Get marketing tips for manufacturers
It amazes me how few manufacturers and industrial suppliers are using Marketing Tips for Manufacturers the Internet. Many still think that over two billion Internet users are only interested in t-shirts and books, and are therefore not worth the investment. I used to think the same thing; before getting involved in eCommerce, I earned a degree in mechanical engineering and worked with industrial machinery. So why don’t more industrial manufacturers take advantage of the Internet?
Here is a typical comment I hear when talking to industrial business owners and managers about marketing tips for manufacturers:
“Right now we are selling products only through dealers and salespeople. It works for now, and if we ever expand to selling online, it probably won’t happen for several years.”
Well, there are two problems with this approach:
1) Google and other search engines take time to find and index your pages. After your store is set up, it may take months before your product pages will appear in the search results. Also, when deciding who to show first in the results, Google gives a lot of weight to the age of the page. The longer you wait, the harder and more expensive it will be to get to the top results.
2) Even with your current business model, you are not using the power of the Internet to support existing dealers and customers, not to mention attracting more dealers and leads.
Marketing Tips for Manufacturers
Here is a plan and marketing tips for manufacturers you should consider. I’ll use FinestShops as an example, but there are other systems you can use. Anything is better than a one-page website that exclaims, “We are the best widget manufacturers /dealers in the Chicago area. Call us now!”
- We create a full-featured online product catalog, divide products into categories, and set up a separate page for every product so search engines will start finding and putting your products into their databases.
- If you do not want to sell through retail channels at this time, we can remove the pricing information and “buy now” button from that catalog. We simply integrate a “Contact Us” link instead.
- If you want to attract more dealers, we’ll include a “Become a Dealer” link, which takes visitors to an application form. Information will reach you via email, and you can process that request as usual.
- We post as much information as you want for each of your products. Here are some ideas:
- Detailed description
- Exact specifications
- Eye-catching photos
- Cut outs to show why your product is superior
- PDF schematics with dimensions
- PDF user manuals
- Maintenance tips
- Installation, repair and maintenance videos
- Installation examples
Here are some companies who do use Marketing Tips for Manufacturers::
• www.jamestowndistributors.com – Check out the introduction video and the links to User Manual and Related Products. This isn’t bad, but I would add more specification and dimension data.
• www.garmin.com – The site offers tons of information about the products, links to manuals, software updates, and accessories. I would add introduction video as well as video or text testimonials, at least for the most popular products.
• www.mcmaster.com – The search feature on this site is easy to use, and presentation for even simple products like screws is excellent. The product descriptions have all the details you need, like material, tensile strength, hardness and benefits (for a screw!); you can even download CAD or PDF drawings. If you are an engineer designing a unit, who would you recommend to purchasing as a supplier – the company who gives you all the dimensions, or their less helpful competitor where you can only hope dimensions are the same and will fit your unit?
- Do not forget to post your customers’ testimonials and examples of the installations. This will be used for your social marketing campaigns, if you decide to add this strategy later. Video testimonials with examples of use are the best for some expensive products or large sales volume items. Text testimonials are an excellent way to boost your sales as well.
- In time, search engines will index every page of your catalog. For example, if somebody searches for “mining battery repair in Utah” or “industrial battery charging,” your pages will begin appearing in the search results. To get them to appear on the first page of the results will take a bit more than just posting an online catalog, but setting it up now will make it much easier, faster, and less expensive to get to the first page later if you decide to add search engine optimization (SEO) to your marketing strategies.
- When you are ready to sell retail online, only a simple adjustment will be required to show prices and a “Buy now” button. You’ll be equipped to take online orders overnight.
- If you want to deal only with dealers, we can replace prices for each product with a “Login” link, and create a separate login account for each of your dealers or existing customers who frequently place orders with you.
- After a dealer logs in, he/she will see their own special prices set by you, be able to place an order online, and print an invoice. We support online credit card payments as well as phone, check, and PO payment methods.
- Your new store can be integrated with your existing inventory and orders management system, so those dealers’ orders (and future retail orders) will be automatically added to your internal system for processing.
This way, you will:
- Provide much better “automatic” online support to your existing dealers and customers, and decrease the number of calls to your customer service department.
- Attract more dealers because there is a good chance nobody else is doing anything like this in your industry yet.
- Start getting indexed by the search engines.
- Start using social media marketing initiatives so people will be able easily share information about your products within their networks.
Best of all, there won’t be much for you to do during this process. This is not DIY software; we offer managed turn-key solutions so everything will be done for you. Because FinestShops already have the system that supports everything I mentioned above, there is very little extra development required outside of integrating it with your internal system, allowing us to provide this service at a far lower cost than you might imagine.
If you are a manufacturer or industrial supplier, make sure you consider the consequences of missing Marketing Tips for Manufacturers. Every month of delay will cost you down the line. FinestShops can help you establish an Internet presence for your business which works, not just wastes virtual space. Contact us today to discuss your options.
Best regards,
Anton Pachkine
FinestShops E-Commerce Management
Hosting | Customizations | Design | Marketing
www.finestshops.com | 1(800)675-0162
