Increased sales and efficiency

Willab Garden is a family business that manufactures and sells greenhouses and conservatories. Ask any one of their customers, and they’ll probably tell you all about Willab Garden’s superior quality and value. It’s no surprise then that they hold a leading position in the market.

A few years ago, Willab Garden chose us as their digital partner. Over time, IT and digital sales have become increasingly business critical, and the company’s goals for e-commerce growth are set high.

Through our transparent partnership we defined Willab Garden’s pain points within three parameters:

1. Technology
2. Customer experience and challenges
3. Organisation and internal processes

We soon realised that the existing e-commerce platform wouldn’t suffice. It was based on an outdated technological solution, which had in turn been patched time and time again. The technical debt was high. 

We also identified a need to facilitate the work for editors and staff who manage content, product data, marketing and sales. There was significant potential to increase efficiency.

Early on in the project we took a good look at the Willab Garden brand. The company wanted us to make it more cohesive. So, we asked ourselves: Who are they? What do they stand for? What makes them unique?

We also identified their main target groups and competitors. With all these insights in mind we created a toolbox for the Willab Garden brand. It comes with a graphic profile, tone-of-voice, guidelines, and inspiration. And it works for all channels – not only digital.

Buying a greenhouse or conservatory is a major commitment. It starts with a dream of cultivation and outdoor socialising. The next step is a lengthy customer journey, which is both physical and digital.

One of our most important tasks was to hold the customer’s hand throughout this journey, from the first touchpoint and all the way up to the purchase. So, we designed a customer experience that is easy and swift with fewer clicks to conversion, but also an optimised integration between guides, e-commerce, and inspiration.

Willab Garden’s editors were restrained by the company’s old technical solution. This solution had a negative impact on the customer experience. Furthermore, they depended on external contractors to change content on the website.

So, we set out to change the editor from scratch, making it as smooth as possible. The result? Easier workflow and more time. The new CMS is modular, with reusable blocks and modules. And with the new PIM system, Willab Garden can manage product data and attributes in one and the same place, regardless of channel.

We built the website with Optimizely DXP (which includes Commerce), and the PIM with Inriver. Two systems that fit together like pieces in a puzzle. As a bonus, there is now potential to trim off other costly licenses and replace them with services in Optimizely DXP.

In order for the website to be quick and responsive, we did an SPA solution with the frontend and backend separated. The frontend is developed with React and backend is developed with Optimizely DXP.

With their new website, Willab Garden can do what they do best: make garden dreams come true. Instead of putting out fires, they can focus on content, campaigns, and an inspirational customer experience that drives sales.

With their new PIM system, they’ve also gained more control over their product structure, and increased awareness of its complexity. Which, in turn, has led to a more customer-centric perspective. An important milestone on the road to meeting growth goals.