Derek Dangelo knew his company’s website needed some attention. “We wanted to increase sales and market share,” said Dangelo, Owner and President of Dangelo’s Custom Built in Kane, PA. “We thought we might be missing a significant number of opportunities due to our outdated website and we needed a professional upgrade.”
Dangelo’s Custom Built began as a sideline business to Dangelo’s Auto Body that was started in 1978, a business relying much on the local marketplace. By 1980, they entered the towing business and built their first wrecker. They eventually expanded into the heavy towing market. After gaining a better understanding of the market for their new niche, they decided to make it their sole focus in 2012 and currently have 20 employees. “Now our market is the entire U.S. and the boundaries are endless,” said Dangelo, ”For the most part, we have only captured the eastern third of the U.S., we still have the West Coast and the global market to tackle.” As they continued to grow, it became vital for them to have a professional website to present the company image and generate leads within this very specialized industry.
Dangelo began discussions with a website development firm, Protocol 80, who introduced him to the Northwest Industrial Resource Center (NWIRC) for potential assistance. Tom Weible, NWIRC Strategic Business Advisor, confirmed that the website upgrade project would qualify for their IT KickStart Program based on the criteria of 1) being a small manufacturing in North-west PA, 2) use of a third-party provider, and 3) potential for positive impact on the growth of the company. A new and modern website was created on the C80 CMS (content management system) platform, simultaneously deploying an inbound marketing strategy to include search engine optimization. This allows for more traffic to the site and ability to convert subsequent leads into sales. The NWIRC provided an IT KickStart grant to offset the cost of the design and implementation. The website was launched in April 2015 after 3 months of planning, design, and execution. Successful completion of this project has strengthened Dangelo’s ability to have an online presence and increase customer base. Since launching the site, their organic traffic has increased 145% in 6 months and they have a handful of leads they otherwise may not have received.
Dangelo said the NWIRC’s connections have also enabled them to begin work with an affiliate consultant on a risk management project which will ultimately help them reduce expenses for various insurances. He has plenty of ideas for opportunities in the future too. Next he hopes to improve production, expand their shop, and gain workflow efficiency. “The NWIRC has been a great partner and has given us more information than other agencies in Western Pennsylvania. They supported our efforts to establish a greater web presence and increase our customer count. They are true professionals with very fast response times and get it right the first time by truly listening to their clients,” said Dangelo.
Download a PDF of Dangelo’s Custom Built Success Story.