You may be able to wait until your next wireless upgrade to indulge in the latest and greatest, but that doesn’t mean your website should!
Making smart, proactive updates to your site will keep you from getting left in the dust and extend the longevity of your site. At Imarc we stand behind our sites and are committed to post-launch client support.
‘Supporting’ the Client
Three years ago Imarc took a strong approach to customer support, bringing on dedicated support engineers and designers. As the department grew and took shape, we realized one problem - the word ‘support’.
All too often I would follow up with clients who had made requests to their project manager for site updates; and the client’s response would be, “You know, I thought about sending this to support, but nothing was broken. I need a new tool/feature/content updates/etc.”
Support carries the negative connotation that something is broken and needs to be fixed. A well-supported site is not just about keeping it up and running, it's about keeping it evolving and improving. That’s when we realized our focus shouldn’t be simply reacting to requests but providing continuous and proactive service that keeps our sites fully optimized. From there, Client Services was born.
Taking Advantage of Your Retainer
Imarc offers a 1-hour retainer with all of our hosting packages. Each month we offer clients 1-hour of work from any of our departments covered by the cost of hosting. While many of our clients take advantage of this time, many don’t.
There’s a variety of updates and upgrades that can be tackled within an hour: new homepage banners, updated content or fresh imagery are quick updates that can make a big difference to returning visitors. The goal is to have your site look and function better than the last time a user visited. Don’t worry, your retainer can be used for more than just site updates! Take advantage of your 1-hour by requesting analytics reports or Content Management System (CMS) tutorials for new team members.
Going Beyond Your Retainer
Client Services is here to help you tackle every project, large or small! If you find yourself consistently making copy updates to the same page, we can develop an editor tool. Don’t have a site search, we can add it!
There are all kinds of small to medium tasks that can make a big difference:
- Reorganizing or reducing your navigation can improve your site usability;
- Updating the look of your homepage will keep you looking current;
- Or even a new email newsletter template will give your users a refreshed experience.
If you’re constantly using a large number of hours each month, a larger maintenance retainer may benefit you. Imarc offers quarterly retainers at a discounted rate in addition to the hosting retainer.
We’ll Reach Out to You
It’s time for a two-way conversation! We realize all these ideas may sound great, but it’s not always top of mind. We’ve got our pulse on industry trends and what’s hot, and we’re going to bring that to you.
For example, we're in the process of auditing all of the sites we host that aren't currently running HTTPS. Come October, Google Chrome - today's most popular browser - will display an insecure warning on all sites not running HTTPS. We'll be reaching out to these clients to inform them of this change, educated them on the different security options available and get them up and running on HTTPS.
This proactive approach avoids the alarm on the client end, suddenly seeing that their site is insecure, and most importantly ensures the site appears reputable and trustworthy to visitors.
We’ll also be sending quarterly newsletters with the lowdown on new technologies and trends as well as personal outreaches with tailored ideas for your site. Personally, after three years at Imarc I look forward to building stronger relationships with our clients and continuing our commitment to innovation.
If you have any questions on how your retainer works or would like more information on any of the improvements mentioned here, drop me a line at clientservices@imarc.com.
I'm excited to connect with those of you I've have yet to meet, and for those who know me through support, allow me to reintroduce myself :)
-Victoria Andersen, Client Services Manager
