"Athenara" optimized the process of finding and selecting the right products on the site

2021: Optimize the search and selection process

On October 11, 2021, Afinara Group of Companies announced the automation of the tool process, as well as the optimization of the process of finding and selecting the right products when developing the group of companies website.

According to the company, at the time of the start of cooperation, Athenara already had a site with an outdated design, which also:

• did not contain the entire product range;
• was inconvenient to use for product customers (separate catalogs in PDF and Excel, lack of a basket, difficulties with evaluating/selecting the necessary solutions) and, as a result, extended the deal cycle;
• provided low conversion to lead and sales;
• did not reflect the image of the supplier of modern polymer technologies in industry and the concept of a group of companies.

The main task was to develop a site that would solve all the current problems of the Group.

According to Deloitte research, customers involuntarily transfer their purchasing experience online from the b2c sphere to b2b. About 90% of buyers in b2b in 2021 use online resources to study industrial products and search for suppliers. Therefore, the development of Internet sales, in general, meets the needs of the market. said Rinald Sadykov, CEO of Terabit Digital

Work on the project began with analytics. The customer provided a detailed description of their target audience divided by segment. He also evaluated and analyzed the sites of five closest competitors according to the following criteria:

• Description of the assortment
• availability of electronic library of catalogs, 3D models;
• Information on stock and delivery dates
• E-mail subscription form
• forms of lead capture on the site (callback, online consultant, application form, etc.);
• elements of trust on the site (guarantees, feedback, etc.);
• text content: articles, reviews, news (on a 5-point scale);
• graphic content: photo, instructions, infographics, presentations (on a 5-point scale);
• video content: reviews, training videos (on a 5-point scale).

After a comprehensive analysis of the target audience and competitors, the concept of a corporate site was formed with elements of an online store (product catalog, basket, etc.).

The company relied on a simple UX/UI design suitable for selecting materials, took into account all the details that can be automated to save the customer from additional actions. This was to compensate for the lack of user experience when forming an order. Also, this approach was supposed to lead to additional audience growth and conversion in sales.

As a result of the project, the Athenars website formed and implemented three approaches for selecting products:

• In the field of application - ready-made solutions for individual industries (solutions for the metallurgical industry, chemical industry, etc.). The user selects the area of interest, gets a description of the solution to the key problems that he encounters, and the opportunity to immediately click on the products that are suitable for this solution. Immediately, you go to the catalog with the filter already configured accordingly, where the user can see the entire range of products at his request.

• On the medium to be transported (acids, alkalis, compressed air, etc.). The chemical resistance table of polymer materials and seals was automated, at the output receiving a calculator for engineers. Chemical resistance calculator optimizes the work of specialized specialists and ensures optimal selection of material. There is also a form with the ability to leave an application.

• On the products divided into categories (hand fittings, driving fittings, a fitting, pipes, etc.) with the subsequent material selection of production of these products. We have developed our own mechanism for automated loading and updating of the product catalog from the administration panel. Also, thanks to the designed designer, the customer can create filters for products, indicate the dependencies between them, at the exit receiving the issuance of goods for their requests. All products are displayed on the site without balances along with prices that are dynamically loaded from 1C. We implemented a smart catalog search, which allows you to correctly organize search results in the event of a typo or the introduction of a substring. They added questionnaires, thanks to which the client does not need to choose anything himself. Based on the completed questionnaire, the manager himself will select all the necessary products for him.

Afrinar Group of Companies has branches in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Ufa, Rostov-on-Don - each has its own domain and identity. In order to keep local branch traffic and not lose in sales, a redirect was organized from the main domains to the subdomains of the company group site, while preserving the identity of each branch. Thus, the user, moving to the branch domain, actually gets to the site of the Afinara Group of Companies, uses the same UX/UI, but at the same time sees the content and identity of the local branch.