Wedded Bliss - eCommerce
Greensboro, NC - Weddings used to be simple, afternoon affairs adorned with flowers, punch, cake, and the happy couple leaving the church in a flurry of white rice. Those days are long gone. Today the average wedding budget is $20,000 and the ‘must-haves’ include white leather ballet reception slippers for the bride, picture frame keepsakes for each guest and monogrammed flasks for each groomsman. With so many details to consider, brides often find themselves driving miles and visiting shop after shop. But this time-consuming hassle can come to an end, thanks to Exclusively Weddings, a one-stop wedding accessory shop that offers thousands of products available at the click of a mouse.
Exclusively Weddings is the "virtual" shop run by a management team at Greensboro’s Pace Communications. Formed in 1992, Exclusively Weddings started with an advertisement for bridesmaids’ charms in the back of Elegant Bride magazine. This one product ad evolved into a 16-page catalog which was polybagged with the magazine. Today it is a 108-page catalog, but Exclusively Weddings credits about half its revenue to sales from its web site, www.exclusivelyweddings.com.
“Via our web site, Exclusively Weddings provides the round-the-clock service that is fast becoming a necessity for consumers and businesses alike,” said R. David Stubbs, Director and General Manager. “Unlike years ago, most brides today hold full-time jobs, so the time they have available to drive from store to store is very limited. With www.exclusivelyweddings.com, brides can shop in their pajamas and can be assured of getting very high quality, personalized merchandise, which is our specialty.”
Having a web site also ensures that Exclusively Weddings can make new products available to customers almost immediately, whereas with a catalog, they would have to wait until the next printing.
Exclusively Weddings has had a presence on the Internet since 1999, but it did not yield highly positive results until 2000, when Greensboro eCommerce Solutions firm, Beacon Technologies, was hired to redevelop the site.
“Beacon learned our business inside and out before redeveloping the site. Their staff understood the importance of our personalization service and was able to incorporate it seamlessly,” said Sher Silver, Executive Vice President. “We saw an increase in Internet sales almost immediately after Beacon went live with the new site.” As a result of the relaunch, the web site is now Exclusively Weddings’ number one source for revenue.
Beacon Search Engine Marketing Specialist, Tom Veltri, provided search engine optimization for the site, which dramatically increased the number of Internet wedding accessory shoppers to the Exclusively Weddings site. Veltri also manages Internet Marketing for Exclusively Weddings, which provides an additional means of driving potential customers to their web site.
“Beacon provides Exclusively Weddings all the services it needs for a highly successful e-commerce site,” said Mark Dirks, Beacon’s President, “In just three years, and perhaps as a result of the web site, we’ve seen them fully utilize our services to maximize the potential of their online business.”
Beacon Technologies was originally selected because it was a local company that offered the hands-on, full service approach that the Exclusively Weddings’ management team felt was necessary for the site to truly boost business. Initially, their online sales expectations were low because the Internet was predominantly dial-up use and charged by the minute, and was therefore less convenient for shopping. However, online climbed immediately after Beacon launched the higher performing, more usable, feature-rich site. Ultimately, the web site has helped Exclusively Weddings achieve ever-increasing sales figures, even in a challenging economic climate.
Beacon Technologies was formed in 1997 by four information technology experts. Since then, it has grown from four employees in a 700 square foot office to over 40 employees working in 10,000 square feet of office space dedicated to computer technology. Collectively, Beacon's principals boast over 75 years of experience in the IT industry. Other Beacon clients are the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Commerce, Syngenta, Duke University, All Access Music, and the Massachusetts Library. For more information, visit the company's web site (www.beacontechnologies.com)
About Beacon Technologies
Beacon Technologies excels in providing internet search engine marketing services, primarily through search engine optimization (organic placement) and paid placement strategies. The company provides varying levels of services to companies of all sizes and verticals nationwide. Beacon also delivers high end web graphic design, web software development, content management solutions and dependable hosting services.
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