Capturing Brand Essence

By Heather Rast, Interactive Experience Manager

What is the axiom about impressions?  Something like “the first one is typically the right one.”

Let’s assume that’s true.  So try this on - what kind of impression does your brand make?  What does it leave people feeling?    What does your brand stand for?  There may be, ahem, a difference between what you think the public believes about you, and what it truly believes.  Shocking, I know.

If you answer “Superior Technology” or “Quality Service” or some other chunk of rhetoric, I challenge you to re-think.  What does your brand really stand for to those that matter - your clients, your patients, your customers or consumers.  How is your brand truly perceived?

Enter a handy tool called a brand personality board.

The Beginning of a Web Culture

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & Corporate Evangelist

It’s hard to be a change agent.  Change in mature organizations like healthcare doesn’t happen, it needs to be driven or it will be stamped out through the shear inertia of the status quo.  Projects are at risk from many angles, and we generally focus on the barriers we can see most clearly.

Unfortunately, the most dangerous challenges are those that we can’t see.  These “silent killers” are subtle.  They typically don’t halt your change initiatives directly, but put a drag on your initiatives and smother the value they are able to deliver.

Happy Birthday, Geo!

By Eric Engelmann, President & CEO

It’s hard to take time to reflect on the past when we have so much going on in the present, but on a birthday it’s kind of expected.

We’re always asked about our company’s history…and that seems like the most logical place to start.  Geonetric is the proverbial ‘software company in a basement’ success story.  In our humble beginnings, we built Web applications for companies in a variety of industries.  In 2000, we had the opportunity to create a CMS for a large health system.  It was through this project we discovered a need in the healthcare industry for a smarter, more intuitive CMS system- and VitalSite was born.

Purpose-Driven Content

By Blayne Fielder, Content Strategist

It’s a question we hear quite often… “Where are my pages in Google?”

Too often content is written in order to meet the launch deadline, then a year or two later Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is discussed. Of course, if you built a new hospital you wouldn’t dream of waiting a year or two before determining where the entrances will be located or erecting the signage leading to it. You would make sure potential patients have easy access and can find their way effortlessly, which is also how you should approach your Web site content.

“New” PC’s Target an “Old” Market

By Devendra Shrikhande, Senior Project Manager

The senior generation poses an interesting quandary for the Internet. The Web is in some ways is ideal to help this demographic in a variety of ways - from managing tasks and keeping in touch with the latest news  - both national  and the family.

However, a combination of various factors has conspired to make it difficult and our recent Geonetric Webinar addressed the complex aspects of this issue and how we can develop a Web presence to make it easier for seniors to not only use the Web but also make them feel more welcome.

While it may seem overdue, even technology suppliers are taking notice and Microsoft is positioning its new SeniorPCsproduct line to encourage seniors to use computers and move online.

Adopting Agile Processes

By Eric Engelmann, President & CEO

As we were in the middle of developing the newest version of our VitalSite product last fall, we weren’t making the progress we wanted-even though the whole team was running full tilt and putting in its best efforts. We had always been a bit informal about how we developed software-somewhere between draconian rigid requirements and completely freeform cowboy (and cowgirl!) coding practices. The problem was that being in the middle wasn’t working. So, we looked at some of the newest practices in the industry.

Making Dreams Come True for Employees at Work

By Anne Ohrt, HR/Event Coordinator

A four day work week?  A huge raise?  Are these the things that a “dream job” is made of? 

To some individuals in the workforce, receiving more time off and more pay are two of the biggest incentives to having a “successful” job.  Is money alone enough of a factor to take a new job or stay at an existing job?  The management team at Geonetric is exploring such a question, as we dive into our next reading experience for our management book club.

It’s All About the Experience, Baby

By Heather Rast, Interactive Experience Manager

I love getting my hair done.  Yes, that’s a “girl” thing to say, but hey. 

The salon I frequent is kind of out of my way.  And I have to book my stylist on a rolling four-month basis; lest I lose my spot to The Woman Who Dares Be On The Same Schedule As Me (is she crazy?  I get very cranky those last few days before my appointment).

The reason I’m sharing this is simple.  Despite inconveniences and requirements of extra effort, I still love the place.  You might call me loyal (I’ve gone there exclusively for years).  You might even say I have affinity (I can’t imagine going anywhere else.  I give my stylist small gifts at Christmas to thank her for managing my vanity).  And I’m certainly a steward - I was just telling a gal the other day that I knew someone who could fix that Cheap Cuts disaster of hers.  And get this - they recently had to switch my appointment - twice! - because of some training.  Hey, no problem.  I love these guys.  No bother.

Inside the Mind of the Cancer Patient

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & Corporate Evangelist

I’m blogging from the NACCDO-PAN Conference (a meeting of cancer institute marketing, PR and development professionals) in a session by Amy Siegler, Managing Director at The Advisory Board Company, Inside the Mind of the Cancer Patient.

Moving beyond the homepage

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & Corporate Evangelist

Do you spend too much time and attention on your homepage?

I hear the backlash: ”No, it’s not possible to spend too much time on the homepage! It’s the single most visited page on the site! I’m fielding half a dozen requests for homepage space at this very moment…”

True, the homepage is the focal point of the Web site, the front door, the first impression that we try to make. But “try” is the operative word here. While we are meticulously fussing over the entryway, the door, the curb appeal, hordes of people are hopping the fence, crawling through a second story window and seeing the mess that we’ve heaped in the bedroom.