Sol Distribution, based in Oswestry, Shropshire, is a value-added distributor of network and security IT hardware products. Sol Distribution are widely respected for their exemplary standards of customer service, so much so that they now don the title ‘Hardware Distributor of the Year’ after picking up an award over the summer. Sol Distribution’s lineup of vendors is not to be dismissed either, working alongside huge international players in IT such as ASUS, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise and Lantronix.
Limited brand awareness, organic search traffic and online enquiries
Graeme Sutton, Managing Director at Sol Distribution, approached UX Media in June with a common problem.
Graeme had started to notice that Sol’s lack of a robust online presence had resulted in limited brand awareness, limited organic search traffic to their website, and an ever decreasing number of online enquiries.
A strong online presence has become increasingly vital for businesses, as it directly impacts brand visibility, customer engagement and ultimately, business growth. In Sol’s case, the absence of a robust online presence was beginning to present many missed opportunities for them as a business and signify several underlying problems.
In an era where most companies, especially within the IT distribution sector, are heavily investing in digital strategies, a lack of a robust digital marketing strategy and online presence was beginning to put Sol Distribution at a significant disadvantage, limiting their reach, visibility and reducing their credibility.
As always with marketing, it’s one thing to walk the walk, but you’ve also got to talk the talk to win in a highly competitive landscape.
Conversion rate optimisation, branding and email marketing
Sol Distribution opted for our partner package, giving them unlimited access to our full library of digital marketing expertise. Since then, we’ve been firing on all cylinders.
Sol are a product-centric company. Their success is solely determined by the number of products sold within a given time frame, and thus, the process of a potential customer discovering Sol online and purchasing from them needed to be as easy as humanly possible.
Because of this, we began by giving significant attention to conversion rate optimisation, branding, and email marketing strategies.
Conversion rate optimisation is the process of re-engineering and designing the layout and UX (user experience) of a website to make it easier for visitors to transact with a business online. Sol have over 16,000 product listings on their website, with each one needing to be as easy as possible to find by search and from within the website itself.
A significant issue with Sol’s website that we noticed early on was how difficult it was to discover products by category. It was easy to search for specific product models as the website already had a search function but people often search based on product type, without necessarily knowing the specific model they require.
For example, a visitor might understand that they need a Wireless Access Point to extend WiFi coverage in their office, but might not be aware of the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise AP1301 series. It was essential for us to categorise each hardware type so that the visitor journey could lead them to a specific product to purchase.
The results
Since we took over the marketing reins, here are just some things we have achieved on behalf of Sol Distribution in their first six months with us:
1. We reduced the number of steps it took to go from the home page of their website to a specific product by 50%, boosting conversion rates.
2. We updated their branding and visuals, incorporating modernised banners, imagery and email signatures, along with various other miscellaneous marketing collateral such as Christmas cards and stand designs for events.
3. We posted an average of 3 times a week on LinkedIn resulting in nearly 20,000 impressions, each boasting an average engagement rate of 8% (the average on LinkedIn is 3%).
4. We sent an average of 2 email marketing campaigns a week, each achieving an average click-through rate of 2.7% (0.5% higher than the industry average).
5. We helped Sol obtain 40 sign-ups from individuals wanting to participate in a three-quarter incentive with email marketing campaigns and blog content, helping them increase the frequency and volume of product orders to help them hit sales targets.
Sol Distribution’s outbound sales efforts, coordinated by their extensive sales department, have been greatly supported by UX Media’s inbound marketing efforts.
Graeme Sutton, Managing Director at Sol Distribution, commented on the quality of service they’ve received by saying
“UX Media’s proactive approach and near-instant response times to requests have transformed our marketing output overnight.
In only a couple of months, we have started to see an increase in signups to events, web traffic and online enquiries.”
Ryan Lloyd, Founder at UX Media said
“Graeme, Ben and the team have been outstanding – we feel like a true extension of their team, benefitting both parties to a great extent. The line of communication between the two parties is robust; I can only see this relationship flourishing further in the coming months. I’m excited to see what’s to come down the line”.
UX Media offer digital marketing services for small-medium sized enterprises in the United Kingdom. Are you ready to expand your sales and marketing team at an affordable rate and without the headache of hiring? Let’s chat.