Their chocolate is addicting. There I have warned you. Rheo Thompson makes incredible chocolate and candy products. What looks like your typical small business in the small town of Stratford is hiding a world-class production facility in the back. It’s a chocolate empire.
During the first wave of COVID-19, their online store got stressed to the max like many other retailers. They had people calling because they could not find what they were looking for or couldn’t figure out how to check out. They, too, had to add a curbside pickup service to their business and website.
Like most retailers experienced, Rheo Thompson’s store traffic dropped to record lows, and their online traffic hit record highs.
Like any real empire builder, they knew that the fall would bring record numbers through their online store. That’s when Steve Rae added Gary to the Wizard of Ads partner team. Rheo Thompson tasked Gary with overseeing the online store overhaul project.
Gary worked through the RFP and vendor selection process. Once Rheo Thompson had made the vendor selection. Gary has overseen the project to ensure it hit its objectives and deadlines.
We redesigned the website with a customer-first approach. We evaluated each layout and functionality decision based on what would make it easier or better for customers shopping on the website.
The new website launched on time in October, and the results have been fantastic. Support calls are down, and sales are up. We already know we are going to set new records this year.
We are now moving into phase two of the project optimization. We are using heatmap software to monitor the customer journey to know precisely how people are using the website. We have several performance improvements slated to help maintain and improve our search engine results when Google makes their next algorithm change in the spring of 2021.
Empire builders understand that optimizing the conversion of leads into business is the key to long term success. Are you maximizing your leads?
The big difference between 2021 and 2020 was that the store was open during the holiday season and they still did record numbers online, because customers have become conditioned to the convenience of buying online.
Wizard of Ads Partner Team
Steve Rae – Ad Writer & Media Buyer
Gary Bernier – Digital