Posted by jeb on August 20th, 2009
Determining what to budget for a new website can be difficult. Many times a company has a “brochure” site from 5 or even 10 years ago and is now ready to build a “real” website. In my experience companies choose a number based on their current cash flow or what they paid the first time around. “If we paid X dollars then we should pay 2 times X this time”. I can understand that way of thinking but I think there is a better way of determining the correct budget for a best-in-class website.
First off the Web and media has changed substantially since that “brochure” site was launched. In the late 1990s and early 2000s it didn’t do much harm for a company to have a brochure style website. But now companies need to see their websites more like broadcast platforms. Often times their website’s content will be accessed as much from third party sites and services (Google Local or Maps, Search Engines, RSS feeds, Social Media etc).
Companies need to think of websites as being similar to radio or TV stations that are broadcasting their content 24/7. Websites are no longer just destinations. They are channels that flow out and across the web in various formats. At least that is what a modern website does. So before you think about what to spend think about how this is not the Web of the late 90s or early 2000s. Heck this isn’t even the web c.2006!
So how much should you spend on a modern website that acts as a broadcast platform?
I recommend looking at your media budget and determining a percentage to invest in the Web . I would recommend at least 50% since it’s pretty clear from all the data that the Web has the best and most demonstrable ROI of any marketing effort. The take that amount and extend it to 3-5 years. If you spend $2000 a month on marketing then allocate $1000 a month to the web times 36 to 60 months.
The beautiful thing about the Web is that you can test and see what works, tweak and repeat until you are seeing a phenomenal return. Every investment takes time to bring a return but with the Web you will be able to see it more clearly and usually more quickly.
Posted in marketing, web design | 2 Comments »
Posted by pj on July 10th, 2009
Seth Godin writes
“There are very few products, services or organizations that are simultaneously easily approachable and quite deep. That’s an opportunity for you if you can figure out how to be both, but choosing just one is a more likely scenario. So, which are you?”
It’s a good question, here’s how I would answer:
The web seems really complicated but not to me. I just see it as a series of decisions that require particular expertise to do correctly. The best decision is the one that makes the next one seem more apparent. There is never going to be one person who is right about everything all the time. What’s important in doing a web site, or marketing strategy, or making any series of decisions is to make each one as close to right as you can so the next one is clearer.
We do that by first and foremost attracting the top talent in the region. Then we challenge them to do more, to understand the implications of these important decisions. Then we provide what we hope to be the top level of customer service for our clients.
The results are clear to me, some are big and some are small. I take a small amount of pride in knowing that we are growing while other web companies are going out of business or shrinking. But what I take the most pride above all is the relationships that I have built with those in the box with me, and the way we extend it to our clients. Of the huge number of sites we have helped produce, 99% of them are still online exactly as we launched them.
Key to our growth is the way we have extended our services beyond designing and programming websites. It is a complete array of services our clients need, and some they don’t. That’s the real Small Box difference right there, whatever people think they know about us, there is more.
Tags: internet marketing, linkbuilding, organic seo, pay per click, pj christie, public relations, seo, small box, web branding, web design, web development
Posted in Everything Else, content management systems, culture, design, indianapolis, marketing, pay per click, search engine optimization, sem, seo, smallbox, technology, usability, web design, web development | 1 Comment »
Posted by pj on May 14th, 2009
One of the things Small Box has always prided itself on is our web design services, however one of my goals is to take it to the next level. Done well, design:
- reinforces brand identity
- integrates online and offline content visually
- creates a usable and informative display
- attracts the right audience to your business
All that is to say that a high level design execution is important to the brand of your business. But the process of branding is about much more than your logo and tagline. For many small businesses they only get a chance to focus on this smallest part of their visual identity because of budget constraints.
But Small Box is looking for clients who want to do a complete integration of their online and offline identity with a true brand exploration process. If your website has outclassed your print materials, we want to talk to you. If your catalog or brochure is first rate but your website is not, we can fix your problem.
And if your online and offline marketing materials are not matching up to your competition, not reaching your target audience, or not promoting your products and services the way they need to – well let’s just say we can do it all.
Let the powerful minds of Small Box put our high level designs to work for you, to build your business identity as a leader among your audiences.
Why would you settle for anything less?
Posted in design, marketing | No Comments »
Posted by jeb on April 5th, 2009
I just got back from a week at Disney World with the family. The week before that I was out with the worst case of the flu I have ever had, awful stuff. So it feels like I’ve out of action for a while. Here are some quick observations from Disney World that I wanted to share with everyone. I will spare you my flu observations!
- Retirees- Disney employs many retirees across the board, mostly in public facing roles. They are generally cheerful and seem happy to be there. I have to wonder if the recent stock market downturn has driven these folks back to work unwillingly. If so you can’t tell.
- America still needs to go on a diet and Disney ain’t helping- I was shocked at how many overweight people were walking around Disney, or driving around in motorized scooters as the case might be. This country is still very much over weight. It was really sad to see young families with parents that were too heavy to walk. I’m sure there are many reasons for this, genetic or behavioral, but the bottom line is that as a country we are still a long ways from the picture of health. Disney employees, however, were generally trim and in good shape. Also, the Disney meal plan comes with dessert at every meal. I have to say it felt weird turning down chocolate cake but I was afraid I would put on some serious weight if I actually followed their “plan”. There is an easy fix to help their visitors to be a little healthier. Offer fruit or yogurt as well as normal desserts.
- Love the Fast Passes!- the days of standing in line for hours are pretty much over at Disney. Now you simply go to the ride, get a Fast Pass and then come back during the times on the Fast Pass ticket and practically walk right onto the ride. This works since they only give out so many Fast Passes for each time slot and you can only get Fast Passes every 2 hours but if you time it right you can hit all the good rides at each park and the rest don’t generally have long lines. Made me wonder what kind of business applications this kind of approach could have, maybe for new Apple products…
- Quick review of the parks- Animal Kingdom is the best, best rides and shows, most interesting areas (Asia and Africa seem really authentic but what would I know), lots of plants, animals and shade everywhere you go. We spent 3 of our 7 days there. The Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios were our least favorite. The Magic Kingdom just looks dated in many areas and is way too crowded. Hollywood Studios is just not up to par with the other parks. Epcot was fun, we liked the countries. I suggest you find the Tin Toy museum in Japan. It’s a little out of the way but well worth the visit.
- It’s not a small world!- Disney World is HUGE! Not just the parks but all the resorts, Downtown Disney (which is almost a park in itself) and all the water parks and various side attractions. I was continually shocked by the depth of the place. You would go to a resort and it had its own attractions, amazing restaurants, water park etc. We stayed in Old Key West which had a full golf course, a water park with a decent slide, tennis courts, arcade, a couple restaurants, boat rentals, etc. And I think it’s not one of the better resorts after visiting a couple others for dinner. The place is massive, I had no idea. One critique on all this- their signage could be a lot better. We got lost many times driving around the campus. They would often only give you one sign for your resort and then you had to kind of guess the next few turns to get there.
- Disney as a case study- my wife, who is in HR, and I were always amazed at how well run everything was. It was like their 60k employees were all working from the same playbook. They had drunk the Disney koolaid and were happier for it. We never saw bickering or complaining among the staff. They all used the same lingo -”Have a magical day” from the bus drivers to the waiters. The veneer was bulletproof. It felt a little creepy at times but I understood the purpose. I’m sure there are some sour apples behind the scenes but for the most part it really seemed that Disney’s culture was in sync with its brand- they really wanted you, especially the kids, to have a “magical” time.
Posted in Everything Else, marketing | No Comments »
