Killeshal
The Challenge
Killeshal Precast Concrete (KPC) is an Offaly-based company which has been involved in the construction industry in Ireland since 1969. The company specialises in the production of wet and dry concrete doubling for prestressed concrete tripling. Since its inception, the company has grown in a sustained manner. Today the product offering includes a range of steel and polymer products which complement the core concrete offer.
In 2015 Killeshal Precast approached Emarkable with a request to assist the company in building their online presence in the UK market. Over the years the company had been receiving a steady flow of inquiries – and some orders from the UK – but it was decided that the time was now right to make a determined effort to increase the profile and business generated from the UK.
The company knew from experience the logistics of serving the UK from Ireland was possible. The key challenge however was to identify the correct market segments and to determine the ideal product mix to be offered at a profitable level.
Strategy
Emarkable carried out extensive online and offline research on behalf of Killeshal to identify the best market segments to target. We then had to make sure that the company branding and online value proposition was consistent with elements the market valued.
Emarkable worked closely with Killeshal Precast to define a range of marketing personas which reflected the various types of personnel that could be involved in the purchasing specification process. This “fictional representations” of online prospects included architects, builders, quantity surveyors and home-owners. The next stage was to develop a content marketing plan which would satisfy the research needs of the various groups when searching for a specialist concrete supplier online. This part of the strategy process is important, and a key part of the overall Search Optimisation Process needed to improve organic search rankings. This information was also used to drive a Google Adwords campaign and to help build a valuable contact database of prospects and influencers.
The focal point of the digital marketing strategy was a redesign of the company website. Prior to this it was a “static brochure” type website. Due to the growth of the digital economy and the emergence of the self-directed buyer, the website was now an integral part of the selling process. It had be used as a major Lead Generation engine to help drive sales enquiries.
The challenge was to drive prospects to the site and then encourage them to leave some contact details, or make direct contact with the company.
The look and feel of the site had to reflect the company message .The company’s value proposition which is built on experience, reliability, logistical know-how and bespoke production needed to be prominent on the homepage.
A range of specialist downloadable PDF brochures were created, aimed at the different markets and buyer personas. Prominent Calls to Action were embedded throughout the site encouraging visitors to request a quote, make contact, or subscribe to the company mailing list . From the outset Enterprise Ireland were involved and gave assistance to the project.
The site was built using the WordPress Content Management System (CMS). Google analytics was installed on the site to allow Emarkable to monitor audience behaviour and to ensure the website is optimised for search engines on an ongoing basis.
A blog was created and content was developed to help drive new users to the site as part of a Search Optimisation campaign. Emarkable worked with Killeshal Concrete to help automate and scale up all digital marketing activities. This meant setting up a sequence of trigger emails that aut0-responded to prospect enquiries, and helped to move them along the buying decision process.
The company soon began to notice an increase in website traffic and more importantly enquiries and indeed sales from UK-based prospects. The nature of the industry means that the company has now built up a very solid base of UK-based clients who work with Killeshal on an ongoing basis. Killeshal continues to grow their client base in the UK, and the UK market has become an important target market for the company.
