4 Ways Industrial Digital Marketing Is Changing Manufacturing

Industrial digital marketing is forever changing how manufacturing companies and other industrial operations engage with their customers and prospects. If you’re a manufacturing marketer, you may have already invested in modernizing your processes to better promote and sell your business online, such as a new website.

However, in spite of new advances in digital technology, many manufacturers are still not using the full potential of B2B digital marketing. In this blog post, we’ll take a quick look at some of the most important developments in digital marketing for manufacturers. We’ll also share some ideas for how you can take advantage of industrial digital marketing strategies and tactics to grow your business.

1. Industrial Digital Marketing Driving Rep-Free Services

According to a recent Gartner report, 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free sales experience where they can purchase goods and services online. Industrial digital marketing is driving this “self-service” that is becoming the new commerce standard in manufacturing. Prospects can learn at their pace and convenience, and do not have to engage with your company until they are better educated and have more questions related to their consideration or purchase decision.

A "rep-free sales experience" might include:

• Online product catalogs with detailed specifications and pricing (if applicable).
• Self-service configuration tools or calculators.
• E-commerce platforms for direct purchasing of standard products.
• Online portals for requesting quotes or submitting RFPs.
• Comprehensive online knowledge bases or support documentation.

Your seamless customer experience also should include multiple inbound and outbound marketing tactics. Here are a couple of examples.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing tactics help prospective customers find your company when they’re searching for equipment and services to get something done. Maybe they’re searching online for a new compressor for a hydraulic pump or maybe they need a new industrial air filtration system for their facility.

Comprehensive website content, insightful blog posts, and authoritative thought leadership articles serve as a virtual knowledge base, providing prospective buyers with the detailed information they need to understand their challenges, explore potential solutions, and evaluate your offerings without requiring initial contact with a sales representative. By offering in-depth specifications, application examples, and troubleshooting guides online, you empower customers to conduct thorough research independently.

Once your prospects have engaged with your website or marketing content that addresses their challenges, you can earn trust and help them into the consideration and decisions phases with:

• Video content and webinars
• Interactive infographics and FAQs
• Nurture emails that are automatically triggered when audiences engage with your website content

Be sure to include “contact us to learn more” options throughout their journey.

Outbound Marketing

Outbound industrial marketing is how you find your target manufacturing customer personas, who are most likely to need your products and services. These tactics may include:

• Programmatic advertising, including targeted digital/display ad campaigns can lead potential buyers directly to specific product pages or resources on your website where they can learn more and potentially initiate a purchase or request a quote independently.
• B2B paid search marketing, including PPC strategy, helps prospects with buying intent find your information and explore your offerings without initial contact.
• Automated email sequences deliver relevant information based on a buyer's online behavior, guiding them through the decision-making process without direct sales engagement until they are further along or have specific questions.
• Industrial trade publications and directories, including sponsored content (such as white papers or e-guides) offer in-depth knowledge that can help buyers understand their needs and evaluate solutions independently before potentially reaching out.

Again, all of this can be done without a sales call, allowing the prospect to learn at their pace and convenience. Digital marketing efforts contribute to enabling a rep-free experience and benefit both buyers and sellers.

2. A Quicker Path to Brand Awareness Than Personal Sales Networks

For small manufacturers looking to make a big impact without breaking the bank, digital content marketing offers a powerful and affordable way to build brand awareness. Think of it as getting your name in front of potential customers before they even start actively looking to buy.

Not long ago, manufacturers relied heavily on sending salespeople out to educate prospects about their products. While personal connections still matter, today's buyers typically begin their journey with online research. Digital content allows you to be present and informative at this crucial early stage of the buying process.

This digital approach offers significant advantages, especially for smaller companies. Prospects can easily share your online content with colleagues and decision-makers within their company. This eliminates the need to rely on costly trade show visits to gather and distribute informational materials.

While it can be challenging for small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) to cut through the digital clutter and compete with larger, global brands, industrial digital marketing provides a cost-effective arsenal of tools to increase brand visibility. The key is to develop a smart brand strategy that uses your unique brand story to connect with your target customers' needs and pain points. You can use industrial digital marketing to make your brand memorable without a massive budget.

3. Beyond Brochures: Digital Marketing Prompts Brand Engagement

Digital platforms offer unprecedented opportunities to showcase expertise, build trust, and establish your brand as a reliable authority. As we've discussed, valuable content lies at the heart of this credibility-building process. Your company is a rich source of knowledge, residing within your subject matter experts (SMEs). By strategically tapping into the insights of your leaders, engineers, product developers, sales, and customer engagement teams, you can create content that positions your brand as a thought leader and a trustworthy resource.

Thought leadership content, such as in-depth white papers and comprehensive e-guides, allows you to delve into complex industry challenges, offer insightful solutions, and analyze emerging trends. This demonstrates a deep understanding of the market and establishes your company as a forward-thinking authority. When prospects see your brand consistently providing high-value, well-researched information, their trust in your expertise naturally grows.

Customer case studies and testimonials serve as powerful social proof. These "consideration content" pieces provide tangible evidence of your products' and services' effectiveness and the positive experiences of your existing customers. By showcasing real-world successes and allowing satisfied clients to speak to your value proposition, you build credibility and provide compelling reasons for prospects to believe in your offerings.

When your content consistently offers valuable insights, it establishes a "reason to believe" in your products and services. It encourages interaction. Prospects who are genuinely interested in the industry or specific solutions will often download resources, watch webinars, or fill out forms to learn more. In essence, industrial digital marketing provides a dynamic platform for SMMs to build brand credibility in a way that resonates with today's digitally savvy manufacturing buyers.

4. Digital Marketing Provides Measurable KPIs for Actionable Insights

Manufacturers often rely on production key performance indicators (KPIs), from overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and throughput to production cycle times. New ERP systems and technologies can help collect and assess production metrics more quickly and effectively. In the same vein, digital marketing analytics can help you quickly assess how your marketing and sales efforts are performing. A Customer Relations Management (CRM) system can help you identify when customers drop off from consideration and actions that correlate with sales.

Digital marketing analytics provide tangible, focused, and measurable KPIs. Your analytics essentials for industrial digital marketing should include:

• Systems: First, create the technology framework by connecting your digital marketing platforms (email, website, social, etc.).
• Reporting: Collect comparison metrics to monitor and understand your marketing performance.
• Insights and Analysis: Break down what happens with interactions throughout the industrial buying journey.

From cloud-based automation to AI-powered supply chain optimization, digital marketing is becoming part of this transformation mix for business growth. You can capture the power of digital manufacturing marketing by:

• Aligning your earned, owned, and paid channels.
• Finding a strategic way to tap into or increase demand.
• Researching industrial digital tactics and channels your competitors are using.
• Developing a plan to deliver value at every stage of your marketing and sales pipeline.

It’s Time for Manufacturers to Catch Up in Digital Marketing

Digitally enabled technologies are changing the face of manufacturing and industrial digital marketing is no exception. Putting a greater focus on industrial digital marketing can help you find an easier way to connect with your customers and your businesses. Visit our INDUSTRIAL Strength Marketing services page to learn more about how digital marketing can empower you to become a better marketer and seller of your business.