Cousins Corporate

The Challenge:

Cousins Properties’ original corporate website had a number of distinct limitations, the majority of which were uncovered during Cool Blue’s extensive stakeholder interview process conducted at the beginning of the project. Those included:

1) A significant lack of clarity on the breadth of services offered by Cousins. Cousins is predominantly known for being a Development company, but they also do significant work with advisory services, residential sales and retail leasing.

2) Important information, such as details related to specific markets, was not provided on the website. Examples included stacking plans, available square feet, LEED status and awards received. Because they lacked a comprehensive Content Management System, Cousins’ staff could not spend the time needed to adequately and continually update information details for their users.

3) Lack of communication and direction for users needing to contact Cousins for an inquiry. It was not only difficult for users to determine WHO they should be contacting, but even HOW to contact them.

4) Site structure and navigational code was outdated and needed revision to continue to communicate Cousins' contemporary value. 

The Goal:

The goal of the redesign was to resolve the major pain points mentioned above.

Solving the lack of clarity of services involved redesigning the overall structure of the website to include pages and sections that would focus on each service offered. It also included extensive content planning and development with the Cousins team to ensure all services received adequate depth and explanation.

To solve the challenge of the lack of information and detail, Cool Blue designed standard information sets for all property types to make sure the user experience was consistent and informative.  To support the need to keep information current, Cool Blue built the site to include a robust Content Management System for ease of updating pages within the site. The CMS enabled administrators to easily and regularly update detailed and in-depth content on their offerings.

Solving the lack of communication and direction centered on providing a clear and distinct contact line from the user to the company. Cool Blue helped Cousins compile a detailed contact list for the site as well as design online forms for users standard inquiries, which is sent to the appropriate Cousins employee based on the selections chosen by the user. 

The Results:

As the Cousins Corporate site was launched in August 2010, quantitative results are still being compiled; however, qualitative results and feedback from the client and the client’s customers have been very positive. The new website is providing greater public awareness of Cousins’ services, geographic markets and modernized perception. Cousins’ internal staff members are updating the site more often, using less time and providing users with the information and details they demand. Site visitors are also able to easily find contact information related to their inquiry and are also able to submit an online form to the correct Cousins party.