Agetek
Increasing online impact and creating a new digital strategy in line with an updated company vision and strategic business plan.
The Client
Agetek is one of Ireland’s most successful kitchen door and components manufacturer. Since 2002, they have had a website which was designed as a point of contact with their trade customers. This site was developed by Emarkable, and has been delivering a steady stream of client enquiries since then – mainly due to the search engine rankings that were established by Emarkable and maintained for over a decade. The site showcased a variety of kitchen doors manufactured by Agetek.
But by 2012, the business model had changed, and a new digital strategy – in line with Agetek’s updated company vision and strategic business plan – was required. With the assistance of the Enterprise Ireland Internet Marketing Initiative, Emarkable undertook the task of developing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy for Agetek. We developed a 12-month programme – in conjunction with the company – to define the business and digital strategy’s cornerstones, get the ball rolling on each task, and train Agetek’s own team to take over digital marketing duties in the future.
The Challenge
As usual, when we first look under the hood of a large business, we had to start with some big questions regarding Agetek’s business strategy. To answer them, we undertook an in–depth analysis of their web presence, target market, and their overall brand positioning. Kitchens, bedroom furniture and office furniture have all suffered a significant decrease in demand due to the ongoing effects of the 2008 recession. Agetek were successfully supplying a range of kitchen components nationwide – not just kitchen doors.
The company sells to trade clients (mostly trade professionals) and those clients wanted a full supply service. Here was the marketing challenge: Grow the existing professional trade market, but also attract the end-user customer to create a ‘pull’ effect for their products. To successfully manage the B2B and B2C conflict, Agetek’s management team needed a focus and a clarity of purpose. They needed to identify and research the opportunities that were available, and position their business model for the opportunities that would lead to a sustainable business advantage. Emarkable had to develop a digital marketing model to complement this new business model.
The new website – required by the new positioning – needed to showcase all their products – attracting end-users as well as their core clientele – the trade professionals. The site was also to be an online showroom that their trade customers could use to help with their designs, and also a reference point for their customers. In short, the site needed to feel like a consumer site. But the key message needed to be about the trade professional.
Trade contacts were still the primary audience. While the new site would attract end-users, Agetek saw this as a win for their loyal and experienced trade customers, as the company would have to use them to fulfill any consumer order that would be placed directly. The consumer site would be the online brochure for Agetek’s trade customer to use as a selling tool.
Make it Real
Agetek had an existing, furnished, 10,000-square-foot showroom, where their trade partners could bring their customers. This would now be made available to the general public also. To ensure that the site would work for the end consumer, a lot of research and thought was undertaken to develop the persona of Mrs Brown – the ideal customer. She was also invaluable in unifying the two strands of marketing – to customers and to trade – thus keeping the promotional effort in focus.
The New Website
We carried out a full competitor analysis, and implemented it into the site’s development, keyword definition and SEO plan. We made a point of showcasing the full product range, and demonstrating that there is more to Agetek than just doors, the previous focus of agetek.ie. The site now includes a weekly blog, and a trade section – to which customers can make enquiries and send orders 24/7.
We set up a two-fold reach activity plan:
- General public (Mrs Brown) This involved weekly blogs and social media activities, where Facebook and Pintrest proved most effective.
- Trade Professionals were targeted mostly by establishing regular contact outside of the routine orders and bills. We created an e-zine, and the first issue highlighted the website’s re-launch. The next two issues focused on what was new in the range, and showcased some of the lesser-known product lines to emphasise Agetek’s variety of quality offerings. Such e-zine entries generated the most clicks. With average open rates of 60% and click-through rates of 30%, email proved an excellent way to nurture an already-engaged audience.
Agetek also developed agetek.co.uk to focus on export sales. Similar to the focus in Ireland, which is on trade professionals, the focus in the UK is B2B, and not to the consumer. The campaign has already led to a substantial contract with a large wardrobe manufacturer – who has developed a niche product line with Agetek. Other opportunities have arisen as a result of being seen online, and while some are more profitable than others, the experience and contacts are allowing Agetek to carve a niche in a market that previously seemed to be impossible to crack.
The UK market is the newest chapter in the development and growth of Agetek’s business.
Knowledge and Skill Transfer
After a thorough training, Jacinta Colton, Marketing Manager, from Agetek can now keep a close eye on the numbers, through Google Analytics, email marketing and social monitoring tools. We also provided a fully-defined training manual for site updates, social updates, blogs, and e-zines. This complements the monthly site optimisation that we continue to provide.
Conclusion – Continuous Development, Onwards and Upwards
With Emarkable’s help, over the past 12 months Agetek developed a new digital plan, defined their positioning and targeting for the UK and Irish market, and developed a successful editorial calendar. The efforts came to fruition – showing increased rates of web traffic (34% year-on-year) and an increase in enquires (20%). As their customers enjoy a better understanding of Agetek’s offerings, sales have also increased.
The next 12 months look good for Agetek. While we have developed a solid foundation for them, and they are now fully capable of managing their digital presence on their own, we continue with our great working relationship and to contribute ideas, stories and strategies.
