Voice of the Customer: Diversification and Reacting is Key to Success

If you ask Jimmy Jensen about the pandemic, he will tell you that it has re-awaken the company’s entrepreneurial spirit.  Before the pandemic, they had built a successful online printing, cutting, and framing business targeting both consumers and businesses, and everything was ticking along nicely.

But that wasn’t the case in 2006 when they opened their first concept of a “store-within-a-store” selling furniture.  Consumers coming into the store would use a touch screen to “design” and select the furniture they wanted, and then Illux would take a week or more to build, ship, and deliver the finished product.

This concept proved unsatisfactory, so they re-envisioned their offering to embrace the internet and diversified into designer acoustic paneling, business signage, and framing.  Used by both consumers, interior designers, and businesses, the process has become heavily automated.

The website is the main focus of the business, and all marketing activities are focused on driving conversions.  Google Ads is the primary lead generator for their business, aside from existing customers and word-of-mouth referrals.  Facebook is also a chance to showcase their products, and they do actively post. Illux manages its SEO in-house with periodic reviews from “outsiders”.

Jimmy works with a specialist company for his AdWords and Facebook needs.  Based on his experience, he believes a multi-product marketing agency would not deliver the results they are seeing using a specialty firm.  What he does acknowledge is that their results have improved from when they used to do the Google Ads themselves.

With many Danish businesses closing and all others were unsure of what to expect in mid-March, many business orders for signage and foils were put on hold.  But this is when the entrepreneurial spirit rose again for Jimmy and his partners.

Watch the interview here

It became a case of brainstorming and moving fast.  Where other businesses had sent their employees home, Illux was able to reduce its in-office time but still engage the staff on problem-solving the downturn in sales.

The result was an understanding of what businesses would be needing coming out of the pandemic and moving quickly to get that information out to existing and potential clients.  Tweaking the ad campaigns with new landing pages to focus on corona related items such floor foils to mark social distancing, acrylic screen cutting, and more allowed Illux to maintain and even grow this line of business.

The other product lines have also maintained or slightly increased, including the consumer-driven designer acoustic tiles for the home. Perhaps many people who are now working from home realise they need something on the walls or maybe noisy kids or partners mean they need better acoustic dampening.  Regardless of the reason, this business line has held up.

The pandemic has served as a reminder to many that success can be taken away in an instant and that the entrepreneurial spirit needs to be in a company in both good times and bad times. You can expect Illux to continue to engage with specialty media companies and, with the renewed entrepreneurial spirit, will continue reach out for expertise on new ways to grow their business.