It is often coincidences that shape professional careers. This was the case for Frank Gödecke, owner and operator of today’s online store audioblock.de. It was spring 2011 when the founder and then Managing Director of flyerheaven.de – one of the largest print agencies on the Internet at the time – was making his daily rounds through the warehouse. His gaze falls on an advertising brochure from the Company Audioblock.
Music lover Gödecke remembers: “Everything was good in terms of printing, but the flyer left a few things to be desired in terms of design and message.” Audioblock is a manufacturer of exclusive hi-fi devices and the Company is located just a few streets away. Gödecke spontaneously decides to visit the audio specialist.
That very evening, he is the owner of a new stereo system. And less than four weeks later, Audioblock boss Michael Block, his wife Anja and he agree that the Company’s marketing will be in his hands in future. What’s more, Gödecke will set up the online store audioblock.de on his own initiative.
What could be more appealing than launching a brand online store from scratch?
The challenge: the online store
During initial analyses of the Audioblock company, Gödecke quickly realized that an ERP system with a store connection was urgently needed. Until then, invoices had been written using “PC-Kaufmann” or MS Word. This was justifiable in terms of tax law, “but not a solution for a company that had such impressive powersellers ahead of it,” he recalls.
After intensive market research, it became clear that JTL software offered the best solution. The performance of JTL-Wawi and the reliable interaction with JTL-Shop convinced the economist. He installs an instance of JTL-Wawi and begins to map the company processes in the ERP.
audioblock.de went online at the end of 2011 with an early version of JTL-Shop3. “In 2012, the shop generated increasing sales, and since 2013 the online shop has been performing satisfactorily,” recalls Gödecke, who manages the entire online marketing himself. “Things were going well, we were on track, but I always had the feeling that we could do more!”. And how?
More noble, more emotional, … more successful?
At the beginning of 2015, initial ideas and considerations turned into concrete plans. “In very detailed market and buyer analyses, we had established that 80% of our customers were between 50 and 70 years old and predominantly male,” says Gödecke, describing the situation at the time.
Who are my customers? Every store operator needs to know this.
“Our target group wants quality and aesthetics. And our customers take their time and have the peace of mind to make their purchasing decisions very consciously,” he summarizes. “So it was clear that we had to focus on a clear and very exclusive design in order to appeal to our target group more successfully.”
