All month long we’ve had the distinct honor of celebrating our 20th anniversary. That’s two decades of innovation, imagination, and perseverance in a day and age where most ecommerce startups have grown obsolete. Today, tens of thousands of businesses have dared to reimagine the ecommerce experience with us, logging more than 100 billion dollars in online sales on Miva software.

One such business we are proud to push the needle with: distributor manufacturer Decorative Films. Born in 1979 as a glass coating company, the specialized distributor manufacturer continued to expand with the growing demand for decorative glass enhancement privacy films.

Join us as Managing Director at Decorative Films Charl Berning shares how innovation—and the right partnership—make all the difference in today’s competitive ecommerce landscape.

Miva and Decorative Films: Innovation in Partnership

Miva: When it came to optimizing your site for mobile, you decided to build on Miva. Why did you choose Miva?

Charl Berning (CB): We reviewed a number of Enterprise options like Magento and Shopify before landing with Miva. We needed a robust platform that could be customized to meet our needs, all the while staying mobile-friendly. With more than 50% of business now coming from mobile devices we recognized the urgency to find a company with the experience and drive to enhance the shopping experience through a fast, reliable, mobile-optimized site.

Miva gave us a big city feel with a small city approach which left us with a one-on-one personal feel from the proposal. There wasn’t a single interaction that wasn’t precise, to the point, innovative or productive. Miva showcased feature-rich capabilities starting with a mobile platform which opened up endless possibilities we had long been lacking.

“Miva showed us exactly what we needed from a partner, delivering ease of use and obvious ways to improve efficiency while streamlining backend processes.” -Charl Berning, Managing Director, Decorative Films

Miva: What was your experience like working with the team at Miva?

CB: From beginning to end: class act!

Miva scaled and offered various options with in-depth proposals to meet our specific need. Phillip Hansen, the solutions and strategy manager, immediately identified multiple areas for improvement and integrated ideas discussed in an introductory call. He offered numerous flexible options which he felt would best serve our needs to build our dream store. He made every attempt to answer any and every concern in-depth and to ensure complete transparency. You could tell that Philip was not just another guy trying to make a sale; he really listened to our challenges in order to offer the best solutions.

Shawn Morrow, our project manager, was nothing short of amazing. A weekly project meeting was established to include Jeremy Aguilar (Sr. Web Developer) and Yuya Oda (Sr. Web Designer) to ensure every step was completed to full satisfaction. This call was held each week and included a live timeline with progress updates from week one until launch. In addition, this weekly update extended well past launch date to ensure everything was functioning as expected.

Thirty days after launch we were transitioned to an account manager. This process was personable and thorough, with an overview of services, a clear understanding of capabilities, and several points of contact conveyed. Miva truly makes sure no questions are left unanswered.

“The team at Miva goes above and beyond to provide personable, thorough service. There are not enough good things to be said about our experience with Miva.” -Charl Berning, Decorative Films

Miva: You first came to Miva for a mobile-friendly site, and then collaborated with the team to create a beautiful visualizer showing your films across real-world settings. How has this innovation impacted your team and your business?

CB: Since what we sell is an added value applied in so many various environments, we needed to find a way to showcase our product in real world settings. The industry-first visualizer Miva built for us is vital to our business and puts us well ahead of the curve.

Miva: In your opinion, why is innovation in the ecommerce industry so important?

CB: With the vast majority of orders now coming from mobile devices, innovation is incredibly important. Online shopping has shifted the power into the customer’s hands; they now have a wider variety of products to choose from.

Providing customers with the very best experience before, during, and after each purchase is no longer an option—it’s imperative in an overly saturated marketplace. It is vital to partner with someone who dares to innovate the user experience, all the while providing the right tools to set us apart. This naturally allows us to turn higher profits and continue to expand and increase brand awareness.

Miva: Thank you so much for your time and insight, Charl. We truly appreciate it! Is there anything else you’d like to add in honor of Miva’s 20th year anniversary?

CB: With all the various players in the market today it can be very overwhelming, and in many cases scary, to make such an important decision in selecting an ecommerce partner. They become a direct reflection of your brand and the face of your company. We could not have made a better decision, or put our faith in a company more capable than Miva. Miva not only met our expectations; they exceeded them.

No task is too big for Miva to handle; no request, too small. At the end of the day, the only regret you may have with Miva is not using them all along.