Home Wise Blog

That is, an online retailer should be providing 'information as a service' to customers so that they feel as though their shopping is guided and assisted by the retailer

Also, we believe that we ought to lead out with value well before a transaction is undertaken because we believe that a customer is far more likely to purchase from a business that is offering value first and seeking transactions secondarily. Particularly in the online space where trust is the most important commodity

So, with these things in mind, we have built two new modules that go along with the customer experience - the Mover's Guide and the Buyer's Guide

Both are completely branded with our Partners' colours and logo and they are accessible through the catalogue pages on our Partners' sites

Please just go to one of the Partners' sites to view the documents. You'll find a link to them on the buttons down the left hand side of the page

It's another way we are bringing value to the customers experience and it's another good reason to become a Partner with HomeWise

Here's a story that supports that

SOUTH AUSTRALIA DOES EXIST

We got an order from a customer the other day. It was for some laundry items, a bed and a vacuum. No worries

However, along with the order came instructions - this must be delivered and installed in Adelaide within 2 days

Our website says please give us 4 days for orders and we could argue that this request did not meet our terms, but no. We called the customer, they were in a jam and we knew that within 2 days we could turn this around, hopefully

So, we called our bedding supplier - out of stock. We called our white goods supplier - the dryer and the vacuum are not a problem, out of stock on the washing machine. So we knew we had to push

The bedding supplier stopped everything and built a bed to spec from scratch, we organised a courier for an overnight delivery at our own expense and we got it there!

The washing machine was a problem. We couldn't find one amongst any of our suppliers or if we could they couldn't get it there in time. So, at full retail price, our expense, we paid a local retailer to deliver it to the customer and install it as well

The other items were shipped overnight by courier and arrived safely and on time

It surely wasn't the most profitable transaction and we don't think that the customer even knows the trouble we went to but amongst all of our suppliers, the couriers and the team here, we raised the bar for what's possible in terms of our service and we know that we can deliver so, all up, it was a highly valuable transaction

The sale came through our Partners Connectnow, they made about $75 out of it. Everyone's a winner!

For us to deliver a catalogue to you that is competitive in this space we know that it will come down to two things:

(1) Service (more on that shortly)

(2) Price

Regarding price, we have a particularly good supply chain and we're able to deliver product at the best prices, guaranteed

We have just implemented a guarantee to your customers that we will match any other price in the country and supply our goods at that cost

We are removing anything that inhibits a customer's ability to decide to buy from you because when they buy from you they are cementing the commercial relationship with you therefore increasing the chance that they will do business with you again

We call it customer entanglement and it's a powerful strategy to win customers for life

Click here to see our first example of the guarantee in place on one of our Partner's catalogues then click on the icon bottom right and read the text. We are slowly moving through all of the catalogues with this. Yours will be next

Oh, if you don't currently have a catalogue then you need to call us and get one. They are getting more expensive each day because we are gradually proving the intense worth to Partners. Remember when they were $480? Today they are $1,180, tomorrow, who knows. Hurry!

This allows customers at any catalogue to leave a message for us. Each message will be combined with one another and end up on an amalgamated list of reviews that visitors can see from any catalogue they are on

Transparency is key in online sales and this is one more feature that builds the integrity and value of the catalogue in the eyes of consumers

Please take a look at the list using the link at the bottom of any Partners site from our Top Partners list

and

SOS is an active marketer, familiar with the power of the internet and keen to boost their own internet presence by incorporating the Home Wise catalogue into their existing web infrastructure

Kent is known to most Australians as it is one of the largest movers in the country. We are very pleased to be working with Kent as they have a significant portion of moves being completed by international clients. These clients love the convenience and value of having a trusted local source from whom to purchase their new household goods

We wish both Partners much success and we offer a very warm welcome to both of them from all here at Home Wise

Not just in Australia but across the entire web

Nice work!

The classic Ted Turner quote is more true now than ever, right?

Here's what happens when you approach your database with some of our brilliant email marketing solutions:

(Graph shows figures increase in Feb when program commenced and traffic to 12 March)

This is what happened to one of Partner's catalogue traffic as soon as they provided a few hundred names from their database for us to market to

Now think - even if there was not a single sale as a result, the Partner's brand was certainly in the face of a hell of a lot more clients than would otherwise have seen them

What are you doing with your database? Do your customers remember you? Wouldn't their impression of you lift with a little more face time? Send them a brilliant offer from your new catalogue. Save them some money on a fridge. Do 'em a favour

We have turned our attention to how we can provide some more aggressive market penetration, drive awareness and, in turn, increase sales for our Partners

There are principally 3 ways by which we meet the market:

(1) Links on website Partners' home pages

(2) 'Process Matching'; and

(3) Database marketing

It's important to have links on our Partners' home pages but that's like posting a billboard and then waiting for the phone to ring. The links really just support one-on-one marketing where Partner's staff may initiate a conversation with clients about the service and the link becomes an easy reference point for clients to gain access to the catalogue. It's good but, by itself, insufficient

We've been working with our Partners and discovering the sort of processes that they use to communicate with their customers. Most Partners will send, at the very least, a confirmation email when the transaction commences

It's at this point that the Partner gathers the customer's email address. It's also at this point that the customer will be considering what he or she needs for the move. It's also at this point that the customer would be most receptive to information about products that are required for the move

We are developing a marketing program that matches our Partners' processes at this point of the transaction. It's a 5-step marketing program that delivers an email to the customer at 5 weekly intervals. Each email will showcase our best products from 5 different product categories. Eg in the first week we will talk about laundry products, the second week kitchen products and so on

The dialogue and the content of the email is all about service - Can we help? Is there anything you need? We thought these products might make your move easier ... Service is received, Sales is resisted

This 5-step program is all about providing information when it is needed most. We refer to our Mover Lifecycle diagram to show the level of demand for household goods throughout a move

As we go, we will discover other processes to match with timely marketing information delivered straight to Partners' clients to encourage more sales

Our Partners collectively represent hundreds of thousands of people in their combined databases

But some businesses just don't have enough interesting content to entertain clients with and some Partners don't have the facilities to communicate with their clients once their core transactions are complete

Home Wise solves both of those problems with a world-class database management and marketing program and it's all part of the service! We provide great content and an automated process that we manage on behalf of Partners

We have been experimenting with sample databases from a couple of Partners. We have sent 'Specials' emails showing a range of items at discounted prices. You can see an example of the emails here

We run a compliant, double opt-in email marketing program as agents of our Partners under their instructions. We never own the database, we merely host the details on our system for the period of time that we are asked to and we only send out information with our Partners' permission

We want to encourage all of our Partners to provide their database details to us so that they can join the marketing program for their catalogues. It will make a huge difference in the number of transactions and, importantly, it will maintain the Partner's brand at the forefront of the client's mind so that there remains only one choice next time they make a decision to appoint someone to conduct their core service in the future

Don't just become a Partner, use all of the benefits of your partnership with Home Wise. You'll be so glad you did

The commercial talent of our Partner's has really aided the process. We've received some great ideas about how we can make the pages even better with some custom text, some new image presentation and other positive amendments

The ongoing development and refinement of the catalogues will come, in large part, from Partners who see a better way to present the catalogues to their clients and customers

So, with this in mind, we'd like to encourage as much feedback from Partners as possible. If you haven't already been in touch with us then you are warmly invited to call us and let us know how we can improve / customise your site to make it look even better

Thanks to everyone for their brilliant remarks so far. We thoroughly appreciate your encouragement and support. We are privileged to be doing business with you smart people

See the list of our Top Partners to see the sort of sites we have put together