Marketing in the manufacturing and industrial service space has changed rapidly over the past few years.
COVID times radically changed how companies in these industries engaged with their base and drove new business: gone were the days of face-to-face meetings. Big-spend junkets to a favorite show or convention were out the door; even just walking through a customer’s door to say “hi” was gone.
Of course, much of that personal interaction has returned, but during the pandemic prospects and customers learned new ways to get needed information and to build the relationships that they wanted to cultivate.
And truth be told, some big winners and big losers have emerged.
What is Demand Gen? And why do I need to plan for it?
Demand Gen is more than just driving sales leads.
Driving leads is always a key to the success of any healthy company, but here’s something else that is as important today: driving people to your company and introducing them to your product or service.
I know what you’re thinking: “But we work in a very small niche space,” and “Everyone knows us.”
Wrong!
Right now, times are very different than they’ve ever been. Turnover is happening at a tremendous rate right now in all facets of manufacturing and across all types of industrial companies. And here’s what makes our current time so unusual: we often see people in their 60s and 70s replaced by teams in their 20s and 30s. They may have heard of you, but they have no relationship with your company. Thus they are open to other options and other places to take their business.
What isn’t Demand Gen in marketing and industrials?
The biggest fallacy we run into in Demand Gen is people thinking that digital SEO and PPC are Demand Gen. That’s just not the case.
Yes, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay-Per-Click) play a role in your strategy, but they are just a small piece of a complete strategy and go-to-market plan. If anyone tells you they can drive all the business you need with just a PPC campaign, they clearly don’t understand where the audience is in manufacturing and industrials. (And to be blunt, they don’t know what they are talking about.)
How do I build an effective plan?
There is no “one-size-fits-all” plan or playbook for Demand Gen. And my personal opinion is that anyone who has a pre-built playbook isn’t going to get the results you need. Your business is a one-of-one and you need to know a plan that aligns with your goals, strengths, and audience.
Here are a number of things you need to consider:
1. Who is your audience?
In marketing, we often call that your Ideal Client Profile (ICP). Understanding who you’re messaging and how to best reach them is going to drive everything else. Don’t just stop at your ICP that signs the deal, but rather, look at the entire customer journey.
A few years ago, we may have seen one or two people make the decisions for a deal. Today, an average deal has six to eight people involved. From engineers to the COO, from procurement to the safety manager and beyond – many, MANY more people are involved. Knowing who those people are and what they want to know about you, your company and your products/services is going to dictate how you message.
2. What is the customer journey?
The “customer journey” (sometimes called the “buyer journey”) is important to understand. As a marketing team, it’s critical to know the stages your customer goes through to determine who to work with and when.
Too often, we see customers who make assumptions based on their personal experiences that are years – or even decades – old. The truth is customers change, and so does their buying journey. If you haven’t done a Voice of Customer (VOC) survey in the last 18 months, it’s time to get it done.
Results from these VOC surveys often stun our clients, who thought they knew what was going on in the minds of their customers. Companies believe they know how they are perceived in the marketplace, how they stack up against the competition, and the reasons they are selected as a vendor. But until you do this type of research, you don’t have a complete sense of what your customers are thinking and how they are making decisions.
3. Nobody wants to be sold.
I have yet to meet the person who said, “Wow, that company really sold me well!”
With the influx of younger people in leadership roles, it is imperative to be able to fill the knowledge gaps of your audience and provide them with the solutions they need.
Look to be an educator and leader in your space. Give information freely and openly in blogs, webinars, seminars, panel discussions, and wherever you can on a one-on-one basis. Share the value you bring to the marketplace, but don’t just sell your products/services over and over again.
4. There is no silver bullet.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been asked if AI is replacing everything we do in marketing.
The answer is no. AI is not a silver bullet, but rather is a tool in your strategy. The most successful plans and companies have a multi-channel approach that they adjust as necessary.
Reliance on one channel will lead to inconsistent results and even put you in a dangerous position – as it did for those who relied on face-to-face interaction only leading up to when COVID hit.
5. Analyze. Improve.
This is not a “set it and forget it” approach.
Having a clear set of KPIs (key performance indicators) that you track daily, weekly, and monthly will help you see trends, move your budget to what’s working, and stay in front of the curve.
If you’re not sure what good looks like here, chat with others in the industry or give us a call. We’ll share with you what we think is key.
You cannot fit everything you want to say in a blog, but the above should give you a running start when it comes to building a demand gen plan. Want to chat through your challenges and bounce some ideas off someone? Give me a call and let’s discuss – Bill Morrow – 610-310-6707.
