If it doesn't sell tacos...

Do you remember the Taco Bell dog? That sassy Chihuahua was the talk of the country in the late 1990s, and there are still Web sites devoted to the brilliant ad campaign that he starred in—and to his punch lines:

“Hasta la vista, Whopper!”

“Hey, senorita—you, me, gordita?”

Great stuff. But something went wrong. In July 2000, Taco Bell yanked the entire ad campaign because, for all its genius, it wasn’t selling tacos—or gorditas, for that matter. Same-store sales were down 6% in the second quarter of 2000, and the company had had enough.

The lesson is simple. Great design is—well, great. And we enjoy it as much as the next potential customer. But design alone is nothing unless it’s at the service of business goals.

Key Marketing Group approaches Web sites from the perspective of marketing strategy. All elements of the site, starting with the site map and including design, text and images, are created and integrated to advance your company’s success.

Services: Web Sites

In the early 1990s, companies creating their first Web sites focused on technical tools to create a site — and HTML programmers were gods.

By the late 1990s, companies were upgrading their initial sites, and the focus shifted to design. Graphic design agencies created strong visual identities for Web sites.

Now, savvy companies with years of Web experience are no longer hypnotized by the technical and design mystiques; they know that their Web site is an element in their integrated marketing plan. Companies need to ask themselves, “How can my Web site best serve my target audience — prospects, customers, suppliers, even employees?”

Put on the hat of a new viewer of your site, and gauge if it answers that viewer’s questions in a clear, focused and persuasive way. Sometimes a site should be rethought from the ground up; other times the best solution is not a redesign, but a rewrite.

Your Web site partner should offer the three basic components of site creation:

1. Technical skills. Any company doing Web site design will have these programming skills; our Web team members are highly experienced and credentialed workers. But you need a lot more than technical skills from your Web site vendor.
2. Graphics design skills. Macromedia Flash and Photoshop are among the many tools used by graphics artists. There’s a lot of talent in the market, and we’re proud of our design team and a “Best of the Web” award for one of our sites.
3. Marketing expertise. Your site’s effectiveness, ultimately, will not depend on the technical or graphics talent you employ but on the site content and the organization of that content. An attractive site that does not meet its business objectives is a failure, period.

Programming and dazzling design are just the beginning. Key Marketing Group will keep your business in the forefront of your Web site project. No artistic temperaments, no mumbo-jumbo. Just a businesslike approach to a vital part of your integrated marketing strategy. Look at our Web Site Portfolio for examples.