We’ve recently been involved in several discussions with both clients and publications on the power of the Internet to disseminate product information quickly, painlessly, and at very low cost.
In one instance, our Vice-President requested a media kit from a well-known trade publication. The space rep was reluctant to mail the kit, suggesting instead that our VP (his customer) download the information from the publication’s website. In another instance, an excited client had just returned from a conference where the speaker, a high-level executive, had outlined his company’s plans to do away with printed brochures completely and offer its literature only through its website. The executive believed this move would save thousands of dollars each year.
So, is there a problem with making your literature available on your website? Absolutely not. The web is tailor-made for the instant gratification of those who seek product or technical information. In fact, recent studies show that over 90% of engineers use the Internet to research technical products. If they can’t find the information they need quickly and easily on your website, they’ll simply move on to your competitors’.
However, fulfilling a prospect’s desire for immediate information and actually closing a sale are two different things. The key to winning new business is giving prospects what they want. If a prospect wants information immediately, he or she should be able to find it on your website. But, if a prospect prefers to have printed literature — and many still do — your company should be willing to provide it.
The goal of your marketing and sales efforts should be to make it easy for potential customers to do business with you, not to modify their behavior to make it easy for you to do business with them. Our Media VP laments that the web now makes space reps’ lives easier and hers more difficult. Instead of receiving media kits in the mail, she now spends hours downloading and printing files and organizing information.
More important is the issue of what image your company wants to present to prospects. Providing product and technical information over the web may help get your products considered, but it won’t necessarily win you orders. There comes a point in every purchasing decision where a purchasing agent, engineer, or manager must evaluate not only the product and its price/value, but the company selling it. At that point, do you really want these decision makers judging the value of your products and the strength and commitment of your company on the basis of a computer printout? Shouldn’t you arm a buyer who’s championing your products to management with sales literature that presents your company in the best possible light?
If your company sells a commodity product or competes solely on price, you might get the order. But, if you sell a new technology or a more advanced product at a higher price than your competitors, providing only electronic literature may limit your chances of getting the order. Buyers of industrial products may purchase inexpensive, low-volume, or low-risk items based solely on electronic information, but as the price or risk of loss increases, most people want the comfort and reassurance that printed literature provides.
Sure, you may go online to research a major purchase, but when was the last time you bought a new car or boat without taking home a glossy, full-color brochure?
At Norris & Company, we understand the differing roles electronic and printed literature play in the selling process, and we can help you structure a literature program that fulfills all your prospects’ needs.
If you would like more information on this subject, or a reprint of this and other ads in the series, please contact us: (508) 510-5626 • info@norrisco.com
