Are you taking full advantage of the possibilities that LinkedIn has to offer you and your business?
Join us for this fun & informative LinkedIn training workshop to help capture the AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES waiting for you on LinkedIn.
Create an inviting LinkedIn Profile
Showcase your experience & expertise
Connect and engage with your target market
Explore delivering valuable & impactful content
Develop and nurture vibrant business relationships
IMEC Delivers Powerful Results for Illinois Manufacturers
IMEC is a team of improvement specialists as well as technicians dedicated to providing organizations in Illinois with the tools and techniques to create sustainable competitive futures. The experienced hands-on team at IMEC works closely with its clients to plan critical business improvements in the areas of Leadership, Strategy, Customer Engagement, Operations, as well as Workforce.
With more than 50 full-time staff and partners positioned statewide, IMEC delivers the local expertise to not only plan and strategize, but to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of client improvements. In fact, IMEC assists more than 700 companies each year with successful business improvement projects.
As a result, IMEC has demonstrated a return on investment that exceeds 19:1. This is made possible as organizations become more effective and efficient – and together with IMEC – excel toward enterprise excellence.
Illinois MEP National Network
As a NIST MEP approved Center, IMEC is the official representative of the MEP National Network in Illinois.
The MEP National Network provides a unique public-private partnership that delivers comprehensive, proven solutions to U.S. manufacturers, fueling growth as well as advancing U.S. manufacturing.
Wrapping It Up
Finally, thank you for reading our blog post on Manufacturers Digitizing.
For additional information, please check out these helpful posts below as you continue your eCommerce journey:
Are you taking full advantage of the possibilities that LinkedIn has to offer you and your business? Join us for a fun as well as informative LinkedIn training workshop to help capture the AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES waiting for you on LinkedIn.
Transforming Nebraska manufacturers through continuous improvement, innovation, sustainable practice as well as technology acceleration services.
Nebraska MEP is part of the National Institute of Standards as well as Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. Residing within the U.S. Department of Commerce, MEP was created in 1988 with the intent of enhancing the productivity as well as the technological performance of U.S. manufacturers. Today, the MEP program consists of 51 centers in every state as well as Puerto Rico with over 400 service locations as well as 1,300 technical experts working together to advance and strengthen U.S. manufacturing.
Nebraska MEP is headquartered on the University of Nebraska’s flagship campus in Lincoln. University service providers as well as facilities are split between the Lincoln and Omaha campuses. Additional staff are also housed in central Nebraska.
Central Community College—with campuses in Grand Island, Hastings, as well as Columbus—services a 25-county region in central Nebraska which includes the manufacturing dense tri-cities. The Central Community College region, combined with the Lincoln as well as Omaha MSAs, represents 32 of Nebraska’s 93 counties and collectively account for nearly 70% of the state’s manufacturing base.
In addition, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) is the lead economic development agency for the state. As the previous cooperative agreement holder with NIST, DED uniquely positioned itself to augment Nebraska MEP’s efforts statewide. DED has six field offices across Nebraska in addition to their main office in Lincoln.
Wrapping It Up
Finally, thank you for reading our blog post on Manufacturers Digitizing.
For additional information, please check out these helpful posts below as you continue your eCommerce journey:
With a new sense of urgency for entrepreneurs and manufacturers to create a strong digital presence, please join us for a discussion on the necessary steps to implement a highly effective eCommerce strategy for your business. In particular, we tackle how custom manufacturers can join the exploding eCommerce market.
Receive an eCommerce Checklist for manufacturers
Capturing 1st page rankings on Google
Creating effective landing pages that convert into RFQ’s & sales
Targeting customers with Google Ads & Google Shopping
Taking advantage of online marketplaces including Amazon & Alibaba
IMEC Delivers Powerful Results for Illinois Manufacturers
With more than 50 full-time staff and partners positioned statewide, IMEC delivers the local expertise to not only plan and strategize, but to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of client improvements. In fact, IMEC assists more than 700 companies each year with successful improvement and innovation projects.
As a result, IMEC has demonstrated a return on investment that exceeds 19:1. This is made possible as organizations become more effective and efficient – and together with IMEC – excel toward enterprise excellence.
IMEC continues this exciting eCommerce webinar series on Feb 9
Tuesday, February 9 – Allison DeFord FELT Marketing – “Let’s develop a scalable marketing system that connects with your ideal eCommerce customer”
Friday, February 12 – Josh Curcio protocol 80 – “Inbound Marketing: A Modern Approach to Lead Generation and eCommerce Sales”
Tuesday, February 16 – Jeff Long True Focus Media – “7 things your website should do to automate marketing, get more eCommerce sales and boost SEO”
Friday, February 19 – Ray Ziganto – “Manufacturers Going Global with eCommerce”
Tuesday, February 23 – Damon Pistulka Exit Your Way – “Monitoring & Measuring eCommerce Success for Manufacturers”
IMEC eCommerce Series 2
Tuesday, March 9 – Brian Beck Enceiba – “Building an Explosive Amazon Program for Manufacturers”
Friday, March 12 – Jeffry Graham – “Digital Business Transformation with eCommerce”
Friday, March 16 – Ira Bowman Bowman Digital Media – “Digital Marketing Deep Dive for Manufacturing eCommerce Success”
Tuesday, March 19 – Greg Mischio Winbound – “Improve Your Marketing by Creating a “Digital Twin” of your Sales Team”
Friday, March 23 – Steve Melito Thunderbolt Business Services – “Solving the Case Study Conundrum for Manufacturers Pursuing eCommerce Success”
Friday, March 26 – Kate Anderson Alibaba – “Manufacturers Going Global with Alibaba.com”
We’d all like to believe that “If you build it, they will come,” but it’s not that simple when it comes to launching and growing a B2B eCommerce site.
Below are several opportunities to increase site traffic and customer satisfaction while building your online sales channel.
1. Tell Everyone About It
The most important first step after launching any new site is getting user adoption.
Use Influencers to Promote Your eCommerce Site
There is no better way to grow adoption than by starting from the inside. Using company influencers helps establish legitimacy for a new site especially in the early weeks and months after launch. Make sure there is an influencer from every department – sales, customer support, technical service, IT, finance and potentially engineering. These influencers should have intimate knowledge of the eCommerce functionality and the value it brings to your customers. Ultimately they should be held responsible for user adoption both internally and externally. Engage the sales team and potentially reward sales efforts to get users converting online.
Over Communicate
Your new eCommerce site should be a welcome change for customers, make sure you toot your own horn. It’s so important to make announcements both pre and post launch communicating the added benefits of using your new digital store. Do not wait for users to find you. Email your entire contact database creating a sense of excitement for the new resources and tools you’ve created to ease the process of doing business with you.
If possible, email a login and password at launch so that customers do not have to worry about registering themselves. Think about offering a launch promotion to encourage them to place their first order on your site. This has proven to be useful in taking users from visitor to conversion quickly post launch. When we are safely back to in person trade shows, plan to have a display at your booth with multiple sales people ready to demonstrate your eCommerce features. This can be a great place to get in person customer feedback and is a perfect time to make sure the sales team is comfortable using the site and speaking to the important talking points.
Analyze Users and Identify the Gaps
Over time your eCommerce analytics tools will start collecting important information about the usage of your site. A critical data point to analyze when growing user adoption is to look at who’s using your site. Are there specific customer groups naturally drawn to the eCommerce site vs others? What can you learn from this? How can this data be used to get more customers online? Then look at which customers are not placing orders on your site. Determine a strategy to communicate to this group and identify purchasing incentives that may move their preference from contacting the customer call center to making those purchases online. You may identify that there are specific product groups or details missing from your site that need to be addressed before you attract the missing customers. An analysis will guide you in taking the next right step for customer adoption.
2. Help Users Find What They Are Looking For
For many customers, the first impression is everything. It’s not just about getting customers to your site―it’s about making the experience so delightful that they keep coming back to your site. Something as simple as site navigation can determine the successfulness of your eCommerce offering. This is because when it comes to the internet, the first thing a visitor sees needs to make them want to stay. The key for selling to a niche market like specialty parts and equipment, is to make it easier for the customer to do their job.
Put yourself in the shoes of your customer. For many equipment and parts organizations, customers can be anyone from a purchasing agent to an equipment technician to a service dealer. It’s important to think about the needs of each role and ask yourself, what will they come to our site to do? Purchasing agents will use your tools differently than a dealer or technician. Recognizing the differences and building paths that help them do their job with confidence will lead to great outcomes.
Here are some specific areas post launch that are important to continually optimize in order to help users find what they are looking for:
Search
When it comes to online purchasing, having the ability to search products is practically implied. However, not all search tools are built alike. Having the ability to search by a product number, description, model, serial number, VIN, vendor number and any other unique identifier for the products you sell is important. Search should recommend products and categories based on information being entered into the search tool, even if it is partial information. It’s also a good idea to implement search functionality that includes images when images are available. In short, the more advanced your search functionality― the more likely it is that customers can take the next step to finding the information and products they need.
Product Details
When it comes to purchasing special equipment and components, the devil is really in the details. For so long equipment companies controlled product data very carefully, in a digital world it is necessary to lean in to the process of sharing data. Product information is the key to breaking down purchasing barriers and ultimately makes you easier to do business with. When thinking about the type of product information to include, remember to consider the types of questions your customers need answers to in order to make a purchasing decision. Some of their questions may be the following:
What does it look like?
Where does it fit?
How much does it weigh?
What is my price?
How many do I need?
How is it installed?
When will I get it?
Product specifications, dimensions, bills of materials and technical documents are crucial to identifying the right product for the job and ultimately providing a seamless purchasing experience. Few things are more frightening to prospective buyers than a lack of information―and if they’re not confident in their purchasing decision―your website isn’t doing its job.
Product Recommendations
Including intelligent product recommendations as part of your user experience can increase the average order value of your conversions and often give customers confidence they are making the best choice. When searching for a spare part or component, are there any additional components or hardware that should also be considered for purchase? Is there a kit available that will help make the installation easier, providing convenience and potentially a cost savinga for all products needed to do the job? Is there an alternative product available that will increase the life of the component? Customers have been trained to look for product recommendations and as such, any recommendation should be thoughtful and ultimately add confidence to the customer experience. Continually analyze product trends to make sure you are making better product recommendations as your eCommerce adoption accelerates.
Manage Product Inventory
Track your stock levels at all times, and then track it some more. Have a solid system in place for doing so, and prioritize high turning products and parts that are being searched for regularly, but not ordered. When customers need a product because a piece of equipment is out of service, product inventory (stock availability) sells! Customers need to be provided the most up-to-date information that’s available in order to make informed purchasing decisions. Real time availability of products and the shipment status and tracking information for any orders should be featured into your store. If not at first launch, work hard to get here quickly. This information will keep your customers coming back for more.
3. Optimize SEO and Promote Your Site
SEO stands for search engine optimization and defined by moz.com (an excellent resource on all things SEO) as, “the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.” While a successful SEO plan is specific to each website, there are several guidelines that remain true for all SEO strategies, regardless of the website. Below are several universal processes that are considered to be good practice.
On-Site SEO
There are several comprehensive factors that play into your on-site SEO strategy. Historically, it’s been considered standard practice to only focus on specific keywords, however there are several optimization factors that are non-keyword related. Start by focusing on your internal and external links. Whenever possible, you should make an attempt to link other high traffic pages of your site within one another. At the same time, it’s also important to develop content that ranks highly. Typically content that is longer ranks higher, but keep in mind that it needs to be organized and ready to be consumed. Take advantage of headings and subsections to break down longer pages into manageable content.
Keep Your Competition Close
A good first step in creating an SEO strategy that actually drives web traffic is to identify what your competition is doing that your organization isn’t. There’s no reason to over analyze here― it’s just important that you take note of key benchmarks such as content and keywords. Attempt to understand this information within context and examine what’s working for them, and more importantly, what isn’t. Utilize this information to identify gaps in competitor SEO strategies that you can capitalize on. Even after you’ve created a refined strategy, you should still conduct a competitor analysis regularly. Especially to ensure you’re getting the most out of your SEO strategy.
Build Links (and lots of them)
To increase the effectiveness of your SEO strategy, it’s important that your organization is building backlinks and promoting your website. Contact other high-traffic websites within your organizations arena to learn more about their outreach, sponsorship, and advertisement opportunities. Once again, there’s no reason to over complicate this process. You can even look for blogs that allow promotional guest posting to boost your sites web presence. Just like a competitor analysis, it’s important for site owners to consistently search for new opportunities to build links and boost exposure.
Specials and Promotions
One of the first things that a visitor should see when they visit your website is a section displaying your current promotional offerings, news about new product upgrades, or information on how to schedule on-site technical support. Presentation counts for everything in the digital space, and your site should be representative of your business. Building subtle banners that ease your visitors into checking out your available sales and promotions is a good place to get their site navigation journey started.
Don’t Just Build It―Grow it
There are many ways to build an eCommerce site, but there’s only one way to manage it. The right way. Three common reasons we see eCommerce sites fail are: not enough early user adoption, lack of optimization to help ease the customer buying process, or not enough site promotion post launch. Your eCommerce site will become the face of your brand. To overcome the early obstacles of selling online, it’s important to understand your gaps in these three areas. Your brand’s value should align with customers’ values, but that’s only a portion of the battle. In order to be successful, your website will need to build on buyer expectations and anticipate their needs. Your website offers the products that buyers want. However, that doesn’t mean your job is finished―don’t just build it, grow it.
Are you stretching out for your Digitalization Sprint?
Your role as a manufacturing expert allows you to exhaust your energy and passion with making goods as efficiently, effectively and profitably as possible. You have outstanding systems in place and have been crushing it for years.
The resiliency found this year with U.S. manufacturers is an extraordinary source of inspiration. THANK YOU for your relentless drive to fight through 2020.
As you continue that fight and explore new opportunities for your business, eCommerce as a sales tool delivers extremely powerful results.
Especially since the B2B eCommerce market is truly in the infant stages. The party is just getting started.
However, your competition is in the same boat with making that Digital Sprint.
The question isn’t if your competition is making a digital transformation. The question is, “who is going to do it BETTER and more effectively?”
Think about this, your website is your 24 sales representative and reveals the FIRST impression of your business. Especially since making that great first “Webpression” is critical.
My preach: “Help that ideal customer make a buying decision on Friday night at midnight without waiting for you to open your doors on Monday.”
Digitalization Sprint for 2021
So let’s make a pact to double down on your Digital Strategy for 2021:
Join Online Marketplaces: For example, Alibaba.com allows custom manufacturers the opportunity to join the eCommerce party even for those who don’t posses a proprietary product or finished good.
Deliver consistent content that includes valuable product information to help educate those ideal buyers.
Videos, Videos, as well as Videos: Did I mention to start posting videos?
https://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/marathon-2346948_1280.jpg7191280Curt Andersonhttps://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/B2Btail-white-w-transparent-bg-1.pngCurt Anderson2021-01-06 08:52:322021-01-08 07:30:06Double Down on Your Digitalization Sprint for 2021
An effective e-commerce approach ends at the point of sale. But it begins with driving traffic to your e-commerce site. But how do you do that if potential customers have never heard of your product, or more importantly, if they don’t even know there is a solution to their problem?
That’s where your digital marketing comes in. And the backbone of it will be great content.
Content drives all your marketing efforts — online advertising, search engine optimization, offline advertising too. But to get your head around how it works, think of the marketing content you create as a “Digital Twin” of your salesperson.
Use content to create a “Digital Twin” of your sales team
In manufacturing, a Digital Twin is a digital re-creation of a product or a process. It’s used in prototyping new equipment, or testing different types of materials or altered processes.
At its core, the approach adheres to the age-old sales maxim: People will only do business with you if they know you, like you, and trust you.
The idea with the Digital Twin approach is to create website content to achieve those goals:
Know you.This is top-of-the-sales-funnel content that addresses people’s problems. This answers their problems up front, as they may not even be aware of the solution. Think of an article titled “10 Ways to Publicize Your E-Commerce Product Beyond SEO.”
Like you. Now that someone has read your article or seen your video, and they know of you, get them to like you by following up your advice with a tool that will help them.
An online calculator that can perform some sort of function is ideal (think mortgage calculator). You can also provide an in-depth online guide to answer their questions.
A product configurator would also be ideal here, but that’s usually tied in more with the direct sales page.
Trust you. After they’ve downloaded a tool, and they’ve read more of your content and learned more about you, serve them up some content that establishes trust.
There’s no better tool than the case study. Show them the results they can achieve, and prove to them that you’ve delivered before. (Here’s our guide on how to write an effective case study.)
“Trust you” is also what you serve up on your product page, which is where you’re selling your products. It should include a benefits-forward, data-backed explanation of how your product will improve your potential customer’s life.
We’ve sketched out the right places in the sales funnel to position your content. But how do you know exactly what to write about? If you want marketing content that will aid in the sale of a product, there’s only one place to start: The sale itself.
Working Your Way Backwards
Great content requires research to find out what types of content your customers truly want and why they buy. Here are four ways to gain those valuable insights:
Sales and operations team interviews
Customer interviews
Keyword research
Competitor research
These are guerilla tactics, and they take time, not budget. Let’s break down why each of these is so critical.
Sales and operations team interviews. Start out by interviewing your sales and operations team.
Your sales team is the next closest thing to your customers, and they have remarkable insights about what your customers’ interests are and what makes them buy. They’ve actually done a lot of the research for you. They’ve tried out a number of different approaches, and likely have narrowed it down to what works best.
They may have some insights for Know You, Like You content, but they will definitely have language that should be used on your product pages to get the customers to buy. I love the questions David P. Fisher suggests you ask your sales team:
What stories are you telling prospects right now?
What has been your biggest win lately?
Why have you heard “no” recently?
But don’t stop with your sales team. Your operations and design team should be part of the research process, as manufacturing operations guru Ray Ziganto pointed out to me. Who knows the inherent value of the product better than the engineers and technicians who developed it?
As Ray notes, “Ask them how they would sell it.” Their answers might surprise you, and will definitely add some incredible insights.
Customer interviews. Now that your sales team has given you some insights, validate their suggestions and uncover new insights with our “guerilla research” methodology.
Conduct a one-on-one interview with three of your top prospects. Spend thirty minutes probing why they purchased, what it is about the product they like, and why they chose your company. Test out your sales team suggestions. Are they accurate?
Also, find out what your customers’ bigger issues are. What challenges do they face in their day-to-day jobs? Your solution is one piece of the puzzle. What other obstacles do they face? What are their macro-pain points?
From these results, look for overall trends in the responses, as well as hot-button keywords. Line up topics and keywords in a “Seed Keywords” spreadsheet.
Keyword research. Now that you’ve uncovered and validated topics, it’s time to see if there is Internet search volume for these items.
There definitely should be some search volume around your product or service. But keyword research will also tell you how the customer population at large feels about some of those Know You, Like You topics.
Keyword research is market research. It will give you an indication of just how popular these topics truly are, and if you should create content around them.
Competitor research. Oh yeah, them. Your competitors may have cracked the code as to what is working with customers. So plunder info from their websites.
You can use a Search Engine Optimization tool like SEMrush to run a quick report on the competition. Just sign up for a basic level subscription, and type their URL into Domain Overview. You’ll find out what keywords they rank for. But don’t stop there.
Check out the type of web content they’re publishing. If they’re good, you’ll see recurring themes and content areas that get a lot of emphasis. These can spark some ideas of your own.
Content + Marketing = The Digital Twin
If a salesperson is armed with a great sales pitch and tremendous collateral, their work doesn’t end there.
They have to get out and make contact with people. We refer to this as “content distribution.” It’s really the marketing of your content, and you need to do that too.
There are many tactics for marketing / distributing your content. They include:
Search engine optimization (SEO). Optimizing your online content so it can be found by search engines.
Guest blogging: Sharing your content on other blogs and websites (like this one).
Social media. Using social media to share your content and share with other influencers.
Paid advertising. Boosting your content through paid placement.
This will take a bit of experimentation and analysis of your metrics to determine which method works the best. But you must distribute that content for it to be read.
You’re on Your Way
If you’re engaging in e-commerce, you’ve taken an enormous step forward to creating your own Digital Twin. Kudos to you for starting at the smartest place — the bottom of the sales funnel.
It’s forward-thinking to start with the bottom of the sales funnel. Heck, where else would a sales-driven organization start?
But now let’s work our way backwards and start building content that can help encourage people to Know You, Like You and Trust You. Create that Digital Twin, and put it out there to start producing traffic, leads and customers.
Greg Mischio is the Owner and Founder of Winbound, a marketing agency that provides content marketing for small marketing departments with a focus on manufacturing and industrial verticals. Winbound provides a content + marketing approach, creating content that’s mapped to the customer journey and marketing for distribution via search, social and niche-based paid advertising. Winbound’s clients have enjoyed double and triple digit increases in traffic and leads.
https://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/content-marketing1-4111003_640.jpg426640Curt Andersonhttps://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/B2Btail-white-w-transparent-bg-1.pngCurt Anderson2020-12-23 07:23:342020-12-23 21:54:58E-Commerce Success Starts with Great Content
The Ohio MEP (CIFT) teamed up with B2Btail.com to offer an exciting eCommerce virtual workshop for manufacturers which features a case study with Falconer Electronics.
CIFT, the Center for Innovative Food Technology is part of the vibrant Ohio MEP system. MEPs, Manufacturing Extension Partnerships, serve U.S. manufacturers as an incredibly valuable resource and trusted guide.
The Ohio MEP supports this valuable industry by providing the products, services, as well as assistance that are dedicated to the productivity, growth, and global competitiveness of Ohio manufacturers. Ohio’s exports alone now exceed $48 billion a year and are continuing to grow. Ranked third in the nation, Ohio leads all Midwest states in manufacturing.
CIFT offers this eCommerce program on December 2nd at 1:00 EST.
With a new sense of urgency for entrepreneurs to create a strong digital presence, please join us for a discussion on the necessary steps to implement an eCommerce strategy for your business including:
Since 1995, CIFT, The Center for Innovative Food Technology has provided a unique blend of business solutions, innovation as well as technical expertise. In particular to the food processing, agricultural and manufacturing sectors. These services are designed to enhance the economic performance of the industries as well as create new jobs.
CIFT has worked with hundreds of food companies, equipment suppliers, service providers, university researchers, governmental agencies, legislators, general manufacturers as well as many more. As a result, many new technologies have emerged, industry best practices have been established, and novel business approaches have been discovered. Through an industry-driven methodology, businesses have benefited throughout Ohio as well as beyond.
Wrapping It Up
Finally, thank you for reading out post.
For additional information, please check out these helpful posts below as you continue your eCommerce journey:
https://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CIFT-MEP-.png16222748Curt Andersonhttps://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/B2Btail-white-w-transparent-bg-1.pngCurt Anderson2020-12-01 11:00:562020-12-03 11:07:32OHIO MEP (CIFT) Teams Up with B2Btail for eCommerce Workshop
Alibaba Group is hosting a free seminar, the Digital Sprint. This program targets US based small as well as medium (SMB) size manufacturers. Starting dates begin in November and wrap up in December 2020.The lecture series has been named Digitization Sprint For US Manufacturers.Alibaba has teamed up with B2Btail to select the industry professionals to teach the courses.
John Caplan, President of Alibaba North America & Europe remarked in his recent Forbes article “Harnessing the power of digitization and making eCommerce a priority for your manufacturing business, no matter its size, is critical.”
With the desire to help US based SMB manufacturers take the digital plunge, Alibaba partnered with Curt Anderson, eCommerce Consultant for Manufacturers as well as founder of B2Btail. This extremely exciting program helps manufacturers pave the path with their Digital Transformation. Curt is also the author of “Stop Being the Best Kept Secret: Manufacturing eCommerce Strategies” which is an eCommerce Resource guide for custom manufacturers.
Alibaba Digital Sprint eCommerce Webinar Series
Alibaba’s Digital Sprint program includes a powerful line up of high-level Manufacturing as well as B2B digital marketing experts including:
Ira Bowman, Founder of Bowman Digital Media – with over 250K social media followers. Ira is an expert in social media marketing and combines it with 20+ years of B2B sales experience.
Jeff Long – Founder of True Focus Media – an eCommerce as well as video marketing expert for manufacturers.
Josh Curcio – Founder as well as Co-owner of protocol 80 an Inbound Marketing Expert for Manufacturers.
Brian Beck – An eCommerce pioneer, author of Billion Dollar B2B eCommerce as well as managing partner at Enceiba.
Curt Anderson from B2Btail kicks off this exciting program with the eCommerce 101 for US manufacturers on November 24 at 1:00 EST.
Anderson will show case an eCommerce success story on how U.S. custom manufacturer, Falconer Electronics made the digital transformation by embracing eCommerce.
In addition this session will also feature how U.S. firm, Voice Express is utilizing Alibaba. Not only to drive new business to their website as well institute as an aggressive content strategy. All thanks to Bowman Digital Mediaas well as Steve Melito at Thunderbolt Business Services. For additional assistance with your eCommerce journey, join B2Btail and Exit Your Way / every Friday at 1:30 EST for their FREE Manufacturing eCommerce Success webinar series.
Wrapping It Up
Finally, thank you for reading our blog post on the Alibaba Digital Sprint eCommerce Webinar Series.
For additional information, please check out these helpful posts below as you continue your eCommerce journey:
https://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Alibaba-FELT-.png15602392Curt Andersonhttps://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/B2Btail-white-w-transparent-bg-1.pngCurt Anderson2020-11-23 22:02:192020-11-25 22:54:08Alibaba Taps B2Btail for Digital Sprint Webinar Series for Manufacturers
Due to the pandemic, US layoffs remain high and many people are dependent on government aid, relying on unemployment, or getting help from family and friends to pay for everyday expenses.
Given the upheaval of 2020, one would expect the rest of the year to look grim for retailers who usually make the lion’s share of their income during the holidays as shoppers flock to stores to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones.Surprisingly, however, 2020 may not end as bleak for retailers as one would think.Deloitte recently stated that it expects overall holiday spending to remain flat or even increase.Consumer confidence in a return to normalcy combined with many households having slightly higher gift-giving budgets thanks to lower travel and experiential expenses throughout the year may contribute to a better-than-expected season, per the report.
It is less likely that retailers will see a typical Black Friday crowd lined up to steal the deals.As Coronavirus cases continue to spike, state and local governments are encouraging constituents to continue social distancing and avoid mass gatherings whenever possible.So, even if consumers are confident in a return to normalcy, it will be a new normal full of eCommerce and “buy online, pick up” (BOPU) purchases.
The pandemic has fundamentally changed how people shop.New users engaging in online purchases and an uptick in the frequency of purchases has and will continue to have a lasting impact on retail, with eCommerce sales projected to account for 14.4% of all US retail spending in 2020.eMarketer predicts that US eCommerce sales will reach $794.50 billion this year, up 32.4% year-over-year, and rise to 19.2% of all US retail spending by 2024.
How can businesses that have already transitioned to eCommerce or added an eCommerce component in 2020 out of necessity leverage this new asset to its full potential over the holidays? First and foremost, businesses should aim to provide consumers with a frictionless omnichannel experience and prepare for a longer holiday shopping season filled with well-informed customers looking to get the best price and value for their money.Planning inventory and preparing for supply chain issues is a necessity to ensure a seamless buying experience. Optimizing the store, planning and polishing content, and creating a sense of urgency round out the must-do’s to compete fully in the crowded online retail space.
But one thing that can differentiate one retailer from another and push customers into buying when they may not otherwise is offering flexible payment options. Annalisa Agoston, the executive creative director at Guidance, recently said that offering a pay-over-time solution will be essential for small businesses to capitalize on 2020’s eCommerce and BOPU trends.“These make holiday shopping more seamless for shoppers who are on a tight budget, but still need to get gifts,” she says. “This is probably the hottest trend for the holiday season. There are many good third-party service providers.”
Per Big Commerce, the pay-over-time method is a modern, convenient twist on an old practice. Instead of using an in-store “layaway” option, shoppers pay for an item via monthly installments over a set period of time while the eCommerce merchant is paid immediately for the goods.This practice makes expensive items, such as sofas or flat screen televisions, more affordable to budget-conscious consumers.And it could prove to be just the thing for retailers to cater to customers who need to make ends meet but still want to hold onto a sense of normalcy in this unprecedented time by giving their families a happy holiday this season.
If you are an eCommerce retailer who is interested to learn more about how offering lease-to-own products can benefit your business, visit https://joethefinanceguy.com/ today.
https://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/cyber-monday-3870916_1280-1.jpg9721280Curt Andersonhttps://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/B2Btail-white-w-transparent-bg-1.pngCurt Anderson2020-11-17 10:07:522021-01-05 08:06:55Capitalizing on eCommerce for the Holidays
In addition, to learn more about the Reshoring Initiative check out this video:
About The Reshoring Initiative
With reshoring gaining momentum throughout the country, this initiative certainly supports an extremely valuable and worthy cause.
Many companies have already repatriated some of their manufacturing efforts. The Reshoring Initiative is continuing to spread the “return-manufacturing-home” message to help other manufacturers realize America offers tremendous advantages to produce quality goods:
The mission of the Reshoring Initiative® is to bring good, well-paying manufacturing jobs back to the United States by assisting companies to more accurately assess their total cost of offshoring, and shift collective thinking from offshoring is cheaper to local reduces the total cost of ownership. We are a nonprofit organization and offer a number of free tools to advance our mission.
Reshoring Initiative Founder Harry Moser
Harry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative and former president of machine tool maker GF Agie Charmilles, grew up experiencing manufacturing glory.
However times changed. Watching many American manufacturing plants close due to decades of offshoring, Moser decided to take a stand.
Not wanting to see any more U.S. manufacturing jobs disappear, Moser found it critical to start an industry-led initiative to prove offshoring is not always the best economical decision for companies.
In fact, American companies considering sending their manufacturing offshore often don’t consider all of the costs, e.g. inventory carrying costs, travel costs to check on suppliers, intellectual property risks and opportunity costs from product pipelines being too long.
The Reshoring Initiative, founded in early 2010, takes action by helping manufacturers realize that local production, in some cases, reduces their total cost of ownership of purchased parts and tooling.
The Initiative also trains suppliers on how to effectively meet the needs of their local customers, giving the suppliers the tools to sell against lower priced offshore competitors.
Why Reshore?
There are many reasons for American manufacturers to reevaluate offshoring and consider reshoring. Companies are increasingly recognizing that costs, risks as well as strategic impacts previously ignored are large enough to overcome the shrinking emerging market wage advantages.
They are seeing the benefits of proximity as well as producing in the market.
Especially when the home market in the United States still serves as the world’s largest.
The top reasons that companies reshore include:
Lead time
Higher product quality as well as consistency
Rising offshore wages
Skilled workforce
Local tax incentives
Image of being Made in USA
Lower inventory levels as well as better turns
Also better responsiveness to changing customer demands
Minimal intellectual property as well as regulatory compliance risks
Improved innovation as well as product differentiation
Why Reshoring Makes Sense for America
Reshoring is the fastest and most efficient way to strengthen the U.S. economy because it:
Helps balance the trade and budget deficits
Reduces unemployment by creating productive jobs
Additionally reduces income inequality
Furthermore, motivates skilled workforce recruitment by demonstrating that manufacturing is a growth career
Also helps maintain the broad industrial capability required for national defense
Stop by the Reshoring Initiative today to learn about this extremely exciting trend: https://www.reshorenow.org/
Wrapping It Up
Finally, thank you for reading our blog post on the Reshoring Initiative.
For additional information, please check out these helpful posts below as you continue your eCommerce journey:
The University of Nebraska MEP and B2Btail teamed up to present the “Manufacturing eCommerce Success” workshop which features Falconer Electronics as a case study.
This exciting program takes place on November 5th at 10:00 est.
With a new sense of urgency for entrepreneurs to create a strong digital presence, please join us for a discussion on the necessary steps to implement an eCommerce strategy for your business including:
Transforming Nebraska manufacturers through continuous improvement, innovation, sustainable practice as well as technology acceleration services.
Nebraska MEP is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. Residing within the U.S. Department of Commerce, MEP was created in 1988 with the intent of enhancing the productivity as well as the technological performance of U.S. manufacturers. Today, the MEP program consists of 51 centers in every state as well as Puerto Rico with over 400 service locations as well as 1,300 technical experts working together to advance and strengthen U.S. manufacturing.
Nebraska MEP is headquartered on the University of Nebraska’s flagship campus in Lincoln. University service providers as well as facilities are split between the Lincoln and Omaha campuses. Additional staff are also housed in central Nebraska.
Central Community College—with campuses in Grand Island, Hastings, as well as Columbus—services a 25-county region in central Nebraska which includes the manufacturing dense tri-cities. The Central Community College region, combined with the Lincoln as well as Omaha MSAs, represents 32 of Nebraska’s 93 counties and collectively account for nearly 70% of the state’s manufacturing base.
The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) is the lead economic development agency for the state. As the previous cooperative agreement holder with NIST, DED is uniquely positioned to augment Nebraska MEP’s efforts statewide. DED has six field offices across Nebraska in addition to their main office in Lincoln.
Wrapping It Up
Finally, thank you for reading our blog post on Manufacturers Digitizing.
For additional information, please check out these helpful posts below as you continue your eCommerce journey:
The mission at Manufacturing Marketing World is to provide education to manufacturers that helps them reach more prospects, as well as generate more sales. Through day long conferences, and webinars, MMW is dedicated to helping manufacturers grow.
protocol 80 is a B2B Inbound Marketing & Sales agency. We’ll help you reach today’s modern buyer
as well as generate quality leads that close.
In addition, strategies from protocol 80 turn your website into a 24/7 funnel-filling machine, while turning your company into an industry thought leader atop the Google search results!
First, Inbound is a methodical approach to marketing and lead generation. It produces compounding results in a systematic way.
As an industrial manufacturer, you know all about processes as well as workflows. Especially since inbound marketing is a data-driven approach to marketing that produces a clear ROI versus other marketing channels.
It’s no secret that we all buy differently today than we did 5-10 years ago. Regardless of your industry or position, you do research before you buy, and so do your prospects.
Additionally, an influx of millennials means this shift is here to stay. Therefore, inbound sales addresses this.
Manufacturing Marketing World Conference Schedule
Join Us October 29th, 2020 At 8:30am ONLINE For A Day Of Boosting Your Sales as well as Marketing Skills.
Above All, This Event Is For Manufacturers That Want To Grow!
https://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Manufacturing-Marketing-World.png6481245Curt Andersonhttps://b2btail.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/B2Btail-white-w-transparent-bg-1.pngCurt Anderson2020-10-25 08:42:552020-11-02 08:45:07Manufacturing Marketing World is Dedicated to Helping Manufacturers Grow
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