It does not matter what your company manufactures, but if you don’t have a steady client base, you won’t experience the smooth running of the business.
The best way to reach your client base in the contemporary world is through internet marketing.
Here are 5 digital marketing strategies for manufacturing companies.
The manufacturing industry is plowing upwards across the world.
This is driven by the increased demand for equipment, supplies, and basic materials in various sectors such as business development, housing, and automotive.
According to a survey done in 2017, manufacturers revealed that over 7.5% of their total sales were done online.
Forrester reveals that internet sales covered 11% of the total earnings for all B2B sales in the year 2018.
This is expected to rise to 13% within the next four years.
Moreover, the budget that manufacturing companies allocate to marketing is 3.2% compared to the average of 11.3% for all industries.
The indicated disparity is perfect for business owners who are internet savvy and who aspire to take advantage of the looming technology change.
It gives a room for high-class growth when simple changes are made.
If manufacturing companies can prioritize digital marketing in the coming years, there is a myriad of benefits.
Omni-Channel Approach for Manufacturers
Use a sales approach that provides your customers with an integrated shopping experience. Customers of manufacturing companies can either shop online from a desktop, iPad, smartphone, via a phone call or in a brick-and-mortar store.
If a manufacturer relies overwhelmingly on the old forms of advertising and marketing such as shows and trade publications, there is little possibility that they will reach the targeted audience.
However, a blend of digital and ancient marketing forms provides a chance for growth and reaching a bigger client base.
Make sure to provide your customers with the same experience and messaging through each and every channel and keep it consistent.
Manufacturing companies implementing an omnichannel marketing strategy need to ensure that all the internal departments are on board with this approach and are in sync with the brand messaging.
b. Decreased overhead costs
The current costs of marketing in many manufacturing companies are low on average.
This can further be lowered if companies are able to take advantage of the internet craze.
Digital marketing has contributed to reducing spending on marketing for many manufacturing companies.
Search Engine Optimization for Manufacturing and Industrial Companies
Over 80% of all B2B clients use the internet to search for companies in all industries and the numbers are the same for the prospects of B2C.
Create unique and helpful content such as informational blog posts, videos, articles, and infographics on your website.
Your content should either educate your clients on a certain topic or provide more information about your industrial manufacturing products and services.
Search for “Plastic Injection Moulding” on Google and look at the results:
Go through the top 5 or 6 links that are already ranking for the search term and analyze their content.
It is hard to outrank Wikipedia but look at the second link – “Everything you need to know about injection molding”. Now, that is the type of content you should be creating to rank on Google.
By ranking for manufacturing industry-specific keywords, you are able to attract quality traffic and generate sales qualified leads.
Conduct keyword research for manufacturers using tools like SEMRush to find low to medium volume and high-value keywords.
Once you start dominating the best manufacturing-specific keywords in your industry, you are able to build trust, establish your brand and make yourself a credible source for information.
Website Design and Development for Manufacturers
Having a website today is a crucial element in the marketing strategy of your company.
It goes without mention that even a simple site that has a well-outlined process of capturing viewers can be considered as a digital card for business.
Your manufacturing company website will act as a lead-generation tool and will even help to build brand awareness, customer service and promote your products.
Here are a few best practices while designing and developing a website for manufacturing companies:
a. Call to Action (CTA) – this is a section of the website that provokes the reader to take a specified action.
The CTA is usually placed at the end of an article. It could prompt the reader to sign up to be receiving periodic updates on manufacturing parts and services or even make a purchase.
b. Modern designs – Some of the large companies have dynamic elements such as scrolling foregrounds and interactive video.
How about using interactive video to showcase the internal and external aspects of your manufacturing products, parts, and accessories.
A proficient web developer has the ability to integrate the aesthetics of your brand in exciting and new ways that will attract the attention of prospective clients and keep them on the site.
c. Lead forms – websites can also be used to get the lead information through the use of simple forms in place of various incentives such as free consultations, content, and white papers.
The information gathered can be used to get and nurture business deals to be done in the future.
d. E-commerce storefronts – some manufacturing companies use marketing contracts to market their work while some of them sell products direct to consumers.
Simple sites such as Shopify are very easy to start up and they are easy to capture online leads.
If you integrate your website to have any of these features, you are most likely to make a deal and this will boost your business margins greatly.
Enhance the use of digital advertising
The ancient way of advertising is not yet done. Manufacturers are still using formal issues such as trade shows, TV spots, traditional media, and magazines.
Be that as it may, the traditional options are quickly being phased out and their effectiveness is rapidly fading as compared to the digital ones.
A business can target more customers through the application of digital and programmatic advertising.
Here are the best digital advertising platforms for manufacturing companies:
Pay Per Clicks Advertising – Google and Bing are major PPC advertising platforms that will enable you to reach potential customers while they are searching for products and services, searching for content, and researching brands.
Social Media Advertising – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Linkedin will enable brands to target users based on interests, audience types, and much more. You can use social media to generate brand awareness through various content types and then retarget those audiences using paid ads.
Display Advertising – Google Display Network, Facebook Audience Network, and Third-Party advertising platforms can help companies reach their target audience using banner ads. Similar to a billboard, display ads are best suitable for top-of-the-funnel campaigns, brand awareness, and reach.
Digital advertising takes various forms and manufacturers have no choice than to use them so as to leverage on technological advancement.
Content Marketing for Manufacturing Companies
Create content that will explain complex manufacturing topics in a simple and digestible manner. You can divide your content into three categories – Information, Navigational and Transactional.
Associating the content with searcher intent i.e. aligning content across the buyer’s journey is critical to delivering relevant content.
Here are a few tips to succeed in content marketing:
- Create consistent high-quality and relevant content based on buyer’s journey
- Develop an editorial calendar so that you meet your content publishing deadlines
- Utilize various content types – Infographics, short videos, explainer videos, and interactive media to explain complex manufacturing-related topics in a simple form
- Promote your best performing content using digital channels.
Conclusion
Digital marketing is a must for manufacturing companies if you want to increase margins and gain more market share.
The digital marketing strategies discussed in this article will give manufacturing companies an idea about various digital platforms, advertising channels, and organic methods to reach their target audiences.
