Catching traffic in their Web

Good spin and a craftier Web strategy boost sales for a knitting-supplies retailer.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)

yarn.03.jpg
How many hours of sleep do you think you need to function well?
  • 8 hours or more
  • 6-8 hours
  • 4-6 hours
  • 4 hours or less

(Fortune Small Business) -- Last summer Laura Zander hoped a Makeover would turn Jimmy Beans Wool, the Reno knitting-wool company that she owns with her husband, Doug, into a household name ("Weaving a Web Strategy," July/August 2007). It hasn't happened yet.

But Internet sales, which make up about 80% of Jimmy Beans' business, have doubled since last summer.

"We did more Web sales in the six months after the Makeover than in all of 2006," Laura says.

In 2007 total revenues hit about $2 million, after stalling at $1.2 million for each of the previous three years. While sales at the Zanders' retail shop are flat, they plan to keep it open, if only because it serves as a storeroom and staging area for shipments.

Laura heeded one consultant's advice and mastered the art of pitching knitting-related stories to magazine and newspaper editors. She scoured relevant periodicals to see what they looked for and to learn which editors to contact. Laura noted that October was breast cancer awareness month.

"By July, I created a red-scarf knitting kit and sent out press releases saying I'd donate $5 to cancer research for each one sold," she says. "Articles ran in October, and we sold hundreds of kits."

Such stories brought more visitors to Jimmy Beans' Web site and resulted in higher rankings for the firm in Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) searches. Doug Zander, who maintains the Web site, began noting the pages where visitors lingered longest. If a link isn't getting enough clicks, he replaces or tweaks it to improve the look and function of the page on which it appears.

To learn customers' preferences, Laura created a simple questionnaire for Web visitors. She found that they wanted more product variety. So each month, she adds new brands of wool and knitting gear.

Jimmy Beans chose not to expand into new lines such as sewing goods.

"We'd lose our focus," says Laura, who is keeping a closer eye on customer service instead. "We're careful to ship orders the next day and grow no faster than we can handle."

Next, Laura plans to produce 100 short knitting-instruction videos for YouTube. "We keep looking for ways to widen and engage our audience."  To top of page

More business makeovers:

Help wanted for HR firm: Fortune Small Business's makeover experts visit a human-resources consulting firm seeking a smarter growth strategy.

Business boot camp: FSB's makeover squad helps a shoemaking couple chart a growth plan.

A bakery on the rise: Two partners try to expand their food business without losing momentum.
Could your business use a makeover? In general, successful Makeover candidates are profitable small companies with at least $1 million in annual gross revenues. To submit your firm for consideration, e-mail the FSB makeover editor here. Please describe your business briefly, provide your most recent and projected revenues, and explain why you think your company would benefit from a Makeover.

Find Business Answers
or
Ask a Question



Ask a Question



QMy dream is to launch my own business someday. Now that it's time to choose a major, I'm debating if I should major in entrepreneurial studies or major in engineering to acquire a set of skills first. Is majoring in entrepreneurship a good choice? More
Get Answer
- Spate, Orange, Calif.
Sponsors
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.