TrueCABLE
Designing a fast, user-friendly eCommerce experience in the low-voltage supplies space.
The Challenge
Improving engagement metrics among individual and commercial buyers
Establishing a powerful online presence was essential for TrueCABLE’s success in the competitive, old-school industry of low-voltage supplies. With many of its competitors still relying on the traditional brick-and-mortar shopping experience, TrueCABLE saw an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in the market and better connect with its target audience. Naturally, the business started selling products on Amazon and launched its own online store using Shopify Plus.
After some time, it became evident that TrueCABLE’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) eCommerce website wasn’t providing enough value to its customers. Sales, conversions, and general user engagement metrics were falling behind on quarterly goals. And with a relatively small team, TrueCABLE didn’t have the time, manpower, or technical expertise necessary to enhance its online customer experience. Enter Codal.
When the TrueCABLE team came to us in the summer of 2021, they presented a list of web design and development needs, which included:
A mobile-friendly website
Streamlined user navigation
Increased site speed
Updated homepage and product collection pages
Advanced product search capabilities
A rewards and referral program for customers
As an award-winning UX/UI design agency with over a decade of experience building and optimizing eCommerce sites, Codal was a perfect fit for the job. Our team had the technical wisdom, skills, and bandwidth to not only deliver on TrueCABLE’s initial list of requirements but also provide a multitude of other UX improvements.
Discovery
Realizing the full potential of Shopify Plus
In our initial Discovery stage, the Codal team interviewed TrueCABLE’s stakeholders, performed a UX/UI audit of the site, conducted in-depth market research, and analyzed historical business data. With the information gathered from these exercises, we created a roadmap to success—and were ready to start designing, engineering, testing, and deploying new UX features and functionality for the TrueCABLE site.
This would involve leveraging many of the tools and capabilities available on Shopify Plus. As a Shopify partner, Codal has utilized the platform to build and optimize many eCommerce sites. Our developers have ample experience integrating the Shopify Plus platform with proprietary software and third-party plugins—from ERP systems, to inventory management solutions, to email marketing tools, and everything in between.
Development
Redesigning the customer experience with a data-driven approach
Our most pertinent goal was to increase TrueCABLE’s eCommerce conversion rate from 0.82% to at least 2.5%—the industry standard. We also needed to design a superior customer experience to meet the expectations of the brand’s two main target audiences—commercial buyers and DIYers.
The commercial buyer persona represents professional low-voltage contractors—hired to plan and execute cabling, wiring, and networking projects for homes, businesses, and so on. These customers are technical in nature and are mostly focused on purchasing high-quality, low-cost products in high volumes—as this contributes to stronger project results, higher margins, and more work for their business.
To incentivize commercial buyers, we needed to redesign the site to emphasize the quality of TrueCABLE’s products. We also needed to create a fast, simple, and transparent process for purchasing items in bulk at a discounted price.
The DIYer—or jack-of-all-trades—persona represents property owners looking to install ethernet cables, connectors, jacks, and couplers, without the help of a professional service provider. Unlike commercial buyers, these customers are not technical and often need help learning how to complete certain projects.
The idea here was to redesign the site so that it—as the old adage goes—not only gives the customer a fishing pole but teaches them how to fish. We wanted the experience of browsing the TrueCABLE site to be the virtual equivalent of browsing your local hardware store—where all the necessary supplies are there, as well as direct access to insights and recommendations from low-voltage experts. This would involve revamping TrueCABLE’s “Cable Academy”—a section of the site where users can find helpful content on a wide range of topics, from cable management, to fiber optics, to link aggregation.
Our initial UX/UI redesign strategy focused on optimizing—for both desktop and mobile—the following elements of TrueCABLE’s online store:
Homepage: On the homepage, we brought more attention to the Cable Academy, added a section to highlight new products, and included more imagery to demonstrate various product use cases—both on a commercial and consumer level.
Navigation: For the main navigation menu, we added each product category and subcategory, so first-time customers immediately know exactly what supplies TrueCABLE offers. We also included relevant content snippets and links to the Cable Academy in each dropdown menu to help direct customers toward the right items for their project.
Product listing page (PLP): Here, we displayed more details around each listed product, so users can compare different items more effectively, and don’t have to click through to PDPs as often.
Product details page (PDP): The new PDPs provide more information related to product quality—like customer reviews, third-party certifications, warranty details, and the manufacturing process. They also emphasize volume discounts, so customers are more likely to make bigger purchases.
Search results: TrueCABLE was using Shopify Plus’ most basic search solution. We enhanced the system by integrating a cutting-edge search plugin—enabling users to quickly and easily find specific products and content.
Shopping cart: The redesigned shopping cart allows customers to save items in their cart and purchase them later. Other UX developments include the ability to share carts, a “continue shopping” button, and more product specifications on the surface—so users can easily confirm they are making the right purchase.
Cable Academy: We moved the Cable Academy link to the main navigation, and made its content more present in various sections of the site—so DIYers receive helpful tips and information every step of the way.
Contact page: We redesigned the contact page to make it easier for commercial buyers to inquire with a TrueCABLE sales representative about high-volume purchases. We also made improvements to the site’s live chat integration.
We also decided to refresh several pages on the TrueCABLE site with a UI facelift—which is a simple update to the page’s look and feel, without changing any of its inner workings. This included customer account pages, the About Us page, and the log-in/ account creation page.
Finally, the team decided to build out two brand new customer account pages—a “Where’s My Order?” page, where users can quickly check the status of their orders, and a “Project Wishlist” board, where users can save and keep track of items that they plan on purchasing in the future.
The Result
A digital version of your local hardware store
Codal’s UX/UI redesign initiatives have created a faster, simpler, and more impactful shopping experience for TrueCABLE’s customers. And our collaboration continues to yield positive results.
Codal meets with the TrueCABLE team once a week to discuss current website developments, address any UX maintenance issues, and come up with additional strategies to improve customer engagement and sales. We’re also in the process of building a new online store that will operate under the TrueCABLE brand.
We’re incredibly proud of the work our team has done with TrueCABLE, and are excited to help them continue to shake things up in the low-voltage supplies space.
