A few weeks ago, I attended Techweek in Chicago. This week-long expo is for startups and Fortune 500 companies to showcase their newest products, insights, ideas and plans for the future.
There are also a variety of sessions to attend to learn about the latest in technology, from increasing a company’s website presence to contextual marketing and building agile software solutions.
When reviewing all the sessions, I was surprised and pleased to see a session about Uponor, an industry manufacturer that mechanical contractors are very familiar with. The name of the session was “Five Ways Sitecore Brought Uponor from a Passive Web Presence to an Interactive Industry Leader.” I knew this was a must for me to attend.
With the help of Sitecore, Uponor North America delivers rich digital experiences to its customers – consumers and contractors. Sitecore also helps Uponor streamline their internal processes and go to market strategies.
Sitecore is a leader in customer experience management. The company delivers highly relevant content and personalized digital experiences to audiences, which builds loyalty and drives revenue. According to Sitecore’s website, with the Sitecore Experience Platform, marketers can own the experience of every customer that engages with their brand, across every channel.
Don Costello, Web Product Manager for Uponor North America, spoke about the benefits of using Sitecore and how the CMS system has improved managing multiple company websites, plus, Sitecore helped Uponor streamline its annual print catalog production.
Yes, you heard that right – the CMS system has helped Uponor with producing their popular print catalog. I wasn’t expecting to hear much about print at Techweek, so this was a surprise!
It was also great to hear from Costello that orders for Uponor’s print catalog continue to increase.
“The online catalog is always up to date, but many catalogs are still printed,” said Costello. “Contractors use the catalog as a reference when on a jobsite."
Uponor also views the catalog as a marketing piece.
One of the most interesting statements that Costello made during the presentation was that everything is interconnected – website, tradeshows, webinars, the print catalog, etc.
I do agree with Costello’s statement. There is so much talk these days about how the Internet has changed the majority of industries, which is true, but each medium plays a part in the big picture of customer satisfaction, thus, at Uponor print still plays a role – many of Uponor's contractor customers still use the print catalog.
Uponor is a prime example of how a company stepped up to the plate by working with Sitecore to manage their websites, creating a great user experience for both consumers and contractors. And even though the company’s catalog is available online, the print version of the catalog is still as popular as ever with orders increasing. Apparently print is not dead just yet.
Contractors – Do you prefer to look up product information online or in a print catalog? Share your thoughts at Plumbing Talk, CONTRACTOR’s plumbing forum.