Posts Categorized: Commentary

How to Right-Size Your Industrial Marketing Budget

Benchmarks are a start. But real budgeting should be based on your objectives.
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You’re probably reading this because you’re looking for some benchmarks to gauge your industrial marketing budget. And that’s fine. Many marketers start to shape their ideas about strategies, tactics, and yes — budgets — based on what competitors are doing or industry data. So let me get those statistics out of the way (I’d never want to disappoint… Read more »

Busting Common Manufacturer Marketing Myths

As manufacturers take their marketing digital, misconceptions abound. Time to set them right.
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According to a recent survey of over 150 manufacturers by IndustrialSage, the majority of manufacturer marketing dollars are spent on trade shows, in spite of a recent drop in trade show leads by over 50 percent. But while trade shows and word-of-mouth are still highly regarded by manufacturers for marketing their capabilities and services, it… Read more »

How to Get C-Suite Buy-in for Marketing

You have what it takes. But are you getting the support you need to make it happen?
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Sometimes being an industrial marketer can feel like you are a stranger in a strange land. Very few people speak your language and a translator is hard to come by. This article is meant to help you become your own translator with six key tenants you should abide by if you want to speak effectively… Read more »

Does Your Manufacturing Company Look as Cutting Edge as It Is?

Take a look at your brand. If your company appears decades old, you're missing out on new biz.
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“You’ve got to stay right on the leading edge in order to be a competitive production shop,” shared Barclay A. Townsend, president of Townsend Machine, Inc., when we asked how important it is for a manufacturing company to look up to date. I recently interviewed several manufacturing companies on this topic and all agreed that… Read more »

B2B Marketing Jargon, Demystified

Overwhelmed when marketing buzzwords take over? Here's your secret decoder ring.
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Do you ever feel lost when industrial marketers start talking in marketing jargon? Do statements like “Our inbound marketing strategy really made a difference in bringing in some warm leads and advocates this year” make you feel like you’ve stepped off a plane into a foreign country? Fortunately, it’s not as complicated as it sounds…. Read more »

Finding the Right Industrial Marketing Agency

An agency partnership is a big commitment. You don't want to get this one wrong.
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Finding an industrial marketing agency that understands your specific industry challenges can be a daunting task — especially if you’ve never worked with an agency before. Before you start your search, you may want to compile a list of questions to test any potential partner’s ability to address your pain points, such as: Do they… Read more »

The Neglected Value of Marketing for Manufacturers

Marketing drives growth but most manufacturers won't fund it. What are you going to do about it?
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Why is marketing for manufacturers so undervalued — and what can industrial marketers do about it? According to the 2018 CMO survey, a survey that assimilated information from almost 3,000 marketing executives in various industries throughout the U.S., marketing spending across all industries averages 11 percent of total company budgets. This average accounts for 6.9… Read more »

6 Customer Engagement Trends Industrial Brands Can’t Ignore

Industrial audiences want more from your marketing. How do you keep up? Try these tips.
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Customer engagement online is changing. Content is becoming highly interactive and is distributed in ways that allow people to access it from wherever they are via their laptops or other portable devices such as smartphones. Industrial brands can’t ignore this shift toward greater interactivity across numerous kinds of devices; they have to adjust to these… Read more »