Born from a simple idea to make overcoming physical challenges less challenging, Braun Corporation is an Indiana business with an international reputation. Necessity truly is the mother of invention, but entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for growth are the foundation of the company that develops and supports even the most ingenious inventions. Braun had the inventions, the spirit and the passion. And, even its simple beginnings haven't stopped Braun from becoming an industry leader in personal mobility products.
After a degenerative disease left him unable to walk at age 15, Ralph Braun founded the company now known as Braun Corporation and invented the world's first electric scooter for the disabled community. Not one to accept the defeat of obstacles, when the Indiana winter weather made a scooter insufficient to travel long distances, Ralph Braun invented the first wheelchair lift to make car travel a simpler mode of transportation for those confined to a wheelchair. Ralph Braun's inventions, along with many other Braun products meant to liberate and enhance the lives and freedom of the disabled, are truly the beginning of what is now a multi-billion dollar industry.
Today, Braun Corporation's wheelchair lifts, wheelchair accessible vans and minivans, personal scooters and more, are continuing to help people lead more active and independent lives.
"As an industry leader in personal mobility products, Braun Corporation knows that it takes a comprehensive strategy to stay on top - and they took this same approach online. Combining the benefits of PPC, SEO and social media, they have seen increased leads, decreased cost-per-click, increased web traffic and continue to see growth in online visibility."
John Lee, Search Marketing Consultant
Braun Corporation: Integrated Online Marketing Strategy Puts Industry Leader Back On Top
As founders and leaders in the personal mobility device industry, Braun Corporation expected top positions and top results from their search marketing strategies. But, when they came to Hanapin, Braun was being overshadowed by competitors and struggling to achieve the same success online as they've had for decades offline. Their story is not uncommon. Search marketing campaigns and strategies are built from the ground up whether your business has been around for 15 minutes or 15 years. This is why new businesses have such great opportunities to enter and succeed in competitive markets with search marketing, and why established brands have to develop a thorough and comprehensive online strategy that works with existing branding, marketing and promotional efforts.
Before Braun came to Hanapin Marketing, they were working with an inflated pay per click (PPC) budget with one goal in mind - top positions and top visibility. Hanapin first presented Braun with a well-researched plan for their PPC campaign, focused on bringing down their monthly PPC spend but dramatically increasing their clicks and growing their leads. In short, Hanapin's plan was to make every dollar count and add value through strategy and research. The plan worked, but Braun didn't want to just keep up with competitors - they wanted to dominate. So, with the help and expertise of their team at Hanapin Marketing, Braun set out take advantage of the benefits of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media to add traffic to their site and visibility in search results. Now Hanapin is managing Braun's success on three fronts online - PPC, SEO, and the AbilityVoice blog.
Braun's integrated online strategy is the key to their success and continued growth, and the results speak for themselves:
- In only three months, Hanapin's integrated strategy of SEO, PPC and social media saw dramatic results for Braun. In only three months, Braun's total website visitors increased 106% and their total conversions increased over 95%. This reflects an overall conversion rate of close to 3.5% - a strong conversion rate in any industry.
- Even after cutting Braun's monthly PPC spend by almost half since partnering with Hanapin on their search marketing strategies, and at the same time dramatically increasing leads, Hanapin continues to pursue the goal of making Braun's PPC budget as effective as possible. And they're still seeing big results. In a recent 4 month period, Hanapin was able to reduce Braun's budget another 12% while increasing leads over 310% in that same period.
- Braun's blog, AbilityVoice, has created greater visibility in search results and continues to build their reputation as trusted industry experts with consumers - something that Braun has focused on for many years with traditional marketing.
"Transitioning your PPC and SEO projects to a new Search Marketing firm can be the best thing if you aren't continually setting and reaching new goals, adjusting strategies and implementing new site work. For Braun Corporation, making sure they're getting the best ROI possible is paramount. Almost two years into the project, we still make sure to keep momentum in improving ROI by constantly testing and implementing new tactics to improve Braun's overall Search Marketing initiative."
Pat East, President & CEO, Hanapin Marketing