Atlantic Business Technologies, Inc.

Category: Strategy & Design

Is WordPress the best option for my CMS?
WordPress is the most popular Content Management System (CMS), covering 64% of the market. That’s because it’s a free, open-source platform that is simple to host and manage.

At Atlantic BT, we find that WordPress is a good option in many industries in a range of business cases. Take a look at some of the advantages of using WordPress and see if it fits your unique business needs.

WordPress’ popularity provides many benefits.

Due to its popularity, WordPress has a mature ecosystem of plugins, themes, and tools that are easy to integrate. Furthermore, there is a large community of developers, documentation, and content creators for support. Many third-party plugins have created integrations for certain business cases which simplify data streams.

WordPress facilitates DevOps.

The WordPress core codebase and most publicly available plugins are available through wpackagist, so you can track and manage dependencies via Composer.

Using dependency management tools like Composer allows development teams to easily track, update, test, and deploy updates to dependencies based on known compatibility.

It also makes it easier to identify any conflicts between versions of dependencies and to roll-back those dependencies to previous versions known to work.

WordPress makes it easier for marketers to do their jobs.

Marketers love to use WordPress for two primary reasons:
- WordPress is designed for SEO. Advanced features are freely available through the ubiquitous Yoast SEO plugin.
- WordPress is simple to administer, with an intuitive UI and a range of plugins and themes that provide similarly intuitive UIs.
WordPress simplifies the web design process.

WordPress includes a basic site layout and navigation out of the box. Furthermore, custom themes can easily be created by web designers and applied through PHP development.

In what scenarios would WordPress be a good option?

In general, WordPress can be a good fit for simpler websites. Simple does not refer to size; WordPress can be used for small businesses or large organizations. But the functionalities your business requires are key deciding factors. WordPress may be a good fit if:

You are building a “brochure website”.

Maybe you are creating a blog or “brochure site” that will not require custom functionalities. In this case, you can take advantage of WordPress’ out-of-the-box features like:
- Blogging Platform
  - Commenting on content.
  - Tracking multiple authors, editors, publishers by user permissions.
  - Scheduled publishing content in advance.
- Easily administered content types whose schema may change slightly over time.
- Hierarchical Taxonomy
- Basic search functionality based on dates of content entry, taxonomy, and content itself.
You have a small scope or budget.

Speaking of using out-of-the-box features, relying on these will keep you within a tight budget. If WordPress’ core features will serve your needs, it’s an extremely affordable option.

Additionally, many smaller WordPress sites have a simple infrastructure that allows it to work with cheaper hosting solutions.

Third-party extensions can also be much cheaper than with other frameworks and SaaS offerings.

You plan to take over all administration/configuration of the site, without relying on a partner.

Because of WordPress’ administrative simplicity, it is a good option if a less technical role needs to take on site maintenance.

You are creating a proof of concept.

If you simply need to create a Proof-of-concept or MVP, you can likely accept some trade-offs with customization. Tradeoffs could include using a less refined admin experience or less efficient backend in exchange for rapid prototyping and development.

You are building a small eCommerce store.

Small businesses can use WordPress for eCommerce if:
- They can rely on simple payment processors (like Stripe)
- They have small inventories to manage
- There is no need to integrate with a large CRM or other software
For example, perhaps your website is primarily used to showcase services, offering just a few products for sale in addition. If eCommerce is not the primary focus of a website, WordPress could be the optimal solution.

You need to unify multiple sites.

If you need to create a network of sites sharing similar functionality and a common administration area, a WordPress Multisite can help you achieve your goals.

In what scenarios would WordPress not be a good option?

If any of the following cases apply, you might consider looking at using a different CMS solution (like Drupal) or a custom framework (like Laravel) to build your application.

You have many custom requirements.

Required functionality may not be easily be added. Maybe your website requirements do not not closely fit what can be accomplished using the core WordPress codebase.

You want to have extra data control.

Maybe you want to have fine control over how your data is stored, modified, and queried. In this case, WordPress’ database structure is limited and not scalable for extensive queries.

Furthermore, this limiting factor can make custom reporting on your data difficult to implement.

You need to define content types with complex and nested relationships.

Let’s say a site needs to track a complex hierarchy of custom content types (industry → company → person) where some of those content types may also need to relate to themselves (person → person).

This may work well with small queries on each page for navigation. But let’s say you want to query through all data and generate a report for all people in the system, showing how companies, industries, and other people are related.

In this type of query, the WordPress database schema will make that very slow and inefficient. It would be better to implement a custom framework (like Laravel) where you can easily define data relationships.

Security is a high priority for your platform.

Due to its open-source nature and large market share, WordPress is often a target for malicious actors. Security updates need to be applied regularly to stay ahead of those who would try to force entry.

WordPress does not provide much control over format of data in the database. Unless you are prepared to store and manipulate data yourself using basic PHP functionality, you should not use WordPress to store sensitive customer data or other personally identifiable information.

A team experienced in many platforms can guide you.

Need help evaluating your situation and choosing the best platform? Reach out for a free consultation with one of our experts. We’re happy to help you get started with your solution.
August 5, 2020
Is Umbraco the best option for my website?
Umbraco is an open-source CMS running on the .NET framework. It has been and remains the front runner for a .NET CMS.

Umbraco is the ideal solution for highly customized and unique applications. This is an enterprise solution that leaves you open to endless possibilities. For example, access some of the highest tier plugins and software packages available for .NET.

First of all, review the key features of Umbraco.
- It’s free to use. While the open-source platform is free, your .NET team may require you purchase some plugins to facilitate development.
- Work in a simple UI. Creating and building pages in Umbraco was designed to be intuitive. Minimal training is needed to get users familiar with entering content in the CMS, and no HTML experience is needed.
- You have multiple options for building content. Choose from the following editing experiences with content layouts:
1. Grid layouts: This option is for maximum freedom. A Row/Column builder that lets you freely enter content or insert custom components in basically any configuration.
2. Band system or component picker: Select various components to put together pages.
3. Strict property entry: Don’t worry about layout – simply enter content into fields on pre-styled pages.
- Rely on a robust hosting option. Umbraco can handle the hosting of large content bases, including many pages and catalogs of content. It can be self-hosted on windows servers, or you may use Umbraco’s own cloud hosting. Hosting is built with load balancing at its core, perfect for multi server load balanacing.
- It’s easy for developers to use. Umbraco makes it easy for developers to set up and manage page types, templates, content, and plugins. This saves money on development time and maintenance (with a cleaner code base).
- Upgrades are simple. Umbraco has recently focused on improving upgrades. Most are automated, and others have instructions for manual changes.
- Umbraco includes vast functionality and community support:
  - Multi-user and role support
  - Simple multilingual management
  - Easy-to-use form builders
  - Powerful search based on the lucene framework
  - Content migration features
  - Open source and well documented API
  - Large, active development community provides support
When should I use Umbraco?

Umbraco is a robust base for advanced applications. It’s a great option if you can take advantage of enterprise-level software development tools and frameworks in your business model. Here are some other scenarios where you would benefit from Umbraco.

You have access to .NET resources.

The most obvious reason to use Umbraco is if you have a .NET team available. Or maybe you already have an existing .NET application, and you wish to retain some of the existing code base.

Umbraco works like a standard .NET project, so any existing .NET libraries are easily imported.

Multilingual support is a requirement.

Managing multiple languages is easy with Umbraco. It includes a simple multilingual UI with translation capabilities.

Users and roles have complex definitions.

If your project needs multiple admin roles to manage content, then Umbraco might be the best option for you. That’s because users and roles can be setup for very granular access to pages and features.

The application requires a functionally that only works with Windows.

For example, you may prefer to use Active Directory for authentication, which is a proprietary windows-based software.

When should I not use Umbraco?

The website has a simple purpose.

A simple brochure website with no expectation for expanding doesn’t need a robust option. Umbraco would likely be overkill.

Hosting cost is a concern.

While development cost with Umbraco should be similar to other CMS frameworks, hosting costs will be much higher.

Advanced eCommerce is the primary focus.

Building an eCommerce site with Umbraco is possible, but it’s not as simple as other platforms. For example, you would have to custom code an integration into a checkout process whereas other platforms have standard eCommerce features built in.

There are rare occassions where Umbraco is necessary for eCommerce. At Atlantic BT, we have worked with an eLearning company that had a unique course checkout process. Purchasing a course requires entering student information which gets passed to a custom enrollment processor. Students can also use a prepaid method, where they would enter a business name instead of a credit card.

In general, these out-of-the-ordinary custom features are best developed in .NET.

A team experienced in many platforms can guide you.

Need help evaluating your situation and choosing the best platform? Reach out for a free consultation with one of our experts. We’re happy to help you get started with your solution.
July 24, 2020
How to win more business with engaging long-form content.
Writing content that converts is a balancing act. You want to write in a way that engages readers, but you also need to rank on Google so people can find your page in the first place. Both attracting users and keeping them engaged are important elements of the conversion process.

Our tips for boosting user satisfaction in lengthy content include:
First of all, how does Google rank blog content?

In many instances, Google uses ranking factors that aim to increase user satisfaction. For example, a low bounce rate and high time on page signify quality to search engines.

However, this is only a small piece of the pie when it comes to serving the best content to users. That’s because Google is also on a mission to rank the most authoritative and credible content.

Factors that signify factually correct information include:
- Content length
- Linking out to stats
- Having authoritative websites link to your content
SEO expert Neil Patel emphasizes the importance of content length in his blog post: How to Make Every Blog Article You Write Rank High in Google Search.

And according to Hubspot’s article on the ideal blog length:

“For SEO, the ideal blog post length should be 2,100-2,400 words, according to [our] data.”

Here lies another challenge for content strategists. How do you keep readers engaged with a blog that is 2000+ words long? Will publishing lengthy, factual blogs harm user satisfaction and engagement?

These guidelines will help you increase engagement with long-form content.

When longer content is handled with care, you can make it digestible for readers and point them only to information that they need so they can skip the rest.

Here are some tips to harmonize lengthy content and user satisfaction:

1. Use highly specific titles.

This blog could have been titled something like:
- “Writing better content in 2020.”
- “The balancing act of readability and crawlability.”
- “Tips for writing better lengthy blogs.”
Each of these titles state the gist of the piece, but leave out important details. People reading these titles would have to dig through the blog to find out if it’s actually useful information and I’d be lucky if that’s what users were actually doing!

Instead of choosing a title that is vague, a cute play on words, or a phrase stuffed with keywords, point to the actual focus of the article. Drawing a central focus to your content lets readers know they are in the right place.

Here are some of my favorite titles from Atlantic BT’s blog:
While these titles tell you exactly what you are going to read about, words like “hack,” “game changer,” and “killing” are sure to peak a reader’s interest or create a sort of urgency.

2. Let headings protect readers from consuming irrelevant content.

I traditionally see headings as one- to four-word phrases used to break up content. In these situations, users are forced to read paragraphs following a heading to gain context.

We don’t want to make readers do extra work! Instead, make headings as descriptive as your titles. This way, readers can truly sift through a long blog by jumping to the most useful sections.

3. Incorporate an interactive table of contents.

Now that you have written descriptive headings, compile them in the beginning of your article. Users can click anchor links to jump to sections without scrolling.

I used an interactive table of contents in the beginning of this article. This tutorial walks you through some simple HTML to add one yourself.

4. Get designers and developers involved in blog UX.

One might argue that a blog is meant to have a simple layout that lets words speak for themselves. On the other hand, some design elements will facilitate reading rather than distract from the content.

Atlantic BT recently did a blog upgrade that incorporated some of these elements. For example, at the top of blogs we use a progress bar. Hovering over the dots will tell you which section you can navigate to and clicking the dots will take you there. Try it out above!

Switching our blog to use the Gutenberg editing experience also gave us some new flexibility with blocks. Our design and development teams worked to build callout features and different variants for displaying images.

Here are a few examples of what we can do:

5. Only include useful images.

Throughout the content of a blog, you will often find random pictures used to help “break the blog up” or “provide something interesting to look at.”

Assume that any image that doesn’t add value is a distraction.

Instead, incorporate graphs, charts, or screenshots of examples to support your point.

6. Optimize page load times.

Google studies have pointed to people exiting if load times exceed three seconds. In fact, 47% of consumers expect a page to load in two seconds or less.

Some of our top tips for increasing page speed include optimizing images and removing third-party scripts. However, the right CMS, hosting, and development team can identify and implement more technical factors that will significantly reduce load times.

Because page speed is both a factor for organic rankings and user satisfaction, we cannot emphasize its importance enough!

Putting these tips into practice facilitates content positioning.

As the blog manager for Atlantic BT, I frequently rely on subject matter experts to write content. Sometimes we’re able to outline the pieces together. Other times, I’m handed a 1,000 word draft that reads as a stream of consciousness or a journal entry. And it’s totally okay! If we expected our technical experts to be content strategists, I wouldn’t get to be one.

In many situations, I’m able to follow the above rules to frame the content and position it in a direct, consumable fashion that caters to the user groups we serve.

Content strategy, design, and technology work together to support long-form content.

The content you serve is crucial, but the way it’s presented can take it to the next level. For this reason, building thought leadership through well-structured articles goes far beyond copywriting. Your CMS, flexible design, and information architecture are all important elements in a business-winning content strategy.
July 9, 2020
These crucial LMS features will improve learning retention.
As the e-Learning space grows in popularity, businesses are finding ways to increase the effectiveness of their learning platforms. Furthermore, this rising popularity kickstarted a race to meet user expectations. According to e-student.org:

Today’s educational landscape is going through a revolution unlike any we’ve ever seen before. The e-learning industry growth statistics aren’t showing any signs of slowing down, and the corporate e-learning sector is expected to grow by as much as $38 billion from 2020 to 2024. The largest EdTech companies such as Coursera are already valued at well over $1 billion, and they will be the driving force of the entire online education industry.

Making e-learning as easy and enjoyable for users as possible improves online engagement, helps garner positive reviews and word of mouth, and ultimately boosts user retention and success. Designing a strong LMS experience ensures a higher quality product.

8 key tips to improve retention and keep the attention of learners.

1. Use small slices of content.

Studies have shown that “microlearning,” or breaking content up into modules, improves the learning experience in the following ways:
- Better holds people’s attention
- Increases information retention
- Improves speed and efficiency in test-taking
When breaking content up into digestible pieces, subjects retained 20% more information than their peers who learned in longer blocks of content. In addition to higher test scores, the “micro learners” completed their tests 28% faster.

2. Implement quizzes throughout a course.

Quizzes do much more than tell you whether or not you get the gist of the information. They can help people decipher what they actually know from what they thought they knew, allowing them to diagnose and fix their weaknesses.

3. Make it easy to backtrack and find information.

Once you are quizzed, you’ll have to go back and improve retention for specific information. It’s important to make sure courses are organized appropriately. Not only is it essential to use shorter modules, but there should also be a user-friendly roadmap or table of contents to point learners to the right information easily.

For example, the Google Academy Advanced Analytics course is broken up into easy-to-find units and lessons. Within each lesson, it’s easy to navigate throughout different elements and find your place highlighted in orange.

4. Track progress to stay organized and boost motivation.

While traditional progress trackers can help learners plan and manage their time, this format is most effective in a sequential (or linear) learning model.

When information is organized in a way that users can skip what they already know, a checklist format will be more helpful.

5. Include multi-device learning options.

Offering mobile options helps people learn on the go, or wherever they feel like it. Some people prefer learning while waiting at the DMV to sitting down at a computer. Regardless, mobile-friendly courses help you meet users at their convenience, wherever they choose.

6. Reduce frustration in the learning experience.

According to Stanford University research, learners retain information best when they are in a state of “relaxed alertness.” For this reason, it’s important to make sure an online learning experience is simple, easy-to-use, and fast.

Google released that 53% of mobile ad clicks immediately exited when load times exceeded 3 seconds. Likewise, 47% of consumers expect a page to load in 2 seconds or less.

Although these stats pertain to conversion behavior, the theme is apparent. Page speed is a key factor in providing a pleasant experience and meeting user expectations.

7. Implement gamification.

Gamification doesn’t have to be complicated starting out. Leaderboards, badges, and point systems can help establish a motivational system of subtle rewards. Studies have also proven that gamification can produce endorphins, which help us learn. Elearningindustry.com states:

When we participate in activities that stimulate our bodies or minds, such as exercising, our body releases a hormone known as endorphins. The same effect can be achieved by playing eLearning games that challenge learners or give them the chance to achieve a particular reward, even if that reward is something as simple as moving onto the next level.When these endorphins are released, the learners not only have more fun during the eLearning process, but they actually retain more information.

8. Prioritize accessibility.

Providing a website that serves disabilities can help improve learning experience, broaden your audience, and improve UX for any user. For example, something as simple as keeping color contrast in compliance with 508 can make a website easier for anyone to read.

Having an accessible interface is a good idea to stay ahead of the competition and prevent any lawsuits.

Rely on a team experienced in LMS design.

These key features of an LMS enhance learning by improving product quality, helping you stay ahead of the competition, and unlocking new revenue opportunities.

Need help strategizing for your new or existing e-learning platform? Contact us for a free consultation to get started.
June 29, 2020
How do I calculate the ROI of a new website?
If you’re contemplating changes to your website, it’s crucial to first understand the web design cost associated with making those changes. This understanding will allow you to calculate the potential return on investment (ROI), helping you determine whether the proposed changes will be beneficial to your bottom line.

The average lifespan of a website is 3-5 years. After this period, aspects such as design and device compatibility may become obsolete. However, Atlantic BT has seen websites last much longer. That’s because these custom web projects include ongoing maintenance:
- Framework updates
- Updates to underlying software packages
- Server hardware updates (or migrating to AWS with a well-architected framework and careful attention to workload-specific services)
- Continued design and user experience tweaks based on data
It takes a continued investment to maintain a reliable, secure, and performant website. In reality, these long-lasting websites have never really never stopped the development and improvement process. We like to implement new technologies and constantly experiment to stay current.

Is experimenting with new technologies worth the investment?

You are faced with two options: overhauling your website every 3-4 years or investing in continuous enhancements. Your decision ultimately depends on which option gives you the highest ROI.

Let’s say you are at year 2 and start to see the benefits in switching your platform. How should you calculate ROI for the investment?

Frame your mindset in three simple questions:

1. How much does my website impact my revenue currently?

It can be challenging to measure revenue if you aren’t directly selling products online. In businesses outside of eCommerce, it usually boils down to analytics and recognizing patterns in inbound leads.

Do 100% of your leads come in digitally? How does word-of-mouth impact your leads? Are you doing any other non-digital or traditional marketing?

2. Is my website an important tool in my strategy going forward?

What is my digital strategy moving forward, and how does my website play into it? Will you be driving ads to landing pages, hosting whitepapers, or creating a login portal for customers to self-serve?

Take some time and determine how much your website will contribute to revenue growth.

3. What are the opportunity costs of waiting?

Now that you have determined how you will leverage your website, calculate the opportunity cost of going through your strategy with outdated technology aging web designs or a poor user experience.

Would you benefit from going headless? What will happen if you skip Drupal 10? Will your WordPress site face security risks from skipping the next update? Do you have a way to draw insights without a custom dashboard? Are customers using a mobile device to access my website?

Recognize hidden opportunity costs.

Answering these questions is just the beginning of the journey as the need for change on digital platforms gains momentum. Here is a breakdown of opportunity costs we see companies missing when they wait too long to update.

Next-level technology becomes more accessible to you and competitors every year.

We are seeing upticks in both velocity of framework changes, number of frameworks and languages available, and persistent threats to common web technologies, and groundbreaking Artificial intelligence as a service (AIaaS) platforms. This is all being powered by the underlying “law of accelerating returns” of technology.

The power that we can harness from the underlying systems to run software, leverage machine learning, and fight off bad actors is growing alongside the speed of the processors, the speed of the networks, and the companies that are allowing us to consume this power in minute-by-minute cost structures.

The web design cost of rebuilding increases as technology becomes more outdated.

The older a site gets, the older the technology used to build it is. A feature to be developed could be 25-100% more expensive to build. Over the total cost of ownership of a website, there will be a tipping point that rebuilding now is more cost effective than not. (Think how costly repair costs can be on very old cars or slightly old cell phones).

The cost of internal productivity.

Your company is likely to interact with your website much more frequently than any individual customer/user. For this reason, the actual productivity of your employees is going to be negatively impacted along the age of the application.

If a rebuild can increase the performance, improve the usability, or automate some aspects of your site, you could potentially offset having to hire additional staff.

The cost of falling behind user expectations.

The internet has greatly accelerated the pace of change in user behavior and expectations. As the chart below demonstrates, waiting five years between updates can lead to missing or being late to adapt to major user behavior changes. This is an excerpt from the Forrester Research report, Winning the new B2B Buyer, 2020.

The cost of not prioritizing experience.

With an increasing shift in the balance of customer interactions from personal to online, the online experience you provide to your customers is no longer a nice-to-have, but an essential part of the experience your customer has with your business.

“Experience-Driven Businesses report driving faster topline growth, with an average revenue growth rate of 15%, compared to an average of 11% among other companies in our survey.”

“Experience-driven businesses grew revenue 1.4x faster and increased customer lifetime value 1.6x more than other companies in the past year.”

Forrester Research, The Business Impact Of Investing In Experience, April 2018

Ready to get started?

It is our opinion that you should not wait to get started on any digital journey and you should always experiment with new technology. The web design cost ROI, if you choose wisely, will be measurable. Contact us for a free consultation to get started strategizing.
June 25, 2020
How to develop a new business strategy in turbulent times.

Odds are that you and your business have been scrambling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. From economic impact, to workplace adjustments, to changes in our personal lives; we’ve all had a lot on our plate.

Responding effectively has been a matter of survival for many businesses. It can be a physically and emotionally exhausting process.

The fact is that as painful as struggles can be, they are the best time to push for rapid experimentation and observation. These periods are key to developing or refining your strategic plans to help you not only survive for the time being, but also thrive in a post-pandemic world.

Still not convinced that now is the time to focus on strategy? Most of your competitors are.

The basics: laying a foundation for your strategy.

Start by reviewing your Mission – what you do, who you do it for, and why. It sounds obvious, but clearly stating your mission helps your team focus on the big picture. In times of severe constraint, we are all having to focus our limited resources on what is truly important, and having a well-defined mission clarifies where you should allocate resources.

Next, review your Vision – where you want your organization to be at some point in the future. This is the realization of your Mission and how it will manifest itself in the world. There are many ways to take action and implement your mission, but your vision is where you focus on what you want to accomplish.

Assess your Current Situation – how do things stand now, both internally and externally? To map out the best strategic path, you have to know where you are and what the landscape around you looks like.

A SWOT Analysis helps you further capitalize on your situation.

The time-tested tool for defining your landscape is a SWOT analysis. As shown in the diagram below, this technique helps you examine both internal and external factors, determine strengths to leverage, opportunities to seize, weaknesses to fix, and threats to prepare for.

An example of how a restaurant might go through this strategic planning process.

Suppose you own a farm-to-table restaurant that has been in operation successfully for a few years, with a mission to “offer healthy, farm-fresh meals to members of our community and promote healthy eating while supporting local farmers”. You have a dine-in restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere and an enthusiastic, regular customer base. Things are looking pretty good until a pandemic hits. How do you respond?

Strength – You have found and filled a niche in your community; you have a strong relationship with local farmers, a well-developed menu based on your expertise, and a loyal customer base.

Weakness – you have a dining room and service staff that can’t be fully utilized due to social distancing requirements.

Opportunity – the public is rapidly becoming used to, and even expecting, curbside pickup and/or delivery services from restaurants. This trend could continue even post-pandemic.

Threat – lots of restaurants are offering curbside pickup or delivery via their staff or a third-party service. Worse yet, the nascent trend in ghost kitchens could leapfrog sit-in dining restaurants burdened with related expenses.

While a response can help short-term, a true strategy sets you up for long-term success.

What do you do? There are several possible approaches that would depend on particular circumstances; this is just a hypothetical example, but let’s look at some possibilities for fun. There are two relatively obvious immediate responses that many restaurants have indeed implemented.

Option 1 – fortunately, you have open-air space that you could turn into sidewalk cafe-style seating to increase volume while implementing social distancing.

Option 2 – you transition some of your staff to processing curbside service and/or delivery.

These might work in terms of bringing in enough revenue to allow the restaurant to survive until the pandemic is over and things return to normal. This is what I would call a response – not a strategy, because the end goal is just to return to the previous state, not to forward your Mission to achieve a Vision.

However, there is another option. You could look at your mission statement and see that it says nothing about the dining experience – it’s not about ambiance, a night out, a well-stocked wine cellar, or anything related to a physical location.

You realize that because you had been clearly communicating and delivering the promise of your farm-to-table vision you have developed a customer base that is motivated by health and supporting local farmers.

Furthermore, perhaps your initial efforts at curbside and delivery show a strong interest in a combination of healthy food with the convenience of pickup or delivery. You could decide to change your business model to reduce, or even eliminate, sit-in dining in favor of a model focused on curbside/delivery of your existing menu. Perhaps you further decide to enhance the customer experience with video recipes and education, provide tours or on-location dining experiences at some of the local farms, or look into other forms of expansion that are more focused on your vision.

Strategic planning is the first step in evolving your business.

So how are you responding to the pandemic? What’s happening in your organization and in your market? What are you learning as you react? Can you use a martial-arts style technique to leverage a move you are forced to make into something you can take advantage of?

Is your vision of the future starting to change? We’d love to talk to you more about your strategy to achieve your vision and how we can help you get there.

June 16, 2020