WP Engine has been delivering the digital experience platform behind many leading brands for several years but is now Australia’s largest WordPress digital experience platform since adding the Agency Partner Program (APP) which has now grown to over 5,000 members globally.

WP Engine gives companies of all sizes and types the agility, performance, intelligence, and integrations they need to drive their business forward faster. This means WP Engine can support brand websites, ecommerce sites and corporate sites.

The company works with retailers like IGA, brands including Carsales.com.au, Casella Family Brands (Yellow Tail Wine), Hideaway Holidays and National Storage, and publications like News Corp and Nova Entertainment.

Speaking to WP Engine country manager for Australia and New Zealand, Mark Randall, the company was an underdog in the Australian market when it first opened its Brisbane office in 2017 with just two employees. Fast forward to the end of 2019 and there are now 30 team members, the customer base has nearly doubled with over 4,000 local customers and there are now more than 300 ANZ based agencies onboard as part of the APP.

“We attribute much of our growth and success in the Australian market to our agency partners, who are the gateway to new business for us,” Randall told Retailbiz.

“Agencies in our Agency Partner Program refer new business to WP Engine, and we help them build consistent revenue through our directory, thought leadership, and content resources. The APP is a scalable set of business programs designed to enable agencies of all types to grow with WordPress. In supporting the success of our partners, we support the success of WP Engine resulting in continued growth and momentum.”

When asked about the future of digital business, Randall said despite growing data privacy concerns around social media, there will be an increased focus on personalisation.

“Consumers are becoming more comfortable sharing their personal data with companies when they know how it’s being used. Gen Z is already dominating 40% of global spending power, which will naturally grow in the coming years. This will put a demand on digital businesses to adapt if they haven’t already. Gen Z is a generation that has never lived in a non-digital world and therefore their attitudes towards technology are very different than older generations.

“A recent report published by WP Engine found 45% of Gen Z will provide data to prioritise a personalised experience over privacy. On top of that, 36% expect the internet to predict what they need and alert them before they need it. We also found that despite Gen Z’s eagerness to access the web using new methods and different devices, they still show a clear preference for a company’s website over a mobile app when making purchases.”

He went on to say that having a great product simply doesn’t cut it anymore and it’s important to make sure you show your customers they matter.

“On top of this, businesses have access to vast data and insights, which allows them to understand their customer like never before. This data is essential to building personalised customer experiences. Recognising the importance of CX in our business, we invest heavily in our award-winning support team who are all WordPress experts. The average Live Chat response time 2 minutes, and this has meant we enjoy a world leading Net Promoter Score of 86.

“Consumers have created the expectation that the level of service they receive online, should mirror the service they receive offline. With that in mind, creating opportunities for a customer to have positive experiences with a business will lead to brand loyalty, growth of business, and ROI.”

Metcash (IGA) senior manager for digital transformation, Marc Keegan said when it comes to hosting WordPress sites – WP Engine has been an invaluable technology partner.

“The platform itself has been an extremely intuitive, reliable and solid solution backed by their live support team who are extremely responsible and always there to support our development teams through challenges and complex integrations.

“WP Engine have gone beyond the expectations of what a hosting provider would usually deliver in terms of service, support and guidance and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.”