Custom Post Types
We have 9 custom post types for Henry. Custom Post Types allow you to segment data in a very specific way. Similar to a post or a page, we can have specific categorization, meta data, and templates for each post type. The most utilized post types for Henry are Firearms (obviously) and Dealers. Using Advanced Custom Fields, we have fields to handle the data, such as dealer contact information or entering various specs for the firearm.
Cron Jobs
A cron job is simply a script that runs at a given interval. We have 4 on Henry, each saving hours on hours of human time. The most powerful time saver is the firearm search. Since Henry’s are so in demand, customers are constantly on the search, often times being disappointed when they cannot be found. Through the contact form, a case is created that connects the customer service with the customer, but in addition, a cron job runs periodically that tells them which firearms are most being sought after. Using this data, they can ramp up production on specific firearms where needed, alleviating some customer distress.
Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is the most robust form plugin I’ve worked with. Their API makes virtually anything possible. As such, I use it whenever I can. My favorite integration is our nightly cron-job that gathers all the catalog requests from the day, processes them via sftp to the mailhouse to be sent out, and sends a summary email to the marketing department with request counts based on location data. This one process saves countless human-hours and really helps the bottom line.
Salesforce
Henry uses Salesforce and their Marketing Cloud add-on to manage their marketing, customer support, and dealer management. Via their API, all the dealers and customer data is synced to Salesforce, allowing their award winning support team to always have the most up-to-date information. My favorite Salesforce integration for Henry is the contact form, which automatically creates a case in Salesforce, assigns it to the appropriate department, and triggers a journey in Marketing Cloud for the customer. The automation cut manual hours do for the support department, and in the end created a more satisfied customer.
Google Maps
Using Google Map’s Javascript embedding and geolocation API’s, all dealers and ranges can be entered in the site through custom post types, and then queried based on the user’s ZIP or state. We cache the geolocation data to save on costs, and it greatly increases the performance of the query. Without geolocation, customers would be daunted when trying to find their nearest dealer, as Henry Repeating Arms are sold all over the country, and in high demand.
