Industrial Websites Need Internet Strategy, Too

Are your industrial customers finding your company on the internet?

According to Globalspec’s 2010 Economic Outlook Survey, 75% of industrial customers spend three or more hours per week on the Internet for work-related purposes, and 46% average more than an hour a day online for work. What are they looking for?

Here are their top five reasons for going online:

1. Obtain products specifications
2. Source components, equipment, services, and suppliers
3. Find instruction manuals
4. Conduct research
5. Find pricing information

These findings have two important repercussions for your sales and marketing strategy. First, if the internet is currently not an active part of your sales cycle, you are failing to capture numerous new buyers scouring the internet for products like yours. Your site should be rich with relevant content, and should do an effective job of introducing and selling your company and your products. Once your content strategy is in place, landing page optimization can help you ensure that visitors are properly guided through the site and converted into buyers.

Second, if you don’t have a sound online marketing strategy, your site will have trouble reaching the prospective customer who has to sift through the internet clutter and a slew of your global competitors, all vying for his business. To compete in the online world, you need a website that is optimized for the search engines (SEO), and an online advertising program utilizing paid search, trade directories, and social media sites.

In today’s industrial market, customers increasingly prefer to research products and companies online rather than in a face-to-face meeting with your rep. This by no means spells the end to your outside sales force — there will always be value in face-to-face customer relationship building. But this does mean is that your internet website can and should be a very effective tool for driving a constant flow of new prospects and buyers to your company. How does your website measure up?