Personalised Cards, a Unique British Industry with Global Lessons

LONDON, June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The British continue to lead the pack when it comes to greeting cards. The £1.38bn industry is more valuable than other British staples, tea and coffee, put together and is holding strong through the difficult economic climate. As the challenger to the sector incumbent Moonpig, TheDogsDoodahs.com is the perfect example of an innovative brand taking the wheel and adding spokes. With a new website launched today and a strong USP (they own all of their own designs), the company hopes to be as individual as the personalised products they sell.

Entering an industry as the challenger, there is often pressure to create and then dominate a price-war, however TheDogsDoodahs management have been adamant from launch that their similar (and occasionally, higher) priced product would justify its place so long as customer service expectations were met and a more personable, 'quirky' appeal could be ensured. As characterised by their sending a physical Thank You card to every new customer, the site's creative team have instilled a certain sense of British humour in all of their communications, openly calling this initial piece of remarketing "a shameless piece of marketing disguised as a Thank You card" in the text they include to punters.

Typical of entrepreneurial start-ups taking on a known brand, the ecommerce advantages required to convert new customers, have been secured through use of bespoke technologies. The company's new website was entirely rebuilt and coded independently using a specialist coding house rather than 'off the shelf'. Where a single percentage point change in bounce rate or repeat business could mean the difference between profit and loss for a £3.50 online purchase, the directors admit to being 'very hands on' with their technology. A strong fan-base on Facebook is used as a litmus test for anything new, something much more valuable to the company than rapid viral activity based on discounts and freebies.

There is a very high level of customer satisfaction when the customers themselves are involved in the design of a product but in the world of greeting cards, finding the perfect initial template can be difficult. The British are particular about their cards, knowing that the joke or pun expresses as much about the sender as the recipient, hence the in-house penned strapline at TheDogsDoodahs.com-"Easy-Peasy, Frightfully Funny" and a reliance on longtail SEO appeal to meet an endless spectrum of demand. Divorce Cards sell surprisingly well.

A notable success story, TheDogsDoodahs.com remains entirely funded by its directors and operates from a single building in rural England, combining design, operations and print processes under one roof. "From here we can control everything from A-Z and besides having backup solutions ready elsewhere, the operation is seamless and efficient. I can read the feedback from any customer and make an instant change to the whole company if I want to." says Tony Spooner, MD, at his slick HQ in the English countryside.