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The showroom and lot are stocked with equipment. You and your salespeople are ready to talk to customers, understand their needs, and persuade them to purchase the equipment, vehicles, or technology you sell. There’s only one thing left to do – get the word out about your equipment vendor business. But this is easier said than done.
To effectively market your vendor business, you need a well-thought-out plan that includes digital strategies and tactics to achieve the desired results. This requires an investment in time and money to do it right. This blog article from Balboa Capital discusses three equipment vendor marketing strategies for you to consider.
Develop a marketing plan for your vendor business.
A marketing plan is a roadmap to your vendor business’s marketing and advertising efforts. It is a comprehensive document that outlines how you will reach your marketing objectives and equipment sales goals. To be complete and effective, your marketing plan should include an analysis of the current market situation and your target audience and a budget for implementing the strategies and tactics outlined in the plan.
You probably don’t have extensive experience in marketing, so look for an outside resource to assist you. Some consultants, freelance professionals, and small companies specialize in small business marketing and can help you with your marketing plan.
Put your marketing plan into action.
Once your marketing plan is finished and contains all the components listed in the section above, it is time to put it into action. With careful planning, creating an effective marketing campaign can reach a broad audience while staying within budget is possible. Typical marketing strategies for equipment vendors are website marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), video marketing, and outbound efforts such as targeted emails to business owners and decision-makers.
Money will be needed to create these and other types of marketing content, and you can hire professionals to help with tasks requiring creative development, branding, and related expertise.
Website marketing for vendors.
Your vendor business serves customers in a specific area, but you can still expand your reach. A website opens the door to more brand awareness and leads outside your city or town. Earlier in this blog article, we mentioned the term SEO because it can make or break your website’s success regarding organic search traffic.
Your website’s home page and landing pages should have copywriting and messaging that resonate with your intended audience and feature keywords that are highly searched. A content writer can conduct a keyword analysis for your vendor business and write original web copy or update your existing website pages, which can drive users to landing pages on your website.
Enhance your website by adding pages with easy-to-use search functionality for users so they can see your inventory. Detailed equipment listings with photographs, prices, and information can create interest and help you and your team close more deals.
Email marketing for vendors.
Email marketing is a powerful tool for your equipment vendor business to reach and build relationships with existing and potential customers. Emails can nurture leads, increase engagement and sales, promote special offers and new inventory, and drive customer loyalty.
Many email marketing platforms are designed for small businesses with contact lists in the hundreds or thousands. They are cost-effective, too. Email services for small companies typically charge a monthly fee and additional costs based on the number of contacts you send emails to and the volume of emails.
Developing a successful email marketing campaign for your equipment vendor business can be challenging, so consider hiring an email marketing specialist to write your sales and follow-up emails. To be effective, you must consider various factors such as the subject line, message, design, timing, etc. You will also need to measure the effectiveness of your email campaigns. Most email marketing platforms provide analytics information such as email open rate (the percentage of recipients who click to open a given email) and clickthrough rate (the percentage of recipients who click on one or more links in your email).
Vendor showroom videos.
Your prospective customers want to invest in the equipment, vehicles, or technology you sell, and naturally, they want to see it before moving forward. Business product videos are a great way to showcase these items and provide an inside look at your showroom and lot. Videos can also create an emotional connection with customers, increasing sales and customer loyalty.
Unlike years past, creating videos to promote your equipment vendor business does not require a big production or lots of fancy equipment. They can be made with a smartphone or tablet with a built-in video camera. Or, you can use a digital video camera to make videos. Some ideas include a video tour of your showroom and lot and a video of your available inventory. Plus, you can feature video footage of you and your sales team to add a human element.
If you don’t have time to make videos or don’t feel confident in your video-making ability, hire a freelance videographer. They can produce and edit your videos with a polished, professional look. Once finished, you can promote your videos on your website, in social media posts, and on a video hosting site such as YouTube®.
Balboa Capital, a Division of Ameris Bank, is not affiliated with nor endorses YouTube®. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.