In this article, you will be able to see the results of a study in which we analyzed the websites of fourteen creative and marketing companies, as well as best practices and recommendations for creating a website.

We analyzed the home page, dividing it into three parts, the hero page, the sections below the hero page, which we called home page sections, and the footer.

List of website links:

fivebyfiveglobal.com
sensisagency.com
netpeak.net
dsfriends.digital
hubsanfrancisco.com
poweragency.com
wearetraina.com
sidlee.com
powerdigitalmarketing.com
disruptiveadvertising.com
uplers.com
seobrand.com
madfishdigital.com
adwise-agency.com

Decomposition

a. Navigation Bar

In this section, I will break down the navigation bar.
Good navigation is one of the most important features of a website.

Thirteen out of fourteen websites have more than one page. Only fivebyfiveglobal.com have a slider structure.

All selected websites have ABOUT and CONTACT sections, but only 6 have the button highlighted.
Thirteen out of fourteen websites have a BLOG category, sidlee.com does not have a shortcut button in the navigation menu.

As you can see, all websites use the navigation bar. This is an indispensable element of any website. It increases the time a visitor remains on your website by exploring and discovering more information.
Another reason to use a navigation bar is the concept of Serial Position Effect, which explains how a person gives more importance to the first and last part of a website. That’s why it’s good to have very important shortcuts in the navigation bar.
We also note that the best practice is to position the bar at the top of the site.
If we choose different positioning, we have to do it consciously and carefully because the user might feel confused or even frustrated because he can’t find the desired information.

Navigation Menu Elements

Hamburger menus have grown in popularity in recent years. When to use them and when not to?
According to the article “The ultimate guide to the hamburger menu and its alternatives”, 25% of apps are deleted after the first use because users can’t find all the features of the app.
Given this statistic, don’t hide important features in a menu of this type. As for positioning, menus placed on the left side have the lowest click rate.
With the hamburger menu, you create a cleaner and more recognizable UI.

Highlighted CTA or not?

We all know that CTA buttons boost conversion. Only six out of the fourteen websites selected for our research use a highlighted CTA in the navigation bar.
It follows that the CTA button in the navigation bar is not considered an important element through which they convert.
Why wouldn’t they use this technique?

Should I add the search option?

Giving the users who visit your website the option to easily find the information they are looking for is very important. Adding a search option decreases the bounce rate, but as you can see only two of the fourteen selected sites use this feature. If your content is easy to find, you may not need this costly development option.

b. Hero Section

Next, I will break down the hero section.

Video

According to vidyard.com, your website has exactly 0.05 seconds to make a good impression on your visitor. 94% of first impressions are design-related.

Not so long ago, videos on websites were considered a nuisance. Their quality was poor and there was a risk that the user would instantly leave the site because of the sheer volume of auto-play videos.
With the evolution of technology, the way we integrate videos into a website has also changed. The quality has increased and the volume can be adjusted so that the user experience is a pleasant one.

According to theedigital.com

• Internet video consumption has grown on average by 32% annually between 2013 and 2018. Consumption is expected to grow continually within the next few years.
• 85% of internet users within the U.S. consume content through online video
• In 2021, the average person watch online videos for 100 minutes every day, an increase from 84 minutes in 2020
• Internet videos will comprise more than 82% of total consumer internet traffic by 2022

Landing page videos are all about conversion, pair them with a CTA.
Videos can attract visitors, keep people on your site, build trust, stand out from competitors.
Increase traffic by sharing your videos on social media.

Text

Titles are aligned left or centered. Eleven use sans serif, bold fonts, and only two use serif. Nine are aligned left and four are centered. We can observe the four that are aligned in the center are larger. Seven websites have more than the headline on the home page, usually linking the headline to a value proposition.

CTA Buttons

A call to action (CTA) is an invitation on a website that tells the user to take a certain action. Generally, a call to action takes the form of a button or a hyperlink, but nowadays you can also find them in videos.

Some CTA goals:

• Contact
• Reserve
• Buy
• Learn
• Download
• Share
• Sign up

Nine out of fourteen use a CTA button. Disruptive is the only website that showcases their company in video, where they also used call-to-action.

Every audience responds differently. There is no guarantee that one call to action will perform better than another. To find out how much better it performs than another, we need an A-B test.
In conclusion, we can see that for these creative and marketing agencies, converting with a CTA button is not that important.
If you think you know of a reason why these companies don’t use CTA, feel free to leave us a comment below.

But you should never underestimate this button that can give you the following:

and that’s not all. A CTA can establish a connection between the customer and the company, reduce customer stress and frustration, faster location of products and services.

c. Home Page

Here you will read about all the sections on the home page below the hero page. I’ll take each site individually and list the sections on the landing page, adding a few details for each. The Footer section will also be excluded from this list.

fivebyfiveglobal has three sections.
The first section showcases their work, the second features their most recent blog posts, and the last section covers other projects they are involved in and strong relationships with other companies.

Observations: They have lots of images on the site, each from different categories. To create consistency, they’ve ditched the saturation and created a black and white environment that comes alive when you hover over it by coloring the image.

sensisagency has four sections.
In the first section, they describe their values in a few sentences, focusing on their intercultural experience. In the second, case studies are presented, and the third section presents two studies conducted by the company, one on Boomer culture and the other on Generation Z. The last section presents their latest blog posts.

netpeak has twelve sections.
They start with the CEO’s manifesto, then continue with a list of companies they have worked with. In the third and fourth sections, they present the services they offer and what differentiates them from the market. The fifth section is dedicated to their product companies, and the sixth present their areas of expertise. In the seventh section are the projects they have worked on, followed by testimonials, team presentations, career opportunities with their company, and events. The last section shows the latest blog posts.

Observations: They have video testimonials. The videos are not perfectly shot, they have a natural look and usually, the interviews take place in the client’s office.

dsfriends.digital has a slider format.
Each of the slides contains the following: services, approach, about, team, and contact.

Observations: The website is well designed, with good consistency. They use stock photos of happy people, but they break this consistency when it comes to company members' photos, where images look more natural.

hubsanfrancisco has only three sections.
The first one presents their approach, then follows a section with lots of projects, each of them presented on another page as a case study. The third section presents the clients they have worked with.

Observations: In this presentation site, they focus on the projects they have worked on, showing so many case studies.

poweragency like the one above has few sections.
They start with projects they’ve worked on, then add a human touch to the company’s image by sharing their social media posts in a friendly way (featuring company events or funny moments about the employee and their pets).

wearetraina has six sections.
The first section is “About Us”, followed by their work and clients. This is followed by the services section and an overview of their studio. The last section displays the latest blog posts.

sidlee has five sections.
They start with a video showing impactful moments alongside the text, creating emotion. The second section is dedicated to projects, the third section presents the services offered, and immediately afterward the company’s story is presented. The last section is with the latest blog articles.

powerdigitalmarketing has six sections.
They start with a CTA for case studies. The second and third sections contain lists of clients and testimonials. The next section is about services, technologies used and differentiation, followed by a “Get a proposal” CTA. The last two sections feature two ways they can help you and their latest blog posts.

disruptiveadvertising has six sections.
The first part is the client list, followed by the company and team awards. In the fourth section, they list their services, each with a “Get Audit” CTA and how they can support you. In the last section, they have their latest blog posts.

Observations: They use a CTA every chance they get.

uplers has six sections.
In the beginning, they introduce the services they offer. The second section, testimonials, caught my attention because some of them are videos taken in the personal office or at home with the children, which gives a natural and friendly feeling. The third section offers more information about the company, a CTA button, and a block of numbers. The following sections feature clients they have worked with, how to engage with them, and case studies.

Observations: The only site that uses a Chat, positioned in the bottom right corner, and sometimes they stop you with a pop-up that contains a CTA.

seobrand has five sections.
The first section presents the services, then the awards, a case study, the client list, and the last section is the blog.

madfishdigital has six sections.
Just like seobrand, they start with services. the next section is a headline with CTA, in the third section they show the industries they work in, in the fourth are case studies, followed by company values and latest blog posts.

adwise-agency has four sections.
They start with the about us section. The second section shows projects, the third is the latest blog posts, and the fourth shows the company’s services.

What did we observe?

These figures show that for these agencies, case studies and blog content are the most important sections.

Case Studies

As you can see, twelve out of fourteen sites use case studies on their home page.
A case study is a summary of a project your company created to show how effectively you solved the problem the customer came to you with.

Some benefits of having a case study section on your website:

• Give you the chance to present your results through a story
• Build credibility by showing results.
• SEO

When you want to create a case study, you need to think about the environment in which it will be displayed to choose a format.
In terms of structure, it should contain a challenge followed by a solution and results.
Try to grab attention with the title and keep the language as simple as possible. Add real figures and at the end create a pleasing design.

Blog

Why is it important to have a blog?

Generally, the blog is displayed in the section at the bottom of the home page, but we’ll talk about it and the benefits of having one first since it’s the most common section in this study. A blog brings traffic and promotes your products and services, but not only that.

It’s one of the ways you bring in traffic, further generating leads. For that, you need to optimize your site for search engines. You can create connections and keep in touch with your audience by posting company news or promotions or you can publish your content on social networks.

Services Section

We find them presented in ten of the sites. Services are another way to convert traffic into leads.

Unlike products, which if they have a problem can be returned, services require trust. They are offered to people or businesses, and the negative impact should be avoided, being more personal.

There are two types of service display, one where you present everything on the main page, and another where you provide a link to a page where you go into more detail. An overview of what you offer is good for new visitors, but we recommend you to have both a brief presentation on the landing page and a link to more detailed information about what you offer.

About Us

This is your story, and people love stories.

If only nine out of fourteen websites have this section, for you is mandatory. Here you show how you started and where you are today and what obstacles you have overcome. You can highlight your values and show what makes you different.

This part is usually found at the top of the site. As with services, you can make an overview on the home page and create a button with a link to a page with more information where we recommend you to use images or videos.

Some tips when writing your About section:

Use your brand voice
Include employees in the story
Think about conversion
Offer some technical information
Make videos.

Clients

Seven sites have a section with the logos of the companies they collaborated with.

Why should you have this section on your website? This category helps you to build trust between you and your visitors. Let’s say you’re a small company, but luckily you got a contract with a Nike promotional campaign, displaying their logo will give your company a significant boost.

Always present brands that are familiar to your audience, don’t make them stand out too much, to do this you can present them in black and white, but never use other colors. A company’s logo carries its voice and values and you don’t want to do that.

Awards and certificates.

Embrace your success.

Your company’s awards and certificates are the results of hard work and effort, so be proud of them and don’t forget to mention personal or employee awards.

Awards and quality marks can boost your reputation and gain trust.
mindtools.com have done a study on this topic and the results are the following:

But be careful, chasing awards can be costly and in some cases damage your reputation rather than enhance it.

Testimonials

More elements to builds trust.

netpeak, powerdigitalmarketing, and uplers use testimonials section on their website.
powerdigitalmarketing has text testimonials, uplers.com combines text with video and netpeak.net has only videos. The videos are made with a webcam in the office or at home, even with the kids around, which gives a human, friendly touch.

It is recommended that this section appears on your website as a trust element. They can act as a referral system and, as mentioned above, create an emotional connection.

Team

Another element that affirms that your company is trustworthy. By introducing your team you create a connection with the visitor, showing that there are real people behind your company.

There’s also a negative effect. Showcasing your best people, you run the risk of losing them.

Manifesto

netpeak is the only one showing the manifesto on the website.

“A manifesto is your brand’s Magna Carta, Rosetta Stone, and Declaration of Independence all rolled into one; it’s the halftime locker room speech given by the CEO; the words of the founder heard on the mountaintop before bringing down the stone tablets. Reading a great brand manifesto should make you wanna run out and try the product. You should feel the brand fire in your bones.” Luke Sullivan’s definition for manifesto.

By having a manifesto, you create a link with everyone who engages with your company, you show your company’s intentions, show the tone of your brand and explain how you are making an impact in the world.

When writing one, you must answer the following questions:

What do you stand for?
What do you stand against?

The manifesto doesn’t just have to appear on the website, you can also add it to mailings, brochures, or other items.
Adweek recently conducted a study looking at the evolution of marketing since the pandemic. It shows that “68% of respondents said the role of marketing has been elevated in the past three months” and that “business leaders are more responsible than ever for being agents of change”.

Career

netpeak is the only website that uses the Career section.
This section is not as important as the ones mentioned above, but it has its benefits, especially if you want to make a hire. I say that because this section is not necessarily designed to find new people.

Some benefits of having a Career section:

• Reduce time and costs
• Makes the hiring process easier
• Shows your brand image
• Provides reasons to join your team
• Reduce HR pain

Reverse Engineering was originally published in epoint.digital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A dozen “local heroes” in logistics (They act on a regional basis only) are very well established in their cities. They act locally and have a large market share.

One of these Local Hero (a Logistics Company) has a bigger vision. The vision of being able to deliver the same quality of service at competitive prices across Germany and why not across Europe.

The Logistics Market is one of the most fragmented industries in Europe. Growing nationally or internationally besides local/regional areas as the business relies heavily on on-site workforce is a big challenge.

Another 15 Logistics companies were found that are willing to persuade the same vision. They decided to bundle their local expertise and create a startup that will execute and promote the same level of quality on a national level.

They decided to move the acquisition part of relocation and storage services in the new startup, while execution is performed by the local partners.

“Relogg” was born!

Our partner, Committo was tasked to come up with a strategy on how to enter the market nationally (Germany). We were tasked to engineer the digital platform.

The Problem

One of the challenges that the logistics industry is facing is transparency. Since there are no real standards that allow structured management over the entire vertical, each player uses custom digital (and not so) solutions. Negotiations, offers, and fulfillment are done over the phone, fax (yes, fax), and face to face communication.

The problem that was decided to be addressed in the first phase (market entry) was PRICING and Price Transparency.

The Solution

We created and implemented a digital solution that would allow customers (B2B) to quickly get a binding price offer based on simple specifications.

Given the complexity of services, a lot of information would be needed. Each offer requires values like Cubic meters, It infrastructure meters, quantities… in order to offer a final price.

The approach was to ask the user simple questions and information about the relocation service and make all the calculations in the backend.

The needed technical architecture would need to allow easy changes like options and complexity of services on the customer side. We wanted to create a unique user experience that is easy to use and dramatically cuts the Time from Request till offer.

At the same time we created a backend focused on a configurable and customizable pricing structure that will allow calculations based on service type, distance, volume and also offer upsell possibilities.

Beside customer acquisition, that was the main goal of the project we improved customer retention by creating a “closed area” where existing customers can easily order services that are defined as an individual, completely customized contract.

Taking into consideration distances (routes) calculated by Google Distance API, Location of the provided services (yes, there are differences in cost/hour in between East and west Germany) and margins, we created the backend that manages the Partners, the Services, Area of Delivery and the Customers.

Tech Stack

As a Tech stack we used a decoupled technology based on Vues.js for the frontend and Laravel for the backend. The Platform makes use of Google Location Api, Google Distance API and is set up as a multilingual Platform ready for Internationalization.

The Results

Customer acquisition — the platform is used for customer acquisition

Improved operations — allows automated handling of the carrier network

Improved customer retention — By creating a “closed area” where existing customers can easily order services

Fast onboarding and adoption — 15 carriers onboarded on the platform each of them is able to manage its own pricing structure

High carrier compliance — The Architecture allows the onboarding ot further Partners (e.g. on international level)

Better workflow — Faster, optimized workflow and easier, accurate communication; replaces multiple emails; instant notification of changes.

Better planning — Digitization simplifies carrier planning, ensuring punctuality and cutting waiting times by up to 30%.

The next Steps

The business case proves to be solid, as (even as not through the digital channel) Relogg (with its new business Model) was able to acquire their first larger customers shortly after launching the new Brand.

We are currently (Q2/2021) planning to start the online marketing activities and promote the Platform on a national basis and start acquiring and onboarding new customers.

Have a look at www.relogg.com (German version) and let us know what you think.

Want to hear more about how we can help your business?

If you have any questions or have a problem that needs a digital solution, get in touch. It’s easy, just say “Hello” at hi@epoint.at

Logistics — How to play with the Big Guys in a fragmented Market was originally published in epoint.digital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Problem

We need an e-commerce solution for editing and managing biometrical pictures that are needed for institutions, CVs, employee badges that can be rolled out on a global scale.

This was the challenge that was initially presented to us.

Discovery

We started by defining, together with the customer, the target audience.

There were 2 different business cases identified. A B2C focused solution and a B2B solution —the latter should be extendable from the first— that would allow integrating the software in other environments while managing the editing and printing of photos centrally.

Quite soon in the discovery process, we identified that a new identity was needed. The old logo was too playful and the colors used in the Corporate Identity did not match the audience. Also, we needed something more trustworthy for an international rollout.

The interface needed to be responsive and perform well on smartphones —as almost all solutions nowadays— multilingual and multi-currency.

Solution

Here is what we came up with.

We needed to create a solution that can be easily used by End Users to cover the B2C market and allow the frontend (photo editing functionality) to be integrated into the partner sites or intranets while allowing some brand customizations for the B2B market.

Create a new identity starting with a Logo creation (CI/CD).

Identify the necessary user flows, as well as backend processes. Design the User Interfaces (UI) as well as create an enjoyable User Experience (UX).

After the design stage we created User Stories and bundled them into Releases, for better management.

Release I — Frontend Editing and Content Management
Release II — E-commerce capabilities (backend)
Release III — B2B frontend integration in external sites and custom Branding

The recommended technical solution was to build a “decoupled” system that can be later migrated to a PWA and also rolled out as Native Apps. We chose Vue.js for its low learning curve and a strong community.

For the backend, we decided to use an open source e-commerce framework like Drupal Commerce rather than build on a low-level framework.

The Process

TODO — Information architecture

The first Phase was kicked off by analyzing the Target Audience.
Based on the Target Audience we identified the User Flows that were required, and translated them into wireframes.

TODO — Branding

Following our Creative process, we took into consideration the 3 stages of Logo design.

We developed a new logo with 3 iterations, that were discussed and we settled on a logotype, it having much more readability and more inline with the new target audience.

The new logo set the tone of the entire CI (Corporate Identity) resulting in the Brand Guidelines book, that set the rules for all major elements of the CI.

TODO — Design (UI/UX)

The new identity ensures a better success rate with the newly defined target audience, by moving away from the yellow —mostly associated with fun and playful— to the new color palette.

All elements —graphics, fonts, user interface and images— were completely redone to stay in tune with the new CI.

Based on the wireframes and with the rules set in the brand guidelines we redesigned the User Interface.

The new user interface design was created with a “mobile first” approach in order to have the best user experience on any device.

Development

We started with developing the frontend with its photo editing capabilities and built an easy to use, responsive solution that behaves almost like a native app.

Launching languages and translating the user interface in German, French, Italian and English raised some issues, as Drupal handles string types and content in quite a weird and complex way. Nevertheless, we managed it in a timely manner.

For the backend, we implemented a theme based on Material Design from Google that is much more user-friendly as the standard Drupal backend.

The E-commerce capabilities where implemented in the last sprints before the launch. We extended the Drupal commerce capabilities with some print related features.

We are currently evaluating and creating user stories for the B2B part (April 2019).

Technology Stack

The frontend was built on the Vue.js framework and communicates with the backend over JSON files.
For the backend, we relied on the Drupal 8 framework that powers the marketing Content, as well as the blog.

The e-commerce part with the backend management needed for the operation was built on Drupal Commerce 2 and extended with some Custom Modules.

Results

The solution that was launched on the 1st of January 2019 offers a much better visual experience and is running without interruptions since then.

Would you like to hear more about us? Even if we live in a digital world, nothing can replace a good face to face conversation (ok, phone or video conferencing will do also :-)). say hi!

Or just call us at +43 699 109 260 19 or write an E-mail at hi@epoint.ro

No more cues, passport and other pictures made simple was originally published in epoint.digital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Problem

Our client is a Frozen Food Producer. They approached us and said:

We would like to open a new B2C sales Channel. Any Ideas?
How about using Vending Machines to enter the End-Consumer (B2C) market? We will probably need an App for it.

This was the challenge that was initially presented to us.

Discovery

We started our Discovery Phase drawing up the necessary user flows in the form of wireframes and identified the processes that were needed for managing data like products, stocks, orders and the entire operational flow (logistics).

Based on the information we identified regarding the currently available Backend software and APIs, we came to the conclusion that the project scope needed to be extended from “a User App” to a system that would cover the entire Process.

New Challenges

As usual, the more you dive into a digital product the more complex it gets.

The logistics for restocking the vending machines were not covered by the existing processes. Since the logistics cycles for a B2B case are completely different than the B2C requirements, we needed to define a way to extend the vending machines restock process on top of the existing delivery system.

Also, the Hardware Costs (A Vending machine with 45 different slots that each had a Bluetooth module for opening the doors) were imposing new limitations in terms of available payment options machine side. We had to plan the entire User Experience on the Device (smartphone) and not offer any cash payment capabilities on the Vending Machine.

And of course, a short Time to Market requirement was impacting the whole scope and roadmap, so we planned from the beginning a Release plan based on an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) idea.

Solution

Here is what we came up with:

We designed a User App that will allow users to buy food from a vending machine and use BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) based communication for interacting with the vending machine (IoT component of the project).

In order to comply with the “Low cost” requirements of the hardware (vending machine), and to reduce backend complexity we designed and integrated the entire buying process on the app rather on the vending machine.

For the Operational part, we designed a Restock App (using BLE and a QR code mechanism) that will allow the restock process on the vending machine slots and communicate the results to the server. This was needed in order to allow the system to have any product in any given slot.

Scalability was solved by moving essential server communication to the Cloud (AWS). Backend processes will be handled by a backend system that will act as an interface to SAP and also cover the management of vending machines and slots.

The defined solution covers all needed processes in order to operate the entire system (including SAP communication).

The Process

Here are some highlights from our Information Architecture, Design and Technology definition process.

Information architecture

The first phase was kicked off by analyzing the Target Audience and by creating 2 different buyer Personas.

Wireframes were created for the User App and for the Restock App.

These were linked together in order to define the flows for the User, as a guide for the technical team.

Design-UI/UX

We had to rely on the existing CI/CD and that raised some problems in terms of usability (the Available CI/CD was created for print purposes only) and we decided to break some rules (the adapted UI has some new graphical elements) in order to create a good User Experience.

CRM Data — Marketing

By embedding some simple user preferences (like food categories and allergens) and logging browsing and search patterns, as well as activities across different locations, we set up a foundation for collecting user data that can be later used for analytics, targeting and other marketing campaigns.

POC — Proof of Concept

We needed to be sure that the BLE communication was stable enough so we created a Proof of Concept in the form of an Android-only native App. We were able to successfully test the concept and evaluate the stability of the communication between the App and the Vending machine.

Vending Machine

Using a vending machine from a specialized partner we designed the exterior of the vending machine to match the customers' Corporate Identity. Thinking End to End in terms of processes we created a Vending machine Design and introduced some “on-boarding elements” that should allow Users to quickly understand and use the system by scanning a QR code that will send the user to an on-boarding page.

Systems

The entire system is built on 4 main applications
- The User App — for buying food and opening slots
- Cloud Services — for managing high availability operations like stocks and orders
- The Restock App — the app used for the restocking of the vending machines, using a combination of BLE and QR code-based communication
- “The telemetric system” for facilitating User and logistic operation, as well as communicating with the backend Systems (SAP)

Technology Stack

The apps will be built using React Native — this tech stack will allow us to publish the Apps (user and restock) on Apple store, as well as Google Play store. In a later stage, it can be migrated to React (and publish it as a PWA) and allow usage without having to install the app first.
The cloud service (high availability services) will be built on the AWS or Google Firebase technology.
The “telemetric System” will be built on Magento 2.3, using Magento headless and leveraging its robust capabilities for operating an e-commerce business. Through Magento, we will also ensure API based communication (REST and GraphQL) with the customers' backend System.

Results

The system is designed to support up to 1.000 vending machines and handle over 3600 orders per hour.
A simple and easy to use interface should allow a rapid user adoption of the system.
The management of the “last mile” logistics process and the possibility to “crowdsource the restock process” is innovative and hopefully disruptive. Moving most of the processes on the App and server-side will allow the usage of Vending machines that are up to 70% cheaper compared to the industry standard prices.

Market demand from similar companies (use cases) is very promising.

Would you like to hear more about us? Even if we live in a digital world, nothing can replace a good face to face conversation (ok, phone or video conferencing will do also :-)). Come and say “hi”.

Or just call us at +43 681 813 212 09 or write an E-mail at hi@epoint.at

Designing an Idea — IoT for Sales was originally published in epoint.digital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Everything changes at a mindblowing speed today.

What did not change (at least in my case) over the last 20 years, is the word “project” (digital projects in my case). We are still doing projects for some customers. Be it an E-commerce platform, be it a PIM integration, or “only” a simple marketing website. We are still doing “projects”.

I will tell you a short story about what happened during a 10 minutes “after meeting” discussion with a “trade marketing department” at a retailer.

Our project was to consult the customer that operate over 200 stores mostly in premium locations like shopping malls about how to define and implement a multichannel strategy and “move” the existing customer base to “online”.

It was a good meeting, we identified a lot of opportunities. One of the main topics was to find a mechanism to “identify” brick and mortar customers and get them to subscribe to the newsletter, so we can increase recurring purchases through personalized offers.

So, after the meeting, we naturally went to their marketing department for a chat and started talking about their current campaigns. They showed us the current execution of their last few in-store campaigns.

I must admit, I was shocked. There was no consistency, no identity, no nothing that we could work with.

So, I began slowly to point out the missing elements and tried to give them some VERY SIMPLE ideas.

“you should use the same size of the logo on similarly printed materials.” “You should not use ‘comic sans’ for your main Headline”. “ you should not use ‘black people’ for a European audience as they will not resonate with them”

You know, basics. 101 branding and marketing.

We left the meeting and decided to take the “branding project” for discussion on our next meeting.

2 hours later I get a call from the CEO (he was not in the meeting) to ask me how it went. Fine, I said, a lot to talk about but also a lot of opportunities.

“The designer, the one you talked with from the ‘trade department’ just quit after the discussion with you”. The issues that you raised were too much for him, it seems. We will need to find a replacement or another solution”.

He was not mad about it, just wanted to understand what happened.

But for me, the situation was a game changer. Even if this seems to be an isolated case of the immaturity of an employee, I think that at some degree the case will happen again. Maybe not result in quitting, but in creating resistance against “change”.

This was not about a “project” anymore. It was about the organization, about the ability of an organization to “transform” to adapt and to assimilate the “new” digital.

The success of any digital “project” is driven by the organization and its readiness to accept changes.

Resistance to change is in our human DNA and this fact needs to be addressed at the beginning of each “project” as part of the project discovery phase.

The reality is that every new (digital) “project” creates pressure on the organization. Companies need to understand the effects across the entire organization that is generated by a new sales channel, a new tool, a new interface that is rolled out.

Changes in workflows, in the ways people have “done things in the past”, cannot be ignored or assumed as granted. No matter how good your project is, how engaged your customers are with the new frontend if the organization does not adopt (embrace) the “new” interface in order to process the information, the entire project will be a failure.

We are now approaching larger projects from the organization perspective and not from the project perspective anymore. We focus more and more on existing processes and the impact our project will have on the organization instead of assuming that the people that will work with the project will “just do it”.

By identifying stakeholders in End to End processes and addressing their needs, be it Sales, Marketing, Operations or IT will open the path to creating Systems that have an impact on the organization.

In the next article, I will write about our approach to address these challenges both from a user perspective, as well as from the organization perspective.

What are your experiences with digital “projects”?

I would love to hear about your experiences. Let’s get in touch!

How I changed my perspective about “digital” projects was originally published in epoint.digital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

What Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon are succeeding to, is that they each created an ecosystem where they manage to keep us spending out time (read money) and never have the need to leave that ecosystem.

Google with search, maps and Gmail Facebook with social network and WhatsApp and messenger. Apple with hardware, iTunes, apple store. And so on..

Starting from the ecosystem idea, we took a small publisher from its newspaper legacy to a top digital player in Austria.

The content creation was (and is) the core strength of Medianet. Besides that, selling “Abos” was in their DNA.

Over the course of 3 years, we adapted their identity to match the digital requirements of a modern brand.

We identified the main pillar of their services and built on that to create platforms to monetize.

The first steps were to redesign the core of their platform, the creative network of agencies they were starting to build.

Together with the Medianet team, we launched a complex rating system that offers better transparency over the creative agencies from Austria.

We created over 10 different websites from events and niche social networks to news, microsites, and classifieds.

For the purpose of the “ecosystem”, we created a “standardized navigation” that is spread across all digital properties and its flagship website that is used as a gateway: “medianet.at”

The next step we took their offline publishing work that was carried over yearly local guides and transform it into a dynamic digital publishing system that is monetized through a freemium model. Medianet is growing over the estimations and has become (again) a major publisher in Austria.

We designed, created and are maintaining now 7 different local guides that run on the same infrastructure and take advantage of a shared code framework.

Visit https://www.medianet.at to access their digital properties. We hope we will keep you hooked :-)

Would you like to hear more about our design thinking, development processes or how we manage complex projects across multiple teams?

Drop us a line hi@epoint.at or call us at +43 699 109 260 19

How we ended up creating 7 portals, 10 websites, and one application was originally published in epoint.digital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.