UK’s leading violin dealer: The Success Story of Bridgewood and Neitzert

UK’s leading violin dealer: The Success Story of Bridgewood and Neitzert

In this success story we would like to introduce our customer Bridgewood and Neitzert to you. 

The thrill of old Instruments

Bridgewood and Neitzert are violin dealers, repairers, and experts, with an international reputation that have been trading since 1982. Gary Bridgewood, the owner of the company, has always played violin but he was the first musician in his family. His father, a keen furniture maker, taught him woodwork at a very young age. From then on there was no looking back for Gary. This is how both of his passions came together: combining unique expertise and craftsmanship to help numerous musicians achieve the best possible result with their finest instruments.

Gary Bridgewood on his passion:

“I love stringed instruments, recently I was restoring a violin from 1640, the fact that it is still in one piece and functioning at its maximum after nearly 400 years is a thrill!”

Reaching customers for 36 years

As we all know the world is changing tremendously, opening up new ways for local businesses to unlock their hidden potential and get new customers. Only companies that recognize the change in customer needs and behavior can flourish in modern times. 

As Gary Bridgewood explains: 

“Marketing back in 1982 was phone calls and crudely printed A4 direct mail, perhaps an advert here or there including in specialist magazines such as “Early Music” or “The Strad”. Now we have email marketing, identifying different customers via their instrument or interest and the power of directly communicating with them, often using Google suite, Instagram or Facebook.”

Despite all the challenges that get in the way of a sustainable local business in modern times, there are more opportunities than ever. Especially with the help of Digital Marketing.

Marketing Check: What do the numbers say?

As Gary Bridgewood’s business is flourishing due to the combination of dedicated craftsmanship, expertise, and a clever online marketing strategy, we took a look at the marketing data that the all-in-one online marketing app for SMB’s rankingCoach provides.

According to rankingCoache's Local Visibility Index (LVI), which reflects the overall online marketing performance, their score improved from January 2019 to December 2020 by 12000%

Furthermore, Bridgewood & Neitzert are ranking in first place on Google for the phrase “violin shop near me” in the London area, which is impressive.
As their numbers are astounding, it leads to the question: 

What's their secret?

The secret is DIY Marketing

Gary Bridgewood tells us that their website came about through a series of earlier less successful sites. The company's first site was built by a friend who dabbled in new codes such as C-Basic. Later, they employed a company but discovered that the additional costs for change or upgrade were prohibitive. That’s a problem that SMB’s face all over the world, resources like time and budget are limited. So is access to digital marketing knowledge, making agencies the only resort, for those who can afford them. 

The big change came when Bridgewood and Neitzert discovered rankingCoach, providing the company with the knowledge and tools to develop their own appealing, affordable and individual marketing solution for their needs. Bridgewood & Neitzert show that once small businesses take advantage of the SMB-oriented marketing solutions out there. They can achieve amazing results. 

“(...) now we have this site which was professionally designed, based around WordPress and I manage and update it with a little help from my son. rankingCoach is a great asset and assistant, the considered and appropriate level of advice is greatly appreciated, our site has grown and developed well with their help.” 

By taking their online marketing presence into their own hands, with a little help from online marketing tools like rankingCoach, Bridgewood and Neitzert have independently boosted their brand and created a strong sustainable business for years to come.

We hope you found this success story of our customer Gary Bridgewood as inspiring as we did!