Fullerton Tool Company needed to jumpstart engagement and exports in their target market: Mexico. Given the success of the partnership with IBT Online in designing and launching their localized, best-practice websites in international markets including Mexico and Canada, Fullerton Tool Company decided to continue this partnership and sign up for the International Online Global Marketing Programs
The results have been outstanding. Now, prospects in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. can go online and order exactly what they want and enjoy a bespoke buyer experience, and, in turn, Fullerton Tool Company enjoys a diversified sales pipeline from their domestic as well as foreign markets. “We went from a handful of sessions on our new websites per month to 9,000 monthly sessions” says Beth Bauer, the Digital Operations Manager for the company.
Read more to learn how Fullerton Tool Company increased sales in Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. with the help of IBT Online.
Watch this video of Beth Bauer, from Fullerton Tool Company, discussing localized websites and ongoing international marketing campaigns, all delivered by IBT Online. As Bauer states: “It’s nice to see that we are increasing traffic to the site from ads and converting to actual sales! I consider IBT Online a trusted partner in helping us meet our exporting goals. Never have I felt that I have a partner with my brand’s best interest in mind than with IBT Online."
Launching Your Localized Presence
Fullerton Tool Company manufacturers solid carbide cutting tools. "We are the manufacturer that other manufacturers use to build their goods” says Bauer. Their customer base is primarily made up of distributors. They launched their new optimally localized, best-practice website in Canada and Mexico to promote their brand and streamline their services to customers there.
“We found that many Mexican distributors prefer to place orders online because they didn’t want to have a language barrier conversation with the sales team in the U.S.” says Bauer. Now their customers can go online and order exactly what they want and enjoy a more bespoke buyer experience. Fullerton Tools Company was solving multiple challenges at once thanks to their new localized website: empowering their distributors with digital solutions as well as offering their prospects a curated experience.
Fullerton Tools Company’s investment in localized websites reflects an understanding of how consumers around the world prefer to purchase. As Bauer recognized: "Our biggest challenge was not being accessible to non-English speaking customers. Now, we have a direct line of communication with our Spanish-speaking customers."
Research shows that consumers today prefer to think, act and research in their own language and on their preferred platforms. This is exactly what Fullerton Tools Company chose to provide.
Given the success of the newly launched Spanish-language Mexico website and the seamless process, Fullerton wanted to direct more traffic to the website. More traffic would mean more leads in the hands of their distributors and more sales. The Online Global Marketing Program was the natural next step and Fullerton Tools Company felt confident in IBT Online’s ability to deliver!
Paid Ads and Social Media Marketing
Building customer relationships is a two-way conversation. By creating a localized website in a new market, you show that you are open to a conversation. When you energize the localized websites with the Online Global Marketing Program, you start the conversation with your prospect. Now all the customer has to do is engage and respond!
International online marketing is crucial for growing your exports, sales, brand, and business. As Bauer states; "It gives your brand the awareness it needs to generate business regardless of where your target market is located, so you don’t have to have physical teams on the ground in those markets.”
IBT Online designed, launched, and optimized targeted Search Engine Advertising and social media marketing campaigns to direct more traffic to Fullerton Tool’s Mexico website. This increased the number of leads coming into their Mexico website, which they could turn over to their sales team to nurture and convert into loyal and satisfied customers. Directing leads to their Mexico website and social media pages opens the door for "interactive conversations" which in turn leads to long-term returning customers.
Many companies are hesitant to invest in ad campaigns because of the perceived high cost and low rewards. IBT Online’s approach is unique. The focus is placed on the customer experience to ensure they have resources in their language to make informed decisions to move forward, engage with the brand and buy. The key is to make your website and marketing easy to understand by your prospects and easy for them to do business with.
Fullerton Tool understood this and decided to leverage our Online Global Marketing Programs and IBT Online’s expertise to further increase their brand visibility in their domestic market, the U.S. That’s right, IBT Online’s Marketing Programs have been designed to not only be customizable to each company’s industry and target persona but also to be able to support both international and domestic efforts.
Although they already had an established brand and customer base in the U.S., the results achieved through the Online Global Marketing Programs, leveraging Search Engine and Social Media Marketing, speak for themselves:
- 10% of newly registered users come from paid ads from campaigns
- 2% of online cart checkout come directly from ads
These marketing programs are not only yielding ROI, but the Online Global Marketing Program is yielding a high return on ad spend for Fullerton Tools Company.
The results are tangible and felt both by their distributors on the ground in Mexico, who now have a full pipeline of leads to nurture, but also by the sales team in the US as they can easily track an increase in ecommerce attributable to the Ads. For the team based in the U.S. the results reaffirm that the strategy is paying off, as Bauer states: “It’s nice to see that we are increasing traffic to the site from ads and converting to actual sales!”
Tracking the Success of Your Campaign
To keep the customer conversation going and nurture your leads throughout their buyer’s journey, it's essential to continually refine your messaging. "IBT Online examined what’s working and not working” says Bauer. “This is crucial to our long-term success. The wrong traffic to our site means nothing to our ultimate bottom line.”
The IBT Online team ensures high-quality leads are attracted to the website and launches re-engagement campaigns to keep the leads coming back and engaged. Thanks to the ongoing marketing results, Fullerton Tools Company has confidence that they are choosing the right partner in IBT Online, who will support and guide their marketing strategy to ensure long-term business growth domestically and internationally. As Bauer confirms; “I consider IBT Online a trusted partner in helping us meet our exporting goals. Never have I felt that I have a partner with my brand’s best interest in mind than with IBT Online.”
Our team is focused on meeting your goals by increasing your brand's website traffic, engagement, and conversions. Get started today with your own Online Global Marketing Program and leverage IBT Online’s expertise to grow your business and boost your exports in any of your target markets.
