Genesis of an online guru. A sales-centric website for a brand new online toy shop.

The client:
Toy Guru is a brand new online specialty toy shop – an enterprise created to leverage e-commerce success in a very competitive market-space.

The trigger:
Toy Guru operates totally online so an e-commerce website is a given. But more was needed –Toy Guru management had a vision for a cartoon-like character to act as the site’s “guru” and went seeking a web development partner who could provide professional input into both the visual design and technical architecture of the site. They wanted an engaging and interactive site that would work to drive sales and expedite administration.

The journey:
Once engaged, DDG set about identifying the Toy Guru needs and planning the web development process which, in essence, was a brand development, too.

The site would need to:

• deliver information about thousands of products 
• be easily updatable 
• appeal to a broad range of ages and interests (in terms of aesthetics and navigability)
• stand-out in a very competitive online toy arena 
• enable ease of e-commerce (minimum clicks to maximum purchase cues) 
• deliver distinctive brand elements and personality 
• help build a loyal online community and database.

The development process would challenge the cross-discipline DDG team to work collaboratively with one another and with the client to achieve all deliverables of the brief.

The solution:
The solution is a fun, functional and fully-editable website that delivers engaging brand personality and plenty of room to grow:

• The cartoon Toy Guru character was illustrated (and animated) in-house to fit the client’s vision – strong, contemporary attributes to engage both children and adult site visitors.
• Purpose-developed, easy-to-use search capability enables the Toy Guru to assist customers in purchase choices, recommending a range of products to fit age, price and interest criteria.
• Alternatively, visitors can drive their own site experience, searching by brand, age group or toy type to reach their target purchase, which is simplified with a familiar “shopping cart” purchase system.
• Orders are sent in real-time to the Toy Guru’s internal billing and inventory system to expedite processing (not batched or processed at end of day). The pricing and sales system is immediately updated to reflect price changes, discounts and stock levels.
• Updating data for the thousands of Toy Guru products is as simple as updating a spreadsheet which is then reflected onsite, including image uploads.
• A “free delivery” incentive has been built-in to the purchase system – it accumulates points per purchase which translate to free freight once the 100 points level is reached.
• A newsletter module and Guru Club invite participation and build a sense of belonging, while capturing a customer database for outbound marketing efforts.

DDG introduced Toy Guru to the magic of Search Engine Optimisation, which should see the website featuring high in search engine rankings within a reasonable period of its launch.

With an absolute focus on driving and processing volume sales, the just-launched Toy Guru site is ready to weave some serious wizardry across the online toy store virtual landscape.

Visit their website at http://www.toyguru.com.au 

Testimonial
“When we were sourcing a website for our new business venture, DDG was recommended to us by one of their current clients. Once we met with DDG ourselves, it was obvious that they had an understanding of what we wanted functionally and visually from the website in terms of establishing our enterprise and facilitating future marketing efforts.

Through the development process, the DDG team proved themselves to be a great all-round package. Under one relationship we had access to a team of specialists – web developer, designer, SEO consultant, account manager and more. And they all talked to one another … and to us, so our needs were communicated into every aspect of the site, from the original illustration of the Toy Guru character to the information architecture and functionality.

DDG was able to make it all happen. I would definitely recommend them, just not to anyone else in the online toy game – I’d like to keep that competitive advantage all ours!”

Managing Director, Toy Guru