B2B manufacturers and suppliers continue to take on a large financial burden from their customers. It’s becoming increasingly common for payment terms to range from the uncomfortable – net 30 to the seemingly insane – net 120. Carrying the cost of materials, labor, etc. for this long puts undue pressure on just about any operation. This burden increases if sales go flat for even a short period of time. With sales cycles in many sectors taking several months or even years to close, even a modest slowdown can make recovering tough, even impossible. Therefore, shortening sales cycles has become a top priority for manufacturing operations, large and small.
This has many companies looking to increase exposure through trade publications. According to MediaGrowth Research, are already reaching more than 90% of decision-makers within many key demographics. The key is content! This can be a new product announcement or an industry trend. However, the largest impact is coming with full feature-length articles (800-1200 words) that inform and educate a target audience. This takes a prospect from the initial introductory stage of the sales process and moves them much closer to purchasing.
Shortening Sales Cycles; Time kills all deals!
One of the first things any successful sales rep learns is that the longer it takes to close a deal, the more likely you are of losing the sale. This puts added pressure on reps when the sales cycle requires a lot of additional educating of the customer. Add to this that sales reps are not being included until much later in the process. This can be even after much of the decision making has been completed by the purchaser.
Unlike the old days, just about all the information your prospect needs is already out there. It is online, on your website and within trade publications.
According to research from CEB (Corporate Executive Board)nearly 60% of purchasing decisions – researching solutions, ranking options, setting requirements, benchmarking pricing, etc. – are completed before ever having a conversation with a supplier. While Forrester, a leading market research company, suggests that number may actually be even higher. A recent study cites that as much as 90% of the buying cycle is completed before a B2B buyer ever speaks with a sales rep.
That’s actually great news for companies with effective content PR strategies. The more informative content you can provide to the potential buyer, the better your chances of converting the sale, before you even speak with them.
Generating content that finds your potential buyer
“Trade publications are still one of the greatest resources a company can utilize. Not just for the advertisements, but for the content as well,” says Greg Rankin, President of Rankin PR (rankinpr.com) – a boutique PR agency that focuses on writing and facilitating placements of B2B articles.
Read the full story at Manufacturing Tomorrow.