Case Study

Bohemian guitars significantly increases revenue implementing a mobile strategy

Challenge

Bohemian Guitars had a low response rate on email and needed a solution that was less time-consuming than phone calls.

Solution

By using Sonar’s API and Ping Widget, Bohemian Guitars was able to improve their sales conversions to drive significant revenue.

Results

Bohemian Guitars was able to grow sales by 98% and exceed their original revenue goal by over 300%.

Shaun Lee

CEO and Founder

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bohemianguitars.com

Let's talk about Bohemian Guitars; beautiful, resonant, and artistic guitars made from unconventional materials that are one of Indiegogo’s hottest campaigns right now. Born eight years ago as Adam and Shaun's basement project, the company has grown tremendously to become a full-scale operation. Behind this amazing growth is strong demand supplemented by an extraordinary SMS sales conversion rate.

Bohemian Guitars Spotlight

We spoke to Shaun Lee, co-founder and Chief Manufacturing Officer at Bohemian Guitars. I asked him how he got onto the idea of closing sales over text. "We took a look at our analytics (Google Analytics and Jirafe) and noticed that a lot of purchases were coming directly from mobile. We threw Sonar’s Ping Widget into our website, so that every time someone visited our site on mobile, they were given an option to send us a text. We thought it’d be a great way to connect with customers and indeed, it seems to help them a lot.”

“It’s super easy on people,” said Shaun. “They text us and typically we get back to them immediately. We help customers decide which on product, answer all their questions, and get feedback from them. Texting is progressive; it hasn’t been done before in our industry. With Sonar, it was easy for us to deploy and integrate. That’s what’s most appealing.”

When Shaun mentioned increasing sales through text 40%, we probed a little. What exactly about SMS (vs other channels of communication) made it easier for someone to make a decision to buy a guitar? “I don’t know what it is, but it’s almost like you know the person.” said Shaun. “How many people do you text who you don’t know? As you respond to a customer on text, you’re much more informal. You instantly make a personal connection. When you make that personal connection, people are much more inclined to follow through with a purchase.”

Conclusion

Customers ask the Bohemian team all kinds of questions over text. Most of the time it’s regarding which guitars are best for them. The team helps their consumers understand what will work for their playing styles. Sometimes it’s helping them through the checkout process, other times it’s making a coupon code for a bulk order or setting delivery expectations. With the most recent Indiegogo campaign, customers have had questions on materials used and shipping. Inquiries are incoming and almost always involve the few questions that customers need answers to push them over the line to make the purchase.

For Shaun and Adam, the priority is clear: helping customers have all the information they need for their potential purchase. “It’s kind of necessary for us and hasn’t been a burden at all. I think for companies selling hardware or a physical product of any kind, it’s hugely valuable to be able to connect with customers. It’s a really big deal.”