West Hawaii Association of Realtors

BEFORE

​"​​Susan Dakuzaku made it so simple to use Wild Apricot. My new site is so much faster and easier to work with than my old site. I just choose the page, make the change and click save. Susan led us through the whole process and we ended up with a design and a website that we love. Thanks, Susan!"

Karin Shaw

Association Executive

West Hawaii Association of REALTORS®

When I was contacted by the WHAR, they wanted a new website. A couple of shortcomings I noticed on their current site were:

1. The images used did not tell their “story”: lava, a surfer and an observatory had nothing to do with their Association or real estate in West Hawaii
2. There was no directory of their members. As a member, I think a value-add would be to be listed on the website in case any potential clients happened upon the website and were in the market for an agent
3. The way the Caravans were posted was labor-intensive to produce on a weekly basis AND pretty boring in its presentation. 

AFTER

The solutions included:

1. Photos from a local real estate photographer and a photo contest to solicit images from the members
2. Since a database was needed to support collection of dues, including a directory on the website was a fairly simple step of implementation
3. Customize a tool to allow data entry of the Caravan listings and GREATLY enhance presentation. What’s more, it will reduce the amount of staff time need to produce the printed Caravan list. (watch the video below)

Visit their new & improved website at KonaRealtors.com

Cordova Community Council, Rancho Cordova

As our organization has grown and evolved, we have considered Susan a key asset in helping us update and refine the communications strategy which is critical to our success. 

As an example of how this has worked for us, through email marketing and our website, our email subscription list has grown from less than 1,500 addresses in 2007 to more than 15,000 in 2015... and growing.  

www.CordovaCouncil.org

Susan was also instrumental in our movement to online event registration, ticket sales and more.

​Throughout our long relationship, Susan has become a trusted adviser and we have since recommended her services to many others. She has been professional in all dealings, her fees have presented an excellent value to us and she has been a patient teacher as the Cordova Community Council has ventured into new areas and taken on new technological challenges. ​

Shelly Blanchard, Executive Director

Cordova Community Council

NOTE: When I asked Shelly for a testimonial, she wrote a detailed letter. CLICK HERE to read all her comments. 

BACK STORY:

​We started working with the Cordova Council in 2006 by building them a website to support their biggest event, the Rancho Cordova 4th of July. During the course of the next 10 years, we have worked with the Council on developing their primary website as well as several websites to support special projects and events such as “20 Tons in 2010” and the 10th Anniversary of Rancho Cordova cityhood.

Our role over the years has been:

1. To provide the Council with websites that will support their goals and objectives. We have often made suggestions to optimize the functionality and audience engagement.
2. To suggest ways to utilize technology to make their job easier and make it easier for their audience to connect. Some examples are on-line registration and surveys, entry submissions, and ticket purchase.
3. To ensure their website is current. We always train our clients to be able to maintain their website but the Council has chosen to have us update the site. (Sometimes I would get an email from the Council making an announcement with directions to “check the website” and would pro-actively need to update the website at that moment.)
4. To evolve the site using current technology. A few years ago we suggested that the Council create a mobile version of their 4th of July website. It made sense that the audience would be mobile (on their way to or possibly at the event) when they visited the website. The first year traffic was indeed 63% mobile.By 2016, it was 75%. We have since converted their primary site to mobile as well.

Over the course of our collaboration, we have developed a great partnership to support the Council in its internet and technology needs.