The State of B2B Marketing in Industrial Manufacturing

B2B manufacturing companies operate in many industries. McKinsey & Company break modern manufacturing down into five key sectors:

1. Global innovation for local markets
2. Regional processing
3. Energy and/or resource-intensive commodities
4. Global technologies/innovators
5. Labor-intensive tradables

Although each sector's products and services vary greatly, their commonality is the necessity to utilize digital marketing to maximize their growth. Today’s manufacturing scene is increasingly globalized, meaning many manufacturers are facing domestic and international competition. Because B2B manufacturers don't work with general consumers, they tend to overlook marketing. 

However, there are lots of great benefits to investing in a great digital marketing campaign. Not only can it better help manufacturers to connect with their target clients around the world, but it's also significantly cost-effective. Digital ads (e.g., Google, social, and native) are often less expensive than traditional mediums (e.g., television, radio, and newspaper) – around 62% less expensive! And inbound digital strategies can get you much more effective results. 

Here, let's look at some B2B marketing strategies perfectly suited for industrial manufacturers today.

Challenges B2B Industrial Manufacturers Face

Today’s industrial manufacturers need to get their message to the right group. They have a particular group of target clients, and they need to catch their attention. Digital Marketing provides the convenience of segmenting demographics, geographic locations, and audience behaviors that are more likely to be engaged by your marketing message. A well-designed digital marketing strategy allows you to take all of this information into account to reach your target audience. 

Thus, manufactures also need to develop the right campaign for their specific product and service offerings. Once they’ve identified where their target audience lives online, they need to create a compelling campaign that will get their attention and compel them to reach out for more information. As a manufacturer, you know that you have competitive advantages no one else can match, but you need to demonstrate those advantages to your prospective clients.

Taking customers through the sales funnel means providing them with meaningful content and walking them through the stages of learning about the business’ products and services to, ultimately, contacting the company. While many manufactures have streamlined their production processes, fewer have streamlined the sales funnel. 

Digital Marketing Strategies That Can Help

The best way for B2B manufacturers to start is to create a custom plan to connect with their target clients. A few strategies to build into that plan have proven to be especially effective in B2B industrial manufacturing.

• • Leveraging SEO to target the right customers: Find out what your target audience is searching for online and integrate those search terms into your content to boost its Google rankings.
  • Blogs to spotlight new services and special projects: Not only is this a strategic way to engage with prospects, but it's also a great way to integrate the latest keywords into your content.
  • Testimonials to build credibility: 91% of 18-34-year-olds trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. Integrating positive reviews from real customers into your website is a productive and immediate way to build instant credibility while managing your reputation.
  • Geotargeting to get the attention of your ideal customers: Are there clients you'd love to work with specifically? Geotargeting allows you to create digital ads geared towards a particular region, building brand awareness among that group. 

• • Day in the life videos: Build real human interest by integrating videos onto your website. People are most comfortable doing business with other people rather than faceless entities. Furthermore, videos allow you to showcase your processes and competitive advantages. 

These are just a few B2B marketing strategies that can help 21st-century manufacturers to connect with more prospective clients. IDS can help you develop a custom marketing plan for your manufacturing business from the ground up. We take your business, your clients, your goals, and your budget into account. Contact us today to start the process.