Left-hand guitar shop strings together sales

Sales figures at a guitar shop in Cannock have rocketed all over the world after its website hit the right note with customers.

Liz Beauchamp and Ross Keeling, from Huntington, set up left-handed guitar specialist store Red Planet Guitars with his 18-year-old son Richard and her daughter Libby, 12, in March 2007. Recently the National B2B Centre, which is based at the University of Warwick, offered its assistance when Liz, aged 38, and Ross, 42, sought help.

The centre carried out a website assessment and also supplied expert advice which assisted the company with essential IT purchases.

"The impact of changes to the website has been phenomenal and has undoubtedly helped us to grow," said Liz.

"Before the changes we would sell between two and three guitars a week but now we regularly sell at least seven or eight."

It was not just the quantity of business that increased for Red Planet Guitars but the international level on which it was taking place. The company now regularly receives orders from countries as far afield as Australia, Slovenia, Sweden, Italy and the USA.

The idea behind the company was to provide left-handed guitarists with instruments catered to their specific needs. A shortage of left-handed instruments in the marketplace inspired Liz and Ross to set up the business which initially began as an on-line store with www. redplanetguitars.co.uk

Since that time the company has opened a shop premises at the Hawks Green Business Park and now also deals in right-handed instruments with the emphasis remaining on left-handed product ranges.

"Myself, Ross and his son are all left-handed and the idea was born when Ross was not being able to get the style of guitar he wanted," said Liz.

"There are a very limited number of left-handed guitars in the marketplace, and they are all of a very similar type and colour, so we wanted to change that."

James Pennington, of the National B2B Centre – the e-business centre of excellence for the West Midlands, said: "While Red Planet Guitars has a very specialist business, many of the practices used to maximise their online business can be transferred to other companies."