By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent at Sonnhalter
“Content Marketing” has been a buzzword for a few years now, and quite frankly, it can be a confusing term to translate to your everyday marketing strategy. But for manufacturers, it all boils down to one simple sentence:
Be a resource.
You have a product, your competitors have a product, but now more than ever, your current and potential customers need information. Just like you, they are dealing with a skill gap. Just like you, they need to establish a way to transfer knowledge and training to a new generation of workers. Be there to help, and sales takes care of themselves.
via Contently.com
For generations, John Deere has published The Furrow. Currently, Lincoln Electric has garnered justified publicity and acclaim for taking what was The Stabilizer and updating it as Arc Magazine. And there are more examples.
For all their marketing and CRM uses, the real purpose of both is to be a resource. Both companies have chosen to make best practices, product information and collective knowledge a matter of public knowledge, and in so doing, they have engendered customer loyalty and established themselves as “industry experts.” They have become the resource. They have transcended the marketplace of products and become the leaders in the marketplace of ideas.
The key to an effective program is to make the same essential information accessible in multiple formats and repurpose it as much as possible.
As an example, take a newly developed solution and:
Develop a press release
Write a white paper
Host a webinar based on the white paper
Take the questions from the webinar and develop short videos for posting on social media
Use the video links as the basis of an email campaign
Use responses to the email campaign to feed your lead generation system
Write a success story about a company that implements the solution, showing gains in productivity or cost reductions
So, the same essential information has now been repurposed seven different ways, generating leads and exposure all along the way.
And best of all, when a customer you never even knew about searches for information on that solution, they find you.
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman at Sonnhalter
Being socially responsible goes beyond individuals. Companies, no matter what size, should support communities where they draw its workforce from.
Plans should be well thought out and be in line with your company, customers and employee’s goals. Although most people think of financial donations as the primary way of showing support, there are many ways to get the entire staff involved like volunteering at a food bank or shelter or building a house for Habitat for Humanity.
A company’s greatest asset are its people. Studies have shown that employees perform better when there are locally supported programs. They are proud to be associated with a company that gives back.
Here are 5 results of developing a community program:
Creates better morale among employees
Helps create a more efficient business process
Builds a strong public image of your company (and is a good recruitment tool)
Better employee loyalty
Attracts new customers
The key to success in my opinion is to get the employees involved with suggestions on where the money would be better spent. Let’s face it, they probably have a better handle on where the greater needs are.
Here are a few examples:
We have a small manufacturing client that has a clear-cut plan for where a portion of the funds will go, but they’ve added a twist. Each employee has control of $1,500 of the company’s money that they have 100% control over where it goes. Talk about engagement!
Since we focus on reaching the professional tradesmen, we have supported the local Habitat for Humanity with an annual tool drive to raise money for them. We are fortunate that many of our clients choose to participate by giving tools and other accessories that can either be used on a project or sold in their ReStore where the money is used for future builds.
These are just a few examples. I’d love to hear how/what your company is doing to support the local communities.
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman at Sonnhalter
Landing pages are a great way to both monitor and capture information. The key to successful landing pages is to focus on the one message that got them to that page and deliver.
No matter what kind of promotion you are doing, when going after the professional tradesmen, the bottom line is you want them to ask for more info and then ultimately make a sale. You can’t do that in an ad (print or digital) by itself. You need those that are interested in whatever it is you’re selling to go somewhere to get more info. Effective landing pages make it clear what the visitor is going to do/get at the site.
A good call to action should fit seamlessly in the flow of the landing page so even if they are scanning the page it will stand out and will give them a clear and compelling reason for a next step.
Make sure the call to action is “above the fold”if your landing page is more than one screen. We don’t want to take the chance of them not scrolling down to get what they want. Give them more details on what you’re offering and a reason to give up their contact info in order to get it. If you’ve promised a contractor a mobile app that will make his life easier, tell him in more details why.
Landing pages help segment markets, capture leads and make it possible to monitor advertising effectiveness.
By directing them to a specific page with an offer and the appropriate form to fill out, it makes it more likely that they will complete the form and convert to a lead.
If your visitors decide to download your offer, why not invite them to share your content?
Lead nurturing is a very important part of the process. 50% of those who respond aren’t ready to buy just yet.
78% of sales that start with a web inquiry are won by the first company that responds.
By sending a follow-up thank you to those that downloaded material, you have the opportunity to offer them additional info and downloads, as well as asking them to share this with others via social media.
Contractors’ time is precious, so keep the message to only a few short paragraphs and use bullet points where possible. Test it out first. Pass it by some contractors to get their feedback and see if they get the intended message the way you intended.
You’ve spent time, money and energy to get them to this page and you don’t want to lose them.
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman at Sonnhalter
I have a running conversation with clients about which is better, a traditional direct mail program or an e-blast. It’s a tough question to answer and I’m not too sure there is only one answer. There are challenges for using both methods and we have seen it become more and more difficult to get emails delivered even if we use opt-in lists from trade publications and have them send it out under their name.
I think that when reaching out to our target market, the professional tradesman, you have just as good, if not better of a chance, of reaching them with traditional snail mail.
We recently did a sampling program for a client who wanted to focus more on the electronic side of things and wanted to use more, if not most, in this media. They assumed that direct mail was a thing of the past and was too costly (neither of which are true). We convinced them to give both a try and the results were surprising.
The direct mail portion of the program outperformed, on average, 3-to-1 over the e-blasts. We used the same criteria for both lists and sent both within 2 weeks of each other. We’re doing a second test using the same message and list parameters and it will be interesting to see if it still holds true.
We’ve all used both of these marketing tools. My question to you is…have you found one tool better than the other in reaching contractors or the professional tradesman?
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman at Sonnhalter
Testimonials are one of the best ways to validate your products/services, especially if it’s from a contractor. Don’t be afraid to ask as most are more than willing to participate. Once you get them, make sure to repurpose them in several areas. Put it on your website; if you have a blog, do a post. If you’re on social media, share a link. Do project profile sheets that your salesman and distributors can use in the field.
Third-party validation is a powerful tool for new business. Testimonials help to eliminate skepticism, provide credibility and trust. If done correctly, it’s one of the easiest and most effective ways of creating appeal with potential contractors.
Here are some tips for creating and using testimonials:
Don’t be generic. Specific, detailed testimonials are much stronger than those that are general and vague.
Prospects are more likely to believe testimonials that are attributed to a specific person and company than those that hide their identify. I’ve found that most happy clients are glad to provide a written recommendation and are willing to have their name attributed to the testimonial.
Provide testimonials on your firm’s website, your online brochure. They should be used anywhere and everywhere on your site. Not just on a testimonial page. Also include them in other materials used to promote your company. The more places potential clients can see them, the better.
Develop a consistent process to solicit testimonials from your satisfied clients. The best time to ask is immediately after you have done business with them.
An easy way to request a recommendation is through LinkedIn. You can ask your connections to write a recommendation of your work that you can display on your profile, and with their permission, you can add it to other materials used to publicize your company. LinkedIn is also a great place to give testimonials in order to get testimonials.
Whenever you receive a great letter or e-mail from a client, be sure to ask them if you can use their comments as a recommendation.
Adding pictures to testimonials can significantly increase interest and raise their CTR.
Providing a link to the site of the person who wrote the testimonial can bring additional credibility.
Don’t neglect to create some select video testimonials. These are much more personal and powerful than just written copy.
Good testimonials are filled with benefits. That’s what prospective clients are really looking for, how your services benefit them.
When asking for testimonials, give your clients clear instructions on what you need. Make them as specific as possible.
I’ve found that setting up a Google Alert to receive daily emails of who is talking about your company is a way to discover additional testimonials.
If you aren’t using testimonials, you’re missing out on a simple, but great tool for new business.
Do you have any additional tips to share? Please add them in to the comment section below.
Landing pages are a great way to both monitor and capture information. The key to successful landing pages is to focus on the one message that got them to that page and deliver.
