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A case study
Be Seated is Peter Holmes and an apprentice. Working from premises in the centre of Edinburgh, they restore upholstered furniture and design bespoke furniture for the domestic and contract markets. Be Seated is proof that e-commerce is not just for large companies."I funded my e-commerce strategy by reducing my advertising in the Yellow Pages," smiles Peter Holmes. In 2000, Peter bought Be Seated, at that time a re-upholsterer of seating. He is now developing a growing business using his design skills and experience to supplement the traditional restoration business with bespoke design and manufacture of upholstered furniture. "Customers come to us if they cant find what they want on the high street," says Peter. It is this bespoke service that is one of Be Seated's unique selling points. Around 85% of Be Seated's customers are domestic consumers and around one half of these are repeat customers. Be Seated also supplies intermediaries such as architects and interior designers in the contract furniture sector. Again, customers can have bespoke furniture designed and produced, or have existing items restored. The Opportunity Peter recognises the marketing opportunity presented by the internet: "I originally bought the computer to do the invoicing and accounts," he says. "But the general public is becoming more and more aware of the internet as a tool to find what they want. It's good to be in there at the start so you've got something to work from, so I thought "why not make it work for me?" Peter followed his idea through by commissioning a comprehensive and stylish looking website. This was created and maintained by external web developers. Take a look at the site and you will see a company overview, the latest company news, a product catalogue with photographs, details of Peter's manufacturing techniques and contact details through which sales enquiries are made. The website also provides links to the sites of Be Seated's suppliers. This helps to ensure that customers recognise that high quality materials are used by Be Seated. This case study was jointly developed by the DTI, the main sector associations and PricewaterhouseCoopers |
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Low investment, high impact Some Companies fear that a foray into e-commerce can be expensive given the need to pay for hardware, software, website development and maintenance and internet service provision. The experience of Be Seated suggests not. "After an initial investment of around £1000 on the computer itself and £1500 on the website, my annual costs are less than £500," Peter states Peter's self-confessed lack of web development skills has not proved to be a barrier either, "Every other cold call I receive is from a company offering to develop cheap websites for me." His chosen provider Discodog Ltd. (www.discodog.co.uk) - has proved to be a cost effective provider. Their annual fees of around £250 cover maintenance, upgrade and technical support. Despite the small investment made in e-commerce systems, the effects have been positiveBesides saving around £1000 per year by reducing Yellow pages advertising, Be Seated's use of e-commerce has eliminated the potential need to spend a significant amount on production and distribution of a catalogue. "I made a conscious decision to use the website to show my products instead of creating paper catalogues, the cost of which can run into thousands. In addition, it saves time as potential customers can be referred to the website - most people have access to a computer." Peter monitors the effectiveness of all his forms of marketing by asking all new customers how they became aware of the company. He believes he is now attracting new customers a direct result of the website. With the low cost involved and an average order value of £5000, only two or three orders are needed to generate payback on the investment. Not sitting back In the face of competition from cheaper imported furniture, widening public awareness of the company and enhancement of the brand are the key to Be Seated's future developments Peter has some ideas about the way the company should move forward. "At the moment around 75% of our turnover is from restoration work. I would like to increase the amount of bespoke design and manufacturing we do since this is more profitable business. I would like to achieve closer to a 50-50 split. I am also thinking about starting to export my product." Peter believes that his ability to achieve both his aims will be assisted by the use of online marketing to promote awareness and develop brand positioning among customers in both the UK and overseas as anyone in the world with internet access can view the site. Furthermore, Peter believes that these aims can be achieved with only minimal additional investment in his website. Be Seated is an illustration ofhow ecommerce can provide direct benifits through online marketing at low cost regardless of whether you are a large national player or a small business.
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