When it comes to technology solutions, Justin Hoffman, Orso’s Director of Technology, advises clients to think beyond the launch: whether it’s a website, database, or analytics dashboard, success requires a commitment to ongoing measurement and maintenance.
We talked to Justin to capture his hard-earned advice for all things tech and … fiction writing?! Read on.
Let’s start with your role, Justin. What do you do for Orso’s clients?
I’m the Director of Technology for Orso. I craft and facilitate technology solutions that help clients achieve their growth goals.
Essentially, that involves digging deeply into clients’ requests to understand the core problems they are trying to solve, then laying out achievable tech solutions that progressively serve their needs. That might be anything from capturing analytics that guide their initiatives, to ensuring optimal SEO, to email marketing metadata, to building and maintaining a website and aligned mobile app.
The fun thing about solving problems with tech is that there’s never a cookie cutter fix, so we’re unafraid to say “I don’t know, but with a little research we can find the best solution. If it doesn’t exist, we’ll build it for you.”
Can you share a little about what some of those tech solutions might look like?
Well, when it comes to analytics, we harness data and metrics to understand what’s working and not working for our clients. We build custom dashboards to consistently deliver that data in an easy-to-consume view so they can make well-informed choices about where to focus their efforts.
With email, there are a lot of settings you have to put in place to get marketing-ready. Depending on your email marketing platform, you need to set things up on the back end in ways that will avoid getting you blocked as spam, keep you compliant with GDPR and privacy rules, and keep you secure.
When it comes to websites, I support everything but design, which is more Liz’s realm. I work with our clients to lay out content, build pages, and set up all the extra things most people don’t think about.
That’s the part I love in all of this: thinking about the hidden things that keep tech solutions performant and free from bugs or malicious attacks and contribute to a successful SEO strategy and ongoing use.
What are some of those “hidden things?”
In a nutshell it’s the ongoing auditing and analyzing of whatever we’re managing. Here are a few examples off the top of my head:
- We provide continuous maintenance to keep website packages and libraries updated with the latest security protocols.
- We monitor and control bots coming to the website that could overrun and create DDoS attacks.
- We work with our clients to make sure they have the right server setup so they have the appropriate resources but aren’t paying 5x what they need to pay.
- We structure our clients’ code so that SEO is ranking them as highly as possible.
And that’s just a few!
Carolyn Blaschek, our Ops Director, shared that you always tell her websites are living, breathing things. Tell us more about that!
[Laughs] I’ve said that. Think of it like this: all of the puzzle pieces that you put together to get to the end result of a website, and all of the tools you use to put those puzzle pieces into place, are always changing just a little. There’s static structuring like HTML, front-end languages like Javascript, and layers all the way back to the server side, where we’re pulling data out of a database. Plus there’s the other software running on that server. All of those things need to work together or you’ll run into security problems and bugs as pieces get out of sync with one another. Everything you’re building on is continually updating. As a result, you need to continually maintain websites to keep them aligned with those updates.
Meanwhile, the viewpoint of the audience will differ. Are they viewing your website via phone? Tablet? Desktop? All of those are different sizes and styles. Even within each of those devices there are different sizes and styles! Plus browsers change and even screen tech will differ, which alters the appearance of colors and spacing. If you’re not constantly monitoring those changes and testing across different viewpoints, your website will fall out of date.
Speaking of which, aligning your website to the aesthetics of the times requires regular updates. Styles are constantly changing significantly. It’s like changing your clothes with the seasons. If you do it well you can have a style straight out of ‘96, but is that what you’re going for? Or was it just because you haven’t been keeping up with the times?
That’s so true. I’ve landed on those sites where you’re still seeing the 90s vibe and it does not feel intentional. How did you start doing all of this with Orso?
I was recommended to the Orso founder, Vince, through a friend’s company. I was doing some freelance work and Orso was looking for additional help with the tech side of the house.
It will be ten years in June! I was moonlighting at first, and now it’s my main job.
What do you love about what you do?
I love figuring out the real problem with a client, then coming up with a solid solution. If you don’t have a real reason why you’re doing something you probably shouldn’t be doing it. So getting to that root issue and finding a way to address it? Love that.
What are your top tips for companies looking for tech solutions to marketing problems?
First: Pick the right tools for the job, not just the latest cool thing you heard about. That’s a big one. For example, don’t build your website in Shopify if you aren’t going to sell products. Or don’t use a WYSIWYG [What you see is what you get] platform when you’re going to need custom designs. But then, conversely, don’t build a completely custom framework when all you need is a few static pages. It all goes back to what I just said: know your Why before getting started, and choose your solutions based on that.
My second tip: Going live with a tech solution is just the beginning. Whether it’s a database, dashboard, email campaign, or website, pay attention to it. Constantly. Add, edit, optimize the backend. Think of your technology efforts like raising a puppy—you can’t stick it in the corner and forget about it.
Speaking of puppies, let’s talk about life outside of work. What makes you tick?
I’m a big fan of chess, I play a lot. I spend way too much time reading, which isn’t really a thing you can do but somehow I do it. And I’ve gotten back into writing fiction.
Ooh, tell us more! What do you read? What are you writing?
I read a lot of fiction. Either literary fiction or sci fi with a point.
And with writing, I’m just getting back into it, I’m more working on the habit of it at the moment. It’s one of those things that always nagged at me but I never got all the way into it. So right now I focus on spending one hour every weekday morning writing, and that’s going well. I find if I don’t do it first thing, it’s really hard to do later in the day. It’s a different mindset so once I get into my work headspace it’s hard to switch back into a writer’s headspace, you know?
And you recently took a trip abroad. Was it Italy?
Switzerland! Although, it’s interesting, we took the Bernina Railway through the Alps which ends up in Tirano, this little corner of Italy. So I guess there was a touch of Italy on the trip. There’s so much there though, in Switzerland. We saw the Rhine River, the university where Einstein studied, the band Queen had a recording studio there so we toured that. Highly recommend.
That sounds awesome. But now it’s back to work!
Haha, yeah, and also that trip was like six months ago so I’ve been back for a while now.
Then you’re settled in and ready for…The Hotseat! Let’s Go!
What is the coolest legend or monster?
Too hard to choose. [Interviewer’s Note: Oh come ON, Justin. It is obviously the Lochness Monster or, if you’re in Northern MI, the Dog Man]
Hot or iced beverages?
Ice mostly gets in the way. Hot.
Night owl or morning bird?
I’m definitely a night owl…who has been forced to convert by some pretty unruly people who will soon be taller than me. I believe the contract is that I may return to my former self when I’m the shortest one. So that makes me currently a morning owl, doesn’t it?
Thanks for taking us from Switzerland, to servers, to sci-fi, Justin!
If you are eager to solve your problems with unique-to-you technological solutions but lack the time or know-how, reach out. As you can see, your company will be in capable, creative, problem-solving hands.