With 80 employees, the privately-held company is small in size and big on ideas. About 70 percent of its products are made to stock and 30 percent are custom made. They bring their products to market through several thousand distributors and sales reps, and also sell directly to end customers.
Challenge: Outdated Site Gives Competition the Upper Hand
When he joined Ericson, Phil Bearden, Product and Marketing Manager for the company, was handed a company website that “meant well,” but lacked the “punch,” he added, to keep up with the competition. The original goal of the website was to have one central location for everyone to access for sales, training and service – reps, distributors, customers, and internal staff. But the current site lacked these key features and functionality, and according to Mr. Bearden, was downright “terrible.”
Further discussion about revamping the site pointed to a larger strategic issue: At a time when Ericson customers and prospects were searching the web for the products and services that they needed, Ericson’s site was its own worst enemy – especially if Ericson chose to diversify into new market segments over the long term. On search engines, the company was “invisible.” And as an “online sales force,” the site lacked the content to quickly engage prospects, start a “sales conversation,” and ultimately lead to a close.
Solution: Customized Website Content and Better Functionality ThomasNet’s Web Solutions team of expert consultants and engineers put Ericson back in the game and facilitated a noteworthy partnership. “ThomasNet demonstrated a deep understanding of Ericson’s products and markets. They were able to show me how Ericson could be just as big as my biggest competitor using my website,” he said.
Together, Mr. Bearden and ThomasNet built more than just a better website and sales channel for Ericson. Tackling one strategic issue at a time, the team outlined several “must-have” tools that would achieve Ericson’s goals – including an online catalog and the capabilities to process Requests for Quotations (RFQs) and conduct e-commerce – all from Ericson’s website.
Today’s buyers of industrial products expect supplier websites to help them quickly determine whether a company offers what they need, and then provide an increasing level of detail on products of interest. Suppliers’ sites, therefore, need to offer the right depth and breadth of information, as well as easy navigation and intuitive functionality. ThomasNet ensured that Ericson’s new site would do just that – beginning with the homepage. From start to finish, the site, with its online catalog, clearly defined Ericson’s offerings – highlighting product categories such as “temporary power distribution,” “task & work lighting,” and “construction lighting.” It allowed visitors to verify at a glance that Ericson provided what they were looking for. This kind of rich content was crucial for a company like Ericson to stay competitive and boost sales.
Upon entering the site, prospects and customers could easily search through over 3,000 unique products by specific parameters, compare these products side-by-side, and obtain greater detail on the offerings of most interest. Powered by ThomasNet’s Navigator Platform, technology designed specifically for industrial suppliers, not only provided these sophisticated capabilities, but made it possible for Ericson to seamlessly change and add content and graphics as needed. They could also complete an RFQ or make an immediate purchase.
By adding more precise product categories, ThomasNet made Ericson’s site more accessible to qualified prospects and generated a higher ranking on the search engines. Mr. Bearden recognized that the new rich content was the number one reason for raising its position on searches.
To further assist Ericson, ThomasNet provided a free Web tracking tool called Web Traxs, which enabled Mr. Bearden and his team to monitor their website activity – everything from numbers of user sessions, links to the website, actions taken, keywords searched from, and more. The ability to measure this activity improved Mr. Bearden’s marketing intelligence and now allows him and his team to make necessary changes in response to customer behavior.
Results: More than 20 Percent Growth in Sales Ericson’s new website has taken the company to new heights. In 2007, sales grew to $17 million – up from $14 million the year before – a 20 percent increase. “This is the single largest growth year I have seen for Ericson,” said Mr. Bearden. And “easily 50 percent of that growth is attributed to our new website.”
Each component of the company’s website has contributed to its remarkable sales growth. Ericson is logging 20,000 catalog views per month and between five to eight RFQs per week – 25 percent of which have turned into orders averaging $3,000-$5,000 each. “While five to eight RFQs per week may not sound like a lot to some, it’s all about the quality of the lead to this company,” says Bearden.
The strategic redesign of the website has led to many “firsts” for Ericson, and perhaps the most compelling is entry into new markets. For example, CityCenter Las Vegas – one of the largest construction projects going on in the U.S., now has hundreds of Ericson’s Oscar boxes right onsite.
With this type of momentum, the future looks very bright for Ericson. The new site has significantly improved their online presence, boosted sales, and made them “recession proof” by introducing them to new customers and markets. “Ericson and ThomasNet are the best winning team I’ve been a part of,” said Mr. Bearden.
