Wednesday, June 24, 2009

CWD commentary on strategic partnerships

This post discusses a strategic alliance between an advertising agency and a software/web development company. The web development company is very technology focused. Their strategy is based on a high level of service, customization and quality development. The advertising agency’s focus is on brand strategy and design. Their strategy is based on high design differentiation and specialized service within an ‘agency’ of service providers. The following value chain diagram represents the responsibility of each partner in the industry. Gray = advertising agency; Blue = Web Development company.


Pluses 

Minuses

- Both companies use each other as referral sources. Resulting in more predictable sales projections.
- Access to capability that either company could not maintain on their own without larger volume.
- Co marketing programs
- Augmented product/service offering- Additional value in service delivery if partnership is evolved. Results in increased profit margin.
- One company might extend special terms to help the other, for example extend A/R days. It gives you another partnership to allow you to stay afloat, but only works when the two have opposite needs. 

 

- Risk of losing the customer to the other company.
- After the customer is acquired, it is a pain because you now have constraints that you would not have if you operated on your own.
- The cost of servicing a customer goes up.
- Unpredictable when the lines are blurry between the value delivery stages









Value Chain: In some cases the client values steps of the process different. Therefore, establishing $ value when you are breaking up each part of the delivery process can be tricky. Life Cycle: The development company is at the end of the project process so if the project is late, they are forced into tight production time lines with little control.



Don't Get Trumped By A Baby!

CWD added a new baby to the family last month. So what is the best gift a web development company can give a baby? A BABY BLOG! It started as something fun and easy to post photos for family, but I quickly realized that the blog was a hot trend in the world of new moms and dads. A lot of the blogs I started seeing have some rather innovative features (for a new born):
  • Mobile device updating using iphone, blackberry, ect.
  • Embedded video
  • Dynamic video
  • Ability to subscribe/follow the blog
  • RSS feed of new posts
  • Some rather cool design for a baby
What does this mean for your company? Well the first question is do you even have a blog? If not, you should tuck your tail and close up shop because you just got out innovated by a new born. If you have a blog, how are you using it? How often do you update it? Baby blogs get updated 2-3 times per week! Do you have some of the features listed above?

Blogging for your company is a communication tool, just like it is for a new born baby. So get started today, time is wasting.

Some screen shots from baby blogs:


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

What is a CWD Module?

A CWD module is more or less a custom-developed plugin which installs directly into our Evergreen Content Management System. Its purpose is to simplify otherwise complex website processes. Here, let's start small with a relatively straightforward example.

Consider the case of the Cascade Web Development site and how News articles are added. Before the existence of a News Module, our process would involve the following:
  • Write news article
  • Manually move all traces of the previous news article to an archive page
  • Insert new news article title and short description onto our home page
  • Create a new page just for the new news article body to live
  • Link the home page title and short description to the new news page we just created
  • Do it all again next week
A News Module takes this lengthy process and virtually automates it for you. All you have to do is drop the content in a few simple fields and click Save. The rest is handled by the module.



The beauty of modules is that they can be applied to almost every conceivable web operation. Here are just a few examples:
Still have questions about how modules can help you streamline your web management? Give us a call. We'll help you see light!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Glen/Mar Construction Launches New Site



Hats off to another CWD client who just launched the latest version of their company website, www.glenmarconstruction.com ! Glen / Mar Construction is a SDVOSB General Construction firm providing Design/Build, Property Development, Extensive Renovations, and Construction Engineering capabilities.

The goal behind this project was to design and develop a website that was easy to navigate and presented information in a clear, straightforward manner. Check it out at GlenMarConstruction.com!

Friday, June 12, 2009

CWD partner launches new brand



CWD design and branding partner formerly known as SPDzine is now FICTION! As usual, they set and exceeded the bar for developing a concept, designing and implementing an amazing experience. Check out a few photos from their new space or visit their website (www.thinkfiction.com) which is run on the Evergreen Content Management platform. 




FICTION is a Portland Oregon agency that tells brand stories. They are located on the first floor of the Ford Building on SE 11th ave. 

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Web Design/Development - How We Use Wireframes

A lot of the clients we work with have never seen a wireframe before or maybe they have, but its been in an entirely different context than how we use wireframes at Cascade Web Development.

For us, wireframes serve as the visual blueprint for the initial design. Our standard wireframe will be presented in grayscale, with minimal design work. The goal here is to establish the placement of key elements on the page rather than those elements’ final presentation.

Here is an example of the initial wireframe we designed for Michigan Primary Care Association. The layout was based on conversations had with the MPCA team prior to its drafting.



Two days later we hopped on the phone and went over their likes and dislikes, things they wanted tweaked, etc. We had a few of these types of back-and-forths in the ensuing week and half, ultimately resulting in the following final wireframe:



Once we had delivered a wireframe that all parties were excited about, we passed the wireframe and corresponding Creative Request document on to our creative design team. A week later, here’s what resulted:



Two rounds of revisions later, here’s the final design!



Page through the slideshow below to see how the MPCA design evolved from conception.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Engaging with customers not competitors?

I had a friend pose very interesting question yesterday: I have noticed my competitors following me and copying my social media activities (he was using Twitter, videos, blogs). What can I do to engage with my customers and prospects but not my competitors?

Here are my thoughts:

Interesting question, enough that it had me up last night thinking about it! Just last week we tried to follow one of our competitors on twitter and he blocked us! We actually felt kind of good about it since they are much larger than us so I presume he is seeing us as a threat:) So this is one option, don't let them follow you. Now of course they can still get to the information but it clearly says, "bug off dude..."

Another option is to use social media tools that are closed source. Basically a client/prospect portal/community. Depending on your customer's willingness to engage, you could create your own community rather than join the open community and hope to capture your customers there. If you can pull it off, the advantages are huge. You have control over the branded experience, you control all of the content (and I do not mean control as in force the user into what you want them to see.) I mean control who gets to see it, how they interact with it and the tools you give them to do so. Think of the technographics social ladder in the Groundswell. If your customers are creators, then add a bunch of contribution tools for them. If they are critics then create the content and give them the tools to react to it. The nice part about a 'private commiunity' is that you can simplify it by taking out the featuers that you do not need!! Ease of use = adoption.

Finally, it sounds to me like you already have your competitors beat! You are one step ahead of them, which is better than one step behind. Keep innovating and they will have a hard time catching up. 

Thursday, May 21, 2009

JustAnswer.com - Ask A Question, Get An Expert Answer

Every now and then I come across an online service that gets me really excited. A month ago, it was Microsoft’s unveiling of their new SkyDrive service (providing free online data storage of up to 25 GB). Now, I’m writing about JustAnswer.com, an online service that connects inquiring laypeople with qualified “expert” respondents.

Here’s how it works:
  1. You submit a question.
  2. You select which “field” your question falls into from Taxes to Computers to even Pets!
  3. You offer a deposit ranging from about $9 to $13. The higher your bid, the more attractive you’ve made your question. You only have to pay this amount if you are satisfied with the answer you receive.
  4. Wait for an expert to reply.
Boasting over 20,000 experts, JustAnswer.com pretty much guarantees that they’ll be someone online 24/7 who can answer your question. The amount of your bid will likely determine how fast and thorough of an answer you receive.

While paying for answers isn’t for everyone, if you’re someone who needs an answer fast and just can’t seem to Google it for the life of you, JustAnswer.com may be exactly what you need.

If you’re interested, then go ahead of check out JustAnswer.com for yourself!