CMR & Associates, Inc. (CMR) has been an industry leader since 1999, providing independent consulting (non-brokerage) insurance and retirement solutions to business owners with their trademark invention, The CMR Database®. CMR has secured more than $120 million in savings for its domestic and international clients by connecting them to insurance providers via their digital client portal, PolicySmart®, which supplies real-time support and matching capabilities to 11,000 broker specialists across 120 countries.
"John Evans (Brafton’s Content Marketing Strategist) is responsible for getting [the project] done, and that’s a big compliment. He provided valuable insight into the inner workings of our very large project and selected and managed the appropriate Brafton team. As an outsider looking into Brafton's progress, John helped me understand what I was paying for via an iterative method of project management oversight through timelines and Gantt charts. This process helped me understand and visualize step-by-step what needed to be done before we moved onto the next task and onto completion."
Strategy
CMR wanted to update their website to make their database of nearly 700,000 data points as accessible as possible to their existing and potential global commercial clients. By offering a new digital platform with anonymous registration, clients would now have a 24/7/365 digital toolkit of new business intelligence and benchmarking data not to be matched in the current marketplace. Chris Roche, Founder, knew the weakness lied with the current website because it was “clunky, old-fashioned and provided no enjoyable user-experience.”
Along with an updated database framework, cmr-associates.com also needed a design refresh, new iconography, new SEO content and a corporate video to showcase the PolicySmart® client platform. One of the main selling points of Brafton was the breadth of services offered under one roof.
Results
CMR was able to come away with a redesigned front- and back-end of its site, along with a valuable video asset to showcase on the homepage and engage site visitors. One of the key goals for the new version of the site was for CMR’s customers to find the information they needed in 10 clicks or less. Led by Sr. Projects Developer John Parks, Brafton delivered a newly designed framework where users could do this in seven clicks.
The result was a fully functioning modern site with a streamlined and secure cloud-based database built on a user-friendly WordPress framework. Brafton did not shy away from the large scope of this project, even though it involved an extreme reworking of an unwieldy database, a dated site and multiple moving pieces. Instead, the project was managed head-on with flexibility, accountability and transparency that allowed CMR to have understanding, interactivity and peace of mind throughout the whole process.