Marketing isn’t something you can ignore, even if you are a manufacturer. Actually, many manufacturers have been marketing for ages, but the ones you typically see reaching down through the supply chain are fashion, lifestyle or OEM brands. These companies have mastered their marketing initiatives and incorporated them into business practices for years. They understand that marketing supports their brand and drives sales.?
Beyond those major consumer brands we all see every day, business-to-business (B2B) marketing has been more about lead generation and the responsibility of the sales department. These team members are typically focused on generating demand at trade shows and face-to-face visits.
Even just a few years ago, this type of manufacturing marketing?worked successfully on its own. But in today’s competitive landscape, manufacturers can’t ignore more modern marketing techniques.
From content development to digital marketing, manufacturers are embracing new ways to connect with their audiences in meaningful and in some cases cost-conscious ways. They are realizing marketing is about fully understanding who your audiences are and how to engage them in ways that drive sales.
Reach Beyond The Circle to Know The Who, What, Where, When and Whys
Historically, manufacturers stayed within their small circle of existing relationships and were limited on making new connections through travel. It was all about who you knew and getting a reference to expand beyond that. To a certain extent, this is still true today. But in the age of digitalization, where the geographic reach is opened and the inbound marketing options to reach current and new customers is endless—the story has forever changed. It’s now possible to expand outside the circle of current connections and referrals to grow your business in new ways.
Before you start marketing a manufacturing business, there are important aspects of your audience that you need a thorough understanding of to make your efforts successful. You should research your who, what, where, when and whys.
- Who:?First, who is your target audience? As a B2B business you are focused on supply chain manufacturers, wholesalers, OEMs, etc. But you need to outline more than that. Be specific. The more thorough you are in your research, the more targeted your marketing can be with content that speaks to your audiences that will elicit better engagement. What industry, or industries, do you want to connect with? What is the size and type of company that needs or wants your product? Who within those organizations makes the purchasing decisions and what are their needs? Everyone needs quality products at affordable prices so they can turn a profit. But, is there a deeper need that is underserved by your competitors? What is driving your target audience’s purchasing decisions? Is it price, timing, payment terms, customer service, inventory management capabilities, support resources, etc.? Who is involved in the decision-making process? You need to communicate differently to managers, purchasing agents, executives and accounting teams. Understanding this will make all the difference later down the road.
- What:?This question isn’t focused on the products or services you offer. It is intended to unearth the answer to “What is the unique strategy you will pursue to engage and build relationships with your target audiences?”?57% of people?said they would be encouraged to make a purchase from a salesperson who doesn’t try to apply pressure or hassle them when following up.?74% of sales go to the first company that was helpful. Perhaps your “what” should be thought leadership—being the helpful, resourceful, industry expert that builds brand awareness.
- Where:?Where are your best target customers? Think beyond geographic regions. Where are the best places to reach them? What do they read? What trade shows and event do they attend? Where are they active on social media? Research and find the “where” for each phase in the buying life cycle: awareness, consideration and decision making.
- When and How:?We just mentioned the need to research the “where” so that you can create a plan for “when” your customers are in each phase of their buying efforts. Now, focus your questions on when and how. When your audience is in the awareness phase, how will you best communicate to them? When they are in their consideration phase, how will you best communicate their need to consider your business? And finally, when the business is in the final phase of making a decision, how will you provide them with content that moves them in a particular direction?
- Why:?This may be the most important series of questions you ask yourself. Understanding these answers is the critical foundation from which you will build all other decisions on. Why are you in business? Why is your business the best choice for customers, especially when there may be several other options (i.e., your differentiators)? Why should your internal team care about your business? What you do, what you communicate and how you choose to do so is built on these answers. In the end, it’s not all about the product you make. There are always other options for a buyer to choose from. Your “why” is what will set you apart, it’s tied to what you will deliver to buyers. With these answers, your marketing and sales materials will be consistent and “on message.” It also helps you better determine the perfect “who” we spoke about earlier.
Marketing Challenges Manufacturers Face
According to the?Digital Marketing Community, B2B marketers find it challenging to engage targeted prospects and generate leads. Even though technologies are continuing to evolve, the challenges manufacturers face remain consistent:
- Specific Needs: Business-to-consumer (B2C) brands market by driving large amounts of traffic to their e-commerce site and watch sales flow in. But the way in which B2B manufacturers operate means they don’t have the same amount of traffic on a website to leverage. There needs to be a balance between how much information to share for free, the information you share in return for visitor’s contact information, and being creative to make the most from website traffic to generate valuable leads as follow-up opportunities.
- Long Sales Cycle: Manufacturing companies have a much longer sales cycle than B2C brands. Digital marketing efforts won’t result in immediate conversions or sales. Most of B2B marketing is focused on brand awareness and lead generation. Then the leads can be turned over to the sales department to nurture in the hopes of closing a sale.
- Complex Products: Most of the manufacturers in a B2B environment sell complex, technical, sometimes customized products that don’t lend themselves to direct online sales. One product may cost thousands and have a variety of customizable specifications and features, which doesn’t lend itself to a simple sale sheet, website landing page, or online marketplace. Manufacturers have to decide what information buyers need upfront to secure interest, drive them to engage by directly contacting you or submitting their contact information for follow up—perhaps through a request for quote (RFQ) or simple inquiry form.??
- Multiple Decision Makers to Convince: Unlike consumer brands that simply need to find the right timing for promotions to their one or two decision makers, B2B manufacturers have to manage multiple stakeholders and convince each of them to purchase. The chain of command might start with an engineer and communicating awareness of the need, convincing management of the need, moving through to executives with research, then to the purchasing team with quotes, and back to engineering for specifications, etc. The entire cycle of selling each person may take months or even years.
Your marketing tactics must continue to support your sales efforts throughout the entire process to avoid losing the interest of just one decision maker. This can be done with strategic content development and smart marketing plans.
Advantages to Using Marketing in Manufacturing
According to the?Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Content Marketing Report, the top B2B performers are successful because they have a content marketing strategy in place and continually measure its performance. These businesses use their content to build loyalty with customers, nurture subscribers/audiences/leads, generate sales/revenue and build a subscribed audience. Other advantages of a strong marketing strategy are:
- Brand awareness: Digital marketing is proven to build brand awareness. The right content on digital platforms improves customer loyalty, keeping you top of mind and continuously and easily communicating your latest corporate, product or service improvements. It gives you a way to convince multiple decision makers that you, not your competitors, are the business to work with and gives you a platform to support this claim without spending time knocking on doors or making calls.
- Position your business as a thought leader: Smart, strategic content development establishes you as the resource for advice, industry knowledge, product or process training materials/classes and more. In a manufacturing environment, this is a necessity because it keeps your customers and target audience in your pocket—directing them back to you time and time again. Case studies and white papers are two key activities build?thought leadership?and are valuable tools in traditional and digital marketing programs. Blogs and social media platforms are also useful tools in supporting your presence as an industry thought leader. Sharing content here adds value to your efforts, while also promoting brand awareness.
Marketing Ideas for Manufacturing Companies
With a better understanding of your business and the advantages of marketing to your target audiences, you are ready to create a marketing plan. Following are some popular ideas to consider:
Marketing Strategy Analysis
The?role of marketing in the manufacturing industry?may be more important now than ever. When everyone in the industry is struggling with supply chain disruptions, employment vacancies and a competitive playing fielding, marketing your company needs to be a priority, strategic and analyzed.?
If you don’t continually evaluate your marketing strategy and tactics, you can’t be proactive to changes in your business or the industry. You won’t understand what is working and needs to be left for further evaluation, or what isn’t working and needs corrective action.
Insist on getting data for each of your activities so that everything is measurable. Just like measuring activities on the production floor, you need to measure your marketing efforts.?
If someone were to ask about your business’ profitability or where your margins are, you always know the answer. The same should be true for your marketing activities. There are so many analytic tools available (free and subscription-based) such as?Google Analytics, or the Google Marketing Suite of tools. That will provide you with reports.
Find a Partner to Help
When all is said and done, finding a partner that 1) understands the advantages of manufacturing marketing within the B2B environment, 2) knows the challenges you face, and 3) has a thorough understanding of your who, what, where, when and why from the start, is going to make your investment (time and financial) in marketing more successful and valuable in the long run.
The crew at WayPoint brings together decades of marketing experience and specialties to partner with clients as they navigate their sales life cycle. We specialize in brand development and awareness, content development, PR support, digital and traditional marketing and communications.?
If you aren’t sure how to measure your activities or where to start in the puzzle of?manufacturing and marketing,?contact us?and we will show you the way.
