Client Description
TransmetriQ is a product line of Railinc Corporation. Railinc Corporation is a for-profit subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) that delivers both data as a service (DaaS) and software as a service (SaaS), offering a compelling suite of commercial and industry products, as well as valuable information resources to employees in the freight rail space. Railinc serves both industry users (including Class I railroads and other authorized organizations) and commercial users (all other organizations seeking to leverage Railinc’s unique tools and data). The access to Class I railroad data and targeted tools for both types of customers is what sets Railinc apart from other players in the freight rail technology space.
DesignHammer has partnered with Railinc since 2018 on an array of projects, including consulting, analytics, continuous, and web design and development. See case studies describing our collaboration on the Railinc Industry Website, and Railinc Strategic Website Consulting projects.
The Challenge
Railinc originally attempted to serve the needs of multiple customers including Class I railroads, their agents, regional railroads, and organizations that utilize and support the rail industry through a single website. A Competitive Analysis revealed that Railinc’s competitors in the commercial space were marketing their products using traditional B2B methodologies such as case studies and white papers. However, Railinc believed this approach would prove distracting to Railinc’s primary audience of Class I railroads and their agents.
Railinc approached DesignHammer for an online solution that would help them effectively convey the unique value proposition of each product to their target commercial audiences
The Solution
DesignHammer collaborated with the TransmetriQ business development team to understand the suite of TransmetriQ products and their target audiences, guided by the results of the Strategic Consulting Project performed by DesignHammer in 2019.
To reduce customer confusion and embrace the sales tools necessary to support commercial clients, Railinc rebranded its suite of commercial products under the new “TransmetriQ” trade name. In partnership, DesignHammer and Railinc decided to split the original website’s content into two separate sites; Railinc for industry customers and TransmetriQ for commercial customers.
Railinc wanted to standardize their web presence on the Drupal content management system (CMS) to provide a consistent visual presentation and content editing experience across all Railinc websites. Drupal’s ability to support complex relationships between content (e.g. products, case studies, resources, etc.) was also a motivation for the selection. Drupal 9 was the latest version of Drupal at the time of development.
DesignHammer implemented Drupal Paragraphs to provide the Railinc marketing team with flexibility on individual pages to allow them to tailor their messaging to the particular needs of each TransmetriQ product line. A flexible set of sales support tools was developed; including product pages that communicate different value propositions to different audiences, case studies to support value propositions with actual engagements, blog posts to provide thought leadership, and interactive calculators to help prospects understand how TransmetriQ’s products save them time, money, and effort.
Railinc and DesignHammer collaborated to create a custom-designed user interface to complement TransmetriQ’s new brand identity. While based on Railinc’s Industry Products website, the TransmetriQ site features a unique homepage layout, new imagery, and a color palette in line with the new TransmetriQ brand. The aesthetic result of the new site is distinctive, yet tied to the other Railinc web property. Common elements also aid the Railic Marcom team in maintaining the two websites.
The Results
DesignHammer delivered a mobile-optimized Drupal 9 website for TransmetriQ with a custom design on time and on budget. The visual presentation of the new website and streamlined content editing experience exceeded Railinc’s expectations. Railinc identified several success metrics to monitor following the launch of the new site, including customers contacting TransmetriQ to schedule product demos and increased revenue from TransmetriQ products.
