HeLpiNG iMpRoVe yoUR BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

Consult. Innovate. Design. Develop.
HELPING
IMPROVE Your
BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE
WINTER 2012/2013
Milwaukee customers offered
WIN
social media incentive
A harLey davidson
www.milwaukeetool.co.uk
latest projects
“The latest web applications and
hardware platforms offer plenty of
opportunities for improving business
performance. This edition of i2i looks
at what’s ahead for 2013 and beyond.”
Many firms are concluding that today’s economic
environment will be the norm for the next few years.
As a result, boardrooms are revisiting the potential
offered by the web and how that affects
company strategy.
One fundamental change over the last year is that
website visitors have become ‘device agnostic’. The
web is available on four equally powerful platforms
- desktop, laptop, smartphone and tablet – enabling
users to access what they want, whenever they want
and wherever they choose.
THEAKSTON GOES MOBILE
Since its launch a few months ago, results on
the new Theakston website and online shop have
soared beyond expectations. Visitor numbers
have more than doubled, brewery tours are
packed out and enquiries for its beers, including
the legendary Old Peculier, are shooting up.
Mobile is the latest addition to Theakston-onthe-web so, wherever you are in the country
now, there’s no excuse for not finding a great
Theakston pint.
www.theakstons.co.uk/m
The large number of mobile devices in circulation is relevant too. Research in
Q4 2012 shows 56% of UK consumers own a smartphone, 21% have access to a
tablet and the over-35s are the major tablet users.
The proliferation of mobile means behaviour is changing. Every organisation
– large or small, public or private, trading locally or internationally – needs to
understand the profile and mind-set of their website visitors, which will be
different according to the time of day, location, type of device and so on. That
goes further than just offering products and services across all platforms.
Moving on, we all know that reduced consumer spending is having a knock-on
effect on most sectors, which limits the prospect for sustaining profit through
volume growth. Instead, companies are looking again at how the web can
reduce internal costs and improve operating efficiency – and are finding it can.
Some of the internal improvement will come from better ways to integrate
systems, share knowledge and raise standards, for customers as well as
employees. That’s likely to drive further growth in e-learning systems that help
to improve quality, reduce costs, win new business and generate online income.
New API for global brand
We have recently developed a new API
(Application Programming Interface) for one
of the world’s leading brands. The API allows
authorised third party developers to create
applications and websites that utilise up to date
product information from the company and
insert orders directly into an e-commerce
platform for fulfilment.
Design and technology advances will see the continued spread of Microsoft
MVC development (Model-View-Controller). MVC separates the presentation of
information from the user’s interaction, and simplifies the delivery of complex
technical solutions. The demand from web users for content to switch from
text to infographics, video and animation will increase.
Another improvement to website use is coming from Responsive Design.
Through a mix of flexible grids and layouts, images and an intelligent use
of CSS media queries, sites can automatically respond, resize and reshape
according to the device, screen resolution and scripting with which they are
being viewed.
I hope you find this edition of i2i helpful. Business success for many
organisations will be shaped by how they exploit the web in 2013 and 2014.
DAVID BENTLEY - MANAGING DIRECTOR
Upgrading to Kentico
Ease of administration and a wealth of valuable
new features are common factors behind
the decisions of three famous City of London
organisations to upgrade their websites to
Kentico CMS. Two are City Liveries – the Society
of Apothecaries and the Worshipful Company
of Masons. The third is the Honourable Artillery
Company (above), Britain’s oldest regiment, whose
officers and soldiers have recently seen active
service in Afghanistan.
A sweet taste for
Green & Black’s using MVC
Our latest e-commerce website for Green & Blacks Direct is getting
rave reviews. Its usability is superb and the range of gifts will satisfy
the most extreme chocoholic.
ANIMATION GETS THE MESSAGE
ACROSS ON WELFARE REFORM
The ‘Make Your Own Hamper’ function lets you pick n’ mix from
over sixty sumptuous Green & Blacks products. There’s a choice of
four packaging options, so your gift will arrive looking exactly how
you want.
Web-based animation is spearheading a
communication drive about important government
changes to housing benefit.
The new website uses the latest Microsoft MVC programming
architecture (Model-View-Controller) which is why it’s so slick.
MVC works behind the scenes to separate the presentation of
information from the user’s interaction. The result is a much faster
website and a significant improvement in user-experience.
It was created by our design team for Longhurst
Group, an independent provider of high quality homes,
care and support services. The company has around
18,000 homes in the Midlands and East of England.
For a high profile e-commerce site like Green & Blacks that means
increased customer satisfaction, more orders and plenty of users
wanting to tell their friends how good the site is.
The animations explain to tenants that, for many,
housing benefit will fall from April 2013. Longhurst
wants to ensure their tenants understand the
implications, can plan well ahead and be able to cope.
The new Green & Blacks website was developed in partnership with
Green & Blacks UK fulfilment house partner Hemingways, with the
Hemingways marketing team coming up with fabulous
gift combinations to suit every occasion.
Working closely with the Longhurst communications
team, we storyboarded, scripted, created the
graphics and voiceover and compiled
into a 2000 frame web video.
If you are ordering gifts over the
Winter and Spring period - Christmas,
New Year, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s
Day, Easter and all those weddings
and birthdays in between – check out
the latest sweet taste at
Green & Blacks Direct.
“Delivering complex messages is never
easy, but NetConstruct’s new animations
for us are incredibly engaging
and really work,” said Janet
Matthews, Longhurst’s Director
of Marketing.
“We are delighted with the result.
This type of web-based application
has an important role to play in
customer communication.”
www.greenandblacksdirect.com
www.netconstruct.co.uk/welfarereform
NEW E-LEARNING SYSTEM AVAILABLE NOW
NetConstruct has launched a new e-learning
solution that enables you to train your clients
or your own teams far more efficiently.
Use it for generating revenue through subscription or
e-commerce based courses, or to provide reward-linked
education programmes for sales teams, product sellers and
distributors.
Imagine cutting training costs by up to 60% overnight, or
making your CPD training courses and examinations available
wherever the target audience is worldwide and at whatever
time they want.
The new e-learning suite enables you to validate suppliers as
part of your procurement procedures or gauge candidate skills
and knowledge when recruiting new staff.
The new e-learning solution is a single, fully scalable
platform that can be integrated into existing websites and
intranets or be run as a standalone application.
We help you to configure the system and customise the
content, or can provide specialists in e-learning material
to develop the content for you.
ONLINE VIDEO IS A RISING STAR
27%
growth in online
video advertising
Every forecast for online video points to
continued explosive growth, and every business
should have online video as part of its internet strategy.
KINGSPAN GROUP
We live in a TV-dominated world. For communication, explaining services,
training, checking out products and so on, online video is a stimulating
way to interact and absorb information.
Building standards and requirements vary
considerably between countries. Throughout
2012 we have been rolling out international sites
for Kingspan, the £1bn turnover manufacturer of
insulated building panels, including multi-lingual
sites for France, Belgium, Norway and Spain, and
English-speaking sites dedicated to Kingspan’s
operations in Australia and New Zealand. CMS
training for Kingspan’s Australia and New Zealand
staff was delivered by our Leeds team over Cisco
WebEx conferencing.
Given the choice between text and video, most website users will now go
for video. It’s no surprise therefore that online video advertising spend in
2012 is up 27% on 2011.
Accessing video has never been easier too. The cost of smartphones
and tablets has nose-dived and, importantly, these devices now have
capacities that equal most desktops and laptops.
The opportunity of video for website owners is clearly huge. So what has
NetConstruct been doing about it?
www.kingspanpanels.co.uk
As long ago as 2004 we identified a great future for video. We have
invested heavily in video ever since and have picked up awards at
regional and national level along the way.
We have our own online video production unit which delivers in studio
or on your site. We cover everything you need from scripting, filming,
animation, voiceovers and editing to broadcasting at national network
quality and web management.
College of Phlebology
Can you use video to
communicate better online?
Will video help you reach out
to potential customers
and drive up orders? Let your
target audience see you
and hear what you offer.
Talk with us today.
Problems with veins are not discussed openly by
many people and successful treatments can be
hard to find. The College of Phlebology, based on
Surrey Research Park, provides expert advice to
patients and professionals around the world.
The College’s new website, created by
NetConstruct, is packed with everything you need
to know about veins, including a directory
of treatment specialists.
www.collegeofphlebology.com
www.netconstruct.co.uk/videoreallyworks
Recent video projects
... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . .
BEFORE
AFTER
£2.6m
Tennants Auctioneers
Video catalogue of Fine Art auction lots circulated
worldwide; helps secure record £2.6m bid for
Chinese vase.
www.netconstruct.co.uk/chinesevase
record bid
at Tennants
From packet to
compost in just
Innovia Films
42 days
Time-lapse video demonstrates the rapid
decomposition of Innovia’s new NatureFlex™
bio-film, from packet to compost in just 42 days.
www.innoviafilms.com
ALL TOOLED UP
at Milwaukee
New
website is on
the money
Ramsdens, the UK’s largest independent
pawnbroker and travel money dealership,
has opened an online trading platform
through NetConstruct.
US power tools giant Milwaukee launched
its new UK website with the chance to
win an iconic Harley Davidson.
At the beginning of 2012, Ramsdens appointed
NetConstruct as its web development, SEO and
digital marketing partner.
Milwaukeetool.co.uk is one of a suite of three websites
awarded to NetConstruct by parent company Techtronic
Industries Inc, a world leader in consumer, professional and
industrial power tools. Following hard on its heels will be
websites for its Ryobi and AEG brands.
The new website covers Ramsden’s 100 store
network spread throughout mainland UK. It
includes an easy-to-use design for customers,
integration with its operating systems, currency
comparator and an e-commerce portal for its
range of prestige watches such as the Longines,
Omega, Gucci and Tag Heuer brands.
The site is built in Kentico CMS and integrates seamlessly
into TTi’s back office PIM and DAM systems, providing up to
date product information across the entire Milwaukee heavy
duty tool range.
Website visitors can compare products, write reviews,
zoom in on individual features, find a store from one of
Milwaukee’s 200+ UK outlets and receive online training
from a suite of videos. The customer service portal allows
visitors to register their products and download the latest
user manuals and FAQ information.
Milwaukee customers love telling people about the reliability
and performance of their Milwaukee tools. So, as part of its
social media strategy, Milwaukee offered a Harley Davidson
- the ‘big beast’ of the bike world – as the incentive for
customers to sign up on Facebook and spread the word.
“From pitch to launch, NetConstruct have
developed a new, interesting and unique site
that has incorporated the wide range
of bespoke financial services that
Ramsdens has to offer,” said Chris White,
Marketing Executive of Ramsdens.
“NetConstruct have taken the Ramsdens brand
and applied it to an online platform that will
appeal to a mass market, while firmly keeping
the heritage of the company in mind-set.”
www.ramsdensforcash.co.uk
MANY NEW
FEATURES
INCLUDING:
Upgrade!
to Kentico7 CMS
TODAY
• Social Media: Automatically
post to Facebook or Twitter
• Editing Interface: Manage your website without having to go into the CMS Desk admin console
• Newsletter Marketing: Create, send and track newsletters through the built-in E-mail Queue
• Multi-file Uploader: Populate your media libraries or document attachments through multiple files uploads
• Image Editor: Resize, rotate, convert or www.milwaukeetool.co.uk
trim images directly from your browser, without using specialised software
The full list of Kentico 7 features can be found at:
www.netconstruct.co.uk/kenticoupgrade
Automated Marketing
No 1
Visitors up
for medical
supplies
company
for professional
services firm
on Google
Does automated marketing mean you can run your
business from the beach? Not quite … but it will carry
on working for you while you’re there!
Automated marketing is now available on the Kentico7EMS
platform. It eliminates the time-consuming and expensive
groundwork traditionally carried out by marketing and sales teams.
161%
WINNING FORMULA:
SEO AND DIGITAL MARKETING
• Automatic delivery of top sales leads
MaxURL provides you with outstanding SEO and
digital marketing results. We plan and tailor
online campaigns to your target market and exactly
what you want to achieve, whether for your
entire business or for individual brands, products
or services.
• Lead scoring to identify the most valuable prospects
• Powerful email marketing tools
• Unlimited A/B testing
• Enhanced support for mobile websites
• Easy creation of content suitable for mobile devices
• Social media integration with automatic posting to
Facebook and Twitter
No 1
• User-triggered follow-ups on registration and shopping
cart abandonment
on Google
for
boutique hotel
• Customised email marketing campaigns based on previous
user decisions
Visitors up
43%
• Personalised content and integration with existing CRM system
No 3
To transform your sales and marketing performance,
read our white paper now:
on Google
for high street
retailer
for retirement
homes
company
www.netconstruct.co.uk/automated-marketing
No soggy bottoms at BakeConstruct
The Chairman of the Martin House Children’s
Hospice has given NetConstruct’s baking skills his
firm seal of approval.
Fridays over the autumn and winter have seen our team arriving
with the fruits of their labours for BakeConstruct - our own
version of ‘The Great British Bake Off’.
From the professionally exquisite to the ‘gave it a good go’, they
swap database for dough hook and keyboard for cake stand. The
money raised goes to Martin House, now in its 25th anniversary
year of caring for terminally ill children and their families.
At the end of October we invited David Johnson, Martin House
Chairman, to join us for a BakeConstruct tasting from senior
designer Charlotte Nelson – Halloween Owl Cupcakes made
with Green & Blacks chocolate.
“It’s a great pleasure to see enjoyment that
businesses like NetConstruct get out of their
invaluable fund raising support for Martin House
– and Charlotte’s cupcakes were spot on!”
David Johnson, Chairman,
Martin House Children’s Hospice
www.martinhouse.org.uk
www.netconstruct.co.uk
NetConstruct Leeds
Riverview Court, Wetherby
Leeds LS22 6LE
T: 01937 581 123
E: [email protected]
NetConstruct London
60 Cannon Street
London EC4N 6NP
T: 02070 021480
E: [email protected]