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Uncle Julio's New Website

22/08/2019
Branding and Marketing Agency
New Haven, United States
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Credits
Brand
Agency / Creative

Uncle Julio's Website: A Made-from-Sratch Digital Experience.


 

THE BACKGROUND:

Uncle Julio's website hadn't been updated in over 7 years. The brand had evolved, leveraging its strong heritage and focus on made-from-scratch food, into the leading Mexican polished casual restaurant concept, but the website didn't reflect it. 

We knew that there was a big disconnect between the experience that guests were getting in the restaurants and the experience they were getting on the website. Especially when their restaurants look like this:

And, their made-from-scratch food look like this (trust us when we tell you that it tastes even more amazing than what you see here):

Just for reference, here's what the old site looked like.  Not only did it not reflect the brand, but it was slow, hard to navigate, and had lots of information redundancies.

 

THE GOALS:

  • Update the styling to match the premium look and feel of the current brand
  • Improve the user experience, especially on mobile
  • Increase conversion point actions 

THE APPROACH:

We not only wanted to design the site to be reflective of the brand, but more importantly, we wanted the guest's digital experience to be just as exceptional as it is in the restaurants.  So, we used guest research, google analytics data, site heat maps, and recordings of visitors to the website to determine user priorities, friction points, and other user behavior.

Here are the key visitor insights/data that we grounded our thinking and work in:

  • Uncle Julio’s audience includes a segment that we’ve defined as “luxury lite.” To reach these more affluent consumers who appreciate elevated experiences, we overhauled their website’s styling to utilize a more premium look and feel.
  • The majority of visitors had never been to Uncle Julio's website before (% of new users to the site is extremely high). So, communicating a brand message on the first couple of visits to the site is important. We used background video on the homepage to instantly give site visitors a sense of the dynamic atmosphere and tableside experiences that await in Uncle Julio’s — and these videos play seamlessly on mobile, something found on few competitor sites. 
  • Users are accessing the website from their mobile device (roughly 75% mobile).  So, every asset on their new site was automatically tailored for mobile interfaces to ensure performance without sacrificing experience.
  • Guests are looking for specific location and what's on the menu. We had to change up the navigation and functionality to make it really easy for users to get to this highly valuable content quickly. 
  • Personalization adds to digital experience in the same way great service adds to the dining experience in-store.  So, we added in customizations, from intuitive natural language reservation forms to changes in page content based on location, time of day and weather, the new site is full of elements custom built for the each visitor's unique needs. 

THE RESULTS:

  • The site is consistent with the brand
  • The site is easier to navigate with less friction and more conversion. 42% increase in menu views, 32% increase in group dining bookings, 48% increase in gift card sales
  • The technical performance of the site has dramatically improved, to "best in class" status even with the addition of video. With a 39% increase in site speed, the site performance scores are consistently over 90%. The new site is outperforming key competitors like Chuy's, Rosa Mexicano, Cheesecake Factory, and PF Changs. 
  • Shortly after launch, the new website paid for itself

The new site went live mid-March, 2019. Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think.  



About Response Marketing
Fueled by curiosity. Grounded in strategy. We're a small and mighty hybrid marketing agency focused on delivering creative solutions to marketing challenges.

We work with ambitious brands that share our belief that marketing is not the savior but the amplifier.  Magic happens when our innovative marketing is layered on top of great product and great operations. 

What do you need to know about us?  We are strategists.  We are tech savvy. We are agile. We are versatile. We are listeners. We are motivated. We have an entrepreneurial culture. We offer integrated services. We are committed to our clients.