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Since its debut in 1994, the Fry-designed Godiva Chocolatier site, Godiva.com, has enjoyed steady success as one of the Internet's leading shopping destinations. Numerous awards, enthusiastic customer praise, and ever-increasing sales have made this site an industry benchmark and reinforced Godiva’s reputation as the world’s premiere chocolatier.
When Godiva engaged Fry in 1994, online shopping as we know it today did not exist. So when Fry suggested that rather than using CD-ROMs to advertise products Godiva build a Web site instead, it was a risky proposition. But Godiva took the risk and established an online presence, becoming one of the very first retailers to do so.
Well known as an online retailing pioneer, how do you maintain a reputation as an e-commerce innovator? How do you continue to set the standard for best practices? How do you ensure those efforts drive revenue gains?
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You find ways to make the site better. Because of Godiva and Fry's commitment to keep the site at the forefront of the industry, it undergoes continual updates designed to improve Godiva customers' experience shopping for fine chocolate.
Ingredients of Godiva's recipe for e-commerce success include:
Usability Testing - In 2001, as the holiday season approached, Godiva wanted to provide customers with the best online shopping experience possible. They asked Fry to fine-tune the site in order to increase average order size, build customer loyalty, and strengthen the perception of Godiva as a high quality, luxury brand. Fry asked the experts - the site's users - by conducting formal usability testing among current and prospective customers. The findings were translated, along with a thorough audience analysis and competitor evaluation, into actionable site improvements.
The shopping experience got easier. The shopping bag and checkout page layouts were streamlined, shipping information was restructured to show the correlation between shipping method and arrival date, and navigation was simplified.
To enhance Godiva's reputation for quality, Fry gave the Chocolate Guide, a section with detailed descriptions and photographs of individual chocolates, a more visible placement in the site's navigation. Close-up photographs were added to showcase the packaging of seasonal items.
Fry improved the Recipe Box, a feature exclusively available to registered users, by creating printerfriendly recipes, enabling users to "Email to a Friend," and adding the option to "Add to My Recipe Box" on each page. Fry also increased the placement of My Godiva links throughout the site, to promote its custom services.
Superior usability is critical for site sections devoted to serving loyal, repeat customers and cementing relationships with new ones. When it comes to usability, subtle changes can have a powerful impact.
Email Marketing - Godiva asked Fry to help improve its email marketing campaigns in order to present customers with more compelling offers that beautifully convey the brand and cater to individual consumer needs.
Fry's creative team developed a set of stylish, photo-rich email templates for Godiva that accommodate various offers and promotions. An implementation of Lyris ListManagerTM, a software application that manages email campaigns, provides Godiva with segmentation capabilities to craft and send messages based on user demographics. It also ensures that a customer who makes a purchase as a result of a message won't continue to receive more email promoting the same offer. The use of WebTrends 7.1 in conjunction with Lyris ListManager provides full-cycle data reporting, which enables Godiva to pull revenue data from each campaign.
Product Photography for the Web - Over the years, Godiva and Fry discovered the importance of shooting product photography for the site rather than using images captured for other forms of marketing. Online product images of food must be compelling enough to evoke the taste, touch, and smell of the products. Godiva updated its product imagery with simple, elegant photography that focuses on the detail of the confections and their packaging, giving the consumer as close to a real-life experience as possible.
.NET Content Management System - In order to keep the brand current, Godiva updated its overall brand identity in the fall of 2004. The Web site was redesigned with a more dramatic, contemporary, and sophisticated look, featuring new photography providing rich product details. And while the look of the site is new, the popular features the site is well known for, including the gift selector service and personal account function, continue to serve Godiva's loyal customers.
As part of the redesign, Fry also updated site capabilities and transferred content to a .NET platform for improved functionality. These updates allow Godiva to merchandise, promote, and showcase products with more flexibility. The home page and shop online pages were redesigned to accommodate up to five distinct promotional messages. Changes to the site's content administration tool lets Godiva quickly make changes and customize pages themselves in response to market conditions, sales results, customer demand, and new product promotions.
Just as Godiva is dedicated to excellence and innovation in the creation of their chocolates, they strive to give their customers a superior shopping experience on their Web site. Because of this appetite for perfection, Godiva has earned the loyalty of their customers, the envy of their competitors, and a reputation as an eCommerce industry leader for the past 10 years. Ahh, the taste of sweet success!
"Fry has been part of our e-commerce team from the beginning; that's what sets this relationship apart. They're always working with us to move Godiva.com to the next level."
Kim Land - Vice President Godiva Direct, Godiva Chocolatier
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