Case Studies

 

Barrier

Barrier is part of Barrier Group, and is a relatively young and energetic business which manufactures and distributes a wide range of workplace-related safety equipment.

Barrier contacted Net Smart Marketing because they were concerned that they had lost ground with their internet strategy.

Their website was about 6 years old and, despite a recent design revamp, they found that the website of a (related) company, which they had recently acquired, consistently outranked their site in Google results. They were also concerned that they lacked information about the effectiveness of their internet strategy.  ‘We don’t know how many visitors we get to the site.  We get some statistics, but (we) don’t understand them.’ As well as publishing general company information, their existing web site provided an A-Z catalogue of their products.  The product range is quite large and though comprehensive, the catalogue was not particularly flexible, nor very friendly to visitors, especially those who didn’t already have quite a good idea of what they were looking for. As Net Smart Marketing talked with them, we found that the company was investing quite significantly in the production of a paper-based catalogue which was used to get information about their products into the market place.  Barrier is an innovative company and they regularly develop new products.  There were ongoing (and costly) issues in keeping the catalogue up-to-date.

A complete eBusiness Solution

After careful consideration, Net Smart Marketing proposed a complete eBusiness solution to the company. 

Features

The proposal included the following:

• A dynamic catalogue of their products
• Customers to be able to purchase directly from the web site
• Ability to publish (securely) separate pricing for franchise, wholesale and retail customers
• Ability to add new products whenever they wish
• Ability to change images and modify product descriptions whenever they wish
• Products able to be be assigned to multiple categories, (user friendly)
• Upselling features – customers who bought this product, also bought ‘product X’
• Full reporting
• Secure and seamless payment capabilities
• Search engine friendly site technology
• Email marketing technology

Marketing

To market the site, both keyword marketing and search engine optimisation strategies were implemented. 
Net Smart Marketing prepares monthly traffic reports which analyse various aspects of the performance of the site.

There has been a great response to the search engine optimisation strategy, as a result of which the company has attracted international interest in its products.

Outcomes

Daily visitors to the site increased by more than 220% over the first six months following the launch of the new site.

The company now offers its wholesale customers a user-friendly option to buy their products online.  This gives them flexibility to make their purchases at a time that suits them.  Sales through this means (online) grew strongly.  However, many customers still prefer to visit the site for information, and then place their orders by phone, fax or email. 

The company makes use of email marketing technology to keep its wholesale customers aware of new products, high volume products and special offers.  Retail customer usage patterns will emerge over time.  This will create opportunities to develop campaigns to target precise market segments.

Company sales overall have grown strongly since the site was launched, and the website now plays a central role in the company’s marketing strategy.

Visit the Barrier website.

If you have a challenge similar to Barrier, give us a call on 1300 431 415 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            1300 431 415      end_of_the_skype_highlighting and we can work out a strategy with you.