B&J Collectibles improves their Internet presence and sets up an online storefront

Project Components

• Web site design
• Online inventory database development
• eCommerce development
• Content management system

The Client: B&J Collectibles

B&J Collectibles is an international supplier of sports and celebrity memorabilia and sports collectibles. They market and sell authenticated autographed sports and celebrity memorabilia and collectible items directly to consumers.

Goals and Challenges: Building a user-friendly and visually pleasing site

B&J Collectibles came to us in the early online-marketing years, before eCommerce had hit its stride. They already had a print catalog, but their web site was neither aesthetic nor functional. Consisting of blocks of text on a white background, B&J's Internet presence was all but non-existent. To help B&J's business evolve, we outlined the following needs:

• eCommerce sites should be designed for maximum product exposure and ease-of-use for the customer.
  A text-only site was not likely to interest their customers. B&J needed a contemporary graphical look and a showcase for their products.
• With so many products available, B&J needed a searchable online inventory so that customers could browse through their areas of interest.
• To facilitate purchasing, B&J needed an eCommerce system.
• B&J's inventory changed frequently. Every time a basball player signed a bat, B&J needed to be sure that product was available online. Outsourcing the management of this inventory updating could be costly. In addition, there would have been a lag between the time they had a new product to offer and the time a third party would take to process it and make it available on the site. B&J needed a better, more efficient way to manage online inventory.

The Project: A back-end database drives the eCommerce system and content management functions

To meet B&J's business needs, we developed:

• A full product database - the database included product name, number, weight, price, description and photos. This database would serve as the back end of the web site.
• A search function - visitors could search the site for products by keyword, product name, product number, product category or price range.
• A unified inventory management system - since B&J already had an internal inventory management system, we merged this with the web site database, creating a unified system that allowed B&J to acquire data for the Web site directly from its internal inventory.
• Graphic design - we designed site graphics that would complement the print catalog and provide a showcase for products.
• A shopping cart system for online ordering - orders placed through the Web site were transmitted electronically to the B&J sales team and stored in their order system.
• A brief registration form - this form would allow returning customers to recall previously entered information such as name, shipping address, past orders and order tracking information.
• A site management system - this allowed B&J staff to not only modify product information and photos, but also to update other important or time-sensitive content on the Web site such as news, special offers and images.

The Benefits: Increased sales and improved customer service

• A contemporary look. The site design brought B&J's online marketing up to current standards and provided a showcase for products.
• Save money. Web site maintenance was simplified and streamlined, resulting in significant long-term cost savings to B&J, and giving sales representatives complete administrative control over their site. A sophisticated database ensured that the task of adding, deleting and modifying product listings, while based on extensive database programming, did not require B&J staff to have any knowledge of technology.
• Save time. With their internal content and order systems merged with their online system, B&J was freed from the extra time it would have taken to separately manage their online and offline marketing, giving B&J staff more time to focus on sales and customer service.