For many pallet companies, their website has been an afterthought for years, but it really is your front porch to the world. It is the first thing that many potential customers see. It can create the first impression of your company, especially to new customers.
Let’s be honest, many pallet company websites have come a long way since the days of one homepage with a few pictures of pallets and a phone and fax number. We started celebrating industry leaders many years ago because we wanted to encourage greater creativity and focus on these online marketing tools. But very few industry websites are ready for what is coming next.
A consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, recently released a report on the effect of digital marketing on B2B sales growth. The report, based on surveys of B2B buyers, discovered that e-commerce is growing at “astonishing speeds” for B2B products and channels. And while this may be in its infancy for many pallet orders, the trend is likely to grow substantially over the next five years.
This survey found that “nearly two-thirds (65%) of B2B companies across industry sectors now offer e-commerce capabilities, defined as fully executing a sales transaction online. This is up from 53% in early 2021.” Respondents also suggested that B2B sellers are now more likely to offer e-commerce channels than in-person selling. While there is no substitute for having a good face-to-face relationship with customers, your website is a great vehicle to augment those conversations and allow for quick responses and even automated responses to inquiries.
Just look at your kids or grandkids; think about how many of them would rather text than make a phone call or even email. This has become increasingly true for the Millennials and the Gen Z employees who are taking up purchasing positions at major buyers. So, instead of your website being a brochure or just a lead generation tool, what if it becomes the way that you interact with customers, providing real-time updates, order history, online purchasing and more? What if your website has specific information targeted to each customer to help them comply with sustainability and environmental reporting requirements? What if your website becomes a critical tool to educate your workforce and recruit for new talent?
I believe you will see more and more companies looking to use their website and even texting as a way to communicate with customers and employees about critical issues. Some pallet companies are using social media, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, to market their companies and build brand awareness. You can set up private groups on these platforms that help to connect with prospects, customers, employees and business partners.
So, where do you start? Try the article on page 42 of this issue where we recognize companies that are doing some interesting things with their website. From online chats to screening potential employees to actually conducting transactions, there are a lot of ways that you can use your website to automate and improve communications. Secondly, you need to develop a team to dream about the future and consider how your website and social media can augment other communication efforts both internally and externally to various audiences. Then, management has to develop a budget, select priorities and develop a game plan to make these dreams a reality.
In some cases, you may be able to tap into other websites or services that can help augment your own efforts. One example that comes to mind is PalletTrader (www.palletrader.com). It is an online marketplace and brokerage service that may be helpful to locate new partners and sell off excess supply. It also shows you what is possible with some of the best technology offered in the industry.
This is a topic that you will likely want to explore with your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software supplier. There may be ways for the computer system running your company to interact with customers through the Internet and texting. Consider the article on page 58 for some ERP features that you should consider deploying. And if you aren’t using an ERP, find out why it may just be the best thing you ever did.
Maybe most of your customers are just fine with orders over the phone or email. That is true now. It likely won’t be true in the future. Knowing what options exist and being at the forefront is a great way to ensure that you are ready when the switch comes. Because getting ready when customers demand it may just be too late.
