VI Employee Profile

LuAnn Drazkowski
Director of Operations

What is one of the most memorable/exciting/fun things that have happened while working at Vivid Image?
Tough question. There have been a number of things. There are all those firsts…project assignment, web site mapping analysis and proposal, e-com application, etc. that stick with you.  But I'd have to say one of the most memorable things I've experienced at Vivid Image was the “12 days before Christmas gifts”. Each day we came to work and found a gift on our desk, always unique and having a theme. I know that this took a lot of thought, shopping, wrapping, and work to pull off. It was so fun and made for an extra special holiday season experience.

What is an upcoming technology/business/design trend you are fascinated with or watching closely and why?
I've been intrigued with web sites that have incorporated some of their business processes onto the web. They have found value in making the website be something more than just an informational tool. Some of the traditional business processes brought to the web include: on-line stores, document management centers, and secured areas for staff, members, or dealer training or HR. This is just the start.

Businesses are becoming inventive when it comes to leveraging their website to do the tasks that are commonly done in a “brick and mortar” setting. Examples that come to mind are for things like product configurators or virtual modeling. You can personalize a model of yourself and see how clothes would look like on you…or try out a new hair style/color risk-free…or check out cosmetic make-over “what if's”. Weight-loss visualizing is being done on the web as an incentive to healthier life-styles. How about modeling a room in your home to see what new kitchen cabinets would look like? Ever wonder what your family room would look like with different furniture, or furnishings? Uncertain about what you should go with for lake-side dock and boat lift systems? Simply try various configurations to narrow down your preferences. Schools are incorporating parent portals into their webs to enable parents to access their child's attendance, grades, homework, meal fund balances, etc. How convenient it is to view your bank statements online and make transactions at will.

The ideas of what businesses or organizations can do with the web are infinite.

What kind of challenges do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy continuous improvement…heightening the effectiveness of our planning, methods, products, and services. I get a thrill when a website goes live, or new functionality has launched. Seeing results from our efforts give me satisfaction!

What is something you'd love to learn to do this next year?
I live on a lake and have just acquired a canoe. I'm looking forward to learning how to canoe with proficiency. Winter is coming on, so I'll only get in a few “dips” before the lake gets a skin of ice on it. But this time next year!

Search Engine Results for the Holiday Season

by Anna Slyter
Internet Marketing Strategist

Wondering how you can maximize your search engine results for the holiday shopping season? Long before it's time for ghosts and goblins, you need to be planning for holiday sales if you want the search engines to know about them.

Search engines take a little while to catch up with the rest of the world. Normally, around 60 days for them to see and react to any changes on sites. So, if you want additional holiday traffic in November and December, you need to be adjusting your website in September and October.

You may also want to ask yourself (or your customers) if people shop for your products using different words during the holidays. For example, do people use phrases like “Christmas gifts for collectors” more often than “gifts for collectors” during the holidays? You might need to review your website statistics from the previous year, or use a tool like Keyword Discovery, that tracks keyword research for 12 months.

Start now and make sure your site has ample time to get exposure for the busy holiday shopping season.

• Complete keyword research based of data from last year's holiday season. Also identify any key phrases that you think will be popular this year.
• Come up with some holiday specials that your target audience will enjoy. Brainstorm with your friends or ask your current customers what they would most like in a holiday special.
• Identify if there are any paid ads that would give you a good return on your investment for the holidays. Whether online or in print, or other media – properly targeted ads can help bring the right visitors to your site. Just don't forget to measure how effective they are!
• Update your website so your specials are easy to find and match any advertising you do for the holidays.
• Send out an E-newsletter with holiday specials to your current email contact list. Don't have an email list yet? Call me, we need to talk.
• Plan ahead so you aren't rushed once the orders are flowing in. You will be much more effective if your plan is in place, and most of the legwork is done long before you get busy with holiday shoppers.

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Quick Tips to Prepare for the Online Holiday Shopping Season

By Deanna Schwint
Web Developer

The Christmas shopping season is upon us and now is the time to ensure that your website is ready for holiday shoppers. Here are a few tips to make this year a successful shopping experience for your customers:

1. Customer Service
   Provide your customers with the means to contact you if they encounter questions. This includes displaying your contact information such as your toll-free number and customer service hours in a place that is easy for customers to find on your website.
   
   
2. Shipping Rates
   Allow customers to determine their shipping rate before the checkout process to prevent any surprises at the end. This can be accomplished in the form of a shipping rate calculator or by just displaying the shipping rates.
   
   
3. Cut-off Dates
   Shoppers want to receive their merchandise before Christmas so be sure to establish cut-off dates for ordering to meet the customers' expectations. The cut-off date should be displayed prominently for customers to view.
   
   
4. Gift Cards
   Gift cards continue to be a popular giving choice for consumers. Offer your customers the option between electronic gift cards or a traditional gift card if you have a retail location. A gift card can be a great last minute idea if the shipping cut-off date has passed.
   
   
5. Payment Methods
   Clearly convey to your customers what type of payment methods you accept before they reach the point of entering credit card information. Again, this reduces the risk of a lost sale at the end of the checkout process.

Make the 2007 holiday season a success by following these simple tips. If you need help incorporating any items into your website, the team at Vivid Image is always available to help.

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Contributing Partner: Benefits of Joining Your Chamber of Commerce

By Bill Corby, President
Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau

Over the last few months I have talked to many people who are unsure what the Chamber of Commerce is and what our role is in a community. Allow me to clarify who we are and what it is we do. As the president of the Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce, I will refer to the three purposes of our own Chamber, but invite you to find out more about the local Chamber offices near you. It can be advantageous to join Chambers in adjoining communities, especially if your customers, branch offices, or partners reside there.

The Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureau's focus is to make Hutchinson a better place to live, work and do business. The Hutchinson Area Chamber CVB is a non-profit organization that obtains financial support through memberships, program sponsorships, and fundraising. Many have the misconception that the Chamber is an office of the city. The City of Hutchinson and the Chamber of Commerce have a great working relationship, but the Chamber CVB does not receive funding from the city. We are a separate entity.

Our purpose is three-fold. First, as the Chamber, we cater to our business members offering support through over 40 different services. We are the voice of business, working as an advocate to build a better business climate in the Hutchinson area. Our businesses help shape our local economy and we are here to help them in any way we can.

Second, we work in the community to build awareness and pride in Hutchinson and all it has to offer. Our Music in the Park Series is a good example of bringing community together. We also partner with many organizations such as the City of Hutchinson, Hutchinson Downtown Association, Southwest Initiative Foundation, Ridgewater College, KDUZ radio and others in support of their business and community efforts in our area.

Finally, on the Convention and Visitor's Bureau side, our efforts are geared towards tourism. It is our goal to make Hutchinson a destination for those who are looking to travel in Minnesota. That is why you often see the phrase “Hutchinson – Minnesota's Hometown”. Part of that effort is to design events in our area that will draw travelers from other areas. Some examples would be the Take the Trail Home Bike Event this past summer and the Passport to Hutchinson – A Ladies Weekend coming in November.

Many times we look to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce as a resource for ideas, suggestions and best practices. Their relationship with local chambers of commerce around the state is the foundation of the grassroots network they have built and its success at the Capitol. The Minnesota Chamber works with all local chambers to speak as one voice on critical issues that affect the economy.

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Community Connection: The Haunting Members of Vivid Image

By Sarah Popp
Internet Marketing Strategist

It's that time of year already! Time for 4 fun-filled nights of ghost, goblins, and frightful scares! As one of our annual fundraisers, the Hutchinson Jaycees, in conjunction with the Hutchinson Fire Department, are putting on the 2007 Halloween Haunted House. While last year was a great success, this year is sure to be even more…well…should we say haunting?!

Deanna Schwint, a web developer for Vivid Image, as well as myself, an Internet Marketing Strategist, were a part of the large crew last year that helped to make the Haunted House a popular hit, and neither of us are about to miss out on the fun this year. The first planning meeting for the annual Halloween Haunted House was held in back in August and new ideas for rooms, themes, and costumes were swirling.

With 19 different rooms throughout two houses, it takes a lot of advanced planning, labor, and creativity by many to transform the place into one that will terrify even the bravest of the brave. Rooms need to be painted, props built, and costumes created. Often all of this takes place as the actors, and some well known pranksters, do a little prep work and utilize their “scare” tactics to shock the living daylights out of the unsuspecting members working at the house.

Open four nights during the month of October, it takes around 40 volunteers to staff the haunted house with actors, ushers, ticket takers, parking attendants, etc. Due to its frightening nature, the Halloween Haunted House is not intended for young children, however, it does draw teenagers and adults from near and far. Those attending can receive $1.00 off the $8.00 admission price with the donation of a canned food good for the local food shelf.

However, you shouldn't just take my word for it, make sure you listen to what the radio DJ's at KQ92 had to say about last year's haunted house!

Hope to ‘scare' you all there!

2007 Halloween Haunted House

Presented by Hutchinson Jaycees and Hutchinson Fire Department

Two Spooktacular Weekends:

• October 19 - 20
• October 26 – 27

If you are looking for a night of shocks and scares, find additional details here.

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Client Spotlight: Customized Training and Education Solutions

Client: Customized Training & Education Solutions
Website: www.mnctes.com

Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to tell you about Customized Training and Education Solutions (or CTES for short)! CTES is a regional collaborative effort between Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Ridgewater College and Southwest Minnesota State University's customized training. Our purpose is to promote economic development through educational opportunities for business and industry sectors in west-central and southwest Minnesota.

Some of you may have read a little about us in the June 2007 Vivid Image newsletter. We have been working with Vivid Image this past year on advancing our marketing efforts in the region. As we begin our journey as a training resource, I'm excited to tell you about some of our benefits and what makes us so unique.

Forming this collaborative effort allows us to offer you affordable, flexible training. We offer multiple training delivery methods based on your needs. We can come to you with on-site training through classroom, mobile training facilities, online, or we can offer multiple locations for training through our Interactive Television (ITV) system. ITV allows students to be geographically dispersed in any of our campus locations, while we have an instructor based at a host site.

CTES offers three main services; customized training, continuing education, and curriculum development. Because we are a part of the Minnesota State College and Universities system, we have access to expert instructors from all our 32 schools. This is a great opportunity to keep training within the region and bring the experts to you.
As the regional coordinator for CTES, my role is to be your key contact person. As your first point of contact, it would be my pleasure to work with you to ensure your training needs are being met.

Thanks for taking the time to learn more about who we are and how we can help you with your training needs. I encourage you to visit our new website www.mnctes.com and I look forward to hearing from you!

Denise Pfeifer
Regional Coordinator
Customized Training and Education Solutions
denise@mnctes.com
320.894.9913

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In the News

Dynamic Sales Opportunity for business owners and sales people who could benefit from quality sales training and improving sales capacity. Eight monthly sessions will begin October 9th and run through May 19th, 2008. Critical sales topics will include: Sales Techniques, Prospecting, Differentiating Yourself, Referral Marketing, and more. There are a limited number of spots available, so get registered! For more information, cost, and registration contact the Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce at (320) 587-5252.

Kori Sanders joins Vivid Image! Some of you may have had the opportunity to talk to Kori already, as she came to Vivid Image in August as our Office Manager. Kori will be transitioning into the role of Account Executive, while still overseeing our financial department. Kori comes to us with a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing and Business Administration from St. Cloud State University and has had years of experience in Retail Sales and Management. Kori resides in Hutchinson with her husband and two children. Welcome aboard, Kori!

What is This Acorn Web Group I Am Hearing So Much About? Acorn Web Group is a company devoted to the unique web needs of start up companies in Minnesota, as well as small businesses who have yet to experience the joys of the web. Sensitive to cost and time constraints of small business owners, Acorn Web Group offers start-up web sites, email, and marketing copy that will help grow businesses with minimal investment, minimal resources, minimal complications, and minimal risk. This simple, low risk option is intended to assist more local companies reach out to more customers and grow their businesses using the web. Acorn Web Group is currently located at 222 5th Ave NW in Hutchinson, and is now taking referrals. If you know of a small start-up company or business owner who may be ready for the web, you can call (320) 587-8974. For more information, email acorn@vimm.com.

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Check out some of the new web sites done by Vivid Image!

www.christiansoncpa.com
www.leanportal.org

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