Web presence pipes Shrewsbury business further a field
Local Shrewsbury based business PipeKit is celebrating the first anniversary of its online presence and heralds pipekit.co.uk as pivotal to the success of the business both locally and further afield.
PipeKit, a specialist plastic pipe distributor owned and run by Martyn Rowlands, has racked up over 500 online orders in its first year and seen sales generated from just down the road to across the UK and Ireland, mainland Europe and even offshore oil installations. Commenting on the online success, MD Martyn Rowlands said: “The beauty of a website is that a company and its offering can be accessed from anywhere and at anytime. For a rural business like PipeKit, our web presence and online store is crucial to maximising that potential and it has opened us up to the world, where ever that maybe”.
This success was music to Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski’s ears when he visited PipeKit last week, offering further proof to him of the vital importance of high speed broadband to the local area. Commenting during the visit, Mr Kawczynski said: “I am hugely committed to working to ensure that local businesses have access to high speed broadband to make them as competitive as possible in the worldwide market. I am also hugely passionate about the role that export has for local businesses and I was delighted to witness PipeKit’s online success first-hand and in particular to see a local Shropshire business being successful both here and on the international stage”.
Martyn Rowlands believes that the role and success of the website should not however be viewed in isolation, and views PipeKit’s strong customer service as integral to converting sales leads to actual sales. He continues, “The website has undoubtedly generated the vast majority of our sales leads in the last 12 months but once customers find us they invariably contact us over the phone or via email with an enquiry. This then allows us to offer customers our superior technical expertise and ensure they have the correct product information before they place the order. We hope that by offering good customer service we will foster strong working relationships with our customer base and in turn, help to secure repeat business on a regular basis going forward”.
The online shop has proven very popular with customers of PipeKit, allowing them access to purchase 24/7 in a quick and easy manner. PipeKit reveals that the vast majority of orders online are received without any prior contact with the customer. However, for orders greater than £500, new and existing clients will invariably want to speak to someone prior to ordering.
Summing up the completion of the business’s first online anniversary, Martyn Rowlands said: “Our aim is to double the size of our business and the website is critical in helping us achieve this. We are constantly developing the site to allow for easier searching of items by manufacturer’s codes and descriptions. This is particularly important as we only sell products from leading brand manufacturers and work with features like Google AdWords to ensure that those searching for leading pipe brands will find us first. Our online facility has worked really well for us so far and we will ensure its development remains a priority in our pursuit to generate and secure sales”.
