Currently, the market for industrial supply sales online is worth $16 billion. However, this figure is lower than in other industries because there are fewer manufacturing companies. Therefore, if a company produces high-quality products, its customers are likely to stick with it for the long term.
This means that industrial sellers must have a strong marketing strategy to compete against other sellers. This is especially true when it comes to the digital world, where more and more consumers are turning to online research to find industrial companies. To make sure your business is well-represented online, make sure you have a good website and are active on social media.
This guide will help you understand the unique aspects of selling industrial products. You'll learn about the best techniques and tools to use during each stage of the selling process so you can show why your business is the best at selling industrial products.
What makes industrial selling unique?
Industrial buyers need the products they purchase from industrial sellers to be successful in their own operations. For example, an airplane manufacturer may stall on their day-to-day production if they don't get the parts they need from an industrial seller. This strict dependency is what makes industrial sales unique, along with the following:
The market for industrial sales is much smaller than the market for other types of sales. This makes competition more fierce. In order to make your business stand out, it is important to build brand awareness and establish credibility.
Industrial buyers take a long time to make decisions because they need to do a lot of research on products and companies. When selling industrial products, you'll need to focus on customer retention. This is because buyers are more likely to stick with one company if the process of buying takes a long time. After-sales services are important when selling industrial products because most contracts are long term. This means you'll have to keep in touch with customers over a long period of time to make sure they're happy with your products and services.
Industrial sales tips and techniques
There are a few things you need to think about before creating your industrial marketing strategy.
Outline your goals
To start, you need to think about your business goals. What do you want to improve now? Do you want to expand your customer base? Develop deeper relationships with your current customers? Focus on upping your marketing game in general?
Choose a goal that is achievable and has a specific time frame. For example, if you want to improve your online marketing strategies, you can plan to redesign and optimize your website within one month.
Understand your market
There are two things you need to do in order to sell your industrial products. First, you need to understand who your customers are and what they want. This is important because the industrial selling market is small, so you don't have to spend a lot of time researching this. You can look at your competitors' websites and social media pages instead. This will give you an idea of what customers want and what you should focus on with your own online strategies.
Adjust your strategies
You know what your goals are and who you would like to market your home to. Now you need to look at your current selling strategies and see if they are helping you achieve your goals. Are you getting results? Or are you facing empty inboxes and few likes on your Facebook posts? With 81% of consumers doing online research before making any type of online purchase, evaluating your digital strategies is a must-do.
Useful tools to improve your industrial selling strategy
There are three main ways to improve your digital presence: website optimization, email marketing, and social media marketing.
Website optimization
If you want your industrial company to be successful, you need a website. Your website should have all the important information, like a list of your products or services, contact info, address, hours, and an About page. You also need to make sure that your website is optimised for search engines (SEO).
SEO is the process of making your website rank high on search engines like Google. The quickest way to do this is to use keywords related to your industry and product across your site. You can use the Google Keyword Planner tool to see which keywords are trending for your particular product(s).
Email marketing
Email marketing is a useful way to keep in touch with your customers during every stage of the sales journey. You can use different email marketing tools to send different types of automated emails to your customers. This will take away some of the work for you. For example, you can schedule follow-up emails for certain periods or set up automated campaigns when you launch a new product or service.