While it’s not uncommon for manufacturers’ order books to be continuously filled by repeat customers and recommendations, their long-term success does depend on their ability to cast their net much further afield.

Like most industries, the manufacturing sector is switched on to the benefits of marketing, both tried-and-tested traditional techniques and 21st century methods, including digital, inbound and content marketing.

According to a report carried out by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 78% of manufacturing marketing professionals use some form of inbound marketing and 71% of manufacturing content marketers list lead generation as a top organisational goal. 

But knowing which strategy is guaranteed to drive sales and generate a healthy pipeline isn’t always easy, particularly when you’re time-poor, have limited resources or haven’t always prioritised your marketing efforts.

15+ years’ manufacturing marketing success

Having delivered countless successful marketing and lead generation campaigns specifically for manufacturing companies for more than 15 years, we instinctively know which marketing tactics resonate the best within the world of manufacturing.

In fact, our proven Business PropellerTM lead generation process was developed to help business owners, including manufacturers and engineering companies, tackle one of their biggest challenges – how to find new prospects with the budget, authority and need; start a meaningful conversation with them and nurture them until they become loyal, repeat customers.

And while it’s encouraging to see many manufacturers are implementing marketing strategies, not all of these strategies have started in the right place. And, of course, there’s also the cluster of manufacturers who aren’t sure where to begin in the first place…

So, where should manufacturers start their marketing?

Well, the first step involves putting yourself in your prospects’ shoes and identifying their main pain points, and by pain points, we mean the business challenges that most keep them awake at night. Once you’ve honed in on this key piece of information, you then need to present them with a solution to their pain points. (Note – your prospects may have just one main pain point or multiple and you may have one, catch-all solution or several).

But being armed with this insight is only part of the equation. It’s essential the key decision-makers within the organisations you’re targeting: a) have an instant brand recall with your company, b) know and like you and c) trust you. And from your perspective, it’s important you market your solution to their problems, keep them warm with long-term nurturing campaigns and always, always follow up with them every month, no matter how busy things get.

Right messages to the right people at the right time

And this is where your marketing efforts are key. From your overall brand and your website, to your direct marketing materials, they all need to be clear and consistent and, more importantly, communicating the right messages to the right people at the right time (follow-ups included).

In today’s digital era, having a website is a basic marketing requirement and just simply having an online presence is just the start, especially as 99% of web visitors reportedly leave a site without making contact and 70% of people who go to your Contact Us page won’t actually make contact. (The words ‘horse’ and ‘water’ spring to mind here…)

While this is a significant obstacle, it is possible to overcome it, with the right strategy and implementation, such as web visitor forensic tools, online advertising, highly relevant content marketing campaigns and systemised follow-ups in place.

Admittedly, marketing for manufacturers isn’t without its challenges, but they are all challenges that can easily be tackled with the right insight and approach.

What’s more, if you’ve started your marketing at the point we suggested at the start of this post, then you won’t have half as many issues to deal with, meaning you can spend more time and energy nurturing leads that are guaranteed to convert.

Got any questions or perhaps you’re a manufacturer or an engineering company who’d like our help with developing and implementing a winning marketing strategy? Contact us on 01827 69772 or you can use the form on this page.