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Wriiten By: Beckie Hicks, 11/12/20

The Stone Zone & Landscaping Centre are one of the South’s largest landscaping & building suppliers. The company have now established three depots in Dorset and are constantly expanding their team.

2020 has been a roller coaster year for us all – however, The Stone Zone adapted well to these circumstances and put a large focus on digital marketing and how to best utilise their Head of Marketing.

Although their depots had to close in order to adhere to the Government guidelines, the company was still allowed to take online orders for safe, contactless deliveries. At one point, over 50% of their staff members had to be furloughed, so the remaining staff members stepped up to manage the demand which followed. 

Facebook was to become the main source of communication to The Stone Zone’s 3900 followers. The Head of Marketing delivered posts on a daily basis which were informative, positive and engaging. Their ‘Focus On’ features were particularly well received, where The Stone Zone offered in-depth information on their best-selling products.

Running Facebook ads alongside these daily posts was also part of the company’s online strategy. One of these campaigns included a Paving competition, where they were to give away an entire kit worth over £600. The Summer competition proved hugely successful, gaining over 300 entries/ page likes and ending with a funny and spooky Halloween-themed draw. These Facebook ads also increased website traffic by 46%.

Another successful way of keeping their loyal customers informed was the fortnightly Newsletters that the Head of Marketing has always run. The Stone Zone’s Newsletters have always been popular to their 5000+ subscribers, but during the COVID pandemic they kicked it up a notch. Newsletters over the Summer featured an interview with a primary school teacher who reassured parents as well as offering top tips when home schooling their children. It also featured tips from landscapers as well as creative activities for children to take part in.

When it comes to their online marketing campaigns through search engines such as Google and Bing, the budget has always been strategically manipulated depending on the season. This was another pivotal moment for the business in reacting to lockdown procedures.

The Stone Zone now proudly offer nationwide delivery and used Google and Bing to expand their reach to potential customers around the UK. The company soon saw orders being placed from areas such as: London, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Newcastle and more. This was an objective for 2020 that could now be successfully ticked off.

After receiving an exceedingly high number of conversions including phone calls, clicks and online orders, the week commencing May 25^th saw record-breaking online orders of 56 transactions in one week. After experiencing an average of 12 online orders per week in 2019, an increase of 466% can be observed. The company’s data for revenue of online sales also shows an overall increase of 350% in 2020 compared to 2019. 

After a year in the making, the Stone Zone & Landscaping Centre’s new website was launched on 1^st September 2020. Built and designed around their specific, functional, and visual requirements, this website proved an exceptional asset to the business.

Google Analytics shows the average amount of time spent on the website to have doubled in its first week of launch, with the average bounce rate of users to be five times less than the previous website. A live chat feature had also been added to their new website, which received 300 individual enquiries in the first two months. These results go above and beyond what had been forecasted for the new website’s arrival.

The Stone Zone were elated to have won a BALI award in 2019 for exceptional affiliate service. Their membership to this Association still stands and proves effective in introducing new customers to the business.

Fast forwarding to November, despite lockdown 2.0 temporarily closing most businesses, The Stone Zone were authorized to remain open as they supply building materials to the construction trade. They had also come up with another online marketing strategy to further boost the business before the Winter sets in.

‘25 days of Black Friday’ was launched; daily emails were sent to both Trade card holders and general subscribers, containing the ‘deal of the day’, some offers including up to 25% off selected lines as well as free gifts.

Through Black Friday (27^th) until Cyber Monday (30^th) for the first time ever, the landscaping company offered customers a huge 20% off all products. This weekend saw net takings of around £80,000, more than double what was projected.

The Stone Zone & Landscaping Centre are overwhelmed by the accomplishments that have been achieved over 2020, especially alongside such difficult times. The Head of Marketing, who was only hired in March 2019, has been commended for her efforts and the success she has brought to the company.

The company continues to grow; expanding their wide range of landscaping products to now include well-known brands such as Rolawn and EasiGrass. They are also set to open a new depot in 2021.