Archive for June, 2008 « Return to all articles

Why do small businesses skimp on the important foundations of their business plan?

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Everyone knows that the foundation of your business is your company’s brand—it will be posted on everything from business cards to the corporate website, company letterhead to marketing campaigns. Without a strong foundation who will identify you over your competitors? 

Large companies like Apple and BMW know the role a solid brand plays in the attainment of business success. I have had the pleasure to work for companies like Sears and Remax, both of which put serious efforts behind their brands and subsequently found success in their respective industries. 

But I also have worked for companies that have not branded themselves or have failed to settle on one coherent brand direction. Those companies are still the same size if not smaller today. Companies that have formed a solid brand are much stronger with their customer relations and their employee foundations. Below are some objections I have heard over time and some solutions to branding your company’s foundation to reinforce your solid business plan.
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Posted in Business Strategy | Comments

Design Guidelines for an Effective Landing Page – 8 To Be Exact

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Certain people have a keen way of just saying what they mean and others insist on guiding you through a crafted journey that ultimately persuades the same conclusion. At Rise, we’re the latter. We thrive on the journey the user takes and we feed off our ability to provide well crafted ethical persuasions. At heart, we side with our form in the proverbial debate that is: content vs. form. On a long day of code munching and laffy taffy use, knowing that our well tailored path (or form) is the ultimate contributor in a successful conversion, truly makes the invasive sugary goo in the back of our mouths that much sweeter.

But how do we really do it?

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Posted in Book Review, Search Marketing | Comments

Wanna Be On Top?

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

In a world of e-revolution, where electronic store fronts are taking a competitive marketing approach, your organic internet search placement is becoming crucial for success. A normal query on a search engine often turns up hundreds if not thousands of matching web pages and only ten matches are displayed on the first page — are you in the top ten?

If you’re not in position one on the first page, third or fourth can be just as beneficial. Of course the higher your site is positioned, the higher its exposure and opportunities for capturing visits from engaged customers. Top ranking gets an estimated 56% of the clicks from searches. Second and third place get about 14% and 12% respectively. It pays to be number one.

As we all know, there is no Search Engine Optimization (SEO) formula for placement, just methods to follow to beat out your competition and obtain higher rankings.

Steps to Success in Search Engines

There are many steps to getting top placement online. 

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Posted in Search Marketing | Comments

Rise serves up a brand new site for startup HospitalitySteward.com

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

We’re delighted to be contracted to build a new website portal for the hospitality industry called HospitalitySteward.com.

We’ll be building the brand identity, web design and custom web application programming to bring the entire site to life.

Posted in Signed | Comments

The Real Work Begins When the Website is Launched

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

Consider the time and dedication NASA puts toward preparing the space shuttle for its next mission. Months of research, planning, and prep to get all the details in place for a flawless launch. It’s launch day and the countdown is on…5…4…3…2..LIFTOFF!

You can hear the hi-five’s sparking all around the control center. Then the director announces over the loud speaker, “Okay everyone, great job…have a good night!”

Say what? 
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Posted in Interaction Design | Comments