The development of a new webshop

The development of a new webshop can be frustrating, confusing, and anxiety-provoking. Many can nod in recognition of that.

Helm also experienced this when they started a new webshop in collaboration with another provider. The shop never got to see the light of day, as Helm felt along the way that there was a lack of control of the project. And they did well to follow their gut feeling and quickly re-saddle. Rather than a customer/supplier relationship, Helm was looking for a much closer collaboration, which we at MCB could just offer with our commission agreement.

"Why did you choose MCB as a partner?" We did this primarily because we wanted a closer collaboration than a classic customer/supplier relationship can offer. With MCB's commission agreement, we have a professional partnership where MCB comes with invaluable knowledge of online business and "the platform itself, while we are in charge of the business. The optimal combination in our eyes. For us, it was very important that our ohsyical stores were also considered in the online strategy." - Henrik Helm, Co-owner of the Helm chain.

Interaction between physical stores and webshop

As a chain store, there are many things to consider when making the decision to go online. It is important that a connection is created between the webshop and physical stores, so that customers experience it as a whole. And then it is important to create a common foothold so that the stores see the webshop as a win rather than a competitor. A lot of challenges that Helm has been aware of right from the start and still works strategically with.

We are very conscious of creating synergy between our 12 physical stores and our webshop. In order to ensure a uniform image of us as a chain in the eyes of consumers we are for example responsible for planning all marketing campaigns centrally and preparing material for this. The stores then receive a manual of the individual campaigns as well as all the necessary material, so it is ready to go. This is a huge advantage for our stores, who thus do not have to wonder about it. However, they are alwasy welcome to take the initiative for some local campaigns, which we are happy to help them carry out-

Anders Juul Nielsen, e-commerce manager at Helm.nu

From physical sales to data-driven personalization

One of the thing we miss in the webshop is the unique customer service that our stores provide - day after day.

To compensate for the lack of 'physical sales' in the webshop, we have done a lot of work with personalization in the shop because of Raptor's various recommendation tools, as well as extensive use of the Marketing Automation tool Active Campaign, which enables us to keep a close and personal dialogue with our customers.

In addition, we do everything we can to draw the sellers' expertise into the webshop with our online chat, where we are always ready to guide customers and answer questions.

Close cooperation

The close collaboration results in a well-coordinated effort at the shop where we each utilize our areas of expertise. Helm are experts in their field and their business, and when this is combined with MCB's expertise in online marketing, growth and visibility, the result is a successful cocktail. But it takes more than good intentions and knowledge of the market to be successful online.

Why has Helm been successful online?

"They have it because they are ambitious, hardworking, and risk-averse.

They have understood that you do not come to it asleep - or for free. Therefore, the team behind Helm is also willing to invest in their business - both in the form of skilled employees and tools such as Marketing Automations and Raptor Smart Advisor. And then they know how to work purposefully with the tools, and thus quickly achieve good results. Likewise, our close collaboration means that we are sharing the tasks between us, so Helm does what they are super good at, while taking care of the parts of their online business that we are keen on."

- Rasmus Høegh Refstrup, e-commerce consultant for Helm.nu