Steve Edwards is striking the right note for his clients, proving that the Web is a powerful marketing tool that not only builds sales but customer loyalty.
"When you have a website that truly reflects your business and a trusted customer list, the opportunities are practically limitless," says Edwards, who is at the helm of Music City, a highly successful retail store in St. John's, Newfoundland that sells and services musical instruments that range from electronic guitars to grand pianos, and also runs a rock music school.
In fact, Edward's company was the 2004 winner of BDC's Young Entrepreneur Award for Newfoundland and Labrador. Since 1997, Music City has seen exponential growth, building business through innovative customer service and marketing techniques, such as offering clients 100% trade-up value on the purchase of musical instruments.
"I knew what I wanted when I set up my e-business. Nobody in Canada was really offering an online music store. From the get-go, Music City was about simply being the best and our online store had to reflect that level of excellence, too ," says Edwards.
To get the initiative off the ground, the ambitious entrepreneur chose to work with BDC Consulting, which offered e-business expertise. "We already had a good relationship with BDC, and the team was able to help us build an e-business that fit our customer service strategy," says Edwards. Music City already had an effective back-end package in place that was customized for the music industry. By using off the shelf software combined with custom development, the company was able to differentiate itself. "We didn't have to reinvent the wheel there. But BDC helped us develop the look, feel and functionality of the site. They were great facilitators," he says. BDC helped Music City ensure that the web visual approach reflected their company brand. As well, navigational ease was an important priority.
Music City's website offers its customers a pleasant, user-friendly online shopping experience. Much like the bricks-and-mortar store, the online music store has the feel of a "musical Starbucks," where consumers find themselves in a relaxed environment. Users can easily browse for instruments by category or brand, or for music by style, artist or title. "You can get even more information on our products here. I often refer customers to our website," says Edwards, who believes a part of the company's success can be attributed to truly understanding its customer demographics and ensuring that website elements, such as graphics and features, resonate with them.
"People in the music world are very tactile and experimental. They're always looking for something new, and we're making sure we can respond to that," he explains. "You can do so much more than simply sell on the Web. You can give your clients more insight into your products and help them use them," he emphasizes. "Our business is not about price, but customer service. That's where we have to shine." For example, today the site is linked with one of the largest distributors of music books in Canada, Canadian Print Music, which enables customers to print sheet music directly online. Clients can also suggest products they want online by clicking in a specific area; as well, they can register for their e-newsletter on new products and services, the local music scene, concerts and competitions.
"I think the real success factor here is always tweaking your site. It's not a static thing, but an evolving part of your business. If you were in a bookstore and they always had the same books, you would get pretty bored fast," he says. He also offers this advice to entrepreneurs. "Whoever is leading your company has to give your web initiative the time it needs. You have to focus on it and make sure that you're getting what you want," he stresses.
Down the road, Edwards and his team are looking at some ambitious projects, such as building an online community with music associations, industry people and musicians. The store also plans to build an auction site where clients can sell musical instruments to one another. "Another area that we're developing is the idea of doing online video demonstrations," says Edwards. For example, clients could consult demonstrations of instruments or five-minute clinics on various topics.
"This is the just the beginning of a very exciting opportunity for Music City," he concludes.
