1. In a nutshell, what is Praxis' specialty?

Praxis has been practicing (thus the name) business-to-business marketing since 1979. We've dabbled here and there in some consumer work, but our background and skill sets are finely tuned to the B2B world. For more background on what we do, see About Us.

2. How does Praxis work with its clients?

Two ways: Long-term strategic engagement and a la carte (project).

The long-term engagement is defined by a pre-agreed set of "deliverables" over a full year, and the fixed annual fee is divided equally over 12 months. This is different from a retainer, the value of which varies according to the specific activities initiated during the year. Praxis pioneered the fixed agency fee concept in the early 1990s, and since then most of our clients have been engaged this way.

The a la carte, or project, engagement is fairly common among client/agency relationships: The client defines the project scope, the agency provides an estimate, and the work is done and billed as a discrete activity. If it's a large project, the invoicing is typically divided over several months, as agreed between the parties. The problem with project work is that it often neglects the big picture and the immeasurable value that brand integration can bring to it.

3. What are the pros and cons of a strategic annual engagement?

Pro:

When we work with a client who is committed to meeting long-term objectives, we typically start with some perception research, then develop a positioning platform. This creates the basis for all the tactics we do going forward so the messaging integrates and compounds the brand-building effect. Engaging on this basis also allows us to work together with a clear roadmap and consensus, and makes the whole process much more efficient and productive.

Con:

In a new relationship, there's typically a lot of upfront work to do before any meaningful creative can be accomplished, so for clients anxious to start getting things done, it could delay things a bit. Also, an annual program requires a financial commitment for the year, and some companies are hesitant to go that far, particularly if they're just starting a relationship with a new agency.

4. What are the typical steps involved in overhauling a website?

  • Make sure you define your objectives up-front to build the site that accomplishes your lead generation, branding and conversion goals.
  • Create a game plan with do-able activities and milestones.
  • Reserve a realistic budget for both money and staff resources.
  • Be flexible on above.
  • Don't compromise on the outcome. It will be a long time before you do this again, so it's best to get it right.

Actually, we have a process document that defines all the necessary steps to designing and building an effective website. For more details, review our Website Process Steps document.

5. What's the real value of search optimization?

Optimizing your web site for search engines can be a lot of work, but it's vital. The good news is it can also be the most effective and affordable marketing option for those companies that want to succeed.

SEO gets the people who want to buy your products to your site. Everyone goes online to source products. And often, the people searching don't know the "top branded vendors" in any given category and don't have time to find out.

Everyone looks at the companies that come up at the top of Google. If your company is near the top on Google and looks credible, it puts you in the running for a sale. People even tend to assume your company is a top brand, whether you are or not.

Here are some pretty compelling statistics:

  • 75% of the clickthroughs on Google occur on the top 5 listings.
  • Directories like ThomasNet and GlobalSpec advertise for products on Google.

For information on how to get started, review our SEO Process Steps document.

6. Should you invest in a pay-per-click campaign?

The answer depends on your goals and the degree of success of your current website optimization efforts. For some companies, adding a Google AdWords campaign to their other marketing efforts will generate clicks for some highly competitive keywords that would be very difficult to rank for in organic search. Other firms use pay-per-click to generate metrics on keywords that produce clickthroughs and conversions to help understand what to try to accomplish in an optimization plan.