Marketing For Manufacturing Companies (2023)

Are you a manufacturing company looking to improve your marketing efforts? Look no further! Digital marketing for manufacturing is the way to go!

In this blog post, we’ll explore effective digital marketing tactics for manufacturers: from creating content that resonates with potential customers to leveraging social media platforms strategically.

Read on to learn more about how digital marketing can boost your brand in today’s technological landscape!

Understand Your Target Market

Marketing for manufacturing can be intimidating, especially when figuring out who your target audience is. 

When marketing for manufacturing, you want to avoid the shotgun approach. Focusing marketing efforts on a specific target audience yields the best return for your business.

To make your marketing efforts as effective and efficient as possible, you need to dig into the demographics of your potential customers.

Get specific – know their: 

• age range
• interests
• where they hang out (geolocation)
• income bracket
• career path
• and family status

Having an insight into all this information should help you get the upper hand on marketing efforts and make those campaigns much more impactful.

These details play a role in developing a marketing strategy that successfully targets the right people to increase sales from those demographics and get the most out of marketing efforts.

One of the easiest ways to understand data about your customers is by getting the best CRM for Manufacturing. From there, you’ll have rich customer data to make informed business decisions.

Finding Your Prospects

Identifying potential customers is essential for scaling any manufacturing business. 

Manufacturing companies should target customers ranging from individuals who purchase custom-made products to large-scale industrial complexes.

Generally, ideal prospects tend to gravitate toward a few attributes: 

• they value quality over quantity
• they don’t hesitate to invest in long-lasting products
• and they are looking for solutions to solve everyday problems.

In terms of age or demographics, these could range from Millennials to Baby Boomers – technology is increasingly blurring the lines between these generations regarding purchasing power. 

As far as budgeting goes, the best customers will focus more on quality than a low price tag.

Manufacturing companies need to showcase how their products can help customers save money in the long run; this is often more appealing than an item that looks like a bargain at first glance.

Conversely, companies targeting larger institutions should focus on organizations that: 

• maintain consistent expenditure on their production process annually
• and employ resources necessary to make purchases regularly.

Cities with several manufacturers often offer tremendous opportunities for growth where manufacturers may be looking for new suppliers or cost-efficient ways of production, thereby providing valuable prospects for businesses aiming for success in this domain.

When searching for the ideal prospect, consider these factors. 

• Identify whether you are targeting a single person or a committee of decision-makers.
• Identify whether you are offering a commodity product or something more customized to a particular segment of the market.
• Verify what purchasing criteria your target customers use and make sure you meet them.
• Research whether competitors have already established relationships with potential customers and focus marketing efforts on areas yet to be explored.
• Similarly, understanding the competition in the industrial sector niche, you’re marketing in will tell you if you’re up against a mass-market commodity product or a customized solution.

Identifying prospects may include researching industry news and trends, networking with peers in the same industry, and marketing research tactics like surveys or focus groups. Anything that helps you pinpoint precisely who your target demographic will be.

Don’t forget that it’s not just about acquiring new customers; retaining current ones is also vital to garner growth.

B2B Marketing Challenges

B2B marketing is incredibly complex for those in the manufacturing industry.

As marketing teams are responsible for driving the business forward, it can be not easy to make an impact when marketing for manufacturing companies due to its numerous challenges.

For instance:

• The need to court other companies rather than individual buyers is more complex; several people must be persuaded.
• Long-term commitment vs immediate purchase decisions have to be taken into consideration.
• With highly specific products and niche, marketing becomes even more challenging. 
• Furthermore, sales cycles tend to be much longer than B2C marketing efforts because of factors such as cost constraints or complexity involved in decision-making processes.

Understanding each component of marketing and making strategic decisions based on this insight is critical to success.

Additionally, outside of marketing tactics such as creating content or running online campaigns, there are also multiple people who need convincing between different steps of the process.

On top of that, marketing complex products can be especially challenging once you factor in customers’ changing expectations around how they want to purchase products and services.

The key for marketers is finding a balance between leveraging available data and staying ahead of significant trends in order to remain competitive.

Manufacturer Marketing Strategies

Manufacturers rely heavily on marketing strategies to get the word out about their products, services, and brand. 

Now that you understand why marketing for manufacturing is so crucial, learning how to do it is the next step.

Luckily, you can use plenty of tips and tricks to get started – our seven tips should give you a good head start!

Email Marketing

Manufacturing marketing can be a tough nut to crack since leads often have to review their priorities and options before making the right choice.

This can lead to marketing messages getting lost in the shuffle, but fortunately, there are tools out there that help level the playing field. 

Email marketing newsletters allow you to capture interested clients so they remember your offerings no matter where they are in their research process.

Plus, marketing automation with email is advantageous; creating drip campaigns lets you send targeted messages whenever potential clients take specific actions that signal an interest in your manufacturing services.

For example:

• Suppose a prospect downloads a whitepaper on a piece of construction equipment.
• In that case, you can use marketing automation to send them monthly or even weekly emails with relevant information, such as potential cost savings, improved quality, and scalability of operations.
• Each email should contain a call-to-action that lets the customer know you are available for further details or to offer a quote so they can make an informed decision and complete their purchase. 

When used effectively, marketing automation offers tremendous potential for marketing in the manufacturing space.

Content Marketing

Content marketing for manufacturing is an integral part of any marketing strategy. Without great content, your website may as well not exist.

There are many benefits to content marketing, including the following: 

• Content marketing helps with search engine optimization.
• Content marketing boosts your reputation, as many people check out several different types of content from a business before enquiring for further information or getting a quote.
• It also drives potential customers further down the sales funnel by providing them with the right kind of information that can help them move along their customer journey.

If you’re marketing for a manufacturing product and have a website, the more forms of content you include on the site, the better!

Everyone engages with different types of content to varying degrees, so having a variety helps people come to their own conclusion about your product.

• Video content
• Whitepapers
• Case studies
• Blogs
• Infographics
• And slide presentations 

These are all potential forms of marketing that can communicate information in an engaging way.

Supplying both visual and written information allows potential customers to gain knowledge quickly. This will help them understand and decide to purchase and provide your contact at the business with marketing material that can be used to persuade other stakeholders.

When marketing for manufacturing projects, having access to multiple forms of content will significantly increase your chances of gaining customers and improving sales.

SEO & SEM

It goes without saying that marketing for manufacturing is becoming increasingly digital every year.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a massive part of it – over 80% of purchases start with an online search, and most marketers consider it one of the top five traffic drivers. 

• With so many people searching online for products and services, not having a solid SEO presence means missing out on valuable leads and potential fans of your product or service.
• Optimizing your website will help you show up higher in search results, but investing in marketing strategies like SEO can really help set your product apart from the competition.

While marketing for manufacturing via SEO can be a great solution, success isn’t a guarantee. Just because you invest in organic marketing doesn’t mean that your website will gain top billing in Google.

That’s why many organizations couple their SEO marketing with Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns. These strategies can get you on result pages in a fraction of the time required for organic approach.

Examples of SEM campaigns include: 

• Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
• Social media marketing campaigns
• Banner Ads
• Retargeting campaigns
• Google Ads

Investing in marketing for manufacturing with SEM can be a great way to drive additional traffic and leads to your website, giving you a significant marketing boost.

By combining SEO, content marketing, and SEM strategies, your marketing for manufacturing will be well on its way to success!

Website Testing

Website testing is the key to marketing for manufacturing well. There’s no use in having the most impactful content on your site if people don’t want to engage with it because of a poor user experience. 

By undertaking rigorous testing, you can ensure your website runs seamlessly and offers customers an enjoyable and easy-to-use experience.

That way, customers can trust your product quality and the reliability of their customer experience with you.

There are a few crucial things to check when testing your website:

• Make sure your site is mobile-friendly and works properly on different devices and browsers. Remember that many potential customers start their engagement on mobile devices, so you don’t want to risk being buried due to a lack of device compatibility.
• Additionally, make sure all links, buttons, and other functionality on your site work as intended – no one wants to waste time navigating through a confusing website. 
• Lastly, pages should load quickly – if it takes more than three seconds for a page to load, potential customers will likely abandon the site altogether. 

Testing goes beyond just making sure everything is looking spick and span.

It means going through every single interaction a user would encounter while they navigate through your page, making sure all those touch points are accounted for and performed the way they should. 

By undertaking rigorous testing, you can ensure your website runs seamlessly and offers customers an enjoyable and easy-to-use experience. That way, customers can trust your product quality and the reliability of their customer experience with you.

Direct Mail

In today’s marketing landscape, don’t underestimate the power of direct mail when it comes to marketing for manufacturing and other industrial marketing strategies.

It might be an old marketing tool, but it’s been proven time, and again that direct mail is an effective way to reach a large target audience.

Direct mail involves sending customized marketing materials straight to your desired audience’s mailbox in hopes of resulting in connections and customers.

• Direct mail marketing campaigns can be targeted, well-timed, and measurable.
• They’re easily customizable—you can tailor the content to meet different demographic needs. 
• On top of that, sending out pieces like catalogs or newsletters keeps customers informed about product offerings throughout the year. So when a customer needs something specific, they know just who to turn to.
• What really sets direct mail marketing apart from other types of marketing is its specificity. With hard-copy advertisements tailored directly to your target audience, it’s easier than ever before to connect potential customers with your product or service and convince them to buy!

As a versatile and cost-effective marketing tool, direct mail offers the ability to reach customers anywhere in the world with ease.

Additionally, it can help you create an engaging campaign that stands out from competitors for maximum lead generation. 

By utilizing this method, manufacturing companies can establish relationships and create recommendations absent from other marketing channels.

Trade Shows

Manufacturing marketing efforts should include a digital presence to make sure you can reach as many prospects as possible.

Sure, social media marketing and search engine optimization can provide valuable leads, but there’s nothing like the experience of a trade show and other industry events where you can meet prospects face-to-face.

• Trade shows and other industry events demonstrate that you care about the industry as a whole, and your presence can increase awareness of your brand.
• Instead of paying for one-on-one meetings in the office with prospects, you can have multiple successful conferences at a fraction of the cost at a trade show.

Trade shows provide a unique opportunity to make connections, increase exposure, and differentiate yourself from competitors in the same sector. It’s a marketing tactic that no manufacturer should take lightly!

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a powerful way for manufacturers to increase their brand awareness and customer loyalty. 

By taking advantage of the organic connection opportunities provided by networks like 

• Facebook
• Instagram
• and Twitter

Marketing professionals in the manufacturing industry can reach out to potential clients where they are already active and grow strong relationships.

• With platforms like LinkedIn that are specifically geared towards business-centric marketing, you’ll be able to bridge the gap between marketing and manufacturing at a much faster pace while also increasing brand awareness and customer loyalty.
• Facebook can be used to create targeted marketing campaigns, while Twitter and Instagram can be used to engage with customers more directly. 

By taking the time to craft creative marketing campaigns that are tailored specifically for social media platforms, manufacturers can increase their reach and bring more attention to their products and services—all while building strong relationships with current and potential customers. 

Measuring Manufacturer Marketing Success

As a manufacturer, marketing success can sometimes take a lot of work to measure. While it is essential to keep track of the basics, like ROI and customer conversion rates, marketing for manufacturing requires thinking beyond those metrics. 

It is essential to consider the following: 

• the length of time customers interacts with your product and their level of engagement with marketing campaigns.
• By measuring customer loyalty and brand awareness, manufacturers can really get an understanding of the marketing efforts that have a lasting impact on consumers. 
•  Factors like increased brand awareness and customer relationships must also be taken into account when gauging success.

With more in-depth data, manufacturers have the ability to optimize their marketing strategies to ensure that their campaigns are as successful as possible.

While these factors are essential, continuous improvement is the key to marketing success in the manufacturing industry.

With a focus on being creative and staying ahead of the curve, marketing for manufacturers can be successful and profitable.

As a manufacturer, marketing your products or services requires continual improvement and assessment. 

• Whenever you launch a marketing effort, such as an email marketing campaign or content marketing strategy, make sure to conduct A/B testing to see which elements work best for your marketing goals. 
• Try variants of subject lines, timing, and other components of your marketing and compare the different results.

Staying up-to-date on these analytics gives you the edge over your competition and helps ensure marketing opportunity is well-spent.

With the right marketing strategy tailored to your target audience, manufacturers, large and small, can benefit from measurable success.

Wrapping Things Up

Manufacturing and marketing go hand in hand, like peanut butter and jelly.

In today’s digital world, it’s no longer sufficient to simply make a product with the hopes that the marketing will follow suit – you need to plan out from the beginning exactly how your marketing will influence your manufacturing process and vice versa.

The two are inseparable at this point: marketing for manufacturing must be seen as an integral part of the product cycle if you want lasting success.

Effective marketing campaigns can drive growth, improve visibility, and create relationships between customers and manufacturers.

Investing in marketing is an essential step if you want to build sustainable operations.

Do you have any advice for those just beginning their marketing for manufacturing journey?

What marketing strategies have your manufacturing company found success with? Let us know in the comments below!

Manufacturing Marketing FAQ