Manufacturing companies have a unique set of challenges when it comes to acquiring new customers. Many deals build off of existing relationships, and new ones can take a long-time to come to fruition. Plus, many stakeholders in the buying process may not be as actively engaged with typical outbound marketing channels such as advertisements and emails. That's why firms need to implement marketing for manufacturing strategies specifically tailored to the needs of an extended and often complex selling process. We're here to show you how you can do just that for your manufacturing business.
Compared to B2C firms, manufacturers have an array of challenges to market their products to prospective customers. For one, your products are probably very specific, and what prospective customers seek is equally specific. It can be difficult to convey those product details and differentiators using traditional marketing tactics because they tend to be short, attention-grabbing, and can lack depth. Manufacturing deals also tend to be at a higher price point which means producers must more fully justify the value of selections.
Of equal importance, the manufacturing sales process is longer and more complex. While B2C marketing approaches attempt to create a sense of urgency, the B2B marketing strategy relies on a lengthy process where information is provided to gain trust in a way that dovetails with B2B sales efforts. It's all about identifying key stakeholders (and there are often many!) and nurturing each throughout a long sales cycle. Deciding what marketing levers to pull and prioritizing budgets and resources are key for manufacturers.
As we've outlined in our nationally recognized 2022 digital marketing trends blog, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition toward online sales and marketing tactics. Perhaps no area has seen more pronounced changes to the landscape than in industrial marketing strategy. Everything from prospecting through the offer are increasingly being done digitally. According to Gartner, B2B manufacturing buyers now spend only 17% of their sales cycle time meeting with sales reps. Instead, almost half of their pre-purchase time is being spent conducting research, much of it online. Comprehensive corporate manufacturing websites with product specs and service differentiators are more important than ever before.
High value manufacturing customers increasingly rely on digital approaches to your products. It's essential that you implement tactics to meet them where they are, finding and nurturing leads digitally. While you and your sales reps may have built your business by cultivating relationships via personal interaction, that process is being supplemented by online efforts, if not replaced. Leads are now generated through emails and form submissions after a website review of offerings. Basic sales inquiries are expected to be met by an FAQ page and downloadable product sell sheets. Even RFPs are being submitted online with presentations taking place via Zoom video calls.
As a B2B marketing agency, all of the marketing tactics we recommend to manufacturers build off of this changing landscape. It's imperative that you create more original content that clearly outlines your offerings. It needs to show up on the first page of Google Search results, be easily accessible, and when possible, downloadable. You also need to have a distribution plan that efficiently gets the content in front of the right stakeholders at the right time in the process. To those ends, here are our 5 marekting keys for manufacturers:
1) Focus On Branded Content Creation
2) Put Product Specs & Sales Rep Knowledge Online In Downloadable Form
3) Optimize Your Website For Speed And Ease Of Use
4) Implement A CRM That Leverages Automation To Target Stakeholders
5) Use Google And LinkedIn Ads To Build A Lookalike Audience
Not sure how to implement the 5 marketing keys for manufacturers? That's where we come in. We can work with you to develop a B2B marketing strategy that fits your unique needs, help you select and implement a CRM system that your sales team will actually use, and deploy marketing tactics that work. We know that as manufacturers, you understand the value of automating repetitive tasks. So why are you still marketing using traditional, labor intensive methods? We'll show you a better way to get the marketing results you deserve. Contact us to take the first step.