Business in Free-Fall – A Rapid Recovery Case Study
The client
A natural flooring retailer, that had been trading on-line for two years with steady growth which peaked in
April 2011.
The problem
During the second quarter of 2011 the business experienced a sudden and severe decline in enquiries,
orders and revenue which no one working within the business, or externally as a supplier had been able to
understand and resolve.
Desperate to find a solution the business owner contacted a number of web marketing agencies each of
whom suggested a variety of options- a complete redesign and rebuild of the company’s website,
implementation of Search Engine Optimisation, increasing his AdWords spend and/or engaging in a Social
Media strategy in the hope of driving more awareness on the assumption that this would produce sales.
Not being an online marketing specialist, the business owner was confused by the range of solutions being
offered, frustrated by the intangible value described by these providers and reluctant to make any costly
procurement decision at a time when revenue was declining – an issue that further compounded the
problem.
It was at this point that a business associate recommended he speak to us.
Our approach
During our initial meeting we discussed his previous marketing strategies, the history of the business and
any marketing materials, metrics and feedback provided by his former suppliers.
We focussed on understanding the business from the bottom up, thereby creating a foundation for
delivering the client’s immediate need – the urgent restoration of revenue to its former level – and
offered our standard 5 Point Website and Marketing Audit as an alternative, evidence-led approach to
determine precisely when and why the company’s fortunes had changed.
In doing so we were able to begin identifying and building on the company’s former successes rather than
ignoring the past and blindly reacting to recent failures.
The solution
While our audit painted a bleak picture of disjointed marketing activities that had wasted both time and
money, it illustrated beyond doubt how a series of seemingly unrelated events and misguided strategic
decisions had combined to send the business into free-fall.
Having fully diagnosed the issues this allowed us to take precise, cost-effective steps to address the
company’s short-term needs without resorting to costly ‘hit-and-hope’ knee-jerk reactions.
The result
By clearly identifying the most immediate opportunities to reduce and redirect marketing spend, and
increase customer engagement we ‘flicked a switch’ which delivered unprecedented growth and by far the
most profitable month in the company’s two year history.
With revenue up 225% on the previous month within the first 30 days of our engagement we exceeded the
customer’s expectations without creating further unnecessary risk for his business.
Additionally the audit process revealed multiple Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
providing the ground work for a 90 Day Improvement Plan to rapidly grow the business and reduce it’s
exposure in the future.
Improvement time line and ROI
Two weeks from engagement
• Comprehensive 5 Point Audit delivered within 5 working days
• The business owner has a clear picture of what has happened
• A logical and affordable strategy to achieve the short-term goal is defined
• Short term strategy agreed and implemented by end of first two weeks
One month from engagement:
• After just 14 days target revenue for the month is exceeded by over 100%
• Commencement of second improvement phase to raise conversion rates
Six weeks from engagement:
• Revenue for second month already exceeding target revenue by over 100%
• With this new 360º view, we are now working with the business owner to develop well-defined and
measurable medium and long term marketing strategies
21/09/2011