Hudson Integrated

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We’re an internationally based online backup storage company. We backup information to the cloud. We backup computers, iPads, iPods, and the like. We allow customers to guard from of data loss or if they need to backup information for any other reason.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Hudson Integrated Web Agency?

Initially, we had two types of developers. We had internal developers writing the code for the back-end. So, we had that piece completed in-house.

We needed a vendor to create a website that would be the connection between the users and the back-end, which is extremely difficult because we’re dealing with multiple API [application programming interface] pulls and a lot of e-commerce going on back and forth. The system also has a mail system built in to help customers keep track of what they’re doing.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Design and development. They do our online marketing also. They do so much for us. They run Facebook, Twitter, all aspects of social media and different advertising as well. They’re our liaison with a filmmaking company that makes videos for us. They help get all that set up. They integrated the back-end to the front end seamlessly. 

They’re working on mobile development now as well. It’s a lot of work. They haven’t gone ahead of schedule, but they’ve never fallen behind schedule. They’re always on target with what they need to do. They’re always in communication with me, and they do it right the first time, so I never have to ask them to redo work.

What was your process for selecting Hudson Integrated Web Agency with which to work?

We went to three or four different vendors in two years trying to find the perfect vendor. It was luck that we bumped into Hudson. We wanted to keep it local but, when we went to a local company for six months and spent a fortune of money, the whole thing fell apart. We subsequently went to an international company and they fell apart. Then, we went to a local family out of Long Island and they fell apart. 

We were really desperate at that time. We were looking for a reputable company. There are so many companies out there. It’s hard to find one that’s reputable. Someone recommended Hudson and I went down to meet them. I was impressed and decided we’d give them a much smaller retainer than everyone else until they came through. But, they did come through. They did everything perfectly.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

It was $50,000 and up depending on the project. 

When was the work completed?

It’s ongoing work. We’ve been working with them two years. We have many more years of work to do together because I was so impressed how they handled this backup that I actually have them doing a few other projects that I’ve been working on with other investors. They’re quite amazing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I set projections for all major metrics when we started the engagement. They were modest projections. For the small, modest increments I had planning this project out, we’ve surpassed all those beginning milestones. It’s going better than expected, and I would say we have doubled our goal in many cases.

Are you satisfied with their performance?

Absolutely.

Is there anything unique or special about Hudson that really makes them stand out compared to other business partners?

It’s hard to say. I just put my blinders on and decided to go with them. A couple of the other development shops had their chance to win my business but didn’t. The other companies didn’t impress me like Hudson Agency did.

What advice would you give to future clients of theirs?

Make sure you have your project mapped out and express what that is. Hudson will take the project from there. The document they provide you for the build out is phenomenal. My cousin who also works for tech startups said all the companies he’s been with which are $5 million to $10 million dollar startups would’ve generated hundreds of millions of dollars if they could produce documents as professional as Hudson does.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

The only thing I’d say I’d do differently is I had a vision of the marketing process, and it’s in line with how I wanted it in the beginning but we had to do some trial and error testing with Hudson. 

My plan wasn’t backed by a lot of statistics. When we created the marketing plan, for the first three months I wanted to go in a certain direction, but I let them do their research and after those three months I narrowed down the field and said I wanted to focus more on our current strategy, which we did, and they were happy to accommodate. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your firm as well as your role and responsibilities.

I’m the IT manager. Our company is the world’s largest supplier of firearm parts and accessories. We’re a mail-order business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for the work with Hudson Horizons?

We had a website, but it was growing way too busy, way too fast. It wasn’t very modern in appearance. We needed a scalable, modern-looking, definitely faster-performing website.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting them to work with on this project?

We wanted someone who was in driving range of our business because we find that you really have to have a face-to-face personal relationship with someone who wasn’t afraid to come and talk with us so. We wanted actually to meet individuals as opposed to someone just on the other end of a website. We selected probably a dozen of them that were within driving range of our location. We chose them after interviewing all 12.

Please describe the scope of the work.

There was both design and development. We also paid them to support our website, so we don’t have to monitor it. We don’t have to see when there are errors. It wasn’t just, “We wanted you to build it and see you later.”

How much of the design elements did you provide to them?

We let them handle that completely. I just approve designs. Sometimes, they give us a couple of options.

Can you provide a sense of the size of that project or, if not that in monetary terms, just the amount of hours approximately they dedicated to your work?

I wouldn’t be able to. I’m sorry. It’s huge. We’re one of the largest e-commerce sites. Almost anyone we interviewed talked about it. We have a half million SKUs [stock keeping units].

Is the work ongoing?

Yes. Originally, we hired them for one project to redesign, build, and complete the website. Now, it’s an ongoing project because we need functionality, we want changes, and we want updates. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What are the results of the projects?

Phenomenal. We signed up again for a whole other year with them to maintain and update and monitor our site.

Do you happen to have any statistics or metrics that you could share about the success of the site?

We’re very tied to world events, politics. I can tell you complaints about performance. We’re down to from thousands of questions a week to only a couple hundred. At least 80 percent of the complaints have dropped right off.

How did Hudson Horizons perform?

They are very personable. That’s why we actually chose them. They took the time to come just like the others. They sat, talked, and gave us feedback. You aren’t just brushed off on one guy. You’re assigned a team. You deal with the entire team. You don’t have to worry about one individual, one guy going on vacation. They’re a full-size company.

Looking back on the work so far, is there anything that you think they could improve upon or something you might do differently looking back?

They’ve never done anything on our scale. It was new to them this time, but that’s not their fault. One of the reasons we went with them was because of their history and their sales. I think they might have done things differently if they’ve done something on this scale before. I don’t have complaints about it.