Dear Manufacturer,

You’ve got some cool stuff.  So cool, in fact, that many people around the country have businesses that sell your items through their store.  You’ve got stuff that’s in demand. It’s hip. It’s high quality. You’re proud of what you build.

You’ve got something that people want; good for you. Yet there’s a problem.  You’re so far behind the times that sales are zipping right on past you. Why?

I’m glad you asked.

You see, those people out there that are selling your product – they’re your lifeblood.  They are on the front lines, trudging through thousands of marketing channels to market your product.  They are squeezing pennies out of nickels to get more customers through their door so they can sell your stuff.

Yet you leave them out in the cold.

Sure, there’s those old school business owners that go the traditional ways of marketing.  Every once in a while they may ask you for a logo that they can send to their printing company, or maybe a one-time discount so they can run a special ad in the upcoming wedding section of their local paper – but there are others out there who are using this new-fangled thing called the Internet to get sales.  Those are the real movers and shakers that will propel your business forward.  Open your eyes and see what they are doing.

But first…

A Quick SEO Lesson

Search Engine Optimization (aka SEO) is the process by which retailers (or anyone for that matter) optimizes their website so that more and more visitors come to their website.  They do this through various means, such as building links to their website, providing fresh content, creating eye-pleasing design, etc.  They pay good money to get this done, and the results are tremendously good for their ROI.

And this doesn’t take into account those using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to push even more sales (ultimately) to you.

But there’s a problem (and it’s name is YOU)

These retailers need information.  They need data.  They need things from you so that they can sell more product.  They want to establish themselves as the leaders in your industry, and they require knowledge that you’ve got but won’t share.

You need to give them what they want, and more.  Sure, it’ll cost you a new job position or two, but the sales related to it far exceeds the cost.

For example, let’s say you manufacture shoes.  Joe, a retailer who is aggressive online, has already built a nice website. He’s optimized the website so that he gets about 100 visitors a day.  These visitors are already warm leads, because they came to him through searches on Google such as ‘cool shoes’ and ‘warm boots’.  But Joe doesn’t show your cool shoes and warm boots because you won’t let him put pricing on his website. Or you won’t give him quality pictures of your boots. Or you won’t give him anything more than a stinkin’ paper catalog to search through for information.

Joe needs digital.

• Hi-resolution photos
• An excel spreadsheet with pricing, sizes and colors
• Two or three paragraph descriptions of EACH shoe
• Your logo, company history and other info about you
• Company and product datasheets and certifications

Joe needs better customer support.

• Someone he can instantly send a message to for answers to a quick question
• Someone that keeps him up-to-date with the latest changes and sales
• A way to dropship your products

The salesman (or “account representative”) that you assigned doesn’t give a damn about Joe. He cares about commissions.  That’s unfortunate, because he’s missing out on lots of them by blowing off Joe’s repeated requests for information.

Oh, and that last one is a doozy. I’m blown away by the amount of manufacturers who still rely on old school methods when it comes to leads.

Joe isn’t selling shoes only in Podunk Arkansas any more. Thanks to his website, he’s now selling them nationally. Or globally. But you don’t offer him a drop ship option. Instead you tell him that all the leads that are out of his geographical area should be referred to you, so you can send that customer to a local store. WHAT?!

You’re taking a warm (or hot) lead and telling them to wait. Hold on, we’ll tell you where you can drive to get what you want.  Instead you should enable Joe to sell that pair of shoes immediately and drop ship them for him. He deserves that sale, not some other local company that didn’t work for it.

Joe needs a lot of things in order to stay competitive today.  But most of all, Joe needs you to get with it.