Machine Mart Ltd is a leading high-street power-tool retailer with over fifty seven stores across the UK. I was responsible for development and ongoing account management of the company’s
eCommerce website for ten years.
Paul’s strength in depth was apparent right from the start. He appreciated the visual & brand support aspects of the job, but also spent time asking detailed questions about how the business operated in order to fully understand the requirements. His whole approach was focused around building a solution that worked in all respects.
His commercial awareness is very strong indeed, and he has the expertise & people skills to challenge assumptions and ensure solutions are fit for purpose.
Based on Headland Multimedia’s in-house Content Management Solution, the online store for Machine Mart features over 6,000 products, and provides support for promotional marketing activity, analytics and SEO.
Originally launched in 1999 as an ASP-scripted site, the Machine Mart website moved to a .net CMS-based solution in 2007 in order to facilitate back-end management, reduce production costs and introduce new design features to the user-interface.
A further major update to the system was undertaken in 2010 in order to streamline the store check-out process and introduce social media features.
The migration to Headland’s CMS platform involved re-scoping the site and creation of wireframes and concepts. It was especially important not to undermine the commercial value of the online store. I worked closely with the Machine Mart’s marketing team in order to further optimise user-journeys, maximise customer retention and increase basket values.
Programming requirements undertaken by Headland’s technical team included integration with Machine Mart’s legacy stock control system, Capscan matchcode addressing software, Secure Trading Merchant Services and Omniture analytics.
I was involved in an ongoing programme of competitor analysis, SEO optimisation and emarketing campaigns; including EDM broadcasts, voucher-schemes and special promotions. This close relationship helped deliver year-on-year increases in customer subscriptions, online transactions, profitability and turnover.
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