The Changing Requirements for Manufacturer Websites

Not too long ago, manufacturers that sold through distribution felt little need to have sophisticated websites. Providing product information to purchasers was largely up to their distribution partners.

The World Has Changed

Today, however, manufacturers are missing a huge opportunity if they don’t have sites comparable to high-quality, consumer-facing sites. There are two primary reasons for this shift:

• The ultimate purchaser of a product, even if he or she has no direct relationship with the manufacturer, is likely to use the web to research the products they are considering. If a manufacturer’s website doesn’t reflect the quality of their products and provide detailed information, sales are going to be lost.
• Distributors, retailers, and other channel partners need up-to-date, detailed information about the manufacturer’s products. Distributing printed datasheets and catalogs, or even e-mailing PDFs, is expensive and inefficient, compared with having everything available in a web-based repository.

The Sad State of Manufacturer Websites

Many small and midsize manufacturers still have websites that range from poor to ordinary. Such companies typically have not paid much attention to their websites, especially as the economy slid into recession and budgets were slashed.

Often, these sites don’t have detailed product information. And when they do, typically there are many products listed on one page, which slashes the opportunities for the site to show up in search engine results.

Invariably, these older sites also don’t have any support for mobile devices, making them hard to use for anyone browsing on a phone.

Taking Full Advantage of the Web and Mobile Devices

Now, with the economy rebounding and purchasers of all stripes having come to expect the web to serve all of their information needs, there’s a compelling case for manufacturers with sub-par websites to revamp their approach and distinguish themselves with great sites.

A quality, modern, manufacturer website will increase demand for the company’s products and cut the cost of providing product information to the sales channel.

Purchasers of all kinds of products, whether consumers or professionals, are often using phones and tablets as well as desktop computers to browse the web. Effective sites need to be optimized for this environment.

Introducing the Product Information Marketing System

We’re now offering a customized, turn-key solution for manufacturers to put their product information on the web and in the hands of their channel: the Webvanta Product Information Marketing System. Our mission is to enable manufacturers to take full advantage of the web and mobile devices, at an affordable cost and with a minimum of hassle.