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Understanding Sales & Marketing
in the “New Normal”
By Sam Scharich • Calder Capital
September 2020 MiMfg Magazine 21
COVID-19 has, in many ways, completely
disrupted the way we interact as human beings as
well as the way we go about our daily lives and how
we run our businesses. Many manufacturers have
been forced to use new processes to meet emerging
needs, while others made changes just to avoid
losing business.
Sales & Marketing in the “New Normal”
Manufacturers that have succeeded throughout
COVID-19 have been able to preserve or create new
business by maintaining a quality online presence.
The formation of a business relationship, and first
impression, is increasingly an online experience. Just
like a book can be judged by its cover, many now
judge a company by its website. Does yours give an
edge to your competition?
What is a quality online presence? Manufacturers
should have a technically-sound website and a
strong organic Google presence — something which
can be boosted by frequent social media updates on
LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other platforms.
At a minimum, a quality website should consist
of a description of services or products offered, an
about page, and a contact page.
Most websites are now viewed via a mobile device,
so be sure that your content management system is
mobile optimized. For optimal engagement, validate
that the website looks clean and all links are functional.
Ensuring a strong Google presence entails a fastloading,
indexable site with no broken links. WordPress,
Squarespace, and Weebly are sites where manufacturers
can build websites that are automatically optimized
from a technical standpoint. These platforms provide
free add-ons that can further help a user increase
Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which ensures
your site is coded using keywords applicable to your
service offering and geography. For example, the SEO
Title Tag “5-Axis CNC Machining Manufacturer
in Lansing, Michigan” tells Google what you do and
where you are.
Maintaining an online presence should not stop
at your website. For our purposes, we’ve established
accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Publishing blog content and posting on these sites
or others will draw in visitors and signal to search
engines like Google that your site is updated and
relevant — boosting your search ranking in the
process. By regularly publishing educational and
informational content to a blog or newsletter, you
can inform, educate and engage business buyers and
sellers and share it with the world via e-mail and social
media posts. Over time, this can result in stronger
rankings for your business. We did it and, as a result,
thousands of buyers and sellers can find us online.
Manufacturers like you can optimize your
company’s ability to be found online and create a
strong first impression with a quality website and
online presence. Not only will an online presence
boost recognition and sales, but a robust online presence
(or lack of) can be the differentiating factor between
success and failure in manufacturing’s new normal. 6
Sam Scharich is the Director of Business Development
at Calder Capital. He may be reached at 616-970-6124
or [email protected].
Calder Capital LLC is an MMA Premium Member
company and has been an MMA member since
February 2020. Visit online: caldergr.com.
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