Glass companies lag behind consumers when it comes to online marketing and selling. Although most consumers say they start online when looking for local listings, the majority of glass companies still dedicate most of their marketing dollars to print media.

“Seventy-three percent of adults are online. And 59 percent say they start online when looking for local listings,” said Scott Orth, director of Internet marketing strategies for GTS Services LLC in Portland, Ore. Orth spoke Sept. 12 at GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window and Door Expo in Atlanta. “If you’re using your entire marketing budget in the Yellow Pages, you’re losing two-thirds of your audience.”

Glass companies have not kept pace with online consumers. In the Sept. 25 e-glass poll, 63 percent of industry respondents said they spend most of their marketing dollars on print advertising and promotions. About 12 percent said online, and less than 2 percent said television.

“Most glass shops still rely on the Yellow Pages and word of mouth; that’s where their marketing comes from,” says Bill Evans, president of Evans Glass Co. in Nashville. “We are experts in our industry, but in nothing else. So, our marketing hasn’t really changed in the last 10 years.”

Internet marketing strategies include developing an effective Web site, creating the best search terms, getting on local Internet listings and establishing Web advertising.

Tim Czechowski, president of Artwork in Architectural Glass in Newport Beach, Calif., says Web development is his company’s top marketing priority.

Almost all of AAG’s budget goes to online marketing, Czechowski says. “Online advertising—how we build our Web site and keywords—that’s far and away the most time and effort we put into marketing,” he says.

Effective keywords are critical, as more and more customers use search engines to find information about a product rather than going to a specific source. “The Web is where everyone is going first. If you’re an architect looking for a product, you go right to a search window and type in whatever you need,” Czechowski says. The right keywords ensure that a company appears higher up in the search results.

Google, Yahoo, Ask, MSN and other search engines also provide advertising opportunities where a brief text ad will appear next to relevant search results. Orth recommended Google’s advertising campaign, as it has the most searches. Visit https://adwords.google.com for more information.

Instead of just appearing in the print Yellow Pages, companies should also pay to appear on local online listings through sites such as Google, Yahoo and YellowPages.com.

As far as Web site design, Orth said companies need to focus on interactivity. Once customers get to a site, they need reasons to stay.

Some interactive elements include posting TV commercials, developing industry-related games or tools
“Companies can put TV commercials on their Web sites,” Orth says. “They can create games or tools, or a customer survey.”

One example included a tool that asked customers to input information about their home and fenestration products to find out the air quality. In addition to providing survey results, a company can include recommendations for improvement.

Read a full feature about how glass companies are moving beyond print marketing in the November issue of Glass Magazine.

—By Katy Devlin, e-Newsletter Editor, e-glass weekly

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