About
Ray O’Herron supplies gear and equipment to safety and security services departments such as Police, Fire and Rescue, and EMS. The equipment and gear include helmets, boots, uniforms, flashlights, and tools. Founded in 1964, O'Herron’s sales model consisted mostly of traveling salesmen and physical catalogs. As buyers’ preferences shifted online, O’Herron searched for a modern approach that could still provide its customers with a highly personalized experience.
Together, NetElixir and Miva hit the bullseye in developing a unique website that brought Ray O’Herron’s targeted vision to life.
Achievements
Created A Customized Site That Met Every Expectation: Ray O’Herron had several specifications to realize the vision they had for their ecommerce store and brand. The NetElixir and Miva teams worked together to create the best possible solution to build a strong foundation that allowed for sustainable growth as O’Herron evolved.
Personalized Customer Experience: We created customized shopping experiences using business portals for each department and customer profiles that Ray O’Herron caters to. Therefore, new and returning customers could easily navigate to their respective departments and products based on officer ranks.
Increased Product Security: Because O’Herron sells sensitive products that may not be available for direct purchase, we implemented form request submissions and approval processes to complete orders.
Challenge
In the beginning, Ray O’Herron had an outdated website that was built on the Magento e-commerce platform. Between numerous customizations and an overload of plugins, their website suffered from high maintenance overheads and a poor user experience. With a growing catalog of hundreds of products and a vision of creating an e-commerce store that separated SKUs by service department and offered custom product solutions, Ray O’Herron needed a platform that could accommodate these complex needs now and evolve with them as their business grew.
Solution
In addition to being an online distributor to manufacturers, O’Herron’s vision included having unique, branded store portals to cater to the needs of different service departments across the country. Understanding the importance of building and maintaining a strong online presence, O’Herron was interested in continuous SEO services. The NetElixir and Miva teams were in constant communication as we identified the challenges on the current site, conceptualized the new brand, and helped O’Herron fine-tune their online presence for a spectacular final result.
Miva’s flexible and adaptable platform could fully accommodate O’Herron’s product segmentation and customization options. To keep the customer experience as seamless as possible as the site underwent a complex overhaul, it was necessary to roll out the website redesign in different stages. First, NetElixir rolled out the core functionality essentials and then gradually implemented secondary features the client preferred through continuous refinement of the e-commerce store.
To cater to the requirements of their different departments, O’Herron needed multiple portals to segment products specifically for police, fire and rescue, and EMS services. NetElixir simplified the portal process to create a more fluid customer experience and set up business accounts with specific product categories and discounts unique to each. Together, NetElixir and Miva also created a setup for easy navigation of products based on officer ranks unique to the different services.
“We’ve gone from a simple website that used to generate minimal orders, to a true ecommerce store that is now one of our main drivers of business growth. Miva’s platform (and people!) have been instrumental in supporting us as O’Herron continues to evolve.” - Chris O’Herron, Owner
Our collaboration extended beyond the O’Herron, Miva, and NetElixir teams; through the Miva platform we were able to seamlessly integrate with Sage ERP to assist with O’Herron’s inventory management, as well as SearchSpring to set up features like product search and comparison on the site.
Because of the nature of some of O’Herron’s offerings in the firearms category, NetElixir helped them restrict general access to sensitive products, implementing a form request submission and approval process for the purchase of these products. Additionally, we set up product customization and pricing based on variants like size, optional logo design, and more, allowing O’Herron’s customers to order based on their exact needs.
NetElixir’s integrated approach meant that the website was built optimized for SEO, set up for Google and Facebook advertising with Ready Product Shopping feeds, linked with Google Analytics Conversion Tracking Setup and Analysis, and ultimately driven by customer profile insights.
“The NetElixir team was a pleasure; they were very experienced and professional. I would recommend them to anyone having the same difficulties with their current web team.”
- Chris O'Herron, Owner
By taking advantage of built-in Miva features, O’Herron can provide a clean, robust, and easy to navigate site that will serve their customers for years to come. With NetElixir’s expert digital marketing solutions, O’Herron can continue to refine their online presence and connect with their customers. Together, NetElixir and Miva created a store that matches O’Herron’s eye for precision.
NetElixir + Miva Partnership
In 2021, NetElixir and Miva partnered to help online sellers build modern, conversion-focused Miva e-commerce stores. Through the partnership, online sellers now have access to NetElixir's e-commerce site development expertise and suite of marketing solutions, all on Miva’s powerful and adaptable e-commerce platform.
“The NetElixir team was a pleasure; they were very experienced and professional. I would recommend them to anyone having the same difficulties with their current web team.”
Chris O’Herron,
Owner