Dotcom Distribution Digital Ecosystem

Dotcom Distribution provides e-commerce fulfillment and third-party logistics services for consumer lifestyle brands such as Adore Me, Ashley Stewart and Essence Beauty Box. Specializing in premium packaging, order fulfillment and delivery services, Dotcom acts as a strategic partner to “emerging” online retailers that need to quickly scale their warehouse and distribution capabilities to keep up with growing demand.

The Challenge

Dotcom Distribution has a proven track record of helping small and medium-sized e-commerce brands rapidly grow their fulfillment operations, but the downside of its business model is that clients often “graduate” when they outgrow the company’s New Jersey warehouse. While Dotcom celebrates these graduations as victories, the client turnover means the company has to constantly find new revenue.

Heading into 2015, Dotcom needed to replace the revenue of a large client that had grown, but the company didn’t have a healthy sales pipeline. With all of its new business coming through inconsistent referrals and a limited telemarketing program, the company needed to develop a new marketing strategy that would generate leads through digital channels. With no formal marketing program in place, Dotcom Distribution turned to Walker Sands to create an integrated strategy that would reach new audiences and drive qualified leads.

The Solution

To help Dotcom Distribution fill its sales pipeline, Walker Sands proposed a comprehensive Digital Ecosystem program—a content-driven strategy that leverages owned, earned and paid media channels together to drive web traffic and leads. Instead of approaching traditional channels like media relations, search engine marketing and social media as separate tactics, Walker Sands created a unified marketing framework that got them all working together in harmony.

The Digital Ecosystem model, pioneered by Walker Sands, is built on the premise that B2B brands must have multiple touch points with prospects during each stage of the buyer journey. For Dotcom Distribution, the program included the following components:

• Content Marketing: Walker Sands created a library of downloadable content marketing resources geared toward emerging retailers. The content program included an annual research report, a white paper, an e-book and a series of tip sheets, all focused on prospects at different stages of the buyer journey. Each resource was atomized into smaller pieces of content, from SEO pages to social media graphics.
• Media Relations: In addition to pitching Dotcom’s content to the media, Walker Sands targeted business, e-commerce and logistics publications with story ideas relevant to “emerging” retail brands. As a result, Dotcom spokespeople were frequently quoted as industry experts.
• Email Marketing: Walker Sands deployed an email marketing nurture campaign using Pardot that promoted the latest piece of content from Dotcom Distribution, targeting key decision-makers at e-commerce and online retail brands.
• SEO: To promote content marketing resources and target additional keywords, Walker Sands created five new website pages per month aimed at increasing organic search traffic and conversions.
• PPC: Paid search campaigns further boosted web traffic and conversions by targeting keywords relevant to Dotcom content pieces.
• Social Media: Walker Sands engaged prospects and influencers on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, reaching target audiences with a mix of content, thought leadership and industry insights.

The Results

The Digital Ecosystem program for Dotcom Distribution dramatically boosted the number of leads coming in through the website:

• Total web traffic increased 85% year over year
• Quarterly web conversion rate jumped from 1.45% to 6.9%
• Web leads grew from less than 20 to more than 200 every month
• More than 75 media placements earned in 12 months, including Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Internet Retailer and Supply Chain Brain
• Marketing program contributed to 15% increase in revenue

“The Dotcom Distribution shows the power of the Digital Ecosystem model,” said Dave Parro, head of the retail technology and e-commerce practice at Walker Sands. “By leveraging compelling content across channels, B2B brands can ensure they’re present and engaged at every step of the new buyer journey.”