Summary
Established in 2008, composite door manufacturer Door-Stop is now the market leader in its sector. The foundation of its success is www.door-stop.co.uk and its unique online ordering system which configures 942,992,409,600 doors and plugs into production/logistics to offer an unmatched three day delivery service.
Success for Door-Stop has come from its careful consideration of marketing strategy. The plan for 2010-11 involved promoting use of its website, making ordering the right door (using the online “configurator”) simpler and easier, and integrating all marketing campaigns and materials to attract new customers, increase sales, achieve turnover of £16m and become market leader.
Feedback led to redesigning the configurator and developing it into a plug-in quoteengine for customers’ own sites, to generate leads. These initiatives (plus a discount promotion) were communicated to market in bursts of two-three months, over print and online PR and advertising, direct-mail postcards, faxes and emails, driving traffic to the website. The campaign was remarkably successful; resulting in an increase of online orders from 53 per cent to 90 per cent from April 2010 to April 2011and attracting 1,698 new customers while existing ones bought 40 per cent more – far above the initial objectives.
About the client company
Door-Stop manufactures Glass Reinforced Plastic doors, selling to installers across the UK. When Door-Stop began, the retail door sector was dominated by plastic ‘panel’ doors: cheap, but plagued by quality problems. Composite doors were a niche product; better looking, secure and energy-efficient, but limited by six-eight week lead-times – too long for installers needing faster response times to win orders and prompt payment from homeowners.
Before 2008 ordering composite doors was a complicated process with many opportunities for error. Door-Stop has created a retail market for an easy-to-order, affordable, composite door delivered in three days – four days quicker than the nearest rival – achievable thanks to its unique online easy-ordering system. Composite doors have now overtaken panels in the market, which has huge potential as there are millions to replace.
Strategy
Founded in a downturn, Door-Stop aimed to end its third year in profit. Forecast turnover was £16m: to achieve this Door-Stop needed to attract 1,000 new customers and increase average order size. Increasing online orders would grow Door-Stop’s margins and improve service, as they cost less to process and result in more on-time, in-full deliveries.
Customer feedback indicated the process could be made even easier and that installers required support in generating leads (particularly internet leads). Although rivals cannot match the online ordering/3-day delivery service, it is a competitive, crowded marketplace. Door-Stop needs to stay ahead to continue growing.
The target audience
The campaign was targeted at installers who bought by phone/fax, and prospects. Most installers were slow to get online, many with no website or only a single-page site. Used to long lead-times, many simply didn’t believe the Door-Stop 3 day delivery promise, while others were hesitant about ordering such a high-specification product online. Door-Stop had to convince prospects/existing customers of the benefits of online ordering, while equipping them with materials to generate online leads themselves.
Objectives of the campaign
The overall campaign aims were to:
a. Increase unique website visitors from 1,150 in April 2010 to 2,000 in April 2011
b. Increase online orders from 53 per cent to 88 per cent
c. Increase the average order per week per customer from 1.6 doors to two
Door-Stop began by redesigning the online ordering process, reducing a nine-step process to a simple five-step, one-minute operation, which allows the introduction of further upgrades/ new products. This was developed into a plug-in quote-engine which customers can tailor and add to their own websites to generate leads. These initiatives then had to be communicated to the market.
Media, channels or techniques used
Within the wider 2010/2011 marketing programme, (where all communications pointed traffic to the website), the campaign to increase online ordering was divided into three ‘bursts’ of two-three months each. Door-Stop promoted a £10 discount for ordering online; a new configurator; and a plug-in quote-engine to generate leads on customers’ own websites. Previous research revealed while some installers read trade magazines/e-zines, others only respond to direct-mail. Door-Stop covered all bases.
With each mini-campaign, a ‘launch’ press release was sent out, then an in-depth article placed with one magazine followed by editor letters/blog comments on relevant sites. PR was published on the website (aiding SEO), which also includes an RSS feed of other relevant articles. Personalised direct-mail eshots, postcards and faxes were sent in consecutive weeks with the same message, to 13,000 customers and prospects, timed to coincide with magazine publications. Telemarketing followed to turn leads into sales.
Timescales of the campaign
- April 2010 – Online customer survey (sent via e-newsletter) shows some customers still prefer to order by phone/fax.
- May 2010 – Focus group identifies areas to improve; Door-Stop analyses pages customers spend longest on while ordering.
- June-July 2010 – While development progresses, £10 discount for ordering online is promoted (ref Q5).
- September-October 2010 – Online ordering system redesigned.
- November 2010 – New ‘configurator’ trialled with select customers; any problems resolved.
- December-February 2010 – Configurator launched with PR, ads, direct-mail.
- January 2011 – Plug-in quote-engine developed.
- February-March 2011– Quote-engine launched.
- April-May 2011 – Campaign analysis.
Results
In April 2010 to April 2011 Door-Stop has:
- Achieved 170 print and online PR appearances (articles, letters, press releases) plus 34 print and online adverts with the campaign to increase online orders. With three direct-mail postcard/email/fax campaigns this means an installer could see something from Door-Stop up to 17 times a month. This was part of a wider brand awareness programme which totaled in 486 PR appearances, 91 adverts, and 12 further direct-mails (51 monthly installer ‘contacts’).
- Grown average unique visitors per week from 1,150 in April 2010 to 2,100 in April 2011 Increased online ordering from 53 per cent of sales in April 2010 to 90 per cent in April 2011 Attracted 1,698 new customers.
- Increased average number of doors ordered per customer per week by 40 per cent, from 1.6 in April 2010 to 2.2 in April 2011.
- Increased average order value from £362 to £395 – a nine per cent rise (net of any price increases).
Client testimonial
“While UK manufacturing is at an all-time low, Door-Stop has developed its business and the industry it operates in. The success of our website campaign has contributed to our remarkable 30 per cent growth in turnover from £13m last year to £17m in 2010/2011, with a profit of £1.2m, on last year’s £0. This represents a 2,260 per cent ROI on a £53,100 marketing spend! The campaign provided the momentum for our current £20m run rate, while our share of the retail composite door sector has grown from 49 per cent to 56 per cent. We are now the market leader, with brand awareness at an all-time high. The integrated nature of the campaign synchronised communications to make a massive and measurable impact, well worthy of this award.” Nick Dutton, managing director, Door-Stop
