Stories Behind the Code

My love for web design and internet marketing isn't about the code used to build a web site or the details that go into creating a Twitter account or the keywords people use to find a site in the search engines. 

It's the stories behind the code. My clients stories.

I got to thinking about this because when people ask me why I love my job so much I tell them it's because I love helping my client's use the Internet to solve or improve business-related challenges. I love a good challenge. I'm competitive, but not in the way of bigger house, nicer cars-kind of way. 

I love seeing the underdog win. The smaller company beating out the large company in their search engine rankings. The smaller company appearing to be larger by the design of their web site. The smaller company embracing Twitter without having to jump through hoops to get a corporate-level executive to give the go ahead. The smaller company whose budget is a fraction of the large one and who still gets the message out.

It's also about solving the business problems. 

In the past few months I've helped create Internet-based solutions for my client's faced with the following challenges:

• Utilized web site to help distribute information about the H1N1 (Swine Flu). Traffic spiked over 500%.

• Helped redesign a woman-owned business's web site, whose company is growing by leaps and bounds, and the new site has to improve customer experience, increase conversions (buyers), and improve marketing reach through social media, email marketing, and blogs. 

• Started managing and fixing problems to a medical practice's web site after an "impressive, expensive, and seemingly knowledgeable" - Boston-based web design firm redesigned their web site which ended in search engine results tanking and substantial business lost.

• Convinced an apartment complex owner that it's time for a redesign, especially, now that GlobalFoundries has broken ground in Malta. We're also setting up a blog for the office to communicate with the residents to reduce the cost of the paper-based newsletter.

• Providing affordable SEO and Google Adwords expertise to a small husband and wife team whose business has dropped by 50% in this economy. They don't know if their business will survive, but I'll do my part to help.

• Donated a web site to a non-profit who helps pay the bills for families of severely ill children whose web site was in desperate need of a makeover to help increase donations. I provided them with a reasonable quote, but their board turned it down because half of them thought the money should only be spent on helping the children. You have to spend money to make money, so I donated the web site because I believed in their cause.

• And the award goes to...Provided a $100 solution to a non-profit client whose web design firm quoted them $15,000 for similar work. The firm wasn't familiar with my solution and responded with, "good find."

It's these stories that drive me to do the very best for each and every client because I love using technology to help people.

How has technology improved your business challenges? Leave a comment and tell me your story. 

If there's a business challenge you think I can help you solve, give me a call at 518.439.5516.