Benefits

• Revenues increase when news about the organization’s services reaches a large audience
• Costs of printing and mailing paper fliers eliminated
• Timely information about services and schedules reaches a wide public instantly

Challenge

A major Midwestern university’s student union relied on brochures and word-of-mouth to promote its catering and rental facilities, but was finding it difficult to advertise its frequently changing, event-driven services. Printing and distribution costs were excessive.

Student union management considered an internet solution. A web site can be updated easily and frequently, making last-minute schedule changes quick to do. It also eliminates printing and mailing costs and reaches a larger market, something a traditional mailing list could never offer. But the union hesitated. The managers wanted their site to be professional looking and reliable because it was, after all, a reflection of their services. They knew that the creation of such a site would take time and technical savvy, two things they lacked.

Stratagem's Solution

Stratagem’s web-design team was able to supply the many skills needed to establish a quality web presence: graphic design, file-format conversion, the establishment of standards, and effective copywriting that really sells. The union did not have to solve the technical issues that go with hosting a site as well as the usability and navigation challenges that are key to the design of a good web page.

Once the initial site was complete – ahead of schedule – the union felt ready to assume more ownership. Stratagem trained a student union employee to update the content. This let them make changes themselves, without spending money on outside vendors. They learned that with the right authoring tool, content updates can be as easy as typing text in a word processor. They felt empowered and in control of their site, without having to adopt any real technical expertise.

Result

Stratagem guided the union through the complex process of launching a professional web site and gave them the knowledge they needed to maintain the site themselves. The union promoted its event-driven services to a wide audience without breaking the budget and eliminated all its printing and mailing hassles. Best of all, the union’s visibility, and business volume, increased as a result of the new exposure.