Reinventing roysterclark.com – by Robert Paarlberg

In January, 2003, we received an email which in part said, “Congratulations! After reviewing your web site, we have determined that your site qualifies for our Bronze Award! While a little disappointed at ‘Bronze’ we decided to look at the criteria. The awarding organization indicated that sites winning an award must display excellence in design, thoughtfulness and content with ingenuity being a big plus.

Then came the message that hit home. They were interested in content! In summary, they said, “Hard work is displayed on countless websites, but it is only those which display that “something extra” that will earn the highest awards…. Site design is important, but it is no more important than the content of that site or the message the webmaster of that site is attempting to convey.” While this was not the last award we received, it was special because it was the first.

The journey we had started 9 months earlier had been validated. The start was putting together the project team. As you may have guessed, the authors of this article were the one’s most involved in the project from beginning to end. Like novelists say, the credit goes to many people, but the mistakes remain ours. The team was comprised of designers, programmers, writers, consultants, and project management. It was not unusual for members of this team to debate the pros and cons of an issue well into the night. The truths we learned were that (1) you need a couple of imaginative heads to work through the issues and (2) there are millions of issues to be worked through. The list includes words, pictures, graphics, colors, phrases, layout, message, navigation, content, and on and on.

The Journey

Late in 2001 we looked at the Royster-Clark web site (see picture Old Royster-Clark Home Page). The web site of 1999 was functional and told the visitor about Royster-Clark, but did little to tell who Royster-Clark was and what we stood for. It was at this time that we conducted a gap analysis to see what the best internet sites were doing. While the analysis covered representation from our industry, we also looked at Crate and Barrel, iVillage, Rockefeller Center, and many others. The gap analysis led to several goals:

• Create an aesthetic site that is visually appealing– i.e. Clean with more white space.
• Foster a sense of community
• Interweave the theme of integrity into all aspects of the site.
• Use the multimedia elements of animation, music, and pictures to enrich our message.

The other design criteria was an introduction that defined the character of our story. Before we get to far, we need to point out the counsel and support of our CEO and President. Both Francis Jenkins and Ken Moshenek were very supportive and encouraging. There were many discussions on text, graphics, icons and other issues – always their suggestions were well thought out and constructive.

Our first home-run was an independent survey with a variety of potential visitors which included customers, associates, vendors, bankers, and auditors. The results came back nearly unanimous – our message came through and we got high marks on the user interface. A tip to others would be to consistently throughout the process get opinions, impressions, and ease of use comments throughout the whole process.

The Flash

If you want to get people you work with looking at you kind of strange – spend a couple of hours creating a storyboard. Curiously, for two IT people who are used to network diagrams, system and programming flowcharts, the story board came quite easily. This technique, which is not unlike drawing a comic strip, was a very powerful tool to create and document the animation on the site. The first design was our emerging logo (growing out of the ground like a plant) and the second was a more ambitious combination of photographs and music. The second piece really set the tone of the web site and was a very complex piece to assemble – combining music, images, and content to establish the atmosphere. The complexity of creating a 45 second introduction that subtly whispers history, honesty, tradition, pride, and integrity cannot be overstated.

The Hooks

To initially draw visitors to the web site and entice them to return, we felt we needed to provide dynamic information. Like most sites we have weather, news and market information along with links to universities. Where we elected to differentiate ourselves was with Ask the Agronomist, Market Insight and access to our Farmarket’s web pages.

Ask the Agronomist is a password protected area where growers can ask questions on fertility, pests, disease and management. This forum is managed by Andy Ackley our Phd Agronomist. In addition, forum members are free to comment on questions left by others. If this community flourishes, we fully expect to see a farmer in Virginia responding to a question from a farmer in Ohio.

Market Insight is a daily commentary on the commodity markets for crops. This 100 word summary gives valuable insight into market activity, pressures, and volatility.

Content, Content, Content

As unlikely as it may seem, one of us really thought we could redo the web site and just cut and paste the old content into the new pages. After some discussion, Julie was able to make Bob see the error of his ways. So at this point we added the burden of revising the content along with the other components.

We saw many issues, but there was the challenge to truly communicate with all of the audiences that we had identified. What was it they wanted to hear, what questions could we anticipate, and what were the values of Royster-Clark that we need them to know about. As identified above, in an era of Enron, Arthur Anderson, MCI and other questionable corporate conduct, we needed everyone who visited our site to know that Royster-Clark was a company where INTEGRITY was used with a capital letters. It needed to pervade every message on every page – they had to know that we mean what we say, we stand behind what we say, and we plan on staying around to make it right.

Early on in our journey, we saw the value of the message addressing the benefit to the viewer – what it can do for you. The old web site described the product or service’s feature – what it was. It was about this time that we contacted Michele Payn-Knoper. Michele is a professional speaker, a consultant in community relations and relationship selling. She is arguably the world’s expert on ‘hot buttons’ or as we knew them ‘emotional needs’. The process started with identifying who the visitors were and what their wants and desires were. This was most likely the most energetic discussion throughout the whole process – I don’t think anyone agreed with anyone else. The power of team came through and we ultimately settled on a list we could all agree with.

The broader definition of content in the pure communication model rose to the surface rather quickly. Content became what we said and how we said it along with the context of the message. In other words, what other content we surrounded it with. Take links for example, unlike print, the web site must anticipate what the visitors next question will be and where they will want to go. A discussion of our Vigoro Seedsâ line of seeds needed to provide links to universities, our own www.vigoroseeds.com, our locator to find our where to buy, an comment page to ask a question, and testimonials of others producers who have used the seed.

The most difficult part of the content was that you couldn’t do a review in pieces, you had to look at the whole story in one shot. To provide some insight to just the text portion of the content, we did the 10^th and final review in a marathon session that went on well past midnight.

Local Web Sites

At the same time all of the above was happening, we decided to roll out an additional 780 web pages which told the story of our local Farmarkets. These web pages were created using content management software which allowed the users to drag and drop content into their own web pages. We initially trained 17 web authors who would provide the technical skill to our Farmarkets to update their Community Calendar, Contacts/Email, Links, Products and Services and Specials and Alerts pages. The creativity and pride of ownership displayed in these pages has been rewarding.

Vigoro Seeds

The last piece of the puzzle came when our COO Ken Moshenek pointed out that our Vigoro line of soybean and corn seed was a brand that deserved it’s own web site. This came about because the nature of seed lends itself to publishing the hybrid characteristics, traits and technology. In addition, it gave us a chance to link the hybrid with the test plot information and then localize the whole process. This localization occurs when the visitor inputs their zip code and we customize the information to their geography. Look for localization and test plots in the next few months.

The End Game

As nice as it is to get awards, the real treasure comes from hearing that the web site is making a difference to customers, vendors and associates of Royster-Clark. As we stated in the Premier Issue of Cyber Dealer, “When I acknowledge that my web site belongs to the visitor and I’m just the custodian – then I’m on the right track.” We’re not there yet, but the vision is getting clearer.

Pullouts:

1. They had to know that we mean what we say, we stand behind what we say, and we plan on staying around to make it right
2. Trust is built through credibility and competence – every communication channel – including the web site – must echo that.

Bob Paarlberg, a frequent contributor, is working with isResearch and can be reached at rpaarlberg@isresearch.com.

Bob Paarlberg, a frequent contributor, is working with isResearch on their ‘Website Overnight’ product and can be reached at rpaarlberg@isresearch.com.