Email remains a top B2B marketing channel. Make sure it's in your mix. And make sure to do it right!
Trends come and go quickly in marketing, but one truism holds: Email is king in B2B marketing. No other tactic comes close to combining the power of distribution, engagement and prospect information gathering. That’s why it’s important to have a handle on email best practices when it comes to manufacturing marketing. Before we dive in,… Read more »
The received wisdom that social media doesn't matter so much for manufacturers isn't so wise anymore.
Social media for manufacturers presents quite the dilemma. Many manufacturers are resource constrained and are not likely to close a big industrial deal through social channels, and being active on social media is a commitment that requires time that could be directed elsewhere. But having a consistent social media presence can be an important piece… Read more »
Do your organic and paid search efforts complement one another? They should. Here's how.
Much like the larger world around us, the industrial information ecosystem has become very fragmented. People consume information in all sorts of ways through all sorts of channels. But everyone uses search engines, which represent an opportunity to connect fragmented audiences around a common marketing message. Why Search Engines Matter So Much Right Now Why… Read more »
What can you learn from the competition? Here are some questions to ask and some tools to use.
Many small and medium manufacturers struggle with committing time to work “on” the business, whether it’s for market research, sales enablement, scouting for opportunities with product enhancements or supply chain management. A competitive analysis can be a great opportunity to focus the company on a key aspect of the business. In many ways, it is… Read more »
Gone are the days when sales could be left to tribal knowledge. It's time to put a system in place.
The transfer of tribal knowledge has been a dilemma for years for manufacturers. The context usually is around the difficulty in finding, hiring, training and retaining replacements for key machine operators who are aging out. The skilled worker shortage still exists, though in many cases it is for new skill sets as Industry 4.0 demands… Read more »
You don't have to be a salesperson to support the sales process. Here's how everyone can contribute.
The cliche about how “everyone in our company is in sales” is not accurate, but in many ways just about everyone in your industrial company can help with sales enablement. Effective sales enablement does more than align the marketing and sales teams. It ensures that a cohesive, persuasive message is presented to industrial buyers at… Read more »
Faced with long buying cycles that make ROI difficult to track? Start with these suggestions.
The ROI of industrial marketing begins with understanding the difference between data and analytics. It’s great that your company collected 50 leads in the past month, but are they good leads? Where did they come from? The next month, when you have 35 leads, is that a bad thing? The essentials for determining your ROI… Read more »
Not every site is perfect. But if you do these things (and avoid the others), you'll be in pretty good shape.
How seriously do you need to take industrial website development? Well, a professional website that focuses on customer solutions is now a cost of doing business for industrial companies. Ideally, your content will be at the intersection of what you want to convey and the questions prospects ask about how to solve their pain points…. Read more »
