Enabling Technology Services Marketers Through Effective Content Management
Background
Apogee had outgrown its website. The existing site was dated and used by the sales team as a brochure rather than a proactive sales tool. While the company had been comfortable building market share for years, the new CEO and CTO had a vision for expanded services that the marketing team was excited to implement.
Problem
The existing site required developers to make more than the most fundamental changes and improvements. The site structure and IA were not intuitive, making it difficult for users to discover key content. The Homepage didn’t clarify who they are and what they do. While quality resources existed in the insight section, the site didn’t provide tools to make it easy for visitors to find relevant content. Overall, the site was hampered by ineffective tools and baked-in practices that didn’t meet current marketing standards.
Solution
We first tackled information architecture (IA) work, collaborating with the Apogee marketing team to determine a better way to structure site content. After establishing a structure we believed would accommodate growth in the mid-term, we considered what the marketing team would need to pivot this structure in the future.
From a design perspective, we wanted to represent Apogee authentically as an IT support organization that actually cares about its clients, employees, and community relationships. Beyond this, it had to demonstrate the expertise and credibility they have worked hard to establish over the years.
Finally, we tackled the technical challenge of creating a content management system (CMS) that would allow the marketing team to be more self-sufficient. We implemented CMS controls to enable the team to choose their destiny, including layout tools across the site, a sortable and filterable resource library, and case studies to showcase their successes.
Outcomes
Mission accomplished. The marketing team is more empowered than ever with the power tools they need to grow the business. They have flexible layouts for every page with a full block editor implementation and custom blocks at their fingertips. Their resource library is easy to manage, making it easy for administrators to focus on creating valuable content. Landing pages are housed in a dedicated section for easy management. SEO controls are self-managed, allowing for fine-tuning and implementing organic search strategies. The team continues to build upon the company’s reputation in the marketplace, establishing thought leadership in content marketing and showcasing Apogee’s unique expertise in higher education IT solutions. We are excited to continue working with Apogee as we make significant progress toward their marketing vision.
