Alfred Briggs
1 March 2006
Category: Retail
Location: Rest of UK and International
Size: SME
Application: Buy & Sell Online, Sales & Marketing
Operating from a single site in East London, Blue Line has been manufacturing office furniture since 1949. It sells a comprehensive range of wood veneer furniture and is the first such company in Europe to secure Forest Stewardship Council Certification. Blue Line has always tried to anticipate new trends in the industry. It was, therefore, keen to embrace e-commerce. Back in 1997, when current Marketing Manager Trevor Elliott worked as an external consultant, Blue Line sowed the seeds for an early move into e-commerce. We wanted to get in early with e-commerce so that we could learn from our mistakes so that we'd find ourselves ahead of the game when e-commerce really took off" recalls Trevor. That year, Blue Line built its first website at a cost of £2,000. Trevor subsequently joined Blue Line. Since January 2002 he has led a rolling programme to develop and upgrade the website by applying traditional marketing disciplines. "Having experimented in the past, we have now got firmly to grips with the key essentials for our website. As a result, we no longer spend money on mass-advertising, direct mailing or catalogues. This saves us thousands of pounds per year." Important features of the Blue Line brand are the quality of the product allied to the use of sustainable alternatives to petroleum based laminates. The website is an important vehicle for this message. "Customers can see that our environmental and quality claims are backed by third party audited certification." comments Trevor. Blue Line's website also contains detailed pictures and information on its products. There is also a news section, which Trevor updates himself, and an enquiries form which customers can fill out if they are interested in a certain product or want to find out who their local dealer is. Trade customers will soon be able to access a password protected private area that provides downloadable resources and lists current special offers. Site content is produced using conventional desk top publishing techniques and then passed to an external web-programmer before the website is updated. Blue Line also chose web formats that ensured that the site was robust and fully scaleable as traffic grew. Blue Line's use of e-commerce is not limited to its website. The company views e-mail as a primary means of communication with its customers because it delivers a message directly to the recipient's desk without the delays of conventional post. Blue Line also has access to the extranet of some of its customers where it posts its product catalogue so that customers' procurement managers can easily browse the range. Whilst the majority of orders are currently placed by phone, fax or letter, Blue Line predicts a shift towards e-trading. Since the launch of its website in 2000, the internet has steadily become Blue Line's major source of quality sales leads. "Thanks to the website, we have improved our conversion rate of leads into sales. Around a half of our leads now convert into sales. An expression of interest through the website can convert to an order within 24 hours. The website gives us about 50 quality leads a week" says Trevor. Trevor puts the success down to the fact that the website is a seamless extension of its off-line marketing programme, promoting the same unique selling propositions in a concise easy to use format. In terms of financial benefits, Blue Line reckons it saves between £10,000 and £20,000 per annum because it no longer uses mass marketing or direct mailing. The company saves a further £15,000 because it no longer prints a physical catalogue as customers can view product information on the website or via electronic catalogues produced in-house on CD-roms. This means that it can constantly update its catalogue without having to incur the costs of a re-print. Driven by the commitment to e-commerce of its larger customers, Blue Line has begun to add private areas to its own website through which customers will be able to place orders. Trevor hopes that this transactional capability will be formally launched in early 2003. The company is also planning to make wider use of internet technologies such as video conferencing and remote access for salesmen to the company's systems. For those companies not yet using e-commerce, Trevor feels they need to start developing e-commerce capabilities now. "E-commerce is now a mainstream sales and marketing function and companies large and small need to get on board. Above all, don't be afraid of the jargon. Apply the same disciplines that you use for off-line marketing and you won't go far wrong".
