You might say to yourself, "Industrial marketing isn't that different from consumer marketing." After all, they both come down to one human being clicking the "buy" button on your website. But the truth is, the purchase process for the industrial buyer is very different. You need to take these differences into account when building your industrial website.

What Makes the Industrial Purchase Process Different?

When industrial buyers make a purchase, the decision process often involves more than one person. Within industrial companies, the person who makes the final decision about a purchase and the person who fills out the purchase order are often two different people. For instance the Senior Manufacturing Engineer might be the person who says, "We need to buy that CNC mill." The person who submits the order for the CNC mill might be a buyer or an assistant -- someone without a ton of decision-making power. Within many industrial companies, the purchase process involves three people: an engineer, a specifier and a buyer. Your website needs to meet the needs and expectations of all three.

Who is the Decision Maker?

The Engineer

The engineer isn't interested in pricing. It's the engineer's job to research products and find the right solution. The engineer needs to know the product details. Your content needs to answer questions like, "How will the product make things easier for my technicians?" "How will this product speed up the manufacturing process?" "How will the product reduce our rejection rate?" "Why should I buy it from this company and not the competitor?" When you're writing your content, you really need to put yourself in the decision maker's shoes. You need to have detailed tech specs, good CAD drawings and clear calls-to-action that allow engineers to submit their interest.

The Specifier

The specifier's job is to take the tech specs from the engineer, and find the product that has those specs and falls within the company's budgetary constraints.

The Buyer

The engineer tells the buyer which product to purchase. The buyer, then, needs to find out who has the product in stock, who has the product for the right price and who can ship the product soonest.

Tools That Help ALL THREE Decision Makers 

Faceted search makes it possible to find products in the fewest number of clicks. Engineers, specifiers and buyers appreciate how finding the right product is with faceted search. In addition to faceted search, a fully-functioning search box makes it possible to find products using keywords.

Lastly -- and perhaps most importantly -- your calls-to-action need to be easy to find. A large, brightly-colored button that says "Contact Us", "Buy Now" or "Request for Quote" should be prominently displayed. You never want people to have to hunt for ways to get in touch with you.

How Can Ecreative Help?

We're one of the few internet marketing companies that understands the quirks of industrial marketing. We know how to build websites that engage engineers, specifiers and buyers equally. For more information, contact Ecreative today.