In late 2006 Balusters Direct became a new addition to the specialized home remodeling industry offering to replace your boring, plain wood staircase balusters with beautiful wrought iron designs. They would offer both custom design and installation services that could transform your staircase in as little as 24 hours.

Our Challenge

• The business only had two employees and no recognition.
• They needed a way for consumers to create their own baluster design patterns.
• They needed to be able to update the web site both in written text and design patterns in their gallery.
• The owner already had a full-time job and needed a way to efficiently manage the sales process.

What We Did

We knew based on our research and presented challenges that Balusters Direct needed more than just a web site to showcase their capabilities, they needed a system to manage their business. With that, we set out to create a system that gave them the highest level of flexibility and efficiency and included the following:

• We created a beautiful design that showcased their amazing services through dramatic before and after photos.
• We coupled that design with a content management system that allowed them to make instant updates to the site without the need for a web programmer.
• We constructed a “Custom Baluster Design Builder” application that allowed consumers to create their own baluster design patterns and submit the design for a custom project quote.
• We built a custom quote form for the standard baluster designs that fed the information into the sales management system.
• We installed and configured a customer relationship management (CRM) system that captured all quote requests as leads funneled into an outlined sales process, making the management and processing of sales much easier and more efficient.

The Results

In the first full year of operation, the Balusters Direct web site captured over 380 leads with a value worth over $300,000. The foundation we built with a solid lead capture and sales management system has allowed the business to quickly scale to include new employees, support new geographical markets, and continue to grab new customers.

Charlotte Business Professionals (CBP) initially began as a way for founder Jason McKinstry to find new business opportunities while at his employer, Sogeti, as the Director of Sales. The group was founded on the social networking site for professionals, LinkedIn, as a listed group. It has since blossomed into the largest networking group in the Charlotte, NC area as well as in the top 1% of all non-alumni groups on LinkedIn.

Our Challenge

• The only asset presented at the time was the name of the group.
• The focus was to provide value to the members but there was no developed plan as to how.
• The web tool for the group, with over 3,000 members at the time, needed to be scalable and easy to manage with minimal support.

What We Did

This challenging project presented many opportunities to provide value and was delivered as follows:

• We developed a strategic outline as to what capabilities should be available to provide the most value to the members with the smallest requirement of administrative support.
• We constructed a web portal built on a powerful content management system that allowed the management of all members and content.
• The selected functionality we built into the system included:
  • Member registration and management
  • Member submitted informational articles complete with the ability to post comments
  • Event listings and registration including online payment processing via PayPal
  • Discussion forum allowing members to ask questions, discuss topics, and connect
  • Photo gallery to share pictures of events
  • Job listing board where members could post available positions
  • Business directory providing listings of member businesses
  • And an ad management system to post ads from member businesses

The Results

CBP has become recognized as a powerful force in the Charlotte business community and the events attract fantastic speakers and hundreds of attendees. The web portal now boasts over 1,000 active participants on the site and growing (with now over 5,000 members in the group) posting articles, job positions, photos, business listings, and conversing in the discussion forum; all of this being managed by two individuals using a simple administrative tool.

Faith, Hope, Adoption (FHA) is a 501c3 non-profit organization that helps prospective parents navigate the adoption process. Through their developed curriculum, Adoption Discovery, FHA is able to help individuals learn how to potentially adopt a child within 9 months and for as little as $0.

Our Challenge

• There was already a simple web site constructed for AdoptionDiscovery.org and FHA wanted to reuse the design.
• The organization needed a way to locate, inform, and capture interested individuals who desired to become a trainer.
• The organization had minimal staff attempting to support over 15 educated trainers with no central location for materials and information.
• Each trainer needed to be able to promote their training events and track who was attending.
• Participants needed access to class information and scheduling to know when and where training sessions were being held.

What We Did

We knew the project was going to require a little bit of back-stepping and quite a bit of planning, so working with the FHA team we were able to complete the following:

• We deconstructed the initial AdoptionDiscovery.org site and recoded the design to be used in the new site.
• We outlined and built the process for creating trainer and participant accounts.
• We created a custom solution that allowed trainers to post training events and capture registration information from participating attendees.
• We created a custom solution for class attendees to get materials and information.
• We built custom web forms to create a lead capture program that sent FHA data about interested trainers, attendees, and potential adopting parents.

The Results

FHA now has over 30 active trainers teaching the Adoption Discovery curriculum with over 150 sessions being held in 15 states from Florida to Wisconsin. The whole system supporting this vast network is still managed by only two individuals.

Covenant Community Church (C3) focuses on helping individuals create powerful relationships with God and with their fellow man.

Our Challenge

• The ministry came to us simply with a name and needed us to create the rest, including a logo, web site, and print materials.
• The ministry wanted to make the web site the foundational tool for getting their message out to the community.
• The web site would be updated often with new content, multimedia files, and a list of events.
• The site needed to require only minimal support to operate.

What We Did

Through several rounds of strategic planning and preparation we were able to create the following tools for C3:

• We designed a logo to represent the ministry for use on any digital or physical materials.
• We created a simple, yet aesthetically appealing design for the overall site.
• We installed and configured a feature-rich content management system to handle all updates without the need for a web programmer.
• We developed custom animation for the home page to highlight special messages to visitors.
• We installed and configured a multimedia player and photo gallery to promote audio files and display pictures of events.

The Results

C3 has continued to grow with the web site being cited often as the starting point of the journey for the many visitors and members of the ministry. The site now powers the pastor’s blog, the multiple internal ministries, and functions as the central tool to learn about ministry events.

Co-tenancy Track has developed the first ever web-based tool to manage co-tenancy contracts for the retail industry. It has essentially created the market for this type of solution and is pushing to be the premier provider of co-tenancy solutions to the commercial real estate and retail industry.

Our Challenge

• The company came to us with a logo and needed not only a web site, but a custom hosting platform to support their new web-based software.
• The web site needed to be simple and yet effective in communicating the value of the software service.
• The web site needed to be able to capture leads into the Salesforce.com sales management system.

What We Did

With in-depth research into the requirements of the software and the goals of the organization, we provided the following:

• We created a simple design that was very clean in presenting information and easy to navigate.
• We created simple lead capture forms for demo requests and contact requests.
• We integrated those forms into the Salesforce.com sales management system to automate the capture and processing of prospective leads.
• We researched, located, and assisted in the contracting of a high-end data center to provide custom hosting of the software application.

The Results

Within the first month of launching this recently released site, the company enjoyed receiving its first round of leads and continues to receive new leads and recognition on an on-going basis.

Gregory Grier, Inc. is a leading commercial furniture dealer in Charlotte, North Carolina offering the best in office furniture and equipment, interior design services, installation and warehousing.

Our Challenge

• The new design needed to communicate high-end quality to match the high-end products and services provided.
• The new site should be able to support routine updates without the need for a web programmer.
• The new site needed to highlight selected products from the different lines of products carried.

What We Did

Starting from a series of strategic planning sessions, our outlined goals led us to develop the following:

• We created a simple design that was very clean and easy to navigate.
• Animation for the navigation was included to reinforce the high-end styling.
• We installed and connected a content management system to support the ability to post routine updates.
• We developed a photo slideshow that highlighted product lines from each category of offerings.

The Results

Since the launch of the new website, Gregory Grier has seen a significant increase in traffic to their website as well as to their services. The website now functions as the primary tool to communicate new information and offerings.