Marketing for Manufacturers: 3 Key Strategies For Success - Industrial Ideas

Marketing for manufacturers can be a complex and time-consuming activity. With the right approach however you can achieve exceptional results and revenue growth for your business.

Our team has been helping manufacturers involved in diverse industries from transport, automotive, mining, defence, construction, and energy.

We have identified 3 key strategies to help manufacturers achieve success – these include:

1 – Segmentation

Segmentation allows manufacturers to clearly cluster their customers into know buckets based on:

• revenue size / scale
• geography
• industry / market segment
• product usage
• services needed
• level of complexity to serve customers

The above elements can help structure your business to best serve your customers, the resources you employ, and the capabilities you offer. Importantly it also helps define your selling and marketing efforts. Sales territories made up of a number of customers are developed to ensure there is coverage, consistency, and a solid customer experience – meaning revenue growth.

Ensure you dig deep though and ask your customers a few questions. Do not rely solely on internal thinking and observations. Do your homework – that is market research to determine the best fit for both your customer and your organisation. Remember your largest customer may not require sales representation with weekly face-to-face meetings, however, they may really want a convenient option to quote, purchase and interact either with a human or an e-commerce solution.

2 – Alignment with Sales & Marketing

When sales and marketing work together good things happen. Especially for the customer, as they reap the benefits of both functions being aligned. Culture in the organisation also hits new levels as the two rain-maker teams unite for the greater good.

In order to support B2B selling efforts, marketing needs to communicate internally and share a common vision. If this is all in the best interest of the customer, sales will never stand in the way – they will engage and promote.

Leadership in any organisation is the key here – if leaders don’t get along, don’t expect their people to do anything different. When leaders support and influence the vision of both sales and marketing, the rest of the organisation follows through – operations, finance, and human resources will quickly embrace change with meaning.

3 – Position Your Brand

A manufacturer’s brand must tell a story and communicate a compelling value proposition. If this is not achieved, over time your products become commodities and price becomes your only lever for differentiation – danger!

To position your manufacturing brand with purpose, think of your customer and how they form an experience with you over time. This all depends on who they talk to, all touchpoints in your organisation, your communications – paperwork, letterheads, website info, brochures, fact sheets, social media, emails, etc. What’s their perception of your brand? What feeling do they have when they deal with you? Do you know the answers to these questions, if not ask them!

By employing these 3 strategies for manufacturing success, we are confident you will redefine your sales and marketing approach.

If you’d like some help with your approach to marketing, let’s chat.

Related: Download your free Marketing Strategy Guide

Other Reading: The Quest For Customer Focus

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Zafiris is an industrial marketer and founder of Industrial Ideas. Having built his experience in B2B marketing from the ground up, Peter understands what it takes to succeed with your marketing strategy. All client projects are personally managed by Peter to help industrials like you get the return on investment you deserve. Peter and team, work hard to become an extension of your business, to help you get the most out of your marketing efforts. Get your free 30 minute marketing consultation to learn more.