The OSMO Patch is a natural and intelligent treatment designed to reduce swelling and inflammation of the joints. The product was first launched in early 2007 by Mediwise after extensive research and development. It provides sufferers of common conditions such a bursitis, tendonitis and carpal tunnel with a natural alternative treatment. Unfortunately these conditions are very difficult to treat and patients seeking pain relief have limited options. These options typically involve prohibitive costs or risky procedures that do not always result in permanent relief.

Over the past few years Mediwise has established the commercial viability of their product through a basic website that was built and managed internally. In an effort to take the business to the next level, Mediwise engaged to Netstarter to formulate and execute a digital strategy that would provide the platform to support their future growth. Our primary objective was to introduce a world class website that:

• Provides a professional reflection of the new brand
• Instils confidence in potential customers
• Educates customers about the product in an engaging and informative manner
• Incorporates a quality eCommerce system that accommodates the specific business requirements
• Effectively converts visitors into paying clients
• Attracts potential stockists
• Builds credibility by showcasing real testimonials and patient stories

OSMOPatch.com is essentially a comprehensive brochure based website promoting a single product. Although the primary objective is to educate customers about the different conditions and present the OSMO Patch as a credible alternative treatment, we needed to integrate a robust eCommerce solution that could support a number of features including PayPal's new "Website Payments Pro, multiple stores for different regions, IP redirection, a single step check out process, custom freight logic and an ability to handle significant traffic loads.

After a careful consideration, Magento was chosen as the underlying platform for the OSMO Patch website because of its superior eCommerce functionality. It also provided us with an open source framework that could be heavily customised to support the content requirements of the website. Magento is not widely regarded for its 'out of the box' CMS capabilities, but this project demonstrates how the core modules can be upgraded to deliver functionality comparable to the more recognised content management systems like Word Press, Expression Engine, Joomla and Drupal. Some of the custom components developed for the OSMO Patch website include a FAQ management tool, a dynamic testimonial manager (connected to the widget tool), a video management feature and an online form that seamlessly integrates with the FAQ and testimonial managers.

It was evident from our preliminary research that the overwhelming majority of visitors were at similar stage in the "consumer funnel":

• their condition has been diagnosed by a medical professional
• they are aware of the conventional treatments at their disposal
• they are frustrated by their of success in finding an effective solution

The unique "circumstances" of our target audience influenced the design and architecture of the website. The end result was a content rich website that furnishes visitors with all of the necessary information needed to make a purchase decision. It combines a huge repository of informative articles with a series of engaging videos to present key facts in a digestible format. This ensures visitors have the opportunity to properly understand the mechanism of action behind the OSMO Patch. We also paid particular attention to the FAQs and patient stories in an effort to dispel concerns and build credibility. Clear to ‘call-to-actions’ from each landing page funnel visitors to the online shop and promote important USPs (unique selling points) such as the "45 day back money guarantee", 100% natural product and the affordable price.