to foresee before having customers use the site.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 5–6 teammates from Plug & Play, including Dino (Commercial & Delivery Manager), who works as the project manager and is our main point of contact. We’ve also worked with David (Digital Strategist), as well as some designers and developers.

How did you come to work with Plug & Play?

We found them on Google, where they were ranking well. We had spoken to quite a few different agencies, but when we spoke to Plug & Play, they simply stood out way above the competition in all aspects. They knew what they were talking about in terms of SEO and UX design, and we felt that they would be able to build a website that would perform better than our current one. We also realized that we could trust them, and they showed us a lot of evidence of things that they had done. Their previous work included a lot of things we were looking for, so we ended up working with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent between £150,000–£200,000 (approximately S179,000–$238,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around the beginning of Q2 2022, and it’s an ongoing engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since launching our new site, we’ve received a lot of feedback via email from users saying how fantastic it looks. Regarding its performance, we launched the site in December 2022 and saw a slight dip in January 2023. It has been hard for us because we’re still setting up our conversion tracking, so we haven’t seen any efficiencies just yet.

However, changes in the URL direction and other modifications like that can commonly cause dips in traffic. Now, our traffic is increasing again, and we’ve gained our SEO ranking back for key terms. Additionally, we’ve achieved new rankings for other terms. Hopefully, we’ll get more accurate results once we set up our tracking systems.

How did Plug & Play perform from a project management standpoint?

Plug & Play’s communication has been brilliant throughout — they’re efficient and quick to respond. The design phase was a really fun phase where we got the whole company involved. During this phase, they were patient when we asked for renditions of things and changes.

Throughout the first phase of the project, we had at least weekly calls with Plug & Play to check-in. I also had a WhatsApp chat with Dino and another member of my team. On that chat, we sent voice notes to talk about new ideas and things that came up. That approach was very useful because we didn’t have to set up calls constantly.

We’ve also used Basecamp for project management, which has been handy as we’ve started a new thread for every phase of the project. Using this tool, we can refer back to each thread and search for certain elements if needed.

Additionally, Plug & Play has used Figma and Miro for the designs, which are useful because we can leave comments. Throughout the wireframing process, we were able to mark and pin our comments on different areas and designs, which was great.

Currently, we’re using ClickUp, where I can leave comments and tasks. Then, Plug & Play assigns different team members to those tasks. Those teammates can comment and reply to my comments, and we can have conversations regarding those tasks.

Although we’ve experienced some delays throughout the project, those were caused by things outside our control. For example, the launch was delayed due to an issue with the integration with our CRM platform. Additionally, we had to delay things at one point because we weren’t ready with the content. Still, Plug & Play was very understanding.

These types of projects always have unforeseen challenges. However, Plug & Play has been very good at constantly checking in and letting us know what is going on. Whenever we’ve had delays, they tell us exactly how long it will take to solve the issue.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Overall, Plug & Play is great at communicating, and whenever something doesn’t work as it should, they fix it instantly. They’re very quick at problem-solving. We’ve had a brilliant experience working with them — I wouldn’t have trusted this project to any other of the agencies we initially spoke to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if Plug & Play was better at managing expectations regarding the launch and the dip in traffic. Initially, we weren’t made aware of the hiccups we would experience, although it was a little naive of us to expect that the site would work perfectly after moving it onto our servers.

Plug & Play could have communicated those potential challenges a little better when we were about to launch the site so that we were aware. Given that we never discussed those potential issues, we expected a seamless launch.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director for a land mapping business. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Plug & Play?

We had an existing web application, but because of the nature of our business, we wanted to have a mobile application so our users weren’t tied to their computers. We hired Plug & Play to design our iOS and Android mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided them with a Miro board where we outlined the app's requirements, but they helped us define the scope and were instrumental in narrowing down what we really needed in the first phase. Plug & Play was responsible for the UX design, and was created using Adobe. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with James (Creative Director) and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with Plug & Play?

We found them online when we were searching for UX agencies. We felt like they would be a good fit and decided to move forward. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around £40,000 (approximately $47,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between March–July 2022. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is going live very soon, and we’re very happy with the UX design. We’ve shown it to a few customers, who’ve been impressed. All the designs were created with technical feasibility in mind, which shows. 

How did Plug & Play perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was completed on time for the most part. We communicated via email and Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They collaborated seamlessly with the other companies that were involved in the project. We were nervous about the project because it was a big challenge, and Plug & Play made the process easy. They also quickly understood our use cases and adapted quickly to learn what we needed. Overall, we had a very positive experience working with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The end of the process was a little slower than we had hoped for. It never impacted our delivery times, but it was slower toward the end than in the beginning. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you’re very clear on the product's requirements and give them autonomy to develop the best designs. I would also recommend having clarity on the implementation and project management deliverables.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of customer marketing at Smarkets, an online sports betting operator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Plug & Play?

We needed help with web development services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Plug & Play has developed a few websites for us, two of which have been built from scratch. The team handles the design work of two websites and only the development portion for one. They also provide maintenance support.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with their CEO and three account managers.

How did you come to work with Plug & Play?

A colleague of mine recommended them to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2021, and our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, our website traffic is up and continues to grow considerably. Their team has exceeded our expectations.

How did Plug & Play perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management style is really good. We use email and Basecamp, and their account manager is always available.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their attention to detail and responsiveness is impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re one of the better agencies I’ve ever worked with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CPO of the company, and we work in the Marketing and Data Analytics space with a global footprint.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Plug & Play?

Our analytics platform was created a number of years ago and as we had grown as a company, increasing the amount of data we were capturing and being able to do more intelligent things with the data. We needed the platform brought up to date from a design, UI and UX perspective.

SOLUTION

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

We looked for web designers through a number of desk research methods and then had an initial discovery call followed by a final pitch session amongst a shortlist of vendors. We chose Plug & Play for a number of reasons, first and foremostly their body of work showed a high level of quality and competence. Additionally, they were fast to understand our exact requirements and showed adaptability early on to ensure they delivered for us as a business versus a cookie-cutter approach. Lastly, the whole team at Plug & Play were excellent from a communications perspective and a pleasure to deal with.

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

There were an initial number of sessions to deep dive into our platform as it exists today, and our thoughts for the new platform. This led to a stage of initial wireframes (low-fidelity) which we iterated over through a number of weekly meetings, followed by higher fidelity wireframes as we got closer to where we wanted to be. There was some further iteration over the high fidelity wireframes to finalise the designs before the design assets were handed over to us for development. Throughout development, we have also engaged with Plug & Play as needed with and questions that have come up.

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

In total we worked with 3 people, predominantly a project manager and designer, with input from the head of design as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are really happy with the outcome of the project, having developed a new platform which both we, and our clients, are delighted with. Additionally, the speed we were able to get the platform up and running is testament to the assets and handover that took place allowing our development team to take the designs and realise them without significant difficulty.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Both the project manager and the designer were a pleasure to work with, keen to understand and provide a custom solution, flexible to our other work commitments and went above and beyond to create a solution that more than met our expectations.

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

The overall competence in design adapted to our specific requirements. The team was also incredibly friendly, and a pleasure to work with.

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

We are delighted with the outcome of the project, and don't feel the project could have gone any smoother!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a major four-year R&D programme in the construction sector run by three partners. I’m the Head of campaigns and brands for the programme.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Plug & Play?

Our existing website experience was not functioning as a strong communications and engagement platform. We were looking for a unique and memorable website experience that could help users navigate to the content most valuable to them in the clearest steps possible. We also had to ensure budget invested in the website development piece created the most value for money as we are a government-funded programme.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with an analysis phase with Plug & Play. We gave them a brief, and together we aligned our expectations on what we could do with the site in the future. After we agreed on the scope, we moved to wireframing and strategy.

We gave them clear requirements on the landing pages, menus, and functionalities we wanted. Plug & Play built the site in WordPress, and designed it to be easy to use for our comms team. Also, they ran two training webinars with us, taking us through the whole CMS and every part of the website. Plug & Play also migrated all our content from the old site, including press releases and articles. 

Finally, they helped us launch the site and are now providing monthly support to the team as required.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Peter (Managing Director), Emma (Marketing Manager), Gabrielle (Operations Manager), and the senior developers.

How did you come to work with Plug & Play?

I attended an event in London on marketing communication in construction around February 2020. Peter was presenting, and I really liked the information being shared. Plug & Play was invited to be part of the tender process and was selected among other three companies.

How much have you invested with them?

We paid approximately $80,000 USD for the project, training and ongoing support.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Plug & Play in May, and we launched the site on November 1st, 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In May 2021, we had 13,000 views, 64% bounce rate and our average session duration was 01:41. Between November - December 2021, our bounce rate was 29%, and our average session duration went up to 02:27. We haven’t increased our visitor count yet, but I know that we’ll see a spike after our next big launch.

How did Plug & Play perform from a project management standpoint?

The process was relatively easy to follow, so it was very easy for me to update the team on my side. The approval process involved several people — all the meetings with Plug & Play were recorded to share them with everyone else, including our senior management.

They did everything they said they would, and they did it on time. They were never late or unprofessional. They kept everything under control, and there were no disagreements. Also, Plug & Play explained everything in a way we could understand. They could go from high level to detail and then back again.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to take my nontechnical brief and turn it into what we needed. Moreover, they always advised us on our needs. We didn’t say yes to everything they suggested, but they advised us what we should do, always considering best results for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re a government funded organisation, they understood our position and arranged something feasible for us. Website work requires investment.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Try to bring clarity from your end on what you want.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Product Manager at Fintech startup

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Plug & Play?

Building UI for a new product we are launching

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

based on multiple calls with the founder

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

Involved replicating the UI mocks shared ahead of the project start and iterate on a few design elements. A few pages needed fresh perspective on information layout. did the wireframes over couple iterations followed up with polished designs in line with provided style guide and few custom animations for items which are not available in standard material design

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

James worked with me closely and Peter was also involved

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are pleased with the deliverables from the team.the work involved many complicated flow and data visualization and the team was able to turn mocks into functional designs.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

James was easy to work with and had great UI/UX sense when working with mocks. Many of the workflows are niche and complicated and tied to how the assets we work with and he was able to ramp up on the nuances quickly

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

they were patient and willing to adjust the scope by swapping out items from the original scoped projects for equivalent amount of new items.

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

Overall had a great experience and would recommend working with them. The only constructive feedback i can think of is that I wish we had more and regular touch points within the week sometimes things were getting lost in translation. Their project manager was quick to resolve the issues quickly, so it worked out in the end.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Group Head of Marketing for Elecosoft.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Plug & Play, and what were your goals?

Our website had grown through acquisition and integration of new products. It was cluttered and the user journey was confused. We wanted to show a balanced portfolio with a clear journey for users.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online and met P&P at a conference. We received and score carded several agencies and their creds, projects and data driven mindset awarded them the project.

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

We took this from a blank sheet of paper to a full e-comm site in one year. Starting with defining detailed scope, including future phases to create regional language variations. We created detailed wireframes in XD. Created offline content and built the site with P&P. With weekly supporting calls with the account manager and developers/designers when needed.

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

A project manager, developer, designer and agency MD were all involved. Towards then end we also brought in their Digital Marketing expert.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still reviewing the first month analytics. Our shop took a sale during the site migration with no issues, redirects planned worked as needed. Feedback on the design is good with only minor tweaks to help support lead gen for sales.

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

Weekly calls, sometimes daily ad hoc meetings to discuss specifics and keep pace. We used Basecamp for screengrabs and project messaging. Timeliness were always made clear to implement changes/ support our requests.

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

Team has great energy and tech skills.

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

Nothing really. The project was huge, very visible and handled very professionally. The only tiny gripe could be the length of some of the Basecamp threads made tracking actions hard.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior digital product manager for WWF UK, an environmental NGO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Plug & Play?

We needed to redevelop our carbon footprint calculator, one of our most important tools. The carbon footprint calculator is a 28-question questionnaire that asks users about their lifestyle regarding travel, home, food, and consumption. Using that information, the calculator outputs a score to show how much of their carbon budget the participant is using. It also estimates the tons of carbon their emitting. It also provides tips on how to reduce their carbon footprint in those categories.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a clear idea of what we wanted to achieve, but Plug & Play helped us work through the brief to add more details that we hadn’t thought about at the start of the project. Then they worked on the backend and implemented APIs that allow us to grant access to partner organizations.

Prior to the project, the underlying data model and the frontend of the calculator were closely entwined in the code. Plug & Play helped us update the underlying data model by separating those elements, making it easier for us to update the underlying data model so we can provide a more accurate and resilient tool for our users.

They worked primarily in Laravel and a pilot tool that allows us to load the data model from a spreadsheet to create the required code.

Once they completed the project, they provided documentation and handed it over to us. Then they led us through a technical walkthrough so our development team could ask questions.

What is the team composition?

We work with a managing director and were in touch with the head of technology. They also had a team working behind the scenes on the project.

How did you come to work with Plug & Play?

We took the brief out to several agencies that we had worked with before, but one of the agencies we talked to recommended Plug & Play. Their response was very strong. They clearly understood the brief and had the right skill set to complete the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent just short of £30,000 ( approximately $42,000 USD.)

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from November 2020–February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They successfully delivered all of the elements outlined in our brief. Our internal team was impressed by the quality of their work. It was a really positive experience. We developed a great relationship with them. We’ve ended up with a better version of the product than we started with. It’s scalable and more robust and it’s enabling us to partner with other organizations in a meaningful way. We would like to work with them again on other projects.

How did Plug & Play perform from a project management standpoint?

They provided excellent customer service. We defined milestones and had about 3–4 regular catch-ups meetings. I had every confidence that they would deliver what we needed because they demonstrated what they were working on in each call.

They may have completed the project a few weeks late, but they still completed everything in time for us to launch the tool to our audiences.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

I thought that communication was very good. They were also very reliable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Feedback from our technical team said that some of the documentation didn’t have what we needed. We weren’t clear enough in our briefing. We wanted to hit the ground running once we got the documentation, but it took a bit more work on our side before we got it to where it needed to be. Hopefully, in future projects, we’ll be able to avoid this problem by being more clear in our requirements.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any digital project, having a clear understanding of what you’re briefing will make the process easier.