How we helped an independent shoe retailer increase their total sales by 63% in just one year.

When Jar first began working with Getoutside they were a successful bricks and mortar retailer on one of downtown Toronto’s highest trafficked retail strips. While they had a strong client base, they hadn’t defined their brand or created an identity other than their dated signage.

After establishing a consistent visual identity system, we rolled out an ecommerce website. We then began exploring what the brand meant to customers as we developed full scale advertising campaigns to raise awareness of Getoutside’s unique offering.

The store's sales really began to skyrocket when online advertising was brought into the mix. While online sales grew gradually over time, website traffic grew at a much faster rate, indicating that a great number of people were window shopping online before visiting the store to make their purchase in person. This conclusion was supported by the store’s huge overall sales growth.

By 2007, they had added an uptown store and had moved from  “successful local store” to Toronto Institution, all by increasing brand awareness with their core audience of urban 15 – 40 year olds, both online and off.

Here are some of the tactics we used:

1. Customer research

Using informal in-store research we quickly determined that Getoutside’s customers rated the store’s great selection as one of the primary benefits it provided. We wove this theme into all of our marketing and advertising.

2. Focus on individual brand names

Our research also showed that customer conversion rates were much higher for specific brand searches such as “converse Toronto” than a general term like “shoes Toronto”. We applied this strategy by focusing on the seasonal popularity of brands such as Birkenstock  sandals in summer and Sorel boots in Winter.

3. Online loyalty programs

We offered 10% off all purchases to anyone who opted into our newsletter list, as well as other “member benefits” like exclusive sales and gifts. We send regular e-blasts promoting seasonal brands and special promotions. The list has grown organically to nearly 10,000 subscribers

4. Pay per click campaign

We launched campaigns on Facebook and Google to drive traffic to the site.

5. E-commerce website with self-management tools

Online sales grew rapidly over the course of the year until they constituted nearly 10% of total revenues – high for a business in which sizing is such an issue. There was an even more dramatic increase in bricks and mortar sales, which, based on traffic patterns can be at least partially attributed to people window shopping online but purchasing in person to ensure proper sizing.

6. Offline advertising

We supported our offering with full page ads in Toronto’s Now magazine, a free weekly publication widely distributed in the downtown core. We also designed brand awareness advertising for bus shelters in and surrounding the downtown core.

7. Social networks

We set up a company page on facebook and twitter to send updates to the store's followers. We also seeded postings on review sites, monitored posts and reacted swiftly when someone reported a negative experience, offering whatever was needed to make it right.

8. Online video

We filmed staff doing what they do best – displaying and talking knowledgably about the products. We posted them on you tube and the website homepage. The result was thousands of views in just a few weeks.

9. Search Engine Optimization

We initiated a comprehensive SEO and back-linking program to target specific keywords and were able to achieve first page Google rankings for many relevant terms 

10. Monitoring and site refinements

The site was built using a flexible framework that has allowed us to continually update the site without having to overhaul the design. We’ve added or updated many features including newsletter signups, promotional codes,