SEARCH
Pizza Gallery & Grill – We have a winner!
Posted in: 40D News, Blog, clients by chris on June 22, 2010 | 1 Comment
We attended the Annual Gathering of Games Conference in St. Louis last month delivered by the folks at The Great Game of Business. As part of the fun we held a contest for the “Worst Website” with the chosen company receiving a free site. All pride was set aside and we had several “qualified” entries.
We finally ended up choosing Pizza Gallery & Grill to receive this kick-arse free web package. We had the absolute hardest time picking the right one. It took a few rounds of evaluation and consideration. Pizza Gallery & Grill’s site was ready for some sprucing up, but what pushed them across the finish line was how obvious it was that their web presence mattered to them. A big congratulations to Pizza Gallery & Grill.
Stay tuned to the blog as we progress through their project. We are using this as an opportunity to share our process and thinking that goes into building a new website for a client.
Good Web Design – Step 1: Goals & Objectives
Posted in: Blog, Design by chris on May 9, 2010 | No Comments
A week doesn’t pass without a discussion about the difference between what we do as a company versus the guy across town whose bid came in as a fraction of what we had proposed for a client’s project. We’re not complaining. It’s our job to explain why we are different. There is chasm of “stuff” between a crappy website and great website. And unless you have owned and experienced one or both, you probably won’t be able to discern the difference.
We’re going to devote our next several blog posts to this subject and guide you through our approach and philosophy here. The extra steps we take with our projects and why you really get what you pay for in our industry.
Step 1: Goals and Objectives
Before every other step in the project we need to clearly understand our client’s goals and objectives. We break this into three distinct areas:
- What are the site’s goals?
- What do your visitors want?
- What does your staff want?
Site Goals
What do you want your site to do? What does success look like? Obvious questions, right? You would think so, but there seem to be an endless supply of sites that have no clear purpose. The “We just want a web presence” website is not good enough anymore. Just ask your customers.
Take the time to define some clear and measurable goals for the site. Be specific if you can. All other decisions after this point should contribute to these goals and objectives.
What do your visitors want?
OK, so you have set some goals for your site. Now you need to consider who your visitors are and what they will want from your site while maintaining alignment with your overall goals. If you can’t meet their needs then their visit will be short and you won’t see any results.
It seems simple, but it is rare that a site is built from the perspective of the visitors. More often a website is built based on what a business wants the public to see of them and their services, rather than thinking of how the site might better aid their customers or prospects.
When capturing the detailed needs of your client’s customer, we sometimes create “personas” of their typical customers. What are they like, what do they do with their spare time and their spare money.
So, what do your customers want? What Google search terms will they use to find a site like yours? What content, services, offers, or calls to action can you use to appeal to these wants? And don’t just think sales here. It’s service, too.
It’s all about creating satisfied customers that will come back and recommend you to their friends. If you give people what they want, the way they want it and follow through with a fast finish when it comes time to pay up, you are much more likely to turn them into satisfied customers.
What does your staff want?
This is something that is overlooked in even medium to large-sized organizations. Clients have numerous processes that could be made easier or even automated by the smart use of a website or an online app. For example, they may have staff that spends time handling support calls from customers – this could be addressed with a support section or knowledgebase on the site.
The focus would be on freeing up staff’s time, allowing them to focus on other more vital tasks. All you have to do is take the time to consider employees in the design — maybe even bring them into the project planning process.
We Now Offer Media Planning and Placement
Posted in: Blog, Media Planning and Placement by chris on June 28, 2009 | No Comments
We are excited to announce that starting Monday we will be able to offer, as a free service to our clients, media planning and placement services in the Springfield Missouri area.
No matter how strategically sound a marketing campaign is, it is only effective if it reaches the right audience. That’s why companies need a smart advertising media buyer – to help you implement a strategic media planning and media buying campaign.
Our Media Buying service begins with detailed research – learning everything we can about your company, your product or service, and your target market. After careful analysis, we develop a media plan that includes demographic research, recommendations on media placement, an estimated budget and expected results.
We’re able to negotiate excellent rates for you and develop a myriad of strategies to put your message in front of the right audience at the right time. This kind of commitment maximizes your brand’s exposure and increases your return on investment.
This is a free service that will save you plenty of headaches and help make your campaigns work.
Contact us if you would like us to talk about this new service.
What is America thinking about today?
Posted in: Blog, SEO by chris on June 18, 2009 | 1 Comment
I recently re-discovered this tool published by Google called Google Trends when doing some analysis to help one of our clients with some search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-for-click ads.
What is Google Trends?
Google Trends allows you to compare the world’s interest in any given topic. You enter up to five topics and see how often they’ve been searched on Google over a period of time. It also shows how frequently your topics have shown up in different Google News stories as well as in which geographic regions people have searched for them most. Sweet, eh?
Are you bored or trying to come up with an idea for your daily blog topic? The top 10 search trends show up on the main page, but click on “More Hot Trends” to see a larger snapshot of what’s on the public’s mind at any given moment by listing the fastest-rising searches for different points of time.
If you dig deeper there are advanced features like Trends for Websites and Insights for Search, which breaks down search data even more specifically.
This is an invaluable tool when considering search and online advertising options.
Visit the Ronald McDonald House “Cup o’ Cheer” Homes Tour Event
Posted in: 40D News, Blog by chris on November 21, 2008 | No Comments
Today marks our first all-day event for KringleTalk. We will set up shop in the silent auction tent at the Ronald McDonald House, Cup O’ Cheer Homes Tour here in Springfield. They expect a big turnout so we are excited to help out. The temperature has fallen over the last couple of days so we are grateful to the nice folks at the Ronald McDonald House for putting our table beside the coffee station!
Boys and Girls Club of the Ozarks Hosts Holiday Fundraiser
Posted in: 40D News, Blog by chris on November 14, 2008 | No Comments
We are hitting the streets for KringleTalk again tonight for the Boys and Girls Club of The Ozarks. They are hosting an event in Branson tonight at the Millwood Craft Mall shopping center. We plan to be there with bells on to help them spread the word!
American Diabetes Association Annual Meeting Tonight
Posted in: 40D News, Blog by chris on November 6, 2008 | No Comments
Tonight, we will be attending the American Diabetes Associations annual meeting at University Plaza here in Springfield. We will be setting up a KringleTalk table and helping the ADA spread the word about the program. We are glad to have the ADA on board with KringleTalk!
KringleTalk.com Launches Today!
Posted in: 40D News, Blog by chris on October 10, 2008 | No Comments
Our latest project, KringleTalk.com launched today!
We are excited about this project and it has come together very quickly. It’s a site where people can order personalized letters from Santa. The cool part it is set up to be a fundraising tools for organizations to raise money over the holiday.
Chris’s son Parker was the inspiration behind the idea and we are excited to leverage the technology to offer to help other area organizations with their fundraising efforts. We have been focused on creating the tools we believe participating organizations will need to make it a fun and easy project for them. Here comes Santa Claus!!!
Mailbox-IT International Launches Today
Posted in: 40D News, Blog by chris on August 4, 2008 | No Comments
Mailbox-IT International (weship-it.com)
This week we are launching the newest project of Mailbox-IT, Mailbox-IT International (weship-it.com). Their newest venture will fill a substantial need for international customers looking to make purchases in the United States from companies who don’t offer international shipping.
Their service will initially provide mail and package forwarding services to international clients. This will allow them to have an U.S. address for shipping. Mailbox-IT International will then consolidate shipments for the clients and ship them on to their international address via DHL. Mailbox-IT’s volume earns them discounts up to 55% off international shipping compared to public rates.
The site should provide Mark and Gary with the tools they need to get things off the ground. We wish them the best of luck!