UK SME drives up revenue 100% with Sitecore

While Jacksons Fencing had established a strong brand reputation, its online presence and ecommerce capability were struggling to keep up with the brand reputation. It is a 280-staff, independent family business that was being threatened by huge home improvement retail chains like B&Q, Wickes, and Homebase. This was brought sharply into focus by the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion in home renovation projects fueled by people forced into lockdown. It put a huge strain on service teams which had to manage more than double the usual number of customer enquiries.

Jacksons Fencing needed to differentiate itself, communicate its premium brand offering to the online customer experience and maximize the surge in demand for home improvement products. To do this, it needed to build a better understanding of customers’ online interests and demands. It also has two distinct customer audiences comprising consumers who need help and advice for garden improvements and trade customers working on large development projects wanting a seamless purchasing experience.

Working with Sitecore partner Sagittarius, Jacksons Fencing has developed a Sitecore-powered digital platform. It launched a ‘Voice of Customer’ strategy using Sitecore to map audience personas and profiles based on website footprint to personalize the digital experience.

It introduced features like the Fence Builder tool that highlights complementary accessories and calculates associated products needed for a complete project. If a customer needs five meters of fencing it automatically recommends number of posts, fixings and amount of concrete required. Intelligent chatbots help customers choose products based on housing type, style preferences, and product features and benefits. The Edit is a personalization-driven hub of information and ideas such as trends for next year or tips for gardening in the fall.

Visitors that do not purchase are targeted with exit messages and automated follow-up marketing campaigns using inspirational content, projects, and product testimonials.

“Our investment in infrastructure resilience, innovative tools, along with Sitecore features like personalization and AI, has allowed us to manage traffic spikes and deliver the Jacksons experience online, driving users to spend more time on the website and buy more products,” says Nick Bishenden, Senior Marketing Manager at Jacksons Fencing.

Sitecore helped Jacksons Fencing implement an ‘Always on Digital’ approach with customer needs at the center of the digital experience. It enables the business to fend off competition from large, multi-site retailers and has delivered a dramatic improvement in business performance. Even in the pandemic, ecommerce revenue increased by 118.62%, average order value by 29.15% and conversion rate by 1.84%. Average ecommerce revenues are up by 100%. Conversion rate increases have been influenced by Sitecore-driven personalization and marketing campaigns. Personalizing content based on the referrer and the customer journey has been a major part of Jacksons Fencing’s success story.

Intelligent, AI-based features like Fence Builder and chatbots have increase self-service and cut the volume of phone enquiries, allowing customer service staff to focus on customers who need more support.

“The Sitecore-powered digital solution has transformed the way Jacksons Fencing approaches its online presents, using customer insights and business value to highlight the importance of getting our digital proposition right and driving future success,” says Bishenden.