During the Inception phase, the team at Zenman works diligently to discover everything about our clients’ business, from company values to short- and long-term objectives, because we feel that we need to understand your business at its core before we can begin creating your digital footprint. During our Discovery meeting with the client, the team introduces themselves and each talks about their role in the upcoming project. The Discovery process is about transparency and dedication, both on our end and on the part of our clients. It ensures a mutual investment from both parties and a solid foundation from which to build the rest of the project, including deadlines, marketing strategies, creative and technical briefings, design, and development. With our clients’ organizational values in line with our own we get easier communication, which is the basis for an effective partnership. This portion of our process generally lasts between one and two weeks.
Once Inception is complete, we begin our creative work. Since each client and their needs are unique, our in-house artists begin by identifying valuable existing content (logos, typeface, colors) and start developing the visual brand. At this point, the creative process can take many different paths depending on the goals of the project, whether for print, interactive web design, branding, e-commerce, or inbound marketing. We present our designs and content to the client for early feedback in order to verify that our artistic vision meets their expectations. This allows us to collaborate and revise any designs or copy and adjust the direction (if needed) prior to beginning the development stage. Unless otherwise noted in the project schedule, the Creation process lasts between three and four weeks.
For website projects, once Creation is complete and design and content are approved, the development work can begin. The goal of our team of developers is to create the best possible user experience for our clients’ customers. Often our clients come to us with specific deadlines and our creative and development process – constantly being refined – allows us to meet those targets. In order to maximize effectiveness and efficiency during development, we set benchmarks for site iterations including production, engineering, Alpha and Beta testing. Our rigorous approach to quality assurance means we will not release a site unless it is fully functional and up to the high standards Zenman holds for ourselves. Depending on the complexity and depth of the project, construction and development of the site can take between four and eight weeks.
After project inception, artistic creation, and site construction, we arrive at our favorite part of the process. After all of our work and client meetings, hours poring over sketches, debugging lines of code, and writing content, it’s time to launch. This is an exciting time for both our agency and for our clients. We schedule a meeting with the client to assure all of their needs have been met and that there are no more questions or concerns. After this we perform yet another round of quality assurance measures, and then one final pre-flight check before delivery. After a successful product launch, we hold a follow-up internal retrospective where the entire project is reviewed from top to bottom. We discuss where we hit roadblocks, where we went smoothly on the path, and where we can improve. The Execution phase of our process will last one week.
Once your content or site is launched, Zenman begins the process of tracking its success using established analytics as well as other tracking programs. If Zenman is chosen as Agency of Record, we offer ongoing services as a monthly retainer or as line items at the beginning of our process. Deep engagement with the client is our key to ensuring long-term success. At our core, Zenman is driven to ensure that everything is delivered as requested, on time and within budget. Our clients’ satisfaction means a lot to us, and we aim to make good on our promises. The good word of mouth and recommendations that we receive let us know we’re living up to our goals as a company – to provide the best possible service to every client, every time.
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