When satellite industry leader Americom Government Services came to us with the request to handle their digital presence for the re-launch of their new brand, SES World Skies U.S. Government Solutions (SES-USG), we were thrilled to partner with Bethesda-based firm August, Lang, and Husak to make it happen.

Today, the website — which is based in WordPress and uses a customized theme — launched amid the excitement of another satisfied client.

We’re absolutely thrilled to have been a part of helping The Renaissance Company refresh its website.  We provided a new design with an updated information architecture and layout, plus a WordPress platform so they could manage their content.

Further, with a custom gallery we developed, they can manage their photos using their existing Picasa account. Users can also now subscribe to receive promotional updates and blog posts via Feedburner.

If you’re looking to experience Italy in a way you’ll never forget, check out their programs.  Oh, and they host wine tastings, too.

I recently had the privilege of working with Backbone, Inc. on a joint project that included service descriptions, press releases, and website development.  Never before have I seen a team of people take a few bullet points of limited information and transform it into pages of high quality content that resonates with the target audience.  Good writers that can capture key messages are rare.  Writers that can then add depth to those key messages are even rarer.  Charles Epstein and his team at Backbone are that exceptional find.  They possess a unique writing capability that every firm should use for their marketing materials.

With our help, the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service launched its refreshed National Guide website.

We provided them UX and information architecture planning, visual design, and copywriting services that, together, created a more intuitive experience for their unique users.

Of course, it’s always flattering to hear that the client found all the hard work to be an enjoyable experience, as CREDIT’s Director, Deborah Warin, said:

“It was indeed a pleasure to work with Tellenger on this project. Your team was efficient, professional, creative, consistently patient, and congenial – and that was just the process. We are delighted with the product as demonstrated by our engagement with you on the next project.”

But stay tuned, because more work already is underway to introduce additional creative features to the site!

The New Year is off to an amazing start. In the first week of 2010 alone we kicked-off an exciting new government software application project, signed a contract to do web development for a large non-profit, and finalized a contract to evaluate how a satellite company can leverage social media to improve sales and marketing. On top of that a talented new Executive Tech Lead started with us and we were handed a $250,000 contract based on strong work we did for the same client in the past. I wish every week was like this!

And we’re coming off a strong 2009! This past year we doubled our revenue yet again and we doubled our full-time employees. The year was important for Tellenger because we reached a number of important business milestones which seem to have opened the flood gates for growth. The combination of crossing the two years in business mark in July, deepening the complexity of our projects, and increasing the number and kinds of projects we’ve completed successfully has resonated with prospects. I remember the struggles of trying to sell services when I was the only person in the company. Although sales to new prospects are always hard-won, they are a bit easier now with our record of performance.

I’m pleased to report the outlook for 2010 is even better than 2009. We have a remarkable team of highly talented people for project management, strategy, creative design, and technology execution. They’re the lifeblood of Tellenger and make projects a success by innovating unique solutions to client problems and challenges. This has led to the fact that based on bookings alone, we’ll more than double revenue for the third consecutive year. I’m honored and humbled to work with so many intelligent individuals who take pride in their work. They are the reason for Tellenger’s achievements.

In Seth Godin’s latest e-book, What Matters Now (PDF, free download!), Fast Company Co-Founder William C. Taylor wrote the following:

Imagine any and every field possible. There are so many brands, so many choices, so many claims, so much clutter, that the central challenge is for an organization or an individual is to rise above the fray. It’s not good enough anymore to be “pretty good” at everything. You have to be the most of something: the most elegant, the most colorful, the most responsive, the most accessible.

Given the growing number of web professionals today who can plan, design, develop, and market products and services for any industry, being “the most” of something increasingly becomes more important … and harder to come by. Compounding the scenario is the commoditization of everything from design through analytics, and the outsourcing of application development to firms overseas where quality assurance may be sacrificed and project management challenges multiplied all for the promises that come with a low introductory price tag.

We want to be the firm that helps clients WIN (more sales, greater efficiencies, more members, fewer errors, higher performance, etc.), all our efforts are focused on reinforcing and achieving whatever the client’s ultimate goals are. With this mindset, we’ve never had to waiver from our core specialty of being thinkers first and foremost.

So, when Taylor asked readers in his excerpt, “Are you the most of anything?,” I felt confident saying “We’re the most deliberate.” It’s why we ask questions and take methodical steps when solving functional technology challenges. It’s why we don’t write a single line of code or add even a tiny pixel of color without first knowing its purpose in the grand scheme of things. And it’s why we tend to be blunt with prospects and clients–because we’ve learned that unabashed honesty typically enables better communication (and partnerships).

Particularly in today’s economy, people who are looking for technology consulting seem to be excited about working with meticulous professionals.

We’re headquartered just outside Washington, DC, and like many companies in the Nation’s Capital region and beyond, we’re happy to be doing business with the government. It’s pretty rewarding to know that our brains have helped to conceive, plan, build, and integrate web processes and technologies that ensure soldiers are paid on time, organizations are tracking cases more efficiently, and — with our ongoing Consumer Product Safety Commission efforts — individuals’ lives are being saved.

When we decided in August to unveil a new division of Tellenger to handle incoming requests from the private sector, we were concerned that balancing commercial and government prospects could be exceedingly challenging. (For example, we feared our experiences with enterprise-level systems like SharePoint may intimidate someone looking to launch a website, build a product, or implement an off-the-shelf content management system).

But what we’ve found over the past few months is that decision-makers from small business owners to not-for-profits to $100+ million firms are reassured by our stability. Our contracts continue to renew and multiply, and that’s comforting to those wanting a long-term technology partner who is thriving in today’s economy.

The government folks also are reassured because we’re growing, diversifying, and innovating with what’s cutting edge in the digital marketplace. They want to work with efficient, dependable companies — growth in a recession certainly is one way we’ve demonstrated that successfully.

Sure, we’re consistently tinkering with the messaging on our website and in our marketing collateral to ensure Tellenger brand integrity and a commitment to our two unique audience sectors, yet so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

For all those government contractors or private companies looking to take the leap into the OTHER sector, we say go for it. But, if you’re in the web consulting business, then expect stiff competition from us!

Yesterday, I attended the Bisnow “Where Do Women Stand” breakfast to hear several accomplished speakers discuss their viewpoints and experiences on women in leadership positions. A few key takeaways resonated with me in particular:

Beth Brooke, Ernst & Young’s global VP and a surprise speaker, said that staff diversification makes for stronger solutions to problem solving. By actively recruiting and hiring a non-homogeneous staff, its collective wisdom will be varied enough to offer new perspectives essential to growth. The challenge against this is that it’s human nature to surround ourselves with people who look, act, and think like us.

I thought about how we at Tellenger have shown commitment to diversification by employing a staff of men and women equally, with older and younger professionals who offer varied cultural backgrounds. (We even have a female web developer, which I find to be somewhat unique!)

Kathleen Matthews, formerly an anchor with Channel 7 and now EVP of global communications and public affairs at Marriott, said her college-aged daughter “is oblivious to the challenges” that Kathleen had fought against during her career, which may be an indication of the changing times. “When we stop counting the women in a room, that’s when women in leadership will have normalized,” she said to about 400 women packed into Georgetown’s Sequoia restaurant on the Potomac, over-looking the Key Bridge Marriott.

As a woman in the technology industry, I often find myself among a room full of men — at the recent Internet Summit in Raleigh and BarcampDC3 events, I occasionally counted how many women were speaking on panels or were around me at various sessions. (Suffice it to say, women comprised a minority.) The sentiment of yesterday’s event was that the wave of women in the pipeline continues toward reaching critical mass soon, but it’s not there quite yet.

Which leads me to a final takeaway noted by Rand Construction Corporation’s CEO, Linda Rabbitt. She said that women need to be willing to praise — not disingenuously, of course — those around them in order to forward the growth of women in leadership positions. She observed that when women in prominent positions have mis-steps, other women can be the first to “pull them down.” Encouraging honest and motivated women of all levels will promote advancement of women in general, she said.

In my role as director of digital strategies, I’m proud to represent yet another female who is contributing to the collective rise of women in leadership positions — particularly in the technology industry. I look forward to “reaching back” and providing similar opportunities to other individuals at Tellenger, and in the DC community and beyond.

At last week’s Bootstrap Maryland event in DC, I had the great opportunity to meet lots of new entrepreneurs who might be building the “next big thing.”

The event brought together a panel of entrepreneurs and the people who support them, including: Paul Singh of Philtro (which was acquired last week after launching in January), Jay Virdy of Summize, John Burke of VC firm True Ventures, and Steve Kaplan of Pillsbury Law.

Having Paul and Jay’s lessons learned about starting companies, John’s definitions of how to grab the attention of VCs, and Steve’s legal advice seemed to be exactly what the audience was hungry for. They were actively engaged, asking the panelists “How did you…” and “What would you recommend for…” questions all along the way in what amounted to an interactive presentation, for the most part.

From my perspective, there was a refreshing, jovial spirit that seemed to be prevalent in the atmosphere of the event. Here’s to continued optimism in the DC start-up market and beyond!

Start thinking of your brand more broadly! When most people think of their organization’s brand, the logo, style guides, and corporate colors are what come to mind. Many don’t realize that everything is their brand. Stephanie blogged about customer service and the way you treat people as extensions of your brand. Every action and inaction defines your brand. This is your true brand.

Recently, I was speaking with the COO of a large company who said many years ago the company ran into reputation problems because they took on more work than they could deliver. Even though they had a great logo and tagline, it was their reputation for not delivering on-time that became their greatest brand attribute. It took a major shift in project management and years for this company to get the brand image back where they wanted it (needed it) to be.

Over lunch with a partner at a prestigious lobbying firm, we started talking about pricing strategies (yes, we have an odd sense of enjoyable conversation). One of the ways this firm signals that it is better than all the rest is to charge higher retainers than competitors. Not only are their people worth the price premium, but the higher price makes their prospective clients feel like they’re getting the best representation for their money. And the firm delivers on this expectation. I pointed out that the high price being charged simply creates brand consistency: everything at the firm is high end — the people, the access, the results, and…their prices. To lower prices is to lower the brand value. The classic example that illustrates this point is the company that figured out how to produce a great-smelling perfume for a fraction of competitors’ costs. When they went to market, the product didn’t sell even though testing showed a clear preference for their fragrance over the competition. One savvy executive had the counterintuitive idea of raising the price on the poorly selling product…sales soared. The fact is people don’t want to buy cheap perfume. And the price of the perfume created a brand image of “cheap” that overpowered all other branding elements.

Your website, content, technology (or lack thereof), client interaction, responsiveness, collateral, prices, and deliverables/products all come together to reflect on your company. This is your true brand. What does your true brand tell your prospects and clients?