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In 1251, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Cambridge, England to give St. Simon Stock a brown scapular as a sign of her motherly protection. She promised that those who die with this humble sacramental around their neck would be spared from the fires of hell. Hundreds of years later, in 1917, Our Lady appeared holding a scapular, confirming again its sacramental value as an outward sign of an inward devotion to Christ.
Scapulars.com founder Steve Kerekes wanted to share the brown scapular—this sign of covenantal love and devotion—with as many Catholics as possible. But he was tired of seeing scapulars that were poorly made, broke too easily, and were uncomfortable to wear. So he began producing high-quality, durable, and comfortable scapulars made with paracord and Australian merino wool. He also added an innovative pocket so wearers could keep their favorite sacred medals close to their hearts without breaking the cord.
And to help bring the scapular to as many people as possible, for every scapular someone purchases, he gives one to an elderly person in need.
Scapulars.com had a great vision and mission at heart. But they needed help making it a reality. They needed help branding the company, launching an ecommerce website, marketing their scapulars, selling them online, fulfilling orders, and supporting the customers’ needs. In other words, they needed a partner who shared their passion for the mission and had the expertise to help them fulfill it on every level.
Steve and the scapulars.com team had a great product, a beautiful mission, and an incredible sense of humor. So all they needed then was… well, everything else.
We started by collaboratively building a brand, complete with all the visual and messaging aspects needed to compellingly communicate their value to their target audience.
Then we developed a website that is engaging and intuitive, with a simple interface, strong visuals and copy, and reliable eCommerce tools. We adopted the right technology platform to seamlessly accommodate all of scapulars.com’s eCommerce needs. We selected Shopify because it nailed the basics with effective marketing tools and a memorable user experience. This makes it effective at telling the brand story and converting visitors to customers.
We also developed a lead generation and nurturing strategy, helping scapulars.com grow their audience and stay in touch with an interested customer base.
We developed a marketing strategy by which we continually turn strangers into visitors, visitors into leads, leads into customers, and customers into champions. Balancing paid advertising with steady organic content creation across email and social media, the audience (and sales numbers) continue to grow.
After launching this new brand and website in August 2019, we continue to partner with scapulars.com to field customer emails and phone calls to both answer questions and facilitate purchases online.
Finally, we store, package, and ship all of scapulars.com’s products from our expansive distribution center in Sycamore, Illinois. By handling the daily logistics and fulfillment of their scapulars, Steve and his team can focus more on the core aspects of their mission, such as sourcing new scapulars and sharing them with others. And since we’re centrally located in the midwest, we’re able to quickly and cost-effectively ship scapulars out to their customers.
They‘ve been professional, detailed, dedicated, responsive, and encouraging every step of the way, which has prompted me to create a larger vision on which we are now working.
Steve Kerekes
We asked Steve to share his experience of working with our team to execute his vision for scapulars.com.
“I have a bad habit of starting a new business every few years and trying to do everything myself including building websites, designing logos, branding, marketing, fulfillment... let alone providing an actual product or service. As I looked at launching scapulars.com, a business mentor recommended I find experts to help, allowing us to grow much more quickly.
I saw the wisdom in his advice and began asking around, but I never expected to find an organization like 5 Stones. Miles, Elliot, and the team put together a proposal that offered virtually everything I needed, including fulfillment and customer service! I said “Yes” to everything and we launched on October 13, 2019.
They‘ve been professional, detailed, dedicated, responsive, and encouraging every step of the way, which has prompted me to create a larger vision on which we are now working.
Having other Catholic products in the warehouse is creating efficiencies that no one else can offer, and I encourage every organization I know to warehouse with 5 Stones to benefit from it.
I am certain our success is in large part due to their expertise in each area I mentioned, and I look forward to many years of growth and expansion, forcing them to build a bigger warehouse!”
These beautiful scapulars have blessed people all over the world who desire to be wrapped in the comfort and protection of Our Lady. In fact, scapulars.com has already sold or donated tens of thousands of scapulars to people in 25 different countries.
This is thanks, in part, to a compelling brand, effective digital advertising strategies, top-notch customer service, and efficient shipping processes.
Similar to sales, their email subscribers and social media followers also continue to increase steadily, enabling them to reach more and more people with their unique mission.
And what do their customers think? Take a look at the hundreds of 5-star reviews on their website and see just how beloved these scapulars are!