Whatever your point of view on the economic landscape of post-Brexit Britain, UK manufacturing companies will be presented a range of challenges as well as opportunities.
Uncertain times resulting from changes to regulation, currency fluctuations or consumer confidence means that it’s even more important to position your business so that you are best placed to gain new customers and access new markets after the UK leaves the EU.
Gareth Lisle, Director at website & digital marketing agency, Bluehoop Digital, explains how with the right digital marketing strategy manufacturers can make their websites work harder and get their products seen by more people online.
Current marketing strategy of many manufacturers is outdated
Many UK manufacturers have marketing strategies that are outdated, whilst some manufacturers don’t even have a marketing plan.
With the right strategy in place, your post-brexit website could be the asset that makes the most significant contribution to increasing your customer base both within the UK and worldwide.
Businesses that are more willing to invest in their website and a website marketing strategy are much more likely to be rewarded with an increase in sales.
And it’s not just businesses that sell overseas that need to get their website Brexit ready. The knockdown effect of changes in the economic landscape could affect businesses across other sectors too. Businesses that want to secure future business stability and growth should look at their marketing strategy now.
Questions you might want to ask yourself about your businesses’ website:
- Does my website showcase all of our products, services and expertise better than my competitors?
- Can my website be easily found by new overseas customers?
- Does my website speak the same language as my overseas customers?
- How could my website increase enquiries from all potential customers both in the UK and abroad?
What should your Brexit website action plan include?
With the right digital & online marketing strategy in place, your website can be transformed into your businesses’ greatest lead-generation and new customer introduction tool. No magic involved, just a step by step plan:
Make your business look like THE business to do business with:
First impressions count. Within a few moments of visiting your website, potential customers will judge whether you are a good fit for their requirements. Your website needs to load quickly, show your business as a professional set-up. This means you should use professional photography, clear descriptions about your products and services, relevant case studies, manufacturing standards, industry awards and access to any technical papers that might sway the buying decision in your favour.
Create a winning digital marketing strategy:
For some UK manufacturers, traditional marketing channels such as print, sales reps and industry conferences remain an important part of their marketing mix. Many manufacturers invest in a nice new website then don’t have a strategy for getting it seen by their target customers. This is where having a digital marketing strategy comes in.
Optimise your website so that it can be found in Google across the globe:
By using search engine optimisation you can increase the number of people seeing your businesses and your products. Effective search engine optimisation involves keyword research to understand how potential customers use Google to search for your products.
Optimising your website so that it meets Google’s technical guidelines, creating optimised landing pages to show Google that you are highly relevant and creating an ongoing plan will demonstrate to Google that your website is an authority in your sector. You can even use translated search friendly landing pages to attract people searching Google in their native language.
Get your domain name right:
If you only want to attract UK customers, than using a .co.uk domain name is fine. However, if you wish to position your business for a global make, a .com domain extension gives you global access instead of being perceived as been tied to a specific country. Of course you could opt for using a range of Top Level Domains such as .uk, , .fr, .de, but this can make the process more complicated than just having one domain name that works with all countries.
If you’ve just purchased a .eu domain name, keep it on hold for now. There’s lots of talk about the European Union taking back any .eu domains that have been purchased by UK businesses.
Localise for your target markets:
It’s important that your website uses the right language, currency and culture for your global customers.
Whilst much of global business is conducted in English, if you really want to go head-to-head you’re your competitors, you need to consider using native language on at least part of your website. Don’t rely on free translations services such as Google translate; these just don’t hack-it. Professional translations can be inexpensive and can be the make or break on new deals.
If your business exports goods to overseas markets, make sure it can be found by potential overseas customers: your website should be optimised for UK and global search engines. You’ll need to research the search terms that potential customers use to look for your products and ensure that your website is configured to attract high search engine rankings for the right search keywords.
Make it as easy as possible for potential customers to enquire and buy from you:
Make it easier for potential customers to enquire: include international dialling codes on your phone number, include GMT or UTC formats with your office opening times, on website enquiry forms, ask which country the enquiry is from, this will help you to provide an informed response. Consider adding an online chat facility to your website so you can provide an instant response to any enquiries. If you use overseas sales reps, make sure their contact details area easy to find and direct any enquiry forms directly so that they can act quickly.
Next steps to website & digital marketing success in post Brexit Britain
If you have an in-house marketing team with a little technical expertise they should be able to start putting in place the groundwork to get your website Brexit ready.
If your team need a little help with the more technical side of prepping your website and preparing your search engine optimisation plan, then a quick chat with your marketing agency (or the team here at Bluehoop Digital) should explain how to make the process work best for your business.
Bluehoop Digital works with a range of manufacturers in the North of England, providing websites and digital marketing. We deliver strategies aimed to get businesses seen by more people and to gain more sales. We undertake full website reviews and provide recommendations and strategies without the need for on-going commitment.
