FUSEIDEAS

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are Worcester State University, and we’re located in Worcester, Mass., which is about 40 miles west of Boston.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I was vice president of information technologies when I first worked with FUSEIDEAS. I’m currently a professor of English.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with FUSEIDEAS?

I had been working with FUSEIDEAS in a variety of capacities for a good dozen years. They had helped us with some technical aspects of our website design, but we were in a situation in which we needed to upgrade the entire site and make it more user accessible. We were using Microsoft SharePoint as our CMS [content management system], and we were having some challenges in house doing the necessary back-end programming.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

FUSEIDEAS provided significant support, strategic as well as operational, in transitioning from our old site to the new one. They helped us with information design, architecture, navigation, and content placement. They even helped us with a fair amount of content generation. FUSEIDEAS had experience with higher education as well as with private industry, so there was a lot of cross-pollination of ideas. They were able to bring in best practices developed by large-scale operations like the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

They really used their extensive experience to help us better contextualize our goals and then develop a strategy for realizing those goals. We found them to be remarkably responsive and remarkably responsible. We had no issues at all with turnaround on deliverables, they were very good at helping us identify our needs and then working with us to identify solutions. They were not committed to any particular platform, and they really tried to allow us to make final infrastructure decisions.

They also helped us identify our brand and promote it to a variety of targeted constituencies, which helped us move much more heavily into targeted electronic marketing. Best of all, they were able to combine traditional and emerging media channels in a cohesive campaign. They taught us how to use performance metrics to assess how effective a campaign was, what impact it was having and the cost-per-campaign item. So, they provided us with a lot of labor and expertise, but they also facilitated a significant amount of knowledge transfer to my staff.

What was your process for selecting FUSEIDEAS with which to work?

We went through a standard RFP [request for proposal] process. We put out a series of projects to bid and they responded. Their proposals were reviewed by a committee, and they were selected because of their experience, range of expertise, and cost.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

We engaged them on a retainer of $10,000 a month. There was also a project-based cost of about $75,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique about FUSEIDEAS FUSEIDEAS that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

FUSEIDEAS is very good at working with organizations. They offer a wide range of options and costing models. They work with you to find what you need and what you can afford. We really appreciated that flexibility.

What was really good about them is their awareness of many different vertical structures. So, if you hire them to work in higher education, they are able to tap into both internal and external expertise. If you’re in the private sector, they’re able to draw on resources to help you there. They seem to have a very competent group of employees, on either direct payroll or a subcontract basis. They are very good at understanding emerging technology and marketing trends.

One of the things I really liked about them is that not only were they good with the technology, but they also understood the marketing implications of the technology. Unlike many other vendors, they have a very good, very broad portfolio. 

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

Just be really specific as to what you’re looking for and be willing to occasionally push for what you want. Like any provider, they tend to offer a range of options more on the upper end of the scale. Feel comfortable asking them how to be cost efficient and look for ways in which you could combine projects to save money.

I’ve found that the best arrangement I’ve had is when I regarded them as a working partner rather than as an outsource provider. So, the more information that you can share with them, the better they’re able to assist you. If you look at them in just the very limited role of vendor, you’ll get good work, but you won’t be taking full advantage of their expertise.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We’re a college located in Franklin, Mass. We’ve been around since 1865, and we offer both two- and four-year degrees.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I’m assistant vice president of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Fuseideas?

When I first joined the college, we had two separate websites: a main site and a microsite just for the admissions department. We needed to merge the two sites into one. In addition, neither site had been recently updated and both were visually out of date. So, the goal of the project was to bring someone aboard to merge the two sites into one updated platform.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

We needed them to revise the back-end and do a cleanup of the front end. We wanted to improve the user experience and just make the site look better.

What was your process for selecting Fuseideas with which to work?

I was aware of their work from a project they did for a company I previously worked for. I also received positive recommendations from several of their clients. I did look at a couple other small companies the college was already using, but made the decision to go with Fuse and give them the opportunity to do the project.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

We have spent around $200,000 working with Fuseideas.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

We started working with Fuseideas in January 2013 and went live with the website that fall. We’re currently working with them for ongoing maintenance and support.

We’re clearly showing an increase in the amount of traffic coming to our website, particularly in the number of new visits or new users. People are happy from a usability perspective, as well as liking the site’s overall look and feel. Generally speaking, the feedback has been positive on the site.

Is there anything unique about Fuseideas that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

I loved their project manager. She’s tremendous. She kept both her team and our team on task in a very positive way. She kept everyone on target, and she was able to lead the development very effectively. As we transitioned between the different groups working on the project, she was our central liaison and did a great job.

What advice would you give to a future client of theirs?

Put the time in upfront to be sure that the site architecture is needed. My prediction for any new client is that Fuseideas will take the time to go through the tedium and make sure you’re heading down the right path. They do a nice job of walking you through the process step by step, so that the site ultimately ends up the way it needs to be.