All businesses participating in a manufacturing value chain
should have a manufacturing website to market their products
and services. The manufacturing website usually targets
business to business communications and collaboration between
suppliers, wholesalers, dealers and other enterprises in the supply
chain. A manufacturing website may also be a B2C
eCommerce website, where the business is selling its products
directory to consumers, in addition to other sales channels.
I discuss tips about eCommerce websites in other discussions.
Here, I focus on the B2B manufacturing website. As a
manufacturing eBusiness consultant I start with the business goals
and objectives of the company. A website can be a valuable
asset to manufacturers, but the organization has to define the
goals and measure success against those goals for an effective web
presence. At TwinEngines, we work with many manufacturers to
achieve their web marketing goals, utilizing web analytics and
CRM to measure and monitor activity.
With goals and objectives defined, here are some tips for a
manufacturing website to be successful:
- Know the people visiting your website.
For manufacturers, purchasing agents and engineers visit to find
your products and quickly determine how your specifications
and figures compare to their needs. If they have a rewarding
experience on your website and find their information quickly, then
chances are you will achieve your web presence goals.
- Straight-forward design without flash that
makes it easy for people to find what they are looking for.
Straight-forward does not mean cheap looking, it means a
proefessional look with consistent content elements and
navigation across each page of the website. Your visitor does
not need a flash advertisement or fancy graphics.
- Prominently display a
call-to-action on the home page and key landing pages
in the website. The call-to-action may be to complete a
request for quote/information form; to enter their contact
information and receive your newsletter, catalog or whitepaper; or
to simply call your phone number to talk to a sales
engineer.
- Optimize each page for search engines.
Studies show that over two-thirds of companies trying to find new
products and services use a search engine, most likely
Google. Use your industry words and terminology for people to
read on the web page, plus for the search engines to find in the
meta information.
- Display your product catalog and list of
services. Remember your audience, and show the key
facts, images and videos that will lead them to engage with your
company. A web content management system is ideal to keep
product information up to date.
These are just five tips for the manufacturing or
industrial business working with dealers, wholesalers and other
manufacturers in the supply chain. I welcome the opportunity
to discuss more tips and your website here, through our
Contact Us email or by phone at 404-522-4262.