Inbound Marketing Report – Kärcher v Nilfisk
Each organisation’s approach to inbound marketing
Kärcher’s approach to inbound marketing is that of simple design and navigation combined with expertise and knowledge, knowing who their customers are (buyer persona’s) with two simple choices, successful and well followed social media, using different platforms to showcase different areas of their business, Facebook with promotional offers and savings aimed at the household, LinkedIN aimed more at business sharing content from other organisations. Amazon Ads where used when launching new B2C (business-to-customer) products to help connect with potential shoppers and build their business. (Karcher uses sponsored ads to promote their new product line, n.d.). Keyword word concentrated advertising and UGC (user-generated content) in the form of reviews. To improve their customers online buying journey and to help them identity their shoppers’ movements they implemented the Hatch Where to Buy Online solution, this shortened the buyer’s journey and gave them more online purchasing options (Kärcher: Driving Business to Customer eCommerce | Hatch, n.d.). Bring back the WOW is Kärcher’s latest strategy focusing on real life and a little emotion, the inside Kärcher section looks at the customers and their stories rather than just re-branding to increase recognition. (Dittmar, 2020).
Nilfisk aim their inbound marketing more at the professional sector as more of their products are for B2B, promoting their latest product range and a link to find your local site/dealer which is helpful to visitors so they can start their journey in the right place. Nilfisk latest strategy is all about Clean is Changing and you can see this clearly throughout their site and social media. (Clean is changing | Nilfisk, 2021). As well as Clean is Changing they have a strategy called “Nilfisk Next” which is about future opportunities and technology with four clear drivers, Simplify, Grow, Digitize and Lead. (About Nilfisk | Nilfisk, 2021). The use of a CTA (call-to-action) at the bottom of their main page is clearly inviting you to become part of the journey with them, “Sign up for our newsletter, and follow our journey into more intelligent cleaning”. Nilfisk has a good social media presence and following, choosing different platforms depending on which part of their site you are on, the use of E-books, videos, helpful hints, competitions and links back to their website. They openly promote they want people to join their community and get social with them.
Strengths & weaknesses of the inbound marketing approach used by each organisation
Kärcher’s strengths are in their simplicity, their home page with clear choices and direction for the customer (Home & Garden or Professional), clear quality images with their distinctive yellow and black colour scheme. Simple navigation, white space and CTA’s (call-to-action), a mobile friendly website, they have a lot of quality, informative content, their focus on their customers and their stories gives visitors trust in the products, a weakness could be that Kärcher do not have a blog, they could engage more with customers on their home page with their vast amount of good video content.
Nilfisk’s strengths is their clear message “Clean is Changing” and how it is used throughout their online presence, their 4 dimensions of clean and their solutions uses quality keyword strong content which describes all their products, and it is a strong message to engage their customers on a journey. A weakness is not enough attractive CTA’s (call-to-action)and a clear direction for their visitors, they should highlight Home & Garden as well as Professional.
Which organisation was best at inbound marketing and why
All round Kärcher pips Nilfisk when it comes to their inbound marketing with the basic things done very well with only two journeys to choose, quality imagery, CTA’s (call-to-action), white space along with their products sold on many platforms globally, their SEO (search engine optimisation) on their products almost guarantees high rankings.
Give examples of how each organisation could improve its inbound marketing
Its hard to find improvements for such large global organisation with such a well recognised name and product as Kärcher, but they could include a blog especially for the home & garden sector of their audience, may be use some of their quality video content to help engage the visitors as soon as they land on the website.
Nilfisk could improve their home page by simplifying and making clearer choices when it comes to their products, use of quality keyword content and better quality images, a blog could possibly attract the B2C (business-to-customer) visitors, more attractive CTA’s (call-to-action at the top of the site rather than at the foot. Page load speeds are an issue on some pages.
References
Amazon Advertising. n.d. Karcher uses sponsored ads to promote their new product line. [online] Available at: https://advertising.amazon.com/en-gb/library/case-studies/karcher [Accessed 19 December 2021].
Hatch. n.d. Kärcher: Driving Business to Customer eCommerce | Hatch. [online] Available at: https://www.gethatch.com/en/karcher-improving-the-customer-journey/
[Accessed 22 November 2021].
Dittmar, M., 2020. Bring back the WOW! | Kärcher International. [online] Kaercher.com. Available at: https://www.kaercher.com/int/inside-kaercher/company/media-information/media-information/1926-bring-back-the-wow.html [Accessed 22 November 2021].
Nilfisk.com. 2021. About Nilfisk | Nilfisk. [online] Available at: https://www.nilfisk.com/global/about-nilfisk/about-nilfisk-group/ [Accessed 19 November 2021].
Nilfisk.com. 2021. Clean is changing | Nilfisk. [online] Available at: https://www.nilfisk.com/global/campaigns/clean-is-changing/ [Accessed 11 November 2021].
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