#1.
Our client
Electric by D'Ieteren is a start-up that is part of the Lab Box, which aims to improve mobility and is in turn part of the D'Ieteren Group, the distributor of Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Cupra and Porsche vehicles in Belgium.
To meet the growing demand in the electric vehicle market, they launched EDI in 2019 to offer charging points for electric and hybrid vehicles to individuals and professionals.
Since its launch, the start-up has experienced strong growth and grown from a team of 6 to around 100 employees.
We mainly worked with Manon (Digital Strategist) and Olivier (Head of IT) and we also talked a lot with Steven, the marketing manager. Our two teams worked closely together.
#2.
Their needs
Initially, EDI needed a landing page to showcase their products at the Paris Motor Show in 2021. When they started looking for their service provider for this project, they already knew it would lead to a more important collaboration because of their rapid growth.
Electric by D'Ieteren also wanted to entrust a service provider with expertise in developing part of their marketing to improve and optimalise their processes: the website, emails, everything related to the customer, etc.
Because the company is growing very fast, the processes are becoming more complex, so when something is changed, the impact is much greater. EDI wanted support from specialists to monitor and ensure development.
A company specialising in custom development with design skills and Odoo expertise was absolutely essential, as their web platform and internal processes are managed through Odoo.
#3.
Our solution
We initiated the development of the desired landing page for the car show, seamlessly integrating it into their existing Odoo system.
This initial task led to our selection by Electric by D'Ieteren to ensure the evolution and optimalisation of their web platform and marketing processes.
Throughout our collaboration, we've optimalised various aspects:
Increased conversion rate via web platform
We modified specific existing pages on their platform and crafted new, compelling pages to engage users more effectively.
A structured approach was implemented based on the marketing content provided by EDI, enhancing accessibility and attractiveness for customer conversion.
The primary goal of these optimalisations was to generate interest in EDI products and create new leads.
Our focus was primarily on improving accessibility and enhancing the overall customer experience.
Creation of a professional email flow
We established a clearer, more professional, and attractive email flow—crucial for effective marketing emails aimed at conversion.
Aligning this flow with the overall design of EDI strengthened their visual identity, fostering increased credibility with customers and further persuasion.
Implementation of an internal email automation tool
Commencing with Odoo, we introduced automatic blocks to emails, empowering the marketing team at Electric by D'Ieteren to customize their email campaigns with ease, adding headers, footers, etc.
This tool significantly streamlined their daily tasks.
The design maintained consistency with the broader branding of EDI, further reinforcing their visual identity.
Enhancement of the commercial process
The quote PDF, a pivotal document in the customer relationship, providing comprehensive information about EDI products and designed to convince the customer to place an order, underwent significant improvements.
Previously, this PDF was automatically generated by Odoo without branding, customer interaction, or visual appeal, lacking persuasiveness.
To better persuade customers, we created a specific design based on their content, resulting in a more readable and dynamic document that presents information clearly and interactively, with clickable links and calls to action.
Additionally, the sending of the PDF is automated based on the customer information stored in Odoo.
The customer receives a personalised offer thanks to an automatic PDF generation system that adds or removes sections based on the customer's needs.
We also revised the installation guide for the charging stations to align it with all documents from EDI, featuring the same branding and a clear and readable layout.
The goal is to increase customer satisfaction through a more comprehensive experience.
From the initial contact with the customer to the installation of their charging station, their experience should be as optimal as possible.
Main difficulties and constraints of the project:
The most complex part of the project is understanding and knowing all the internal processes of EDI, which are quite complex as they can trigger other processes.
Before developing and deploying our solutions, it is important to first understand how Electric by D'Ieteren operates and what processes are already in progress.
For example, when we reworked the offer PDF for clients, it was necessary to know that there are 'conditional blocks' that depend on the installation and the quote. It is, therefore, important and essential to understand the internal processes at EDI to develop the most suitable solution.
In terms of constraints, EDI must adhere to certain structures established by D'Ieteren, such as, for example, for tagging.
The marketing team must also collaborate with the IT team of EDI, as there are specific procedures to follow, especially for the implementation that must be done at a certain time and with responsible individuals to address any potential issues.
The challenges are more related to the structure of the company (that of a large concern) than to the project itself.
#4.
The benefits
"Since working with Deuse, there have been huge improvements that we could never have achieved on our own."
According to Manon, there have been a lot of benefits, although it is difficult to give precise figures, as these are structural improvements to processes.
Before our collaboration, all processes were done in the Odoo CMS, and the marketing team had to ask the developers and the IT department of Electric by D'Ieteren questions, which made things much slower.
The structure of large groups, which is inevitably more imposing, often slows down processes. The structure of our company allows us to be more agile and faster, so we were able to help EDI simplify their processes.
Now the whole system is faster and they can offer their customers more complex and attractive solutions.
They can also do more interesting things for their marketing, for example in terms of design: there are many more possibilities, it's more fun and it allows for more creativity and faster responsiveness in communication.
#5.
Our partnership
"You provide good advice and are experts in your field, and that is reassuring!"
Our collaboration with EDI is different from a typical project because it involves guidance and continuous development, not a finished project like, for example, the development of a mobile application.
Read Manon's perspective below:
"Our collaboration is going extremely well. I feel that we communicate effectively, making sure things are clear, and if they aren't, we speak up to avoid confusion.
Moreover, I notice that you don't hesitate to give your opinion, warn about potential risks, and you are open to suggestions. We were looking for people with opinions to truly collaborate.
You are realistic; you don't sell the impossible just to make us dream, and that is super important, especially in IT!
And from a personal point of view, it's nice to work with you; you all have friendly and warm personalities."
On our side, we are very pleased with this collaboration and proud to work with Electric by D’Ieteren to assist them in their growth.
The marketing team consistently provides us with quality texts and wireframes, significantly easing our work.
Joachim, one of the developers working on this project, describes it as challenging and very enriching: "EDI's expectations are high, so our code must be excellent. It's truly a great project that allows me to learn a lot."
We have found the right working method and form a real team with the goal of achieving the same objectives, which is very important to us.
Feel free to visit their website to discover EDI - Electric by D'Ieteren charging stations and the results of our work.