It’s our Halloween blog post, but we’ll keep our ideas here on the Treat side of Trick or Treat.  

The GGC community certainly enjoyed a Marketing Treat to remember when we invited Alan Gaffney, Vice President of Global eBusiness & Digital Marketing at Parker Hannifin Corporation, to speak at our recent Marketing Summer Camp. 

He’s had a fascinating challenge at Parker, our multi-billion dollar client: how do you develop a digital presence for 100+ divisions and business units that are specific to the needs of the individual business, yet still tied together to present one global Parker brand identity? 

It’s all tied to customer experience, he explained, not Parker’s needs. It’s easy for companies to get caught up in their own priorities and agendas, but that tends to skew the online user experience for customers who just need what they need at that instant - accurate specs, comparative performance information, installation/maintenance information, related products to purchase, and simple purchase instructions. That’s a tall order, particularly when you need to present the information in ways that are easy to find, mobile and in multiple languages.  

Alan talked about how Parker’s digital transformation during the past few years required a change to how they thought about online customer interactions: 

1. How do Marketing, Engineering and Manufacturing work together to present information to customers that’s relevant to their jobs – whether they’re design engineers, purchasing or maintenance/operations people in the plant?  

1. How do you get beyond “data sheet marketing,” so you’re presenting product knowledge that goes beyond what a data sheet conveys?  

1. How do you inject the Parker “story” behind the many thousands of pumps, hoses, connectors, sensors and systems in a way that adds to the Parker brand experience? These online experiences are replacing what used to happen in person, so the digital platform has to do more than just present the specs but has to carry forward the brand in a way that’s personalized and relevant. 

Alan tells his story much better than our summary here. To hear it first-hand, click here.