Too many CNC machine shops get caught up in the cycle of “Get the work. Do the work. Look for more work.” The most successful shops keep the job pipeline full, rather than waiting until orders run low. They generate more business by utilizing such tools as personal selling, email marketing, advertising, public relations, and a powerful Internet presence. Whether they handle these marketing efforts in house or use outside resources, they establish clear, realistic goals so they can measure their results.
So what kinds of goals should you set for your shop? First, it’s important to recognize that business goals and marketing goals may not be the same. For most shops the business goal is to increase dollars, number of jobs or numbers of units to be produced. The marketing goals are based on the activities that help you accomplish your business goals, such as attracting new customers, retaining existing customers and moving them both along the path to a buying decision.
For example, your marketing goal may be to make more potential customers aware of your capabilities. One way to do this is to create useful content on your Web site that is of interest to the people you want to do business with. Strong content such as case studies, how to articles and white papers will attract new Internet visitors who find you through search engines, social media or referrals. You can then track the results using data analysis tools that measure the activity on your site.
In the same way, your goal for existing customers may be to keep them informed about any new capabilities you add, improvements to your facility, new hires who bring specific skills and other news of interest to your customers. Email blasts and e-newsletters are good, affordable vehicles for getting these messages across. Again, most email services provide statistics including how many people opened the email and pursued activities such as following a link to your Web site. These data enable you to measure the effectiveness of each effort.
These are just two examples of how setting specific marketing goals can help you gain a better return on your marketing investment and keep orders flowing through your pipeline.
As your business grows your Torrance Haas Factory Outlet to learn more and arrange for a demonstration. Call (310) 381-0750, email: jphillips@haasfactoryoutlet.com, or visit www.haasfactoryoutlet.com.