Is your web site streamlining your business?

A few months ago I met with Kevin Shaw, the Director of Marketing of The Wieland-Davco Corporation, a construction management firm based in Lansing, Michigan, to discuss how their web site can help streamline their business processes.

A couple weeks later, we implemented a solution that is saving them time and improving their customer relationships as well as their bottom-line.

In this write-up we will (1) review a few concepts for identifying a likely process, (2) address the need for a decision, and (3) look over an example and (4) a question and answer session with Kevin Shaw.

Identify processes to bring to the web

Key concepts for identifying a process:

1. The process should involve communication.
2. The process should happen in a predictable manner.
3. The process should happen at predictable times.

Make a decision

After identifying a process, think through what will happen when the process hits the web. How will it change what happens now? List benefits; list drawbacks. Deliberate on the decision, but don't stall on the deliberations.

Some of the best results are received with fairly small processes. These are usually quick to implement, and when done right, they can bring in great value.

Example: An ISO-9001 required survey

In the case of the Wieland-Davco Corporation, we identified a process that they use to maintain their ISO-9001 Quality Management Certification: after every completed project they have their customers respond to a survey that rates the project on many aspects.

We built the new system to be a single-page web survey that allowed for comments on every survey question. When a customer finishes a project, Wieland-Davco sends them an email with the web address. The customers' responses are emailed to Kevin Shaw as the Director of Marketing.

Q & A with Kevin Shaw

I asked Kevin some questions regarding this project. A Q & A of that discussion follows.

EIC: How did you use this form before? Was it filled out over the phone, in person, email?

KS: Before the online version, we asked customers to fill out a hard copy. It was somewhat of a pain, becuase we had to mail it or e-mail it to them, they had to fill it out and then mail it or fax it back. The on-line version gives the customer an incentive to do it right now, quickly with the hit of a few buttons.

EIC: After having received feedback through the new web version, do you think you've received information that you wouldn't have otherwise? What about the quality of the information?

KS: I think we have gotten a higher response due to the on-line survey. There were two customers who were dragging their feet with the hard copy version, but they quickly filled out the on-line version once they saw how easy it was.

EIC: What are your thoughts on the process of getting feedback now? Is it more or less streamlined? Is more or less time being spent on getting this feedback?

KS: All I do is send out an e-mail with the link, and I promise them they can do it in less than 10 minutes. Everyone has Internet access, so this is a real plus.

EIC: In what ways are you using the information that you've received?

KS: The results of the first twelve replies graphed and then put into a Power Point presentation. I presented the data at our quarterly employee meetings. Management loved it, and the employees enjoyed the feedback, both good and bad. Also, Our ISO auditor was very impressed with the results. Finally, I am having a meeting today with an owner who was not completely satisfied, unbeknownst to us. We assumed he was satisfied until he filled out the on-line survey and we learned he was disappointed about certain areas. The meeting today is a direct result of his filling out the on-line form.

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Davin Granroth