Industrial marketing is moving online. Are you?

by Bob DeStefano

According to the SVM E-Business Trends in Manufacturing Report, 79 percent of manufacturers are increasing their online marketing budget. Am I suggesting you scrap all of your offline efforts and move your entire budget online? Not at all. Rather, I recommend taking an integrated approach to marketing – integrating the best online and offline marketing tactics – to maximize the return on your marketing investment.

Here are five ideas you can use to help your company break free of your marketing and decision-making quagmire and boldly enter the new world of online marketing:

Design your Web site for your customers
All too often, manufacturers and distributors take an egocentric approach to Web design, talking about themselves and their products instead of solving their customers’ problems. If your Web site does not serve your prospects and customers, it is not serving you either. Make your Web site customer-focused by offering content and interactive features that speak to the needs of your customers and provide a solution to their problems. If your customers and prospects do not find your site relevant, trustworthy and satisfying, they will leave. Remember, your competitor’s Web site is only one click away.

Integrate search into your marketing mix
Warning: If you are not engaging in search engine marketing, you are leaving money on the table for your competitors to scoop up. Simply defined, search engine marketing helps ensure your company’s Web site is presented at the top of the search results when people search for products. Prospects who find your Web site through search engines are actively looking for information on your products and they’ll be motivated to take action when they land on your site. The pay-for-performance model of search engine advertising requires you only to pay when the qualified prospect clicks on your ad to visit your site.

Increase the value of your print advertising
For many manufacturers, print advertising in trade magazines is important for creating awareness and building their brand. You can increase the value of your print ads by including a compelling Web component. In addition to creating brand awareness, print ads can also be used to drive action. If a print ad can pull someone to your Web site, you have the opportunity to communicate in a targeted fashion. This means the ad and your Web site must work together – the ad must entice prospects to visit your site with a compelling offer, and your site must deliver targeted information that will compel the prospect to take action. It requires strategic thinking and coordination, but it can significantly boost the ROI of print advertising.

Outshine your competition at trade shows
What’s the most cost-effective way to outshine your competition at a trade show? By leveraging personalized online marketing, before, during and after the show, you can maximize the number of qualified sales leads you generate. For example, prior to the show, send a personalized e-mail to targeted trade show registrants, inviting them to stop by your booth by providing a compelling offer. After you speak with people who visit your booth, don’t wait until the show is over to follow up. Instead, immediately send each person a customized e-mail including information on the specific products you discussed and links to a customized section of your Web site, designed specifically for the show. While your competitors are still collecting business cards in their fish bowl, you will have started nurturing a new client relationship.

Nurture relationships withe-mail marketing
A monthly e-newsletter is an opportunity to build an ongoing, interactive dialogue with your customers and prospects on a measurable, cost-efficient basis. It demonstrates value to your customers, and also changes their perception of your business. By sending timely articles that solve current business problems, you show customers that you understand them and their needs.

To learn more about key online marketing trends impacting manufacturers, download the E-Business Trends in Manufacturing Report at www.svmsolutions.com/survey.

This article originally appeared in the 2008 ISA Conference issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2008.

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