The Blog of Brandon Milford - Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Design

I’ve added a new Category entitled ‘Site Gallery’ and I’ll
be using this to share featured websites.

I love great design and I’m always running across websites
that catch my eye and this will be the ideal place to share them. So, wasting
no time, I ran across this website: Idea
Grove.

This is a great site. I love how “light weight” it appears
via the vast white space and optimal page length.  The moving graphic on the homepage is perfect
and relays their message loud and clear. “They’re a PR firm and they can help
you tell your story”. I also appreciate how they have captured the power of the
white space in the header. Take a look at the logo and the drop shadow. The
entire strip of white space to the right of the logo, all the way to the right
edge, makes the header. It frustrates the heck out me when I look at a website
and immediately see where someone has attempted to ‘fill’ a white space because
they think, “Oh, it’s white. We must fill it”. The only annoying thing about
this site is the Feedburner and Alexa graphics within the footer of the
homepage. Not very appealing, but I guess you only see them if you scroll down.
Overall, this website clearly communicates Idea Grove’s message with great
design, it’s easy to navigate, and contains the ideal amount of copy.  Great work.

Our developers, designers, and quality assurance engineers have been
working hard redesigning our user interface and it’s looking great! Our
goal is to continue providing an email marketing application that is
easy to use, feature-rich, reliable, and affordable.

We have a
lot in store as we gear up for the launch of IntelliContact version 4.0
in early August. The user interface will be redesigned and we’ll be
introducing a few key features that will help you market your business
even more effectively.

So, why redesign the user interface?
Many of our clients were running into the same
issues that could have been avoided if certain design elements and
processes were improved. We believe our software should not get in your
way. Creating, sending, and tracking your email newsletters and surveys
should be easy and we believe that IntelliContact v4.0 will make this
process a cinch. Throughout this process we’ve taken feedback from our
clients and we have kept you, the user, in mind. We think you’ll agree
the new interface will be much easier to use. Here’s a peek at the new
UI:

This is a big change, how will you help me transition to the new user interface?
We are very excited about this launch and yes, you’re correct, it is a
big change. We think you’ll agree that this is a change for the better.

After
launching the new version you will see a link within your account
allowing you to switch to the new interface. You will be able to switch
back and forth between the old and new interface to ease your
transition and we’ll give you ample time to learn the ins and outs of
the new version. As we move closer to launch we’ll be sending help
documentation as well.

What about your system templates? Any plans to add more?
Absolutely. We’re planning to add approximately 10 new templates each month. Here’s a sample:

I hear you’re also redesigning IntelliContact.com. Is that true?
Yes! We will be launching a new version of IntelliContact.com in July, prior to the launch of the new user interface.

There’s a lot in store and we’re very excited! We’ll be sending additional information in the coming weeks. Be sure to sign up to receive additional information and to be notified of the launch!

This past week we closed on an initial round of funding
($500,000) from NC IDEA (North Carolina Innovative Development for Economic
Advancement). It has been an exciting journey the last few years as we’ve grown
quickly and profitably. In three short years Broadwick Corporation has grown
from 2 employees to 25 and from 0 clients to over 4,700. Our goal is to
continue this growth and redefine the one-to-many emarketing communications industry and this investment
will certainly assist us in achieving our goal.

About NC IDEA

NC IDEA provides traditional venture capital as well as grants to seed early stage technology companies in North Carolina. NC IDEA further supports
these companies by leveraging its strong, strategic partnerships and alliances
to help the companies through research phases, business challenges and growth
goals. NC IDEA is committed to supporting North Carolina’s
economic development by ensuring young, innovative companies grow, create jobs
and become contributing business leaders.

Press
You can find additional media coverage from the following sources:

• Triangle Business Journal
• Local Tech Wire
• Tech Journal South
• Carolina Newswire

It’s no secret that we are currently redesigning our user
interface. Our developers, designers, and the rest of the team have been hard
at work since January. It has been a very interesting process and I’ll be sharing much more
as we near the launch later this summer.  One of the primary reasons we decided to
redesign our user interface was the input we have received from our customers. We began seeing trends with many asking the same questions and complaining with
identical issues. Add to it the fact that little thought had
been placed on usability…..Yep, it was time to take action.

So as I mentioned our team has been working for months and this week we put
together a few focus groups and invited several customers to come in and
provide feedback on our work thus far. It was an interesting experience. Being
a web-based company we sit in front our computers each day working on the
latest projects, gathered around a table for an afternoon meeting, and/or
answering emails and phone calls. Rarely do we get a chance to sit down face-to-face
with our users and talk about IntelliContact and their experience using the
application. It was wonderful to hear firsthand their frustrations with the
current interface and listening to their input on how a certain task could be
made easier. We took a lot of notes, received very positive feedback on our
work thus far, and we’re even more excited about the launch! Be sure to stay tuned as I’ll be sharing screenshots, more information on the redesign process, and lessons learned.

I’ve talked about this before and I thought it was worth revisiting.

Starting out our marketing consisted primarily of public relations and that’s
what it took to get our software off the ground. Like many young businesses we
didn’t have excess capital to invest in advertising our software. As we have
grown this has given us the opportunity to invest more in advertising. It reads
a bit like a catch twenty-two, but I have learned that you must establish your
brand, message, and software in the minds of consumers via public relations and
ensure that it remains through advertising.

So here we are knee deep in Web 2.0 and this has never been
more apparent. The web apps that are achieving the greatest success are doing
so with very little invested in marketing. These companies are establishing
themselves in the market by creating a loyal following through public relations.
As marketers it’s a must that we pay close attention and learn from what is
going on around us right now.

From what I have observed I am seeing the current trends in
public relations for these companies that contribute to their success:

• A successful blog: Most, if not all, successful Web 2.0 companies have built a loyal following via their blog. This seems to be the standard public relations tool for Web 2.0.

• Great design: The design of their website and application is always easy on the eyes and usability is never ignored. This is critical in creating PR for their software. If you build
       something that gets people talking they will share their experience with others. Great design and usability can do just that.

• Free version: At the very least you will find a free trial, but typically there is a free, but limited, version of the software that you can use indefinitely. We offer a free trial of our software and it is the perfect ‘door’ in which to welcome customers. They take the software for a ‘test drive’ and if they like it, they buy it, and tell others.

• Fill a niche: Successful Web 2.0 companies fill a niche within the market and cater only to this group. They typically avoid attempting to be everything to everyone. This allows them to be the first or the best to focus solely on a certain niche and can create significant buzz in doing so.

• Small team: Most are made up of teams of no more than ten. I think most of the time this is preferred (ie:five friends get together and build a web app), but a key point worth
       mentioning is this typically results in those who built the application, supporting the application. Who better to answer questions about the way the software works than the person who built it? From a public relations point of view customers can get to know everyone on the team. That’s rapport that can go a long way.

• Reaching out and educating others: One of the best ways they establish a following is by reaching out and educating others. You will see members from these companies speaking at conferences such as South by Southwest and Carson Worskshops, to name a few. Many are also published and have a book that shares their knowledge with others. Keeping your name and face out there helps establish you as an expert in your field and is one of the best ways to build relationships with your customers.

Thinking about the way companies of Web 2.0 market their
software has opened my eyes to the importance of public relations. I once
thought that advertising could do it all. Starting out I thought, “if only I
had ‘x’ amount of capital to purchase this ad we could rake in the customers”.
In retrospect our initial marketing via public relations was critical for us
and laid a solid foundation for all marketing that came afterwards. Al Ries put
it best; “PR builds brands. Advertising maintains brands. Advertising should
not try to put a new idea in the consumer’s mind. Advertising should use ideas
that are already there.”

It takes much more than investing money in advertising your
products to reach the top of your industry. As I’ve learned public relations is
the solid foundation that all other marketing efforts should be built upon.

Tomorrow morning we’re heading to Pinehurst for the 23^rd
Annual Venture 06 Conference hosted by Council for Entrepreneurial Development
(CED). We will be presenting and exhibiting IntelliContact to the venture
capitalists in attendance. We were selected as one of twenty seven companies to
present and exhibit so we’re honored and very excited! You can learn more about CED and
Venture 06 here.