Sohn Linen Service

Background

Sohn Linen Service, a Michigan-based linen rental company with a 90-year history, faced several challenges with their old website. The family-owned business, run by three generations of Sohns in Lansing, prides itself on exceptional customer service. 

Despite having a strong reputation in the community and long-standing relationships with their customers, their outdated website was failing to generate sales leads for them. It was also out-of-date in terms of content, and did not represent all that they offer (especially with continued expansion into Medical Linen Programs post-COVID). 

When they came to us in March for assistance, we saw lots of opportunities to update their website, to fully represent their services and their brand—since we believe a business’ website is their 24/7 salesperson.

The Challenge

As stated previously, Sohn’s website was outdated and plagued with technical issues. In fact, the old website kept crashing while we were building the new one! Before we started to outline any updated content or assets for the new site, we first had to focus on keeping it operational for the time being.

Although they held solid keyword rankings, there was room to expand their SEO to improve online lead generation; especially regarding local SEO for the Detroit area. 

They also needed a more efficient process for over-the-counter linen rentals for weddings, banquets, and open houses. Before the website redesign, all of these rentals took place over the phone. This made it largely inefficient for prospects to get the right information; or for the sales team to get back to their prospects in a timely manner. 

Lastly, they wanted to incorporate their impressive 90-year history throughout their website, which comprises many years of building and technology upgrades.

The Approach and Solution

To address these challenges, a comprehensive approach was adopted, using our proven website planning, design and development process.

SEO Optimization: The site's navigation was updated to include all services. Then, keywords were strategically incorporated into the website's structure and on-page elements. This enhanced its search engine visibility in Detroit (a high-growth area) and other key service areas. 

Service Area Expansion: New sub-pages were added to target specific service areas in key metropolitan areas, and therefore reinvigorating lead generation.

Direct Linen Rentals: A tailored landing page with a form was created to streamline and enhance the efficiency of direct linen rentals. This was done to improve the customer experience, and getting the right information to their internal sales team quickly.

Website Redesign: The website underwent a complete design overhaul to ensure a more user-friendly experience (UX), and to fully represent their Food Service & Healthcare Linen programs. 

90-Year Celebration: A special 90-year logo and social media icon were designed to commemorate the company's impressive history. Then, these were prominently featured on Sohn’s website and social media profiles.

Press Release: In addition to this website redesign, RED66 drafted and pitched a press release to highlight Sohn's 90th-anniversary celebration.