Pronto Marketing

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of Akaliko Global and we provide hydraulic cylinder replacement solutions for mining and construction companies worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were experiencing a ton of problems with our WordPress website before working with Pronto. We suffered numerous hacks which led to frequent downtime. In approaching Pronto, we aimed to gain reliable hosting and overall website management.

SOLUTION

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

Before working with Pronto, our website was a mess. It was crashing on a daily basis. One of my salesmen had suggested Pronto as a possible solution. I looked into their services online and eventually had a call with them.

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

Pronto was able to take our website as-is and migrate it to their hosting platform. After granting login access to Pronto, they quickly fixed our immediate issues and made improvements to our overall performance

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

In working with Pronto, I've dealt with a small handful of support staff. They have been a pleasure to work with. Pronto's communication channels are very efficient and personable.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

First and foremost, we have never experienced any downtime with our site since moving to Pronto. Secondarily, they have suggested improvements and implemented some important security and performance features. Most of all, we can spend more time working on our clients and less time worrying about our website.

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

Their project management is great. They have a very robust ticketing system that's very easy to work with. The Pronto staff is very quick to make the changes, often within 24 hours.

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

Pronto has been very consistent and reliable. Our previous hosting provider was nothing of the sort. We were constantly chasing them and clamoring for attention. Pronto on the other hand has been rock solid in their response and overall customer care.

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

So far, things have been very smooth. I have nothing to suggest here at this point.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an accounting firm in Dallas, Texas with about 20 employees. I am one of two administrative managers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pronto Marketing? 

They revised and updated our website and now provide ongoing support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pronto Marketing handled both the user-facing side of the website and the administrative backend. The biggest feature we added was an online payment link. They continue to handle all changes as well. 

Everything was done through a dummy website that they were building. They had technology on that website where we could ask questions and upload and send information and pictures. 

What is the team composition?

After the initial call, Pronto’s owner assigned a designer to us. They ended up leaving the company, and we were assigned another design. Closer to the go-live date, we worked closely with an implementation resource. I also got frequent emails from another individual checking to ensure everything was going well. We worked with around four people on the design team via email. 

How did you come to work with Pronto Marketing? 

We were considering updating the website and had a spontaneous conversation with our IT person, who recommended Pronto. They’d redone our IT vendor’s website to great success. We had a conference call with the owner of Pronto and talked about what our partners wanted to achieve. The website hadn’t been updated in many, many years. 

How much have you invested with them?

We started with a monthly fee of $260 when we signed up to redo our website. This included any design and troubleshooting. In January 2021, we switched to an annual fee of $2,800. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The first meeting was in August 2018, and the website went live in January 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A lot of our clients requested the payment feature, and a lot of people are using it now. The number of payments coming through is consistent, though more always come through during tax season.

How did Pronto Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive, and there was never a lag in time after I sent an email or submitted drafts and pictures. Even during the design resource changeover, the turnaround time was seamless. 

At the beginning, we’d rewritten a lot of the text, and there was some miscommunication about what they needed from us from the old website. Once we cleared that hurdle, it was seamless.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Pronto’s knowledge of the technology stands out. I had never designed a website before and didn’t know the correct terminology, but they’ve always been willing to explain everything as many times as we need. They respond to emails quickly as well.

During the website design phase, I had to work through a challenging process to take work to our partners to approve it, and Pronto made it relatively easy. The major time difference hasn’t stopped them. The most important aspect of this phase was teaching Pronto about what we do. This ensured that the text they were using matched our small firm versus portraying us as a larger accounting firm. We wanted our website to reflect our smaller-firm nature. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Pronto’s team could have explained more at the beginning about how to move from the old website to the new one in terms of what you’re allowed to take from an old website depending on copyright laws. We sent in a lot of text and had to delete it because of copyright issues. There was a learning experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There aren’t any stupid questions so ask as many as you need to. Pronto was always willing to explain things as much as we needed and in language that we could understand. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of 360IT PARTNERS. We've been in business for 26 years and we provide managed IT services, basically acting as an IT department for small to medium-sized businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pronto Marketing?

I subscribe to an industry marketing group called Technology Marketing Toolkit. One of the benefits of this subscription is a done-for-you website, for which I was introduced to Pronto Marketing. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pronto Marketing has provided web development and SEO services. They’ve also designed our graphics and written our copies, basically producing much of the content on our website for 11 years now. 

They began with a blank canvas and simply, systematically asked us for pieces of information that they would need to build our website by phases. They also gave us different options as far as the theme, colors, and overall look and feel were concerned. 

About 2–3 years ago, we went into a redesign project with them where we had to start everything from scratch on a new platform, WordPress. It was a very similar process as the first time they built our site. 

What is the team composition?

It seems like I’ve been interfacing with only two people throughout our engagement, but there are a lot of others involved in the background. I’d interfaced with their sales representative prior to the redesign and had worked with a dedicated project manager during the actual process.

How did you come to work with Pronto Marketing?

At that time when we were introduced to Pronto Marketing, we were already contracting another company to develop our website in line with our rebrand. However, when I attended a conference where everyone was raving about how great Pronto Marketing was at developing high traffic-yielding websites, we went ahead and canceled our previous contract to work with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

Over the years, we've Invested $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began around October 2010, and we're still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I've had some incredible leads come through my website over the years, which has been really terrific. We feel like our website has become our number one lead generation tool. We’ve also been able to convert many businesses over the years as a result of our presence on the web. 

One of our most significant clients was with a multinational chemical corporation, who found us through our website. That partnership lasted for a good eight years and it wouldn’t have begun without the website that Pronto Marketing developed for us.

How did Pronto Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is excellent. They have a ticketing system through which we submit requests. They’re very quick to make the changes we’re asking for and the tickets we submit are usually completed within 24 hours.

It's very easy to interface with the team. What's interesting is that everything is documented. We either receive a copy through email or log into a portal to view the process documentation. It’s very rare that we would need to talk to them over the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Pronto Marketing has been very friendly and very consistent with their services. I could really count on them to take care of my requests right away, and if we're somehow not happy with what they've produced, they're very prompt to set it right.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly can't think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Whatever you put into your partnership with Pronto Marketing is exactly what you're going to get out of it, so be sure to provide them with positive and detailed information. They’re going to do a great job with your website and I have a lot of confidence in recommending Pronto Marketing to anyone.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a leading co-educational British International School for day and boarding pupils. The school has an 80-acre campus with state-of-the-art facilities and space for children to enjoy healthy, active lifestyles. Following the British private school model, our school has smaller classes and longer days with sport and co-curricular activities for children from 2-18 years old.

My position as Head of Marketing is to ensure the school's growth aligns with our admissions strategy and enrolment projections. As a young school that is still growing, I work closely with the school senior leadership team to plan, manage and execute marketing campaigns to raise our profile and keep us on track as one of the fastest-growing boarding schools in Asia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

After a series of issues with our old website, I worked on sourcing an agency that could offer what we needed for a new website project as a long-term solution. Being quite experienced in Wordpress, I wanted to first and foremost find a company that would use the WordPress platform to build a site for us.

I wanted to ensure our school would have access to a managed site, so additional colleagues could reach out for assistance from a team of developers, designers and Wordpress professionals if need be. That would allow me to be hands-off, but as it is on a platform I am still fluent in, it would equally allow me to jump in and make quick content edits as required to provide a very flexible solution. I wanted to make sure our SEO best practices were being thought of in the initial build-phase, and we could grow with an optimised SEO plan, so we also work with Pronto to supply our SEO backlink strategy and GMB development.

SOLUTION

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

I wanted to make sure we recruited a domestic team that consisted of various specialists and professionals to ensure we would receive exceptional support and efficient response times. Using WordPress was another key factor in our decision due to its flexibility as a CMS platform. We need to know our site is in safe hands. As a school, our privacy and data concerns are paramount, so ensuring we can rely on a team that safeguards our website data and content through strict measures and hosting is important to us.

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

After our initial kick-off meeting, the team understood our goals and development needs and assigned us a project manager. This was useful in being led through the build phase of the project and helped us progress with effective communication throughout. Once the designs were approved, construction began and we began to see the site unravel. We have been impressed with the team's response and skills to complete designs as per our needs and instructions.

Additionally, their SEO team conducted a site audit and ran some keyword research, which led to execute our Google AdWord management. We receive swift communication and response times when requesting support, and they are clear in resolving any technical concerns we may have had.

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

A project manager was assigned to begin with, who would be our point of contact and communicate the project's build phase with their own web development and design team staff. Once the site was approved, we have worked more closely with their support team, responsible for assigning their own team members to make site updates and changes as per our request. For the SEO and AdWord management services, we work closely with assigned staff who are well experienced and specialists within their respective fields.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since launch, we have received positive feedback from our community, who have remarked the site is a much more pleasant experience to navigate and use. The site's flexibility, support and available website modules make it much more efficient and simpler to manage now. I can have our design team mock up a new page idea, send it to Pronto, and await their team to do the heavy lifting and create it for us.

Additionally, our SEO optimisation and backlink optimisation has seen significant growth amongst our competitors. The Pronto team strive to keep the gas on the pedal for SEO growth and ensure we are not sitting still.

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

We run site requests and updates through their own support ticket system. Once received, we will receive notification that it has been accepted and assigned, so we are not left waiting. Any of our team can use it, making it much more flexible and easier to perform requests as often our staff schedules are sidetracked within other school department tasks, so we need something that can be available to us all when and as required.

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

We have received a professional WordPress site that is easy to update and flexible to make changes to. Our team has found it easy to use. They feel at ease knowing their support team is behind us. The SEO management supplies reports that make it easier to understand and examine; that way, we can know where we sit within our industry of competition and the areas of growth needed.

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

One area I feel could be changed is having a single project manager dedicated to our team throughout. The core project manager was assigned to us in the early stages, but it would be nice if we had been able to keep one. However, that said, it has not caused us any issues or conflicts, and the support system works fine for receiving responses and achieving new updates to the site as we need them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Wedding Connection, a wedding destination management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pronto Marketing?

We had an old website that wasn't very informative and interactive, so we hired Pronto to build a new website for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pronto built a website from scratch. We supplied the visuals, imagery, and content while their team handled the concept and the layout. The color scheme was also made to blend with our logo. There were also some cybersecurity components in the services they provided.

What is the team composition?

We had one main point of contact who coordinated everything with the developers and designers. 

How did you come to work with Pronto Marketing?

My business development partner at the time was the one who found them and recommended them. He worked directly with Pronto since he had years of experience in that arena.

How much have you invested with them?

Over five years, we've spent about $13,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project began about five years ago, around January 2016. Pronto still does updates and changes to our website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone who has seen the website loves the look of it. All of the feedback has been positive, and I’ve not received any negative comments about the website’s navigability. We have certainly seen an increase in business on the website. Before, we relied more on relationships and not really on our digital presence. 

How did Pronto Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Pronto was constantly in contact with my business partner, but they would reach me through email. We had to schedule everything because of the time difference, but the team always responded to me within 24 hours, which was very quick. They were also very good at letting us know when an issue has been addressed so that we could look it over and see if it was done correctly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There was a lot of communication in terms of what we wanted to achieve. They didn't just present us with the final output, they gave us options to choose from.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The easiest way to communicate with Pronto is to name the specific area or aspect of your website that needs to be serviced. Supply them with a link Inform them of what issue needs to be resolved. Especially if there are a lot of elements on your website, this will prove efficient. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president at CTG Insurance, a commercial insurance agency specializing in churches, non-profits, and human service organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pronto Marketing?

We needed a new website to promote our services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pronto Marketing took over the development phase of our website as the previous agencies we hired delivered results that weren’t at par with our expectations. They were familiar with the methods of our creative brand story inspiration, Donald Miller, so we first relayed that to their team along with our expectations, design plans, and concepts. We particularly needed the website to be more mobile-friendly, and their team also took that into account.

Additionally, we sent them our outline for the web content, which served as their site map. Pronto Marketing then developed our website via WordPress and integrated all the features and solutions that we planned along with their project manager.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was Lita (Project Manager). She was in charge of relaying our development needs to Pronto Marketing’s tech resources.

How did you come to work with Pronto Marketing?

Pronto Marketing was referred to us by a friend of mine who worked with them in the past. We were initially concerned about the fact that they were an overseas agency, but they were also strongly recommended to us, so we reached out to their team. We liked how Pronto Marketing understood our requirements and was familiar with our design inspirations, so we decided to onboard them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $4,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from August 2020–February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Pronto Marketing was keen on collecting feedback from us and implementing any changes that we wanted to see on the website. Their page mockups also helped us envision what the site would look like, so all the additional features and content we wanted were integrated seamlessly into our platform. Overall, I could confidently say that their team’s backend support and expertise led to the project’s success.

How did Pronto Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We used BugHerd as our main visual feedback tool. Pronto Marketing would send samples or drafts, and our team would go over those before identifying any points for improvement or alterations. They were a very responsive team — any changes were implemented within 24 hours, and they also offered post-development support solutions, which we availed of through a monthly subscription.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Pronto Marketing kept me updated and satisfied with each project phase they accomplished. I never found the need to chase them for anything. They had strong feedback and support channels, and I personally thought that was their strongest suit.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were an accommodating and high-caliber team — we didn’t encounter any area that could use some improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Identify your goals based on your nature of business, and create a structured methodology using those. If you know exactly what you want from the engagement, Pronto Marketing would take it from there and deliver your needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a divorce mediation company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pronto Marketing?

I needed help with web development and management.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pronto Marketing built my WordPress website from scratch. They chose the layout, template, and artwork. I wrote the copy myself. The team also helped me incorporate an e-commerce feature through Stripe.

They also built in a calendar feature and a WooCommerce phone conference feature using third-party integrations. Anytime that I need a change implemented or have a question about SEO, the team helps me. They also provide 12 social media posts per month.

What is the team composition?

I work with 20 people from their team. When I first started with Pronto Marketing, I had a dedicated account manager.

How did you come to work with Pronto Marketing?

I had an IT company that was using them for content, and I decided to learn more.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $24,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2016, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They always get back to me, and they always do what they say they will. It usually takes a couple of tries to get the content right. Patience is key because English is their second language. I have worked with 10 other marketing projects, and they were all bad. I love Pronto.

How did Pronto Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

I manage the projects myself. They’re really great with communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I never feel like they’re going to run off with my money. I know they’ll stick with me until I’m satisfied with the work. Their images and artwork are beautiful. In terms of social media, they pay attention to what’s important to my brand.

If they don’t get something right, they always take my feedback. Pronto makes sure I get to the right person to get my questions answered.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m comfortable with what they do for me. It would be great if they could drive SEO, rather than just execute.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to know a lot about SEO before you hire someone to build your website.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a technology company and a software company. We provide next generation IT services for businesses across the New York City tristate area and beyond.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Pronto Marketing?

We initially engaged pronto to redo our website and then we used virtually all their marketing and branding services over the last 7 years.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase website leads.

SOLUTION

How did you select Pronto Marketing?

We worked with around 5 different firms over 13 years with multiple degrees of dissatisfaction. We had challenges with consistency and reliability of smaller teams. Pronto is a large team that is also technologically advanced. They have a consistent design approach.

Describe the project in detail.

We initially had pronto design our website on their platform. They made www.redkeysolutions.com. We are a leading Managed IT firm in the New York City and Westchester county market. The site was beautiful and they tweaked it until it was right. They replies were fast.

The site was well optimized. Then we invested into marketing services with Pronto and we now rank 1-3 for every major keyword we want. The website actually brings us leads. When we launched our software company they designed our logo and full branding. The website they made was www.strategyoverview.com which is the leading vCIO and strategic planning app for MSPs.

Both websites perform really well. The fact that they handled it all was very refreshing. We no longer had to worry about hosting and maintenance or finding a separate firm for SEO and PPC management. Their team is big enough to do all those services right.

What was the team composition?

They have specialists in every major area we have needed. They really do have an answer for most web and marketing things.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have received definitive positive ROI from our investment in Pronto. We receive several solid leads a month and we have always received complements for our website. I really could not imagine running a business without pronto as our web partner.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent. The level of Pronto service is something that most companies should aspire to get to.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are capable, fast, consistent over the last 7 years, and always incredibly friendly. I really cant say enough good things about their team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I'm not sure. I really have not been disappointed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Communications Specialist at East Coast Repair & Fabrication, a leading force in the marine, industrial and commercial sectors since 1999.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Pronto Marketing?

We wanted assistance in the creation and management of our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pronto has created and hosted three websites for us, personalized an SEO strategy, provided analytics and reporting, unlimited revisions and copywriting, and 24/5 support.

What is the team composition?

In the redesign of our website, I worked closely with a Project Manager. The Project Manager then communicated our wants and needs with a production team.

How did you come to work with Pronto Marketing?

Once I was hired I took on the role of managing our website and establishing a relationship with the team at Pronto Marketing.

How much have you invested in them?

I think we spend around $347 per month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Although the company has been working with Pronto for about five years, I’ve been working with them for a year and a half when I joined the company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our account dashboard is easy to use and shows statistics on how well our website is performing. We are happy with the leads and visibility we've received.

How did Pronto Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve had a good experience working with them. They’re prompt in getting back to me. I can submit tickets whenever we have a change request for the site. For more complicated issues, it’s easy to get on the phone and talk to them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don’t have much experience working with other providers. However, I like that they have a chat feature on their website which makes it easy to get an immediate response since it takes about 24 hours for them to respond to a ticket. I’ve had a good experience working with them. Their understanding of design is also impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

I would say not to be afraid to ask for help, part of the service is that they provide continuous support so take advantage of their ticketing system and their expertise.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of the TantraNova Institute in Chicago. We’re a seminar business working with couples and singles in the area of relationships, helping them improve and thrive.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pronto Marketing?

We needed to work with a company that was e-commerce-savvy, and one that could provide server hosting. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an e-commerce website in place, which was about the same size as the one being hosted by Pronto now. They took all the content from our old website and fit that into their design format to create the new version. 

They’ve provided hosting management. We could either have group hosting folded in with other websites, or we could have an independent hosting management contract. That was important to us, so that the servers were taken care of and secured.

How did you come to work with Pronto Marketing?

I did an internet search on website design and hosting, and a few options came up. There was the question of which would fit best with us because we’re a small business, not a huge corporation. 

Pronto is designed to support small businesses with website design and hosting. They could provide the e-commerce aspect, the price was reasonable, and they could handle a website the size of the one we had.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re on a monthly contract, and we spend about $500 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Pronto in September or October 2018, and the website went live in early-2019. Currently, they’re doing all our editorial changes and website modifications, and they provide hosting.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have what I’d call a “micro feedback loop” with them, by which we send them a task, they complete it, and we give feedback on how satisfied we are after it’s completed. It’s all automated. If there was something I didn’t like, I’d speak up.

How did Pronto Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s very good on the whole. I sometimes have to stay with one of their people until I get exactly what I want, but that’s the nature of the work. We went through a design change a week ago, and it took several attempts for the person working with me to really get it and deliver exactly what I wanted. That’s just a part of working together, though. 

There’s not a specific project manager assigned to our account. As a result, there is no coherence in the communication and the understanding of what style we want for the website, in terms of precision, feel, and so on. It can take some time to explain things to a new person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate that the project management, website maintenance, and hosting are under one umbrella. Before that, we had a server host separate from our website designer and management. Since we started working with them, we’ve never had a server breakdown. There’s a high level of reliability that I appreciate very much.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is no coherence in their task management and customer relation structure. In some sense, I consider that the relationship with Pronto is more sustaining our website than bringing in new possibilities to us. That was very different from our relationship with our previous vendor.

The different people who work with me are always very polite and they do their best. This is not a complaint about the people who’ve been working with me. I really appreciate their engagement. However, there’s not a high level of customer relationship management.  

Their workforce is doing well, but the weak link is with project management since there is no project manager.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’d mention the pluses and minuses stated here. In addition to that, I’d tell them that they really need to drive the project. You need to provide suggestions for the direction of the project.