Getting Your Website Ready for Industrial Buyers Sourcing from Smartphones

You've heard it said time and time again that your website is often the first encounter with your business that a buyer may have. Just a few years ago, the results of a joint study conducted by ThomasNet and Google revealed that "86% of buyers recommended or selected a new supplier or new product or service for their company based on their online experiences." It is shocking that after almost twenty years of industrial presence online many companies' websites remain ill-prepared to cash in on the revenue generating opportunities offered by the consistently growing numbers of buyers looking to research or make a purchase online.

According to GlobalSpec's 2009 Economic Outlook Survey, "more than 80% use the internet to obtain product specifications and to find components, equipment, services and suppliers." Joe DeMicco, President of AIMG and Founder of Industrial Web Solutions, points out in his blog entry that the recent spike in Smartphone sales, a big ticket item used predominantly by "money-making decision-makers with budgets," is a strong indicator that more business transactions will occur online because of the availability of a full-featured web browser that makes searching and viewing a website on a handheld device just as easy as it is from a desktop or laptop and even more convenient.

“Forty-two percent of engineers and technical professionals spend six or more hours per week on the Internet for work-related purposes and 62% visit six or more work-related Web sites each week” according to Global Spec's 2009 Economic Outlook Survey. With both growing interest and convenient access to industrial websites via handheld web-enabled devices, it behooves every website owner to ensure they either become or remain competitive online by providing buyers with the right kind of website experience and information that leads to a business transaction.

8 Great Ways to Get Your Website in Shape

1. Professional Look and Feel: It's been said many times but the look and feel of your website is an indication to your new site visitor of your level of professionalism. Flash pages and tiresome website extras that have nothing to do with making it easiest for buyers to get the information they need from you should be done away with. You can incorporate Flash or animated design elements but they should serve your site visitor and not distract from the purpose of moving him through the sales process. Look at www.bendheim.com, distributors and fabricators of the world's leading architectural and specialty glass, for an example of how to incorporate Flash elements that serve the sales objective.

2. Custom Search Tools That Make Finding Specific Products or Information Fast & Easy: It is not likely that a buyer new to your site will be familiar with everything you offer, particularly the naming structure of your product lines. Custom search tools help them to identify their need by specifying criteria important to them. To give you an idea of custom search tools that guide the buyer right through to a submitted request for quote check out www.phase1tech.com, a leading distributor of machine vision components and solutions. The elements of each product category are presented as search criteria that a buyer can select to in fact customize his search to pinpoint the exact item he needs.

3. Quality Website Content: Buyers also judge your professionalism based on the content you present at your website. Quality content means well-written, motivating and persuasive sales and marketing copy that is highly focused on the type of information a buyer requires to make a purchasing decision. Images need to be of professional quality and placed to support the sales and marketing copy. It may also prove beneficial to attach supporting documents and digital files such as Excel sheets, PDFs or CAD drawings offering relevant technical specifications, pricing or more detailed explanation. A great way to build your contacts database is to require buyers register with your site in order to be able to download specific information such as product brochures or pricing information. It is important to consider carefully the type of information you will provide all site visitors and the type you will require someone to take the extra step to acquire by registering. Make sure the content you provide everyone is enough to convince them that registering with you is worth the time it will take. Visit www.robotics.org for examples of having to register for access to certain content.

4. Search Engine Optimized Content with Strategic Calls to Action: Understanding the ways in which your targeted buyer groups use language to search for what you offer is critical to presenting website content that in addition to selling also attracts your buyers while they are actively searching. The strategic calls to action are needed to ensure that once you have attracted and motivated your buyer groups they are absolutely clear what you expect them to do next to acquire what it is you sell. Look at how effective www.bendheimcabinetglass.com is optimized, particularly for their principle product "cabinet glass" for which they have achieved No.1 ranking in Google. Notice how the call to action is clearly visible and instructs the site visitor to "Visit our product catalog to start shopping."

5. Customized Forms: Associating customized forms at the point where a buyer would be making a decision provides the buyer with the fastest, most convenient way to express his interest to you. Once again, the idea is to make it easy for him to start a business relationship with you. Look at how www.globalprecision.com uses customized forms that automatically incorporate a buyer's selection into the request for quote form.

6. Editable Sections: It may prove beneficial to have sections of your site that you or your site administrators can edit at any time without the need of a web developer. To decide whether this is an option that would benefit you, consider how often certain content needs to change in order to remain accurate and relevant to your buyers. This may include the introduction of new product lines or services, mergers and acquisitions, investor information, new hires and promotions, or other such time sensitive information. These sections can also include News, Events, Articles and White Papers, Archived Newsletters, and much more. A content management system is used by www.matco-norca.com to edit their website content online 24/7 from a secure online admin tool.

7. Integrated RFQ/Shopping Cart: Let's face it, a buyer searching on the internet is likely in a buying mode. Impress him with what you offer and let him buy it. If he needs a bid first and a purchase order, get him everything he needs on the spot so he can make the purchase. Whether you're taking requests for quote or transactional credit card orders, a well-designed cart experience can be incorporated into your website to make it easy for buyers to decide to get what they need from you. Either way you have increased your revenue-generating potential by allowing the buyer to initiate or complete a sale with you. If you are using a third-party solution, in most cases it can be seamlessly integrated with your website. If you prefer to own your solution, it can be custom built to manage everything from customer accounts to inventory, sales, delivery, accounting and marketing. For a simple request for quote cart application check out www.hose-mccann.com.

8. Site Memberships: Encouraging visitors to register for your site by offering member benefits that help to unite them with your company as a preferred source is a great way to acquire leads, make sales and build customer loyalty. To get an idea of such an incentive program visit www.matco-norca.com.

Conclusion

With the growing popularity of web-enabled handheld devices buyers have ever more ways to conduct their sourcing quickly and conveniently at any time or from any place, including the plant floor. Internet searches are no longer restricted to the desktop or laptop. Now that full-featured web browsing is available right from their iPhone, more and more industrial buyers will be looking to the internet for sourcing solutions, especially at times of great need! Take a critical look at your website and see if it is truly strong enough to stand up to your competition and win the new business opportunities provided by both increased internet sourcing and the power of iPhone or other Smartphone technology. Would capturing 1% to 3% of that 80% and growing online buyer activity make it worth investing in your website? Do you recognize the revenue-generating value of turning your website into a 24/7 top sales executive?

Contact us to learn how to prepare your website to attract, convert and track leads.

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