Sales Renewal Develops Multi-Dimensional, Visual Search System for Non-Profit Client

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School (CHLPI) advocates for legal, regulatory, and policy reforms to improve the health of underserved populations.

Two years ago, Sales Renewal worked with CHLPI to build a new WordPress website that was modern-looking, responsive and easy for the CHLPI team to maintain. A key component of the new website was the creation of a Health Library, which houses all of its published research, articles from academic journals, and legal documents like amici briefs and administrative complaints.

As the number of publications in this Library grew over the last two years, CHLPI realized it was getting more and more difficult for readers to find the content most relevant to them. and they identified the need to be able to search by:

1. Keywords
2. Geography
3. Type of document
4. Topic
5. Publication year
6. Combinations of the above

In addition, for the geographic search, they also wanted it to not only be textual (the name of a state) but also visual (clicking the state on a map).

When they approached Sales Renewal for advice, we understood that as a non-profit, they were budget-sensitive, so we looked at available WordPress plugins that would meet these criteria. Unfortunately, while their search requirements could be addressed by separate plugins, there weren’t any that would handle all at once.

Affordable, Custom Search System

Consequently, Sales Renewal created a custom search system for CHLPI’s Health Library Publications that integrated multiple off-the-shelf plugins to meet their requirements at an affordable price:

• A multi-faceted, term-based filtering system, allowing users to narrow their search by Geographic Focus, Document Type, Publication Topic, or Publication year
• A keyword-based search system
• A visual, map-based filter in which will automatically update to indicate which geographic regions have applicable publications

Other notable features include:

• The system requires no additional work on the web editor’s part when adding a publication to the library – all they do is include a specific tag to categorize it correctly
• The entire system runs on asynchronous JavaScript*, so the page doesn’t have to reload when filters or search terms are changed
• Filters are represented as query strings in the website’s URL (for example, http://www.chlpi.org/health_library/?fwp_geographic_focus=south-carolina), which means that specific searches can be bookmarked by users for future reference, or linked to from outside sources, such as other websites, blog posts, or e-mails.
• The system is responsive, and works on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones.

Feedback on the new Library has been overwhelmingly positive and has been called a “fantastic addition.” We encourage you to visit the CHLPI Health Library and test out the features for yourself. And please contact us for your next custom development project – we’re happy to provide a no-charge consultation.

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* Synchronous code is executed in sequence – each statement in the code waits for the previous statement to finish before executing. Asynchronous code doesn’t wait – your program can continue to run. This helps keep your site or app responsive, and reduces waiting time, making for a better user experience.

Love in Your Ring Wizard, the First-of-Its-Kind Online Ring Designer, Has Launched

Sales Renewal is pleased to announce the launch of Minter + Richter Designs’ new ecommerce site, http://www.MinterAndRichterDesigns.com, and the custom-built Love in Your Ring Wizard that seamlessly lives within it.

The site and unique App are great examples of Sales Renewal’s JointSourcing Solution at work: key business challenges were identified in the client’s JointSourcing Blueprint (e.g., streamlining customizations for millennial customers, increasing average sales price (ASP), lowering cost of sales). The sales-enabling technology was designed and developed as part of JointSourcing’s Build Services and is now being publicized and marketed as a key differentiator during the JointSourcing Sell Services step.

Our Client and Its Customers

Minter + Richter designs and handcrafts custom titanium wedding rings with a variety of inlay materials, from the well-known to the exotic. The typical Minter + Richter customer makes a single purchase, buying rings for that special, one-time occasion: their wedding.

The Sales Process

Each wedding or engagement band is hand-crafted and individually made based on the purchaser’s preferences. This means that clients have to provide information about ring sizes and choose the type of edges, finishes and interior colors for each ring, as well as care options (polishing and cleaning), and shipping and manufacturing times (standard, rush, shotgun rush) before the ring is made. This customization process was originally very involved and required hours of offline phone consultations and email exchanges, as well as missed opportunities for point-of-sale add-on purchases and upgrades.

The Sales and Marketing Challenges

Minter + Richter originally approached Sales Renewal because they wanted their site to rank better when their millennial buyers searched for wedding bands in Google. As we worked through our SEO planning process (Sales Renewal’s Blueprint phase), however, we both realized that while improving SEO was a worthwhile thing to do, there were more even important things to tackle first. For example: enhancing the selling capabilities of the website; creating an integrated marketing strategy (read more about the benefits of comprehensive, integrated marketing here) and overcoming some key business challenges (streamlining the customization process for their customers while simultaneously increasing the ASP and lowering the cost of sales). We knew that once these challenges were met, the other marketing tactics, like SEO, would be easier to put into place.

The eCommerce Solution

Our efforts focused on the redesign and optimization of the company’s Shopify-based website to increase per-transaction revenue and to streamline the sales process. A key piece of this was designing and building the Love in Your Ring Wizard. The Wizard is able to handle all the most popular customizations online in four streamlined, user-friendly steps. Ring sizing, finish options and even rush manufacturing are all clearly laid out, making it easy for customers who want to customize their ring to do so without jeopardizing the sales of customers who aren’t interested.

Early Results Point to Financial Success

Minter + Richter’s new website launched in mid-July, and from the first Wizard sale, the company has seen increased per-sale revenue as well as incredible time savings. The business – and Wizard – was recently publicized by Boston’s WCVB Channel 5 in their Made in Mass series. As reporter Doug Meehan says, Minter + Richter is “taking design in a brand new direction. [Minter + Richter] are the first in the country where you can completely design your wedding ring online.”

Best of Growth Spurts – Our Favorite Posts from July

We regularly update our Growth Spurts blog with actionable marketing & technology advice, news and information. These articles are often hand-picked to address issues and projects we’re working on with our clients, but they are relevant to most business owners involved with any aspect of marketing their business. Here are our 5 favorite posts this month:

On SEO
How to Get Past the Dreaded SEO Plateau – You’re not alone if, even with strong content and high ranking through SEO, your organic traffic may not be growing at the same rate, or your keyword rankings are stagnant. This plateau is actually a good sign that your SEO program is working. But, you can take various steps to improve your SEO performance. Find out more here. And if you don’t have a clear SEO strategy in place, contact Sales Renewal to help you get one established.

On Website Marketing
10 Tips for Making Pop Ups Go the Extra Mile for Your Business – Popups – if you are still from the school of “pop ups on my website? never!, ” it may be time to rethink your position.

We admit, they used to annoy us so much that we would never recommend them to a client. But today, when it comes to growing mailing lists, Sales Renewal has evolved to a new best practice for e-commerce clients and any service client with an active content marketing program. So rather than counting on visitors noticing a “join our list” link somewhere on a page, we proactively pop up a dialog asking if they want to join. And subscriptions have skyrocketed. Read all the tips here.

On Email Marketing
Ecommerce Email Marketing: 10 Tips to Boost Product Sales – This article reinforces the importance of supporting your e-commerce efforts with email marketing and can be used as a helpful checklist of things you can put into action today. Read more here.

2016 Email Marketing Metrics Benchmark Study – Measurable, flexible, and affordable, email marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing tactics available, and one Sales Renewal recommends for all our clients. Reviewing your email marketing on a regular basis is important to be sure your emails are working the best they can. This annual report of email marketing benchmarks from IBM is a helpful resource that offers 25 open, click- through, list churn and mobile metrics that you can use to gauge the effectiveness of your email program. Read more.

If you have questions about how you can make your email program work for your business, contact Sales Renewal today.

On Content Marketing
Brands Need to Focus on Content or Risk Failure – Ever stopped and wondered why you were ______… Fill in the blank with any marketing tactic: blogging, emailing, interacting on social media, “doing” SEO, advertising, sending direct mail.

We continually review our clients’ marketing programs, from quarterly plans to monthly reviews to day-to-day changes, to be sure we are addressing the clients’ needs in the most effective manner.

Content marketing can be one of your biggest investments and yet one of the more fluid, changing programs to manage. This article brings it back to the basics: Understand your audiences; have a plan; create quality content; and focus on integration, not silos. Read more here.

Best of Growth Spurts – Our Favorite Posts from June

We regularly update our Growth Spurts blog with actionable marketing & technology advice, news and information. These articles are often hand-picked to address issues and projects we’re working on with our clients. We believe they are relevant to most business owners involved with any aspect of marketing their business, and we offer a regular summary roundup of the most popular/interesting posts.

On Exit Planning: Miscalculation: The Little Big Horn Of Exit Planning – Any business owner disagree with: “It’s far better to start planning two years earlier than you think necessary than five minutes too late”? The article’s author recently surveyed business owners and found that owners frequently underestimate what needs to be done to transfer their businesses to the person they choose, when they want, and for the amount of money they need. Find out more here.

On Content Marketing: 10 Techniques to Successfully Amplify Your Content Marketing – Write it and they will come? Only if you follow through by letting people know your content exists. These tips will help with one of the most important steps in content marketing: “amplify”, or get the word out. Some of our go-to techniques: Keep sharing your most popular posts; Update and republish relevant, evergreen posts; and Curate similar content (and include a link to your original post). Read all the tips here.

On Email Marketing: Using Email Addresses for Retargeting – Take your email list to the next level by combining it with re-targeted advertising. Even if you have a very small ad budget, you can take advantage of the re-targeting options available on Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Read more.

On Local Marketing: 10 Things People Still Get Wrong about Local SEO – Do you still believe targeting keywords for Local Search is irrelevant? Claiming a Google listing will automatically increase search visibility? A huge radius will make you rank better for local cities? Find out how Google really ranks your business on SEO.

On Analytics: Four Key Metric Groups for B2B Marketers – This article reviews four of types of metrics key to succeeding in the B2B marketing space:

• Lead generation metrics (ROI of ads & campaigns; raw leads; quality of leads);
• Top of funnel metrics (Visitors to most popular landing pages; Organic / non-paid traffic; PR and non-paid media impact)
• Community & nurturing metrics (Email metrics; Time to respond for user questions)
• Customer satisfaction / loyalty metrics (NPS score; Survey data )

Read the article for details about each of these metrics groups. How many of them are you using?

Best of Growth Spurts – Our Favorite Posts from May

We regularly update our Growth Spurts blog with actionable marketing & technology advice, news and information.Just case you’ve missed these updates, we offer a regular summary roundup of the most popular/interesting posts. where we extract the most useful information, and in many cases, provide a link to learn more.

This month we’ve focused on content, both for your website pages and for your blog:

Stop Writing Web Copy That Over-Explains Everything – Which comes first when writing for the web – design or copy? Sometimes, important ideas can be conveyed by design alone, and “explainer text” is often redundant.

A print ad doesn’t need to introduce itself (have you ever seen, “Welcome to the print ad we purchased in this magazine, ”) and neither does your website (banish “welcome to our website” approach). And it’s probably safe to assume that your visitors understand what to do when they see a button or a hyperlink, so “click here” does not add a whole lot of value. Read the article for more ideas about redundant copy that can be eliminated from your website.

How to Design a Website for Multiple Audiences – It’s tempting to try to get all your messages and identify all your audiences on your home page, but at some point, this becomes too much, and your home page will end up speaking to no one. How many messages on your home page are too many? Find out here.

Writing a Blog to Grow Your Business – “What do I write about?” It’s inevitably the first question any business starting up a company blog will ask. And it’s inevitably the question that will continue to be asked as long as the company blog exists. By looking at the content of your web pages and blog posts together, you will be able to create a content hierarchy that can be used to strategically answer that question. Read the full post here.

Marketer Beware: Is Inbound Marketing for You? – Yes, inbound marketing can be highly inefficient for many B2B companies, particularly for those industries in which there’s a “tsunami of competing content.” Read the article to learn how to assess the best way to approach inbound marketing in your industry.