A South Wales oil and chemical spill pollution and equipment specialist has seen a big upturn in business after jumping ahead of large international competitors in Google’s search rankings.
Cwmbran-based Zwanny Ltd saw immediate results from its digital marketing and SEO (search engine optimisation) strategy, with its website climbing to page 1 of the search engine. And not only did this lead to a significant increase in visitors but a ten percent increase in leads, which is not trivial in a crowded marketplace.
Marc van der Zwan set up the business with his wife from home following redundancy. And he used his experience in oil pollution prevention and cleaning, and mechanical engineering to build a sustainable offering and diverse product range. But without a way to reach his target market, the risk of starting out on his own could have been in vain. So Marc sought help to stand out and reach out using online technology and digital marketing.
Took on board advice from Superfast Business Wales
He attended a masterclass and obtained expert consultancy from Superfast Business Wales (SFBW) and says: “a website review showed we were not even ranking on Google and we weren’t optimised for mobile devices which meant we were losing potential customers through a pretty big hole in our net. And the customers we did have maybe didn’t realise it but were suffering from inefficient processes because we didn’t use a customer relationship management system (CRM).”
Marc says his wife, Helen and he are glad they quickly took on the recommendations to build a new SEO driven website and to install a new CRM system. “It’s meant we’ve been able to say goodbye to pen and paper invoicing, which is a godsend now we now deal with substantial levels of new enquiries.”
“Superfast broadband gives us reliable round the clock coverage”
“To run our business we installed superfast broadband because it gives us reliable round the clock coverage. It’s fast and means we can use Skype and WhatsApp to talk to international clients as well as use cloud-based office apps, such as Microsoft 365, to make our all of processes quicker so we are more productive.”
Since he first took his risk, Marc and Helen, who has since joined Zwanny full time, have built sustainable business in ports and big industrial and manufacturing sites in the UK and beyond. And it’s had viable enquiries from as far away as the Arctic and Samoa.
Mark said: “What we’ve already achieved has been eye-opening for us so we are implementing all suggestions the SFBW business adviser made.”
Reaching customers through email marketing and social media
So even though turnover in the first quarter of the current financial year may now equal a substantial proportion of the previous year’s total turnover, Zwanny isn’t stopping. The business also uses MailChimp to distribute a monthly newsletter that includes product news and informative commentary to 800 plus subscribers, as well as posting to LinkedIn.
Mark added: “We get two or three responses each month, either from someone wanting to buy a product, or requests for advice. So we are now looking to develop our Twitter account, and thinking about Pinterest.
“Our meeting with the Superfast Business Wales adviser went really well. The points in his report were welcome and well worth applying. I would recommend any business large or small that wants to grow and expand, or just to stay in business, to go to Superfast Business Wales. It’s a free independent service so why not take advantage?”