The new GfK website is a key marketing tool for all GfK teams to leverage a new set of capabilities. Cross-team collaboration on content, combined with the innovative tech platform, makes this a true new asset for our company.
What it takes to build a completely new website
The GfK Global Digital Marketing team worked on the new company website for months. The team started with a proof of concept in December 2019 and the full website (version 1.0) was developed in Q1 2020. But we were not just building a simple website. We are building the foundation for a new platform that entirely supports GfK’s strategy, visible for all current and future GfK customers. We are creating a state-of-the art online presence which will be the window into our new brand, our mission and vision — and it will serve as a key tool for many marketing teams and targets. This is a definite game changer for GfK, and it’s fully aligned with the overall transformation of the company.
Since the first conceptual thoughts in March 2019, this project has become a great example of true collaboration between multiple teams across the entire organization. This is very important and should not be underestimated as a company’s website touches so many teams. And we surely wanted to avoid uncovering issues too late we might not think about within our team. Working with Commercial Teams, Category Leads, the Product Organization, Legal, IT, HR, Procurement, Product Marketing, Brand Marketing, Sales as well as regional marketing teams and others has turned this exciting journey into a first for GfK – a truly personalized web experience for our visitors.
A modern website with personalized experiences and CRM integration
A company’s website is a key channel for almost 90% of B2B engagements, so I’m extremely excited that our new website is coming to life! It was the right place to start our brand transformation where we can steer the rest of our strategies such as social, events and others to follow. Our website not only consolidates the numerous global websites into one, it also covers all our offers and value propositions in a language that our clients understand. We can now personalize content on the fly by role, industry and more, regardless of where the visitor comes from – search, social, email or print channels – all in a user-friendly and mobile-optimized platform.
– Gonzalo Garcia-Villanueva, GfK Chief Marketing Officer
The new GfK website is personalized based on visitor profiles and key personas to provide real-time, tailored experiences. It is also integrated with our CRM and our product platform to optimize the end-to-end online experience for our customers.
Another achievement is the client-centric view of our product portfolio which helps our visitors find what they need. Plus, the added ways to contact us is integrated seamlessly with our Marketing Automation and CRM platforms. This is needed to give interested visitors a quick follow up; for example, for a demo or a conversation with our product experts. All these features are packed into a new, clean and focused design that is mobile-optimized in order to turn online conversations with our customers into a seamless and enjoyable experience.
Key challenges on the project
A big challenge was definitely creating content for a whole new website. While migrating some existing pages, it became clear that there were a lot of content that needed to be refreshed. These included images that fit the visual language, product-related content, as well as navigation items and articles addressing key personas that still needed to be created. This is where we had to learn as we fly because the real-time personalization concept is new on the GfK website. Existing content that we wanted to re-use was migrated programmatically through automated scripts that we could run several times – a key for quality assurance and saved efforts at the same time.
The underlying data set and technical framework to bring content and personalization to life is a whole different story, and at the end of the sprint, both disciplines need to be 100% aligned. The collaboration between teams, copywriters, designers and developers was key, and through full agile development cycles, we made it happen. With the go-live of the project, we have the foundation of a very new website that’s ready to evolve.
The new website as a window to our new corporate brand strategy
While the new website is a powerful vehicle to drive the worldwide perception of a “new GfK” – it’s not the only driver. We have developed a totally new corporate brand strategy, involving various parts of the organization. And now with many insights coming from client satisfaction surveys, business intelligence, competitive analysis, working sessions and executive interviews, Global Brand Marketing—together with the Executive Leadership Team—has identified and defined the brand thread running through GfK’s veins represented in every team at our company as well as on the website. As markets evolve and our clients’ needs change, GfK is boldly facing the future as your tech-driven partner.
Get to know the new GfK
