August 19, 2011
OPEN Forum Message
Company Culture
Can you recognize signs that your company's culture isn't working? Get advice from the experts on what to look for–and how to fix it.
Learn more
If you’re operating a business in any industrial or manufacturing sector, you are probably sitting on a marketing goldmine and don’t even know it. Most companies that sell engineered products and equipment have websites, but these sites are often static catalogs that offer little in the form of helpful information about their products or services or they are corporate websites that are targeted at investors rather than buyers.
Your website is a huge budget-friendly untapped resource that you’ve been ignoring for too long. Maybe you haven’t had the time to invest or maybe you’re just convinced that your customers don’t use your website to make their buying decisions because your product is so technical. Regardless of what your excuse is, if you’ve optimized your costs across your operations, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t optimize the most important process in your company: getting new customers and keeping customers.
What to do before you make over your website:
1. Set your marketing goals
What do you want your website to do? I’ll give you the answer to this question: Attract potential customers. You will have to set goals around how many visitors you want to attract, and how many of those visitors then convert into leads and, ultimately, customers.
2. Set up and review your Google Analytics
If you don’t have Google Analytics set up on your website, you’ll want to do that first so that you can set a baseline for what your current website is doing and make improvements from there.
3. Decide on a Web platform
I recommend Wordpress for several reasons: it’s free, it’s open-sourced and there are thousands of Wordpress designers that can create any kind of site you want and it’s easily optimized for search engines.
Your customer-attraction checklist
1. Buy keyword rich domain names
What product do you manufacture and for what market or industry? Make a list of all these words and then see if those domains are available. You’d be surprised how many manufacturers own their company name, but don’t own the domains to the widgets they provide.
2. Use a high-quality logo and company name
Visitors need to know exactly where they are within a few seconds. Your logo should be clearly visible at the top of the site. The preferred location is in the upper left-hand corner. Also, create a high-quality logo graphic.
3. Create a favicon
A favicon is that little graphic icon that appears on an Internet browser tab and tells you what website you are on. A favicon sets you apart from other sites who aren’t using them. This is your website’s way of wearing a tie; it’s not necessary, but it shows the world you are serious.
4. Create a headline that speaks directly to the target audience
Most B2B websites are focused on the company and the product they provide instead of the customer and the problem they are trying to solve. Focus on the person who will be landing on your website and then tell them what your company offers in the simplest language possible.
5. Use a lead generation form
The way to get ROI from your website is to capture the names of the people who landed there and might become customers. The best way to do this is to give them information for which they will happily give their e-mail in exchange. Some of the most valued downloads are e-books, e-courses and e-newsletters. Place your lead generation form above the fold and use phrases like “Get your free e-book."
6. Write a blog
Blog posts are really advertisements and educational advertising pieces that answer the questions “Why should you buy my stuff instead of the other guy’s?" Write articles with headlines such as “How to Choose the Best Widget” or “10 Tell-Tale Signs That It’s Time to Replace Your Widget." Use your blog posts to show potential customers how you solved common problems in their industry and talk about specific tests or comparisons that you are running that feature your brand’s competitive advantage. You can also interview customers and feature their stories each month.
7. Collect testimonials
Nothing is more powerful than showing potential customers what their friends in the industry are saying about what it’s like to work with your company. Put a process in place to capture testimonials; create a tab or page on your website where customers can leave comments at the completion of the selling cycle. Send a letter or communication to the decision-maker asking them what the biggest value or benefit was that they received from working with your company so far. And in all cases, be sure to ask their permission to print their comments.
8. Create online videos
Videos are very powerful marketing and educational tools. Create videos to demonstrate your product and be sure to speak about the features from the customer’s perspective. Think about the common frustrations customers usually have around your product and then address exactly how your product overcomes them. To get started, use a portable HD camera such as a Kodak Zi8. The quality is just right for the Web.
9. Online guides
Online guides are keyword-rich documents that run about 3,000 words. They are filled with useful tips, ideas, recommendations and resources that make the buyer’s life easy.
Check your balance, review recent transactions and pay your bill on the go.
CRAIG BREWSTER 9 months ago
You gave some great recommendations. The one thing I have not done is use a favicon. Do you have a easy way to create a favicon on a Wordpress blog?