Sirius creates new online platform for members

Sirius Buying Group has launched a new online platform to optimise its digital route to market and drive more sales to its network of suppliers and members.

The buying group, which supplies electrical retailers and kitchen studios, has urged its members to do all they can to provide easy brand access for end users.

The group worked with Digital NRG, one of Google’s leading UK channel premier partners, to develop the platform.

According to independent research by Digital NRG, more than 70 per cent of all appliance purchases start with extensive online research.

As footfall becomes increasingly inconsistent, Sirius emphasised the importance of dealers having a website, with it being, in effect, a virtual shop window.

The benefits are said to include a ready-loaded online package with all current promotional banners, brands and more than 7,000 products. It also provides complete product management, thereby removing the laborious task of managing and updating product lists.

Many of its members have already gone live under the new digital programme, with 10 more currently under construction and members signing up on a weekly basis, Sirius claimed.

Collectively, these members are reported to be seeing more than 100,000 unique monthly visitors to their websites.

The system allows members to opt in and out of categories, brands and products it wishes to display. It also has the support of Google shopping promotions, search engine optimisation (SEO) campaigns and layered call and lead tracking systems to ensure every online enquiry, sale and phone call is traceable.

“If there were 150+ Sirius websites across the country all working towards the same objective – uniformity – then a big brand can be born,” said Sirius Buying Group commercial director Steve Jones. “Recognitions, trust indicators about the group and how our members operate can all be used to translate powerful messages to the end user, with unique selling points easily conveyed like ‘local, independent, price-match promises, local engineers’ to help independents maintain profitable market share.

“As the industry embraces the online digital world more and more, having such positive feedback from those members already signed up to our roadshow web launch lends itself to the majority of members in 2017 participating in the Sirius website project and benefiting.”

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