Building successful businesses online.
August Silk
Silky Smooth Branding Drives Online Sales
Scoop:
Looking for a gorgeous cardigan, a fabulous glittery top, or a draped satiny tee? August Silk has the perfect piece for you. The clothing company launched back in 1991 with a line of washable woven silks. Sportswear tees, and lingerie soon followed suit. Throughout the years, August Silk remained dedicated to its original goal: providing women with fashionable, comfortable clothes at attainable prices. Currently the merchandise is sold at fine department stores and specialty retailers across the US – and, as of a year ago, also online. At www.augustsilk.com customers can browse the selection, shop their favourite styles, and even consult a fashion adviser.
Story:
For years, August Silk had a simple product catalogue site. When customers started asking for an online shop, the company decided to give ecommerce a try. The site they had in mind would appeal to their loyal customers with a full selection of products available at the click of a button, and it would give new clients a chance to engage with the brand. Concerned that the development of the site could prove cumbersome, they looked for an interactive agency that had experience with their chosen ERP solution to streamline the process. That’s when they turned to ECommerce Partners.
Solution:
First, ECommerce Partners and August Silk agreed that their primary goal would be to not only develop a great website, but rather to create a successful ebusiness. To that end, ECommerce Partners started the project with a systematic strategy phase, providing extensive research, planning, and information architecture through their proven ERS (Ecommerce Requirement Specifications) methodology. Then Ecommerce Partners created the site from scratch keeping in mind that it needed to serve as both a branding tool and a money maker. Working together with August Silk’s PR company, ECommerce Partners developed a website that caters to existing fans of the brand and engages new potential customers. It offers a sleek, elegant look & feel, and a variety of features to enhance the shopping experience, including an easy navigation, advanced product zoom capabilities, and an expeditious payment process. Other great features include the “ask our style advisors,” “how to wear it,” and “top trends” sections. Finally, ECommerce Partners also integrated advanced marketing capabilities, with August Silk now being able to quickly and easily email customers about upcoming events and promotions.
Today, the site elegantly reinforces the brand, boasts intuitive navigation and enhances the user experience with flash and video. An integrated, powerful content management system supports updates on the fly – a prerequisite to keeping proactive business professionals interested and engaged.
Success:
The site went live over a year ago and has been operating seamlessly ever since. It gave August Silk more visibility, stronger online branding capabilities, and a rapid measurable ROI with a quickly expanding customer base and growing online revenues. Pleased with the results of their new ebusiness, August Silk is now considering additional website enhancements, including usability improvements and a comprehensive SEO/Affiliate campaign.
Services:
To date, ECommerce Partners has provided August Silk with the following services:
- Methodology
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- ERS (Ecommerce Requirements Specifications)
- ECommerce Development Module for Custom Cart Features
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- Unlimited Catalogue Management
- Secure Shopping Cart
- Payment Processing
- Product Zoom Feature
- Ongoing
