The client presented with low online sales revenues, high fixed costs for web marketing, and complicated, cumbersome web outsourcing arrangements. Because of an unorganized and untargeted web presence, the client could not monetize their online work, control their marketing message or effectively generate sales.
Despite an active blogging schedule, designated staff and an expensive website, sales volume remained low and unreliable. The client knew maintaining an online presence was important, but could not reliably connect investment and up-front work with profits.
Diagnosis
The client had not developed an online sales strategy.
The client’s limited website structure could not accommodate the client’s recently expanded product line. Because of access limitations, the client required complicated third-party updates to the site, which often did not load during the client’s test navigation.
The product site and shopping site ran on parallel platforms and contained no sales language. It was extremely difficult for a customer to navigate the site to make a purchasing decision.
The client’s blog and social networking page did not lead customers to purchase, did not promote customer capture, and offered limited opportunity for community interaction.
The client’s online marketing voice lacked content and a clear message and gave no direction to the online conversation about the client and their products.
Solution
Re-brand as a company, not a single product
The limited product capacity of the company’s previous website had damaged the company image, making it appear that they essentially sold one item, rather than a product line. Power of Basics worked with the client to completely redesign the website and relaunched their entire line, featuring each product separately. The new website is organized to allow ample room for future growth.
Build an integrated, sales-focused / community-focused website with easy updating capabilities
Featuring prominent sales language and detailed product information, the new website anticipates customer questions and leads customers directly to purchasing choices. In addition, the site allows user-friendly online retail sales, and offers easy updating that takes only moments and requires minimal web knowledge for designated staff. The ability to immediately update in-house allows the client to run weekly product marketing campaigns and sales incentives to drive retail sales. Finally, increased internet search optimization for the website directly improves the client’s web presence.
Build an interlinked online social networking/marketing system
Power of Basics linked several social networking platforms to create sales-oriented channels that automatically distribute marketing material directly to an international audience 24 hours a day/365 days a year. This strategy yields increased opportunities for client capture and community interaction as the client’s marketing materials engage an audience that has directly requested additional information.
Design and implement online marketing campaign and sales strategy
Power of Basics implemented a tracking system that allows the client’s company managers to directly access the traffic data resulting from their diverse online marketing channels. Using this data, Power of Basics designed a long term marketing plan that focuses the client’s marketing efforts toward the channels that yield the highest response.
Conduct company-wide training to ensure appropriate use of social networking systems
After building a clear online strategy, Power of Basics conducted training sessions for the client’s designated staff to ensure confident and accurate implementation. By familiarizing the client’s staff with ways to consistently support short-term and long-term marketing goals, Power of Basics enabled the client to achieve success from the ground up. In addition, this training equipped the client to manage their marketing in-house as much as possible, allowing increased marketing flexibility.
Client Return on Investment
Client’s average monthly sales increased 250%
Effective conversion of client from wholesale company to a retail company, with associated higher profit margins
Increased purchase response rate to online marketing
Increase of internet search optimization yielding a more dominant industry presence online
Decreased annual cost for online marketing and implementing sales strategies
Increased client control over web presence
Increase of online customer capture for future marketing
Increased number of online community members and number of member interactions
Case Study Review
Rebranding the client from a single-product company to an online corporate presence including multiple products immediately diversified revenue streams and opened doors for future growth.
In addition, streamlining the customer’s online purchasing experience allowed the company to successful convert from wholesale to retail sales. Also, increased ability for customers to emotionally engage with the company through social networking interaction has improved customer capture and enabled a higher conversion rate from interest to sales.
Finally, building a long term marketing strategy and educating company staff on marketing goals allowed the company to lift sales in line with growth goals and to continually move forward with a clear, corporate understanding of how to drive sales and foster company image.
The company now maintains a robust online presence that yields robust profits for time and money invested.
A successful chef, restaurant owner, restaurant consultant, and educator with two published works, the client had taken a career sabbatical for several years. During this time, not only had her online professional presence become obsolete, but the technological arenas for her industry had evolved. The client needed to establish online image representation that successfully translated her personal image into a personal brand in order to pursue future growth. In addition, the client was concerned that distilling her strong personal image into a personal brand could compromise the friendly, socially responsible, family-oriented values for which she was revered.
While reviving her writing career with the planned release of a third publication, the client was contacted by a major international media entity for a high profile interview. With her impending third publication, she knew that having a strong web presence to harness the momentum of the interview was imperative, but she did not know how to reestablish an online presence in an evolved, global market, while accurately representing a personal brand.
Diagnosis
The client had not translated her successful personal image into a brand image
The client had an ineffective online representation
The client had maintained a low professional profile for several years, which compromised her status as an industry expert
While online retailers sold the client’s publications, the client did not have channels in place to directly refer online sales
Due to the impending media interview, the client had an extremely short time line in which to define her personal brand and rebuild her online image
Solution
Define the client’s personal brand Because the client had a very strong personal image that identified her in her industry, it was imperative that her personal brand accurately reflect her well-established values. Over the course of several interviews, Power of Basics helped the client identify the leading personal and professional priorities that define her career. In addition, Power of Basics worked with the client to describe the client’s future career goals and the values that drove them. Using the client’s established values, priorities, and goals, Power of Basics created an image statement that defined the client’s personal brand, while leaving her ample room for professional growth toward her long term career goals.
Build online representation to reinforce client’s personal brand and establish status as an industry expert Using the client’s image statement, Power of Basics built an online web presence that promotes the client’s friendly, personal brand by encouraging customer interactions and fostering online community. Also, Power of Basics created online platforms for the client to provide information, answer questions, and educate her audience, thereby reinforcing her status as an industry expert. In addition, Power of Basics included internet search optimization for the website, directly improving the client’s web presence.
Harness media momentum for future growth Building a contact capture system that feeds into a trackable contact database, Power of Basics enabled the client to capture traffic generated by the media interview. The trackable nature of the database allows the client to monitor customer interest and involvement in order to judge the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. In addition, Power of Basics set up online avenues for media outlets to contact the client with inquiries and additional interview requests.
Conduct client training to ensure appropriate maintenance of personal brand Over the course of several training sessions, Power of Basics educated the client on the concept of the personal brand, and on confident and accurate brand maintenance. In addition, Power of Basics conducted technical training, enabling the client to manage her personal brand in-house as much as possible, allowing increased marketing flexibility, while decreasing annual expenditures for online brand maintenance.
Client Return on Investment
Definition of client’s personal brand based on the client’s core values, and goals allowing long term sustainability
Effective conversion of the client from a strong personal image to a more marketable personal brand, thereby opening the doors for future growth into a company-based model, rather than an individual-based model
Development of marketing channels for client to drive online sales
Increased number of internet channels that allow the client to provide knowledge and interact with readers to establish the client’s status as an industry expert
Improved internet search optimization yielding a more dominant industry presence
Decrease in annual cost for maintaining online marketing presence
Increase of client control over web presence
Increase of online client-capture for future marketing
Implementation of trackable online community and that yields increasing numbers of online members and member interactions
The entire project was accomplished within the client’s narrow time line, allowing the client to harness the momentum of her high-profile media interview for future marketing of her third publication
Case Study Review
Defining the client’s personal brand immediately opened the door for future expansion by allowing her to initiate online marketing and evolve beyond the limitations of an individualized image.
In addition, building a strong online presence that includes trackable client-capture and online community allows the client to utilize the momentum of her media interview to build a contact database for future marketing. Also, the online platforms allow the client to reestablish her status as an industry expert, while providing avenues to drive retail sales through direct marketing.
Plus, educating the client on long term marketing strategy allows her to stay on track and continually move forward with a clear, understanding of how to drive sales and foster her personal brand. The client now maintains a robust online presence that allows global representation of her clearly defined, value based, personal brand.
