Jeff’s take on social media and content marketing revolves around one thing – THE AUDIENCE.
Companies need audiences to survive – before they are customers they first have to be part of an audience. As we all are focusing on creating content, it won’t mean much if you don’t have someone to read and react to it.
And that’s his point, to build what he calls the “Proprietary Audience.” He defines it as ” a comprehensive, collaborative and cross-channel effort to build audiences that your company alone can access.”
He shows you how to build your database using paid, owned and earned media to identify your audience. He also shows you how to identify and communicate with Seekers (those that are looking for info), Amplifiers (those who have audiences that can share your info) and Joiners (those that are buyers).
The book is an easy read and I would recommend your marketing teams look at Audience as a new marketing discipline.
Progressive contractors, I believe, are changing the way they are interacting with their manufacturers. When I ran across this research recently, it verified in my mind that it holds true. I only wish the Electrical and Plumbing markets would do similar research.
HVACRBusiness recently released a new research study, “HVACR Contractors: Trends in the Adoption of Products/Systems & Management Approaches,” (for a free copy of executive summary click here), that highlights new trends on their involvement with manufacturers. I did a podcast interview with Terry Tanker, the publisher, to talk about the results of the research.
Bottom line – 70% are more likely to evaluate additional manufacturers and their products. You can’t depend on your sales rep going to see them personally to introduce a new product. By the time they get there, the contractor may be well down the selection process. Contractors, no matter what kind, are looking for good information, not a sales pitch, but information that can help them do their jobs. If you can do that, it will help keep you in the game.
Here are some highlights.
They define a “High Yield” contractor as being more active in managing their business, having substantial revenues and experiencing significant growth. In other words, The “A” players in the field.
93% get involved in the early stages of the selection process of new products.
Contractors have even greater expectations for products/systems than 5 years ago.
Contractors are expecting manufacturers to do more to help them compete and operate efficiently.
The selling environment has become more businesslike and competitive.
The bottom line is that these “High Yield” contractors have made significant changes in their relationships with their manufacturers and expect more out of them. Among them the top three changes are:
Making manufacturers more accountable for their products/systems.
Offering more support.
Making more objective decisions about products/systems/brands.
If you listen to the media, we all should be fat, dumb and happy since business is just rolling in and we can’t handle it all. I know housing starts are at an all-time highsince 2008, road and bridge contracts are now being released, automotive production in this country is setting records and most industrial indicators for manufacturing are on an upward trend.
So saying all of that, how are you doing? Most of our clients (manufacturers) are having modest growth but have a hard time figuring out why (getting new business or stealing it from competition).
Would you be so kind as to take a one-question survey?
UPS recently released a study they did on the behaviors, preferences and perceptions of industrial supplier performance.
Industrial distribution was once dominated by family owned companies built on personal relationships. Things are changing, and now suppliers (whether they are distributors or manufacturers) need to be not only aware of, but be a part of the online movement.
The UPS study surveyed 1501 online. The respondents were either sole/joint decision makers and the survey included only stock only products (no special orders). Annual spends ranged from under $50,000 to over $250,000.
Here are some insights from the study that I found interesting:
40% of those surveyed were only on the job for less than a year.
23% were on the job less than 5 years.
50% of purchasers say having a catalog and sales rep are important in making a decision.
More that 50% are making purchases online.
33% of purchasers spend most of their budget online.
34% say they go outside their existing supply base to make an online purchase with a new vendor.
Preferred research methods for new products were websites and search engines.
Are you still with me? So what does that me for you? It’s an opportunity for you to keep the business you have and expand outside your normal trading areas. Yes, buyers are concerned about quality, availability, price and delivery. But they are also interested in an integrated system that makes the buying process easy — from picking a product to making hassle-free returns.
Suggested action items from the survey:
Online selling is changing they way people buy things — embrace e-commerce (but not exclusively)
Continually improve the customer experience — make it easy for them to purchase from you
Be in the right place at the right time — utilize SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) to make sure people find you when they are looking
I know we all want to have customers that only call us and never quibble about price. I guess we need to wake up. Years ago you could build customer loyalty, but today I really wonder if it holds true anymore.
If you’re a manufacturer who sells through distribution, you have a double challenge—to keep both the distributor and user happy. The question is, where do you spend your time, the distributors or users? I guess the answer to that question will be different for all of us, but I think we all agree we need to spend the time building loyalty where it will make the biggest impact on sales.
My guess is for those who are looking to get to the professional tradesman, the best way to do that is to have a strong relationship with the distributors, who in turn have customer loyalty with the tradesman.
Yes, there are some iconic brands that have a great end-user preference, and hats off to those that have. But those numbers are a small percentage of the total. These folks, while we will envy them now, will, I believe, have a similar issue down the road when all the oldies (50 plus) get out of the business and the younger generation doesn’t value the loyalty card as much as the older generations.
No matter what avenue you choose to foster loyalty, there are some basic guidelines that need to be considered:
They need to know, like and trust you – Without that, you will have an uphill battle, and it will take time.
Make them your top priority – Back it up by having someone treat them like a key account that they are.
Spend time with them belly button to belly button – You can build a relationship via emails.
Not everything you’ll do results in a sale – Help them out whether it’s tech support or customer visits. Make them look like a hero.
Under promise and over deliver – Folks remember those that go the actual extra mile.
Show them you do care – Customers stop doing business with people because they have the perception of indifference. Send them a handwritten note or a copy of an industry article that would be relevant.
I’d be curious, for those who sell through a distribution channel, where do you focus your efforts? At distribution or the end-user?
Video is one of the most powerful tools in your marketing toolbox. Why aren’t you focusing more on them?
A recent study from eMarketer showed that even though consumers wanted more video, 75% of U.S. marketers said videos are not a priority, and nearly half said they had no plans on increased efforts this year.
According to eMarketer, consumer-branded video increased over 16% from January to June 2014 to almost 3 billion views a quarter.
We’re a visual society with a 30-second sound bite mentality. Why not use video to deliver your message in a different way? In today’s world with the use of smart phones and desktop editing suites, compiling a video isn’t hard or expensive anymore.
The more successful videos have to do with a single subject and usually run under 2 minutes in length. And, if appropriate, add a little humor (everyone likes to laugh). Manufacturers have plenty of options for using video. Instructional how-to videos, training sales/reps, new product intros and testimonials to name a few.
Next to Google, YouTube is the second biggest search engine. Let potentials find you. Obviously the demand is there. Don’t be left on the sidelines.
