Inbound marketing for export company
An inbound strategy for BETANZOS HB
Betanzos HB manufactures Tablex (high-density fibreboard) from locally sourced and sustainably managed eucalyptus forests.
Unlike other types of wood board (plywood, triplay, MDF, DM or OSB, etc.), Tablex is formaldehyde-free, apart from that naturally present in wood, and is therefore exempt from compliance with CARB2 and TSCA Title VI standards and does not require certification. It can also be promoted as eco-friendly, as it does not contain any added synthetic adhesives.
The challenge
Betanzos HB exports 80% of its production, and in 2017 the conditions on the US market indicated the potential for improvement on the 10% registered at the time.
The solution
Bannister Global came up with an inbound strategy to promote Tablex among residential building contractors and architects as an eco-friendly alternatively to the types of fibreboard most commonly used in the USA.
The results
Betanzos HB managed to increase its US market, generating new leads via a website that received more than 900 visits in 2018.
In-depth
Inbound marketing is effective in selling products that are complex (requiring large amounts of information), relatively costly (non-transaction prices), involve numerous deciders (buying committees) and have a long sales cycle (more than six months). What’s more, they allow for penetration in large markets without the need for the major investments involved in deploying a physical sales network.
This is a long-term strategy aimed at delivering relevant content in order to convert it into quality leads for the sales department.
This case study analyses the following aspects:
- The development of an inbound strategy targeting fibreboard buyers in the US market.
- The creation of digital tools, taking advantage of the subsidies included in the Spanish Chamber of Commerce’s Xpande Digital programme.
- The results 10 months after the implementation of the plan.
Bannister Global provides us with a dynamic and proactive marketing department. The dedication shown by its professionals undoubtedly contributes to our sales communications, external relations and internal communications.
Roberto Pérez Veiga – CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR – BETANZOS HB
The challenge
Although the company had not carried out any specific marketing actions or allocated major resources to sales promotions, in 2017 the US accounted for 10% of Betanzos HB’s turnover. Tablex is a registered trademark in the USA, but brand awareness among the target markets was low.
However, the potential for growth in this market was high, attributable essentially to the following factors:
- The North American tradition of building wooden houses.
- The recovery of the US economy and the rise in GDP.
- The upsurge in the real estate sector.
- Growing consumer interest in eco-friendly materials.
Unlike other types of wood board (plywood, triplay, MDF, DM or OSB, etc.), Tablex is formaldehyde-free, apart from that naturally present in wood, and is therefore exempt from compliance with CARB2 and TSCA Title VI standards and does not require certification. It can also be promoted as eco-friendly, as it does not contain any added synthetic adhesives.
The management team at Betanzos HB was eager to boost sales in the USA for strategic reasons.
The solution
On the recommendation of Bannister Global, Betanzos HB benefited from the subsidies included in the Spanish Chamber of Commerce’s Xpande Digital programme in order to draw up a digital positioning plan for foreign markets in the first ten months of 2018.
Bannister Global designed a digital marketing strategy to reach out to B2B buyers and importers in the building wood sector. The written plan included a situation analysis as well as details of specific strategies and actions that would produce results. The strategy included the creation of buyer personas.
In order to ensure optimum positioning, a replica of the original tablex.eu website was created in a tablex.us domain, featuring content tailored to cater for the specific buyer persona. It consisted of a static site in WordPress with marketing content and marketing automation potential.
Bannister Global generated content suitable for capturing traffic and using an SEO strategy that targeted wood and fibreboard importers and wholesalers. The information included ideas on how to use the hardboard, highlighting its features and benefits, using a variety of styles and the analysis of long-tail keywords created for Xpande Digital.
The copy for tablex.us was written in the USA by expert copywriters, based on Betanzos HB’s corporate information and hardboard documents provided by Bannister Global.
The results
Despite starting from scratch, six months of weekly posts led to a rise in traffic following an improvement of the websites indexing on google.us.
Even though the website was new and featured hyper-segmented content targeting very specific buyer personas, in 2018 tablex.us received 900 visits and around ten backlinks on blogs and sector-specific websites.
Thanks to the website conversion points and the posts, Betanzos HB successfully increased its US market, generating new leads with a website that remains active and will continue to produce a steady flow of traffic over many years.
How can we help you?
Bannister Global develops results-oriented communication, marketing, and PR strategies. In the case of Betanzos HB, a client whom we support in various areas, inbound marketing provided the solution to a challenge.
If you require help with your industrial marketing, targeting B2B sales, then you need an agency staffed by professionals with expertise in helping companies that sell to other companies.
Contact us and find out how we can help your brand successfully meet its communication, marketing, and PR challenges.
