2022 and 2023 are right around the corner. In today's age of technology, marketing has come a long way. Marketing automation, artificial intelligence (AI), personalization, and account-based marketing have completely changed the way marketing works today.
So why do so many manufacturers feel like their marketing efforts aren't working and they've been stuck for the past 10 years?
The marketing industry tends to move more slowly than many other B2B sectors. This means that manufacturers will not be challenged if they become obsolete, but they can still continue to grow and meet customer demand.
However, the demographic shift in B2B manufacturing product buyers has accelerated over the past few years. Millennials and Gen Z now make up more than half of the workforce.
In other words, buyers' expectations have also changed. As a result, old-fashioned methods for acquiring prospects, such as cold calls, mailing list purchases, direct mail, trade shows, and print advertisements, are no longer being implemented as before.
This can be perplexing for marketers and management alike. As the number and quality of prospects begin to decline, management often begins to question marketing investments. And marketers can feel a little bit at a loss when they see a strategy they've relied on for years suddenly not materialize.
Don't worry too much. Marketing remains critical for manufacturers, and it's absolutely possible to deliver consistent, high-quality leads. The key to success is updating lead generation methods for modern buyers. In this article, we'll share some proven and tested techniques you can use right now to enhance your lead generation efforts.
I've worked with many manufacturers, and I was wondering, “Do you have content for buyers?” When asked, the answer I always get is “Yes!” That's it. But when I ask them what kind of content they have, they almost always get the same answer. It is a combination of spec sheets, data sheets, brochures, and catalogs.
The challenge is that these assets are useful to buyers only when they are about to be ready to buy. But most buyers that interact with you aren't at this stage in the buying process. As soon as buyers notice an issue, simply sending spec sheets or brochures is confusing, and in the worst case, it will drive the buyer away from the company.
For example, I've worked with manufacturers of high-end bolt products. We had some of the most premium products on the market, and the price range was commensurate with that. However, growing in the market has been difficult as our brand has saturated our penetration into existing customers.
For a long time, we mainly relied on assets such as catalogues and brochures. It's great for people considering the product, but it wasn't very useful for people who simply knew they had bolt challenges and were researching solutions.
Above: A visual representation of the types of content you can create at each stage of the buyer journey. Credit: Jess3
By creating content ranging from blog content explaining things like “3 tips for choosing the right vault solution” to e-books about different types of solutions, we began helping buyers every step of the way.
Once you've started creating content for each step of the funnel, let's “gate” it. It's a fancy marketing term that simply requires someone to fill out a form in order to download it.
Whether it's a new e-book, white paper, or guide, if it's valuable and unique, you can put it behind the gate. And every time someone fills out a form, a new lead comes into the funnel.
One important tip is to think carefully about the form fields you want users to fill out. If you ask too many questions on the form, they'll say, “No, that's fine!” There is a high possibility that it will be said. And skip it. Try to balance the number of questions with the true value and uniqueness of your content.
If you're selling complex B2B products, there's a good chance that your buyers are using LinkedIn, the world's largest B2B social network. One of LinkedIn's most powerful features is the ability to run “lead generation” ads. This allows users to directly fill out forms on LinkedIn to retrieve content. You don't need to visit a website.
They tend to perform far better than driving users from LinkedIn to a landing page, so you can get more leads at a lower cost.
LinkedIn's main goal is to always do tests. So don't just post one ad, but 2 or 3 at once. Even if the differences between the two are subtle, such as saying the same thing in different ways. By observing which ads are performing the most in terms of cost per lead (CPL), you can continue improving your campaigns.
These days, not everyone has time to read long-form sentences. But people still love it when someone makes it easier for them to solve their challenges.
One effective way to do this is through quizzes and assessments, which Aspire often refers to as “actionable lead magnets.”
In this test, prospects are asked a few questions (about 8-10) and scores and implementation results are conveyed. Furthermore, it also provides advice so that you can take action right away. Next, you can require prospects to fill in short fields (first name, last name, email, etc.) to get a track record of implementing the quiz.
Continuing from the example of working with a bolt company I introduced earlier, quizzes like these sometimes ask 8 to 10 questions about issues and use cases. And we might be able to share some insight into the types of technology that can address that company's challenges.
Webinars are a great way to generate leads, but they take time, and if you don't have a large audience in your database, it can be difficult to get enough people to sign up for yourself.
That's why B2B manufacturers should partner with industry groups relevant to their customers. These organizations will provide you with the audience reach you need, and in many cases, they'll also do the hard work of hosting and promoting webinars for you. All you need to do is prepare content and get involved!
One of the big keys to success is returning to the buyer journey I just described. A webinar shouldn't just be about promoting a product or presenting why a solution is the best in the business.
Rather, webinars should be educational and helpful, not promotional. If you can host a 45-minute or longer webinar to help your audience, you've earned their trust that they'll spend a few minutes at the end to briefly explain your company or product.
While working with a high-tech energy storage manufacturer, we hosted a series of webinars on all energy storage solutions on the market. We discussed the pros and cons of each (including the cons of our products). This is because you can gain trust by being honest and useful to the market. Then, trust turns into relationships, which in turn into new business.
71% of B2B buyers begin their research with a general Google search. Therefore, if you don't see it on Google, you may be unwittingly excluded early in the purchase process.
The best way to be displayed in Google's search implementation results is to search for keywords, start a blog, and make an SEO plan. Still, I'm still amazed at how few manufacturers have blogs, let alone active ones.
Think about all the challenges your customers might have when looking for a solution like yours. Are there blog posts for all of these scenarios? If not, keep yourself busy.
A helpful blogging tip is to make a call to action clear to every blog. What are the next steps you want people to take after reading the blog? If there are people visiting your blog without knowing where to go next, chances are you've missed out on a lot of leads from your blog.
Another way to increase prospects and spread the word about the great content you're creating is to use pop-ups on your website. While many users rate pop-ups as annoying, pop-ups have proven to be a proven way to generate leads.
The key is that pop-ups are helpful and not excessive.
Having one popup that only appears when “leaving” (that is, when someone is considering leaving the website) and can be easily hidden is far better than using 3 or 4 different pop-ups that appear seconds after someone visits the website.
One of the most effective ways I've helped manufacturers get leads is by merging the old with the new.
For example, most manufacturers attend quite a few trade fairs a year. But what if you could modernize your company's presence to make lead generation more effective?
Taking out one of the previously created content and being able to download it on-demand at the booth by scanning a name badge, filling out a form with an iPad, or scanning a QR code is a great way to blend the old with the new. Plus, you can quickly deliver valuable items to your booth visitors. It's a great way to gain the trust of booth visitors and begin building relationships that could lead to new business.
If you've noticed the overall trend here, it's that B2B manufacturer customer purchasing methods have evolved. To remain relevant and continue to drive sustainable growth, the way we generate leads also needs to evolve.
By adopting the latest methods for lead generation and meeting the needs of buyers, you can ensure a sustainable path for lead generation. Also, the more diverse your lead generation sources by adopting the multiple ideas presented in this article, the more consistent and reliable your lead pipeline will be.
As a final tip, make sure you store all of these leads on a reliable CRM and marketing platform. The only thing that makes data valuable is its quality and accessibility.