manufacturer's guide to online marketing

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Online marketing for manufacturers

The Manufacturer’s Guide to Online MarketingThe easiest way to generate B2B sales leads for your mfg companyOffer your catalogue, brochure, guide, ebook, or demonstration video in exchange for contact information.



What to do with fresh sales leadsSetup a series of about 7 emails to automatically send out about once per week. These should be education-al in nature. The idea here it to build brand recognition and trust so that your leads are nurtured to the point where they are more receptive to sales.

How to improve employee productivity through your websiteProvide up-to-date information on your product lines using a “content management system” such as Word-Press. Doing this in conjunction with a “frequently ask questions” section will mean less employee time spent on the phone dealing with repetitive questions.

Shipping calculations and data entry can be automated as well using custom PHP programming and Word-Press plugins.

How to grow sales and unleash global demandE-commerceOffer your products and accessories through PayPal or a full e-commerce system. Record visitor mouse movements using programs like ClickTale to find out why people aren’t buying.

Interactive distributor/retailer mapOffer an interactive map so visitors can quickly and easily find a distributor or retailer for your products.

MailChimp is a program that allows you to automate the e-mail process, freeing up time for your staff. Here you can see how easy it is to create e-mails.



Dealor locator offered by Dimplex manufacturing company.

BloggingYour blog articles should focus on solving problems faced by your target market. Educating your market will position your company as the leader in your field. Building trust and credibility will enhance your sales leads.Make sure you offer calls-to-action on your blog, such “contact sales” or “download our guide to choosing a mfg company” or “live chat now!” Blogging will enhance your position on Google search results.

Live chatIf people visit your showroom, they can immediately speak to a sales person. But when they visit your web-site, nobody is available to talk to. That’s why you should offer online chat to dramatically enhance sales conversions.



Google advertisingUnlike SEO (search engine optimization), Google advertising gurantees that you end up on the 1st page of search results for phrases such as “windows manufacturer” or “electrical wiring supplier.” Make sure you ONLY advertise to people in your market, such as your state, province, country, or city radius. DO NOT use Google’s default keyword settings, or else you’ll end up paying for a bunch of keywords you don’t like. Instead, hand-pick the keywords relevant to your business and use “phrase match” or “exact match” or “modi-fied broad match.” Ideally, your Google ads should go to “landing pages” designed to capture sales leads, not to your homepage.

Search engine optimizationSearch engine optimization is how you climb organically to the top of Google searches. Try writing articles on other websites such as manufacturing associations. Then link those articles back to your homepage. Write lots of blog articles on manufacturing or any keywords you want to rank for. Get your company listed in local directories, optimize your “title tags” for keywords, and use “alt tags” for every image on your website. When you start, it’s important to use Google’s new Keyword Planner to identify keywords you want to rank for. Try to get lots of reviews on your Google+ page.

LinkedIn advertising is good for B2B salesWith LinkedIn, you can pinpoint decision makers in the industries you are trying to sell to. Your ads should go to lead-capture pages, not your homepage.

Facebook advertisingFacebook is best for building your brand in the B2C space. It is a good place to promote contests to build excitement for your products.

Email marketingUse a program like MailChimp, InfusionSoft, Constant Contact, or Hubspot so you can send mass emails and automate the e-mails to send given certain triggers.

Use call trackingInquiries and sales will come from different sources. You want to be able to track these by setting up call-tracking software that allows you see what marketing activities are producing an ROI in the form of phone orders or inquiries.

Get “key influencers” to talk about your company and its products One of the most cost-effective ways to market your company is through key influencers. These are people who review products in your industry or who advise your customers. Get them to review your product or pay them to write an article about you.



Using your website to improve internal collaborationUse your website as a way to keep all your staff on the same page. Easily updateable calendars, message boards, and sales information keeps everybody current.

Improve cost efficiencies E-mail marketing is the easiest way to improve cost effiencies. Instead of paying for postage, printing, and distribution, you send e-mails practically for free. Digitizing your catalogues and brochures also saves you considerable amounts of cash.

Enhance profit margins & reduce price sensitivityAccountants have shown that over 63% of manufacturers use a “cost + profit” pricing model. This approach can explain the inevitable margin declines. Use your online marketing to position your brand for durable competitive advatnages that set you up for value-based pricing. By building a customer-focused website, we will attract customers who are less price sensitive and who are more interested in the value of what you offer. “Inbound marketing” builds your thought leadership and credibility.

Use online marketing to ensure customer satisfactionOnline surveys through Google Docs and Survey Monkey can keep you up-to-date with customer issues. You can also offer 24hr customer service through your website online chat, which can be connected to a virtual assistant.

Use videos to showcase your standards of quality

Dyson uses lots of videos to demonstrate how its products are superior to competitors.



Offer multiple search filters so customers can easily find products

Provide manuals and other documents for both customers and engineers

Web Design for Manufacturers>>

Dekker Fraser is the Director of Marketing for the 13-year-old marketing agency Flame Design. [email protected] 604-801-5585

http://landing.flamedesign.ca/web-design-manufacturing-industrial/b.html