The British Audio-Visual Dealers Association, the specialist hi-fi and home cinema industry’s leading trade association, has today launched its new website, which is designed to help consumers find their nearest specialist retailer and give advice on buying quality home entertainment products.
The British Audio-Visual Dealers Association, the specialist hi-fi and home cinema industry’s leading trade association, has today launched its new website, which is designed to help consumers find their nearest specialist retailer and give advice on buying quality home entertainment products.
The site, which can be found at www.bada.co.uk, represents a change in approach for the web presence of the Association, to one of being consumer focused to help drive enquiries to the membership. The first thing that greets any potential hi-fi or home cinema customer on the home page is a clear message telling them they have found their route to their nearest specialist BADA retailer. Just two clicks of the mouse, via an interactive map of the UK, and the enquirer is taken to a map of their area, with rollovers showing the details of the closest store. From there they can view the store’s own website, send an email, call them or get directions.
The interactive map locator has been installed on every page of the new site, so the visitor is never more than two clicks away from their local BADA member.
Also prominently displayed on the home page is the question “Want to know why you should visit a BADA retailer?” Here the visitor is taken to a page explaining the benefits of shopping at one of the network of BADA members, with information about their commitment to customer service, comparative demonstration facilities, impartial advice, and most importantly, their membership of the UK’s only national network of retailers trained to agreed industry standards.
The site also serves as a news portal, drawing together news stories from BADA, stories from the retail and manufacturer members and industry news stories, via RSS feeds from respected industry information sites. In addition to the BADA Blog and Newsletter sign up facility on the home page, BADA is also opening up communications channels with consumers and the industry via its new Facebook and Linkedin pages and Twitter presence. The use of Social Media to communicate the messages of BADA and its members is intended to widen the reach of the specialist industry to a new audience.
Consumers are also being encouraged to give feedback on their retail experiences via an online form. This is passed on to the relevant retailers so they can see what their own customers’ experiences of shopping in their stores are like. This direct feedback should serve as an invaluable aid to retailers who already strive to provide excellent customer service, but are always on the look out for ways to improve.
Carried over from the previous BADA site is the popular Marketplace, a facility which allows the members to advertise for sale their ex -demo, trade-in and end of line stock.
At the same time as the launch of the site, BADA is publicly unveiling its new corporate identity. First seen by the industry at the recent Cedia Home Technology Event, the identity is an evolution of the old BADA branding but with a more contemporary feel. The Reassurance Tick remains, but with the addition of a bright raspberry flash to lift it. This colour, as was demonstrated at the Cedia show, can be varied depending on the message being conveyed.
Speaking on the launch of the new site, Simon Byles, BADA chairman said “Helping our current and new customers to their local specialist retailer was one of the overriding priorities for us and I am very pleased with the solution that our longstanding website providers, SiteSet, have come up with. I feel sure the hi-fi and home cinema consumer will benefit from it.” He went on to say “To demonstrate our belief in the independent retail sector, our new site explains why it is better to shop at a specialist and that the real value of purchasing from a highly trained and committed retailer goes far beyond the value of getting the cheapest price from the internet.”
