Last Updated on April 18, 2023 by Admin
In the era of online commerce, creating a state-of-the-art website is one of the most essential elements to help your business succeed. However, while there are countless tools and resources out there that can help businesses achieve this end, not all of them are created equal in regard to the business material industry. Therefore, to help meet the unique needs of your company, the following 4 software additions are some of the most pertinent considerations when constructing a building materials website.
1. Local SEO Optimization Add-Ons
The race to win search engine results is no secret among business owners. After all, some major corporations will spend up to $20,000 each month to retain SEO specialists whose sole responsibility is making sure that the business’ content is forever relevant among Internet shoppers.
While it is unlikely that your building materials business will need to spend that kind of cash on SEO performance, it is nevertheless critical that your website be built around winning searches–specifically, local SEO searches. Although having a state-of-the-art website can put you in contact with customers all over the country, the reality is that the majority of your customers will likely come from a comparatively small radius. Among these local shoppers, a whopping 76% will do some sort of Internet search prior to making an in-person purchase.
As a result, a website optimized to capture traffic for the “best roofing tiles in Denver” is much more powerful than “best roofing tiles.” While the latter phrase will likely put your business in contact with clients performing general, informational searches, the more specific, localized phrase will yield a buyer ready to find a place to purchase.
Therefore, make sure your hosting platform has the best SEO analytics package installed to leverage these types of searches. Include relevant content, tags, and photos to appeal to those clients making area-specific searches and watch your revenue grow.
2. Top Notch Dealer Locator Page
Although the building materials delivery industry is burgeoning, with specialized companies emerging whose sole focus is on-demand delivery within the construction sector, there will always be clients looking for a place to load their trucks with building supplies. Therefore, whether they are repeat customers looking for more of your product or new clients who have done their research and decided to go with your materials, it is paramount that they quickly and conveniently be directed to a location to buy.
As a result, all building materials companies must have an elite dealer locator page on their website. The best dealer locator software for a building materials website will have a number of important features:
- Mobile friendly – construction professionals are often on the go and need to pick up supplies on the spur of the moment. You should have mobile-friendly software that allows your website to access their location and use GPS to point them in the direction of the nearest vendor, dealer, or retailer
- Inventory information – when a client shows up to a dealer only to find an empty shelf, they are more likely to choose a competitor than spend time looking for an alternate location to buy your product. Therefore, quality locator software will have real-time stock information so that clients can see if there is sufficient inventory to meet their needs
- Sparse and straightforward – clients should not get lost in a sea of text trying to locate a vendor. The page should be simple, clean, and make it easy to search for a vendor location. All “go” tabs or search buttons should be in red or some other bold, unmistakable color
- Powerful pictures – the page should have a camera roll with street and parking lot views of the storefront so that customers know they have the correct location upon arrival
3. Product Simulation Features
No matter how innovative or well-fabricated your building materials are, it can be hard to visualize how they will mesh with a construction project until they are seen in action. To help in this regard, the best building materials websites use advanced software that allows clients to simulate materials. Using this software, customers should be able to upload their pictures, 3D rendering, or other images and see how your products look when incorporated with the project. This will allow clients to switch out different colors and designs ahead of time, helping them avoid costly rework scenarios of getting to the job site and wanting or needing a different style of product.
4. Customer Relationship Management
Finally, every building materials website needs to leverage software that allows it to improve the customer journey. The best customer relationship management (CRM) software will help the business with everything from cultivating leads to nurturing profitable, ongoing client relationships.
Some of the critical features of the best CRM software include:
- Information capture, allowing for automated, follow-up emails and ongoing communication regarding deals, sales, new products, or incentives
- Social media management tools that allow the business to regularly communicate with clients via their preferred social channels
- Order automation, which will make life easier for both the business and the client by placing orders at scheduled intervals
- Customer service features, such as chatbots that can give leads real-time answers to their specific questions
The Most Critical Software Additions for Building Material Websites
Building an attractive, dynamic, and interactive website is critical for business success in 2021. To this effect, there are a number of important software additions that can help a building material website succeed. Four of the most relevant are SEO add-ons, dealer locator installations, product simulation features, and CRM tools. When used together, these 4 important additions can help any building material website thrive.
