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Too Many Cooks, No Recipe
Who: A small computer services firm
with eight technology savvy employees, many of whom have
Microsoft certifications of one sort or another.
The Problem: The company clientele includes major
nationally known banks and they were looking for a way
to securely share information via their
website. However, despite being computer systems
experts, nobody on their staff had any knowledge or
expertise in this area.
Their Solution: The company was so
concerned with the security of their data they ended up
purchasing their own dedicated server to host the
website. This meant substantial (and expensive)
infrastructure to support the server so it would be
available 24/7. Their judgment may have been
clouded by the fact that installing servers at client
locations is one of their areas of expertise.
They then set about designing a database driven website.
Originally, the timeline for completion of this project
was 10-12 weeks. Unfortunately, despite their
technology background, no members of the staff had much
expertise in website creation, let alone integrating the
site with a database. Nobody had any idea how to
get the job started, let alone finished. The first
four weeks were used just trying to learn how to
accomplish this. Another two weeks was used
examining various solutions. The company then
decided to use Microsoft Access combined with a
Microsoft FrontPage "wizard" to pull the project
together.
While this is certainly one way to do it, it proved to
be not very robust. Clients were unable to find
all the data they needed, and sometimes the database was
entirely unavailable. Code was written, rewritten,
and rewritten again, in an attempt to make it all work.
In the end, the entire project took an astounding 14
months to complete at a cost of well over $100,000 in
wages and equipment. To make matters worse,
because of all the problems clients shunned its use.
This company has since gone out of business.
What Should Have Happened: At the very
least, a WebZealot consultation could have gotten this
company's employees looking in the right direction.
They were a smart bunch and with some direction they
could have accomplished their goal with the tools at
hand. A week of one-on-one on-site training and
education could have jump started the project.
Even better, WebZealot could have taken over this task
entirely. The website and integrated database
could have been easily and securely hosted by a hosting
company without all the additional (and expensive)
infrastructure. Total cost to develop the solution
would have likely been less than $10,000, with an eight
to ten week completion time.
Techno-Wary
Who: A builder of high-end custom homes
wants a web site. It's a small two-person
company, and neither person knows a lot about how to
get a website started... But they do know they would
like a way to show clients and potential customers
what they have, and their upscale clientele are very
Internet savvy.
Their Solution: They did take the crucial
first step: They claimed their domain name. But
that was as far as it went for months and months.
They looked at some ready-made websites, but because
they weren't comfortable with the technology they were
unsure of whether or not they would be doing the right
thing. They contacted a few web development
companies, but these places would either talk down to
them because of their limited Internet knowledge, or
they wouldn't talk to them at all because they were
small.
What Should Have Happened: They should have
called WebZealot right off the bat! WebZealot
understands the Internet and all its jargon can be
very daunting. But that doesn't mean they don't
deserve an attractive website!
Fortunately, this story has a
happy ending! Read more>>>
High-tech Goes Low-tech
Who: A startup company that makes
process automation systems for clients around the
world. The company, though fairly small,
is widely regarded as the leader in their in their
field of technology. Obviously, as a technology
company, they want a website.
Their Solution: While they are experts in
process automation, they are NOT experts at building
websites. Additionally, as a fairly young
company, they are pouring as much effort as possible
into the product they are selling. The task of
putting together a website falls on the shoulders of
one of the company partners. First, he tries
using Microsoft PowerPoint, then exporting it to HTML,
resulting in some strange results. He then tries
Microsoft Publisher. This produces better
results, but the website still has a somewhat ragged
look and feel. This is confirmed by a client who
offhandedly comments that the site reflects poorly on
the very sophisticated and high quality product that
is being sold.
What Should Have Happened: This scenario
simply SCREAMS for help from WebZealot! This
company makes million dollar deals, yet they can't
spare a few thousand dollars to create the website
their product deserves. If one client commented
on their website looking shabby, then you know there
are other potential clients who may be writing them
off. WebZealot could quickly, easily, and
inexpensively get the job done. Though they may
be a technology firm, it's okay to seek help,
especially when your website may be the first
impression folks get!
The Internet Billboard
Who: A small software company which uses
the web primarily as a giant advertisement... An
"Internet Billboard" where people can find out about the
product, how to purchase, get support, etc. But
the company starts thinking maybe they can get their
site to do more for them.
Their Solution: They want to get a better idea of
who is coming to the site, and use this information as a
way to generate sales leads. There are several
forms on the site where customers are prompted to
provide name, address, and phone number. The
results from these forms are then emailed to the
business manager who in turn distributes the contacts to
the appropriate people within the organization.
However, this requires a lot of manual intervention.
Sometimes a potential may visit the site multiple times,
but the business manager can't keep track of multiple
incidents of the same lead, which results in duplicate
(and unprofessional) sales calls to the same customer.
When the business manager is away from the office, hot
leads pile up.
What Should Have Happened: Sounds like this
company needed a custom Customer Relations Management
(CRM) solution! WebZealot could come in and
quickly integrate all the data from the web forms into a
simple to manage web database, accessible by anyone or
everyone in the company. Additionally, automated
follow-up emails can be generated to keep these
customers "in-the-loop" and prevent them from falling
through the cracks if the sales staff gets too busy!
The data collected can also be used to create sales
invoices and proposals at the click of a button without
the need to manually reenter the pertinent information.
Paying Too Much
Who: A graphics designer who originally set up
his
website during the Internet boom of the late 1990s. The company who got him on-line offered
him a "special deal" with hosting and domain name
registration for $40 a month, and tacked on a dial-up account, for
another $20. He feels fairly certain he is now
paying too much for hosting, and he certainly doesn't
need the dial-up account anymore since he now has a high
speed connection.
His Solution: His original webmaster is
nowhere to be found, and the email address he originally
used when creating his site is no longer being used, but
his hosting company is still sending his invoices to the
old address! He sees the monthly charges on his
credit card, but has no idea who to contact about moving
his site, or at the very least trying to get his account
onto cheaper space. He is unsure of some of the
technical aspects of web hosting, and is afraid to move
his site elsewhere for fear of losing part, or all, of
his site. So, he continues to pay the outrageous
hosting fee every month, and his ISP is all to happy to
keep charging him that old inflated rate.
What Should Have Happened: He should have
called WebZealot of course! WebZealot is all too
happy to hold the hand of the Internet novice in a
situation like this. Lots of ISPs are making a
KILLING from customers that are still paying those old,
inflated fees. WebZealot is happy to show you how
you can save a BUNDLE on hosting, and is happy to help
you move your site!
Fortunately, this story has a
happy ending! Read more>>>
Too Much Work!
Who: An aviation enthusiast in Sweden
maintains a website for like-minded folks. The
site both to his pleasure and dismay, has become
overwhelmingly popular! People send him photos and
information for the website on an almost daily basis.
However, he must manually add this information to his
site, and republish his site several times a week.
It goes from being a hobby to being almost a part-time
job. Problem is, he already has a full-time job,
and a family!
His Solution: He ends up shutting down the
site, in an attempt to stem the onslaught of emails and
information he is being bombarded with. While it
seems to be an extreme action, he feels he has no real
alternative.
What Should Have Happened: WebZealot could
have told him it sounds like he needs to harness the
power of Active Server Page technology combined with a
web database. Instead of sending emails, the
visitors to his site can submit their information via a
web form. The data from the form can then be
stored in a database for his review, and with a click of
a button it can be added to the site. No need to
cut and paste or republish every again! Photos can
also be uploaded and added, with no intervention on the
part of the webmaster. And not only can the site
be easier to maintain, but the information is more
current and accurate than ever before!
Fortunately, this story has a
happy ending! Read more>>>
All case studies are based on
true stories.
In some cases, identities have been changed to protect the innocent!
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