Napoleon: E-Commerce Website

The Client

Napoleon is a prominent Ontario-based manufacturer of grills, fireplaces, and gas furnaces. Napoleon is proud to be recognized as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies and is dedicated to providing quality home comfort products for over 40 years and counting.

The Situation

Previously a business-to-business brand, Napoleon initially focused its efforts on supporting its vast dealer network. Customers were only able to make purchases through a dealer, who would then have the product shipped to their store. But, based on changes in consumer buying habits, the brand set a goal of shifting its business model to an online-to-offline strategy to support online purchasing through its existing dealer network. 

In 2019, Napoleon created a foundational digital framework upon which its customer experience, personalized marketing, and product integrations were built. This improved the brand's online presence by consolidating its product offerings onto the existing digital framework, Napoleon.com, allowing for a more cohesive and holistic user experience.

But the company wanted to do more, leveraging its existing Drupal framework to begin shifting into e-commerce by integrating Shopify capabilities on its website for specific products and accessories as part of a larger multi-year plan.

The Challenge

As mentioned, Napoleon had previously followed an exclusively business-to-business model. To shift to online-to-offline sales, the brand needed to overhaul its inventory processes for better accuracy and shipping efficiency. But to make the shift as seamless as possible, Napoleon needed to set itself up for success — especially in the areas of digital and fulfillment. This meant strategizing for every factor, from the state of economic uncertainty post-COVID to the way increasing e-commerce capabilities would impact dealers and the larger dealer network in its day-to-day business. 

The brand wanted to continue running its website on the Drupal platform to take advantage of the existing infrastructure, which had already been updated and designed for scalability. But to maximize Drupal performance without disrupting Napoleon’s online presence, it wanted to upgrade to Drupal 9 and integrate with Acquia Cloud Platform.

The Solution

Napoleon’s agency partner, Northern, completed a diagnostic analysis, determining the brand components and maximizing the effectiveness of short-term online-to-offline strategies to deliver a more comprehensive plan for long-term scalability in future phases.

Northern reviewed every touchpoint in Napoleon’s digital experience to uncover conversion rate optimization and UX opportunities. The team reviewed Napoleon’s analytics implementation, ensuring the company had proper tracking in place to accurately measure growth and performance initiatives. The team also examined Napoleon’s email platform capabilities, analyzing account health, list status, KPIs and targets, and opportunities for automation. Additionally, Northern performed paid media discovery. 

To streamline buying experiences, Northern created product detail pages based on conversion rate optimization recommendations. The team updated the layout to focus on e-commerce offerings, adding filters, such as size, and lists, such as related products. 

Northern performed numerous integrations, including a complex integration with Shopify's Buy Button and JavaScript (JS) Buy SDK, and custom development for an "add items to cart" functionality not available out of the box for the Buy Button API. It implemented ShipEarly to support shipping, creating additional fulfillment options (e.g., white glove), and giving dealers the capability to view and confirm orders. It connected this to a Stripe integration, which allows dealers to receive funds for sales on Napoleon.com.

Additionally, Northern performed integrations with Salesforce and Salsify’s PIM system, which automated sales processes and product data updates, simplifying information management by removing the need for manual inputs and saving on labor costs while creating a single source of inventory truth. And they integrated email into the site with Klaviyo, introducing the capacity to run revenue-driving flows in addition to campaign management. 

Northern implemented Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager to ensure metrics are tracked accurately. Events were created to enable retrieval of user navigation and interaction data, and Apache Solr empowered site-specific search using advanced and custom facets including AJAX sliders, which allow over 10 search views used across all divisions, regions, and countries.

The Results

Napoleon’s efforts to elevate its digital presence by leveraging the pre-existing Drupal framework have yielded remarkable outcomes. The new model drives leads for dealers at no cost to them and has been well-received by Napoleon’s dealer network. Specific results include:

Scalable growth and expansion: Napoleon released 169 products, which are now available for online purchase. As the brand continues to expand its digital footprint and introduce more products across diverse division lines, more enhancements and testing will come. Napoleon remains committed to ongoing enhancements and meticulous testing, ensuring that its customers continue to receive unparalleled value and service. 

Email marketing success: Incorporating opt-in integration and employing strategic list growth strategies, Napoleon’s campaigns yielded substantial dividends. Notably, the “abandon cart” series of emails were performance standouts, rapidly generating revenue that continues to grow. This proactive approach not only recovered potential sales but has also enabled Napoleon to monetize engagement — even when the team was off the clock.

Enhanced customer insights: To support its online-to-offline model, Napoleon employed cutting-edge tools that let it delve deeper than ever before into consumer behaviors and preferences, including what products are being added to carts and purchased. With the implementation of Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager, the brand ensured that crucial e-commerce metrics would be tracked accurately. A Hotjar integration can provide valuable insights into user interactions and page movements, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the customer mindset. 

Holistic tracking for strategic growth: Integrating Facebook and TikTok pixels has allowed Napoleon to more accurately monitor campaign results for data-driven decision-making. This comprehensive approach amplified the impact of marketing campaigns while offering avenues for refinement.

Enhanced customer experiences: With the implementation of Bazaarvoice Curation, Napoleon seamlessly showcased product reviews, bolstering consumer confidence and informed decision-making. Additionally, the team added a "Previously Viewed" section featuring personalized product recommendations, enhancing user engagement and allowing for tailored shopping experiences based on individual preferences.