Many of you have been speculating on the future of BC development in 2010. Folks have been discussing on the forums and sending in wishes. Sometimes we get wind of what you'd like to see in the system through your support requests as well.  BC wants you to know that none of this goes unnoticed and that there's been action behind the scenes so as your Product Manager, I'm going to outline our plans for the first half of 2010.

First off, let's cover the wishlist - by voting as a community you've shown what your priorities are and we're going to respect that. If you go to the wishlist now you'll see that out of the top 20 wishes, we have committed 10 to our short term roadmap. BC has monthly software release cycles and you should be seeing the following requests trickle out during January, February and March releases in 2010. The plan for the wishlist requests is as follows:

1. Modules within Modules - we're going to allow one level of recursion with the first version of this
2. Customizable Workflow Notifications - as BC partners you'll need the ability to edit the workflow emails and welcome emails you send to your clients
3. Additional 'List Template' Layouts for Web-apps - we're first going to allow a dynamic number of layouts for Web-Apps and when this model is proven it will be applied to other modules and the Online Store as well
4. Increase the modules per page limit - system uptime and service reliability come first so we will be doing a lot of testing before we raise the limit, expect an incremental increase here
5. Web App URL Friendly - web apps will gain the same customizable URL system that blog posts currently have
6. Dynamic Menus Active/Inactive - a 'enabled' checkbox will be added for dynamic menus just as there is for web pages
7. Plain WYSIWYG Input - An comprehensive overhaul for Sitewalk will be released late in Q1 2010 and this will have provision for plain text input so your clients aren't able to inadvertently change the layout
8. Products URL Friendly - products will gain the same customizable URL system that blog posts currently with the addition of a special character 'eraser'
9. CRM Custom Fields updated via Webforms - this will allow your customers to update their own extended CRM details from the front-end.
10. DNS Enhancements - these were detailed and promised in the last blog post in November

As you can see our engineers are going to be very busy working on these requests as well as the features promised in the last blog post including DNS tools, Data Center migration, a new Dreamweaver Extension and Partner Billing tools too!

As the old cliche goes, if Henry Ford had only asked his customers what they wanted he would've given them faster horses. We've also got our own development agenda running in parallel to wishlist requests. For the first half of 2010 there are 4 areas of the system BC wants to focus on and completely overhaul in priority order.

1. ECommerce - both in the frontend and backend we are designing a much more cohesive and well integrated online shopping workflow especially with respect to the shopping cart, payment/shipping functionality and order fulfillment
2. CRM - usability is key here, expect to see improved filter/search and edit functions for records and tighter integration with ECommerce and the CMS
3. Blogs - we're going to finish what we started this year to bring our blogging platform up to industry standards
4. Forums - are due for improvements like avatar profiles, private messaging, social features (e.g post voting) and improved discussion threading

Our plan is to sweep out all the corresponding wishlist requests for each component and consolidate as part of the requirements and specification for those components which is why you're seeing some high priority wishes without a set status. Expect to be seeing results in June/July as these are large engineering projects

Web Apps, Email Marketing and Reporting will need to follow in the 2nd half of 2010 and later. This doesn't mean work will stop on them completely, we will continue to make incremental improvements (as per wishlist requests) where possible but the complete overhaul will have to wait until after our top priorities have been implemented.

Hope that answers some of those burning questions you partners have bottled up. It's an extremely ambitious plan but we're confident with our expanded Adobe engineering team coming up to speed with the BC product and codebase that we'll be able to pull this off and keep BC at the forefront of the competition to give you the best Online Business platform for building solutions for your clients.

• Dreamweaver Extension - The number 1 feature that excites me is the release of the next generation Business Catalyst Extension for Dreamweaver. A beta version will be available in January. What I can promise here is an extension that's much better integrated with Dreamweaver and a more intuitive interface that gives you improved access to edit the assets on your BC sites. As we test this internally I'll be releasing more details towards Christmas.
• Billing Tools - Shortly following the release of the next-gen Dreamweaver Extension we're aiming to release Partner Consolidated billing. I know our Rebranded Partners have been hanging out for this one for a while now. If you're a full Partner, you're going to be able to set your own hosting prices inside your Partner Portal and this will automatically use the eCommerce system inside your Partner site to bill your clients. If your clients don't pay their bills, the system will automatically suspend their service so you're not out-of-pocket.
• DNS Management Tools - to be added in February/March 2010 - although the DNS requests run in at slightly lower priority on the wishlist we believe it's important for you to be able to manage your own DNS records from within a BC site. This way you can use an external mail service, add multiple hostnames and aliases.
• Data Center Migration - one 'behind-the-scenes' area that our engineers are working on is preparing our new Adobe data centers, with shiny new top-of-the-line equipment and even greater capacity for growth. We're also working on making the migration to these datacenters as seamless as possible. This is a big investment for Adobe and a big project that will be completed around February/March 2010. We will be keeping our partner community in close communication surrounding these developments.

1. We first deliver on the 4 items I've listed above in the 3 month plan
2. We complete a number of other back office and integration tasks
3. We have a detailed and feasible plan that our expanded engineering team can implement in the timeframe communicated.

Create An Action Plan

You've gained an understanding of your client's business, talked strategy, and set some business targets. By now, the client is probably asking "How are you going to pull this off?" and you're most likely wondering that too. This is where you can demonstrate your expertise by giving the client an understanding of the Online Business you're about to build for them and outline how it will achieve their goals.

Once you've explained the motivations and what the goals are, you need to provide a documented timeline of where it goes from here.

1. Short-term
Your clients most immediate need is for you to build a website to roll-out and go live. The goals tied to this are all structural:

• You need to provide suggestions for what content is required (and a mini plan for your client to deliver that content)
• You need to discuss with your client what features are going to be implemented e.g what questions they need to ask in their contact form to qualify their customers? Do they need an online shop? What about a blog or forum?
• What about the navigational structure of their website?
• Other features and widgets or integration with social media?

2. Medium-term
Talk about launch and post launch marketing activities. These might not be done by you, but you need to give them a plan so they know how to nurture and grow their Online Business. Remember that a failed website often boils down the website owner having a "set and forget" mentality to maintaining their site.

Maintaining your client's website is an on-going process - think about eCommerce updates, new revenue generation, Email Marketing, SEO, SEM, utilizing the CRM Database and Advertising.

3. Long-term - What's next?
This is all about looking to the future and achieving long term goals. Websites need to stay dynamic or they quickly appear static and fall behind. What are you going to do to help your client overcome this?

Provide them with a plan for yearly site redesigns and encourage fresh, new content. Sow the seeds for future promotional work, email marketing templates, or advertising creatives - all of which you can provide them with in the future.

What's Next?

After working with their Online Business for a while, your client will figure out what works and what doesn't and they'll be much more involved in the next iteration of their site.

The key here is to establish yourself as an expert who will enable their business to succeed online, so in the future, they'll seek out you on-going assistance and require your services.

Talk Strategy

1. Help the client perceive how important a website really is
2. Make them to see you as an expert, offering a valuable, strategic service which will help them succeed.

Set Business Targets

• 10 new customer leads from the web per week
• $300 of online sales per week
• Building a marketing database - 1000 subscribers by years end
• 50 entries in their online competition

What's Next?

You may be a professional web designer, but that doesn't mean you're also a mind reader - that's why it's crucial to have a process for communicating with your clients effectively.

This is the first post in a new three-part series, "Your Guide To Better Client Communication". Over the coming months, we'll be exploring how you can establish a better flow of communication with your clients, starting on day one of your business relationship.

Talk About Their Business

When meeting with a client, what's the first thing you talk about? For most successful Web Designers out there, the answer is unanimous: talk about the client's business.

It doesn't matter if they're a cold prospect or someone who's found and approached you - this is your chance to make your pitch about genuinely improving their business rather than focusing on technology or your own skills.

It's a matter of one simple question:

"So, before we get into it - tell me about your business"

Find out when they started, how business is going, what they sell and how they sell it. Show interest and ask questions - "that's an interesting sales process, how does it affect XYZ?" - you're fishing out information about the way they sell and run their business, so you can customize a solution for them.

Your goal is to set the agenda of the first meeting as being about your client's business and what you can do in your capacity as a web designer to help them improve. Everyone loves to talk about their own business, so this is also a nice way to break the ice.

Understand What They Want

Now that you have a firm grasp of how your potential client's business works, the next logical question is: "what are you hoping to achieve online?"

You've got to understand what their expectations are, their motivation and their desired results. Why are they going online? Why do they want to work with you?

Try and get them to express their goals in business oriented terms - I need to: "reach a wider audience", "generate online sales", "get old customers to come back" etc. Some clients are not going to have a clue and look to you for guidance. Others will think they know everything and promptly go about showing off how much they know.

Both the content of their answers and their attitude in answering gives you important information. You may need to alter their expectations, dialing down their enthusiasm to a more realistic level. On the other hand, you may need to significantly ramp it up, opening their eyes so they can see the possibilities they're missing out on.

The key here is to get inside the head of the client and understand how they work and exactly what they want, before proceeding with the project.

What's Next?

So you've talked in-depth about their business and gained an understanding of what the'yre looking to achieve online - all from the very beginning of your designer / client relationship.

The open flow of communication and level of understanding you've established has set the stage for better results and a happier a client.

In the next post, we'll be continuing the series by looking at how you can start talking strategy and setting business targets with your clients.

Help Your Clients Build Customer Loyalty

Art Needlepoint - encouraging newsletter subscriptions...

Kampai Wine Experience - offering recurring billing...

Best Friend NYC - personalizing the customer experience...

As a member of the club, you also receive a "Birthday Present" for your dog, based on the date you enter when signing up. By personalizing the online experience and making the customer feel as if they have been given individual consideration, Best Friend NYC keeps their customers (and their pets) smiling.

Selling the 'Build Customer Loyalty' Strategy To Your Clients

There is a familiar theme in the three sites we've looked at today - they all succeed in maintaining a strong relationship with their customers through personalization and regular communication.

This strategy is about keeping in touch with satisfied customers and periodically reminding them why they bought from you in the first place - all with the aim of encouraging repeat visits and purchases.

Help your clients build customer loyalty by:

• Promoting newsletter subscriptions and using Email Marketing to stay in touch
• Implementing subscription billing to generate automated, on-going cash flows
• Personalizing the customer experience to keep them coming back

That's it for the "6 Online Business Strategies" series - we hope you've learnt some useful hints and tips for building powerful Online Business for your clients.

Help Your Clients Qualify and Generate New Leads

SimpleFlame - lead generation from a rebranded partner...

House Of Bamboo - capturing leads using web forms...

Selling the 'Generate New Leads' Strategy To Your Clients

Sell this as a strategy to your clients where you can help them generate new leads by wisely placing calls to action, implementing customized contact forms and triggering workflows which automatically notify the sales team via emails and text messages.

In the next post, we'll be looking at how BC Partners have built sites that Build Customer Loyalty for their Clients. 

Did you know you can map web-app items on an embedded Google map inside your Online Business with just a few clicks?
Follow this guide to understand how you can store address data for Web App items. Your Web-App items will then be displayed as location balloons on an embedded Google Map.

3 Steps to Integrate Google Maps with Web Apps

How Google Maps Integration Helps Your Client

Store Locators

Real Estate Listings, hyperlinked to detailed Web App view.

A great example of this is a Store Locator, where the location of your client's stores or offices are pinpointed on an embedded map. Using our pre-made modules, you can make the map searchable and apply filters to the items displayed.

Embedded maps can also be used to plot real estate listings. You can display all the available properties on a large map, which when clicked take the user to the detailed view of the Web App item.

Try it out yourself today.

Help Your Clients Serve Their Customers

Spitfire - great service from a rebranded partner...

Bogan Bingo - automating booking enquiries...

Food Matters - serving customers with an FAQ...

Selling the 'Automate Your Customer Service' Strategy To Your Clients

Although employing different tactics, there's a familiar theme present in all three sites we've looked at - they all succeed providing customers with the information they need in an automated and efficient manner. This strategy is about taking the stress and distraction away from the business owner by streamlining the customer service process and allowing them to focus on running their business

Help your clients automate their customer service by implementing features such as FAQ's, Enquiry Forms and building Self-Help Portals for their customers.

In the next post, we'll be looking at how BC Partners have built sites that Generate New Leads for their Clients. 

Blogs as a Marketing and Publicity Channel

Artsprojekt - reaching artists worldwide...

Dubbo City Council - media releases via blogs...

Rob Munnik Productions - creating a media stream using a blog...

Using Email Marketing to Increase Blog Traffic

If your audience isn't interested in giving their email address to you but still wants to be updated then you still have the option to provide an RSS channel for them to subscribe to. 

Selling the 'Amplify Your Voice' Strategy To Your Clients