HBarC Website Redesign
In the spring of 2024, my Entrepreneurial Marketing team and I were tasked with helping the luxury western wear company HBarC in their marketing endeavors. The solution I worked on was to improve the company’s website towards the goal of fulfilling key KPIS in captivating users, producing an engaging content layout, increase keywords for SEO, and telling the brand story of HBarC. After our presentation, the proposed website redesign was implemented on their website.
-
Phase One is made up of our initial research on the current market of luxury western wear and the type of customers in this space.
-
Phase Two includes the personas of the HBarC consumer and the developed actionable solutions for the HBarC company including the solution of the website redesign.
-
Phase Three includes the selection of the opportunities we decided to work on to help reach HBarC’s KPIs as well as the initial design we developed.
Final Redesign
Phase One: Market Research
To help understand the western apparel retail space, our team conducted competitive research on similar brands. From this research, we were able to realize HBarC’s positioning in the retail space.
Our team conducted a competitive analysis on other brands in the Western apparel and the luxury apparel space like Ralph Lauren and Levis. From this research, we produced a SWOT analysis to see if HBarC could borrow inspiration from these brands or avoid their weaknesses and threats.
We found…
STRENGTHS
Strong histories
Global brand recognition
Extensive distribution networks
Range of varying price points
Reputation for quality and authenticity
WEAKNESSES
Maintaining luxury due to mass-market presence
Established brands may struggle with brand identity in a crowded market
Mass-production reduces unique value
OPPORTUNITIES
Brands may capitalize on sustainability initiatives
Partnerships with influencers to appeal to eco-conscious consumers
THREATS
Intense competition from emerging Western wear brands
Fast fashion companies offering similar styles at lower prices
Conscious consumers
Competitive Analysis
After conducting competitive research in the western wear and luxury retail space, our team was able to truly analyze HBarC’s opportunities for growth in their current positioning as well as threats and weaknesses that could be mitigated through our marketing solutions.
We found…
STRENGTHS
Celebrity worn clothes from organic opportunities
Stores in high traffic locations (Nashville)
Adapted to modern market while integrating iconic past
WEAKNESSES
Limited brand awareness amongst celebrities
Digital presence weakened due to SEO issues
Small team size
OPPORTUNITIES
Rising ranchwear demand
Fast recovery of luxury clothing market
Focus on brand marketing
THREATS
Falling short brand growth targets despite deep history
Mainstream brands adopting western fabrics in casual wear
HBarC Positioning
Phase Two:
Solution Ideation
Personas
Clint Landry, Louisiana’s Biggest Ranch Owner
From the research conducted on other brands as well as our in-depth analysis of the company’s Google analytics, our team was able to produce two distinct personas of customers who purchase items at HBarC. From this research, we also were able to come up with five solutions to help take advantage of opportunities for HBarC and mitigate their threats and weaknesses.
Jessie, the Modern Country Music Enthusiast
Developed Marketing Solutions
From our market research and persona development, our team was able to come up with five distinct marketing solutions for the HBarC company to implement in order to increase brand awareness and generate excitement around product launches.
Collaborations - Scout potential influencer prospects for collaboration and created a brief
Event Production - Generate new events, structure the process, and utilize KPIs
Video Content - Create a promotional video for their target personas
Website and SEO - Revamp website and improve keyword search
Science of the Drop - Research promotional strategies for new product launches
Phase Three:
Website Design
Website Format
Inconsistent website theme
Unclear company mission
After brainstorming our five solutions, one teammate and I took on the project of redesigning the homepage of the HBarC website.
The Challenge of Redesigning the Website
2. Inefficient Keywords + SEO
Low website ranking
No Google Maps presence
The Solution
Redesign the HBarC website homepage so…
Users immediately understand company mission
Keywords are increased for SEO (using blogs)
Users are captivated to remain on website
3. Social Media
Cannot buy clothes directly from social media posts
Previous Homepage
KPIS for the Solution
Captivate Users KPIs: Increased conversion rate and decreased bounce rate
Engaging Content Layout KPIS: Increased session duration, overall traffic increase, increased return visitor rate
Increase Keywords for SEO KPIs: Tracking keyword rankings, increased click-through rate, and improved click-local visibility
Tell a brand story: improved survey/feedback scores from users
Initial Wireframes
In the initial wireframes, we decided to include a simple navigation at the top of the homepage, an intuitive content layout inspired from other retail sites, and the inclusion of a blog. After the approval of these sketches, we were given the green light on producing higher fidelity screens.
Simple Navigation
Include pictures of celebrities wearing the HBarC products to motivate and encourage customers to buy their products so they can look like their favorite celebrities
Video inserted here in place of gray block at top of the website
Final Redesign
Simple Navigation at the top of the home page, as well as a video that will be inserted where the green block is in order to engage the user
3. Celebrity Status Brand
2. Intuitive Format and Actionable Wording
Mobile Design
This snippet of text above was where the Live Premium section was. We replaced this wording to make it sound more positive and express that these items were rare and a hot commodity in the Western luxury retail space.
Include a blog in order to increase SEO relevance and tell the brand’s story
Intuitive website details like the New Arrivals feature which borrows inspiration from other sites
4. Social Media Presence and Blog Creation
Conclusion
1
Implement useful ideas from Figma homepage design
Overall, the marketing solutions proposed by our team helped in the endeavors of improving the brand awareness of HBarC as well as generating excitement around their new products and partnerships. Because we handed our final redesign off to the company at the end of the semester, I do not have metrics for how successful this website redesign was. However, HBarC did implement these suggestions into their website after our final presentation.