eKourier July 2020

FEATURE

OUR WEBSITE(S) RE-IMAGINED

B ack in 2010 we went live with what was then, and still is in large parts, a cutting edge, ecommerce equipped website. Over the years we have added countless enhancements and functional capabili- ties with the customer experience in mind. In many ways a lot of those enhancements were based on our own interpretations and understanding of what makes good modern design experience. In that time, we have learned a lot about consumer behaviour, Digital Marketing, and have become pretty good in the complex area of Systems Integration. Of course, the world turns quickly, technologies change and retail behaviours evolve as quickly as technologies allow. As a business its important that we can respond and change quickly. Performance online is critical and a point of difference and a competitive advantage we chase aggressively. Of course, a key part of having that capability is all in the underlying platform. With that in mind, and leveraging lessons learned during our CBA usability engagement (a controlled environment like a mystery shop but

partnership really appealed to us, and they just seemed to ‘get it’. Clients First Digital have successfully delivered similar digital transformation projects for Dymocks, Officeworks and NRMA, to name a few. That decision was made in December last year. Between then and now a considerable amount of progress (not without debate and banter) has been made. The new website(s) are contem- porary, responsive and crisp with a fresh but familiar booking experience more akin to accommodation. Underpinning the new website(s) is a modern technology platform (Kentico for those interested). It delivers everything and with scale, it enables experi- ments, promotions, tracking and many other possibilities all at a very granular level meaning speed to market and less overhead tied up in development. Here’s a sneak peak pictured above, at KSS Online re imagined. Watch this space, Go live planned Aug-Sep 2020 (sooner if we can help it of course!).

moulded for a digital experience ) at the end of 2018, 2019 would see us re-imagine and conceptualise a modern- day website, bringing it all together in an RFP with the intention of going to market. Armed with the goal of selecting a digital partner that understood us, valued our Brand, market position and has a proven track record in developing and delivering next generation online platforms, we set about formulating key evaluation criteria. This involved looking at many aspects of online performance across the hospitality industry, peers overseas and bricks and clicks retailers. From there we rated each of them, found out who designed and developed their websites and invited them to pitch. Two agencies in particular stood out. Fast forward the RFP process and we arrived at a stalemate. We couldn’t split them. A head to head comparison and client interviews later we were still deadlocked until one of them helped us make the decision (another story). First Digital were successful. They started off as a Digital Marketing Agency, a foundation that resonated with us. Demonstrated success across digital marketing, customer experi- ence and technology through a single

Jeff Xanthos Chief Information Officer

15 Kennards Kourier July 2020