June 2010
Ebiz Products, LLC   •   1855 Air Lane Dr.   •   Nashville, TN   •   888-496-8180

YOUR WEBSITE AS A SYSTEM

Have you revisited your Website lately? 

I mean, have you really viewed it with a critical eye?  What does it say to you?  More importantly, what might it be saying to your Site visitors?  “Wow!, high-tech, friendly, professional, thought-provoking, informative… makes-you-want-to-stay-there??” OR, is the message, “Out-dated, lack-luster, Where’s the beef? NEXT!...??”

Your Website is one of the most powerful tools—most powerful SYSTEMS—
for MARKETING your business!

It’s likely THE most important source of information about WHO and WHAT you are—your products and services; your company’s emphasis on quality, integrity, reliability and excellence.
 
In November, 2009 I took a long hard look at our System100.com Website and—after the cheers and “It’s-about-time!”s (from just about everyone I know) had subsided—we began the process of reskinning  our Site. Target date for launch: mid-February, 2010.

Yes, we turned to our systems to come up with a plan! For us, that meant creating a DETAILED CHECKLIST that included every facet of the project to be sure our use of time, personnel and resources was kept to a low roar, and that nothing was overlooked.

The Reconstruction Team

By the time we committed to rebuilding the Site, I had a pretty good idea of who and what skills would be needed to put our best face—our brand—out there for all the world to see. 

I highly recommend finding people inside your organization who are strongly motivated by your product(s) or message—creative people, artistic, innovative, idea-driven, and with a fair amount of computer-savvy. Great, if you already have some on-site who are skilled in graphic design and copy writing!  Our cost was kept to a minimum using a cohesive in-house team, coordinating with our IT guy.  The project I had dreaded becoming a long and tedious undertaking, actually turned out to be something of an adventure!

Old Website Evaluation

As we began, I asked each team member to evaluate (scrutinize) the existing Website, one page/ section/ item/ menu/ graphic/ hyperlink/ color/ flash/ word/ fact, etc., at a time — to determine what needed to be updated, edited, added, enhanced, or eliminated. 

Some questions we asked ourselves about our Website:

• Does it exactly represent what our business, product, message is about?
Is it interesting enough to help us in “selling” our product or message?
Is it visually eye-catching?
Is it long on flash, but short on informative content?
Does it need more flash?
Is the content provocative enough to hold a visitor’s attention?
Is it educational?
Is it easy to navigate—is it “friendly?”
Is it technically on par with other Websites?
Does it convey to our visitors how important they are to our business?
Is the copy written in concise, well-worded text—no typos?
Is our information honest, current, easy to access?

New Site Planning

Next, we brought all our ideas together to determine the visual and verbal statement we wanted to make with the NEW Site—what elements to include that would take it to the next level. We discovered along the way that a Website can be turned into an amazing tool, using some fairly simple techniques.

New Site Checklist

Once we had a plan and a target completion date, we developed a detailed checklist of all the steps in the process, including the elements in design and content of the new Site. We would check off each item as it was completed.  

We mapped out the entire process of rebuilding—conceptualizing the look and message of the new Site, and determining who would lead in accomplishing the various tasks to bring it all together. By the time it would go live, we would check and recheck, proof and re-proof, think and rethink every detail of our new Website—the marketing tool that would present our brand to Site visitors.  

As we neared completion of the project, we were able to bring in three senior Marketing students from Vanderbilt University who gave us some excellent  marketing suggestions for the Site, as well as some tips on the latest technologies. The entire project was accomplished using a Control Checklist. Nothing was done haphazardly, nothing left to chance, and nothing forgotten.  Each member of our team had a say in the final design and copy, and the results were a unanimous, “Yesss!!”
 
We were excited and proud to see our new System100.com Website go online—February 15, 2010.  Of course, we’re all about continual improvement, so we look forward to any of your comments, at any point.

Most Important...

We hope the MESSAGE we systematically crafted into our Site is clear and beneficial to other businesses.  Simply stated:

Chaos does not need to be accepted as “normal” in your business! System100™ is totally unique business process management software designed to eliminate re-work, bottlenecks, chaos and other forms of waste—to bring order to any type or size company in just a matter of months. System100™ includes a company Operations Manual; also a special tool we call the “System Buster locator” that is used to identify, and find the root cause of, non-conforming (system-busting) events, and to eliminate them permanently so you—the business owner/manager—can gain time for more important things. System100™ empowers everyone in your organization to be involved in correcting and improving your business systems as a team—and guarantees leaner, more sustainable processes.

Great Systems Work—even when reskinning your Website! 

SYSTEM100 ONSITE CONSULTING OPTION

We now offer a hands-on, onsite service option! 

Representatives of System100™—including Philip Beyer—are now available for 2-5 day visits to client facilities, to assist client management teams with hands-on implementation.

Onsite services include:  Quality and Service Control Checklists; Position documentation (Job Descriptions, Daily Routine Checklists, Sub-systems/ procedures); PowerPoint presentation seminars for management; group or individual hands-on training with a System100™ specialist; introduction to the “100% System of Cleanliness” (5S); plus a companywide overview meeting with Philip Beyer or another System100™ representative.  Fees vary, depending on desired services, number of days involved, and 1-3 representatives requested. 
 
Let us help you on-site as you integrate System100™ into your company processes.  Contact us at
ask@ebizproducts.com or call Ebiz Products in Nashville at (615) 425-2652 / toll free 888-496-8180.