Part Manufacturers and Distributors: 5 Effective Marketing Strategies

More and more part manufacturers and distributors realize the value of online marketing when it comes to boosting the visibility and sales of their products, especially with the current situation in the world.

Nowadays, it is very convenient for customers to find and order the products they need online. They can do a simple search and learn a lot about the different manufacturers and distributors which offer the products they’re looking for, find out about the product specifications, check their photos, view and download their CAD models, and more.

It’s crucial to invest time and money in your digital presence so you won’t miss out on these potential customers! However, the good news is that online marketing is very cost-effective compared to traditional marketing methods, and the ROI is a lot easier to track.

Let’s look at some of the simple yet effective marketing strategies for part manufacturers and distributors. By following these suggestions, a company can attract new customers, retain the existing ones, and increase their overall sales.

1. Update or redesign your website

Does your website use too many colors? Is it hard to navigate on your website? You might not think about these questions, but that can lead to your downfall. Your website is often the first and most important point of interaction between you and your potential buyers, so it’s crucial to leave a good impression.

Some customers will decide not to do any business with you solely based on how your website looks and the way it’s structured, so there are a couple of main issues that you need to pay attention to when updating or redesigning your website:

• It should look clean without too many colors and visuals

• It should be intuitive and straightforward to navigate for the visitors

• It should be secured using HTTPS encryption to ensure better security and privacy

• It should have a responsive web design so it can look good on a variety of devices

Keep in mind, though, even if you update or redesign the website this way, it doesn’t mean that you can leave it that way forever and not pay any attention to it after that. It’s important to keep analyzing and testing different things to continue to improve and optimize the website.

2. Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The goal of SEO is to increase the awareness and traffic to your website in a natural way. With great SEO, you can make sure that you will be ranked among the top unpaid (organic) searches on search engines like Google or Bing. A higher ranking in search engines ensures that your potential customers can easily find you on the internet when entering a keyword related to your business.

When we mention keyword optimization, we talk about the specific words and phrases that people would associate with your business or products. It could either be a single word or longer phrases. A manufacturer or distributor of valves would, for example, need to create landing pages and optimize other website content to include relevant keywords such as “valve,” “hydraulic valves,” “pneumatic valves,” “horizontal check valves,” and so on.

However, keyword optimization is only one part of SEO, and there are other ways you can improve your website ranking on search engines. For example, we already mentioned that it’s essential to make your website responsive so your potential customers can also access your website from smartphones and tablets.

Having a website that isn’t optimized can be a deal-breaker as many people browse websites over other devices, especially on their phones. You need to have a responsive website. Otherwise, you will lose the interest and engagement of the entire group right at the start, and your search engine ranking will also be impacted.

Another way to improve your SEO is by increasing the time people stay on your website, improving the way visitors engage with your website and reducing the bounce rate. These are affected by our next strategy.

3. Create engaging content

Search engine results show a lot more than just links to a website. They also display images, videos, locations, books, and more. This means that diversifying your content will also create more opportunities to rank higher in at least some of the mentioned categories.

Having great content is crucial! You need to prepare and provide photos, videos, in-depth product information, whitepapers, infographics, blog posts, CAD models, and more. If you can consistently provide content to your customers, you will have more chances to interact with them.

Although the quantity and consistency of the content are important, in most cases, the quality of the content trumps everything else. After all, would you dedicate more time to create an excellent piece of content which will rank high in search and attract new prospect in years to come? Or would you rather spend the same amount of time creating a couple of pieces of content that will probably be ranked a lot lower and have lower engagement and visibility as a result?

When creating content, it is necessary to place yourself in your customers’ shoes. Think about the stage of the buyers’ journey they’re currently at and what content would be helpful and exciting to them in each of these stages.

Although content with free access is important, don’t forget to prepare some high-value gated content such as eBooks or white papers. After all, with the visitors filling out the forms to gain access to such content, you will get more info on them and turn them into leads.

4. Create social media

After preparing excellent content, it’s time to let people know about it. Just publishing it on your website isn’t an optimal solution.

It would be best if you used other channels to increase the reach of the content, and the best and most often used channel is social media. Determine the social media where your target audience is active and build a presence there.

Social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and others allow you to directly engage with and make meaningful connections with your potential clients. Besides being a place to distribute the content you create, social media can also help you get feedback from your customers.

By analyzing the customers’ feedback, you will learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of your products, which will enable you to make better plans and adjustments for your products in the future.

5. Make use of paid advertising

The previous marketing strategies that we mentioned are primarily used in the long-term development of your online presence, so the results won’t be seen instantaneously. It might take months and years before significant progress is shown. On the other hand, by using paid advertising, you can gain immediate results.

With paid advertising, there are many ways to boost your visibility and brand awareness, which will gain you new leads and improve your sales. You can achieve that by paying for a higher ranking on search engines such as Google or Bing, or by showing ads for your products and promoting your content on social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc., or on industry-related websites like TraceParts.

If it’s your first time dealing with paid advertising, don’t be shy to do a bit of research and experimentation with it. The same situation that applies to social media also applies to paid advertising: it’s essential to find out where your audience is active and then plan your advertising actions accordingly.

Paid advertising can have a high return on investment for manufacturers or distributors, so it’s a good idea to get into it sooner rather than later. After all, you might be hesitant to use paid advertising, but will your competitors do the same?

Need help with your marketing strategy?

Are you a part manufacturer or a part distributor? Consider using TraceParts digital marketing services to reach out to your targeted audience!

TraceParts is one of the world’s leading CAD-content platforms for Engineering, Industrial Equipment, and Machine Design, totaling 4.3 million registered members from 1.2 million companies actively sourcing product information and technical data from over 195 different countries.