The Company:
Allied Pickfords are a leading International Moving Network operating removal and storage facilities throughout the length and breadth of Australia. In March 2003 Allied Pickfords rolled out their main branded website and scheduled development of a further three websites for their records management, Prime International and Trans International business arms.
The main corporate website (www.alliedpickfords.com.au) was considered an imporant ingredient in their overall marketing mix however it was considered to be underperforming. By the end of 2003 the site was languishing and despite the commissioning of agencies to drive traffic to the site revenue was stagnating. Allied were also encountering problems with the development and deployment of their other niche websites. Enedia were commissioned in December 2003 to review the web marketing environment and make recommendations regarding improvement.
The Challenge:
Assist Allied Pickfords develop a sustainable web strategy that would help make the most of the existing systems and highlight and prioritise issues to be addressed in subsequent development phases. Enedia recommended that Allied structure some broad goals regarding the website around the Enedia four pillar methodology (Exposure, Interest, Engagement & Sale). These were defined as follows...
Initial Goals:
- Increase visitors to website (Exposure)
- Increase visitors to quote page (Interest)
- Increase requests for quote (Engagement)
- Increase overall website revenue (Sale)

The Process:
After an initial series of briefing sessions with key stakeholders Enedia conducted a full web marketing audit of the main website and the broader Allied Pickfords business. This covered all elements of online service and included a wide range of issues including usability, content structure and organisation, choice of technology, search engine implications, cross platform support, industry best practice, functionality and branding. These were categorised into quick wins (that could be implemented without delay) and items that should be considered for a future revamp. This included...
- Lack of an overarching web strategy resulting in an ad hoc site structure
- Limited and incomplete optimisation of site for search engines
- Non compliance with commonly accepted web development standards (W3C)
- Use of splash page and other impediments to customer progression
- Confusing navigation that caused JavaScript errors and failed to operate correctly on some systems
- Unfocused content composed without regard to search engine implications or stimulating customers
- Confusing Content Management System (CMS) do to sheer number of rarely used options
- Usability limitations (Significant scrolling, long page loading times etc)
- Heavy reliance on external web developer for menial day to day tasks

These issues were then elabotated upon as part of the Innovate strategic marketing service. This process examined and explained identified flaws and limitations, highlighted strengths for consolidation and considered future opportunities and potential and real threats. From this flowed a series of core recommendations that formed the starting point of the subsequent Plan component. During the Innovate service a variety of strategic marketing ideas were also floated and examined.
Core Recommendations:
- Restructuring home page to more prominantly display core selling points and key content
- Use of multiple engagment mechanisms for prime content (Image, Menu and contextual text link)
- Restructuring key site pages to target high performing keywords in search engines
- Complimenting JavaScript menu with text links
- Raising the profile of the website amongst internal sales staff and implementing tracking mechanisms to ensure timeliness of lead processing
- Removal of introductory splash screen and moving login areas onto home page to eliminate unnecessary transitory step
- Use of prominent and repeated calls to direct action throughout site with links directly to core engagement pages (booking forms etc)
- Use of new technologies (eg. Live Chat) to maximise lead harvesting on prime traffic day (ie. Saturday morning)
- Purchase and set up of targeted niche domain names to assist with search engine referrals for specific geographic areas

Over several months Enedia worked with Allied on a weekly basis providing one whole day on site support and unlimited off site assistance to set up and manage a series of tasks and programs to energise the site marketing. As part of this Enedia assisted Allied Pickfords set up and run a range of Search Engine Marketing campaigns and establish a variety of link exchange and online affiliations to maximise referrals and search engine performance.
A main focus of the Enedia consulting was ensuring that the quality of interested parties engaging in the sales process was high, that there was accurate tracking of every enquiry through all stages (with a focus on what happens after the request is submitted), and support by focused internal management and customer follow up procedures.
The Results:
"$3.6 million in 12 months, that's triple revenue - all thanks to Enedia."
"Enedia assisted us with the development and launch of our new website. They provided the web marketing tools required to make our website a success: search engine optimisation, search engine advertising, e-marketing etc. More importantly, they were mindful of traditional marketing and took a holistic approach."
"Enedia focused on our brand message, brand reputation, core competencies, staff and services to add value to our overall marketing initiatives. They looked at several ways to attract potential customers; to get the phones ringing and visitors to our website. Their web strategy involved driving our business online, converting visitors to sales. Enedia's brief was to increase revenue, not just increase traffic, they achieved beyond agreed targets: Enedia was well worth the investment."
Catherine Maguire - National Marketing Manager - Allied Pickfords
About the Author
Enedia is an Australian Internet marketing and search engine optimisation company. Enedia's client's include Ansearch, an Australian search engine and directory.