MEDIA INFORMATION

Case Study – draft 1

BRITNETT HELPS SHED SALES GO THROUGH THE ROOF

Nelson based Heritage Garden Buildings Ltd has seen a sharp increase in business over the last year and the company’s owner manager attributes this almost exclusively to the huge success of its new look website.  Developed and supported by Britnett Web Services, www.heritagegardensheds.co.uk has helped the company buck the economic downturn, with year-on-year sales up by an impressive 12.5 %.

Established in 1978, the family-owned business which employs six people has a long-standing reputation for producing quality sheds, greenhouses and summer houses – once even supplying the Queen.

Looking to expand on its strong local market, Heritage Garden Buildings first went online in 2005. Over the next two years its original website failed to deliver the commercial impact the company was looking for. So in search of an organisation which could help turn their web presence around and generate online sales, Heritage approached Prospatek, its local Britnett franchisee. Through a nationwide franchise network Britnett Web Services offers small and medium sized businesses access to a range of cost effective web design and search engine optimisation solutions to help drive sales.

Mark Stinchon, owner-manager of Heritage Garden Buildings, said: “Our original website had proved very disappointing commercially. It was expensive and really added very little to our business. The technical support was lacking and it was very difficult to alter or update. So the way Prospatek and Britnett have worked to create and maintain our new website has been like a breath of fresh air and a commercial shot in the arm too.  From the initial meeting to going live with the fully interactive website took less than eight weeks.

“Their system is fantastic. The site is so easy to maintain ourselves using the Britnett-Carver Content Managed Software. We can add products and remove products in seconds. A real bonus is being able to add photographs of large projects we are working on quickly, on a day-by-day basis. If we do occasionally need any help having a local franchisee means they are immediately available to assist us. They always have helpful suggestions for improvements and we receive a six-monthly full review.”

The attractive website Britnett and Prospatek created is also easy for customers to use. Contributing greatly to its success, is it is easy for customers to find too, thanks to its inbuilt ‘Biz Sub’ search engine optimisation software which helps the site appear high-up in searches on Google and Yahoo etc.

Mark Stinchon adds: “Our new site has given us everything we were looking for. Thanks to the search engine optimisation software the commercial upturn was almost immediate. In three months Heritage went from languishing somewhere down on page six of most searches to being half-way up the first page. The website’s success has also meant that we no longer need to advertise in the Yellow Pages so that’s a good financial saving for us too.”

Before the launch of its Britnett-built website, Heritage Garden Buildings also had issues with significant seasonal peaks and troughs. Now these have been largely ironed out with the expansion of the products the company can sell thanks to the website.

Mark Stinchon adds: “We can now sell other company’s products through the site including children’s playhouses, swings and slides and even pool tables, so the lead up to Christmas is now one of our busiest times, when the winter months used to be quite quiet. The website’s shopping cart facility has really helped us transform the flow of business. We are now trading solidly through-out the year and truly nationally. Now only 30% of our sales are face-to-face; 70% come directly via the site. We have lorries delivering across the country.”

Paul Harper, Managing Director of Britnett Web Solutions concludes: “We have a proven track record in helping small businesses like Heritage Garden Buildings drive sales and gather further interest from online sites. We know that in these tough times, businesses are looking for cost effective websites that can really aid the growth of the company, and that is exactly what Britnett provides.”

-Ends-
For further information please contact Paul Bowers on 0113 203 1270 or pbowers@webershandwick.com

Notes to Editors
· Britnett Web Services specialises in internet-based solutions for SMEs. The company offers two web solutions packages which include Britnett-Carver – a highly flexible Content Management System and Britnett BizSub – a service that registers websites with all the major search engines to maximise traffic to the site.
· Britnett is fronted by a team of Britnett Consultants who operate across the UK and are licensed to sell Carver & BizSub, enabling every client to have a dedicated consultant in their local area.