Taking Hornby’s ecommerce activities to the next level, with a site designed to acquire, convert and retain a greater share of customers.
Introducing Hornby
Hornby is the UK’s leading model railway brand. The company has a long and rich history which can be traced back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby obtained a patent for his Meccano construction toy.
The challenge
Primarily, Hornby needed a new website which would successfully acquire, convert and retain a greater percentage of customers. The key objectives were to triple relevant visitor numbers, double the existing on-site conversion rate and build community features to encourage return visits and repeat purchases. Being able to upload large batches of products was also important for Hornby staff.
What we did
To fulfill Hornby’s acquisition objectives we designed a search engine friendly site, with the ability to edit META data; flattened URLs and search engine optimised landing pages. A bulk uploader was built to import large stock amounts efficiently, while the timed release of content meant articles could be published on New Year’s Day.
Conversion was also vital, thus we streamlined the checkout procedure, removing barriers and anxieties. User testing and post-launch monitoring were employed to make incremental improvements to the checkout process. To encourage retention, feedback mechanisms were integrated across the site and areas of rich content introduced to actively engage Hornby’s diverse audiences.
The results
Hornby now has a modern and dynamic website which brings its brand and products to life. Clearly demarked sections make effective landing pages for campaigns and user journeys: while the special interest content areas engage customers with an average of seven minutes being spent browsing the site. In the last six months, visitor numbers have doubled, while 2007’s pre-Christmas sales topped those of 2006.
