Versa Systems Case Study
Versa Systems Takes Site From ‘Outdated' to ‘Modern' in Less Than Six Weeks With Hot Banana SaaS
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Versa Management Systems, Inc., ( www.versasys.com ) the leading provider of regulatory software solutions for North American government agencies, was experiencing red tape when it came to its own Web site. Programmers had to make every little content change, users had difficulty finding what they needed, and search engines couldn't find the site.
The company implemented the Software as a Service (SaaS), hosted version of Hot Banana's Web content management system - and launched a completely revamped Web site in less than six weeks.
"With Hot Banana, we are able to concentrate on the content without worrying about the technology or artistic design," said Tom Gottlieb, Versa Systems vice president of licensing solutions. "Our new site combines easy navigation and search with a modern, eye-popping presentation that attracts new prospects far better than before."
High time for a redesign
Like many technology companies with long sales cycles, Versa Systems built its own custom-coded site, primarily to present a consistent, professional marketing message. For years, there was no pressing business need to overhaul it. "Maintaining our Web site always seemed to take a back seat to customer-service priorities," explained Gottlieb.
Over time - 10 years, in fact - the old Versasys.com lost its effectiveness. It looked dated, it lacked basic features such as site search, and it was hard to navigate. What's more, computer programmers were the only people skilled enough to make even the simplest content updates, and search engines like Google could not even find the site.
The time had clearly come for a redesign -- and for an off-the-shelf Web CMS.
After evaluating a number of alternatives, Versa Systems chose the SaaS, hosted version of Hot Banana. "The cost was attractive, and the service level agreement was truly outstanding," said Gottlieb. "Hot Banana guaranteed that our Web site would be up nearly 100 percent of the time. It was too good a deal to pass up."
A better-looking site - that's better for business
The new Versasys.com Web site features a cleaner design, improved navigation and built-in search capability - but it's not just better-looking. It's better for business .
- Easy to maintain. "We don't have to use a programmer to make content changes anymore," said Gottlieb. "We've trained three people - one administrative assistant, one technician and one network expert - to update product descriptions and other information on the fly."
- Optimized for search engines. Hot Banana's SEO capabilities leverage key words and page attributes to increase the chances of appearing in organic search results. "We immediately started getting all kinds of email that let me know the search-engine crawlers were noticing our site. We also got half a dozen information requests from people we never knew were looking at us," said Gottlieb.
- Designed for lead conversions. Versa Systems' home page now features prominent calls-to-action, such as requesting information, joining the mailing list or scheduling a demo. The visitor fills out the appropriate Web form, the data is automatically sent to the appropriate Versa Systems team and the lead-conversion process begins.
- Simplifies email campaigns. Versa Systems is in the process of launching its first e-newsletter to help its clients make sense of regulatory information. Hot Banana's built-in subscription manager automatically creates opt-in forms, maintains email lists and sends out e-newsletters.
- Able to meet future business needs. As Versa Systems' e-marketing programs grow more sophisticated, it can leverage Hot Banana's RSS and extranet capabilities.
