Small businesses that specialize in products and services that are helpful or incidental to oil and gas companies need to use innovative and cost effective online marketing strategies – particularly if they are competing against bigger companies with massive marketing budgets.
While having a website and driving Internet traffic are important, they are not enough on their own to improve revenue for small businesses that operate within the very competitive oil and gas industry. They need to employ other techniques such, as list building, in order to obtain leads that sales personnel can pursue and nurture.
Building An Online Contacts List
A large database of potential clients and their contact information is a gold mine of sales leads for suppliers to the oil and gas industry to nurture and grow for business success. List building is an essential marketing technique for growing a database of potential clients or buyers. Every business, regardless of size and nature of activity, must continually expand its market to grow and/or compensate for client attrition.
List building works by collecting names and essential information such as contact details through which future sales and marketing information can be communicated.
The traditional method of collecting names and contact details requires personnel and plenty of time spent attracting potential clients, offering an incentive to complete information for database building. Online, list building may be accomplished on a website, albeit through automated systems such as an opt in form which will offer a free item or service in exchange for client data. Such opt in forms and follow up/broadcast messages are best managed via an autoresponder like Aweber.
The free item can be anything, as long it has a perceived value to the prospect. Information products such as eBooks and white papers on a relevant current subject or issue work best and can be delivered immediately site visitors who complete the opt-in process.
So its important for oil and gas industry supplier websites to have access to a content writer who understands their niche, in order to develop such reports and eBooks, and even online newsletters. They may have someone in-house who is perfect for the role, or engaging an external writer who understands the concepts behind list building is even better.
Growing Your Website
In addition to creating information products, all business websites, regardless of their niches, should regularly unique and fresh written content to their sites. These might be in the form of blog or news posts and articles, or short PDF reports, ready for download.
Local Suppliers Rule!
Upstream oil and gas companies need goods and services for operations and for ensuring the safety and well-being of personnel and workers. Small sized suppliers in the local area are in an ideal position to meet the industry requirements for auxiliary or support services.
Through regular Internet marketing using quality web content, small businesses can compete on an even playing field with their bigger competitors. Understanding the importance of great online content will help them do just that.
If your businesses is a supplier to the oil and gas industry, let me help you with your website content strategy.