Friday, September 22, 2017

Data That Helps You Sell = Downloads



Real Time Data – Big Time Results

When manufacturers provide a platform for designers and dealers to openly source product design symbols from their website, it facilitates the opportunity to view valuable data. This point of interaction, within the sales process, can provide the opportunity to capture a higher percentage of business.


Here are the kinds of website data that help you sell more


Specific Product

The product being downloaded has the ability to be specified at the time of download. A decision has not yet been made. Downloads are the potential opportunities hidden in the 3D symbols. Without the symbols and website integration tool to track and report this data it will not be effective. Simply put, there would not be any data.

Selection of Products 

Knowing what products that designers and dealers are downloading. Also, the ability to know which products are downloaded at the same time, and the ability to see what products are no longer relevant to your customer.

Format Downloaded 

The file type downloaded is a great way to analyze what software format is being used by your potential customer. It also provides regional insight on areas where certain formats or more popular than others.

Who is Downloading



Manufacturers get to know who is downloading the content and gauge the effectiveness of their strategy in approaching these businesses. Clarity in the business decisions that are made can allow insights that previously were never measurable.

Geographic Location 

The ability to see the future knowing that there will not be a purchase decision made opens the opportunity to go after the area with the most potential. Tracking and measuring these downloads will shed light on the activity level given for a geographic area.

Time

Downloaded products in a geographical area can also give insight on what times, seasons, and types of products your customers are purchasing. Knowing the time and trends helps predict the future.

Sales Projection 

Cleaning up the capabilities by calculating the dollar amount and volume of activity can help manufacturers’ segment projections. Correlate these to time, products, and geographic areas make a more precise projection for sales teams and manufacturing.

Lead Generation

Sales opportunities will be uncovered through tracking downloads. The information can be given to sales teams to help them communicate a clearer message to their dealers and become a valuable source of information to their clients.

Market Standing

Compare your numbers with the industry and begin to understand what products manufacturers are excelling in and areas where they are losing. Look at the dollar amount of downloads compared to the total sales volume captured and make conclusions about overall market standing.

These are all the elements of important information you can extract from symbol downloads on your website that will help you sell more.

Friday, September 15, 2017

Keys To Creating An Online Environment That Increases Specifications



Data shows that manufacturers who have a sales rich websites win in the specification game. Here are the keys to websites that sell more.

Marketing (drive potential customers to your resource page) 


Tell the market that this resource is available through your sales team, front page of your website, social media, email, catalogs, direct marketing, and at industry tradeshows/networking events. The more that people know the more they will use.

Website 


Provide products in multiple downloadable formats and information. According to a survey by Stephen Witte and Associates, interior designers listed manufacturers website as the most used tool resource when researching products. To read more from the report How To Wow Interior Designers In The Furniture Specification Process.

Education 


When a customer requests a product from a sales team or through email drive them to this resource page. You will provide this link, and all they have to do is click it to find a page where all of the manufacturer’s content is available, in multiple formats, for download.

Interaction 


Encourage them to download your products, ask people to interact with products, and request feedback for how you can make the products better for them. Gain insight through interaction.

Analytics 


This online environment will be a place that generates clear analytics about your customers, the market, your products, and improvements/successes that would never go noticed prior to providing this platform. You cannot manage what you cannot measure.


Result 


Constant interaction with dealer/designer decision makers equates to more opportunity. The goal is to create the correct playing field for them.

Why Designers REALLY specify your products



Specification is one of the most powerful positions for contract manufacturers early in the buying process for a project.

The requirements that dealers cannot meet because manufacturers are unwilling to invest in multiple, high cost, labor intensive, and extremely technical design software.

Who would want to either? These new design software technologies are not useful or needed in the process of manufacturing furniture.

What designers and dealers really want from your website:

1. Downloads that are fast and easy 


On the web, downloads are a hassle free. Making dealers and designers login to get a product is a huge mistake. Keep it simple and easy to get the most exposure and usage from your website.

Designers want a response the same day and putting your resources in an easy to download format will make your website an asset.

2. Files that are in the needed format 


DWG/Revit/Sketchup/20-20: the preferred formats that are needed for the project. This helps Architects, Designers, and Dealers enjoy working with one another because there were no hiccups in the planning process.

Providing multiple formats for products eliminates the annoying, time consuming (project delaying) issue that architects and designers have experienced over and over again on manufacturer websites. They want the planning process to be easy, quick, and complete.

When manufacturers do this, designers become loyal to their brand because the download experience is streamlined and easy.

From Stephen Witte Associates "How To Wow Interior Designers In The Specification Process"


3.Customizable 


Designers require variation products to fit the needs of their clients. Dealers receive requests from a designer that can make or a break a deal.

Give the dealer the ability to use the software they can to change and customize finish options and designs. Manufacturers have to focus on participating in this relationship to drive growth and stay competitive.

This is not optional for manufacturers.   It’s imperative for survival, but some manufacturers just do not understand the value behind improving.

They do not see the return on investment and do not see improvements to their sales or products.

4. Presentable


 Providing a dealer with the right information and specifications that designers request will make the process of preparing a presentation happen quickly and correctly.

In Conclusion


Manufacturers will be looked at as up-to-date, innovative, and knowledgeable. Ultimately creating a destination that dealers and designers go to for information becomes a place that is fun and enjoyable to visit.

Creating this environment increases the number of visits and the amount of time dealers and designers spend on a manufacturer’s website.

Dealers and designers start to dive deeper into product families, finish options, and features they did not see before because they were on multiple manufacturers’ websites trying to make decisions.

Spending more time focused on one brand allows a customer to see the deeper value in a manufacturer’s products. At this point it will be extremely hard to NOT be specified.