Here’s the story of how a small warehouse distributor with only 14 employees increased their volume of new business orders five times in only five months — in a recession — by properly leveraging the power of the web.
Word is that the recession will end in the second half of this year. Faced with tough times, all manufacturing companies make a choice. They can either cut costs by eliminating their marketing dollars, or strategically invest more in order to gain market share after the recession.
Tough economic times have a way of redistributing “loyal customers” as they also seek more economical sources of supply. When the recession ends, will you end up with a greater share of business from these prospects?
Small industrial suppliers, in particular, have a tremendous opportunity to gain more business if they fully leverage the power of the internet. One of the smartest ways for them to do that is by incorporating a dynamic online technology platform into their company websites.
A dynamic online platform can help level the playing field by allowing smaller companies gain visibility, branding and sales. While their competitors offer static sites with limited functionality, a dynamic online platform helps smaller companies appear to be larger industry leaders.
Orr and Orr is a small warehouse distributor in Chicago, Illinois. They make parts and accessories for trucks, trailers, motor homes, recreational vehicles, emergency vehicles and aircraft. The company employ a total of 14 people to run their operation from sales to shipping.
The Challenge:
Like other small distributors, Orr & Orr used to have a static website which got modest results and not many sales leads. They wanted a way to drive a larger volume of qualified prospects to their site and convince them to submit more RFQ’s and orders online.
The Dynamic Platform:
Unlike static HTML websites which offer minimal online information and searchability, a dynamic platform helps prospects match up their product or service requirements with a supplier’s capabilities — before contacting them. A dynamic platform offers multiple paths to product information along with several calls to action on every page.
Tremendous Results
Once Orr & Orr implemented their dynamic online catalog platform, they immediately saw an increase in traffic and customer interaction on their website.
Hank Hines, President of Orr & Orr, says the online catalog “levels the playing field for a small corporation like ours. Prospects don’t know how big we are. Once they are on the site we can let our expertise take over.”
Their online platform gives them “a salesman that works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, all over the world.” This salesman, Hines adds, “doesn’t expect benefits but works all the time!”
In only five months since launching their new interactive online platform, Orr & Orr saw:
- a 72% increase in search engine traffic referrals to their website
- a five-fold increase in new business orders
Orr & Orr also reduced costs. The distributor has eliminated the annual the expense of reprinting their paper catalog now that all their products are online and can be updated with ease in real time.
Investing in a dynamic online catalog platform was a smart decision – especially in tough economic times. Hank Hines reports that Orr & Orr’s cost of doing business is lowest when they sell through their website.
“Not only do I have a great selling tool, but I get to make my business more efficient and that saves me money.”
For further insights on how well a dynamic and interactive online platform works, view the complete interview with Orr & Orr’s President, Hank Hines at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teT3bny2uLU
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