Newman & Associates

Competitive Web Site Design Analysis & Evaluation

Goal of the Newman & Associates Web Site

To convey the sophisticated brand of Newman & Associates to the online world and insure that the site will be easy to navigate and pleasing to the eye, projecting the positive, professional, and substantive image that Newman has established offline.

The Newman Success Formula

Personalized Service and Superior Execution

Foundation of integrity, expertise, tenacity, teamwork

Newman Background

Founded in 1979, Newman is the premier underwriter for tax-exempt bonds for multifamily housing

In 1998, they were acquired by GMAC

Based in Denver, Newman prides their business on strong customer service

Built a solid foundation of trust and loyalty

Embraces the inherent values of the West

Purpose•Create a design strategy that capitalizes on Newman’s strengths and unique offerings

•Identify, rate, and create a matrix for comparing the advantages and disadvantages over a full range of related web sites

•Document the results, assess pros and cons.

•Aim to exceed the competition

The CompetitionThe site analysis compares four full-service investment banking firms that are considered competitors of Newman.

Competitive Sites•US Bancorp Piper Jaffray•George K Baum & Company•Hanifen Imhoff•Goldman Sachs

Other competitors not included in this analysis:•Merrill Lynch•Norwest Investment Services•First Union•Kirkpatrick Pettis

The AnalysisThe competitive site analysis is two-fold, comprising of the following evaluation methodology:

(1) Competitive Matrix: a grid listing a set of features and criteria to evaluate each site. Criteria is organized into 4 main categories:

Design

Navigation

Information

Features

Content

(2) General Questions: a set of general questions about each site

Piper Jaffray

www.piperjaffray.com

Piper Jaffray

Pros:

Clean, sophisticated design

Warm colors

Consistent navigation

Clear labels

Provides rating information

Cons:

Does not provide email information

Some of the content is long and requires scrolling

Piper Jaffray FeaturesFixed Income Capital Markets is distinguished by green nav bar

Fixed Income Capital Markets lists two primary product lines

•Muni-bond calendar

•Transactions Search by State

General Questions for Piper Jaffray

Is the purpose of the site clear? Yes

Does the site clearly address a particular audience? Yes. Many audiences.

Is the site interesting and engaging? Informative about the business activities, products, services, and mission.

Is the information organized in a way that users will expect and understand? Yes

Is textual information clear, grammatically correct, and easy to read? Some pages are text heavy

Do you have a clear idea of what the site contains? Yes

Do you always know where you are, and how to get where you want to go? Consistent navigation

Is the presentation attractive? Well designed

Do pages load quickly enough? Yes

What if anything is unique about the site?The site is traditional, offering information about products and services. It may mirror the corporate image.

George K. Baum & Company

www.gkbaum.com

George K. Baum & CompanyPros:

Consistent navigation

Clear labels

White background makes content readable

Nice features including bond inventory tool, access to Bloomberg data

Provides technical information about the site

Cons:

Loud, unfriendly design

Sub-sections under Fixed Income get buried under the two primary product lines: Municipal bonds and taxable fixed income

No apparent logo for branding

Many links buried in sub-section text

Fonts in navigation tabs are not clear

GKB FeaturesFixed Income products listed in left-hand navigation

Bond inventory tool; searchable by state; no help information or print functionality

Weekly offerings get buried and links to a PDF

General Questions for GKBIs the purpose of the site clear? Yes

Does the site clearly address a particular audience? Yes

Is the site interesting and engaging? Informative about the business activities, products, services, and mission.

Is the information organized in a way that users will expect and understand? Yes

Is textual information clear, grammatically correct, and easy to read? Some pages are text heavy

Do you have a clear idea of what the site contains? Yes

Do you always know where you are, and how to get where you want to go? Consistent navigation

Is the presentation attractive? Loud, intense colors against the black header and footer project a cold, corporate tone

Do pages load quickly enough? Yes

What if anything is unique about the site?The site is deep and presents a wide variety of products and services, including a client login area

Hanifen Imhoff

www.hanifen.com

Hanifen ImhoffPros:

Promotes brand identity and local presence through use of West imagery and photographs of employees

Adds personal touch with letter from the Board of Directors

Clean, consistent navigation

White background

Cons:

Lacks interesting features

Text heavy and many scrollable pages

Narrow page width

General Questions

Is the purpose of the site clear? Yes

Does the site clearly address a particular audience? Yes

Is the site interesting and engaging? Informative about the business activities, products, services

Is the information organized in a way that users will expect and understand? Yes

Is textual information clear, grammatically correct, and easy to read? Pages are narrow and text heavy and require scrolling.

Do you have a clear idea of what the site contains? Yes

Do you always know where you are, and how to get where you want to go? Consistent navigation always present in the left frame

Is the presentation attractive? Basic site design. Nothing fancy

Do pages load quickly enough? Yes

What if anything is unique about the site? Local color

Goldman Sachs

www.goldmansachs.com

Goldman Sachs

Pros:

For a global investment bank and industry leader, the site is simple and uncluttered

Provides a basic level of information

Consistent and useful features including a Shortcut drop down

Only four top-level sections

Slick design

Cons:

Provides minimal amount of Fixed Income information

Goldman Sachs Features

Clean layout

White background

Business tab includes three primary institutional practices--Investment Banking, Trading, Asset Management

Goldman Sachs General QuestionsIs the purpose of the site clear? Yes. Abundant amount of corporate information including business principles, history, and an overview

Does the site clearly address a particular audience? Yes. A range of audiences, including global

Is the site interesting and engaging? Informative about the business activities, products, services

Is the information organized in a way that users will expect and understand? Yes

Is textual information clear, grammatically correct, and easy to read? Pages are variable with and run horozontally. Large font

Do you have a clear idea of what the site contains? Yes

Do you always know where you are, and how to get where you want to go? Consistent navigation

Is the presentation attractive? Basic site design with some rollovers and drop downs

Do pages load quickly enough? Yes

What if anything is unique about the site? Clean, international corporate image without being overwhelming

SummaryGenerally, most competitive sites offer information about their products and services, company info, and contact information.

Features including searchable indexes

No apparent inclusion of e-commerce related activities or information

Private login areas target personal (retail) account access

Most sites offer a wide range of investment services

What’s all this “E” about?

Selling and Trading Online

Auctions and Exchanges

Automated back-end processing

Document Management and Deployment

Client Extranets

What’s out there

www.muniauction.com

1st Municipal Bond Auction Web Site

www.debtx.com

marketplace for trading commercial debt (HQ in Boston)

Related Info

www.mortgageselector.com

Internet mortgage placement system created specifically for the 500 Lending institutions and 20,000 commercial mortgage Agents participating in the commercial real estate finance industry.

www.mbaa.org (Mortgage Bankers Association)

association representing the real estate finance industry.