ASP Model and Solutions - ASP or Application Service Provider refers to both a type of vendor and a methodology of service delivery and integration on the Web. For instance, if you integrate a Web hosted ecommerce platform into your Web site - such as MonsterCommerce, Volusion, or ProStores - this illustrates the ASP model. It basically means that you choose a solution provider that has significant expertise and an 'off-the-shelf' solution rather than taking-on the prohibitive costs and time associated with the custom development of a similar solution. The Web is fast becoming a place where you gather together various solutions according to their robust features and expertise and your specific needs, typically for a nominal monthly fee - hence the ASP model and the way of business on the Web.
Best of Breed - Typically refers to any product or solution that's rated best in its class - usually used in reference to an ASP solution such as an ecommerce provider, email service provider, Web analytics provider, etc. Best-of-Breed solutions are usually identified by various highly-respected, non-biased evaluation organizations such as Forrester Research, MarketingSherpa, etc.
Best Practices - This simply refers to what is widely considered 'the standard' by which all others are measured. This typically refers to a business methodology, whether in the software development lifecycle (SDLC), solution integrations and deployments, project management, business management, accounting, human resources, etc. These standards or Best Practices are typically documented and published by various, highly-respected organizations that are considered leaders in their respective fields and it's these organizations whose processes and standards we wish to emmulate or take advantage of to regulate or improve our own.
Ecommerce - Refers to the vast array of services and solutions that facilitate conducting secure business transactions on the Web. These transactions can be B-to-C (business to consumer) or B-to-B (business-to-business). Included in these services/solutions are 'shopping cart solutions' like MonsterCommerce or Volusion, secure site certificate providers like Thawte or VeriSign, payment gateways/solutions that allow the secure use of credit cards like PaymenTech, etc. Many times a Best-of-Breed ecommerce provider will bundle-in everything you need to conduct secure transactions on the Web.
ESP/Email Service Provider - Refers to any provider of bulk email services that take care of broadcasting email messages from their servers. This way you take full advantage of their robust feature sets and 'hand-off' the delivery responsibility to them, thus eliminating a lot of the headaches asociated with sending bulk email via your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Your ISP probably has strict rules against such broadcasts as a means of controlling SPAM. Examples are IntelliContact, Topica, ConstantContact, ExactTarget, Responsys, SilverPop, etc. Best of Breeds exist in this space and at every tier - or level of need - typically determined by your number of subscribers and your frequency of broadcasts.
IAB/Internet Advertising Bureau - This is an organization comprised of some of the largest advertisers, ASPs, and advertising networks on the Web. This 'consortium' has come together to offer standards with regard to advertising on the Web in order to make the whole process more efficient. Typically, the vast majority of commercial Web publishers (MSN, AOL, Disney, etc.) all conform to IAB standards for banner advertising on their Web sites.
Initial Consultation - Our way of doing business includes an initial period of time during which we determine whether or not we're a good match. This typically includes a telephone conversation or two (or three), some due diligence/research, perhaps a face-to-face meeting, and perhaps an initial/informal proposal (POV - point-of-view). During this process we determine your needs from a functional, creative, technical and budgetary perspective. If we're a good fit, then we can proceed into more formal arrangements - a formal proposal/estimate from which we can then proceed into a formal agreement (contract). If your needs don't match-up with our capabilities - or if we're simply not the right fit for whatever reason - then we'll be happy to point you in the right direction.
Lead generation/cross-channel sales - The vast majority of users perform research or 'window shopping' on the Web before making a purchase or trying a service. With this in mind, we can design or retrofit your site so that you get the most Web exposure in a numbers of ways. If a user finds you on the Web and then contacts you via email, the telephone or shows-up in person, that's a lead. If that person eventually makes a purchase or engages your services after having first found you on the Web, then it's a cross-(sales/marketing)-channel transaction. We are in a world of multi-channel sales - Web, physical location (brick-and-mortar), telephone, catalog, email, fax, etc. And a potential customer or client will probably interact with more than one of your sales or marketing channels before making a purchase or engaging your services.
Media Buying/Advertising Networks - This typically refers to deploying advertising units/banner ads (see IAB) or copy in various forms via a third-party network like AOL, BurstMedia, ValueClick, etc. It also refers to the advertising relationships/partnerships that can be developed on a per-Web publisher or per-Web site basis - like advertising on YogaJournal.com or a similar, specialty-interest Web property. Ad unit 'inventory' exists on all the major networks and you can purchase increments of this 'virtual inventory' and target your advertising demographically, gegraphically, per site (run-on-site), or on the entire network (run-on-network). There are various payment methodologies (CPA/cost per acquisition or CPM/cost per impression). This advertising method can be performed for almost any budget.
META Data - This HTML element <meta> provides 'data about data' and specific information about your web page such as descriptions, keywords, refresh rates, characters sets, etc. Leveraging <meta> tags and data is a method by which the content on a page is described for search engine 'categorization'. This data can help an organization structure its content for on-site search as well.
Partners - DharmaBuilt is a 'virtual' company in that we only put together the team necessary to do the project at hand from a collection of freelancers with various skills. These freelancers are in effect, our partners - although they remain much like 'sub-contractors' to us in what can be described as a General Contractor to Sub Contractor relationship. We work for you and they work for us. Depending upon the requirments of the project(s), we may involve our freelance talent in the 'initial consultation' phase in order to more effectively meet and exceed your needs.
PPC/Pay-per-Click - This is the most widely leveraged method of Search Engine Marketing. It is also one of the most misunderstood and wasteful methods of advertising if not properly employed. PPC advertising will only be as effective as your sound Web site editorial/content practices and if you do not face significant competition for your space and keywords.
Proposal - This typically refers to a formal response to an RFP, but can also be regarded as an 'estimate' for work to be performed as requested by a client. A good proposal clearly defines project scope, timelines, required resources, challenges/issues, creative and functional strategies/examples (COMPS/comprehensive design examples), deliverables, etc.
RFP/Request For Proposal - The Request for Proposal is a vendor bidding methodology (and document) that effectively outlines and defines requirements for the successful initiation and completion of complex projects. By developing a good RFP, an organization does the required research to develop a solid understanding of project requirements. The resulting RFP document clearly communicates and defines required services, deliverables, support, scope, timelines/timeframes, etc. to a prospective vendor in order to solicit a 'bid' or proposal for the defined work.
SDLC -
The (Software Development Lifecycle) is the entire process of formal, logical steps taken to develop a software product, or in this case, a Web site project. The phases of SDLC can vary somewhat but generally include the following:
Semantic - An adjective that web designers and developers keep in mind when creating web applications and experiences that are SEO-friendly, easily maintainable, and standards-compliant. Commonly found inside the semantic bowl of alphabet soup are xHTML, CSS, XML, and RDF.
SEO/Search Engine Optimization - This refers to the practice of coding Web pages in such a way so that they appear closer to the top of the 'natural results' in the major search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. The natural results immediately follow the 'sponsored results' (PPC advertisers). This methodology of information architecture is the single most valuable practice you can engage in order to drive traffic to your Web site. It's valuable because it's relatively simple, cheap and easy to maintain once deployed.
Sliding Scale - In keeping with our philosophy of 'service as path', we are unique in that we offer a sliding-scale arrangement for certain services for qualified clients. These services include those that we don't require additional talent (sub contractors) in order to accomplish. These instances can be discussed in further detail and our informal scale is based upon your revenue and/or income.
Viral Marketing - refers to the value and practice of generating 'buzz' via word-of-mouth or referals/advertising via a third-party (that you did'nt pay for). Forwarding an email marketing piece or Web site URL to a friend is an example.
