JDub from the Hub

Though Smooth Fusion is primarily known as a technical partner, part of our success is attributable to the fact that we understand marketer’s needs. Marketers work in fast-paced, competitive environments. Each project has its own unique challenges to navigate, but some elements are universal:

• Time and budget constraints
• Measurement/Tracking
• Analytics & ROI

We’ve found that projects are more successful when we don’t just do what we’re asked, but take an active role and focus on the big picture.

Start at the ending. At the outset, we ask what defines success for each project. Knowing what success means to each client ensures we’re in a position to make the right recommendations.

Get on the same page. Some projects have multiple stakeholders. Sometimes those stakeholders are moving in different directions. Having a common goal (and measure of success) goes a long way toward getting competing visions in alignment.

Be honest. We are not afraid to call a duck, a duck. Rather than getting their feelings hurt, we find clients actually appreciate when we ask candid questions. “Why are we doing this?” “How does this help us achieve the stated business objective?” We’re not interested in just getting to ‘yes’, we’d rather earn marketers’ trust and respect by ensuring we build a successful project.

Know your role. Though we have design capabilities, most of the projects we’re involved in use agency creative assets. With wireframes and information architecture it’s closer to 50/50. We love football, but we’d rather be like the NBA’s John Stockton (all-time assist leader) than a showy wide receiver in the NFL.

We’ve come by our reputation as a dependable partner by taking a longer view. We operate within our defined role and know how to play nice with others. We understand where you’re coming from.

In February I learned that I'd lost my driver's license as I was standing at the TSA counter at the Lubbock airport. I was able to use alternate photo ID & credit cards to establish my identity and I was able to clear security. While alternate mean of identification works for the TSA, rental car companies are only interested in you if you can produce a driver's license. Thus began my crash course in mass transit. Considering I had little time to prepare, I managed to get around alright and made all my meetings. Seattle's got a decent mass transit system. I spent a lot less on bus fare than I usually did on rental cars and parking. I told my boss (and bookkeeper) not to get used to it…but that I would give it another shot during the nicer weather of summer.

I finally made good on that pledge last week. After parking my car at the Lubbock airport, I traveled by airplane, train, bus (Seattle Metro, Sound Transit, Mason Transit Authority, Microsoft Connect), and ferry. Just to make things even more interesting, I stayed somewhere different each night (family, friends, hotels). The snapshot below is a partial summary of just two days of public transportation excursions.



The trip took me to neighborhoods I'd never visited before, but I didn't had any difficulty getting to meetings on time. Apart from reducing my carbon footprint, It was a good object lesson in learning what's really essential (Note to self: lose the briefcase next time).