I wrote last August that it’s still possible for new B2B marketing automation vendors to challenge the industry leaders. My own answer is: at stage of the industry, the basic features of marketing automation are pretty much set, so radically different features are not likely to emerge as a major competitive advantage. Rather, a new industry leader would have to remove the critical bottleneck to industry growth: the shortage of marketers with the skills needed to fully use marketing automation capabilities. This is by far my preferred solution. MORE >>

Most manufacturers of industrial products agree that digital marketing is essential for their success now and going forward. Yet, many of these industrial companies are struggling to implement digital marketing because of  lack of relevant content. You can read some of my earlier posts on inbound and content marketing for manufacturers and industrial companies. Existing marketing collateral focuses primarily on the company and its products. See my recent post, “Problem-centric Industrial Marketing.” ). This is not a new problem. MORE >>

In my conversations with industrial companies about inbound marketing, I find my audience agreeing with me up to a certain point and then there is a big disconnect. This is when I have to take a step back and start talking about how the job of inbound marketing does not end with lead generation but extends into setting the table for sales so they can be more productive. It needs to do all the heavy lifting for creating qualified opportunities for industrial sales. However, it is sales that actually hears how customers describe their products and services. MORE >>

too have read all those studies about the how the Internet has permanently changed the industrial buyer’s behavior. They provide examples of how the target audience behaves in their personal lives where they TiVo through commercials, use caller ID to ignore telemarketing calls, direct mail pieces go straight to trash and of course, nobody ever reads a newspaper or a trade magazine anymore. However, it has been my experience that the realty on the ground is very different for many manufacturers and industrial companies. an Outlet Size of 3?, MORE >>

I’ll go out on a limb and state that content marketing for engineers is different. However, to engage with engineers and address their needs (WIIFM), your marketing content needs to have a different flavor of storytelling. Adding a human element into the content makes it even more compelling to your engineering audience. Emerson’s and It’s Never Been Done Before microsite is a good example of powerful storytelling aimed at an engineering and technical audience. is the driving force behind this effort where 14 in-house engineers write 73 different blogs. MORE >>