AZIMA Blog

Bet you didn’t know that Ron Burgundy is sending you emails about AZIMA’s programs and other events. Well, not the real Ron Burgundy, but close enough. Adam Arkfeld, president and founder of Tempe-based ParaCore is the talented web developer behind AZIMA’s email campaigns. He also doesn’t take himself too seriously, as evidenced in his “About Us” section on his firm’s website, where he and his “eclectic nerd herd” team have photos of their alter egos displayed. But while Adam chose Ron Burgundy for his alter ego, he takes his work very seriously.

“I primarily oversee operations and really enjoy building a business that revolves around systems, consistent experiences and great work,” Adam said. “My entire day is essentially problem solving and learning new things which are my two favorite things to do.”

Founded in 2009, ParaCore works with medium-sized businesses that are looking to use the web to automate processes and convert visitors. Automating processes allows clients to save time and create consistent experiences, while converting those visitors generates the actual revenue. “In addition to ground up development, we primarily do custom web work that helps different systems talk to one another like CRMs, the website, databases, email clients, social media networks and more,” he said. “We also love web based apps and hybrid native apps like PhoneGap!”

An Arizona native, Adam’s passion for technology started at an early age. “The first website I ever worked on was a site called Preserve Your Flowers for my aunt. She owned a floral freeze drying business and I used to sit in the Barnes & Noble coffee shop between classes at ASU updating her site’s HTML. This was in the early 2000’s so the sites were way different back then!” he said.

And while technology has improved, Adam said there’s still a lot of confusion regarding the best way to build and maintain a website. “The biggest misconception we’ve run across lately is that every website should be built on WordPress,” he said. “ParaCore does a fair amount of WordPress development; however, there’s a point when a site stretches beyond WordPress’s natural capabilities and a more custom solution should start being considered. If it’s a large site, oftentimes WordPress simply isn’t organized well for more advanced features like intranets or file sharing portals with API integrations.”

He also said there is a common misconception that creating an email campaign is easy. “Emails are one of the most painstakingly tedious projects a development company can work on,” he said. “It can take the same amount of time to create a visually attractive email that looks great and is responsive than it takes to test a small web project. It’s absolutely insane how challenging they are to look great and consistent across devices.”

AZIMA is very grateful for Adam’s volunteerism and his enthusiasm for our organization. When asked why he joined AZIMA, Adam cited the programs along with the fact that AZIMA provides relevant industry information. “The networking and people I’ve met are really amazing which makes my time spent at the events very valuable. I also appreciate the varied speakers, topics and presentations because I feel like I leave each event with some tangible value.”

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work for a brand that claims the highest market share in every market it enters? Richard McDonald, the SVP of Global Marketing for Fender, knows. He grew up worshipping Fender, and now he not only works for it, he lives for it.

At the April AZIMA meeting, McDonald informed us that Leo Fender wasn’t a guitar player; he was a brand innovator, committed to his product, and willing to interact with his customers to ensure their passion was also his passion. He drove the business by letting his customers take the wheel, supplying guitars to musicians and crafting new models from their feedback.

McDonald presented us with three lenses of the Fender brand: protect, evolve, and transform.

1. Protect the brand by creating compelling products
2. Evolve the brand to create profitability and operational excellence
3. Transform the brand to engage and grow the customer base.

As a company, Fender demonstrates these lenses by keeping its products relevant, engaging its customers, and daring to dance along the edge of innovation. McDonald urged daily customer interaction to enable the brand to do what it should do: reflect the customer. Staying relevant in such a dynamic landscape is difficult, but if you tell your story well enough, you don’t have to worry about your customers having misinformation.

For example, Fender decided to address negative online chat room buzz in an unorthodox way by inviting the seven loudest influencers to visit Fender’s headquarters. While there, these individuals received a firsthand view of the brand and the people behind it.

This visit demonstrated the value of interacting with customers and the impact of receiving immediate feedback. It wasn’t about who shouted the loudest; it was about having the right voice- that of the customer. If you can’t relate to your customers, you can’t solve their problems. And if you can’t solve their problems, your brand is destined to become a “what not to do” case study for MBA students.

Throughout the presentation, McDonald emphasized strategy. Not a brand strategy, not a digital strategy, but a customer strategy. No matter who your customers are, you have to know them, relate to them, and listen to them.

Technology today makes it both easier and more complicated to interact with customers. It grants instant access to feedback, while increasing the touchpoints along various channels of communication. More channels equal more feedback, which equals greater opportunity to either win customers or lose them. The use of technology shouldn’t be “checking the boxes,” it should be about putting your customers at the center so they can help you transform your brand to stay relevant.

From their first Telecaster® prototype in 1951, to their current position as one of the world’s leading marketers, manufacturers, and distributors of musical instruments, Fender has amplified the musician in all of us. They have consistently proven it takes more than just a big sound to be successful. That’s why Fender continues to hit the sweet notes by staying relevant, engaging their audience, evolving their products, and sharing their passion- one string at a time.