Neumann Monson Architects is a socially minded, 44-person firm with locations in Des Moines and Iowa City, Iowa.

Nearly all architectural websites, including our former site, glorify the firm and its accomplishments, with little real estate given to address clients’ questions and concerns. Given the highly technical nature of our profession, the prominence of industry-specific jargon, and the fact that a small percentage of the population will ever work with an architect, the opportunity to educate clients and differentiate our firm was notable.

There is a false dichotomy in our industry that clients must choose between a great design firm or one that offers excellent Client Experience. We’ve always believed our clients deserve both. Our new website advances our ten-year CX journey and expresses our commitment to both design excellence and client service.

Clients place a great deal of trust in their architect. They pay their design team large fees and entrust them to manage large construction budgets. Earning their trust is critical. Our goal was to redesign our website into one that builds strong, trusting client-architect relationships.

What we did:

·         Adopted an objective, research-based approach.

·         Transitioned to a client-facing site, uncommon in our industry.

·         Studied and implemented StoryBrand and They Ask, You Answer principles.

·         Framed the client as hero and the architect as guide.

·         Pivoted toward client facing ‘‘you’ language, away from ‘we’ language.

·         Committed to publishing weekly, unbiased educational written and video content.

·         Combined webhosting and CRM functions through HubSpot.