This one is extra special for me and the Dude, as it was at BCC that we first met… I was a rookie youth director, and Dude was this budding superstar-wiseacre-student with whom I formed a most indelible bond.  We made a ton of great memories back in the day, largely thanks to the love and support of the good folks at BCC.

Today’s launch marks somewhat of a “homecoming” for us, as we get to jump back into the middle of this cool project with wonderful people who have woven themselves into the tapestry of our lives from the word go.  In addition to giving us the opportunity to design the new website, the Brookwood Covenant leadership team has asked us to provide creative direction for several cool new projects this year.  We couldn’t be more excited!

*For a quick guided tour of the site (and to be entered to win some great prizes, including a Kindle, Dinner, and Movie Tickets), check out the Brookwood Covenant Church Scavenger Hunt.

What does all that mean for you?

It means that the strategic creation and placement of video assets will be the most important marketing objective for many years to come.  Coupled with major advances in mobile technology, the value of online video is now perceived as being as strong as TV (and with a built-in ability to be shared and propelled forward virally), while being significantly cheaper to produce.

Perhaps you’ve got your 2012 spend all ready to go, filled to the brim with the standard search, banner ads, classifieds, directories, email, and sponsorships that you’ve come to know so well all these years.  But have you started thinking yet about how to get on board the video crazy train?  Lecompton Alternate can consult with you to develop an online video strategy that will really get you cookin’, and sellin’…like hotcakes.

Layouts & CSS – Far beyond simply ensuring that your site looks good in all major browsers, now the concern has to be “does the site translate correctly on varying hardware +  x software configurations + y screen resolutions + z horizontal AND vertical landscape orientation.  Styling rules just got a LOT more sophisticated…

The Fold is Dead! – The aesthetic of the tablet requires that content be fully in the view frame with a minimum of tactile tweaking required to take it all in.  “Scrolling” on a tablet makes absolutely no sense. It’s designed for quick delivery of smaller content chunks leading to a click or a page turn.  “Thank you, Fold. That’ll do.  Pick up your check at the door.”

Finger Poppin’ Good – In a world where minimize, maximize, click and turn calls will all be made by human appendages, a completely different set of design parameters will be required to make the user experience a satisfying one.  Sites designed to be interfaced via good old fashioned point & click devices must now be re-imagined for the ubiquitous tablet user who will be experiencing it (largely) with his/her fingers.

It’s invigorating to see such a sweeping shift in design requirements for the cool new tools that are coming our way.  Are you using a tablet yet?  If not, do you think you will at some point?  And if you already are, what has your user experience been thus far?

It was around 1991 or so. We were driving the Kansas Turnpike from Lawrence back to Topeka when we were literally struck by it. We’d driven under that confounded bridge possibly hundreds of times…but this time…we BOTH saw it at the SAME TIME: The Lecompton Alternate. Not your ordinary “driving under a bridge” occurrence, one of us looked at the other and said, “That would be an awesome name for a band.” And it would have been, although in subsequent days it became something much more.

Neither of us had any idea why something as nondescript as a block-painted name on an old bypass would take on such a transformative significance. It was as if “The Alternate” had been there forever just waiting to be discovered…the object never before truly “known” that suddenly took on a life of its own.   And thereafter, no matter how engaged we might be in conversation, or the music, or our own thoughts, we’d find our gaze locking on the letters “Lecompton Alternate” each and every time we passed under that bridge, in an act of mystical acknowledgement.

For us, “The Alternate” represents the magic in truly seeing something in a different way…of honoring details that might have otherwise gone unnoticed and giving them power…and of taking the road less traveled.

I remember well the spring I turned six years old. It was about the same time my Dad bought my Mother a brand new Singer sewing machine. You may conclude from that statement that my Mother was a seamstress, or at the very least, someone who had a talent with needle and thread.

You would be wrong, my friend. The reality was that Mother believed if only she had a sewing machine, she could unleash her inner-designer and save money by churning out everything from drapes to tablecloths to ridiculously fashionable clothing for her young (helpless) daughter.

Cut to me going to school every day for a month in triangle-shaped tops made exclusively from kitchen towels.

I’m not making that up. If I stood motionless anywhere near a refrigerator, you couldn’t see me. It was kitchen camo.
In my Mother’s defense, she thought her designs were trendy and that I was a lucky girl because who wouldn’t want to move about first grade completely swathed in terry cloth.

If you’re starting an online store, or God forbid your Mother is starting an online kitchen-apparel store, I want to tell you what I wish someone had been brave enough to tell the woman who gave birth to me (and who is therefore legally entitled to my forgiveness).
You are not a designer. Even though you’ve seen websites and you’ve shopped on websites, and yes – even though you have experimented in Dreamweaver and you know what the letters HTML actually stand for, no my friend. YOU ARE NOT A WEB DESIGNER.

Starting an online store should be a proud moment for you. You are a business person – an entrepreneur, after all. A homemade website is every bit as embarrassing for your brand as being caught in the rain in my homemade shirts were to me. Was I more absorbent than any other kid I knew? Of course I was. But in kids’ clothing design and in web design, it’s best to stick to the professionals.

PS: Mother eventually stopped making my clothes, but only because she ran her own index finger right through the machine. A trip to the doctor to have a needle removed (thankfully) put a damper on her dreams of becoming a design star.

So how do you accomplish the task of breaking through? Two important values to get radar-lock on that can truly differentiate you from the rest of the pack are “Quality” and “Service.” Especially if there are already two or more of you vying to gain a foothold in the local space, learning to be proactive in your approach to quality customer service and support will get you farther – faster – than just about any other strategy.

It’s a given in today’s business world that effectively managing your “digital footprint” has to be a primary consideration, not an afterthought.  Customers have come to expect that their needs can and should be served to their utmost satisfaction (and in realtime), and your failure to get on the right side of that expectation can lead to extensive damage.  Putting the right mix of CRM (customer relationship management) tools in place to manage your company’s reputation is now a prerequisite. Becoming adept at engaging customers in the “pre-engagement phase” where they are first becoming acquainted with you is vital. And, finding creative and consistent ways to “keep the conversation going” with your customers once they’ve found you is more important than ever before.

Below are Ten Tips to proactively engage your customers and effectively elevate your company buzz above the competition:

1. AUTHENTICITY – Customers want to know that you are genuine, and that you care about them well beyond just earning the sale. Is that coming across?
2. WHY SO SERIOUS? – Avoid coming across as too tightly wound. Have FUN with your customers, and use humor when you engage them in digital conversations.
3. THINGS WILL BREAK – When they do, handle criticism with respect, patience and a spirit of exceeding expectations in the resolution.
4. CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT – Personal and creative “touches” will get you remembered. How can you engage customers in ways your competitors have never tried?
5. STAY ACTIVE – Don’t be insular – create as many “feedback loops” for your customers as you can consistently manage, then rely on what you can learn!
6. REGULAR, NOT ROUTINE – Set regular “random” opportunities to reach out via email, survey, newsletter, contest, social media, mobile campaign, etc.
7. EVERYONE LOVES SURPRISES – Surprise your customers once a month. Remind them that YOU are the leader in your niche (even if you’re not just yet).
8. HELP WANTED – Reward the “detail-oriented” customers as they help you make your product better by finding mistakes, bugs or inconsistencies.
9. BE STRETCHED – Realize that “creative” customers may find better ways of using your products & services than you’d imagined. Encourage them to share.
10. ARMY OF ADVOCATES – Your customers are your greatest brand ambassadors. Do right by them, and there’s no stopping the wave of mutual goodwill.

We know, we know…you’re still trying to recover from the shocking news that Adobe will no longer support Flash for mobile devices. Maybe you’re scratching your head over why yet another shift in standards is occurring when XHTML seemed so good. Well, here are five reasons why you may want to take a serious look at committing your next web project to HTML5.

1. Everyone else is headed that way!

Not to be shallow, but who among us is brave enough to take a divergent path away from the one already embraced by Google, Apple and Microsoft…and a host of other notable designers, software developers and manufacturers.

2. Rank higher, better and faster

As HTML5 evolves, it will only help the search engines to parse content that much more effectively. With tags that are shorter and specific to the type of content being served, the Google & Co. spiders will have a lot less difficulty trying to figure out what us designers meant.

3. Sweet New Functionality

Great features are already available, like editable content, built-in form validation, local storage, placeholders, auto-focus, and audio/video playback without plug-ins to name a few. Count on hundreds of new features and additions springing up as more developers make the jump across the fence in the months ahead.

4. There’s No Reason to Wait!

The major browsers all do just fine supporting HTML5. Right now. So, no need to cling to the older standard(s) for fear it is going to cost big money to make the change.

5. Greater Accessibility and Cooperation

HTML5 is poised to minimize the “development distance” between the browser-based and mobile worlds, and that’s good news for everyone.

So there it is. We’ve seen the future HTML5 is delivering…and it is going to be VERY GOOD.

1. Windows is Dying
2. Index search has peaked (sorry, Google)
3. Apps beat Web
4. HTML5 changes it all
5. Tablets win big
6. Social platforms set

According to McNamee, we’re on the verge of a major “jump ball” that will see agile competitors moving in on the space enterprise software giants like Microsoft have controlled for so long.  Even Google will have to keep adapting as its bread and butter (indexed search) continues to level off.

Apple is touted for its ability to transform the marketplace for apps, and also for leading the way in tablet design – one of the major keys to creating the new ubiquitous future we’re all primed for.  The HTML5 framework will be the key to creating simple-yet-sophisticated sites with high-level embedded functionality, easily as functional, useful  and enjoyable on a mobile device as on the home desktop. Oh, and “Facebook is the new Microsoft.”

Bottom line: “Imagine a world in which everything is an app.”

Now, we’re not really sure how it happened that apparently all the restaurants and bars in the world got together and formed a union specifying that their establishments could best be served by outrageous Flash-based websites that make trying to find a simple location or a menu an exercise in futility.

Seriously, people…what is WITH this niche? We believe it’s time to stop the “Flashy” madness.

1) Show me the passion – It’s no accident that people love shows about food and the charismatic personalities who create it.  If a website can effectively convey that passion, I am hooked. But mistaking “passion” for “motion” with your wacky Flash intro – accompanied by horrid accompanying sound file – is a huge mistake…and a missed opportunity.  Show me images…delight me with video…put the experience of dining with you in the forefront of my senses!

2) Where the heck are you?  I can’t fathom how restaurants and bars miss this all-important component.  Sometimes the location just isn’t there at all. Others, the hours aren’t listed. More often, these critical details are buried in some odd place or an obscure map plug-in leaves me weeping.  And speaking of being found, why doesn’t your restaurant show up in a Google search? Oy!

3) Waddya got – and what’s your specialty? This one’s easy – “Menu please.” Every third or fourth restaurant site I look at is missing this vital information.  Sure, I can look it up on Yelp…but why not entice me while I’m here…you know…on your website?

Enter your cousin Alex.  Though he may be far from a wunderkind, Alex has demonstrated his ability to make pretty passable websites for his friends and family. Best part is that he works fast and is super cheap. As you currently find yourself out of budget and already way behind schedule, Alex looks on paper to be your very best option.  And so, off you go, with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

It’s a common scenario, but one that we hope you avoid.  Whatever you may think you stand to gain from your cousin’s rock bottom pricing and high availability, chances are good you’ll actually be “losing” the very first time a potential customer comes to your site.

Great website design begins with thorough strategic planning and puts laser-focus on the conversion metrics you hope to achieve.  Way beyond just a digital calling card, your website needs to function as a powerful portal through which “conversations” can readily occur with your customers.  Has your cousin adequately taken the “5 Cs” into consideration?

• Consistent – the look & feel of the entire site must faithfully represent your brand
• Clean – strict adherence to web standards and optimized for your market niche
• Confident – proper establishment of your company “voice” with clear calls to action
• Continuous – CMS, link building, design updates…who is minding the store?
• Creative – what you put in – from a content perspective – is THE most important part.