Client Challenge
Our client, a large US Automotive Parts Manufacturer with a 100 year history of selling original equipment (OE) directly to Car and Truck makers worldwide. With more than 100 global customers our clients networks of account managers is both broad and deep. Historically, their clients engage early to have prototypes developed then deliver purchase orders in the hundred thousand to million of unit volumes. After a set period of time, products are then sold in aftermarket through worldwide chains of auto parts stores.
The internet has created an environment where companies that have historically sold through partners and retailers (Business to Business) now have the opportunity to sell directly to consumers. While this is attractive due to the vastly increased margins obtained by cutting out the middle-man, it creates a whole new set of marketing communication challenges.
Hypothesis
If we were to isolate the client’s products into very specific customer segmentations, we can improve the performance of product marketing communication by matching it to consumer intentions. The result will be lower acquisition costs and improved conversion rates.
Solution
We chose to launch individual brand-identified websites that includes specific call to actions that matched the consumer intention (brand sites). Each site followed very carefully defined on and off page SEO messaging with modern infrastructure that worked well on phones and tablets (the place where we identified that majority of our clients’ search would be done. We used Google Adwords to drive traffic and Google Analytics to measure the success of the communications (activity) and conversions (sales).
We launched three websites for the client’s three most popular products. Each site contained detailed parts selection tools, testimonials and ‘how to install’ communications designed to help the customer understand what to buy and how to install it. These information-rich communications were then posted to the client’s social media, this optimization contributed to better engaging directly with the consumer and also increasing Over the course of the 12 month installation, the three sites quickly moved up ranking in the search results for each product category quickly eclipsing the client’s own website for the product search.
Results
Although initially we included store locators, Google Analytics goal setting taught us that consumers wanted to buy now. The client was not in a position to deliver on a one-on-one bases, so all traffic was driven to Amazon. The consistency with which consumers were driven to Amazon allowed the client to take over their Amazon Store fulfillment and recognized massive increases in Business to Consumer (Retail) sales.
Conclusion
Profit margins on products sold directly to consumer were often 600-1200% higher than those sold to wholesalers or Original Equipment Manufacturers. By establishing a direct sales channel to the consumer, the client learned a lot about how much a consumer was worth. This new knowledge, when applied to the company’s advertising and marketing budget, gave them a much more clear understanding of their Return on Investment, where to set price per click budgets and expected results.
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