How United Electric Controls Increased Leads in China, Latin America and Brazil

If you want to sell more products and services online, you can’t sit back and wait for buyers to stumble across your website, especially when it comes to international prospects.

To attract more leads online, United Electric Controls worked with IBT Online to develop a proactive strategy for the Chinese, Latin American, and Brazilian markets. IBT Online delivered a customized solution, including three localized websites and search engine advertising. A year later, UEC is seeing more leads than ever before and achieving click-through rates on their websites that are consistently above the industry average.

Focusing on the Buyer’s Journey

A significant percentage of your buyer’s journey is completed before reaching out to a sales department person. Most buyers do extensive research and homework before they purchase, and most of this happens online. A seller’s website, digital footprint, and ranking on search engines is critical to success, especially when doing business abroad.

UEC realized they needed to focus on their international buyer’s online journey to increase export sales. UEC is a manufacturer of industrial safety instrumentation such as wireless gas detectors, pressure and temperature switches, and transmitters used in the oil, gas, chemical, power, water, and wastewater industries. The company is based just outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

They have a partner network that spans the globe in more than 100 countries, but they still had trouble getting found online by potential customers overseas.

Julian Yeo, Strategic Marketing Manager, was looking to expand the company’s online marketing presence when he decided to enhance its virtual footprint. UEC has now developed three international websites in three languages to serve their brand in Latin America (Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish) and Asia (Mandarin). 

Website Localization: So Much More than Translation

UEC’s three international websites look the same on the surface, but there’s so much more behind the scenes. Check them out here:

Potential customers in Latin America use and explore websites much differently than those in the US. The same is true for buyers in Asia. Merely translating the text into Portuguese, Spanish and Mandarin was not going to work. UEC’s online presence had to "talk the talk AND walk the walk" of their potential customers.

They accomplished that by specifically tailoring each website to each market. Now the localized websites look and function like modern, easy-to-navigate websites in Latin America and Asia. They have a look and feel that local buyers are familiar with and can trust as they research products online.

Getting Found on Search Engines

Taking the strategy one step further, UEC launched international marketing campaigns to drive more quality traffic, further increase engagement and conversions to their new localized websites through search engine advertising.

Remember, a significant amount of the buyer’s journey happens online while they are researching. Buyers turn to search engines to start their research. The goal here is to catch their eye and captivate their attention FIRST before they "click" on a competitor’s website. A search engine advertising strategy is crucial for achieving website page views and clicks.

As a result, Yeo says, "Click-through rates are consistently above the industry average."

When potential buyers are clicking on the website, this is where the magic happens! They start to learn about the products and services offered, and the door is now open for the sales team to close the deal.

Increased Website Traffic Yields an Increase in Leads

A localized website and the right search engine advertising strategy can improve website traffic in just a few months. This strategy has proved to be effective in increasing leads for UEC, thus expanding their sales pipeline. Now, international buyers are finding UEC’s websites, checking out their products - and most importantly - buying.

“We have seen our pageviews increase multiple-fold, with at least 80% of website visitors being new visitors. We’ve also seen a marked increase in the number of leads coming from our international websites,” says Yeo. 

IBT Online is an MMA Premium Associate Member and has been an MMA member company since July 2021. Visit online: ibt.onl.

About the Author

Andrew Lawlor is the Online Business Development Manager for IBT Online which is committed to helping US companies grow their exports, brand, and business internationally through the Online Global Initiative. He may be reached at 616-649-7005 or al@ibt.onl.