Classic City Consulting

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a real estate advisory company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We had opened a storefront and were open for business. We just needed someone to develop a website for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Classic City Consulting developed our WordPress website. I pretty much followed their recommendations — it’s nothing fancy, but it features our story, services, and contact information. We wanted a way to capture the contact details of potential customers so we could contact them. To fulfill this need, the team integrated Ninja Forms for the form capture and automation. The team also handled web hosting for us. 

Since the website in and of itself wasn’t going to give me the visibility I needed, I educated myself on digital marketing to get leads. Classic City Consulting didn’t really offer those services; the workflow they used was standard for any website. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with Chris (CEO). He had someone else do some backend work, but I didn’t interact with that person.

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

I was referred to them by a friend.

How much have you invested with them?

Our total spend was $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did a great job on the design and development of the website. It enabled us to get more customers. We easily collected names, emails, and phone numbers of potential buyers, which was convenient. I’m pleased with the outcome.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was good. The team stayed on target for the most part, but it took a bit longer than it should have — there was a gap for a period because of staffing issues on their side. They had some personnel change on the backend that may have impacted the schedule. Furthermore, I added functionalities like a Ninja Forms survey for visitors to fill in and a calculator, and the additional work might have affected timelines. Otherwise, it went fine. There was a good, collaborative effort. To communicate, we primarily used email and had occasional meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They knew the website design and development space well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would’ve been better if they were involved in digital marketing or had partnerships with marketing agencies. Just having a website on its own isn’t enough — it’s just one step in the process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go ahead and study your potential competitors and what they’re doing on their website to get an idea of what you can do. You can bring that to the initial meetings with Classic City Consulting.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the business director of client services at a custom software consultancy here in Atlanta, Georgia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We had an outdated website. Despite the fact that we’re technology professionals, we were immersed in our own projects and responsibilities so we didn’t have time to build a website ourselves. Aside from that, we didn’t know how to tell our story through our site so we needed to outsource to a trustworthy partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The main deliverable was our website, which is now live. We started the process by holding a discovery meeting. Chris (CEO & Owner) and his team asked us questions about our vision, values, sample projects, portfolio items, and how we wanted to tell our story. Classic City Consulting guided us through unpacking our story and our thoughts for the website.

The team started by designing the wireframes and mockups to show us and make sure that everything was aligned with our vision. Once they finished that, we proceeded to implement the backend of the WordPress website.

I did the user testing and content creation while Classic City Consulting worked on the codes and the whole site. They were great at helping me get familiar with the backend administrative tools and how to add content to the custom template that we built. Once everything was built and I was comfortable with all the administrative tools, we scheduled a date to go live. They helped us understand how to host, support, and get the database loaded to the website.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Chris, Dawn (Executive Assistant), and Daniel (Project Manager). Daniel helped support the backend and coding, but I wasn’t directly working with him like I was with Dawn and Chris.

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

I’ve known Chris for five years, and we’d worked at a similar consultancy in the past. It was an easy choice for me because Chris always had integrity; he listened to the customers that he worked with, and he did a good job then.

I introduced Chris to the owner of our company. Then they got to meet, build confidence, and that’s how it started.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost $8,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August–November 2020, when we went live.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Right now, I don’t have metrics to report at this point because we just went live. We’re still implementing Google Analytics to start understanding the traffic generated by our website. We want to work on marketing to drive people to our website so we can have quantitative metrics in the future.

I’ve shown the website to our senior leaders, several customers, and people in our network; they say that it’s definitely an upgrade from our last website. The graphics and the content are more visually appealing and polished than before. There are motion animations and vector graphics on the website which makes it unique. So far, the feedback that we get about the design and the substance has been positive.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Classic City Consulting was great. The team set clear expectations; they made sure that everything was aligned with our goals and timetables whenever we needed tasks done. They worked within our payment schedule, budget, and the timeframe in which we were trying to get the website out. Overall, they managed the scope well — they asked good questions to make sure that our bases were covered.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team genuinely cared about our success. They didn’t arrive with any preconceived notions about how they’ve done other projects, but more so listened to what we were trying to accomplish and what our main objectives were; they built a custom WordPress website that fit our specifications. Classic City Consulting had our best interests in mind.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were hands-on, so as they continue to grow and add more people to their team, they should divide and conquer some tasks better. Right now, since it’s a small agency filled with great people, they had their hands on every aspect of the project. I didn’t see that as a negative, it was more of a positive, but for their sake, if they continue to grow their team further, perhaps they could grow their business and take on more projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come prepared with the problems that you have with the project, the attempts that you’ve made in the past to implement a solution, and if you talked about it with other people. Share your whole story with them so there’s clarity and they can absorb all the information then apply it to a custom solution that’s designed for the problem.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and sole owner of a creative lifestyle website. I share craft projects, recipes, and other ideas with my readers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

I wanted help improving the navigation of my website. I’d recently added an e-commerce element to my website, and I wanted it to be easier for people to find the products they were looking for.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They revamped my website to make it easier to navigate. We started off with an initial consultation, and from there they asked about my brand and color palette. We went through a few revisions before they delivered the finished product. 

What is the team composition? 

Chris (CEO & Owner) was my primary point of contact, but I also worked with one other person. 

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

My hosting company recommended them to me. 

How much have you invested with them?

I spent between $4,000–$6,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in either February or March 2020, and the project was done by that May. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m really happy and pleased with the results. The new design of my website showcases who I am and my brand. 

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed great. They were really on top of the schedule and kept me aware of their progress. We mostly communicated through email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their cost was really reasonable. They also have great time management skills. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so, I think they did a really great job. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Have a good idea of what you want to get out of the process before contacting them. Have good examples of what you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run a digital marketing and advertising agency. I’m the COO, so I manage our deals with Classic City Consulting when we do work with them. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We bring Classic City in on a lot of our client projects to do outstanding web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We always go to Classic City for higher-end web development projects. From a scope perspective, there are usually a couple of calls with our clients that are focused on discovery. Classic City provides samples of websites they’ve done in the past and samples they could do for these clients, and they start to hone in on what the ideal website might look like. 

From there, we go into content design development, and they start the web development process. We have multiple touchpoints with them and with our clients along the way. 

We probably do one project per month with them now. They’ve done our website and then about 7–8 client websites.

What is the team composition?

I work with Chris (Founder), Dawn (Head of Operations), who’s like the project manager, and Jeff (Web Developer), who works on the templated websites. I can’t recall the other developers’ names, but I know we’ve worked with two or so more. 

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

Brian, my business partner, has known Chris since he lived in Atlanta 5–6 years ago. They’ve had a really long-standing relationship, and, because of that, we’ve chosen to work with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

The investment would be between $60,000–$80,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them for quite some time. The partnership began before I was at this company. It probably started with Brian’s first website, and my guess would be around January 2015. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been a nice integration, and we’re always confident that we can plug Classic City into our projects as much as needed. For the most part, all of our clients have been fairly happy with the results they deliver. 

Web development is hard because a lot of clients expect robust websites without having to pay for them. If there’s mixed feedback, I think it comes from a misunderstanding around expectations. However, whenever the client’s expectations have been set in the right way going into the project, the results and the client’s success is always where it needs to be. 

Over time, we’ve been more successful in working with them because we’ve learned more about web development and how to manage expectations. Recently, we’ve had all happy clients.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great. I have no comments other than that they’re timely and good at following up when other people haven’t done what they need to do. They’re always the first one to throw the ball back in someone else’s court; they’re always getting things done. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about them would be bandwidth. They’re really good about taking on last-minute projects and making themselves available. I think they’ve built out a really nice network of developers, designers, and writers who can help them out if more projects come in than usual. They’ve always been able to support what we’ve brought them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think they should stop offering lower-end websites and just focus on big projects. We do bring them some lower-end websites, but strictly from a business perspective, they would do better if they limited themselves and just focused on bigger and better web development projects. 

However, I also don’t know their business as well as they do. Just from the outside looking in, I believe it would be more advantageous and look better for them if they just focus on very big, robust build-outs. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any web development, you get what you pay for. Ask Chris and the team the right questions early on to understand what your website is going to look like based on what you’re paying.

I know they always do a really good job of explaining and keeping everyone’s expectations. Just asking the right questions and looking at previous results from other clients would be advantageous to anybody who’s going to start working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of House of Ideas, a hosting company that offers marketing and technology services to website owners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

As the business owner, I often have needs for design and development, types of tasks, and projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Classic City Consulting did a WordPress redesign for one of our clients. We developed SEO right into the project itself to increase traffic and help my client get more online sales. Most of the work I give them is on WordPress. There are other tasks and things that I reach out to Chris (Owner) for, too.

What is the team composition?

I work with Chris and Dawn (Executive Assistant).

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

I found them through a previous relationship with an employer that I'd worked for. I felt Chris was able to do different WordPress development, so I reached out to him shortly after.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested almost $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2019 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our goal is to grow traffic. The best part of hiring Chris is that he follows the SEO best practices that we provide him and give him the requirements for. He makes sure those are nicely buttoned up and delivered. Generally, they've come through and really delivered what was expected of them.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is pretty good. They communicated through email, Slack, and Monday.com, and they're using Trello now. It's a combination of those.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think Chris is very curious about learning and getting better at his own WordPress development skills. He's always trying new or innovative things and to do things outside the box.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think where they could really improve is having exceptional follow through on each and every project. We go through the process, we deploy new features or new code, and all of that goes really well.

However, what I would like to see is more of a project summary. I think that would be a good thing for a firm to provide a retrospective detailing what they completed or didn't complete. It'd be good if they could close the loop at the end of the engagement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just give very clear guidance and requirements for your project early on, and be very clear on your business goals. If you're rolling out a new website, be clear on the objectives, whether that’s growing traffic or improving conversion. Just being clear about the project helps reduce a lot of the back and forth and inefficiencies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the operations manager at GDP Tooling. We supply tools to industrial wood manufacturing companies that make casework, cabinets, closets, and similar things. The majority of these things are made on CNC machines, so we supply those tools. We also have a portion of the business that services those tools as well. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We were having pain points with our existing website. We wanted a framework set up so that our new website could handle more customers and set it up for Google Shopping and Google Ads. Our company also wanted the ability to customize the site by ourselves in whatever way we needed and not depend on a freelancer or a web-work company. 

It must also be very responsive and fast, especially because we have quite a few products on it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought Classic City in as an outsourced partner. Their team helped simplify the shopping experience for our customers and created a professional design that’s visually appealing. 

Our team explained what we were intending to accomplish with the site. Then, the website was built from the ground up. Classic City built our site using WordPress Gutenberg blocks as well as JavaScript and CSS.

What is the team composition?

I interacted with three different members of the Classic City team. This included their coordinator or administrator, Chris (Owner, Classic City), and another project consultant. 

How did you come to work with Classic City?

We came to work with Classic City after finding them on Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $6,000 initially, and then we invested another $4,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them to develop the website between April–May 2020. However, Classic City has ongoing work with us so there are constantly new deliverables. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As far as success goes, we look at functionality and our experience using the site. We didn’t really expect Classic City to increase our traffic directly because they’re simply building the website. However, is the website functional? Is it working and running? Are we making sales? “Yes” is the answer to all of those. 

How did Classic City perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is good. When I inquire about something I get a response fairly quickly. If I don’t get an answer, I reach out again and I’ll definitely get a response then. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very cut and dry; they’re straightforward about what they are able to do and where their strengths and weaknesses are, so your expectations are clear. 

We are also impressed with their ability to get the job done. We had previously hired two web developers before for the same task and nobody brought it to the finish line, but they did.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t really any areas they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise them to have their scope defined and be clear about what they want to accomplish with the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the communications manager at the Future Church Company. We do consulting with church leaders and denominational leaders to help them shift to what we believe is a new paradigm in the local church ministry. I oversee our websites, social media presence, and the maintenance of all things digital.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We have a relatively complex digital presence since our company is comprised of multiple brands that target different audiences. We rely on Classic City Consulting for support with maintaining and updating our web presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Classic City Consulting helps us stay up to date and makes needed adjustments to our various websites. They’ve helped us configure a strategy in designing and building the respective websites for our various brands.

They focus on creating user-friendly and accessible platforms that are easy to manage on the admin side. They connected the different WordPress sites with a singular backend in order to streamline the sites’ weekly upkeep.

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with Chris (CEO & Owner).

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

The relationship actually predates my onboarding of the company, so I don’t know the answer to that.

How much have you invested in Classic City Consulting’s services so far?

We’ve spent somewhere between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in June 2016 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been a fantastic partnership. My relationship with Classic City has been the smoothest out of all the outsourcing partnerships I’ve had, and my experience with them has far exceeded that with any other vendor. They know exactly what they’re doing and are exceptionally responsive. We’ve seen our brands significantly expand, thanks to their support.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re exceptional on this front, as well. We’ve never had a problem.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’d highlight their flexibility. They’re always more than willing to accommodate our changes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of a time where they didn’t deliver what we asked for.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them. If you tell them what it is you ultimately want to accomplish, you can rely on them to develop the right strategy for you. Either that or they’ll build a platform that will deliver upon your goals. You can bring them questions, and they’ll give you solutions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of BRADLEYWEST, an advertising agency. We work directly with brands to build branding, advertising, marketing, and website landing pages.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We were looking for a development partner that would be able to provide turnkey solutions for the websites we’re building and design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Classic City Consulting provided web development support on a consistent basis. Their team as an intrinsic partner who would be on call from the discovery phase through the scoping of the project all the way through development. They also provided account management services. The Classic City Consulting team has helped build multiple WordPress sites.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with Chris (CEO & Owner, Classic City Consulting) and Daniel (Project Manager, Classic City Consulting).

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

We discovered Classic City Consulting through a video series that someone in my network shared on LinkedIn. I realized they would be a really great fit and a resource for us. They were people who were experienced enough to answer specific tech questions but could also explain the project in layman’s terms to clients, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $40,000–$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement began in August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Classic City Consulting has become our go-to partner for development help. They consistently provide the best resources for our clients, who really trust us to have veteran level services. Clients love working with them and are immediately enamored with them.

Classic City Consulting is more than just a vendor, a true partner to us. I think that’s why they work so well for us because they became a part of our team.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Basecamp internally and it has worked out well for this project. Classic City Consulting sets clear expectations for deadlines and scope to ensure both teams are on the same page. They’re just as good at project management as they are at development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Classic City Consulting is incredibly communicative, setting a clear scope and timeline and sticking to it. They do everything they can to avoid scope creep, which has been helpful for us. It goes a long way to not have to worry about any surprises since web development projects can change at a moment’s notice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve been great partners.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have your ducks in a row before starting a project. If you don’t, they’ll still ask the right questions to help you maximize the project. They know what they’re doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of technical operations at RESICAP. We provide a full life-cycle process for single-family homes. We help evaluate, perform construction, rent, sell, and manage homes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We hired Classic City Consulting to manage our ten different WordPress sites and take care of the outdated plug-ins and bugs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, they helped us get the websites under control and fix their issues. With our development team, they built a custom plug-in that sends data from a custom form to an API on our side. The form gives information from members that are asking to be a part of our network. 

Then we needed a new website developer for our rebrand, which they are working on with our marketing team. Classic City Consulting is providing the creative and technical work, and gathering the content. They want to reuse, as well as build out new content for the new website. They are currently providing quarterly maintenance to all of our WordPress sites. They’re also working with our development team on the functionality of our homegrown applications.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Chris (Founder, Classic City Consulting) and Daniel (Project Manager, Classic City Consulting).

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

I’ve worked with them in the past and felt they were the best fit for this job.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2018 and the relationship is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been a life-saver from my perspective. I don’t have to hire in-house WordPress developers or have personnel dedicated to our sites. Our marketing team has provided great feedback while working with them. It is very easy to work with them and they’re very thorough.

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fabulous. We communicate directly in Slack and they’re very responsive. Their project management skills are fantastic; we use monday.com. These tools alone allow us to have very few meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Chris’ team is great about being very transparent with their process and the work they’re providing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you are a small business and want to have your own website, but don’t want to have to deal with the technical work Classic City Consulting is an intimate partner when it comes to managing websites. A large company may see you as just a number or not be responsive unless you spend a lot of money.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a church organization, and I’m discipleship pastor and the Next Generations Ministries pastor here. In those roles on the executive leadership team, I work closely with our senior pastor.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Classic City Consulting?

We were struggling as an organization while we were without our lead pastor for about two and a half years. Our vision, brand, and mission were lacking. When our new pastor came in, he called upon them to hammer out the details to help us move our organization forward.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our first meeting was essentially a branding session with Chris (Owner, Classic City Consulting), during which our entire team participated in hashing out our brand vision. We wanted to run the workshop to identify some of our core values and aspirations as an organization.

The second session involved a findings discussion. We went through a worksheet with basic questions that were aimed at identifying identity markers for our church. Then, we put those ideas into a mission statement to indicate who we are as a church and who we want to be going forward. Throughout, they facilitated questions to ensure that we were making the right decisions as a team. They ended up highlighting the top three ideas for each brand-building category to highlight our future direction as a company. 

From there, they helped us partner with a different organization to find a new brand and logo. It took a few weeks to hammer all of that out. Classic City Consulting served as the liaison for success there. 

After the brainstorming sessions were complete, they created a website that visualized our new identity and look and feel. We created the site roadmap together, and he advised us on what would work best. The site is still being developed.  

What is the team composition?

Including Chris, we worked with two people from their team. 

How did you come to work with Classic City Consulting?

They had an existing relationship with our senior pastor. He came recommended by him. 

How much have you invested with them?

Their services have cost about $10,000 to this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in February 2019, and the branding sessions wrapped up in March 2019. They’re still working on our site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Metrics are difficult to measure with a church organization because there aren’t any products being purchased. A way we gage a metic is through Sunday morning attendance. We’re relying on God growing our church, but they gave our staff ways to aim toward the goals we set.

Through that clarity, we’ve seen momentum and growth through leader participation, volunteer hours, and service projects. We’ve also seen the number grow in our small group sessions, which is something that we’ve aimed for through our values. They captured our vision well with the branding sessions.    

How did Classic City Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed very well. The response time is always quick, and they seemed like part of our team. They helped us discover who we truly are through their branding sessions. From there, they helped to translate that through the website.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to be a relational organization brought value to us. Instead of telling us who we are, they helped us discover our identity. While the site hasn’t gone live, it already looks highly professional. That will help us aspire to what we want to be. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their process and be open to changing our preconceived notions about your organization.