family Archives - Interfanatic Digital Marketing with Web Site Maintenance & Design

Family: Medawar Fine Jewelers – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

“Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home.”
– Anthony Liccione

“A supportive family is what builds a home”… Wise words from the young man Liccione. And its true – we all need support. We will not make it without support. At some point or another, we all have needed a little (or a lot of) help. For many of us lucky ones, it’s family that sticks it out with us.

We work hard for our customers. We try to treat them like family. Our best customers treat us like family. They trust us like family because they know we work extra hard for them. We measure our our results in our customers success. And they measure our results in their success.

So, we try to build a supportive framework for our customers. We help them build their home with our talents. It’s hard work, but when it pays off, it pays off big.

I grew up in a family business. And so did the Medawar brothers. Robert Medawar has built a beautiful home in his business by treating his customers like family. And whenever they need help with digital marketing, they come to Interfanatic.

While I celebrate family, I celebrate the success of the Medawar family – a tradition on the Palos Verdes Peninsula for over 40 years. We’ve done business with the Medawars for about three-quarters of that, and we’ve been involved in their digital marketing now for over a decade. It’s a good partnership because it works. We understand family business.

Family: An Interfanatic Quality

We’ve been a part of or worked with family businesses for a couple of decades. We know how they work. We understand the intricacies, the particular difficulties that can arise as part of family business. It’s not like working for a regular business.

And you know that saying, “nobody will ever treat your business like you do”? We’re familiar with that. And it’s something we strive against daily. We treat all businesses as if they were our own – as if the owner is part of our family. And I don’t just mean our Interfanatic family. I mean part of our family – a brother or sister, mother, father, daughter or son we want to help succeed.

Medawar Fine Jewelers: A Family Business, and a Tradition on Southern California’s Palos Verdes Peninsula for over 40 Years

Working with family poses its own unique challenges. There may be sibling rivalries, paternal or maternal expectations that seem impossible, or it may simply not be your calling. Rivalries between parents and children are a constant challenge in family businesses. The next generation wants to try new things, and often the generation that built the business insists on relying upon what works – what got the business where it is.

We understand all of this – we’ve lived it. We’ve watched it, we’ve even intervened in it using our experience. Not often – that’s not our place. But since we have this unique experience, it sometimes helps.

Medawar is a large and successful family in the jewelry business. And Robert Medawar and brother Roy have created a successful business on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Medawar Fine Jewelers, by treating their customers as we treat ours – like family.

“…Robert Medawar has created a successful business on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Medawar Fine Jewelers, by treating their customers … like family.”

The jewelry business is adjusting, as is every business right now. Things are changing, not just with time, as usual, but with the demands of our business environment changing to new realities. More people are shopping online. More people are shopping on price, rather than relying on quality people to work with. It’s not a good adjustment, and things will change again. But that’s the reality we must adjust to that is in front of us.

We’ve worked with Medawar for over a decade. We began with minor tweaks to the site, then an all-new site design. Now, we’re doing it again. We’re adjusting to the changing demands of business and Internet.

They came to us because we’re family. Not literally, but our families have worked together now for close to four decades. They’ve tried other companies in the past, but in the end they know they can rely on us because we treat them as they treat us: like family.

And they do the same for you. When you need something really unique and special for a member of your family – or perhaps somebody you’d like to make part of your family – they’ve got it. They have phenomenal jewelry at all price points from the best, most exclusive makers in the jewelry business. They have and fix jewelry. They have and fix watches. They have and fix clocks – one of the few family businesses that fixes clocks left in the business. Gold rings, earrings, diamond rings, diamond watches, gold watches, necklaces, pendants, charms – Medawar Fine Jewelers has the right thing.

They also have unique gifts for people. If you’re like me, there are at least a half-dozen people in your life who are very hard to buy gifts for. Medawar has the right gift. I rely on them regularly to get the right item for the right person. Like I said, they, like us, can work with all budgets.

Call or go in. Feel the warmth of family, and find exactly the right thing at Medawar Fine Jewelers on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Interfanatic Service Focus: Interfanatic Power Social Media Advertising

Social Media has changed business a number of times. Every time there’s a new “it” platform, people flock to is, and businesses follow, schlepping their wares.

It’s inconsistent. Once social media becomes saturated, it’s no longer fun. It often becomes a place simply filled with banner after banner of advertisement, driving users nuts. But, for people who know what they’re doing, it can also be a goldmine.

It’s an opportunity for a business to interact with customers and potential customers in a very relaxed, informal way. It’s a chance for brands to interact with their constituents in a way that wasn’t possible before – it can feel very personal. You can message your idol, or make a product suggestion, or request assistance, all through social media. And if you as a business don’t respond, you may incur the wrath of disgruntled entitled social media followers.

For that reason, some brands avoid Social Media. Others dive in and revel in it.

But to get out there, you must first begin. And to get your posts seen by thousands when you don’t have thousands of followers yet, you must advertise.

We can help with that. We’ve been doing social media advertising for close to a decade – not as long as we’ve been doing social media – but we know the ins and outs. We know how to maximize spend, and we love helping our family of customers succeed.

Interfanatic: Providing for a Family of Businesses

We’d love to have you in our family. We love working with businesses of all kinds and sizes. Family businesses, corporations, and sole proprietors – we work with them all. Big budget, small budget, somewhere-in-between budget, we can work with that. We’re here to help you be more successful.

This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

Family, an Interfanatic Quality. Interfanatic Digital Marketing founder Ryan Delane takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

This flock of pelicans… Looks like a fun family to me. I see there’s one interloper there, but they don’t seem to fussed by him. Just caught this one day while walking down the beach.

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Family: Del-Jen, Inc. – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight, Partners

“Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.”
– Les Dawson

Let’s take a break from the severity of it all to recognize the importance of family.

This is a near-unique time in American history. We have siblings pitted against each other, and parents against children, for the first time in 165 years. The Civil War centered on divisive issues and it split families. And this president has somehow failed, with all of his “charisma” and “charm” to unite the country, and has in fact divided it more than ever.

Protests go on daily in every major city and many minor cities in America. Racial issues have been brought to the forefront of national attentions again (definitely a good, if painful thing) after repeatedly failed attempts to minimize the issue by some in authority.

Les Dawson’s own family suffers a mighty schism if the tabloids are right (though not a political one – one around – you guessed it – money.)

But family will always be there for you, even if you don’t always agree. It’s one of the cores of our humanity that we can rely on our family, even if they’re nutty, or salty, or somehow otherwise remind you of fudge.

I think of my own family’s business: Del-Jen, Inc. It was truly a business built on and around family.

Family: An Interfanatic Quality

Perhaps because I was raised around business and one that treated its people like family, I treat our customers as family.

At its height, some of my fondest memories are of my father, my mother, both of my sisters, and both of my brothers-in-law all working at Del-Jen. That’s a lot of family. But the company had over 4,000 employees, and we did our level best to treat them all like family.

A lot of that was longevity. We’ve been working with the Smith family to sell books for over 20 years, something like Del-Jen, Inc.’s contract at Los Angeles Air Force Base, which lasted over thirty years. That was something my father is proud of, and I take pride in working with Carroll Smith’s family for over 20 years. Government contractors tend to outlast web design companies, so for me it’s even more important.

I remember being 12 or something, welcoming employees to a new contract that we won. I handed out their ID badges to Del-Jen’s new employees. These were folks that had worked at their location for years, but were nervous about their new bosses, unsure what would change and what would stay the same. They were real people with real issues, just trying to work in a way that was good for them. I did my best to quell their fears with a smile, but what did I know, and what could I do?

Often, I welcome new companies into our fold – into our family – with the same kind of reassurance. We’re here, we’ve been here, and we’ll continue to be here. “You’ve got us on your side now. Welcome! We’re here to help.”

Del-Jen, Inc. – A Global Family of 4,000

Del-Jen, Inc. (DJI) was a large company, working with United States government agencies all over the world. But everywhere you saw DJI employees, you saw one famous common denominator – the Del-Jen hat.

I still see Del-Jen hats out in the wild from time to time.

The other common denominator was a smile. Most always – and this definitely comes from my sheltered, nepotism influenced perspective – the Del-Jen people I met and saw were wearing a smile. Hopefully it was because they were genuinely happy and not because they wanted to put on a brave face in front of the boss’ son. But, I do remember seeing lots of smiles.

Years ago, Del-Jen needed a new website. …I could say we, but it was really I (there was no “we” yet), created a new one for them. Not long after, that website went away as Del-Jen, Inc. was brought into Fluor Corporation.

“Years ago, Del-Jen needed a new website…. Not long after, that new website went away as Del-Jen, Inc. was brought into Fluor Corporation.”

It was an incredible opportunity to produce a great website for Del-Jen, Inc.

Join the Family with Interfanatic Basic Site Migration

The modern website requires constant care and feeding. It used to be that you could build a website and let it be. Then, it became clear that Google liked freshness, so we needed to perform regular revisions, adding and changing front-facing content for websites. Then, hackers started giving us a hard time and all these beautifully produced data-driven websites were fodder to be exploited.

So now, we have to update every website regularly – to stay ahead of the hackers and to keep the website content fresh and at the top of the SERPs.

And if you’re not doing these things, your search performance is hurting and you WILL be attacked by hackers. Even doing everything doesn’t make your site 100% safe. But locking the door is surely better than leaving the window open.

Let us take care of all of that for you. It’s what we do. We’re here to help.

Interfanatic: Bringing together our Fam

No matter what happens, we all need to listen more. Because in the end, we’re all brothers and sisters. We’re all family. We need to all be here for each other, especially when we disagree.

This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

This was my birthday cake from this year. It is a chocolate cake shaped and decorated like Darth Vader. Come on, that is awesome. Created by my family – my mother. Does it get any better than this? If you have to think about it, you’re wrong. No, it does not get any better than this.

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Family: Cook’s Doors & Windows – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight, Partners

“Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home.”
– Anthony Liccione

According to the descendants of George & Charles Merriam and Noah Webster, a quality is an inherent feature. By that definition, the inherent feature we celebrate this week at Interfanatic is that of family. As such, family is definitely an inherent feature of this collective business, with our associates and clientele.

Family is a bond. Family is a way of doing things.

“Okay, sure,” you say. But a lot of companies blather on about how they treat their customers “like family.”

But do a lot of companies, before they begin work in earnest, spend two hours, or twelve hours, getting to know their customers?

Interfanatic does.

Family: An Interfanatic Quality

Whether our customer is a $100/mo customer or a $150,000 project customer, we spend tremendous getting to know them. Understanding their business. Understanding what they love about it, and how we can best help them accomplish their long-term and short-term goals.

And yes, we spend at least two hours, but sometimes as long as twelve or more hours getting to know our customers, their tastes, and their business.

And that’s a turn off for some people. They see us as problem solvers. We’re here to quickly and efficiently solve their problems.

But we feel that without knowing our clients properly, we can’t make the best decisions for their long-term interest. We’re in this for decades-long relationships, not a week-long or a month-long one. We take your business and our part in it very seriously.

Which may be why we have customer relationships that span a decade or two. They’re our favorite customers because they give us the privilege to make them that way.

Cook’s Doors & Windows: A Business Built on Family

We really enjoyed our time working with Cook’s Doors and Windows, in Lawndale, CA on Hawthorne Boulevard.

Cook Lumber started out as a family business in 1923. It evolved when sons Bob and Jim Cook took their portion of the business and turned into one that sold doors and windows to Southern California.

“We’re in this for decades-long relationships… [w]e take your business and our part in it very seriously.”
– Interfanatic Digital Marketing with Web Site Maintenance & Design

We got to work with Jim and Bob Cook over ten years ago. And though we’ve parted ways, the website we built for them worked well for their business until just this month.

We’re grateful for the opportunity and to play a part in this company’s storied history.

Interfanatic Web Site Management: We’re the Long-term, Trustworthy Resource

For businesses that recognize that their website and digital marketing are integral to their operations, we are the excellent resource. So many companies that do what we do last a few months, or a year, and disappear into the ether.

I can’t tell you how many times a business owner will come to us and say, “I can’t get a hold of our web guy anymore, he just won’t answer the phone”, or, “well, our web girl got a job with a big company and doesn’t have time for us anymore.”

Our business was designed around providing excellent service over the long-term. We keep our people around as long as we can. And our customers don’t have to deal with a revolving door – they deal with one person – for a very, very long time.

Our website management services have always been value-packed. But the truth is, to people who have been through the rigamaroles we’re talking about here, us just being around consistently and doing our job IS our greatest value proposition.

Interfanatic & Family

And all of that is to say that, yes, indeed: we treat our customers like family. Because they are.

This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

Ha! I took this one years ago. We were out for a sail on a friend’s boat when we stumbled upon this clan orh-ing it up in Redondo Beach’s King Harbor. It reminds my of my own father, who does an excellent vocal impression and would fit right in on this buoy if he so chose.

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Family: Raffaello Ristorante – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Cool Stuff on the Web, Customer Spotlight

“Family is a life jacket in the stormy sea of life.“⁠
– J.K. Rowling

We can always depend on family. Rowling knows this – in the years she kept getting rejection for the Harry Potter novels, she indubitably had to rely on family more than once.

Family is always there for you – it’s always an embrace to keep you warm when things aren’t going the way you want.

And family is how we treat our customers. We bring them in and take care of them. When things get tough, we stand by and help them get through the issues.

Which brings me to Ráffaello Rístoranté.

You walk inside, and you are greeted with a smile and the smell of delicious Italian food. It’s not the fanciest of places, but it is the best of places. And a lot of that has to do with the way they treat you. They bring you into their family.

The restaurant business in LA is an even tougher one than most places. So for the Cutri family to last over 30 years feeding San Pedro – that’s impressive.

They’ve done it by providing exceptional food at an exceptional value. They always go a little further. They always do a little more.

And they treat you like family.

Next time you want the warm embrace of delicious italian, check out old San Pedro and Ráffaello Rístoranté. And you’ll find a whole new part of your family you didn’t know was there.

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