It is often coincidences that shape professional careers. Just like Frank Gödecke, owner and operator of the 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 – made his daily rounds through the warehouse. His gaze falls on an advertising brochure from the company Audioblock.
The music lover remembers: “The print quality was okay, but in terms of design and message, the flyer left a few things to be desired.” Audioblock is a manufacturer of exclusive hi-fi devices and the Company is based just a few streets away in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. Frank Gödecke spontaneously decides to visit the audio specialist.
That very evening, Gödecke is the owner of a new stereo system. And less than four weeks later, Audioblock boss Michael Block and he agree that the Company’s marketing should be in his hands in future. What’s more, Frank Gödecke will develop and set up the audioblock.de online store.
Audioblock promotional video on multi-room hi-fi technology
What could be more appealing than launching a brand online store from scratch?
Full-service advertising agency based in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. Specialized in holistic design concepts and branding.
The challenge: Positioning the online store
During initial analyses of the Audioblock company, Gödecke quickly realized that a merchandise management 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.
Knowing how: Frank Gödecke in the Audioblock distribution center
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 merchandise management.
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 all online marketing himself. “Things were going well, we were on track, but I always had the feeling that we could do more!”. And how?
Perhaps the most important question for a store operator: Who are my customers?
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.
“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.”
The path: Goals for the design
With the local JTL service partner ThreeOax, Gödecke quickly found an agency whose references documented its ability to meet the requirements.
“Branding and a unique position were the determining motives,” says ThreeOax founder and Managing Director Sebastian Zeberg, describing the first planning rounds together with Gödecke. Special mega menus, an elaborate product comparison and an immediately responsive specialist retailer search are intended to keep visitors’ attention high right from the start.
It’s all about uniqueness. Potential customers should immediately notice that audioblock.de is not a conventional reseller store.
A flair for the extraordinary: Sebastian Zeberg (left), Jannik Eilers from ThreeOax
The ThreeOax agency loves such challenges. Sebastian Zeberg and his colleagues see themselves as a network of thinkers, talents and movers and shakers from a wide range of media disciplines.
The new template for JTL-Shop 4 is created
With the release of the beta version of JTL-Shop 4, ThreeOax has created an optimal development environment. The performance improvements of the new store version can fully unfold on the high-performance server. The new functionalities are set up and the template quickly takes shape.
“The structure and quality of the shop software are of course essential for our work,” says Jannik Eilers, web developer at ThreeOax. ” JTL-Shop ‘s Smarty template engine ensures fast, reliable and comprehensible results and is a pleasure to work with.” If something doesn’t work right away, the JTL-Shop developers are on hand to help the service partners.
The architecture and interaction of JTL-Wawi and JTL-Shop offer many possibilities for customization.
SVG animations for the product details
One special feature that immediately impressed Frank Gödecke during the first drafts is the new product presentation. “Technical-looking animations appear that “trace” the outline of the selected device and then fade into a real image of the device,” explains Jannik Eilers.
The maintenance of such items can be implemented smoothly in JTL-Wawi. “In addition to the normally stored item image (JPG), we simply upload the SVG file, which is created in a graphics program, as a media file in the item details of JTL-Wawi “.
“When the product page is called up in the JTL-Shop, events are then set up to show or hide the associated SVG and JPG files”. These animations have a very harmonious effect on the viewer and give them a haptic sensation.
Maintenance of SVG files as media files in the item details of JTL-Wawi
In the following weeks, further features will be developed to emphasize the uniqueness and value of the store. For example, three flyout menus on the side of the JTL-Shop – the advice, online shop and payment tabs – ensure that customers can find the shop quickly, are provided with concise information and have an appealing appearance.
Just the thing for technology fans: elegant animation using Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
The result: success after the relaunch
In February 2016, the new store was unveiled to the public – and to the more than 1,000 specialist retailers who now use it intensively for their on-site customer advice.
“The reactions have been overwhelming,” says Frank Gödecke. And Matthias Kleber from the Audioblock sales force adds: “It’s great, we’ve noticed that interest in our products has increased significantly among dealers and customers. The new presentation conveys our quality promise much better”.
Increased dwell times
While visitor and access figures are still at the previous year’s level, the length of stay, particularly on the product pages, has increased significantly. “This means we have achieved one of the most important goals with the new store,” says Gödecke, who knows that increased attention and interest are important factors when it comes to the subsequent purchase decision. The increased contact figures since the store relaunch also point in this direction.
Frank Gödecke is looking forward to the Christmas season, when audioblock.de usuallygenerates around half of its annual sales. “Our goal is to increase sales figures for October to December by 70% compared to the previous year”.
Facilitated by JTL-Wawi 1.1
With the relaunch/upgrade to JTL-Shop 4, Gödecke also switches to the then current JTL-Wawi 1.0.9. The numerous improvements and further developments of the merchandise management system can fully unfold in interaction with the new JTL-Shop.
The integration of the logistics provider DHL via JTL-ShippingLabels has significantly simplified day-to-day order processing. “With the old system, complete order processing and shipping processing took up to 12 minutes per order. With the current JTL-Workflows 1.1 and the corresponding workflows, we now have an average handling time of around 3 minutes,” says Gödecke happily.
After initial difficulties, product range maintenance with JTL-DataTransfer has also been simplified and has become a reliable routine. A smooth import process for the multilingual attributes and texts from the Excel templates for product maintenance is of great importance for audioblock.de.
The new returns management system from JTL-Wawi is currently being integrated into the existing structures. “Here, too, we expect significantly shorter processing times and greater transparency in warehousing,” says Frank Gödecke.
We have been working with JTL for 5 years now. It is impressive how the software always offers us new, individual solutions when we need them!
Conclusion
With the switch to JTL-Shop 4 and the implementation of the new design, audioblock.de has taken a big step towards a more emotional and higher-turnover brand presence on the Internet. JTL-Wawi as the basis for managing all business processes ensures a high level of overview and has enabled numerous efficiency gains. Good customizability and the high performance of JTL-Shop 4 proved to be optimal during the development work.
All design specifications that audioblock.de had developed together with JTL service partner ThreeOax were quickly implemented using the modern template system of JTL-Shop. The high-quality product range on audioblock.de has now found the right framework with the new store design and laid the foundation for further success.
Tasks
Create store design for target group
Improve customer approach
Optimize business processes
Solutions with JTL
Excellently designable, responsive store template for your own website
Central, clear management and maintenance of all product texts with JTL-Wawi
Well-established, scalable and constantly evolving: The JTL product family for efficient eCommerce from a single source
