Tiscali World Online has enabled carbon fibre motorcycle wheel manufacturer BlackStone Tek to quickly establish itself as a competitive global business.
BlackStone Tek is a hi-tech, locally-based manufacturing business with products destined for export, and is able to undercut the international market due to competitive local resource costs. It has already established partners in the UK, the US, the Benelux region, and in SA.
"The Internet has allowed us to place our product squarely in the middle of the international market," says Terry Annecke, marketing director at BlackStone Tek. "It has also allowed us to exploit our good contacts in the industry and address a large international audience on the basic, as well as more technical aspects, of our business without a single phone call."
Annecke says the company Web site, www.blackstonetek.com, has allowed BlackStone Tek to instil confidence in potential customers and partners that its product is technically sound and of the highest quality.
The product is a five-spoke carbon fibre wheel that is moulded in a single process and weighs only 2kg with the hub fitted. The wheel`s lightweight and immense strength make it ideal for high performance motorcycling and carbon fibre is a technically superior material to the alternatives of magnesium and aluminium. By manufacturing the product locally, BlackStone Tek is able to bring the carbon fibre wheels to market at a lower cost than alloy wheels.
"All the information around the manufacturing process, the technology, the design, the raw materials and the people behind the business is available on the Web site. The fact that we have experts in carbon fibre composites and aeronautical engineers designing the wheels is a great win for us in terms of market acceptance," says Annecke.
The appointment of distributors around the globe was crucial to the business. Having established itself in the international motorcycle market by taking part in trade shows in the UK and US, BlackStone Tek needed to service these newly acquired markets.
The Web currently acts as a facilitator between consumers, BlackStone Tek and its distribution partners around the globe. Interest in the BlackStone Tek product is already such that the tight-knit online motorcycle community has begun focused Web discussion groups with input from as far afield as Australia, Asia and Finland.
"For anybody exporting a product, the Web is a great way to get into the global markets and be taken seriously as a global player. It allows easy access to an audience you would otherwise struggle to find or reach," says Annecke. "Ours is a niche market that is spread around the world.
"Advertising in the publications that would get to them all would cost a fortune. The Web has been quicker and cheaper, and allows for two-way interaction. I was astonished at how quickly motorcycle enthusiasts have found our site and made it a topic of conversation in chat rooms all over the Web. This is a hi-tech product and people want to be able to talk to you about it - we do that online."
BlackStone Tek chose Tiscali World Online last year, citing similar cultures and a belief the ISP would provide the strong support needed during the company`s exploratory steps into Web marketing.
The local ISP`s ties with European communications giant, Tiscali International, have added both value and confidence to the partnership and BlackStone Tek has been able to establish a strong working relationship with both the back-end technical staff and the design staff at Tiscali World Online. "Tiscali World Online now has a good understanding of our business and can provide the technical and design support that we need to achieve our goals," says Annecke.
One of those goals is understanding the market and Tiscali World Online Web developers have enabled a registration process for visitors to the site. Although the site is still in its relative infancy, Annecke says that in six months the collected data will begin to pay dividends.
Candice Gibson, Business Services marketing manager at Tiscali World Online, says that the recently launched Business Services division caters for clients, like BlackStone Tek, that need a tailored site. "We have 15 years of collective experience in our Web development team and clients like BlackStone Tek can draw on that to make their online strategy work," says Gibson.
"We also offer hosting, domain registration and database hosting to clients as well as Web development. This gives our business clients one contact point for all their Internet-related needs. It is exciting to see forward thinking companies like BlackStone Tek choose Tiscali World Online as we both use technology as our differentiator. The growth expected in the company`s business through its online presence is exponential. This is ultimately our main objective for our customers."
For more information please contact our Web development team on 0860 00 56 56 or visit: http://www.worldonline.co.za/services/
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Tiscali World Online is a premier communications company offering Internet and cellular services to home, business and corporate users. In addition, the company operates a popular portal with over 2 million visitors every month.
Tiscali World Online is differentiated from other market players by its operational style and solution sets which ensure customer-focused solutions through unique, value-added offerings. These include voice and data connectivity, e-commerce solutions, VPNs, server and application hosting, e-mail solutions, Web site development and hosting, portal advertising and security applications.
Tiscali World Online is a wholly owned subsidiary of leading European Internet service provider (ISP), Milan Stock Exchange-listed Tiscali International. Tiscali International has the largest geographical footprint of any European ISP with local operations in 15 countries and 7.3 million active users. It provides Internet access and a wide variety of content, applications and services to its customers.
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