Category: Inbound Marketing

What an Industrial Marketing Agency Can Do for Manufacturers: Strategy, Content, and Results

Searching for an industrial marketing agency isn’t just a matter of semantics. The needs of manufacturers are vastly different from those of other industries, requiring a specialized approach that truly understands their challenges.

Unlike generalist marketing firms, industrial marketing agencies are uniquely equipped to address the complexities of technical products, long sales cycles, and the nuanced buying behaviors of engineers and procurement professionals.

In this blog, I’ll explore how an industrial marketing agency like Tiecas can provide a unique blend of strategic insights and executional expertise to help manufacturers thrive in today’s competitive markets.

Whether you’re considering an industrial marketing agency, a Fractional CMO, or a hybrid solution, I’ll guide you through the options, explain the value of customer-centric content, and show why aligning marketing with your business goals is critical for success.

Choosing Between an Industrial Marketing Agency for Manufacturing and a Fractional CMO: What’s Right for You?

Deciding between hiring an industrial marketing agency for manufacturing and engaging a Fractional CMO often depends on your organization’s size, structure, and immediate needs. Both options offer distinct benefits, but understanding their roles and how they align with your business goals is essential to making the right choice.

A marketing agency for manufacturing brings a team of specialized professionals who can handle everything from strategy development to content creation, SEO, lead generation, and more. This is particularly valuable for manufacturers looking to execute marketing campaigns efficiently without investing in full-time staff for every specialized role.

Agencies like Tiecas, which exclusively serve the industrial sector, offer the advantage of a deep understanding of technical products, buyer personas, and the long sales cycles typical of the industry. We are not learning at your expense; we bring proven methodologies and sector-specific expertise to the table.

On the other hand, a Fractional CMO offers high-level strategic oversight and leadership. This role is ideal for manufacturers needing an experienced marketing executive but not ready to commit to the cost of a full-time CMO.

A Fractional CMO can work closely with your internal teams, bridging the gap between strategy and execution while ensuring alignment with broader business objectives. They also help in breaking down silos between sales and marketing, establishing KPIs, and refining strategies based on real-time data and market conditions.

Choosing the right partner ultimately comes down to understanding your specific goals. Do you need a focused execution of marketing campaigns? Or do you require an overarching strategy to align marketing efforts with your business objectives? In either case, working with professionals who understand the complexities of industrial marketing is the key to success.

What if You Could Get the Best of Both Worlds – Industrial Marketing Strategy and Execution?

By partnering with a hybrid solution, like Tiecas, manufacturers can access the strategic leadership of a Fractional CMO while leveraging the executional power of a specialized industrial marketing agency. This approach ensures that every tactic—from website design to content marketing—is rooted in a well-defined strategy and executed to deliver measurable results.

Developing a successful industrial marketing plan means aligning strategic thinking with precise execution. Without a clear roadmap, marketing efforts can become scattered and ineffective. At the same time, even the best strategy will fail to deliver results without consistent follow-through.

For manufacturers, execution involves creating high-quality, customer-centric content, optimizing digital channels for lead generation, and leveraging data to refine marketing initiatives. It requires an experienced industrial marketer who understands the unique needs of technical buyers and can translate complex product information into compelling marketing campaigns.

You don’t have to choose between strategy and execution. Our approach combines the high-level thinking of a Fractional CMO with the hands-on expertise of an industrial marketing specialist. Whether you need a full-scale industrial content marketing campaign or a focused effort to refine your lead generation strategy, Tiecas brings both strategic guidance and tactical execution to the table.

Always start with a strategic roadmap and ensure every marketing effort drives measurable ROI.

Consistently Creating Customer-Centric Industrial Content is a Challenge For Manufacturing Content Marketers

Creating content that resonates with engineers and technical professionals is one of the most significant challenges manufacturers face. It’s not enough to describe product features or benefits—industrial buyers demand detailed, accurate information that directly addresses their work-related challenges.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, “Manufacturing marketers struggle with creating content for the buyer’s journey, aligning content efforts across sales and marketing, and communicating internally among teams/silos.” (Source:2023 Insights for Manufacturing Content Marketing).

While these obstacles are common, they’re not insurmountable. Customer-centric content begins with understanding your audience. What questions are engineers asking during their research? What problems are they trying to solve? The answers to these questions should form the foundation of your content strategy.

At Tiecas, we emphasize creating industrial content that combines technical accuracy and clear messaging. This approach builds trust and encourages meaningful engagement with your target audience. For example, a blog post explaining how your products solve a specific problem can be far more effective than a generic product description.

That said, consistency is key. Engineers and industrial buyers rely on reliable, accessible content at every stage of the buyer’s journey. From awareness to decision-making, your content must guide them seamlessly through the process.

While tools like generative AI can assist with brainstorming and outline development, you cannot rely on 100% AI-generated content to engage technical audiences. This is where human expertise becomes essential. By blending AI’s efficiency with human insight, manufacturers can produce content that informs, engages, and converts. See my blog, Industrial Content Creation for Scalable Manufacturing Content Marketing Needs GenAI + Human Expertise.

An Industrial Website Redesign Should be More Than a ‘Pretty’ New Skin

For many manufacturers, the idea of a website redesign often focuses on aesthetics—modernizing the look and feel of the site. While visual appeal is essential, an industrial website redesign must go far beyond surface-level changes. It’s not just about creating a “pretty” new skin; it’s about developing a tool that drives measurable business results.

The foundation of any successful industrial website is content. Product datasheets and detailed specifications are essential for design engineers, but your website content needs to go beyond that.

Engineers and technical professionals seek specific, detailed information that helps them make informed decisions and address their pain points. Without this, even the most visually stunning website will fail to engage users or generate leads.

You’ll need to pair your website content with a robust inbound marketing approach to convert visitors into leads. Let’s explore how industrial content marketing can set the stage for effective lead generation.

Inbound Lead Generation With Industrial Content Marketing

Inbound lead generation has become a cornerstone of modern industrial marketing. Why? Because today’s industrial buyers prefer to self-educate, conducting extensive research online before ever engaging with a sales representative. This shift means that your content must do the heavy lifting—informing, engaging, and building trust with your audience long before they’re ready to make contact.

“Inbound leads, on average, cost 61% less than outbound leads.” (Source: Invesp).

At its core, industrial content marketing is about creating valuable, relevant, and consistent content that addresses the specific challenges of your target audience. This might include technical whitepapers, case studies, instructional videos, or blog posts that provide actionable insights. The goal is to position your company as a trusted resource, earning the attention of engineers and decision-makers who are actively seeking solutions.

But, effective inbound lead generation goes beyond content creation. To truly set the stage for your sales team, your content must be strategically distributed and optimized for search engines. This ensures that potential buyers can find the right information at the right time, whether they’re searching for answers to technical questions or comparing product specifications.

Email marketing also plays a pivotal role in nurturing leads through long and complex sales cycles. You can maintain engagement, build relationships, and guide prospects toward a purchasing decision by delivering targeted content directly to their inboxes.

Inbound content marketing doesn’t just generate leads—it builds stronger relationships by addressing work-related challenges rather than pushing sales pitches. This approach allows your sales team to have more productive conversations with well-informed prospects who are already familiar with your value proposition.

In the next section, we’ll discuss how tracking and refining your marketing strategies can ensure that your lead-generation efforts remain aligned with your business goals.

The Importance of Regularly Tracking and Refining Strategies

No industrial marketing strategy is set in stone. Regularly tracking and refining your efforts are essential to staying aligned with your business goals and adapting to changing market conditions. A well-planned marketing strategy must be dynamic, driven by data, and continuously optimized to deliver measurable results.

Establishing realistic KPIs is a crucial first step. Instead of focusing solely on top-of-funnel metrics like website traffic and pageviews, prioritize goals tied to sales and business objectives, such as Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) vs. Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) and conversion rates.

Tracking these metrics helps assess how your content and campaigns influence the buyer’s journey—from generating the right kind of leads to nurturing them effectively and driving conversions.

Tracking and refining strategies aren’t about chasing vanity metrics but about driving tangible business outcomes. With a clear focus on data and continuous improvement, manufacturers can achieve sustained success in today’s competitive markets.

At Tiecas, we understand manufacturers’ unique challenges in marketing their technical products and services. With over 35 years of experience and a unique combination of technical knowledge and industrial marketing expertise, we bridge the gap between complex technical concepts and effective marketing strategies.

As a Marketing Engineer, I bring a rare blend of technical and business acumen to every project, ensuring your marketing resonates with the engineers and decision-makers who matter most. Let’s start with a conversation. Together, we can develop a strategic roadmap tailored to your business goals, ensuring that every marketing initiative delivers measurable ROI. Experience the difference an industrial marketing agency led by a Marketing Engineer can make in aligning your marketing and sales efforts for sustained success.

January 7, 2025
Leveraging Industrial Content Marketing for Manufacturers—a Key Strategy for Lead Generation
Industrial content marketing for manufacturers is a powerful tool to help your business achieve its lead generation and sales goals. It’s a strategic marketing approach focused on creating, distributing, and promoting valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage a clearly defined audience. Ultimately, it aims to drive visitor action leading to conversions.

Some refer to it as inbound marketing, which is a business methodology that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. That term was first coined in 2005 by HubSpot’s co-founder and CEO, Brian Halligan, and became popular around 2012.
Table of Contents
Understanding the role of industrial content marketing in manufacturing
Developing an effective manufacturing content marketing strategy
How to leverage industrial content marketing for lead generation and conversions
How to Measure the Success of Your Manufacturing Content Marketing
Putting it all together—A real-world case study
Outsourcing vs in-house: choosing the right approach for your manufacturing content marketing
Understanding the role of industrial content marketing in manufacturing

The importance of content marketing for manufacturers cannot be overstated. With the advent of digital transformation and the changing landscape of the manufacturing sector, traditional marketing methods are no longer sufficient. It’s no wonder why more and more manufacturers are turning to content marketing to reach their target audience, build trust, and generate leads.

Moreover, content marketing is not just about selling products or services, but it’s about providing useful information that helps your audience understand your products and solutions better. It’s about telling your company’s story, showcasing your in-house expertise, and positioning your company as a thought leader within your industry or niche. This, in turn, can strengthen your brand’s credibility, boost customer loyalty, and drive business growth.

This strategic shift in manufacturing marketing aligns very well with today’s industrial buyers who are in self-select and self-serve mode. They don’t need to speak with your salespeople to get product information.

Developing an effective manufacturing content marketing strategy

Creating a successful manufacturing content marketing strategy requires careful planning and execution. It’s not just about writing blog posts or creating videos but about delivering the right content at the right time to the right audience. I have often said, “Content creation is not content marketing.”

First, it’s essential to understand your audience. Know their needs, challenges, and pain points so you can create content that resonates with them. This involves conducting market research and creating buyer personas. This step is critical as it forms the basis of your content marketing strategy.

Next, set clear goals for your content marketing efforts. This might include boosting brand awareness, generating leads, increasing website traffic, or improving customer engagement. Having well-defined goals will help guide your content creation and distribution efforts, ensuring that every piece of content serves a specific purpose.

(Source: Manufacturing Content Marketing Insights for 2023, CMI).

Last but not least, it’s crucial to measure the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy. This involves tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) like website traffic, lead generation, social media engagement, and conversion rates. By monitoring these metrics, you can determine what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to tweak your strategy as needed.

How to leverage industrial content marketing for lead generation and conversions

Leveraging industrial content marketing for manufacturers for lead generation and conversions is about using content to attract, engage, and convert visitors into potential leads. It’s about providing valuable content that answers your audience’s questions, solves their problems, and guides them through the buying journey in a logical manner to make a more informed buying decision.

One effective way to generate leads is by offering gated content. This is content that requires visitors to provide their contact information to access. Examples of gated content include eBooks, whitepapers, and case studies. Gated content offers valuable information in exchange for the reader’s email—this is where you capture top-of-the-funnel leads (MQLs) that you can nurture into qualified leads.

Gated content can be a pitfall if you are not careful. Content not perceived as valuable by your audience but gated for the sake of capturing contact information can hurt credibility and damage your brand.

A recent survey of B2B technology buying decision makers done by Informa Tech showed that 71% of respondents were sometimes or often disappointed by the quality of the gated content.

Optimizing your content for search engines is another crucial aspect of leveraging industrial content marketing for manufacturers for lead generation. This involves using SEO best practices like keyword optimization, creating high-quality backlinks, and ensuring your website is mobile-friendly. By improving your search engine rankings, you can drive more organic traffic to your site and increase the chances of converting visitors into leads.

How to Measure the Success of Your Manufacturing Content Marketing

Measuring the success of your manufacturing content marketing involves tracking key performance indicators (KPIs). These might include website traffic, number of leads, social media engagement, and conversion rates.

Website traffic is a crucial metric, it is the lifeblood of online marketing. This can help you gauge the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts and identify areas for improvement.

Lead generation is another critical KPI. You can determine how effectively your content attracts and converts visitors by tracking the number of leads generated through your content marketing efforts. However, quality trumps quantity when it comes to leads.

Social media engagement is also an essential metric. It measures how people are interacting with your content on social media. This can provide insights into how your audience perceives your content and how effectively it’s engaging them. Temper your expectations from social media because engineers and industrial professionals tend to be passive participants. They like to read or view videos but don’t leave comments or share often.

Finally, conversion rates indicate the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase if you have an online store. You can assess how effectively your content drives profitable customer action by tracking your conversion rates.

Connecting the dots between publishing content and lead generation is often difficult, and many manufacturing content marketers struggle with it. However, you can’t escape or ignore this part because the C-suite execs want to know what they are getting for the money invested in industrial content marketing. They are not impressed by top-of-funnel stats from Google Analytics.

Putting it all together—A real-world case study

Manufacturing Content Marketing Helps Improve Industrial Digital Marketing KPIs and Achieve Goals

Read case study

Outsourcing vs in-house: choosing the right approach for your manufacturing content marketing

When it comes to executing your manufacturing content marketing strategy, you have two options: outsourcing or in-house. Each has pros and cons, and the right choice depends on your needs, goals, and resources.

Outsourcing your content marketing can be a great option if you lack the time, expertise, or resources to do it in-house. It can also give you access to a team of experts with the skills and experience to deliver high-quality content that resonates with your audience.

On the other hand, keeping your content marketing in-house gives you more control over your strategy and execution. It also allows you to closely align your content marketing efforts with your overall business goals and strategies.

Ultimately, choosing between outsourcing and in-house depends on your specific needs and resources.

“59% of respondents said their organization outsources at least one content marketing activity. Their top challenge is finding partners with adequate topical expertise (60%)”
Source: The Content Marketing Institute

Industrial content marketing for manufacturers is a powerful tool that can help you attract, engage, and convert visitors into potential leads. By understanding your audience, setting clear goals, creating high-quality, relevant content, promoting your content, and measuring your success, you can leverage content marketing to boost your lead generation and conversions.

Whether you choose to outsource or keep your content marketing in-house, the key is to ensure that your content marketing efforts are strategic, targeted, and effective.

Remember, content marketing is not just about selling products or services but about providing valuable information that helps your audience make a more informed buying decision and elevates you to a valued partner, not just a supplier.

Need help improving your industrial marketing for manufacturers? Let’s talk.
October 16, 2023
Marketing to Engineers—Why Digital is the Dominant Strategy
Digital marketing to engineers works for several reasons. And you can’t argue against the results. I’ve been a big believer and a practitioner of digital marketing strategies and tactics for my industrial marketing and consultancy clients for several years now.

Let’s look at the big picture first – B2B sales. After all, engineering services and manufacturing companies are a subset of B2B companies. A survey conducted by management consulting firm Bain & Company found that 92% of B2B buyers prefer virtual sales interactions, up 17% from May 2020. The report notes that 79% of sellers also say virtual selling is effective, compared with 54% last year. (Source: Sales Content that Closes published by Allego).

Interestingly, Bain & Company has put together a webinar with the provocative title; Digital Marketing is Dead. Obviously, it is not dead, but digital marketing “as usual” won’t work either.

Digital marketing to engineers is effective

As I wrote in the opening paragraph, the results speak for themselves.

“Online information sources are the dominant ‘go-to’ for engineers researching a product or service for a business purchase.”

That finding is from the 2022 State of Marketing to Engineers report published by TREW Marketing and GlobalSpec.

69% of engineers go right to the source, the supplier’s, or the vendor’s website when researching a product or service. Research and information gathering happens in the early stages of their buying journey.

In short, an industrial website is the hub of your digital marketing strategy. It may be time for you to do a complete audit of your current website. It shouldn’t be limited to just technical issues for SEO. You should evaluate the following:
- Is the core messaging an accurate reflection of your company today?
- Do you have outdated information on products and services?
- What do you want site visitors to do after they find your site? Expecting them to call or email you after the first visit is unrealistic.
- Do you have clear calls to action for moving them logically through their buying journey?
- Have you taken steps to minimize the number of clicks required for visitors to find relevant information?
- Is the navigation intuitive and logical?
- Can you improve the user experience?
Honest answers to these questions will help you identify gaps in your website content and whether or not you should consider a complete industrial website redesign.

Content preferences of engineers

What sort of content do engineers use in making work-related decisions? When it comes to manufacturing content marketing, we often think of blog posts, white papers, e-books, etc.

Surprise, surprise – the good old datasheets are still #1! This is followed by downloadable CAD drawings. I’ve already written a few posts about the value of the second item as an effective sales enabler. (See my previous post).

Video plays a dominant role in engineering marketing

Looking at the above chart closely, you’ll see various forms of video mentioned. 96% of engineers consume videos for work-related purposes, with 53% watching one hour or more weekly.

Younger engineers, those 35 and under, tend to spend more time watching videos for work-related purposes.

Also, check out 4 Reasons Why Manufacturers Use Video Marketing, published by ThomasNet.

How to make content useful for your sales team

So far, I’ve talked about how engineers consume content in digital marketing. Now, let’s look at how the sales team can use content to become more productive. If you are an outside industrial marketing consultant like me or an in-house marketer, you know it is challenging to get Sales to use the content you produce.

I’m sure you’ve read this statistic before, but it is worth repeating. In 2013, Forrester reported that 60% to 70% of content produced by B2B marketing organizations goes unused. Even more startling was that many of their clients said that 80% of their content went unused. Needless to say, there’s a problem.

I’m not going to repeat all that’s been written about creating synergies between Sales and Marketing. However, I did find two key takeaways from Allego’s report for making content more beneficial for the sales team.

So there you have it—my take on why digital marketing to engineers is dominant today, backed by data from independent research studies.
February 16, 2022
Industrial Customer Journey and the Digital Experience
Understanding the industrial customer journey is essential to the success of digital marketing with content. Based on my conversations with manufacturers, I sometimes get the impression that it is just a marketing exercise to them and is not taken seriously. Why do I say that? Let me give you two examples.

Example #1: Conversation with the VP of Business Development of a manufacturer of industrial mixers and agitators.

Me: “How long is your sales cycle?”

VP: “Oh, it is just a matter of a week or two for us to get an RFQ or PO after we’ve talked to the right decision-maker(s).”

He was either clueless or chose to ignore the time it took for the prospect to go through his or her process or journey before deciding to contact this manufacturer. The concept of mapping the customer journey was alien to him, and he told me that it was a waste of time.

Example #2: Conversation with the National Sales Manager of a manufacturer of Butterfly and Control valves.

Me: “How do you define a qualified lead?”

Manager: “I don’t consider a prospect a lead until we have a serious conversation about putting together a quote.”

He couldn’t care less about top-of-the-funnel Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), nurturing them into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) before handing them off to Sales. All he was interested in are leads that were ready to buy. (See my article, “SAL is the Glue that Binds Sales and Marketing in Lead Generation.”)

FYI: I published that article in December 2010, and it is still the third-highest visited post after more than ten years. Talk about the power of blogging!

Industrial buy cycle and the customer journey

The industrial buy cycle consists of four distinct stages, at least that is the conventional definition. The stages are:
1. Needs Awareness
2. Research
3. Consideration & Comparison
4. Procurement
According to the research done and published by THOMAS™ for industry (Thomas Publishing Company), the industrial buying process is now made up of 6 stages. Their version applies to all industrial buyers—Engineers, MRO, and Purchasing professionals in companies of various sizes and industries.

Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Okay, it has grown from 4 to 6 stages. No big deal.” Wait, things get a lot more complicated because engineers and buyers face many challenges at each stage, and they present new opportunities for the supplier. Look at this chart from another ThomasNet presentation.

Personal buying experiences influencing industrial buying expectations

Buyers of generators, pumps, motors, etc., expect the same kind of easy access to digital information, search capabilities, and comparison features that they are familiar with and similar to their personal online buying experiences. Anything less, and the visitor is off to another site with a click of the mouse.

I recently read a fascinating white paper published by Accenture. They defined this change in industrial customers’ expectations as Industrial Consumerism. I think that’s a brilliant and apt label.

Here’s a direct quote and an illustration from the white paper, which was published in 2016.

“By 2020, thanks to a seismic shift in customer expectations, B2B companies will need a completely different approach to driving growth. Is your sales and marketing organization ready?”

Conventional differentiation of the past where industrial companies relied on superior product features, may no longer be enough. Today, they must leverage newer technologies to better understand the customer journey and meet the digital expectations of industrial buyers who are in self-serve and self-select mode.

The Accenture report identified areas where digital technologies will have the most significant impact and where gaps exist.

Enter the 4th Industrial Revolution and the COVID pandemic

If the changes in industrial buyer expectations weren’t enough, the 4th Industrial Revolution has brought about significant digital disruptions in industrial sales and marketing. The COVID pandemic of 2020 has only accelerated some of these changes, and many will become permanent.

Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), introduced the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in his article which was first published in Foreign Affairs in December 2015.

Most manufacturers and engineering companies are playing catchup when it comes to digital disruptions. That extends well beyond just sales and marketing. Some companies have taken the lead and embraced digital initiatives in transforming their industrial sales and marketing strategies to better align with customer expectations.

I came across the article “Industrial Firms Need to Give Their Customers a Digital Experience,” published in the Harvard Business Review which cited several good examples. Here’s one:

“Linde, a global industrial gases and engineering solutions company, developed an augmented reality (AR) application to engage customers and facilitate the sales conversion process. Their tool uses AR to give customers a ‘live’ experience with the company’s cryogenic freezers by projecting an image of the freezer into the customer’s factory setup. While clarity on dimensions within the actual production space had previously driven a lengthy sales process, Linde’s use of AR has helped customers get over the conversion hump and improved the overall purchase experience.”

Also, read my earlier post, “Manufacturing Marketing in the Age of Industry 4.0.”

The importance of mapping the industrial customer journey

Google the phrase mapping customer journey, and you’ll get 245,000,000 results as of writing this post. Obviously, there’s a ton of information out there. However, information or someone’s opinion doesn’t easily translate into actual action.

The point is, there are no shortcuts when it comes to understanding the customer journey. Apply those insights to rethink your industrial marketing strategies and sales processes to deliver a better experience to your customers and align well with their expectations.

You can read some of my earlier articles on industrial content marketing to learn more about using this strategy for engaging with industrial buyers at every stage of their customer journey.
May 17, 2021
Adapting Your Industrial Content Marketing Strategy for COVID-19
Industrial content marketing strategy needs adjusting and fine-tuning to adapt to changes during this unprecedented time of COVID-19. Life and business as we know them have changed significantly. Some of these changes are highly likely to be permanent even after the crisis is over (Whenever that will be).

Not surprisingly, some companies will cut back on industrial marketing in response to the pandemic because of the of the dismal business conditions. That’s understandable.

While others will step up their industrial content marketing game and seize the opportunity to position themselves to be stronger than their competition. Am I crazy?

You are probably familiar with the findings from a McGraw-Hill Research study that looked at 600 companies across various industries from 1980 to 1985 and found that those businesses which chose to maintain or raise their level of advertising expenditures during the 1981 and 1982 recession had significantly higher sales after the economy recovered. Specifically, companies that advertised aggressively during the recession had sales 256% higher than those that did not continue to advertise.

Of course, times have changed. You are not going to convince your management to spend more on advertising or invest in new marketing technology in the current economic conditions.

What can you do as an industrial content marketer? In one word—ADAPT.

Revisit and refine your industrial content marketing strategy

You don’t need to throw your existing content marketing strategy out of the window, but you’ll need to refine it to adapt to the altered business conditions now and for the foreseeable future.

While your target audience of engineers and industrial buyers may not change drastically, their businesses most certainly have. Your content marketing may not be as effective if you don’t adjust it to meet their current needs.

Example: A distributor of electronic components that sells globally. The pandemic has caused major disruptions throughout the supply chain. How do you manage these disruptions to meet the “just in time” demands of your customers and at the right price?

Your content for digital marketing needs to talk about the changes you have put in place to meet demands from local warehouses to mitigate some of the logistical challenges. Write about drawing on your global network of sources to maintain a critical level of inventory to meet customers’ immediate needs which may be lower than usual since their operations have also been affected.

Use industrial content marketing to reassure customers

Smart manufacturing content marketers will take advantage to fill the void left behind by competitors who go silent because of cutbacks.

Create content that will reassure your customers about the operational changes you’ve made to keep customers and your employees safe by following guidelines set forth by local, state and federal agencies. Let them know about the changes you’ve made on the shop floor. Reassurance will go a long way in winning their trust and earning customer loyalty.

Example: A manufacturer of pre-engineered metal buildings and components uses both digital and print media to reassure their customers of minimal disruptions to their supply chain and operations while practicing social distancing on the shop floor. They are working with their customers’ revised project deadlines to ensure timely deliveries.

Leverage the power of content marketing tools you already have

Earlier in this post, I mentioned that management is probably not going to spend money at this time to invest in new marketing technologies. Why not leverage what you already have and use them to create a more powerful synergy?

I’m talking about combining email marketing with industrial blogging.

I’m suggesting emails because “Fifty-nine percent of respondents (engineers) indicate that they prefer to communicate with vendors over email. Twenty-four percent prefer phone conversations.” (Source: 2020 Smart Marketing for Engineers).

This is a powerful industrial content marketing strategy that I have used successfully with our clients. I have seen many manufacturers who’ve created a new section devoted specifically to COVID-19 preparedness. These are primarily blog posts published frequently.

Create emails that summarize these posts with links back to the blog to read the full article. This will drive visitors to your site. Add some exclusive content or an offer to your emails that only your subscribers can see.

Example: A manufacturer of safety equipment used in turnaround service for refineries and power plants, offers free consulting and evaluation to its email subscribers only along with a discount code for buying products directly from their online store.

Include a call to action with a sign-up form for new visitors who discovered your blog posts via search engines (SEO). This will generate new top of the funnel leads and grow your list organically.

Add webinars, virtual conferences and videos to your industrial content marketing strategy

In-person trade shows and large face-to-face conferences are not going to happen for a while. That doesn’t mean you cannot replicate a similar experience virtually.

Webinars are highly effective for educating younger and less experienced engineers stay current on technology. They are looking to their vendors to provide them this training. They probably will have more time to attend these webinars while working from home as versus when they are under deadline pressures while at work.

Similarly, you could develop specific content that your sales team can use during video conferencing or Zoom meetings. These content assets can be used for prospecting as well as providing new content to existing customers.

Free COVID-19 resources for manufacturers

Here are some free COVID-19 resources for manufacturers and they are from trusted sources.
1. COVID-19 Resources from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
2. Covid-19 Resources for Manufacturers from Catalyst Connection
Yes, these are unprecedented and frankly, scary times. As industrial content marketers we can either adapt and come out stronger or try to survive by doing nothing and hope that it will soon pass. It’s your choice.

Stay safe and healthy!
May 8, 2020
Content Preferences of Engineers and Industrial Buyers
Understanding the content preferences of engineers and industrial professionals is crucial to your success with industrial content marketing. That applies to the content for industrial websites too.

Compounding the problem is the fact that engineers from all age groups do not respond the same way to your content. While everyone wants to reach the final decisionmakers, you’d be making a serious mistake if you ignore younger engineers who are taking on more responsibilities.

These younger engineers have different content preferences and prefer to interact with vendors differently than their older counterparts. Understanding this age difference among engineers is important.

Reliable research data on industrial buyers isn’t easy to come by as in the world of B2C marketing. I know of only a handful of research studies that focus exclusively on manufacturing or industrial marketing. You probably know them too if you market to engineers and technical professionals.

One such report is the 2020 Smart Marketing for Engineers published by IEEE GlobalSpec in partnership with TREW Marketing. I’ll highlight some of the key findings related to content preferences of engineers and industrial buyers.

Content preferences of engineers and industrial buyers ranked by value

Look at this chart from the report, you may be surprised to find that good old product datasheets are still the most valued content preferred by this technical audience.

Now look at the data from the perspective of various age groups. Here’s what the research found:
- While engineers from all age groups found datasheets valuable, engineers aged 35 and under placed the most value on them.
- Engineers in the 36-45 age range found the most value in case studies when compared to other age groups.
- Engineers aged 45-55 preferred white papers.
Importance of content on industrial websites

You already know that these days engineers and industrial buyers complete a large portion of their buying journey online. Nearly 75% of this audience completes more than 50% of their buying journey by using the Internet. 25% said that they complete over 70% of the buying process online.

Again, there are differences among various age groups. Younger engineers (35 and under, and 36-45) place more value on YouTube than their older counterparts.

While social media is not irrelevant, it is dead last and has been consistently lagging for the past few years.

“For younger engineers, they’re more likely to source information from their social media accounts before they ever pick up a print magazine. For their peers older than 55, the opposite is true.” (Source: How Engineers Find Information 2019, engineering.com).

Don’t obsess over page 1 ranking for SEO

This may be another surprising revelation from the research report since manufacturing content marketers are always talking about ranking on page one in Google. Yeah, it’s a good goal but don’t base your entire content marketing strategy on SEO.
- 32% of engineers are willing to go 3 pages deep in search results
- 17% will go as far as 5 to 10 pages and 11% will go more than 10 pages
Using industrial content as sales enablers

Passive reading of your content isn’t going to help you generate better quality leads that turn into sales opportunities. I’m not talking about using email marketing to nurture leads.

You need content assets that I refer to as “sales enablers.” I’m talking about using downloadable CAD files and e-catalogs. These content assets save time, improve accuracy and minimize repetitive tasks for engineers.

As a manufacturer of components or parts, this is imperative because without your part being “designed in” you may not get to the RFP/RFQ stage. I have written several posts on downloadable CAD files that you’ll find here.

What is the big difference with downloadable CAD files? These are usually gated content (Need to fill a form to gain access). Here’s what the research found:
- 53% of engineers and industrial buyers are willing to enter their basic contact information in exchange for downloadable CAD files.
- Engineers aged 35 and under are most likely to provide contact information in exchange for CAD drawings.
- Engineers in the 36-45 age range are most likely to provide contact information for a webinar.
- Engineers aged 66 and older are the least likely to fill out a form in exchange for content.
Those numbers are huge because you are generating qualified leads and not passive visitors who take no follow-up action. That’s not only me saying that. Here are some key statistics on downloadable CAD files published by ThomasNet.
- CAD models create sales leads at a 2.5x greater rate than text-based product information
- 89% of designers only select components from manufacturers who provide CAD models online
- Up to 88% of businesses ultimately buy a part after downloading a CAD file
- 94% of designers will also specify that same part for future projects
Notice that webinars are good performers too because they are good learning opportunities. As in-house resources for training become more scarce because of cutbacks and retirements, the less experienced engineers are looking more to their vendors for that valuable training.

This post and the research finding should help you better align your efforts with the content preferences of engineers and industrial buyers.
March 12, 2020
Content Marketing for Manufacturers: Are You Using its Full Power?
My initial conversations with industrial companies about content marketing for manufacturers usually start something like this, “We can’t be found in Google or other search engines. We want to rank high. We’ve read that content marketing is the way to go. Can you help us?”

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that stated goal for industrial content marketing. This can apply to distributors and engineering companies as well, not just manufacturers.

So, what’s the problem?

This is a longish post, so grab a cup of coffee and sit back and read. Click on the links listed under the Table of Contents section to jump to a specific section if you are in a hurry. (Reading Time: 5 minutes.)

Table of Contents

Content marketing for manufacturers isn’t just for SEO

By basing your entire manufacturing content marketing strategy on Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you may not be using the full power or the potential of content marketing for manufacturers.

Why do I say that? The short and simple answer is, search engines are not your target, human visitors are.

Don’t assume that visitors who find you in Google and come to your site, will automatically convert into leads. Converting visitors to leads happens only when engineers and industrial professionals trust your content and find it relevant to their needs.

They will subscribe to your list and/or contact your salespeople only after that happens. Understanding the difference between discovery optimization (SEO) and conversion optimization (CRO) is very important.

That’s why your manufacturing content marketing strategy must be based on the entire sales funnel and not just ToFU (Top of Funnel) activities. Traffic by itself means zilch if you can’t convert it into real opportunities.

Proving ROI of manufacturing content marketing

Manufacturing marketers use content marketing to achieve a range of goals as seen in this chart from the report, “Manufacturing Content Marketing 2020” published by the Content Marketing Institute.

85% of manufacturing marketers have used content marketing successfully in the last 12 months to create brand awareness.

Goals Manufacturing Marketers Have Achieved by Using Content Marketing Successfully in the Last 12 Months

Wow, that’s impressive! Hang on though, measuring brand awareness is difficult. Sooner or later, you have to prove how that translates into tangible business goals—leads, sales opportunities and wins.

As a manufacturing content marketer, you have to go well beyond increasing name recognition. Your efforts must span the entire sales funnel or the buyer journey. You have to tie together conversations with sales, RFQs, opportunities that convert into sales, and customer support (loyalty).

Just publishing blog post and/or other content won’t cut it. You have to continue to market to them with helpful and relevant content. That all starts with gaining a valued subscriber to your list, so you have their explicit permission to send them your content.

Engineers rank email as a preferred means of acquiring information. (Source: How Engineers Find Information 2019 from engineering.com).

Now, go back and look at the chart again. Notice how “Build a subscribed audience” is second to last. I’m sure by now you can see the challenges of content marketing for manufacturers.

What else can manufacturing content marketing do for you?

The list is long, so I’ll highlight just three of them here.

Earn trust: As I’ve mentioned earlier in this post, you have to earn visitors’ trust first before they’ll sign up. Make it a value exchange—helpful content in exchange for their basic contact information. Bring your in-house Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to the forefront. I have found one engineer to another to be a very powerful strategy for earning trust and credibility. For more on this, read my post, Industrial Content Marketing that Engages Engineers.

Nurture leads: Unless you are selling industrial consumables and/or standard components, your sales cycle is probably going to be long and will take multiple touches with different stakeholders. This is particularly true of manufacturers of custom-engineered systems. Use email marketing to stay in touch by providing your subscriber list with relevant and helpful content that will move them closer to the final decision in a logical manner to make a more informed decision.

Create true differentiation: Good manufacturing content marketing can differentiate you from your competition when there’s parity in Value Propositions. This in turn will set the table for your sales team so they can have more productive conversations instead of cold prospecting. (See How Manufacturing Content Marketing Sets the Table for Sales).

Here are a few other statistics from independent sources that show the usefulness of content marketing.
- Marketers who prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI. (Source: HubSpot, 2019)
- Content marketing gets three times more leads than paid search advertising. (Source: Content Marketing Institute)
- The top 2 types of content manufacturing marketers use are social media content (92%) and videos (81%) (Source: Content Marketing Institute)
- Prospecting is the most difficult part of the sales process for salespeople. (Source: HubSpot)
Content marketing for manufacturers is not just blog posts

Don’t forget conventional content assets that manufacturers have been using before the age of digital marketing. I’m talking about product datasheets and specifications. These are still very important, especially if you are targeting Design Engineers.

This chart shows what forms of content engineers find valuable while researching information for making a buying decision. (Source: 2020 Smart Marketing for Engineers, IEEE GlobalSpec and TREW Marketing).

Use premium content such as white papers, guides and e-books to generate targeted leads by using a content-centric lead generation strategy.

Save busy engineers time, minimize repetitive tasks and reduce errors by providing downloadable CAD files. This is a powerful content marketing strategy especially for manufacturers of industrial parts and components. (See my post, Industrial Content Marketing for Engineers to Make a Buy Decision).

According to CADENAS PARTsolutions, there are five major trends in downloadable CAD files that will affect industrial marketers in 2020 and beyond:
1. 3D modeling is the #1 ranking CAD trend.
2. High-quality product data, instant configuration and native CAD downloads.
3. 3D product catalog adoption moves into “Late Majority” stage.
4. More opportunities to market and sell to architects with BIM files.
5. More users are downloading 3D models online than ever before.
Download their free e-book, How to Sell More Products with 3D CAD & BIM Models.

I hope this post convinces you about the strong benefits of manufacturing content marketing if you are still sitting on the fence. Look around this blog and you’ll find over 300 articles on industrial marketing; many of them focus on content marketing.

Need help creating technical content? Content creation is the number one marketing activity (87%) outsourced by manufacturing marketers. If manufacturing content marketing sounds too daunting and time consuming, then take a look at my new technical content creation service for industrial companies to help you use content marketing more efficiently.
February 17, 2020
Have Concerns About Inbound Marketing for Manufacturers?

Conversations about inbound marketing for manufacturers invariably lead to several questions and/or concerns. I do spend quite a bit of time educating my prospects and clients about inbound marketing.

I’ve published several articles on inbound and industrial content marketing in the past. Just do a search here or select it from the Categories to find them. I’ll summarize the key points and cite some of the latest statistics to validate my claims.

Inbound marketing for manufacturers is not a quick fix for slow sales

This is probably the single biggest area of concern and/or questions. Manufacturers want leads that turn into sales quickly. They don’t want to wait 6 to 9 months for results.

Of course, they don’t want to hear that, they want their phones to start ringing, RFQs coming in and their sales team involved in deep conversations in 30 days or less.

Unfortunately, that’s an unrealistic expectation because inbound marketing with content is not a one-off campaign or a project; it is a process! It takes time to gel before it can produce measurable and repeatable results.

That doesn’t mean you have to wait to see any measurable results. A well-planned and executed inbound marketing program will produce incremental improvements in the short term.

(more…)

July 18, 2019
Webinar: Prove ROI and Make the Business Case for Industrial Content Marketing
Industrial content marketing for engaging with engineers and technical professionals can be challenging. I’ve written about these problems in the past. Why not join me for a free webinar to learn first-hand about these challenges, tips on how to prove ROI which is necessary to make a strong business case for getting buy-in from management.

I’ve been invited by B2B Marketing Zone to present a free webinar on July 9, 2019 @ 12:30 PM PDT, 3:30 PM EDT. The webinar will be moderated by Hannah Flynn, Editor – Aggregage.

(Click on the “register for the webinar here” link below to download the free recording if you are reading this post after the webinar date.)

You can register for the webinar here.

I’ll share some of my experiences working with manufacturers and other industrial companies for the past 30+ years. Along the way, I’ll cite independent research findings to validate my ideas and recommendations.

In this webinar, you will learn more about:
- Unique challenges of industrial content marketing
- Measuring ROI and making a business case
- Building your industrial content marketing roadmap first
- Winning the engineer’s mindshare
- Working with technical Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
- “Post and Pray” is not an effective content marketing strategy
- Actionable Takeaways
I hope to see you there on July 9, 2019 @ 12:30 PM PDT, 3:30 PM EDT.

Register for the webinar today.
June 17, 2019
Industrial Content Marketing that Engages Engineers

When it comes to effective industrial content marketing, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “One-size-fits-all content” just doesn’t cut it. How do you make your content more relevant to time-challenged engineers, deal with the age gap within your target audience, earn their trust and build stronger relationships? Those are some major challenges in industrial content marketing that can’t be overcome by just pumping out more content.

You are not alone if you are having difficulties with manufacturing content marketing meeting all your goals. According to the findings from the research report, 2018 Manufacturing Content Marketing Trends—North America published by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 55% of manufacturers in North America reported that they were only moderately successful in achieving their organization’s desired/targeted results.

(more…)

August 14, 2018