Thursday, July 2, 2009

request further info | join mail list | contact us | rss feeds

Lessons Learned at the ISA 2002 Conference:
Alleviating Pain, Generating Leads, Managing the Sales Cycle

At this month's gathering of automation professionals at the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation (ISA) Conference in Chicago, it was apparent that the industry is in pain (as are most manufacturing and technology markets).

Throughout the week, the dominant complaint was the lack of business. So on the show floor and in her e-marketing and e-business talks, Shari Worthington asked,

• "What are you doing to generate new leads?"
• "What are you doing to keep in touch with current customers?"
• "What are you doing to differentiate yourself?"

There were a variety of responses, from the mundane to the painful. From this we've distilled the top 5 lessons learned from ISA 2002. Each is an important lesson that works in any technology or manufacturing industry ... and in any economy!

Lesson #1: PDF Files Do Not a Product Catalog Make

We heard, "We're using our Web site to save on paper costs. We've uploaded large PDF files of our product catalog for our distributors and customers to download. But we're thinking of moving it all onto CD's because no one's using it."

The fact is that sales to engineers and scientists are heavily influenced by what's learned online, regardless of whether the final purchase is made via phone, fax, or Web site. The problem is, if you put large, unwieldy files online, you are putting a wall between your customers, your channel, and your company. So use PDF files selectively throughout your site.

There are two reasons to be cautious with PDF files:

• PDF files are an extra step between your Web site visitor and the information for which they are looking. In addition, PDFs can be large and take a long time to download. If you really want a useful and useable Web site, provide the bulk of your product information in HTML format. Supplement with PDF files that are available for download if site visitors want an easy way to store the data locally.
  
  
• PDF files can significantly hurt your rankings in the search engines. Many search engines cannot read the format. As a result, all those keyword-rich product data sheets and technical articles are not available to help bring you to the top of the search engines.

Take a look at the new Dresser Web sites at http://www.ashcroft.com and http://www.heise.com. Both recently converted from an architecture that relied on PDFs to an online database that stores and sorts information. Now customers and distributors can easily get the specs they need and Dresser product managers can quickly update content using a standard Web browser.

Lesson #2: Search Engines Rule

We heard, "Sure we'd like more visibility on the Web, but it's not worth spending more money when times are tough."

If you knew of a place where your customers regularly gathered, wouldn't you want to make sure you were there as well? The answer, of course, is yes! That "place" is the Internet search engines. 90+% of all engineers (even senior managers, according to Forbes Magazine) use Internet search engines on a regular basis (at least 5 times a month) to gather information about technical products and services. So make sure you're spending your money wisely - to be where your customers are.

There are two ways to work with search engines:

• Search Engine Optimization: Design your Web site such that your company will rank high on the search engines for specific key phrases. Are your customers looking for SCADA software? Then you want to be at the top of Google's list for the phrase, "SCADA software." This means, among other things, focus on keyword-rich content, avoid frames, don't embed all your good content in graphics or PDFs, flatten your site hierarchy, and make sure you put 404 error page redirects in place for old URLs that now link to a new place on your site.
  
  
• Search Engine Advertising: Make sure your message is at the top of a keyword search by buying a spot in the form of a banner or text-based advertisement. You can pay-per-impression or you can pay-per-click, depending on the search engine. Either way is more cost-effective than space advertising or direct mail ... and you can target who sees your message based on the keywords for which they're searching. Just make sure you know which search engines your customers are using. Expect overall click-through rates in the 2-4% range. Really targeted keywords can generate 10-20% click-throughs!

Lesson #3: To Generate Leads, Be Proactive

We heard, "We can't wait for our new Web site to go online so we can start getting leads from the search engines."

Wanting to rank high in the search engines is an important goal. Thinking Search Engine Optimization will generate all the leads you need, is an unreasonable assumption. If you want prospects and customers to think of you when it's time to make a purchase, make sure you're building and maintaining mind share. Keep your name in front of them by using a variety of marketing and selling vehicles.

• Post articles in the trade press -- these help establish your expertise.
  
  
• Announce new products and services to the trade press and remember to cross-post to your Web site -- these show you're improving offerings and are on the leading edge.
  
  
• Place advertisements on search engines - this keeps your name prominent when customers are looking for your type of products and services.
  
  
• Send regular electronic newsletters - these educate your customers on the benefits of your technology, establish your expertise in a particular market area, and keep your name front and center.

Lesson #4: Know the Difference Between CRM and SFA

We heard, "CRM is dead. The payback just isn't there."

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is all about integrating customer information for use by sales, marketing, call centers, and field service. Here are some interesting CRM facts:

• According to a recent survey, 61% of Siebel's reference clients have not achieved an ROI on their CRM installations. Customers cite problems with the expense of the deployment, difficulty customizing the software, lack of user-friendliness, and long development cycles.
  
  
• The typical cost to deploy a CRM solution is $60-130 million. The typical time to implement at CRM solution is 24 months (not including a payback period).
  
  
• Square D abandoned a CRM project in favor of a custom-developed order management and quote management system for distributors and OEMs. They currently have over 7000 users.
  
  
• Dresser Measurement & Control recently abandoned a 4 year search for a CRM system. Instead, they launched a pilot program using a sales force automation tool from Selltis.

They key question to ask yourself is, "What exactly is my problem?" If the answer is "lead management," then maybe you should start with a more focused attempt at correcting the problem. SFA (Sales Force Automation) programs focus on helping the sales force keep in touch. For Dresser this means developing quotes, tracking leads, and tracking activity reports so sales, marketing, and customer service all know the current state of all customers and prospects.

For more information, see this month's guest column.

Lesson #5: Differentiate or Die

"We're doing what we've always done - run some advertisements, put a lot of feet on the street, and bother people we know until new business crops up."

Because of the proliferation of new technologies and new products, customers are bombarded with choices and have a difficult time differentiating and selecting the best of many alternatives. Meanwhile, many small companies fighting for recognition in this sea of possibilities can't understand why their innovative products aren't selling well.

The solution to both group's problems is positioning: creating a desired image for a company and its products within a chosen user segment. The positioning process helps manufacturers deal with such problems as limited product life cycles, limited lead times before competitors respond with equal or greater improvements, as well as the desire to control new technologies introduced during a short time period or to a particular target market

A company can differentiate its products from its competitors' based on such factors as technology, target audience, target application, price, quality, or distribution channels. For instance, do we offer the broadest line of products that meet the requirements of many industries? Can we take advantage of economies of scale and offer the lowest price? Do we have the lowest defect rates and most accurate specs of all our competitors and thus offer the highest quality?

Product positioning alone won't make a product successful, though. Marketers must also be sensitive to how the market receives and subsequently positions their company as well as the product. If the company isn't totally honest during its internal evaluation, the marketplace will let it know. Based on market feedback, a company must be flexible enough to react to those opinions it wants to enhance or modify.

The e-Marketing Advantage™- Make sure your message is in the right place at the right time. Check out Telesian's e-Marketing Advantage program and find out how to make search engines work for you. Also find out how to generate solid customer leads with the right vertical web sites.