Being in industrial and manufacturing services means you’re using equipment and machines to create and offer industrial services for other companies. This means you need an industrial marketing strategy to help you execute an effective B2B marketing campaign. Remember that B2B marketing strategies and B2C marketing strategies are not the same.

When you’re looking for a marketing agency to work with, make sure you are looking for a manufacturing marketing agency and not just a regular advertising or marketing agency. Most of the time, an agency that’s not familiar with B2B will need to learn about your industry before they can begin thinking of strategies that will help you. A specialized manufacturing or industrial marketing agency will know what to do from the start.

If you work in any of these industries – Machining, Plastics such as injection and rotation molding, Corrugated, and Electronics, among others, then this article is for you.

Once you decide to work with a manufacturing marketing agency, the steps below will be the steps they will take to start your marketing strategy. On the other hand, you can also implement these strategies on your own, as long as you have the time and resources to execute them effectively.

Step 1: Website

All companies need to review their website to determine how well or how bad the website is doing. A few years ago, websites were just validations of what the company spokesperson or company ads were saying. Now, websites are a tool to educate customers. Buyers are now well-informed and do their research even before reaching out to potential suppliers. The website is often where people first learn about the company and what it offers.

Make sure your website is optimized before you spend money on any marketing to drive traffic. Do a website audit and see if it’s optimized and what sections and areas need improvement. Depending on the results, the website might need to be overhauled or just undergo minor tweaks.

You can check out our B2B Industrial Website Design Guide here.

Step 2: SEO

Take a look at how the website is currently ranking on Google. How good are the organic rankings? The website might have been built by people who are unfamiliar with the industry and did not optimize the phrases used on the site. This should be fixed. There are minor SEO fixes that you that you can do quickly to allow Google to start re-indexing the website. SEO is a long-term game and high rankings don’t happen overnight. It’s best to fix it immediately so the website can start to improve its rankings.

Step 3: Current Marketing Strategy

What is the current industrial marketing strategy of the company? What are the current marketing efforts? Take a look at the budget and resources you have available. The company might have internal resources, such as a graphic designer or copywriter, that can be utilized instead of outsourcing the content to a manufacturing marketing agency. The agency can develop the strategy and review their work, but this allows companies to lower industrial marketing expenses.

Step 4: Content Marketing

Is your company doing content marketing? This is very important in today’s industrial marketing landscape. You need to make sure that your company is producing content – both videos and articles. A manufacturing marketing agency has all the resources needed to get content marketing started. Most of them have content writers, technical writers, and engineers on board to produce what’s needed. Some agencies can create all the content you need – from articles, white papers, and blogs. Beyond production, the agency will also post and distribute the content on your behalf. If you don’t have the resources to hire an agency, make sure you are doing all of these on your own.

A manufacturing marketing agency can also create videos for you to publish. An agency can go to your office quarterly and take hours of content to distribute via social media, your website, and YouTube for organic search rankings.

An agency can also help you create your company’s pitch decks, marketing collateral, and any other kind of content you need to make sure that the voice and content across all platforms are cohesive.

Want to get the most out of your industrial marketing strategy? Consult the experts here at MFG Tribe. We are a specialized industrial marketing agency that understands the ins and outs of your product and what you do.

Step 5: Distribution

For B2B companies, the most cost-efficient way to distribute content is LinkedIn. Most of your current prospects and customers can be found and engaged with on LinkedIn. Make sure you optimize your company LinkedIn profile, and then start distributing your content. After posting content, ask your technical sales engineers and other company employees to re-post the content and share it with their own networks.

A manufacturing marketing agency can also manage your company page and teach you how to use LinkedIn as a sales prospecting tool. An agency can also give you the tools to track and monitor how your distribution is going. They will also push and remind you to distribute content. These are among the benefits of working with an agency.

Step 6: Email Marketing

Email marketing may not be as effective as it used to be, but it can still be a strategic part that plays an important part in your overall industrial marketing strategy. A manufacturing marketing agency can help you set up or improve your email marketing in a way that speaks to your targeted customer. Whatever CRM you are using, whether its Zoho or Hubspot, an agency can jump in and manage automation, create content, and set up a distribution strategy. Email marketing is still an effective way to distribute content and reach potential prospects.

These are all important steps towards dominating your industrial marketing strategy. If you don’t have the resources to do everything, make sure that you are hitting the three pillars at least – SEO, social media marketing, and have a distribution strategy in place.

Industrial marketing strategies don’t develop overnight. And the best ones require years of experience and tactful planning. There is no such thing as instant gratification here. If you feel stuck, consider reaching out to a manufacturing marketing agency with expertise in your industry. If you want the best in the business, give MFG Tribe a call. Contact us to learn more now!

You can also learn more about Paid Vs Organic Content: Industrial Marketing Strategy here.