Between concerns about the pandemic and recession, many B2B manufacturing companies have struggled to grow in recent years. Traditional methods such as trade fairs and print advertising are no longer able to achieve the necessary growth. Meanwhile, in order to grow their business, many manufacturers are turning to new ways to attract and retain customers, such as social media postings and email marketing.
But simply relying on individual marketing strategies like social media or SEO isn't enough anymore. Instead, manufacturers need a comprehensive marketing strategy that matches their business goals and supports the entire sales process.
Unfortunately, many manufacturers are falling behind in this area. They still rely on outdated marketing strategies and aren't able to take sufficient strategic action to do what is necessary to consistently acquire prospects and customers. You don't have a clear plan for how to attract new customers and keep them engaged throughout the sales process.
Today, manufacturers that continue to rely on “random marketing practices” and old-fashioned marketing strategies risk losing out to more agile competitors who are adopting new marketing strategies. These competitors are leveraging the power of inbound marketing, developing personalized marketing strategies with account-based marketing, and optimizing marketing activities with the help of marketing automation tools like HubSpot.
In this blog post, we'll explore 5 things manufacturers should do to grow in 2023. From developing a comprehensive marketing strategy to implementing inbound marketing and account-based marketing, we'll show you the strategies and tactics you need to stay one step ahead of your competition and grow your business next year.
One of the biggest mistakes B2B manufacturers make is relying on individual marketing strategies without having an overarching marketing strategy. There is a possibility that you will not be able to effectively reach your target audience or support the sales process due to your implementation experience. Also, without a clear plan for attracting and attracting new customers, you could miss out on valuable opportunities to grow your business.
The truth is, developing a comprehensive marketing strategy is a daunting task, especially if you're not a marketer. You've already taken on a lot of responsibilities, and marketing might not be your specialty. But the reality is that simply relying on individual marketing strategies without thoughtful planning is no longer enough to drive growth. Without a clear plan, there's a risk of wasting time and resources on strategies that don't provide the required implementation results.
Fortunately, creating an effective marketing plan doesn't have to be a months-long, tedious process.
To begin a solid marketing plan, you need to identify your business goals and break them down into specific marketing priorities. From there, we'll develop a clear marketing strategy that matches business goals and supports the entire sales process. This includes identifying target audiences, developing unique value propositions, and identifying key channels and tactics to help you effectively reach your audience.
To ensure your marketing plan is effective, regularly measure implementation performance and make data-driven decisions based on what you've learned. By constantly evaluating and optimizing your marketing activities, you can maximize your ROI and stay one step ahead of your competitors.
If that still seems uneasy, don't worry. Our downloadable marketing plan framework has everything you need to develop a marketing strategy with measurable implementation results.
The next section of this blog post details specific marketing strategies and tactics needed to grow your business in 2023. However, as you read this article, keep in mind that a marketing plan is the foundation for these approaches to be successful.
Buyers are increasingly doing research on the internet before making a purchase decision. That means manufacturers need to have a strong online presence in order to attract and attract potential customers. Inbound marketing is a powerful way to do that.
Inbound marketing is the creation of educational content that addresses the challenges and challenges of ideal customers. By providing information that is highly insightful, unique, and useful at every stage of customer research, you can attract potential customers to your website and build trust.
Inbound marketing isn't really about creating content. It's about building relationships with your audience by nurturing them throughout the sales process. By providing a library of content and resources to help your audience tackle their challenges, you can help your audience and keep your brand in mind as they move closer to making a purchasing decision.
The key to successful inbound marketing is a clear understanding of your ideal customer and their buying process. By creating buyer personas and planning the journey from recognition to purchase, you can customize content according to customer needs and increase your chances of converting them into customers.
Inbound marketing is a long-term strategy that requires patience and persistence. But when done right, it's a powerful tool for attracting and retaining customers and promoting sustainable growth in the manufacturing industry.
Building a website with a high conversion rate is critical for B2B manufacturers in 2023. A website is often the first place prospects interact with a brand, and it should be more than just an online brochure. High-converting websites need clear messages and calls to action that take visitors to the next step in the sales process.
Of course, in order to create a website with a high conversion rate, SEO and ease of use are essential. Your website should be optimized for search engines so that potential customers can find you easily. And once they've found you, your website should be easy to navigate, with a clear structure and user-friendly design. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and loads fast. These are “open issues” for the 2023 website.
Once you understand these basics, make sure you have clear calls to action throughout your website. Don't rely solely on the Contact Us page as the only way for visitors to engage with your brand. Offer lead magnets such as e-books or white papers in exchange for contact information. This not only provides value to visitors, but also provides an opportunity to cultivate prospects over time.
We've found that manufacturers that rely solely on “contact us” pages typically convert 0.2 to 0.4% of traffic into prospects. Meanwhile, manufacturers that have adopted various conversion options, such as lead magnets, have increased that ratio to 2 to 4%. That's right... You can increase leads by 10x or more simply by increasing conversion opportunities.
In this regard, the newsletter is likely to be an immediate success. Make sure your branding is solid and includes a short value proposition that encourages visitors to subscribe. Then, we regularly send out newsletters with useful content to keep prospects in mind about our brand.
Account-based marketing (ABM) is a personalized marketing strategy that focuses on targeting high-value customers with customized messages and content. In addition to the strategy of setting up a broad network to capture a wide range of prospects, ABM allows manufacturers to focus resources on specific high-value suppliers, similar to spear phishing.
Identifying high-value suppliers is the first step in developing an ABM strategy. Look for accounts that match your target customer profile, have high revenue prospects, and are right for your business. Once you've identified your target customers, it's time to start creating personalized messages and content that meet the specific needs of that trading partner's decision makers.
The focus here is on personalization. The key to successful ABM is thorough personalization.
One way to do that is by creating a customized landing page, webinar, or white paper for each account. Another effective way of ABM is to use personalized videos to interact with key decision makers. This can be a powerful way to showcase your products and services in a way that resonates with your target audience.
But ABM doesn't just create personalized content. It's also important to develop a personalized outreach strategy. This means that manufacturers should use targeted outreach strategies, such as connecting with decision makers on target accounts, rather than relying on generic email campaigns. Common strategies used here include personalized direct mail campaigns and gifts.
One thing to keep in mind when implementing an ABM strategy is the need for close collaboration between sales and marketing teams. Sales teams need to be deeply involved in identifying target customers and ongoing strategies. I often use the analogy of “wrapping my arms around” my target customer. Marketing is just one weapon; sales is the other. To be successful, you need to firmly incorporate both arms into your suppliers.
Now that all of this work can be done, analyzing and optimizing marketing activities is essential. But it's not always easy to know which metrics to track and how to interpret the data. Many manufacturers struggle with the challenges of manual tracking, diverse data sources, and proving the ROI of marketing activities. Without an effective system, it's impossible to know which marketing activities are paying off and which ones need to be adjusted or eliminated.
First, manufacturers need to track and analyze marketing implementation results in real time using CRM and marketing automation tools like HubSpot. By measuring key metrics such as website traffic, lead generation, and sales, you can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions to drive growth. Tools like HubSpot can be used to “close the loop.” This means you can check which strategies and tactics are helping to deliver actual implementation results, and which strategies and tactics need to be adjusted or completely eliminated.
One of the key steps is to regularly review and update your marketing strategy. As businesses and markets evolve, so should your marketing strategies. We often describe strategies as “written in pencil.” This is because you need to change your strategy based on what you've learned.
With the right tools and mindset, manufacturers can turn marketing activities into powerful drivers of growth and success.
Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different implementation results. As explained in this blog post, relying solely on outdated marketing strategies like print ads and trade shows won't work for 2023. B2B manufacturers need to strategize and adapt to changing times if they want to grow their business.
By developing comprehensive marketing strategies, adopting inbound marketing, building high-converting websites, utilizing account-based marketing, and analyzing and optimizing marketing activities, manufacturers can stay one step ahead of their competitors and attract quality leads that turn into loyal customers.
At Aspire, we understand the unique challenges B2B manufacturers face in today's ever-changing marketing environment. That's why we offer free marketing evaluations specifically dedicated to manufacturers. Our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) provides customers with actionable insights and rapid results to help improve marketing activities and grow their business. Start your free assessment today!