Video Production: Coaching – Training – Consulting for Entrepreneurs, Small Business & Nonprofits.

Mindful Media Services connects entrepreneurs and small business and nonprofit communicators to the technology, training and support they need to create vivid and memorable visual materials.
MindfulMediaServices.com

Legacy Wealth Planning’s mission is to present its clients complete financial guidance and wealth management services focused on enhancing, protecting and preserving their wealth for themselves and their families.
http://www.lwpreno.com

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I’m very excited to have had the opportunity to work with Legacy Wealth Planning in Reno, Nevada. We worked together to develop a professional and dynamic website that showcases their wealth management and investing services. We also took professional staff photographs to use for each of their individual biographies on the website.

fuddle: (verb)(adj): salute, toast, pledge, drink-in, bedevil, fox, booze, confuse, soak, intoxicate.
www.WineFuddle.com

Recently launched eCommerce Website specializing in the largest selection of glassware, wine decanters, corkscrews and wine accessories for every kind of wine and spirit enthusiasts. We chose to use Magento as a ‘Free’ shopping cart solution.

When Lisa, creator of Tuff Scent, asked me if I would be interested in helping create a simple but elegant website for both her and her daughter’s product relaunch… my answer was “Most Definitely — What a Cool, Funky and Fun Product.”

So with a minimal budget and a short time-frame for launch, I made a homemade light box and started shooting product for use on the website, print collateral and miscellaneous social media advertisements. I kept the website to a minimum as well putting the focus and attention on the 6 Collections and individual polishes. We setup a Facebook Business page as well as a Twitter Page making sure to keep all of the branding fluid throughout each social platform.

Relaunch of ‘Tuff Scent’ Scented Nail Polish
Reno, Nevada (November 29th, 2010) – Lisa Arnbrister and 18 year old daughter, Sylvana Barbash, have relaunched ‘Tuff Scent’ scented nail polish and this time they’ve added a charitable edge. The brand which has been previously carried by reputable stores such as Sephora, Nordstrom’s, Saks fifth Avenue, Fred Segal, Planet Blue and so on, will now donate $1.00 of every bottle sold to breast cancer awareness in a commemorative effort to support the cure. Read More

See you next week for another tidbit!

Company Information and Background

This should be a brief overview of the company, its history, services or products, business focus, marketing objectives and market demographics. These are just a few elements you could include here. Give as much information here as possible to create a complete business profile, but also keep it neat and short. Also include how decisions about the RFP will be made in this section. Is there a committee review process? Include the members of the committee here with their title and role in the committee.

Project Background and Objectives

This is where you can outline the project objectives, but not the scope or requirements, that will come later. Give the history of the website and how it currently used, both internally and by the general public or your customer base. Address how you see this use changing with the new website. Outline search engine visibility requirements, search engine marketing objectives and/or social media marketing goals. What are the goals for the website and how will you measure success?

Requirements and Scope of Project

This is probably the one area where businesses do not include enough information about their website design project. Start by addressing elements of the current website that should stay. These include any interactive applications, shopping carts or web forms to be transitioned to the new site. Include information on any other systems that interface with the website, or should interface with the website. These include things like an intranet, CRM (customer relationship management) system or email marketing system.

Provide an outline of how you want the content to be managed, by whom and what access they should be given. Specify where content will come from- whether imported from the current site, newly developed or a mix of both. Who will be responsible for generating content prior to the launch date and after.

Outline new applications and functionality as well as design requirements. Be sure to include relevant items from your brand standards guidelines if you have them.

Website Hosting Requirements

This is, by far, the most overlooked piece of information when compiling an RFP. We have lost more than one bid because we provided a solution for a Linux host and the prospect wanted the website hosted internally on their Windows server. If it truly does not matter to you then at least include a statement that hosting is up to the vendor.

Web Design and Development Experience of the Vendor and Key Staff

Ask for testimonials and/or references of other websites the vendor has designed or developed. Ask them to outline their responsibilities for the project. Request identification and resumes for key personnel who will be working on this project. Request information on their web design and development approach including items like revisions, design iterations, scope changes, standards and technologies utilized.

Project Timeline

This is the second most overlooked element of web design RFPs. Make sure to include your anticipated schedule. Even though these will often change as the project progresses, without one your project may never finish.

Project Pricing

This should include a detailed outline of all costs, both one-time and recurring, for the website redesign and development project.

Submission Information

How and when should the vendor respond to your RFP? Be sure to include the deadline and the format for submission, as well as who it should be sent to and at what address.

Cornerstone Blogs

For many businesses blogging has become the cornerstone of their web marketing efforts, a way to disseminate information and reach their target demographic/potential client base in a new way. It allows for dialogue with their clients, albeit still in a top down fashion. The business pushes content down and the masses respond. They could respond in many ways including comments, linkbacks or tweets and retweets. Many businesses use it as a test bed for customer service and/or marketing messages, but there is one overriding characteristic of these blogs. They all add value to the company’s brand image by being useful and providing quality information to their users.

At Westward Strategy we strive to add value every single time we post something. Sure, sometimes we post our own business successes, but more often than not we post the successes of our clients over our own successes. We do research and find supporting and/or opposing arguments to the topic we are writing on. We even publish articles that could be useful to anyone looking for search optimization or web design resources. And we do all of it with the readers/users of our site at the forefront of our minds. If you’re shopping around for a web design firm we hope you can use and/or educate yourself a little bit more with our “10 Questions You Should Ask a Prospective Web Design Company“. It does not matter if you choose to contact us about your project or not.

Now I know what you are saying…

“Chris, if a company uses a blog to publish quality content and that in turn garners more market share and value for the company, isn’t that self-serving?”

The answer – sure, in a way. The difference is cornerstone blogs focus on the customer first and the business second.

Self-serving Blogs

The other type of blog is the self-serving blog. The blog that gets added to an existing website and updated maybe once a month with posts that read something like this:

Reno Car Wash has the best reno car washes in Reno. We use only the best car wash soap and reno car wash equipment at Reno Car Wash. You should stop by Reno Car Wash and see our brand new car wash equipment and get a car wash from Reno Car Wash while you’re there!

Or even worse, they look like this with a bazillion links in them:

Reno Car Wash has the best reno car washes in Reno. We use only the best car wash soap and reno car wash equipment at Reno Car Wash. You should stop by Reno Car Wash and see our brand new car wash equipment and get a car wash from Reno Car Wash while you’re there!

Ok, that may be a little exaggerated, but trust me it’s not by much. It should be painfully obvious, like a frying pan to the skull cap, what the difference is between a cornerstone blog and self-serving blog. Sure the self-serving blog will manage to get information to the user that may be of some use, but really is that the way you talk to your customers? Is that the way you should talk to your customers? The answer to both is NO.

Self-serving blogs are like cheap furniture. They may have a nice wood veneer, but one scratch will reveal the shoddy construction and cheap materials underneath that thin cover. At that point it doesn’t matter what you put into the blog, you or your company will be seen in a not-so-friendly light.

So, the question is, why do you blog? Are you adding value for your clients, customers and website users? Are you helping educate them? Are you freely giving information and knowledge? Or are you posting for your own perceived benefit? Are you blogging to dominate the search results? (See SEO Myth: Blogging Means Top Rankings) Are you adding value or just creating white noise?

Why do you blog?

You can advertise in many ways, from web based to print to word of mouth, but how do you actually get customers and build a clientele? How are your marketing strategies working for you? Do you constantly have to followup to get clients?

Here are just some ways that Westward Strategy Builds Client Trust

1: Testimonials
Westward Strategy encourages all prospective clients to call our current and past clients for a testimonial of our work. You can ask questions that we may be impartial to answer. We also feature testimonials on our website and our brochures.

2: Knowledge
We continue to stay educated in all of our online marketing services. We also continue to only work with professional contractors who are proven in their field of expertise.

3: Examples of Our Web Design and Internet Marketing Work
We show all prospects our portfolio and are happy to show examples of our work or situations that we have been in to be sure to put the prospects mind at ease of what we have experienced.

4: Passion
We believe that passion plays a key part in client trust. We love what we do and believe that a client will feel more comfortable working with a business who has fun.

5: Telling the Truth
We always tell a prospective client the truth – maybe to often. If we can’t do the job, we don’t take it. We believe that it’s better to be able to deliver the BEST JOB rather than a subpar job.

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Contact Westward Strategy & Design Group, LLC.
If you are interested in the services we offer, please contact us at (775) 626-8330.

Here’s a quick excerpt along with the link to download the entire 38 page document. I highly suggest that agencies, designers, prospects and current clients take the time to download it and give it a good read.

How many months has it been since you went looking for information in the yellow pages? How many minutes has it been since you asked your favorite search engine?

I think you just answered the question about whether or not your business needs a Website.

Without a doubt, Websites are the most overlooked vehicle of advertising for small, owner-operated businesses. Every retailer needs one. Every dentist, lawyer, accountant and minister needs one. Every café, restaurant, coffee shop and nightclub needs one. Every wholesale supply company needs one.

I’m not suggesting that all these need to accept online orders and actually transact business online. I’m just saying that everyone listed in yesterday’s yellow pages needs to be available on today’s internet. It’s where your customers expect to find you.

Properly constructed, a Website allows your prospects to gather information from the privacy of their computer monitors. What are the questions you answer every day? And what, exactly, do you say to customers when you’re speaking to them faceto- face? This is exactly the information that needs to be available on your Website.

The internet is heaven-on-earth for the 49 percent of our population that’s introverted. Introverts prefer to gather information anonymously, unlikely to dial your telephone number except as a last resort. Even more unlikely is that they’ll choose to walk into your store and engage a chatty salesperson.

49 percent of your customers prefer to know what they’re coming to buy before they walk in your door. And even the extraverted, chatty 51 percent will appreciate an informative Website that functions as an expert salesperson during the hours you’re not open for business.

Don’t think for a moment that your customers aren’t already online.

Every time a client tells me their customers are too old, too rich, or too traditional to be online, I immediately gather a crowd of them and ask, “How many of you have used a search engine in the past 7 days to research a product or service you were considering?� I raise my own hand.

The hands raised in echo are never less than 85 percent of the crowd. Launch a Website. Make it interesting. Make it look good. Feed and care for it regularly and watch your sales begin to climb.

Hello, Website
An insider’s guide to a website that works.
Written by Sean Alsobrooks

1 ) How long have you been in business?

Think about what type of company you are comfortable working with before you meet with them. If they give an answer outside of your comfort level tell them immediately. Some businesses don’t mind working with startups or individuals with lesser experience if the price is right. Everyone has to start somewhere, but if this is a risk you are not willing to take just tell the designer upfront.

2 ) Can I see examples of your work?

This is a must have for any designer or web agency. Make sure they have actual websites you can review on your own computer at any time you want. Avoid designers that only show you their work in a PowerPoint presentation or only on their computer.

3 ) Do you have testimonials from other clients?

Good designers and companies will happily provide a list of satisfied clients, both past and present. We even make them publicly available on our website.

4 ) What is the experience level of your team?

While almost every company has a few noobs (pronounced newbies) there should be some senior members on the team. Again, this is a comfort level thing on your part. Don’t get caught up in sales pitches and listen to your instincts here.

5 ) What programming languages and development tools do you use?

Even though you may not care about the answer to this question, it is important information for you to know. At the very least they should be able to hand code html. Other acceptable languages are PHP, ASP, XHTML, CSS, AJAX and javascript.

For development tools look for names such as Adobe or Macromedia (although Adobe now owns Macromedia).

6 ) What is your process for designing and developing a website?

A well outlined plan or process ensures you and your vendor know each other’s respective roles in the design and development of your website. It also will help you gauge their level of experience. Beware of companies that don’t have a plan!

7 ) What is the change process after the website is finished?

At some point your website, no matter how great it is, will need some changes or updates made. Find out what the process is for having these changes made. One way to avoid having to work with your vendor for content updates is to see if they will implement a content management system on your website.

8 ) Do you provide hosting?

Ask very specific questions about where the site will be hosted. If you need to, review our August 2007 post: Protect Your Website and Domain!

9 ) What other service solutions can you provide?

You never know what other services they may be able to provide unless you ask. It is often easier on you and can build a stronger brand identity if one company or designer can handle multiple aspects of your marketing. Ask them about direct marketing, email marketing, and natural search optimization services.

10) Who owns the website in the end?

There is only one acceptable answer here. No matter what, the client owns the website including all graphics and content. The only exception is if your website uses a content management system. Often the CMS is outlined in your contract with the vendor as belonging to the vendor as their intellectual property.