 |
| Online
home improvement retailer BuildDirect, led by cofounders Jeff Booth (left) and
Rob Banks, recently raised a $50 million round of investment led by the Bank of
Montreal. (Photo: Rick Dahms for Forbes) |
I
suppose you are wondering, “How could Google Analytics help my company?”Let’s
take a look at an example of how identifying and tracking your customers can
change your marketing strategy and generate higher ROI.
BuildDirect is a Canadian e-commerce company with headquartered in Vancouver, BC Canada. They are an online building materials and home improvement products retailer. BuildDirect.com was founded in 1999 by Jeff Booth and Rob Banks, both builders who saw and opportunity. They eliminated the middle man to sell building supplies directly to you and me. Direct to consumers eliminates the need for products to travel between distributors and agents. Selling directly to the consumer provides benefits of more product choice and savings sometimes up to 80 per cent.
For manufacturers, one of BuildDirect's key selling points is its abundant data. Until recently, a dedicated data team collected and analyzed those numbers; the rest of the company simply acted on the team's findings. But this caused problems when, for example, the team drew conclusions on the basis of average sales in a category rather than on sales of individual items (Buchanan, 2014).
In
2004, BuildDirect turned to Google Analytics to replace their existing analytics
strategy. They had used a combination of search engine advertising, emails and
online customer sign ups in their marketing mix. They could see the email
marketing channel was not converting customers as well as they hoped. And the
company wasn’t getting sufficient value for its spending. They were sending out
huge amounts of emails to a general home improvement prospect list with a
pretty low ROI. Google Analytics was able to show who their target audience
really was. They were able to segment the population and identify their
customer demographics. Then, rather than sending a generic mass email they
could design a tailored email message specific to those consumers and their interests
(Mullen & Daniels, 2011).
Using Google Analytics they were able to use long-tail key words to boost conversions. With over 5000 products online, long-tail keywords allowed the customer to get to the page they wanted with fewer clicks. Optimizing the web pages and streamlining site design allowed Google Analytics greater insight on their consumer traffic; showing sources, landing pages, bounce rates and navigation paths. While also improving the customer’s experience, getting them where they needed to be faster.
BuildDirect focused its advertising spending on top search engines and immediately saw an increase by 37% (Mullen & Daniels, 2011). Increased efficiency was an immediate cost savings. “We were spending on average $100,000 per month for a third party to manage our Google Adwords,” said Dan Brodie, Vice President of Information Technology, “with Adwords linking functionality we were actually able to bring it in-house for one-eighth of the cost.” He also revealed, online sales volume increased 50% in a matter of months (Mullen & Daniels, 2011).
BuildDirect is a Canadian e-commerce company with headquartered in Vancouver, BC Canada. They are an online building materials and home improvement products retailer. BuildDirect.com was founded in 1999 by Jeff Booth and Rob Banks, both builders who saw and opportunity. They eliminated the middle man to sell building supplies directly to you and me. Direct to consumers eliminates the need for products to travel between distributors and agents. Selling directly to the consumer provides benefits of more product choice and savings sometimes up to 80 per cent.
For manufacturers, one of BuildDirect's key selling points is its abundant data. Until recently, a dedicated data team collected and analyzed those numbers; the rest of the company simply acted on the team's findings. But this caused problems when, for example, the team drew conclusions on the basis of average sales in a category rather than on sales of individual items (Buchanan, 2014).
Using Google Analytics they were able to use long-tail key words to boost conversions. With over 5000 products online, long-tail keywords allowed the customer to get to the page they wanted with fewer clicks. Optimizing the web pages and streamlining site design allowed Google Analytics greater insight on their consumer traffic; showing sources, landing pages, bounce rates and navigation paths. While also improving the customer’s experience, getting them where they needed to be faster.
BuildDirect focused its advertising spending on top search engines and immediately saw an increase by 37% (Mullen & Daniels, 2011). Increased efficiency was an immediate cost savings. “We were spending on average $100,000 per month for a third party to manage our Google Adwords,” said Dan Brodie, Vice President of Information Technology, “with Adwords linking functionality we were actually able to bring it in-house for one-eighth of the cost.” He also revealed, online sales volume increased 50% in a matter of months (Mullen & Daniels, 2011).
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| BuildDirect.com |
Each
page gives multiple opportunities for BuildDirect to collect customers email.
Perhaps, a few too many! I like that the option is at the top of each page, I
don’t think it is necessary to add popups to every page that encourage you to
leave you email.
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| BuildDirect.com |
Through
Google A/B testing functionality BuildDirect was able to try different versions
of messages and track the results; measuring click through rates, open rates
and conversions for each. BuildDirect was able to determine that sample
purchases were a powerful way to increase sales. “Homebuyers who purchase a
sample have a 60% likelihood of returning to the site within the next 30 days
and placing a full order,” says Brodie.
 |
| BuildDirect.com |
I enjoy
browsing the Inspiration section of
their website. However, this section as well as the Blog section has a very Pinterest feel to it. You can click to
enlarge a view but must click out to see another. I would rather go to
Pinterest for ideas, it’s more comfortable to use. I would suggest that
BuildDirect adopt more of a gallery option for you to scroll through rather
than have to click in and out of each image. Otherwise fully assume the
Pinterest experience. User experience is extremely important. An aesthetically pleasing
interface would keep new consumers engaged and on the BuildDirect site longer.
“The company has adopted an Amazon-esque strategy; it now owns and operates twelve large warehouses well located to deliver loads of flooring, roofing, and other heavyweight building materials to do-it-yourself homeowners and contractors. The average order size is 1,500 pounds. Early on, BuildDirect had its setbacks and near-death experiences, but in each of the last four years growth has accelerated. Sales doubled in 2013. And after withering down to 40 employees during the 2008 housing crisis, the company now has 175 employees. Just a couple of weeks ago, BuildDirect received $30 million in additional financing led by Venture Capital firm Mohr Davidow. It intends to open two more warehouses and add 300 more employees in 2014” (Sutton, 2014). They may be opening one near you next week.
I hope I have helped you see how implementing Google Analytics on your e-commerce business can really deliver amazing results to your marketing investment.
Share how Google Analytics has helped you.
“The company has adopted an Amazon-esque strategy; it now owns and operates twelve large warehouses well located to deliver loads of flooring, roofing, and other heavyweight building materials to do-it-yourself homeowners and contractors. The average order size is 1,500 pounds. Early on, BuildDirect had its setbacks and near-death experiences, but in each of the last four years growth has accelerated. Sales doubled in 2013. And after withering down to 40 employees during the 2008 housing crisis, the company now has 175 employees. Just a couple of weeks ago, BuildDirect received $30 million in additional financing led by Venture Capital firm Mohr Davidow. It intends to open two more warehouses and add 300 more employees in 2014” (Sutton, 2014). They may be opening one near you next week.
I hope I have helped you see how implementing Google Analytics on your e-commerce business can really deliver amazing results to your marketing investment.
Share how Google Analytics has helped you.
References:
About (2014) Our
Story. NewsRoom BuildDirect.com. Retrieved from: http://newsroom.builddirect.com/our-story/
Mac, R. (Dec 2014)
Dot-Com Survivor BuildDirect Bets they House to Battle Lowes and Home Depot.
Forbes.com Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2014/12/10/builddirect-50-million-battle-lowes-home-depot/
Buchanan, L
(Dec 2014) How BuildDIrect took on Home Depot. Inc.com. Retrieved from: http://www.inc.com/magazine/201412/leigh-buchanan/building-a-better-model.html
Sutton, R.
(Feb 2014) Scaling Up is a Problem of Both More and Less. Harvard Business
Review.com. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2014/02/scaling-up-is-a-problem-of-both-more-and-less/
Mullen &
Daniels, (2011) Email Marketing: An Hour a Day. Wiley Publishers. Retrieved
from: https://books.google.com/books?id=e1NNTLwY_BkC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=dan+brodie+web+analytics+essential+for+online+company&source=bl&ots=1ffXq8H3WV&sig=WySHZIzZFFXhVfvx2pZy0Anm0m
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