FMC, a large chemical manufacturer, was finding it difficult to support and update its handful of Web sites centered around its core businesses in agricultural, industrial and consumer chemicals. Each site was built and maintained by a different hosting provider and the company had no way of managing content across the sites. As a result, data on the sites was seldom updated.

And not only were the sites out of date, they were difficult to navigate, FMC said. Each had its own template and navigation scheme, making it difficult for users to find what they needed as they crossed sites. In fact, if they didn’t already know where the information was located, most customers just couldn’t find what they needed quickly.

FMC knew it needed a change. It had been hoping to use its sites to attract and retain customers, but the salesforce and customer service reps were hesitant to refer customers there. In the end, it decided to implement Vignette’s enterprise content management system.

FMC said Vignette’s support of industry standards eased the move for its IT staff. "On the IT side, Vignette&singlequot;s commitment to standards has driven down deployment and maintenance costs,” said Frode Kjersem, web project manager at FMC. “It also lets us leverage components across Web properties,” something the company couldn’t do before. Kjersem says the ECM is fast becoming the platform for the company’s enterprisewide online strategy.

With Vignette in place, each site has the same look and feel, as well as navigation. Plus, business users can update content themselves, making the sites more potent marketing tools. For example, each business unit can roll out campaigns targeted to specific customer needs, such as personal care trends or insect infestations. The multi-site integration and standard navigation have also made cross-selling easier, Kjersem said.

But the best part is the lead generation. Rather than relying on costly print advertising and trade shows to increase market awareness, the business units find they can attract leads via the Web with twice the traditional conversion rate.