Website Redesign & Marketing Outreach
The San Francisco SPCA is an independent, community-supported, nonprofit animal welfare organization dedicated to saving, protecting, and providing immediate care for cats and dogs who are homeless, ill or in need of an advocate.
Note: This work and my involvement was performed while I was co-owner of a small, Bay Area interactive design firm. I worked as the lead UX designer, information architect and market analyst over the duration of our multi-year contract with the organization.
Situation
When this Bay Area institution, known for being the definitive go-to place for cat and dog adoptions, found themselves needing to support and fund not only their own evolving business challenges but also those associated with the new state-of-the-art Leanne B. Roberts Animal Care Center, they recognized major changes were in order. Changes that would begin with a seemingly simple redesign of their public website and then ripple out through all their related business systems including content management, customer relationship management, marketing and fundraising.
Challenges
The San Francisco SPCA had for its many years functioned effectively as a low-profile organization that advocated for animal rights and found loving homes for stray and neglected cats and dogs out of their South of Market location.
There was little awareness of the veterinary services the organization provided even though the facility had been in operation ever since they opened their doors in 1868. When the pet industry exploded in the mid-90s, they were not only facing increased competition for adoptions, services and basic veterinary care but also for the highly crucial donor contributions. On top of it all, the organization had received a large gift in the form of a new veterinary hospital that would revolutionize animal welfare services in the Bay Area. The hitch was that this non-profit organization would now have to support itself as well as a new veterinary facility, which meant big changes were in order across the board.
This small, grass-rootsy organization needed to change their business model, capture market share, evolve their internal processes and implement the necessary internal systems to meet the new challenges without losing their ‘heart’ along the way.
Approach
Overhaul of the SF/SPCA’s public website, the organization’s primary means of communicating with their constituents
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competitive research
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interviews with adopters, donors & volunteers to gain their perception of the organization
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interviews with internal stakeholders to understand how the organization was structured, how groups interacted, successful programs, areas for improvement, unrealized potential, future endeavors / growth and desired perception of external constituents
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re-architecture of the site content to reflect organization’s goals to increase awareness of the hospital services, training programs, library of resources and support opportunities; also improve access to dogs and cats available for adoption
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user scenarios for key site activities
Development of a Hospital Marketing Plan
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analysis of existing constituent base by annual veterinary service $ spend
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identification of target markets based on neighborhood, population and service availability
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refinement of marketing messaging based on competitive advantages and key selling points
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development & proposal of marketing communications plan - quick wins, awareness campaign & traffic campaign
Results
The redesigned website and updated visual design style was the first of many milestones in the organization’s evolution.
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positive response from external constituents
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renewed energy, creativity and enthusiasm from within the organization
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new features, content and functionality further strengthened the organization’s position within the Bay Area as well as within the animal welfare community at large
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new constituents discovered the organization as a result of targeted marketing efforts
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existing constituents were provided innovative, new and exciting ways to interact and get involved with The SF/SPCA
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and, of utmost importance, an endless number of dogs and cats and found their way to loving homes.
