Iced Graphics launches new website for engineering company
Iced Graphics, a leading North West based digital and creative agency, are pleased to launch one of their newest website projects, that of Tom Parker Ltd (a Hot 100 business).
Due to the unique requirements of the project, the complexity of the build and the visually striking finished result, the team are especially proud of the new site, which they invite people to visit at tom-parker.co.uk.Unique Project Requirements Tom Parker Ltd are a national family-run Pneumatic and Hydraulic distribution company, who have had an online presence for almost ten years but felt for a long time that their website was old-fashioned and falling far behind their competition. The site wasn’t ranking well naturally, wasn’t responsive and wasn’t easy for customers to navigate. It had a very basic CMS back-end system which meant sales analysis and reporting capabilities were limited. The site was essentially an online version of the companies 1000+ page product catalogue but with more technical information, larger images and relevant literature to assist resellers and end users when choosing the correct product for their particular application. The majority of information regarding Tom Parker Ltd’s impressive 30,000+ product range had to be input manually, which was not an efficient use of their Marketing and Design teams time and took many months to complete. Tom Parker Ltd are also the owners of the PARKAIR® national resale distribution network, which has almost 60 companies around the UK, who also distribute their products but with their own prices and to their own customer base. The old system meant that the sites were simply a clone of the main website and the resellers had to sell the exact same product line as one another, with a discount off the main list price. Due to the similarity between the sites, it meant they ranked extremely poorly on search engines and didn’t allow them to sell any of their own product lines or promote their own unique selling points.
Innovative. Creative. Eye-catching Iced already have a longstanding relationship with Tom Parker Ltd; producing their PARKAIR® hub group website, interactive online catalogue, producing and providing their emarketing software, producing HTML email templates and many other creative projects including catalogue and literature cover design and production of their corporate video. They were invited to pitch for the project along with many other local and national web agencies but won the job as most companies were offering an off-the-shelf package such as Magento. Due to the very long wish-list of requirements from the Sales, Marketing and Purchasing team at Tom Parker Ltd and the fact the website had to sync with their catalogue management system, provided by Matrix, Tom Parker Ltd were keen to have a new website built specifically for them, as this also lessened the chance of their competitors copying the many unique and improved user functions.Modern. Responsive. User Friendly The new bespoke ecommerce website and online e-catalogue has been designed to provide the ultimate user-friendly experience. With much improved navigation and functionality throughout, it allows customers to access detailed product information and necessary technical certification, quickly and easily purchase and place repeat orders, pay by card or with a pre-arranged account, check stock levels, bulk buy, order by csv upload, live search by product code or category, flexible unit costing, an address book and request plain wrapping for direct to customer drop shipping, live customer chat, live stock & profit reporting and one click reseller direct ordering.
The site includes extensive product information to help customers understand Tom Parker Ltd’s complete range of Pneumatic & Hydraulic parts. Created with the user experience firmly in mind, the ecommerce website has been designed using the latest responsive technology, so that the site (and resale partner sites) are compatible with today’s array of browsers.Over 65% of searches are now from mobile devices, whether on a phone, smart TV, tablet or computer. This meant that they were missing out on valuable leads by not being mobile friendly and this was negatively affecting them on search engines. Not only has the website had a new bespoke front end but the back end Content Management System has been reconfigured too.
Due to previous limitations, Iced has rebuilt the system from scratch so that the ecommerce now talks to Tom Parker Ltd’s Matrix catalogue system, which means that as soon as the product catalogue is completed on Matrix, a script can be written to instantly update the website with all new products and any amends or changes made. The new site also links into their sales and stock management system ensuring prices and stock levels are always up-to-date. In addition, all reseller sites are now able to list, manage and sell their own product ranges whilst still retaining the 30,000+ products included in their main catalogue.On the Tom Parker website, visitors can also stay informed with the latest news direct from the company, the blog section features the latest announcements, product notifications, launches & updates and job opportunities. Furthermore, the new website allows users to share products and pages that interest them with others across Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
Most importantly though, the site has already seen an increase in sales with an average of 8%. There has also been a 15% increase in page views & average session duration and a 12% reduction in bounce rate and Iced will now be looking in detail at their Search Engine Optimisation to maximise their return on investment.Richard Parker, sales director of Tom Parker Ltd, said: “I can confirm that we are very happy with our new site and how it was put together, same goes for the resale partner sites. Our team found Iced easy to work with and very responsive.”
Kevin Hoyle, director of Iced, added: “We were so pleased to win the pitch for Tom Parker Ltd’s new website project. We responded to their brief to design a new website for the Pneumatic and Hydraulic distribution company; creating a modern, interactive design in keeping with their existing branding style and corporate identity. "Their requirements are quite unique as they have a head office based in Preston, Lancashire, a branch in Basingstoke and distributors who resell their products across the country. They also distribute their vast range of fluid power focused products to both business’ and end users, both nationally and internationally. "They required websites for each of their distributors which were not simply clones of the main site but that allowed them to both add their own products and choose which products they wanted to sell out of their range. We are especially proud of these sites as they really showcase our client perfectly and what our team at Iced can create. Creativity is in our blood. "Careful planning and implementation ensured that we delivered outstanding work, on-budget and on-time. Our work is centred on understanding the client, their customers, their business and their unique strategy. We are all different, so we don’t believe in delivering bog standard template design work; whether it’s design, digital or print you can be assured our ideas are as original as your business." Innovative, creative and eye-catching design gets your brand noticed by the right people. The expert design team at Iced deliver high quality pieces, at competitive prices and are able to meet the tightest of deadlines. For an informal discussion about what Iced can do for you and a no obligation quote, please feel free to visit the team at their office on St George's Street, Chorley or visit www.icedgraphics.com for further details.
