Company

Millions of television viewers can't live without their TiVo digital video recorders. WeaKnees.com is there to feed the TiVo frenzy. Started in a pair of garages in 2001 by Michael Adberg and Jeff Shapiro, the Culver City, Calif.-based online retailer specializes in TiVo and DVR capacity upgrade kits. Their online "TiVo Superstore" has the world's largest selection of TiVo DVRs, remotes, parts, and other products. "Our company was named for the feeling you get when you first use TiVo and realize the great things you can do with it," says co-founder Jeff Shapiro.

Today, the private company has 6 employees, grown out of two warehouses, and has experienced double-digit growth every year since its inception. WeaKnees has thousands of online customers across the United States and Canada. "We pride ourselves in customer service, and aim for 100 percent customer satisfaction," says Shapiro.

Approach

It's no surprise that a store whose main product is a cutting-edge technological gizmo is an early adopter of online business tools. WeaKnees was one of the first Google AdWordsTM clients, and AdWords remains a big component of the company's advertising and marketing strategy. Adberg and Shapiro were looking for ways to maximize their AdWords success, to make shopping even easier and more rewarding for customers, and, of course, to control costs and boost profits – all without a lot of technical heavy lifting. "We are not hard-core programmers at heart," says Adberg. "We know a little about a lot." When Google contacted them as a good fit for the new Google Checkout program, WeaKnees realized that it would mesh well with their AdWords program as well as their business model, and signed up.

For WeaKnees, the prospect of reduced fees for credit card transactions, featuring the Google Checkout icon on every AdWords ad, and easier transactions for buyers was too good to pass up. "It was a no-brainer," said Shapiro, noting that they signed up in summer 2006 as Checkout was launching.

Results

	"We are thrilled to have a special icon in our Google AdWords ads, which helps our ads stand out from the crowd. The ease of using Google Checkout converts customers who might otherwise abandon their carts."

WeaKnees has realized all of their anticipated goals with Google Checkout — and then some. "We are seeing more orders from Google Checkout, no doubt because of Google's reputation in the marketplace and the Checkout promotions Google offers," says Adberg. "We are thrilled to have a special icon in our Google AdWords ads, which helps our ads stand out from the crowd. The ease of using Google Checkout converts customers who might otherwise abandon their carts." Product listings on Froogle also drive customers to the WeaKnees site.

In November 2006, 21.8 percent of all WeaKnees revenue came through Google Checkout. WeaKnees also saved 13.5 percent on transaction fees by using Checkout. Together, these savings enabled WeaKnees to offer significant promotion deals of $75 to $130 off for customers using Google Checkout. "The response was tremendous," says Shapiro. "October sales through Google Checkout were about four times September sales. Because we knew a portion of the cost would be absorbed through avoided fees, we could easily justify this type of big-splash promotion."

"We love Google Checkout customers," says Shapiro. "They are cutting-edge, sophisticated users." In other words, they fit right in to the notion of WeaKnees.