Client Spotlight
Sales Take Off with CAD Availability
Dan McKeown, CEO and
president of The Specialty Manufacturing
Company, said, “Our sales have taken
off!” and he attributes this rise in sales directly to his
online marketing program with ThomasNet. ThomasNet provides a full suite of
web solutions to The Specialty Manufacturing Company, including an online
catalog and downloadable CAD capabilities on the company’s
website.
"We're finding that 80% of the people that download a CAD file
into their application, it winds up as part of the spec sheet. So when it comes
to the buyer, we're spec'd in and we stay spec'd in. That means we're getting
the order," McKeown said. View The Specialty Manufacturing
Company’s complete video testimonial
on the ThomasNet website.
Read more...
Expert's Corner
How to Write Content with Purpose
By Kathy Magrino, The Write Way, LLC
Whether you’re writing a blog entry, homepage content for your
company’s website, a news release, or an online presentation, you
should always write with a purpose in mind.
Are you trying to get new business with your website content? Or
attempting to build readership of your blog? Are you hoping to generate
more sales inquiries for your business? Or maybe you’re trying to
capture the media’s attention? These are just some of the possible
“purposes” you might have, and knowing your purpose(s) can help you
write content that helps you achieve your goals: content with purpose.
If you’re not comfortable with the writing process (and many people
aren't), there’s a simple
acronym I use that might help you get started. I tell my students -- and
my clients, too -- to consider the “P-A-S-T”...
Read more...
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Make Your
Website a Top Sales Performer
Industrial buyers and engineers are researching, sourcing and specifying
products online. And, industrial marketers are realizing that their websites
are fast becoming their top sales performers. (See this month’s
“Client Spotlight”
for just one example.)
If you start holding your website accountable for meeting sales goals,
you’ll soon see how effective your website can be as a top sales performer
for your company. To do this, enhance your website with features that
encourage conversion actions – the actions buyers take on your
website which move them through the sales process and closer to buying from your
company, such as product comparisons and search by specification
functionality. Then, by monitoring conversion actions, you'll be able to
measure the success (or lack of success) of your website as a sales performer.
In a recent issue of BusinessWeek,
Linda Rigano, Director of Strategic Alliances for ThomasNet,
said, “99% of the industrial world is now buying
online… when buyers come to your site, they want to verify that your
company makes what they're looking to buy. You get five to eight seconds to
convince them, or they'll hit the back button.” This is
the point when your website needs to be ready to start selling!
Is Your Website ‘Dressed for
Success’?
Is your website “dressed” and ready to sell for your company?
Do you have the right content and capabilities in place to guarantee sales
success? Here are three steps you can take to start turning your website
into a top sales performer today:
1. Set Goals
Define your company’s business objectives and set goals for your
website, just like you would set goals for each member of your sales staff.
Once the goals are set, you can provide your website with the right content
and capabilities to support its sales efforts.
2. Add Content and Features
You can help your website become a better sales performer by adding content
and features. Does your website "listen" to your customers' needs and respond
with appropriate information and actions? Top sales performers do this, and
websites can do this, too, by ...
Read more...
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96%
Over 96% of the
Fortune 500 use ThomasNet.com.
More and more major companies use
ThomasNet.com on a regular basis to find the products and services they need.
Click here for more details.
News
Bootstrapping 101
In American Express’ OPEN business
forum, Guy Kawasaki, author of How to Change the
World and many other business publications, tells us about
“The Art of Bootstrapping” for business survival.
Read more...
3 Reasons Why
Digital Media Will Triumph
On iMedia.com, Tom
Hespos writes, “I think digital is poised for gains in 2009 -- possibly
something more than the modest gains many pundits predict… I have three
reasons for thinking this.”
Read more...
How to Keep
B2B Customers in a Downturn
In Harvard Business Publishing,
Ed Gilligan writes, “In uncertain times like these, the most important thing
any business serving other businesses can do is to stay close to their customers.
But sometimes it's easy to forget the simple things--the tried and true things
people can do to make a difference for their B2B customers."
Read more...
Social
Media + SEO = 'Friends with Benefits'?
Are social media and SEO “friends
with benefits”? Mark Jackson asks this question on
SearchEngineWatch.com. He says, "It's important to
participate in these communities on a regular basis; the more you participate
the more "popular" your profile will become, which will only help your SEO efforts."
Read more...
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