Unleashing the Power of Marketing Strategies: How Manufacturers Can Boost Their Business with These Proven Tactics

Some companies have been marketing their products to the public and other businesses within the supply chain for years. For years, fashion and lifestyle brands - the businesses that create and manufacture your favorite clothes, cars and recreational activities - have integrated marketing strategies into their business practices to build cultural brands and drive sales.

Manufacturer marketing has historically not stepped into the public sphere except in certain niches. Sales departments were primarily responsible for lead generation.

The manufacturers created products and services and trained their inside and outside sales personnel. They then sent these professionals to directly connect with customers at trade shows, offices and through tightly controlled advertisements in industry magazines.

This type of relationship was successful even a decade before. In today's highly competitive market, manufacturers no longer have any excuse for not marketing. Precision Marketing Group states that "manufacturers tend to stick within small groups of relationships, whether they are buying or selling."

In the past, it all came down to who you know and who could refer to you. This can be the case to some degree today. Content marketing, SEO, social media, and other inbound marketing can change the story. They allow you to go beyond referrals and expand your business.

Look at the marketing strategies of manufacturers and learn how you can create your own.

What Is Marketing for Manufacturing?

The process of manufacturing marketing involves creating and implementing a strategy to sell and promote products. Manufacturing marketing aims to increase sales and brand recognition.

When developing a marketing plan for manufacturing, there are many factors to consider, such as target markets, product positioning, pricing, promotions, and distribution. Well-executed marketing plans for manufacturing can increase sales and expand your business into new markets. They also help build recognition of the brand.

Importance of Marketing

Marketing is the function of a manufacturer that creates demand for its products. The marketing function is crucial in ensuring that potential clients are aware of and use the products a business offers. The marketing process can also help build customer relationships, resulting in more repeat purchases.

Advertising, public relations and direct marketing are all channels manufacturers can utilize to market their products. To reach their targeted audiences, manufacturers must select the best mix of marketing activities.

Marketing campaigns that are well-planned and implemented can be very effective in helping a manufacturer to grow its customer base and expand into new markets. Manufacturers must understand the needs and desires of their clients and then design marketing campaigns accordingly. Manufacturers should also track their marketing campaigns to make sure they are effective.

Differentiating Between Consumer Marketing and Manufacturer Marketing

You need to know your client before you can create a plan. Do you market to consumers or businesses?

Are you, like MyWit marketing both channels? It would help if you had a marketing plan for both. MyWit's menu makes it clear where customers should begin (Buy) and where business partners should click on (Resellers & Business).

When creating your marketing plan, you should consider your audience's differences.

Manufacturing Marketing

Manufacturing marketing is also B2B. The sales cycle can be longer and more complicated than B2C.

• Audience Targeted: All other businesses, including wholesalers, retailers, or end users such as restaurants or construction companies. It is important to know the industry that you are targeting. You also need to know what size or type of company will require your product and who can purchase it.
• Customer Needs: Businesses need products of high quality that are within their budgets and processes. It is important that they can provide and service their customers with confidence while still making a profit.
• Drivers: The decision to purchase your product depends on several factors, including price, credit terms, what your customers think about your brand, how you support them with technical and marketing resources, as well as whether or not you can get the buy-in of all key decision makers.
• Purchase Process: The Business Procurement Process can be complex. This process involves discovery, pricing comparisons and quotes. Demos are also included, as well as final decisions. You may have to convince more than one decision maker; the larger the purchase, the higher the number of levels to which you must impress.
• People Involved with the Purchase: Managers and purchasing agents. Executive decision-makers, finance or accounting teams.

Consumer Marketing

B2C Marketing is marketing directly to consumers or users.

• Audience: Your target market's demographics will depend on what you are selling. To target your marketing, you should consider age, interest, location, income, family status, and career factors.
• Needs of the Customer: Consumers want to purchase products to help solve problems or make life more pleasant or easier. Some people buy a certain product because of the status or message that it conveys. This is often true with luxury goods or brands.
• Consumers: The factors that influence consumer buying decisions are price, quality and brand reputation. They also consider how they will use the product, their experience, and referrals from others.
• The Purchase Process: All consumer purchases follow the same basic process, which involves consideration, awareness and decision-making. How quickly a customer moves through the buying process depends on its complexity. Tacos can be purchased in seconds or minutes. Consumers could spend days or even weeks shopping for televisions or couches.
• People Involved with the Purchase: In most cases, the purchaser and an important family member or partner are the only people who will be present. Lenders may be involved in larger purchases.

The Challenges of B2B Manufacturer Marketing

B2B marketing can present unique challenges, which most B2C campaigns do not. Relationships within and outside your company, such as with suppliers, clients and vendors, are complex.

According to a report data, for example, less than half of B2B marketing professionals feel that they can collaborate with the sales team effectively.

Here are some other marketing challenges that manufacturers may face.

1. Special Needs

Marketing for manufacturing has different needs than marketing to consumers. Website traffic is one of the most important KPIs in consumer marketing. You can increase your revenue by driving enough people to an ecommerce consumer site.

Manufacturers can't drive huge amounts of traffic towards a well-built site and then cross their fingers. You may not be able to use a large amount of traffic, depending on the niche or vertical in which your business operates.

It is important to consider how to best manage your client relationships and how much you wish to disclose on your website. You may need to restrict access to certain information to support your partners.

2. Long Sales Cycles

Sales cycles in manufacturing are often long. In B2B, a PPC campaign won't have the same impact as in B2C, where people are used to seeing immediate results.

Your marketing strategy might instead be focused on brand awareness and lead generation. Leads are handed to sales departments for weeks, months or years of nurturing before a deal closes.

3. Complex Products

Direct online sales by manufacturing businesses to B2B customers are unlikely to succeed. For example, suppose your product is $5,000 with several customizable features. In that case, it's unlikely that someone will click the "buy now button" and provide their business credit card information.

Find out how your buyers interact with your product and what you can do to help them in the initial stages of their buying journey. 

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4. There is more to Convince

B2C marketers can use tried and true tactics like micro-moments to reach consumers at the right moment to encourage a purchase. In B2C, promoting an urgency for impulse purchases or delivering emails to cart abandoners are tried and tested marketing techniques.

There are more people to persuade when marketing to businesses. The following factors may influence business buying decisions for medium-sized and large businesses:

• Somebody in the middle management becomes aware of this need.
• The person must then convince other people that there's a real need.
• The original individual may do preliminary research to determine if any products are available to satisfy their needs.
• The executive decision-makers may nominate someone to conduct the research (or form a committee).
• Leadership is presented with options, and the field has been narrowed.
• The leadership asks more detailed questions and narrows the scope with quotes, demos and discussion.
• A decision has been made.

Your marketing must continue to support your chances to make a sale during the entire sales process. ResMed actively supports businesses throughout the buying process with various educational and business resources.

Benefits of Marketing to Manufacturers

B2B marketing is often a challenge for B2B companies, according to Chief Marketer's data. They have difficulty engaging prospects or generating high-quality leads. A strong marketing plan is the key.

1. Increased Lead Conversions

According to a Report shows that nearly 70 percent of B2B marketing success stories have documented their content strategy. The least successful companies can only say that they have a documented content marketing strategy. This lack of dedication to marketing is evident.

Successful B2B firms also use KPIs to gauge their marketing performance; they nurture prospects and prioritize educating rather than selling the audience.

2. Brand Recognition

It is proven that online marketing can increase brand recognition, improve customer loyalty, and convince multiple stakeholders of your company's suitability to do business with. B2B marketing professionals know this to be true, as they list it consistently in their surveys.

You invest in your brand when you spend money on social media, website content, PPC ads, or SEO. You might see some returns on your investment.

• You're first in mind when someone knows a company's needs. You'll be ahead of your competition if you have a strong brand.
• Business stakeholders in the entire organization will recognize the name of your business as they discuss the necessary purchase decisions. This puts you in a better position than your competitors because customers (even business people) will be more inclined to buy from a brand they recognize.
• The client's consumers may be familiar with your brand and request your products. Your client may use your brand name to market their products because of your good reputation. This adds more value when working with you.

3. Think of Your Business as a Thought Leader

Think leadership helps you establish yourself as an expert resource that clients can use for advice, information or education. Thought leadership content is essential for manufacturing companies that sell high-end products or complex goods.

White papers and case studies are both common formats for digital marketing that can be used to promote thought leadership. They also help you generate leads. To get the whitepaper, you can require someone to create an account. They will also need to enter their email. You have suddenly attracted leads so interested in your product that they have given you their email address to learn more.

Not all thought leadership is behind a paid wall. You can demonstrate how important your industry is by sharing content, whether it's yours or someone else's, and by adding your comments to the conversation on social media and blogs.

A restaurant supply manufacturer and distributor do an excellent job of creating authority through its blog. This lets buyers know that Restaurantware and its eco-friendly products are the experts they claim to be.

4. Increase Customer Loyalty

Marketing can increase customer loyalty. All these benefits contribute to a brand culture based on trust. Businesses can also trust you if consumers do. Executives are more likely to trust a company if middle management can do so. Brand recognition helps to build trust.

The marketing work is not done once you have captured and converted a lead. You can encourage customers to return by engaging with them on social media. Sending well-timed and planned email newsletters and offering online promotions.

Read More: 10 Manufacturing Trends to Watch in 2023

Manufacturing Marketing Strategies

How do you get started now that you understand why marketing manufacturing is so important? Begin with these 7 marketing strategies for manufacturers.

1. Publish Written Content

Content is the king, you may have heard. This phrase has been used for many years and still holds true today for internet marketers. The content you create on your website is key to the success of all the following initiatives:

• You will be found when clients are searching online with the help of search engine optimization.
• You will be seen as a trustworthy manufacturer. Nearly 50% of consumers read between three and five articles from an organization before contacting them for additional information or quotes.
• You can help people move down the funnel. Your content may help a business contact in the awareness stage move to the consideration phase.

Websites with multiple types of content are more likely to increase their sales. This is because different people interact with content in different ways. One person may want to watch a video, while another might prefer to read.

You may need to provide both to educate a potential customer, particularly if the product is complex.

Include videos, whitepapers and case studies on your website. Also, consider adding blogs, infographics and slide presentations. You're not alone in trying to persuade someone to buy something. Your contact from a company might also be trying to influence stakeholders.

2. Email Marketing

Manufacturing marketing can be a lengthy process, as we have seen. Your message can easily get lost when clients re-evaluate their priorities and review available options.

You can capture leads with email marketing newsletters so that you appear in their inboxes regularly. You stay fresh in your customers' minds.

Email can also be a powerful tool in marketing automation. Create drip campaigns that send messages to potential clients when they perform a certain action. You can, for example:

• Someone downloads a white paper on restaurant equipment. Entering their email address is required.
• Send them emails for a couple of weeks or even months. These emails could include information such as how much money they can save with time or how the equipment will improve quality.
• Each email provides a new touchpoint and another CTA that lets the client know you can give a quote or more information.

3. Hire SEO

Google acknowledges the long and diverse path that can lead to a purchase. A commonality is that most people begin with an internet search. Nearly 90% of all purchases begin online, and most marketers consider SEO one of their top five traffic generators.

You're losing out on many leads if you don't appear in search engine results.

4. Google Ads and Pay-Per-Click Effectiveness

SEO, however, is not guaranteed. Google's organic results are not something you can buy. It takes patience and some luck to get there. Many organizations invest in Google ads and PPC campaigns.

Your ads must be successful if you want to get on the search result pages quickly. It is important to research the keywords you want to use and how buyers search for products online.

5. Test Your Website

Test your website once you have added content and functional features. No matter how great your content is, it doesn't matter if you have a bad user experience on the website, it doesn't matter. People may question your ability to deliver quality products or customer service if you don't provide a smooth, user-friendly site experience.

Be sure to:

• Check that all links, buttons and functions of your website work according to plan. Test them in multiple browsers and devices.
• Pages load fast. You could lose up to 7% conversions if your pages take longer than necessary to load. If a website takes over three seconds, 40% of users will leave.
• Google is concerned about your mobile site. Websites which don't work on mobile could be delisted or buried in SERPs. Second, your clients may start the engagement process on their mobile devices. If your website isn't prepared, it won't be ready for sale, whether someone's browsing on their phone or researching while traveling with a mobile device provided by the company.

6. Trade Shows

Every B2B effort must be done online. The manufacturers may wish to attend trade shows or other events in the industry. This increases your brand's awareness and shows that you are interested in other people within the industry.

A trade show can also be a good way to meet prospects. You can save up to $100 per meeting by meeting multiple prospects at a trade show while participating in educational and networking events.

7. Integrate Social Media

You can also increase your brand's awareness through social media. You can also connect organically with clients, often in places where they are already online. Although Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are powerful B2B channels, manufacturers should start on LinkedIn to maintain a strong online presence.

Things to Consider: Manufacturer Marketing

Some of the tips and strategies above may not work for you. You can use the questions below to help you decide what is best for your business.

1. Do You Offer a Commodity or Customized Service or Product?

Ecommerce platforms can sell simpler commodity products online. To support SEO, you can use efforts like product descriptions, PPC advertisements, and blogs to market these products.

Customized services and products may need more effort. Create lead-generation tools like white papers, ebooks, videos and other forms of media. Sales can contact prospects to find out how they can assist once the prospect shares their contact details.

2. Are You Selling to an Individual or a Group of People Who Influence the Buying Process?

PPC ads with strong CTAs, well-written pages for products, and engaging social media marketing are good ways to reach a single individual. You'll also need a marketing strategy that includes detailed collateral and the ability to nurture leads.

3. What is the Level of Competition in Your Industrial Sector Niche?

Your industry's noise will determine how hard you need to work at SEO and brand awareness. You have more chances to dominate search if only a handful of manufacturers produce this equipment. When hundreds of companies compete with you, it may be necessary to pay for advertising efforts to appear at the top of search results.

How to Adopt Manufacturing Marketing Strategies

It cannot be easy to begin marketing if your product or business is complex. Adopting strong marketing strategies in manufacturing begins with these steps.

1. Make your Goals

What are you trying to accomplish? There are many metrics in marketing, such as page views, clicks and the time spent on a page. It's easy to become distracted by marketing goals if you don't have a clear business goal. While click-through rate is important, it's only because they help you convert and sell.

2. Develop Your Marketing Team

Someone needs to be in charge of keeping track of these activities. It's possible to hire an agency that specializes in manufacturing marketing. However, having a person in-house who focuses on digital marketing is still important. This individual will hold freelancers and agencies accountable for your business goals.

3. Define Your Buyer Persona

Define your audience. What is the most likely audience for your product? What are the needs of your target audience? Can they make their own decisions, or must they get approval? You can save time and money by focusing your marketing on the personas you are most familiar with.

4. Choose Strategies That Support The Audience

Ensure all your customer service and marketing strategies are tailored to the target audience. This includes everything from social media and website content to options for shopping carts. Selininy, for example, uses bulk pricing in order to help commercial buyers. The products are simple; buyers can buy them directly without other contact points. They can also get discounts if they purchase more.

5. Launch Test

Do not assume your efforts or content marketing strategies are enough. Continuous improvement is the key to marketing. Use A/B tests to test different elements of your marketing.

For example, do you receive more replies to emails sent on Tuesday mornings than Wednesday afternoons? Then, if the answer was Wednesday, run another test. You get more attention if your subject line is longer or shorter than 30 characters. You can increase the return on your marketing by constantly testing.

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Wrapping up

Harvard Business Review posed the question in 1977: "Can manufacturing and marketing coexist?". More than forty years later, it is now clear that they can. These two must exist. If you don't engage in manufacturer marketing, you're placing your company on a slow conveyor belt of irrelevance.

It's now time to put your marketing plan into action. Once you have done this and spread the word, you will receive orders. Most business owners would love to see a massive increase in sales, but without an effective plan, this dream could become a nightmare.

It would be best to have manufacturing processes that can handle increased orders. Having enough space, staff and raw materials to satisfy your customer's needs is important. You will need enterprise software that can handle increased complexity.