About Our Client
Our client is a West Coast-based manufacturer of innovative load securement solutions and transit protection products that help to reduce or eliminate damage to goods during transit regardless of modality — whether over-the-road or on the ocean. The company has several facilities that give them a nationwide reach, upholds a number of sustainability and manufacturing quality certifications, and partners with numerous industry associations.
They first came to Athena after acquiring a rotary die cutter to expand its transit protection offerings and address demand for corrugated boxes and trays amid vendor supply challenges. Recognizing limited expertise in the corrugated market, the company sought a partner skilled in new business development to maximize its investment.
Our team implemented a proven, holistic approach to outbound and inbound marketing for corrugated products, combined with front-end sales coordination and support. Here, we’ll explore specifically how the inbound marketing program was built and executed, along with the results. To learn more about the outbound marketing and front-end sales support components of the program, check out the full case study.
Hitting the Ground Running with a Fresh Web Presence
Inbound marketing for corrugated manufacturers, as with any manufacturing industry, requires a strong website, but that’s virtually impossible without web development and search engine optimization (SEO) expertise. As part of our program for this client, Athena recommended the development of a launchpad website — a website that is smaller in terms of page count but is built, optimized, and launched quickly. It serves as the foundation for a much larger web presence that is built out over time. Athena executed the launchpad website in a matter of months, ensuring our client was able to get its new web presence indexed and showing up in Google search results sooner.
With the foundation built and ready, our team then executed an ongoing inbound marketing program targeting keywords — i.e. what people search for in Google — around their corrugated and other dunnage products.
Right away, this consisted of building out numerous new pages for core products, manufacturing capabilities, industries served, regions served, industry associations, and more. Within a matter of months, the website went from a 8-page launchpad website to a robust website with more than 30 pages of content designed to target highly qualified searchers. Additionally, to expand keyword rankings beyond core capabilities, we supported the core site pages with ongoing blog content that answers specific questions, addresses industry trends, highlights product advantages, and more.
Every few months, our team connected with client leadership to report on progress, share recommendations, and identify any new opportunities based on sales needs and goals. And along the way, we consistently reviewed competitor sites to see where our client stood and to identify new SEO opportunities.
To ensure that the effort put into the inbound program (as well as all outbound efforts) was maximized, the Athena team leveraged our sales support services to follow up with all inbound leads. This means that whenever a lead from the inbound channel came in, our team was on top of it from the start — connecting with them right away to qualify them, determine their needs and fit with capabilities, and move them through the pipeline. This ensured that no inbound lead was lost or forgotten, and that we were able to reach a decision point from each lead.
The Results: Consistent Search Growth and a Strong Pipeline
The first year of our partnership focused on building this strong inbound marketing foundation and learning from its performance. Year two focused on refinement — focusing on our best performing keyword opportunities, targeting products and industries that were a top priority for the client, and leveraging our proven sales process and support to maximize the pull-through on every lead. As a result, our client has some impressive statistics — both in terms of SEO and its pipeline.
It’s important to note that SEO is a long-term effort, requiring patience in order to see results. New content and SEO work can take anywhere from 30 to 90 days to be indexed and to start performing in Google search results, and as the chart demonstrates, that patience produced results — compare Q2 of 2023 with Q2 of 2024, and you’ll see 60% growth!
It’s a New Day for This Leading Corrugated Packaging Company
Our client has enjoyed an ever-stronger web presence along with consistent pipeline growth throughout our relationship. We can do the same for your organization. If you’re a manufacturer in corrugated, folding cartons, flexible packaging, plastic packaging, labels, or a related industry, Athena has the proven approach and experience you need to achieve your revenue growth goals. See other examples of our success here.
Learn how we can tailor a plan to your business in a private consultation.