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Time frame: Present
Branding, Print, Magento and WordPress E-Commerce Website Magento and WordPress E-Commerce Website iQuatics Online is the leading manufacturer of Aquarium Lighting in the UK. Through the website they offer a traditionally expensive market, a lower cost alternative that still meets the great quality expected of this demanding hobby and industry. SO Marketing has created the iQuatics brand and worked for over 5 years to develop the business as it is today, from its look/feel, to E-Commerce operations, print, PR and copywriting, using all of the services that SO Marketing offers. Website Requirements iQuatics already had an existing Magento E-Commerce website that had grown out of its skin and required an overhaul. What complicated this project was the requirement to preseve existing customer, order and product data on the website as well as incorporate a host of new features to improve customer service functionality. The website was to remain as a Magento E-Commerce platform, however needed to take into account that users now use multiple devices such as iPhones, IPads, Tablets, Desktops and the site had to look optimal in every screen size and platform for the best customer experience. Also using some industry leading features such as an integrated wordpress blog, postcode lookup for deliveries, and incorporating the emerging trend for "remarketing", the science of improving conversions in E-commerce by recovering lost customer's carts, the website had a lot of features to add to an already very engaging website. The Outcome The new iQuatics website is a slick, modern site that has the most functions of any online store that we have done for a client, even automatically sychronising orders and products with eBay and Amazon, the website is as self-sufficient as possible, enabling a smooth process for the warehouse team and customer service team to work with. One of the great new features that we have incorporated to the website is a customer service SMS Text line where the customer service team can respond instantly via their email to customer text requests for advice and help, couple this with our SO-CHAT live chat support software, and a comprehensive FAQ section and all customer service angles are covered.
Time frame: Past
SO Marketing was asked in 2011 to create a brand and a Magento Ecommerce website for a new client to us, Best of British Beer. About The Client Our clients have a passion for real ale and in particular British ales and beer from local sustainable suppliers. They have created a vision to bring handpicked, specifically chosen ales to the wider market and promote the British beer industry at the same time. The Process Best of British Beer were initially a walk in lead right at the time that they were looking for a partner to work with on this new project. Following a preliminary meeting, it was suggested that our SO-Commerce Magento platform was a great way to start the project without a high capital investment. Beginning with a corporate ID project, which started with a variety of logo ideas based around a beer bottle theme, we agreed upon a style that reflected the values and attitude that the company wanted to portray. Once the logo and corporate ID was agreed, we proceeded to create the visuals and designs for an ecommerce website that would allow the business to self-manage the content, products and order processing. Upon launch of the website, the company got great feedback and due to a sustained approach to marketing and promotion of the business, Best of British Beer has now grown considerably since the business's inception. This has also led to the business winning a number of small business awards for their innovative approach to a traditional industry. Using our SO-Commerce Magento platform, the business has continued to develop and add on new functionality and customer service improvements such as our live chat product to enable the business to run more efficiently and provide a better service to the website visitors in all instances. In addition to using our web and design services, Best of British Beer have also had us create printed materials such as flyers and brochures that go out with orders to cross promote products. We are very pleased to be a part of the success that Best of British Beer have had, and look forward to supporting the business going forwards.
Time frame: Present
Featured on many TV programs including Channel 4?s Country House Rescue, The Heath House is an iconic venue in Staffordshire. Primarily focusing on the wedding market, the historic house has been in the Philips family for generations and now under the stewardship of Ben Philips, the business has grown to become a busy wedding venue. We were recommended to Heath House by a number of mutual clients we were able to completely overhaul the website and create an easy to update WordPress based CMS Site. The Website focuses on showcasing the quality setting within the grounds of Heath House and the facilities available for hire for weddings and other types of events, including being able to promote fairs, christmas parties and other events that come up throughout the year. Being local to us, The Heath House is a great client to deal with and we provide regular support and training to Ben and his team.
Time frame: Present
One of the great benefits about our location is the opportunity to work with lots of large local companies including JCB. Making contact by referral and passing by our premises, we undertook the project to design the Workmax brochure which was created in multiple languages. Working with text and images supplied, we created in a short space of time, a professional brochure for the sales team to use at one of their events.
Time frame: Present
Famous for her appearance in Series 2 of the apprentice, and on her subsequent TV programs, Ruth Badger is a leading light of the business community. Having first met Ruth back in 2009, she became a good friend to the business and a great client to work with. We undertook the redesign of her consultancy business, Ruth Badger consultancy which offers business and sales support to businesses of all sizes to help them to grow. Very much in the SO Marketing ethos, Ruth is no-nonsense and straight to the point which fits well with the way that we work by not pretending to be anything that we're not. Our MD, James Aberley acts as part of Ruth's consultancy team on matters of marketing and internet to a number of her clients.
Time frame: Past
Referred to us original by one of our other clients, Argyll were in need of a makeover. Starting from scratch with redesigning their logo, Argyll Holidays went through a complete transformation by ourselves. As an established set of holiday parks in Scotland, the business had a wealth of previous collateral that needed to be updated which included stationery, posters, brochures, flyers, email marketing and a huge range of other items. Over a period of 18 months, SO Marketing redesigned every single element of artwork in use on the entire park and printed many of these items also. We event created a new sub brand for an on-site fish and chip van! One particularly interesting project was creation of the park mascot, Rusty the Red Squirrel. With the brief to create a character that would appeal to Children, our design team started with initial sketches then moved to digitising this and creating Rusty as a kids pack, series of posters, a mascot costume and even a cuddly toy! With solid experience in creating well laid out print and design for Holiday Parks, SO Marketing developed a vast amount of collateral for Argyll Holidays, used to this day.
Time frame: Past
Wrights Pies are a large and well known business that has a retail and trade presence nationwide. Based in our local area, Wrights also supports 10 retail shops for which we provide a range of print and design solutions to support the retail team for offers, promotions, seasonal events and point of sale. We have worked with Wrights for over 5 years now and create a range of items from product logos, packaging, flyers, window posters, price stickers, shelf strips, signage artwork and much much more. Finding that we have a particular niche and talent for retail POS, work we have done for Wrights has influenced some of our own retail presence and allowed us to develop ourselves as one of the few marketing agencies with shop frontage to attract and work with clients.
Time frame: Past
About Oxhouse Country Store Our clients, already running an existing business, started a new venture in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire which is a country store to offer services to the equestrian and farmers market in the area. Using carefully chosen brands and popular products, the business is a well stocked one stop shop for all country requirements. The Process Being an existing customer, Oxhouse came back to SO Marketing with their ideas for the branding, look and feel for the new business. Working through various design concepts, we produced a logo with a brandmark and a distinctive colour theme that could then be applied across a wide variety of mediums including print, web and on-premise. Once the logo and print collateral was agreed upon, we produced some temporary signage to get the store up and running whilst the signage was being produced by our colleagues at Leek Signs, and this led onto working on the inside of the shop to brand elements of the retail experience, from internal POS, to branded shelf edge strips. The latest evolution of this business is a fully featured Magento based E-Commerce store that has the full selection of products sold in-store, whilst offering a range of shipping options for customers to get their products as quickly as possible.
Time frame: Present
Artisan is the typical successful growth story. Coming to us back in 2010, Artisan Plant Supports is a local business who create a quality bespoke product in a range of styles suitable for all gardeners. Beginning with a static website with basic enquiry form ordering, supported by a printed brochure, Artisan became a victim of its own success and in 2013 came back to us to upgrade the website to a fully e-commerce Magento site to enable it to process orders automatically. The full product range was set up on the website including detailed custom options that allow the configuration of the products to suit the size and style that the customer needs. With some advanced shipping programming, the Artisan Plant Support website allows shipping to any part of the world of these great products As the range increases, SO Marketing supports artisan with the design and print of a product brochure that gets sent out with orders, enquiries and used at trade fairs.
Time frame: Present
WordPress Content Managed Website The Sugarmill is a nationally acclaimed live music venue in Stoke on Trent who got introduced to us by a mutual client. Their existing website design agency had gone out of business and left the website with a multitude of problems so they turned to SO Marketing to create an updated website that wouldn't have the ongoing issues they had experienced previously. About the Client The Sugarmill is very well known in the local area and already known to us, so it was a very exciting opportunity to do something new and fresh for such a well known local business. Their requirements were to have a website that offered an easily updated index of forthcoming events and also giving the opportunity to share galleries of photos from the multitude of events that occur every week at the venue. Utilising the new social media networks and offering a variety of sharing options, the aim was to make the new website a more social experience. The Process Starting with the existing brand, our design team took a new spin on it and modernised the look and feel of the website. Taking the existing website as a brief, we then prepared a selection of visuals that covered all of the key front end pages of the site. Following a client meeting where we presented our vision of how we see the website working and engaging with the users, we then developed this on the world's most popular content management system, WordPress and proceeded to give the client training on the operation of it as we do with all our clients. The result is a beautiful website that is getting some great reviews from everyone who uses it.
Time frame: Present
Overview Warren House were searching for a brand and web platform that would guide them in to the twenty first century. They found what they were looking for when they stumbled across the SO Marketing team, our company was chosen to help Warren House over other agencies. When working with their team we developed a brand that would showcase the unique history of the building whilst simultaneously complimenting the unique selling points that can still be found at this historic venue. About the client Warren House is a corporate events, training and wedding venue situated in London. The building is a traditional Victorian conference and wedding venue that has had 150 years' worth of celebrated owners and notable guests. The venue is an award winning one, winning the 2016 Conde Nast Johansens Award for Excellence. When working with our team at SO Marketing the client was committed to entering the 21st century and their current website displays brilliantly that the client has a cultured venue whilst also having an accommodating team. The process Our team created a responsive website with three distinct areas to lead users to the relevant information for those. In addition we incorporated a blog feature, HTML5 aerial drone video and a fully integrated custom booking system. With the building being a visually breath-taking venue we made the centre point of the site visual appeal (change this para to read something about we aimed to make the site easier to navigate than the previous website. We provided high resolution aerial photography and video services using our unmanned drone. Presently SO Marketing provide Warren House with a full multi-channel marketing service including email marketing, SEO, Google Adwords and ongoing website support.
Time frame: Present
About the client Vardells have built a significant portfolio of customers since their establishment and offer its clients one of the most comprehensive EPOS solutions that is currently available on the market. Their site was lacking in regards to being on trend so they approached us to bring their site in to the 21st century to coincide with a new marketing push into new markets. The challenge When the Vardells marketing team came to us they had just started to expand the number of employees in that part of the company. This meant they needed a site that was easy to manage and learn about for the fresh faces that would be coming into the business. The site needed to be made contemporary as well to allow the client to appeal to new markets and allow for expansion and future growth. The solution Since their team wanted to expand their online profile and sales we provided their team with both a blog page and a products and services section. The blog would allow them to stay up to date with their customers whilst the products and services section would help advertise their specialist products that were already held in high regard by the local customers. The clients site was made with WordPress and utilised some specialist features such as being both full screen and responsive increasing the sites accessibility for different device types.
Time frame: Present
About the client Skin Matrix came to us on recommendation from a mutual client for whom we had previously done a website. Skin Matrix is actually made up of three businesses, Skin Matrix which distributes skincare products to Beauty Clinics, Skin Matrix HD which sells direct to retail and has their own range of products, and Cryo HD which sells Cryotherapy devices to trade. The challenge This client was struggling to manage their website effectively leading to difficulty with their staff and the general progression of the company. We aimed to create a distinct identity for each aspect of their business. Not only this but the client was having issues with specific challenges in regards to their trade pricing strategy, tier margins and permission access for groups of customers. The solution We created a WordPress multi-site which uses WordPress WooCommerce e-commerce functionality. Not only this but we created a unique storefront for all the businesses whilst integrating third party services such as Zoho CRM. A unique feature of the site was a Clinic Location finder allowing visitors to find the nearest clinic just by visiting the site. A multitude of contemporary features were utilised when this site was built including making the site responsive and utilising both HTML5 and CSS3. The client is now successfully trading online and always looking for further improvement.?Following this, we have also undertaken a number of print and design projects for the client.
Time frame: Present
Overview Pachacuti are a leading online seller in the UK of Panama hats and have built up a celebrity following through their commitment to quality and sustainability. They came to us at SO Marketing setting us the goal of creating a modern website that could offer their following the latest interactive functionalities. The company's hats are always a stylish choice and having now being coupled with a stylish website the company continues to flourish. About the client This client is committed to offering its customers only the highest quality of Panama hats made with the goal to create a timeless product that stays stylish despite the ever-changing sense of fashion. Pachacuti are a Fairtrade company that not only makes style a priority but also prioritises changing the lives for underpaid weavers in Ecuador. The company's commitment to fashion and to making lives better is admirable. Pachacuti was set up by Carry Somers who founded fashion revolution! Not only this but she and her husband Mark Rogers own a brick and mortar shop in Ashbourne and Derbyshire. The process For this client, we aimed to develop a website that would capture the traditional character of their product whilst also displaying their unique products in a way that would properly highlight just how stylish these hats are. We chose to implement interactive features including a 360-degree product photography and a custom-built hat design functionality. We created a website that similar to the Panama hat itself will remain fashionable for years to come. We used a hybrid of WordPress and Magento e-commerce to provide great online selling functionality but also a way to get around the limited content management functionality that Magento offers by presenting the primary front end CMS pages in a WordPress interface.
Time frame: Present
About the client Live Love Loaf were one of our very first clients when our office moved to Leek. Their business had recently opened and they wanted us to create a site to help launch their brand in the local area. The branding was already in place so we were tasked with creating a site that would portray their ethos. The Challenge The client offers a range of products, but lots of the products they produce change on a day to day basis as they prioritise variety. This meant that we had to create a website that would be easy to update to allow them to reflect the constantly evolving business that they run. The solution The site that we created was WordPress based and offered custom elements that could control every aspect of the site. Since the client is always creating new products and maintaining its variety, we implemented a page called "our bread" which allows the client to display to its customers what days certain products are available as well as adding any new products they create to the page. We added a blog section to the site as well as a courses section allowing visitors to the site to learn more about their company as well as sign up for a course that will teach their customers how to create their very own bread.
Time frame: Present
Latin Link was referred to us by another of our clients and is one of the UK's premier translation service businesses. The team at Latin Link have a passion for the work that they do and strive to innovate the field of transitional science. The Challenge The client had a particular drive to improve the visual communication of Latin link so we undertook a full rebrand before starting with the website. This rebrand extended to print and design communications before following through to the website. The website had to portray what the client did in a less text heavy way than the previous website and stick within the constraints of the new brand that we had developed. The solution When creating the Latin Link site, we used a combination of stock photography and a custom edited video that would immediately grasp visitors of the site. We also added a unique two directional slider making this site one of the most easy to navigate sites we have created. The site is responsive so functions on all devices and screen sizes. The site has utilised both HTML5 and CSS3, two implementations that make the site contemporary and allowing all information to be presented in an appealing fashion.
Time frame: Present
About the client Bold, extravagant and unashamedly ostentatious, the team behind the Lady Boys of Bangkok wanted a site that - not unlike their acclaimed production - left quite the impression on the visitor. The client had wanted a site for a while and had poor experiences previously before coming across our team. The challenge Their team wanted a site that reflected their shameless performances and properly displayed how much fun their shows are. We used their extravagance as a creative brief and began to create a site that would be as all singing and all dancing as the team and their performances. The company had struggled with other agencies prior to us so we were keen to deliver the company with a site they could be satisfied with. The solution Our team was invigorated by the freedom this project presented and began work on a site that screamed extravagance. Visitors are immediately greeted by a full screen video on the home page that immersed the viewer in the world of The Lady boys of Bangkok. The site is fully responsive thus being able to be viewed on any device or screen size. Not only this but we provided the production team with full training in the sites Content Management System giving them the option to update information as it was required. Since the launch of their site the client has wisely decided to utilise our website maintenance and warranty service to keep the site contemporary and handle technical requests.
Time frame: Present
About the client Infinitive memories are a new business start-up that specialise in jewellery. Their goal is to innovate the jewellery scene through a unique idea. If you've lost a loved one and would love something to remember them by then infinitive memories is absolutely the place for you, they create jewellery from the hair and ashes of dead people giving you a little piece of your loved one to always remember them by. The challenge Since the client was a start-up we were face with creating a brand that we could then carry through to a website. Since the topic of the deceased is such a sensitive subject we had to stay conscious of the fact that the branding we were producing needed to be appealing but also appropriate for the target audience that Infinitive Memories wanted to reach out to. The solution The site we created utilised WordPress and E-commerce Woocommerce, the site allows the client to sell jewellery to a wider online audience and arrange meetings with individual clients. The site offers a product search allowing you to filter out products that you are not interested in. They also offer customers a newsletter signup so you can be notified about the happenings for the company. The site is compatible with full screen and is responsive allowing access to the site from both desktop and mobile phone. Both HTML5 and CSS3 were implemented in to the site creating a finished product that is contemporary and fitting with the demographic that the client wishes to appeal to.
Time frame: Present
Overview Compare your business launched in 2016 and does exactly what the name entails, and does it well. Our teams collaborated to create a fun and functional, user friendly social network that people who lacked specialist skills could interact with. Not only this but we also worked together to design their logo and other print and design materials. About the client Their team was unhappy with the services available for local businesses to connect with each other on the web and has strived to provide these businesses with a reliable way to find matching services for unfilled vacancies and other project requirements. Their team worked very closely with us to ensure that the final product would match their concept vision and this paid off with a fantastic site and brand that in 2017 has had further work. The process Unsurprisingly it is significantly harder than it sounds to find a fun and functional user friendly social network template. This worked in our favour however as it gave us the opportunity to create this network ourselves! Working together we managed to develop a purpose-built platform that would enable users of the site to create personalised profiles and build professional relationships. We also built a back-end system that can handle the large amount of sensitive information that users would enter in to the website.
Time frame: Present
Overview Dear Barber were keen to target fashion aware sophisticated young males which was perfect considering a significant number of members from our team fall in to this demographic. Remaining conscious towards the negative stigma surrounding the hipster stereotype we created a site that would do justice to the style Dear Barber had elected whilst maintaining that the website was being tailored to suit the upwardly mobile young professional male. About the client Dear Barber are a client that wanted a website that could promote their popular and contemporary style, their ideal style of website corresponded brilliantly with our style of web design so creating this site was a fun and familiar experience. Having previously not traded online, the key driver for approaching a local business like ourselves was to get support from an e-commerce perspective as well as a company with a lot of local experience in working with emerging retail brands. The Process When working with Dear Barber, we had to adhere to their existing brand identity that they had developed on the product packaging and other marketing materials. With this in mind, we began crafting a website that would be fully responsive on all device sizes. We went further than the client's requirements and chose to integrate a user-friendly product on top of the other services we provided. Not only this but to give Dear Barber even more exposure we incorporated an interactive tile-themed blog feature so the client could connect with their audience on an even greater scale and make a visually striking impression. The site we created used woo commerce and not only this but we have provided Dear Barber with support and training as well as integration with their product handling provider.
Time frame: Present
About the client We were referred to Carlingford by an existing client in Ireland. They are one of the largest providers of self-catering accommodation in the whole of their local area. They are immensely well established being one of only four companies in the whole of Ireland that can offer five-star self-catering accommodation. Not only this but all their bookings are taken directly through the company so no agents or third parties are involved. Challenges Carlingford were struggling with the third party booking system that they had in place at the time. The restrictions of this system were leading to issues with guest bookings and were not coherent with their desired business model. Another challenge they faced was an overdue website update so they came to SO Marketing wanting assistance with both of these problems. Solutions The first issue we tended to was making amendments to their website. We produced a contemporary site that displayed the properties of the company to a much higher degree than the previous site. Since the company was having third party issues we prioritised creating a custom booking system which would allow the company to manage their clients themselves rather than having their clients go through a third party. The custom booking system functions in the same way as the client's business model and allows room for future growth.
Time frame: Present
Overview This local business was restricted to a small retail store in our home town of Leek, because of this they came to us at SO Marketing wanting us to launch them in to the internet world to give them a much larger sphere of influence. From a professional perspective, Bottle lab are a company that you feel you absolutely must work with and doing so was a fantastic experience for both our companies. About the client Bottle lab have a modest premises but an immense ambition as displayed by the fact they chose to have us create a website that can allow them to expand their store to the online world. The company was established in December 2014 and has since become a locally loved and respected company that produces excellent drinks. The online store launched in May 2016 and the company is now not only locally loved and respected but is an attraction for liquor connoisseurs all over. The process Bottle Lab came to us wanting us to launch their business in to the national market. They required a multi-functional contemporary Magento platform as well as a responsive EPOS system which we integrated that would allow them to synchronise their in-store stock levels with those online. SO Marketing presented the company with a site that is easy to navigate around as well as giving The Bottle Lab team a system that would allow them to update the site efficiently. We changed the site design seasonally to keep it looking trendy all year round!
Time frame: Present
Overview In June 2015, Dunwood Farm approached our team wanting us to redesign their site. The meat that Dunwood produce comes from a local source so their relationship with customers is important, keeping this in mind we created a site that would encourage the same relationship Dunwood have with their existing clients but on an online platform rather than face to face. About the client Dunwood Farm is a 170-acre farm located in the heart of Staffordshire Moorlands, the family has been farming here since 1973 so have built up a great deal of experience when it comes to breeding and maintain their cattle. As of today, they farm small herds of a variety of rare cattle which harmonise with their traditional farming methods leading to succulent and exceptional tasting beef. They came to us with a huge project that meant utilising all the services that we offer from printing to web design to branding and more! The process Initially we created a more contemporary new logo and brand for Dunwood that would keep them relevant with the modern high quality food industry. This led to a unique website design that would allow the client to properly exhibit what they were producing and selling whilst providing the users with efficient navigation systems. A customised Woocommerce e-commerce platform was created to incorporate a content management tool allowing the client to be sustainable without the constant help of our team. Presently, Dunwood are in the midst of a social media campaign targeting potential buyers across the nation, as well as opening a retail outlet in 2016.
Time frame: Present
The client Eric Whitehead are a long-established family Solicitors company based in Cheadle and are located directly next to our old building! Their solicitors specialise in family and property law and have been approved by the legal aid agency. The firm is also a member of the Law Society's Lexcel standard which is only granted to firms that have met the highest management and customer care standards. The challenges When Eric Whitehead came to us they had been having issues with the company that created their previous site. The previous site had been developed by another agency and after some staff changes they lacked a member of the team that could make amendments to the site. The company needed to comply with legal information that had been presented on the site so chose to create an all new site that could be internally managed as well as updating the design and responsiveness to work on all device sizes. The solution The client required an all new design that would be in tune with the design and printing services we had already provided. The website was created using the same themes and colour schemes to ensure the branding we were creating was clearly linked. The site is easy to navigate and provides more in depth detail about the client as well as the services they offer. The page boasts a payment form allowing you to pay for your services online rather than making an inconvenient trip. The site was personalised with an about the team section allowing you to familiarise yourself with their team and a news section so you can learn about what the client is actively doing as well as getting legal updates regularly. The site features contemporary elements that allow it to stay relevant such as being responsive and having both HTML5 and CSS3 implemented in to the site.
Time frame: Present
Overview When Eaton Park Academy came to us at SO Marketing they were a newly formed academy with high expectations for their future. They required a site that would not only appeal to potential students but also be easy to navigate and impressive for these potential students' parents and guardians. We went the extra mile with this project to ensure the team was ready for the responsibility of running a site. About the client Eaton Park Academy are based in Stoke-on Trent and needed a site that would reflect their ambitions for expanding. Naturally they came to us at SO Marketing to help them create this site and we delivered a platform that exhibited a vibrant image for a vibrant academy. The academy was given the good school rating from Ofsted, not only this but the results for all aspects of their academy were above the national average between 2015-2016, congratulations to Eaton Park Academy! The process When creating the Eaton Park Academy platform, we knew that the site did not have a specific target audience but rather was being made to appeal to all ages. Because of this we created a site built around a vibrant brand identity that was mobile-optimised and utilised HTML5 video. Emphasis was placed on the social media links to allow the younger demographic a platform that they could enjoy engaging with the academy on. Possibly most importantly however we provided training to the staff so they could properly maintain the site's Content Management System.
