Modernising Digital Capabilities for a Leading Fire Detection Equipment Manufacturer
Tl;dr:
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1. Situation
Apollo asked DOTDASH for help run and optimise the day-to-day running of their website, including the creation of new sections and pages.
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2. Observations
The Content Management System was out of date and poorly implemented.
Simple changes took longer than they should, relying on costly engineering. -
3. Actions
Cost analysis demonstrated false economy and that redeveloping the website would accelerate the company towards its strategic goals.
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4. Results
Publishing cycles reduced from months to days or hours. Clearing technical debt delivered annual savings of six-figures in support & maintenance.
Situation
Awarded the Royal Warrant in 2009, and part of Halma plc, Apollo specialises in the design and manufacture of high-quality fire detection solutions that protect people from fire in over 100 countries.
With a number of new products, payment options and partnership initiatives on the horizon, Apollo’s marketing team approached DOTDASH for direction and support in establishing new sections and pages on their website in the most efficient and effective way.
Observation
Within the first two weeks of the engagement, DOTDASH could see that Apollo’s digital infrastructure was not fit for purpose.
The CMS was approaching the end of its lifecycle for vendor support, and had been poorly implemented, meaning that simple changes required technical engineering, resulting in disproportionately high costs and extended timescales.
The company had considered upgrading to the latest version of the CMS, but the costs had appeared to be prohibitive. However, maintaining the existing site was a false economy, and DOTDASH presented a business case to articulate the cost savings and the other benefits that re-developing the site could have in relation to the business’ strategic objectives.
Timing was also important, as the business was planning to migrate to a new CRM, and delaying a more elaborate website project would potentially mean having to carry out integration work twice.
Action
With a green light from Apollo’s C-suite, DOTDASH created a plan to redevelop the website.
Starting with a series of stakeholder workshops and followed by surveys, interviews and user testing sessions with target audiences, the requirements were captured, validated and prioritised according to effort vs impact.
A clear alignment on scope allowed DOTDASH to produce a brief and RFP for digital agencies to respond to. In each case we also requested recommendations on whether to upgrade to the latest version of the existing CMS (Kentico) or to migrate to another platform from the shortlist compiled by DOTDASH.
Following a competitive pitch process, Netcel was chosen as implementation partner, to build a solution based on Optimizely.
As well as accelerating the day-to-day management of content to support various campaigns and initiatives, the new site also enabled a number of personalisation features, streamlining the user experience to bring the most relevant products and content to the surface for visitors.
DOTDASH also designed a series of filters to further pinpoint the products, partners and case studies that would be most applicable to the user’s interests.
DOTDASH also produced a development roadmap recommending a sequence of deliverables and operating model adjustments that would ensure continuous improvement and digital maturity.
Results
ACCELERATED TIME-TO-MARKET
The new digital experience platform gave Apollo’s marketing team greater independence and agility in the creation of content to support critical business initiatives, with user-friendly workflow and approval processes. Eradicating the need for technical support in day-to-day content management meant that what would previously have taken months, would now be achievable in hours.
REDUCED COSTS
Apollo’s autonomy in running the website also delivered massive annual savings on support and maintenance.
IMPROVED USER EXPERIENCE
Simplified navigation, intuitive filters and personalisation based on location delivered a significant reduction in bounce rate.
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“James has been pivotal in helping us launch our new website: from choosing a new CMS and selecting development partners, to creating an improved & optimised digital journey for our customers and developing our digital maturity roadmap. He has also project managed the development for us and we are delighted with the result! James always puts the customer first, focusing on creating the best experience for the user, while carefully integrating a host of opinions from internal stakeholders. He is a pleasure to work with and overall just a good person!”
Irina Cruse, Marketing Director, Apollo Fire Detectors
