Propper is a company used to leading.
In the last 50 years, Propper had perfected their product. As a result, they were now a worldwide leader of tactical gear. The high quality of their work spoke for itself. They had earned impressive government contracts. Also, a robust civilian market had grown as a result of Propper’s dedication to their vision. They didn’t need any help with what they were selling.
Yet, their eCommerce site hadn’t kept up with their business. It felt outdated. Its interface confused shoppers, making it hard to navigate. Also its infrastructure frustrated its back-end managers.
If Propper’s website was a soldier in the field, it was facing heavy fire.
Something had to change. Propper needed backup. That’s when they called Atlantic BT.
“Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a Prussian tactician who adapted war theory for bigger armies and better firepower. In many ways, the work our user experience departments did for Propper’s customer workflow and server load balancing, is what Moltke did for the battlefields of the Victorian age.” —Stewart Arthur Pelto, Atlantic BT Senior Business Development Manager
Any military aim requires two things: strategy and tactics.
The Strategy – The Plan
Before we could give Propper’s website an overhaul, we needed to gather some intel. We engaged in our reliable discovery process and we learned a lot. We figured out their long-term goals and the nature of their site traffic. Especially relevant was discovering customer habits and buying patterns. We needed to know why so many customers were abandoning their shopping carts. Rather than completing their sale, users were leaving their desired products behind. They wanted to buy from Propper but they weren’t making it to the finish line.
Propper’s store wasn’t connecting with its customers the way it could. The UX was difficult. The B2B and B2C websites were not communicating, and there were too many top-level domains. Also, there was little room for growth. This wouldn’t work for a company that was, without a doubt, on the up and up.
We weaponized this information and developed a multi-phased plan of attack:
- Develop a user-friendly website that would grow with the company
- Determine a domain strategy
- Streamline the checkout process
- Move to a stronger eCommerce platform such as Magento and Amazon Web Services. Such an update would support the increased traffic.
The Tactics – The Execution
Prepared to the max, we strapped on our bulletproof vests and jumped into the trenches. We:
- Rebuilt the site’s interface, creating a beautiful, modern, and simplified user experience. This included improved mobile capabilities.
- Moved Propper’s online store to a Magento 1 platform. This provided customized plug-ins and themes to fit their needs.
- Found a partner vendor skilled in M3 technology and with Magento experience. It was now easier for Propper to manage the inner workings of their new platform.
- Combined their ERP systems with their eCommerce store, syncing store and online inventory.
- Created an ongoing marketing plan, using display ads and Google’s shopping listings. We also incorporated coordinating email marketing campaigns.
- Developed stronger site analytics and security. Room for company growth was provided through Amazon Web Services.
We stayed in constant contact with Propper’s team to offer insight, as well as fix any technical issues.
The Results
We saw results almost immediately after rolling out Propper’s slick new website. Within a year, we had proof that Propper’s customers were measurably happier:
- An 80% increase in monthly site revenue
- A nearly doubled conversion rate
- A strengthened partnership between Propper and ABT. We continue to track the site’s upward progress. We also assist with marketing, analytics, security, and complete site improvement
By designing a strong and flexible solution to a very common problem, we gave Propper a leg-up. We couldn’t be happier with the revamped Propper.com, and we know that they agree.
We are proud to announce that ABT’s Magento developers have succeeded with a new update. Propper’s eCommerce store is now running on the Magento 2 platform. This provides Propper’s store with even more power and flexibility. With increased stability, functionality, and data-gathering, this is an eCommerce win. This new technology will reinforce Propper’s eCommerce campaigns for years to come. With team coordination and development ownership, ABT has empowered Propper. They can continue to focus on their strategic goals and grow their business with the right tools to do the job.
Learn more about Atlantic BT’s ability to build custom eCommerce sites.
