PublicInsite, VKI Studios, and WebShare are merging!
So, what does this mean for you as a client? The following FAQ should help to answer some questions, but feel free to contact any of us here at Cardinal Path if you’d like to discuss further.
Q: Will I continue to work with the people I’ve been working with to date?
A: Yes. There will be no immediate change to the account management structure. Our goal is to have the transition to the new company be as smooth as possible from a client perspective. In the short and mid-term, you’ll still be working with the consultants you know and trust. Over time, you may see new names and faces that can offer you additional services, insights and perspectives as well as provide increased depth to your team, ensuring that you have continuous coverage on your account.
Q: Why are you merging?
A: We felt that each company had unique strengths and expertise that were both industry leading and highly complementary. Our clients expressed interest in working with firms who could take an online project from concept through design, build, and deployment ensuring a full integration with a digital measurement framework to deliver end-to-end service. Finally, as we’ve grown, we’ve begun servicing clients all over North America. Our merger gives us a vastly larger geographic footprint with offices spanning all time zones from coast to coast, in the United States as well as in Canada. Ultimately, we’ll be able to deliver better service, at a larger scale, across a wider range of the value chain, all of which is good for our clients.
Q: How will the merger benefit me?
A: We believe the merger will benefit our clients in many ways. First, you will now have access to a team with exceptional depth and expertise across a broad range of disciplines, including search marketing, usability and conversion testing, web design & development, training, business / competitive intelligence, and more. Clients will have access to an array of industry leading platforms such as Google Analytics, Adobe Omniture, WebTrends, Unica/IBM NetInsight, Yahoo! Web Analytics, Urchin, and more; all of which can be deployed from any one of our offices. Secondly, we’ve dramatically grown the number of experienced, seasoned business consultants with experience across a broad range of specialties. Our ranks now number multiple thought leaders who will be able to cascade their knowledge throughout all Cardinal Paths’ engagements to the benefit of clients. Third, we now have the capacity to take projects from the design stage through implementation, marketing, and optimization to fully meet our clients’ needs. Together, this merger represents a whole new depth to our service offering designed to do one thing: provide our clients with the best services available.
Q: Why the name Cardinal Path?
A: We spent a lot of time thinking this through. We wanted a name that spoke to the values of the company and embodied our shared goal: to act as our clients trusted advisor and guide them through the increasingly complex world of online marketing and digital data. Cardinal refers to the points of the compass: by shading the north cardinal point, we symbolize the path we set for our clients and ourselves.
Q: When will the merger be finalized?
A: We’ve announced our plans to merge and are setting an aggressive timeline to bring the companies together in practice. Our goal is to be operating fully as one company under the Cardinal Path logo by Q4 2011.
Q: Will the merger affect my rates?
A: No. Contracts and projects will continue to be honored and rates maintained. While we can’t predict the future, our clear goal is to continue to deliver cutting edge knowledge, a full array of industry leading services, outstanding business insight and a competitive value point.
Q: Who do I send my payments to?
A: Please continue to send payments to the name you see on the invoice. As with many mergers, it will take some time before our billing and payment systems are fully integrated. We’ll be sure to give you lots of heads up as we consolidate operations.
Q: These are good questions. However, I have more – who should I contact?
A: We suggest you start first with one of the senior partners with whom you have been working with. Our goal is client continuity and a transition process that generates only positive impacts to our clients.