Get a sense of a lead who seemed uninterested would suddenly start considering it| Manufacturing A
Tips how to utilize MA to make up for the lack of sales resources.
Please give us an overview of your company's business and the areas you are responsible for
We manufacture and sell precision equipment, jigs, and peripheral items for testing semiconductor devices and materials.
Our main customers are private companies such as semiconductor manufacturers and semiconductor material manufacturers, as well as national research institutes and universities.
We are more of a manufacturer, with about 70% of our employees involved in manufacturing, and many in technical positions such as development.
On the other hand, there are very few sales members, and I am the only one in Osaka. There is one person in the Tokyo sales office, but so far I am the only one who concurrently handles marketing duties such as exhibiting at exhibitions.
【Challenges before implementation】Capture the moment when a lead who seemed uninterested suddenly convert to consideration
Our products range in price from 10,000 to 20,000 yen for consumables, but for equipment, the price ranges from several million yen to tens of millions of yen, so the consideration period is long. In the early stage, a decision may be made in about three months, but more than half of the orders take one to two years.
For example, in cases where it takes more than half a year to consider an order because the budget has already been transferred, we have only been able to respond to the order on a spur-of-the-moment basis because our resources have been taken up by chasing the most recent customers.
In the case of a short-term battle of three months or so, we could follow up with the customer, but even if we tried to call a customer in the consideration stage who had already made an inquiry once every six months, if the customer said, "There's nothing to tell," it was over and there was nothing we could do.
However, there are often cases where a lead who seemed uninterested suddenly starts to consider the idea. But it was not possible to call them every day to check on their interest, and it was a challenge for our sales team to grasp this timing.
I didn't know much about marketing automation (MA) before that, but I happened to learn about it at an exhibition I visited in January 2020. Then I started researching about MA.
【Selection Points】A simple and cost-effective tool for a MA beginner
What was the reason why you chose BowNow from among the many MAs?
The first thing that hooked us was the phrase in Mtame's presentation material about being able to grasp the timing of sudden germination for our sales issues.
We compared several MA companies, but we were attracted by the affordability of BowNow's cost and the fact that it is a simple tool that even a MA beginner can use.
We didn't know much about scenario functions and scoring at the time of selection, so we decided we wouldn't use it.
【Measures and Usage】Step-by-step email distribution to leads who have downloaded our materials has been very successful.
What kind of measures are you currently using BowNow for?
There are three major measures we are taking.
The first is form-initiation through document download (DL), etc. Before BowNow, catalog requests were in a form that could be freely downloaded, but now we ask our leads to fill out a form to obtain their personal information.
The second is email marketing.
First, we send out a monthly e-mail newsletter with seasonal information to leads who have made inquiries or downloaded documents. We import the business card information that we have acquired so far into BowNow, and segment them with tags before sending them out.
In addition, we used to proactively approach the leads who made inquiries, but not the leads who DL'd our materials, so we started to approach them with step-by-step emails that deliver additional information on a weekly basis.
In the last email, I add a greeting as a sales representative and a phrase "Please contact us anytime.
We are also able to automate the process by using BowNow's triggered delivery function.
The third is to follow up with customers while monitoring the site status.
When I make a sales approach over the phone, I refer to the log information for reference, but while I'm at the office, I always have the "View Site Status" page open, and I refresh it every 15 minutes or so to check the status, link it to the lead information, and visually check the status as I follow up.
【Future Outlook】Directing unknown leads with a clear need to fill out a form
What would you like to challenge in the future with BowNow and marketing initiatives?
There are three major points to this as well.
The first is to seamlessly connect customer information management, negotiation management and MA. Now that we can use BowNow to capture customers, the next step is to link customer information with the types of business negotiations we are conducting. First of all, we would like to deepen our understanding by trial and error to see how far we can go with BowNow.
Secondly, we would like to capture personal information from unknown leads who access our website by directing them to fill out forms.
The reason for this is that when we look at the browsing history of unknown leads, whose only name is the company name, we often find that they are clearly looking for a specific product or have a specific need. This is a huge waste of time because once you have their name and contact information, you can easily approach them for sales. We are considering measures to make them feel free to fill out the form.
Thirdly, I'd like to spread BowNow to the other sales members. We are still trying to encourage them to check out BowNow, but it is not easy. I'm thinking of having them start by absorbing knowledge about MA, such as attending Mtame seminars.
【Customer's Voice】Simple UI that can be understood with just a quick glance
Please tell us your message to prospective customers and what you expect from BowNow in the future.
The UI (user interface) is simple and easy to grasp the situation.
With tools that are integrated with CRM, it is sometimes difficult to see what information is where or to understand it at a glance, but BowNow is easy to see. I mentioned earlier that I keep the "View Site Status" page open all day long, and this is possible because I can understand it with just a quick glance.
As for requests, I'd like to be able to send emails to leads when their needs become apparent, and I'd like to see more parts of the system that can be automated.
