Expanding business and growing market share involves requires a steady flow of new sales prospects, aka leads.  In the past, most of these came by way of tradeshows, magazine responses, and old fashion cold calling.  The process was exhausting and expensive.  Going back to the 1990s, one manufacturer in the automation segment built a distributor program which rewarded the salespeople of their distributors for identifying new prospects the old-fashioned way – via cold calls.  Stating each qualified lead cost 75 dollars, they posted a cash bonus payout to distributor salespeople who found new potential customers for their products and brought in their factory sales rep.

Distributors, who generally do not participate in national tradeshows, magazine advertising, or other similar forms of advertising, struggled to comprehend the magnitude of the $75 reward (which at the time seemed exorbitant).  But they responded well to the reward and the program was deemed a success by all involved.

Today the struggle for new potential customers continues.  Trade shows, once viewed as the top spot to gather new customer contacts, were waning in popularity long before COVID came on the scene.  During the past year and a half, most of these have been either postponed or altogether canceled.  Yet the need for new potential places to sell products continues, perhaps even escalates.

Manufacturers must harvest leads online

According to a study published by “ThinkwithGoogle.com” experts, 89 percent of buyers in the B2B world begin their product selection with a web search.   Think about this statistic.  Your existing customers research future product needs online, and your competitor’s customers are looking as well.  The point is failure to provide necessary information that is also easy to find negates an amazing opportunity.

Armed with the right kind of product data backed up by a strongly developed keyword search strategy, the manufacture can turn their website into a lead generation machine.  Customers visiting the site can be tracked and when special data is requested, the customer might be convinced to share not only their name but other important information for future localized follow-up.

Extending this further, search trends will point out how the customer arrived at their decision.  Things like all products considered may show up in the customer’s electronic trail.  This is especially true when the manufacturer’s site features product comparison or selection tools.

Data turns the search into a qualified lead

The real differentiator in the value of leads comes via a qualification process.  For example, a spreadsheet of engineer’s names at every manufacturing plant with a robot is a list.  This type of list can be purchased inexpensively and easily, but they are not sales leads.  An amalgamation of engineers from plants expecting to “someday” purchase a product tied to the robot is still mostly a list.  However, if we determine the engineer is researching, studying, and investing time in reviewing a product to connect to the robot.  The engineer’s name is a qualified lead.

Web based activity can be tracked by the number of pages viewed and time spent on each page.  The information on a web visitor spending 20 seconds on a single page is of much less value than a similar visitor who reviews the product and then spends the next 20 minutes drilling into additional information on a product or technology which interests them.  A process for determining the level of interest allows a company to measure leads.  The best leads are passed along for either person-to-person contact or migrated to some automated system for providing the lead with additional pertinent information.

Many manufacturers lack the ability to attract customers

Unwittingly, a significant number of manufacturer’s websites lack some of the critical information required to drive business forward.  Some lack a keyword strategy.  Others invest much energy in brand awareness without providing the potential customer with important product data.  Because of the structure of the company, many are disjointed and difficult to maneuver. 

This is too important to leave to chance.

Let us lend you a new set of eyes.  Allow a company dedicated to the sale of high-tech automation, electrical, and fluid power products to share their expertise. 

KYKLO has evaluated over 100 manufacturers in the market

KYKLO has run expert analysis on over 100 manufactures in the Electrical, Automation, and Pneumatics market.  Our findings indicate only a few manufacturers are properly positioned for the future.  We would love to provide you with some thoughts and critiques of your place in this list.  The evaluation is free and comes without an obligation. 

Give us a call or send an email.