Distributor Website Challenges and Solutions
Distributors are faced with a unique challenge when it comes to developing web site content. Frequently a distributor will represent many products from numerous manufacturers.
We have observed distributors representing up to 10,000 products and as many as 20 manufacturers!
The challenge for a distributor begins when a visitor enters their web site. Web site visitors expect to find detailed product information. Absent this information, visitors will quickly leave the web site in favor of a more competitive and comprehensive site.
The requirement for information-rich product pages provides the distributor with two options. The distributor can either replicate all or some manufacturer content on their web site or link to the manufacturer’s website.
Each of these options has limitations:
- Linking to the manufacturer’s website:
- Manufacturer’s web sites frequently provide a list of geographically organized distributors.
- By linking to the manufacture’s web site, there is a chance that the visitor will end up purchasing the product from a competitor in close geographic proximity.
- Distributor replicates content on their web site:
- cost prohibitive - depending on the number of manufacturer’s and/or number of products represented.
- difficult to keep content current.
A better solution is to open the manufacturer’s web site within a framed page residing on the distributor’s web site. In this situation, the top portion of the framed page is branded with the distributor’s web site header including:
- company name and logo,
- address,
- phone and fax number,
- a link to distributor’s contact us page, and
- a clearly defined back button which closes the framed page and returns the visitor to the previous page on the distributor’s web site.
Advantages of this approach include:
