Let’s start with: What is industrial marketing? In its most general sense, industrial marketing is a segment of B2B marketing, with a specific focus on manufacturing and industrial companies selling to other industrial and manufacturing companies. Thus, a company that assists industrial manufacturing enterprises in expanding their operations in the industrial sector is known as an industrial advertising agency.
Industrial marketing comes with its own set of marketing challenges. Industrial companies need to meet the needs of the industrial buyer’s journey. Due to the abundance of advanced tools available to them, consumers nowadays are better informed and have a greater say in sales negotiations. A 2018 study conducted by Thomasnet.com and the research firm Strategy revealed that the industrial buying process involves 15 distinct steps.
Insights from Experience...
Having worked in industrial sales for a long time, I have witnessed the slow evolution of industrial marketing. Notwithstanding the fact that the majority of industrial businesses emphasize the competitiveness and quality of their goods and services, those goods and services cannot be marketed on their own. In today's company model, having a marketing plan is essential since Grant Marketing is more competitive, demanding, and complicated than ever.
Answer these questions:
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Do you have a marketing strategy built around your objectives and obstacles?
Do you have a content library that contains answers to frequently asked queries by potential clients and customers?
Can you get feedback from your clients on how well you meet their needs? -
Does your website provide a comprehensive overview of your offerings?
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Does the content and messaging on your website set you apart from the competition?
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Does your website enable pop-ups or chats that allow users to interact with prospects and customers right away?
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Do you have the internal means to produce content and maintain the freshness of your website?
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Are your social media accounts updated on a regular basis to advertise your services?
Solution:
You are in great shape if the answers to all eight of these questions are yes. To make sure you are moving in the correct way, you might want to hire an industrial marketing agency, even for a brief engagement, to evaluate how well you are doing in these eight areas. Remember how swiftly new technologies force changes in the marketplace; it's helpful to have B2B marketing experts you can rely on who can keep an eye on and update your tactics to suit the ever-evolving demands of the industrial marketing sector.
If any of the eight questions were answered negatively, you could need some advice on how to address these issues or you might wish to collaborate with an industrial marketing firm to develop and carry out a marketing plan that will help you maintain your competitiveness.
To remain competitive, a strategic marketing plan needs to consist of the following:
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A website that is updated, mobile-friendly, and has clear navigation as well as educational material and copy. SEO relevance is still given top attention to all content and copy.
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converting prospects from information searchers to qualified leads who want to work with you by using forms, calls to action, and landing pages.
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utilizing a comprehensive marketing and sales platform, like HubSpot email, to build and measure lead nurturing campaigns with regular monthly email newsletters and exclusive offers.
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gathering all visitor and lead data and storing it in the form of analytical reports and personalized dashboards to enable future marketing decisions that are well-informed.
Your industrial marketing agency can help with:
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Strategy—personas, campaign plan, content map, etc.
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Design—landing pages, CTAs, email templates, etc.
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Content—update collateral assets, blogs, emails, social posts, etc.
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Tech—install marketing automation software, install CRM (customer relationship management), platform integrations, site integration, etc.
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Establish SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-limited).
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Develop a campaign plan around content offers.
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Design and deploy associated landing pages, blogs, and CTA graphics
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Design and build email templates, if needed.
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Launch campaigns
Marketing’s Vital Role
Above all, remember that marketing plays a crucial part in your business plan. If no one can discover you online or if people find your website unmaintained, then the proverb "If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door" does not apply. Therefore, if you require assistance implementing a marketing strategy, think about working with an industrial marketing firm. They can help you get started and, with their track record of success, can guide you through any difficulties.
Download the State of Inbound 2018 report to see what global B2B marketers thought was significant in 2018 and to gain insight into the direction industrial marketing is taking.