| Christopher Butler - 2011 REBRAND 100 Juror Interview
Christopher Butler, VP, Newfangled talks with Anaezi Modu newfangled.com Christopher Butler is a 2011 REBRAND 100 Global Awards Juror. See his full profile. I'm glad to have the unique perspective you'll bring to the 2011 REBRAND 100 review process as the panelist focused on interactive and digital solutions for brands. We're a web development firm with offices in North Carolina and Rhode Island. Since 1995, we've worked with brand consultants, ad agencies, marketing firms, and in-house marketing departments to build conversion-focused websites for mid-sized businesses. To do this well, our work spans many disciplines; most projects involve phases of consulting, prototyping, design, programming, and usability testing prior to launch and the long-term relationship we maintain with our clients afterward. Lately, we've been focusing more than ever on differentiating from what our prospects tend to expect—implementation-oriented web services—by focusing on a more holistic approach to building relationships around the web. That means we spend much more time on planning. We want to ensure that our clients have thought broadly and deeply about their needs and that we, in turn, study them closely as well. Rather than making functional decisions based upon visual expectations, we coach our clients on how to let their content shape the process. Identifying the story they need to tell, and determining how best to tell it, is the most important facet of our planning approach, which determines the kinds of content they will create and how they are manifest on the web, as well as how they will engage with other marketing channels both on and offline. Though we place a strong emphasis on strategy, we're also very technically immersed in how it all works. For instance, today, our clients are very focused on adapting to mobile technology, and we're leading them in how to do that. Why does all that matter?At this point, we've reached a critical adoption point where the web matters to just about everyone on the planet. Even for those that cannot access it, the web has become the world's market—a place of commerce, communication, and socialization. What we do is based upon years of observation of the technological trends that have shaped the web and refinement of expertise in shaping it ourselves. So, despite the world's growing fluency with using web technology, most companies lack that expertise, not to mention the time and resources they'd need to match our capabilities. But our desire is to do more than just retain our corner of the market. At our core, we are a collection of eager students of technology who are committed to remaining ahead of the trends shaping the web and teaching others how to adapt as we do. I believe that as long as we make that our purpose, there will be plenty of work to do. What one thing have you learned in business about yourself or Newfangled?Patience. Things rarely go according to schedule. Also, someone recently posted a quote from a commencement address given by Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos that I saw on Tumblr. Bezos said, "One day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever." I've found this to be absolutely true. I wrote it in red on the whiteboard near my desk. What one thing have you learned about clients?Last year, I read What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. He writes about his work taking executives through what he calls "360 reviews," a process of evaluation based upon peer feedback that identifies negative, growth-inhibiting habits and traits. He points out that these traits are often in place prior to the achievement of success; indeed, though many are often successful despite having some significant bad habits, their continued success is hindered by them. Early in the book, he relays an anecdote of a very successful consultant who ultimately lost a contract because he didn't stop to listen to his potential client during their first meeting. His over confidence in his expertise and lack of humility led him to do all the talking, leaving the client alienated and lacking in any confidence in him. This story stuck with me because I identified that this kind of mistake would be easy for me to make in my line of work, precisely because we often do have a lot to communicate to prospective clients in order to ensure that the problem is properly diagnosed. But, before any of that—before it even makes sense to start applying our expertise—we have to really listen to our clients. We can't just expect to deliver our expertise the same way each time; we've got to listen first. What tips would you offer someone just starting in the business?Remain a student, bearing in mind that the web is a work in progress. If the pace of change we've seen so far is any indication of the future, the tools and best practices for any web-related work are likely to change just as you become proficient with them. Thankfully, the web itself supports a diverse and active ecosystem of designers, programmers, writers, marketing professionals, project managers, etc. who use it to create a living—and constantly evolving—"user's manual" for the web through uncountable pieces of educational content. This is probably one of the very few industries in which the field is the school. What advice would you offer a prospective client or for a branding firm interesting in working with Newfangled?Plan for realization. Chances are that the project you have in mind is bigger, more complex, more costly, and more time-intensive than you think. So before you set your expectations relative to any of those terms, prepare for the readjustment needed once you are able to determine the true scope, cost and schedule for your project. The good news is that this "realization" phase is one of the few things that is not likely to change about the web. We've been through it many, many times, and are happy to provide the stability and reassurance our clients and partners need to move from discovery to productivity. Thank you Chris.Thank you! |
