Your Website Has the Power to Market and Sell
Your website needs to be your #1 marketing tool. Not only does it need to capture your audience’s attention with the looks and glamor but it also needs to provide the information your visitors are seeking.
When you focus on shaping your website to the needs and wants of your audience, only then can you effectively market your manufacturing company. And since your site can be accessed 24/7, it has the opportunity to sell your products and services all day, every day. That’s one hardworking salesperson!
Below we discuss the three ways manufacturers can make your website into your #1 marketing tool.
- Content that supports your sales funnel
- Focusing on mobile-responsive websites
- Enhancing your user experience
1. Content That Helps Sales Productivity
The value of a good website isn’t only visually determined; it often lies in its ability to support the sales process through valuable content and actions that can encourage conversions. This is achieved by providing pertinent and beneficial information that prospects are seeking. Sales supportive information can be classified as content that gently pushes them into action.
Content marketing is extremely valuable within the manufacturing marketplace. Customers consistently seek out the most up-to-date information on products and services they are looking to purchase. If your website is not providing them the information they need, they will likely move to the next.
With so much information to unravel and compare, customers take more time throughout their buyer’s journey. When a manufacturer recognizes their customer’s needs and addresses them on their site, it’ll drive profitable results.
Create Customer-Specific Content
The key to appropriately engaging potential customers is understanding who they are, their needs, and what motivates them. That’s the first step – to know who you are selling to.
Next is creating content unique to your audience. Offering helpful content throughout your website increases credibility and reliability. If a customer uses your content to answer their questions or solve their problems, they’ll look to you for related products and services.
Marketing content that manufacturers benefit from include:
- Blogs
- Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns
- Email marketing
- Case studies
- Testimonials
2. The Importance of a Mobile Responsive Website
With the continued growth and usage of mobile devices, your manufacturing website must be mobile friendly. If not, you are going to lose a lot of potential business.
Customers and potential customers need to access your website via mobile devices regardless of what type of device (phone, tablet, desktop, etc.) they are using. If your website does properly function on different devices, then visitors will quickly leave your site or not complete the desired action.
Benefits of Mobile Responsive Websites
Responsive websites have a huge impact on your search results page ranking; in fact, Google puts more weight on your site’s ability to function on mobile devices than on desktops. Per Google, responsive websites perform better in search rankings because they provide a better user experience than sites that are not mobile-friendly.
- Builds branding, credibility, and trust
- Improves website traffic
- Provides enhanced website ROI
- Targets quality traffic
- Increases visibility and awareness
- Moves you ahead of the competition
3. Enhanced Website UX Incorporates Customer Specific Needs
Good user experience (UX) design is about creating a positive outcome via usability. UX focuses on ease, speed, and simplicity. An excellent way to approach a website UX strategy is to know your users’ goals.
Why did they come to your website? What do they need to be able to do? And how can you help them quickly accomplish it?
Manufacturing customers and potential customers alike pay incredibly close attention to website functionality, often without realizing it. If your site is difficult to navigate, your visitors will leave. If your site doesn’t answer the information they are looking for, your visitors will leave. When your website is designed and built to your customers’ needs, they extend that positive experience and value to your manufacturing services and products.
Several aspects of a well-functioning website provide an enhanced user experience (UX). The following examples provide insight into UX’s value for a manufacturing company.
Clear Next Steps
A superb customer design experience anticipates a searcher’s wants and needs, providing them with a clear and well-defined path to purchase or contact. It encourages interaction with your business through suggested next steps, call-to-action (CTA) buttons, blog links, a survey, or newsletter signup prompts.
Decreased Bounce Rates
When your manufacturing website provides a potential customer with quality UX that delivers what it promises, visitors are more likely to dive deeper into your site. UX naturally lowers bounce rates, when visitors quickly exit your site, because of poor functionality or content. Thus, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.
Improve Qualified Leads
When potential customers are not forced to contact a manufacturer via forms, calls, or emails, they are much happier. You need to provide valuable content upfront, which compels them to contact your manufacturing company based on their interest in your services or products. By naturally creating fewer barriers for the customer, an effective UX platform can create more qualified leads.
Drive Ecommerce Sales
Websites with enhanced UX design features often have fewer customer cart abandonment instances, increasing sales and potential repeat customers. It is no surprise that manufacturing websites that are easier to navigate and ultimately have fewer user issues are the ones that have less cart abandonment and more online sales.
Improved Website Rankings
User experience now correlates with an improved Google ranking signal. Google rewards sites with mobile-friendly designs and penalizes those that do not incorporate these elements.
Is Your Website Your #1 Marketing Tool?
Test out your website and talk to your team based on the information above.
- What website content does your sales team think would help them convert more leads?
- How does your site look and function on mobile devices?
- Does your website have a high bounce rate?
- Ask a current and trusted customer how they view your website and what other information they would like to see.
- How does your website compare to competitors?
We developed a comprehensive, free ebook for manufacturers looking to improve their marketing and website performance. Start developing a complete marketing plan to enhance your website’s user experience, create more online leads, and improve your conversion rate.
