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Helping a Leading Software Company Convert Web Prospects into Customers

Datatel is a leading provider of information management software to higher education institutions. Over 600 colleges and universities throughout the United States use its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to integrate applications for managing information about students, finances, financial aid, human resources, and advancement. In response to increasingly tight IT budgets and rising competitive pressures in its core market, Datatel asked NavigationArts to help increase sales effectiveness by evaluating and enhancing its online sales approach.

In order to develop a Web strategy that would help Datatel reach its ambitious business goals, NavigationArts first needed to understand how Datatel was currently using the Web to support its sales objectives. Through a site audit, NavigationArts was able to understand that the existing site was far better structured to service existing customers than new prospects. Specifically, the site lacked adequate systems to capture prospect identification and funnel that data to the appropriate sales contact. Using Datatel's intimate understanding of the higher education marketplace and the sales cycle for the purchase of ERP systems, the NavigationArts team reconfigured the site's content into sales-focused messaging targeted specifically to the crucial decision makers and influencers over software purchases.

Project elements and results included:

• A Web strategy incorporating a public marketing website, a secure sales website for qualified prospects, and a customer service website to promote the mission of sales
• A wide-ranging creative exploration of several user interface models
• User testing of interfaces with representative audiences of customers and prospects
• Collaboration to ensure alignment with Datatel’s offline marketing strategy
• Close cooperation with Datatel’s technical team to maintain compliance with existing CMS and CRM systems

Client reaction:

"Working with the professionals at NavigationArts was a pleasure," noted Jayne Edge, Datatel's senior vice president for marketing. "They were able to quickly understand our needs and guide us through a complicated process with great efficiency. Their level of strategic thinking and quality of architecture and design is unmatched."