Every once in a while, a prospective client asks for references – people we’ve worked for that they can actually talk to about the experience. We think that’s pretty smart, and we’re happy to offer up the necessary contact information when that happens.
However, a recent prospect (who became a happy client) asked a series of REALLY good questions of a few of our clients, and two of them were kind enough to forward us their responses. So – we’re happy to share them here, in the event they help to put your mind at ease.
The questions asked by the client were as follows:
I am interviewing Cynthia to develop a Thesis website design for me – she gave me your name as a reference.
Would you mind sharing your experience with her? In particular, I am interested in:
- How well did she listen to your ideas and direction, and did she contribute ideas?
- Ability to deliver on time and on budget?
- Responsiveness, especially for ongoing support?
- Your overall satisfaction with her work?
- Threshold question: would you hire her again?
Client Jay Fleischman (Practice Pro Monthly, Legal Practice Pro) replied as follows:
“I first met Cynthia through Twitter about 8 months ago. At the time I was looking to re-vamp my marketing site, and needed some Thesis customization done. I’m a tough customer (a pain in the ass, actually) and Cynthia stepped up to the plate.
She’s since done my membership site, as well as sites for a bunch of my students, colleagues and personal friends. Each and every time she has overdelivered, to the extent that I’ve begged her to raise her prices more than once. She consults with me on a regular basis, and I count her as an integral part of my own marketing team.
Cynthia provides thoughtful feedback, useful ideas, and always with good humor.
She’s awesome. Wonderful. And if I never get anything else out of social media it will have been a success for me if only due to my ability to meet and work with Cynthia.”
Client Mary Jaksch (AListBloggingBootCamps, GoodLifeZen) replied:
1) how well did she listen to your ideas and direction, and did she contribute ideas?
“I’ve worked with 5 different webdesigners so far, and Cynthia is the only one who actually listened to my ideas, understood my ideas, and added her own thoughts. That made working with her a no-stress pleasure. “
2) ability to deliver on time and on budget?
“Spot on!”
3) responsiveness, especially for ongoing support?
“She has various levels of support after her work. There is a paid Webmistress option which I didn’t choose. However, she was willing to help me out when all hell broke out recently and I completely lost my static frontpage. My suggestion would be to discuss your expectations of ongoing support in advance of the work. “
4) your overall satisfaction with her work
“Highly satisfied! She’s ticked all the boxes.”
5) threshold question – would you hire her again?
“I just have! I’ve asked her to redesign my blog Goodlife ZEN next up.”
Mary concluded by saying,
“I think there is another consideration. And that’s the fact that she’s one of the few blog designers who is also a web developer. I’ve come a cropper in the past by having a great design and then found that it couldn’t be created on the platform I had chosen. It’s great working with someone who has both skills.”
Thanks to Mary and Jay for sharing their comments with us.
Further client comments:
Lewis Roberts, Lewis Roberts PA
“Nothing but praise for Cynthia and everyone at Rowboat Media! She came highly recommended and did not disappoint.
I had been bouncing from one website company to another over the past few years. Everything wonderful and glamorous in the beginning, but then the service died quickly.
Cynthia only had a few shorts weeks to put my website together before my last contract finally ended. I was worried that I would have to ask for revisions, since I sometimes have a hard time deciding on the look and feel of my website.
Well, she did not disappoint because she nailed it on the first try. The look and feel is exactly what I was looking for – which was hard since I didn’t know what I really wanted. As soon as I saw the first draft of the website, I knew it was the final draft.
Everything was quickly put together and I was online and running without any downtime after the old website went offline.
I have already recommended Rowboat Media to other attorneys and am thinking of a website for my wife’s business.
There is no better praise for a job well done than referrals to use the same service. It speaks volumes to Cynthia’s and her team’s abilities.
Thank you!”
Matt Lundquist, TriBeCa Therapy
“What drew me to Rowboat Media was my sense that they didn’t just understand design or the technical aspects of getting my site done–they understand what it means to use the internet to maximize the marketing of a service-based business. As a psychotherapist, I’m always concerned that my marketing use a delicate touch (I’m not selling office products!). Cynthia and Deborah understood that.
Another strength of their team is that they know how to listen to my ideas, but also when to step in and assert their point of view in a way that I could really hear; they’re the experts and I needed them at times to gently guide me away from some of my own ideas that just wouldn’t have worked.”
Bryan Stapp, Senior Alert Network LLC
“Cynthia went above and beyond the original scope of work for the site redesign by digging deep into the persona of who would be using the site. She even went as far as to conduct mini-focus groups within our target audience to get impressions and reactions to designs and copy. Most importantly, she listened and was very open to ideas on both the technology and design front. She also pushed back with good ideas – it felt like a true collaboration and that I was getting the benefits of her experience while she was also learning from my expertise in direct marketing. Our results are more conversions, higher rankings and a very flexible site for our business.”
Karen Goodman, Arch City Homes
“The fact that you can get an anal client like me to say ‘YOU ROCK’ is a huge compliment. Thanks for doing such an amazing job and putting up with me!
FYI…in less than one month, my bounce rate is down and my traffic is up. And honestly, isn’t that all that matters when it comes to websites!”
Karen also had this to say on Twitter:
Home page visits
First impressions