The silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic for ROHM Semiconductor Europe was that it provided the company an opportunity to rethink how it markets itself and create a dynamic presence at three major trade shows last year, all of which were virtual. While some exhibitors grumble that online events miss the mark, the semiconductor supplier has made the most of them with the help of EPM Digital.
The full-service digital agency created a virtual 360-degree tour and booth for ROHM Semiconductor Europe, including a 3D-rendered, two-floor exhibition stand. It includes an interactive show car highlighting the company’s automotive products, access to multi-language online seminars, a room for one-on-one meetings with sales staff and a reception help desk for visitors to get assistance. A media lounge features a TV screen, and customers can switch between informative videos.
“Having such rich content in a small yet efficient space means that the user gets a full experience with a minimal number of clicks,” says Sam Allen, director of digital services for EPM Digital. “There is lots of exclusive content that isn’t just product specification sheets and information listed on ROHM’s website.”
Although semiconductors and composites are two distinct industries, composites manufacturers and suppliers could borrow a page from ROHM Semiconductor Europe’s strategy and embrace digital marketing. Connecting with customers using web content, email, social media, webinars and other forms of digital communication is paramount – particularly in the age of a global pandemic.
“This shift to digitization has been going on for a while, but what the pandemic did was put it on steroids,” says Mike Rabinovici, an advisor with AR Communications Inc. “Companies that have been sitting on the fence are jumping in, and those that have already been doing digital marketing are accelerating their efforts to reach their audiences.”
Seven Strategies to Consider
Marketing in 2021 encompasses a dizzying array of digital strategies, from search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising to email and social media marketing. “There’s not one tactic that’s better than another. The key is to reach out to customers and potential customers where they are having conversations,” says Rabinovici. “To tell ourselves as marketers that we are leading the conversation is a little misleading. Our job as marketers is to join where the conversation is happening.”
So what’s the most effective way to reach your customers and prospects? Marketing experts offer these seven tactics:
- Revamp your website. “People need to reimagine their websites. It shouldn’t be pdfs of product specifications. It’s your storefront to the web,” says Mark Jackson, president and CEO of Vizion Interactive. Search engine optimization (SEO) – getting targeted traffic to your website – is key. According to the online platform Smart Insights, 68% of all trackable website traffic in 2020 came from a combination of organic and paid search tactics.
Jackson helped one of his clients, the heating and cooling company Lennox, increase its rankings on Google. For instance, when people search “AC condenser,” Google thinks they want to know what a condenser is. Lennox features a buyer’s guide with a glossary of definitions on its website, helping the company attain the No. 1 ranking for AC condenser searches. “It doesn’t directly lead to sales, but it’s branding,” says Jackson.
