HORNET MANUFACTURING: Website Marketing & Rebranding
Guided by MMTC, we spent many hours positioning our site to produce more qualified website inquiries. We completely re-branded the company and after some hard-learned lessons, we refined our use of pay-per click advertising. MMTC even helped us revamp our logo. I’m very pleased that our enhanced website better supports our internal and external sales efforts. We’re establishing credibility with new customers, and our increased sales are a reflection of a successful effort.
-- Christi Shalosky, Vice President-Hornet Manufacturing, Inc.
Hornet Manufacturing, Inc. was established in 2006 and is located on 22 acres in Hudson, Michigan. Hornet’s core business is the production welding of fabricated metal products. Products include automotive weldments, heat exchangers, complete boilers and parts, and tube sheets. Primary welding processes include resistance, projection, GTAW, GMAW, and Robotic MIG. Other processes include plasma cutting, CNC milling, water jet cutting, and plate beveling and rolling. Their 48,000 square foot facility is divided into two sections to support both carbon steel and stainless steel products.
Challenge
Before contacting the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC), Hornet Manufacturing faced a big challenge: their complete dependency on the automotive and military market. With swings and downturns in the military market, Hornet Manufacturing needed a way to increase their awareness outside those markets. “We made automotive weldments, heat exchangers, and complete boilers mainly for automotive factories. We sold on our reputation within the industry,” stated Matt Shalosky, President for Hornet Manufacturing. He added, “The recession and downturn in the automotive and military markets was difficult to endure, but we managed to survive. We had to learn not to rely on word-of-mouth as an effective sales channel.”
Solution
MMTC rebuilt Hornet Manufacturing’s website. With assistance from MMTC Growth Services professionals, Hornet Manufacturing worked to identify and refine key word search terms, positioned their website to produce more qualified website inquiries, and re-branded the company, and refined the use of pay-per click advertising. As a result, Hornet Manufacturing’s website now better speaks to defined audiences, including the “Hold-M-Up®” product line which consists of Target Stands, Backers and Sign Holders.
Results
- Qualified website inquiries increased by 35%
- Sales increased by 125%