Powerful eCommerce Benefits exist for companies willing to embrace eCommerce strategies.
This holds especially true for manufacturers.
Even though manufacturers have been slow to capture the incredible opportunities presented with eCommerce.
If you have been contemplating how eCommerce could help your company, we put together a list of the Top 10 eCommerce Benefits for manufacturers.
Top 10 eCommerce Benefits for Manufacturers
Below is our list of Top 10 eCommerce Benefits for Manufacturers:
- Open 24/7 = round the clock customer service & sales tool
- Find Soulmates
- Eliminate the cumbersome RFQ process
- No A/R
- Low cost marketing and sales strategy
- Market Research
- Stay in Wheelhouse = Right Knee Guy/Gal = SCALE! (SKOL)
- Open doors that you never knew existed
- International opportunities
- Scale your Proprietary Process
Let’s dig deeper…………..
#1 ) 24 Hour Sales Tool
When my wife was in college, she lived across the street from a store called, “We Never Close”.
A business that never closes certainly is convenient when you need something at 2:00 AM.
A major eCommerce benefit for you to capture, your eCommerce store never closes.
Your website is your 24 hour a day – 7 days a week sales tool.
Click on your website right now. How does it look?
Do you provide valuable information to help a new customer make a buying decision?
Your website is way beyond a simple online business card.
Your website represents YOUR COMPANY.
When conducting eCommerce workshops, I like to use the example, your website should allow the viewer to make a buying decision on Saturday night at midnight.
Make it a top priority to provide all necessary information that they don’t have to wait until you open on Monday morning.
Just remember, you have one chance to make an outstanding 1st impression.
One Chance to Make an Outstanding WEBPRESSION
In other words, you have one chance to make that great first Webpression!
Would you allow a salesperson represent your company in a poor fashion?
Disheveled. Outdated. Uniformed. Delivering partial or even wrong information.
Furthermore, unable to describe your expertise and product as well as the solutions that you provide.
Incapable of explaining the company history, mission, processes and capabilities.
Of course not.
Treat your website like the most important representative of your company.
Related article: You Have Only One Chance to Make an Outstanding First Webpression
Found in Search Results?
If your website is not a top priority, here is an important question to consider:
- What is the first thing that you do when looking for a new product or service? Most likely, you rely on your good friend Google.
Your potential new customers rely on Google as well.
Therefore, are you coming up on a search for your core capabilities?
In other words, are you attacking your keywords?
Go to Google right now and type your top capability in the search box.
Are you anywhere to be found on the first page?
If the answer is no, hopefully, you are mad.
Do you see your competitors coming up in the search results?
If the answer is yes, hopefully, you are now even angrier than before.
Contact an online marketing specialist immediately.
Stop being the best-kept secret.
Make your website a top priority. Now.
Be found and make that Great 1st Webpression!
Treat your website as one of the most important employees on your team and give it everything you’ve got.
#2) Find Soulmates
Another factor on the list of eCommerce benefits: Discover your Soulmate (aka: Your ideal customer).
When executing eCommerce strategies and creating a website that attracts new customers, I like to refer to those ideal customers as “Soulmates”.
You know the type. That coveted client who would completely change your business.
For comparison, where does a single person find their soulmate?
Single? Possess an insane schedule? Not into the bar scene?
Online dating is now the norm. It’s almost surprising when a new couple meets outside of an online dating site or social media platform.
The negative stigma of online dating is a thing of the past.
According to the statics portal, Statista, 30% of 18 to 29 year olds currently use a dating website with an additional 31% used a dating site in the past.
Online dating allows you to explore the personality traits, passions, interests, and hobbies of a potential partner.
It’s wonderful when you hear a friend or relative live out a wonderful success story by finding a companion and love interest.
Maybe you have your own success story to share.
Does your website make you look “Soulmate Worthy”?
Well, the exact same process works when a customer searches for a new supplier or vendor.
They seek a partner who represents reliability and trust.
Do you express your experience and expertise?
Furthermore, do you explain your value to the market as well as demonstrate how customers benefit by partnering with you?
A strong online presence and eCommerce both show how you deliver quality.
How you help increase the profitability of your customer as well as improve business. Dramatically.
Make sure your website clearly and concisely demonstrates the problems you solve.
Implementing eCommerce creates an opportunity that you are truly a worthy soulmate.
So take a hard objective look at your website.
Would you want to date you?
In other words, based on your website, would you do business with you?
#3) Eliminate the Cumbersome RFQ Process = Close Sales Immediately
Another key ingredient on the list of eCommerce Benefits includes cutting down or even eliminating the RFQ process.
For example, let’s say you receive a new lead. They send an email.
How did they find you? What keyword did they use?
Additional questions and concerns include is this company actually legit? Do they pay their bills?
Why are they contacting you? Who did they contract with before?
Plenty of unanswered questions.
As a manufacturer, odds are you have received plenty of requests for quotes that never develop into a sale.
To maximize efficiency, eCommerce helps you nurture “Soulmates” and good leads as much as it helps weed out bad leads.
eCommerce Benefits Manufacturers by Eliminating the Cumbersome RFQ Process
So, let’s walk through the RFQ process:
- First, the prospect sends you a drawing.
- You analyze and evaluate what it will take to complete the project.
- Next, you do your best to estimate the amount of time, energy and resources necessary to complete the project.
- You price out the raw material, parts, and components.
- Contact vendors for lead time.
- Estimate product delivery times to determine when all material will be at your facility.
- Check the production schedule to determine when the project comfortably fits.
Finally, you type up the proposal. Then you send it off with confidence.
Then you wait……….. Crickets……….. Did they receive the quote? Why didn’t they accept your bid? Price too high? Lead time too long? Was it a competitor just testing you?
Are you a good judge of character? Can you determine a quality lead from the time-wasters?
eCommerce Benefits manufacturers by improving efficiency
Embracing eCommerce helps create a sales funnel. It allows you to narrow your focus.
It also helps prevent the risk of chasing bad leads.
My father used to preach “chase profits, not sales”.
eCommerce benefits manufacturers by offering the opportunity to make the quoting pricing precise, efficient, fast and concise.
It removes the guessing.
Everything is already in place.
For example, vendors and products already determined. Time frames and timelines as well as processes are known.
It removes the guessing and estimating as well as the ballpark pricing, the “I think”, or “one time we made something like this”.
Additionally, add in the completely depressing jobs that were flat our quoted wrong.
Especially for the customer that insists on a production run prior to a prototype run.
Halfway into the project, you discover that there is no way to meet the times. You are upside down.
Every part produced is costing you money.
Why do companies chase after jobs, projects, products, customers, opportunities that send them down an unfamiliar path?
The reason: Sales – revenue – money – keep the staff working.
Yet, you never know your next favorite food until you try it.
The what if’s…….
What if this opens a major door? What if this takes your company to a high level? Best decision ever. Your company explodes.
On the other hand, you find the project exhausting company energy and resources as well as completing wasting time.
Furthermore chasing a total dead end a wasting profits.
Time makes us look like a complete fool or a genius – usually nothing in between. Only time will tell.
He is an example of a company taking full advantage of eCommerce Benefits available by offering an instant quoting and estimating software tools for “Soulmates”.
Take a look at two excellent examples:
Falconer Electronics Instant Ground Strap Quotebuilder
Falconer Electronics Wire Harness Estimator
#4) No Accounts Receivables
eCommerce Benefits Cash Flow: You are paid BEFORE the product leaves your facility
One of my absolute favorites on the list of eCommerce Benefits: No Receivables!
Well, truth be told, that’s like trying to pick a favorite child.
However, can you imagine a life with NO receivables?
Sounds like heaven, right?
I am pretty sure I would still have hair if I had never carried receivables while in my 20’s. URGH!
For example, I vividly recall many nights praying that a customer check would arrive in the mail the next day just to cover payroll.
Though it is too late for me, take full advantage of eCommerce Benefits available to you.
If for nothing else, simply to prevent your hair from falling out.
eCommerce Benefits Cash Flow: Paid Before Product is Shipped
Well, can you imagine being paid before the product goes out the door?
Euphoria!
An eCommerce store offers that exact opportunity.
For example, a customer purchases your product on your website and PAYS for it at checkout.
You haven’t even shipped it yet.
As a manufacturer, there is a chance you haven’t even produced it yet at this point.
Thus, a positive cash flow opportunity.
Cash is King!
Strong, healthy and positive flowing cash creates options.
Positive cash flow creates tremendous opportunities along with plenty of exciting options.
You have an abundance of problems with running your business.
Lots of Stress.
Employee issues. Sales. Marketing. Vendor relationships. Taxes. Health insurance. All other insurances for that matter. Liability claims. Safety. Quality. The list goes on.
Thus, just think if you could eliminate one hassle, receivables.
This was a constant dream of mine and eCommerce answered those dreams.
Positive cash flow certainly provides peace of mind.
No dreaded collection phone calls to the customer.
No emails begging for money.
Implementing eCommerce also eliminates contacting your attorney to start the collection process.
It is said that money ruins friendships.
Well, money ruins vendor/customer relationships quickly.
You think that a customer is a friend until they stop paying you.
On the other hand, for an experiment, stop paying a vendor that you consider a close friend.
See how fast that relationship sours.
Always knowing that you are going to be paid for a job creates thriving business relationships.
#5) No Major New Capital Expenditures:
eCommerce Benefits include Low Cost – Low Risk – Minimal Investment
Check out this fantastic guide on eCommerce website development from Georgia Web Development: HOW MUCH DO ECOMMERCE WEBSITES COST IN 2020?
doesn’t work just close down the site. $19.99 per month – WooCommerce has free options.
– growth tied to variable expenses – goes straight to the bottom line
Ecommerce adds little to nothing to fixed expenses. As discussed, shopping carts are cheap. Hosting fees are nominal.
Fill capacity
Amazon & eBay
If you are uncertain of the direction to go or the cost of a new eCommerce store sounds too expensive, consider Amazon or eBay.
In particular, if you have proprietary products or finished goods.
Amazon and eBay might be an excellent method to get started with eCommerce.
The success of Amazon and eBay speak for themselves. We don’t need to go into great detail describing either company or platform.
Odds are you have purchased on either or both websites.
These MASSIVE online marketplaces deliver instant opportunities for potential customers.
Yet, just like trying to be found on Google, these marketplaces can be a needle in the haystack as well.
Factoring the cost of the website could be a safer alternative to consider.
#6 – Stay in Your Wheelhouse
Strive to perfect your proprietary process
Put every strength in your corner for success
Reduce chasing sales and customers that fall outside of your expertise
Narrow the funnel.
Stay in your lane.
It is common that they are the tradesperson. The hairstylist or plumber. No one knows their product and process better than they do.
They have built a nice business and made a comfortable living for years relying on a few customers.
Unfortunately, the world keeps changing. Global competition becomes more fierce every year.
The internet and eCommerce have opened doors that 20 years ago never existed. Phone book ads have vanished. Trade shows are expensive.
Consulting with dozens of job shops, a consistent frustration shared with these small business owners falls on finding a reliable marketplace for new customers.
Frequently a client with receive a lead or a request for a quote on a product or process that is not particularly in their wheelhouse. Projects that fall outside their specific area of expertise.
Who wants to pass up on a sale? So the company throws precious time, energy and company resources into the RFQ chasing the sale.
Due to inexperience, the quote comes in below the competition. Parts, processes, steps are potentially overlooked. What now?
I have actually heard clients express, “What are we going to do if we actually land this bid?”
I call it “Going to Russia”. (Click here
#7 – eCommerce IS your market research: Test new products & new ideas
eCommerce Benefits
adding an eCommerce store to your current website is an outstanding method to test new products on the market.
The market will let you know if your idea or product provides value or not.
Some more quickly than others.
Tackling eCommerce gets on the field.
Don’t wait.
Done is better than perfect
Just get in the game
LinkedIn founder, Reid Hoffman famously declared:
If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.
Put yourself out there – fall down & pick yourself up – keep moving – keep testing
Pursue your goals relentlessly
If you have a finished good, place it on your website and see what happens.
List your product on Amazon.
Contact marketplaces such as Zoro.
#8) Open doors to that otherwise never existed for you
– open doors to an industry or customers that you had no idea existed
Diversify your customer base – less reliant on a handful of customers – reduce the % of top one or two customers
Creates a back door revenue source
Sell existing inventory to new customers
#9) Go Global = Attract International Markets
I have two interesting client stories to share with you……….
Blixt New Zealand order
A client of mine owned a company founded in 1919. The current owner was a third generation local distributor of electrical products. Employed a staff of 20 with nearly $3 million in sales. The business service area comprised of a 60 mile radius for its 100 years history. However, the company had no online presence. This particular business was a perfect fit for eCommerce.
He invested $5000 in a new website which included an eCommerce store. The first week of launching the new website, the client lands a $10,000 order. Even more exciting, the order came from a customer in New Zealand. Here is a business that rarely shipped outside of its 60 mile radius who now opened an international opportunity. Priceless. Later that year, the client landed a six figure order for a new customer in Mexico.
Watch out for the scams
When you receive a lead with a generic email such as Gmail.com, Hotmail.com, AOL.com, Yahoo.com and others, this is a red flag.
#10) Scale Your Proprietary Process
STEPS TO CONVERT YOUR PROPRIETARY PROCESS INTO A PROPRIETARY PRODUCT
- Identify Your Core Strengths: In other words, the product where you deliver the highest value to the market. The product where you have created the strongest competitive edge over your competitors.
- Narrow the menu – 80/20 Rule
- Create several scenarios where a customer order at various quantities
- Calculate Customer Pricing – raw material – components – parts & determine time and cost on machinery – factor in labor cost – attach an overhead charge – add margin – exact same procedure had a customer submitted a new RFQ.
- Set quantity discounts as you would with any customer
- Discuss with your web designer if you could implement this into an eCommerce store. Simply adding non-tangible activity (labor, machine time, overhead and gross margin as units to be calculated in the shopping cart.
- Add eCommerce to your existing website
- Market the hell out of your website
11) No Cold Calls
12) Lucky #13 Online Marketplaces
Utilize online marketplaces
Wrapping It Up
Thank you for taking the time to read this post on eCommerce Benefits for manufacturers.
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