Turning three disconnected websites into one navigable brand
A master data management company with three separate product websites, Latin product names, and developer-written copy. The website redesign turned into a rebranding exercise, then into the foundation of an entire marketing stack.
Where it started
I arrived to fill a newly created Marketing Director position. Besides a full marketing infrastructure overhaul, the first major project was a new website. The organization had several disparate sites for its products and services, an antiquated design, and tech-heavy messaging written by developers.
Before I could start I had to learn the organization: reading everything leadership gave me, interviewing sales, operations, and development staff, and working through the existing sites. It became clear quickly that a site per product was a navigation problem and a comprehension problem.
It became a rebrand
The product taxonomies themselves were the real issue — hodgepodge, hard to understand, and all given obscure Latin names. So I stepped back and built a new brand strategy first: modern, comprehensible names for each service, and sensible relationships between them.
With the new architecture in place I could build a sitemap that combined three websites into one cohesive, navigable home. I designed a new visual system with slim-lined characters and simplified infographics and process workflows, and worked with stakeholders to move the copy away from overly technical jargon toward language that matched what the audience actually understood about their own problem.
Building for speed
To boost our presence I built a blog and resource section with a full SEO regimen applied per piece, and contracted writers to keep a steady flow of relevant material.
The new infrastructure meant we could move fast. Unbeholden to web developers, the WordPress setup let me design and launch a landing page in under a day, so we could test content and adjust as needed. I integrated Google Analytics, HubSpot CRM, Mailchimp, Salesforce, and Terminus ABM software, making the site one working piece of a lead-generating and tracking stack rather than a brochure.
Results
A major uptick in usership as we published blogs, whitepapers, videos, and case studies and launched ads across our prospects' ecosystems — and, more durably, a marketing function that could run a campaign end to end without waiting on anyone.