Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 3, 2012

It is difficult for these companies to shift their mindset to think like “publishers” when their entire library of content is strictly product-focused. Pull key points out of Product Selection Guides and make them into short blog posts. Highlight customer applications under their own operating conditions.

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Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 16, 2011

Many engineers, specifiers, users and buyers of industrial products regularly use social media in their personal lives but work-related usage is limited among this audience. I’ve read a few articles and blog posts about how some manufacturers are using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to listen, engage and market to their customers.

Social Media 60

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Industrial Marketing Today

APRIL 14, 2012

I owe a big debt of gratitude to the late, great Steve Jobs and his innovative products. I learned my business in the early years by doing production work for other ad agencies and printers around town. We became a full-service integrated marketing communications firm. How could I ignore the “voice of the customer” (VOC)?

Paid Search Agency 60

Paid Search Agency Work Management Marketing Management Companies 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 1, 2011

These are all great at soft selling without irritating the customer. However, have we gone too soft with content marketing when it comes to selling industrial products and services? At the end of the day, every content marketer must help sell more industrial products and services. No complaints there.

Sales Qualified Leads 60

Sales Qualified Leads Content Marketing Planning Paid Search Agency 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 16, 2012

Scenario #1: You sell complex engineering services or you are a manufacturer of industrial equipment that requires big-ticket capital investment. They are the specifiers of your product. Your customer is an OEM/Fabricator. He fabricates the system to his customer’s specifications.

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Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Marketing Management Paid Search Agency 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 27, 2012

Manufacturers and industrial companies often use solutions or consultative selling to add value for their customers and transform themselves from suppliers into trusted partners. There are many ways that digital marketing can help industrial companies make their consultative selling process more productive.

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RFP Peer-to-peer High Quality Lead Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 18, 2011

Nearly 9 out of 10 “Outperformers” credited their websites for helping them increase revenues, open new sources of business, compete more aggressively in core markets and serve customers better or more efficiently. There were a total of 3,370 survey respondents from North America, primarily the US.

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Marketing Websites Buyer Personas Customer Surveys Advertising Mediums 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 1, 2012

This may seem obvious since you want to create content for your customers and prospects but it is somewhat of a tricky question. It should help you shift the focus from writing about your products and services to how you help your customers solve their challenges. You have the best solutions for your customers’ problems!

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Paid Search Agency Marketing Strategy Marketing & Strategy Work Management 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 1, 2012

The other half is all about converting that traffic into leads and customers. Don’t assume that detailed product features are sufficient to move the needle. For example, “We have XX years of customizing solutions for the ABC industry and offer the lowest price.” Congratulations! Prove it – are you always the lowest bidder?

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Traffic Marketing Analytics Tools Buying Cycle Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 22, 2012

I have had many conversations where I have heard the other person tell me that they’ve never had to actively market their products and services before. They are accustomed to customers calling them for RFQs/RFPs. Industrial companies are having a difficult time adjusting their mindset to the new realities of buyer behavior.

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Industrial Marketing Today

NOVEMBER 22, 2011

Marlin Steel in Baltimore, MD manufactures Custom Wire Baskets, Mesh Baskets, Stainless Steel Products, Custom Wire Forming and Precision Sheet Metal Fabrication for the Automotive and the Ammunition industries and a range of other industrial applications. Click here to view the embedded video.

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Youtube Video Marketing Trends Advertising Channels 60

Industrial Marketing Today

APRIL 15, 2011

For a while now, manufacturers have been using online searchable product catalogs to generate new leads and sales. Their unique CAD technology allowed manufacturers to put 3D CAD models of their products directly into the hands of more than 100,000 engineers and architects who had registered on their site. That was back in 2005.

Lead Ranking 60

Lead Ranking Work Management Lead Scoring Marketing Management 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 1, 2011

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. However, it is sales that actually hears how customers describe their products and services.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Inbound Marketing Bulldog Solutions Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

The big hurdle they face is in engaging and converting readers into prospects, leads and ultimately customers. They are: Buyer Personas – deep insights on the people who buy your products and services Buying Process – the steps buyers go through to acquire your products and services Buyer personas go a lot deeper than just demographics.

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Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 14, 2011

Just as publishers start by learning everything about their target audience and what information they want, content marketers must realize it is not about them but about their customers. That was the advice from Joe Pulizzi (founder of Junta42 and co-author of Get Content Get Customers ) at a Content Strategy New England meetup last year.

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Content Marketing High Quality Lead Planning BtoB 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 20, 2012

I agree that SEO is a very important goal of content marketing; after all, your website needs to be found by the right people when they are searching for industrial products and services that you provide. Because search engines don’t convert into customers, people do. Why do I say that?

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SEO Content Marketing Copywriting Content 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 20, 2010

by Achinta Mitra on July 20, 2010 in B2B Marketing Collateral , Content Marketing , Industrial Marketing Strategies , Integrated Industrial Marketing , Sales Strategies To be successful in industrial and B2B marketing, one has to engage with prospects and customers in a meaningful manner. The four steps are: 1.

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Creativity B2B Marketing Lead Ranking Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 23, 2012

That’s because the way your industrial customers interact with you during their buying cycle has changed significantly over the past few years. Your industrial website must be a true reflection of your company, its products and services. Pick their brains for what they know and are hearing from your customers.

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Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 21, 2011

It is a balancing act to create content that solves real problems for your readers (prospects and customers) without hawking your products and services. Pushing out blatant product-centric sales messages are sure to turn off your audience. National Semiconductor Corp. billion of sales in 2010.

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Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 3, 2011

Getting found by more prospects that are actively looking for solutions that your products/services can provide. Showcasing in-house subject matter experts with blog posts written by your engineers, product designers and customer support people. Are you using a business blog for generating new sales leads?

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Business Blogging High Quality Lead Business 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 2, 2010

They are combining video, audio and sophisticated tracking tools to deliver email campaigns with highly customized messages that engage prospects in their preferred format and measure interactions beyond just open and click-thru rates and well into website behavior. According to SirrusDecisions research, the B2B buyer receives 20.3

Email Marketing 60

Email Marketing Planning Web 2.0 BtoB 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 15, 2010

I make my living providing marketing services including designing and marketing industrial websites. Other than some initial hiccups, the updates and the usage have been flawless with our client receiving very favorable comments from their customers. Is that a good thing?

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CMS Development Marketing Websites Work Management Web 2.0 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

In this post, I’ve listed the major areas to focus on if you want to make your industrial e-mail marketing more relevant and productive. Your list should be segmented into at least two broad categories – prospects and customers. E-mail List Hygiene. Each segment should receive different e-mails. Personalized Content.

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Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 26, 2010

But not easy to execute because there usually is a disconnect between what your prospect wants to hear and what you want to say about your company and its products and services. Without a clear understanding of the stages, it is difficult to align your marketing content with your customer’s decision-making process.

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Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 20, 2010

You need to move beyond the free Google Custom Search tool for websites. For example, segment your products and services by application and/or industry. Give them hardcore specifications typically found in product spec sheets. Design wins lead to production volume orders.

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Web 2.0 Planning Buying Cycle Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 8, 2010

You are well aware of the fact that the Internet has completely and permanently changed the way industrial buyers purchase technical products and services. Let’s say your business offers a software product designed to help business owners efficiently allocate revenue to related expenses to ultimately reduce costs.

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Buying Cycle Buy Work Management Marketing Management 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 11, 2011

Are you an in-house marketer or a consultant tasked with promoting engineering services? Then you know very well that it is fundamentally different from marketing industrial and/or manufactured products. By default, many engineering services companies resort to bragging about themselves on their Websites.

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Thought Leadership Marketing Management Peer-to-peer Service 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 22, 2011

They found your content interesting and valuable but are not likely to become customers ever. Track 2 should be for nurturing those prospects who meet your general demographics but have not scored high enough to receive content meant for the middle of the funnel such as case studies, application notes and product comparison guides.

Sales Qualified Leads 60

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Top of Funnel 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 3, 2010

You want your business blog to become the hub that attracts traffic, establishes your credibility and ultimately, moves those readers forward in their decision making process and become paying customers. Are you pre-selling a product or service? How do you turn your business blog into a powerful sales tool?

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Business Blogging Web 2.0 Long Tail Marketing Business 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

The salesperson may have to spend a lot of time re-educating the customer and correcting misunderstandings Customers are prisoners of their own experiences (we all are). Today’s B2B salesperson must bridge the gap from the experience of others to the specific and unique needs and priorities of the customer.

Social Media 60

Social Media Social Marketing Media Planning 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 9, 2010

Let’s get one thing straight from the get go, if you are in a declining market with low demand for your products and services, no amount of automation will help you generate new leads. However, B2B and/or industrial marketers must learn to use it correctly in order to harness its true power.

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Marketing Automation Services Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Marketing Automation 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 3, 2010

We already have lots of brochures and data sheets to give to our prospects and customers. Learn to connect the dots – many times product managers and engineers have very deep knowledge about their products and the problems they can solve. There’s nothing new we can say on our website.

Marketing Websites 60

Marketing Websites Web 2.0 Work Management Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 1, 2010

It helps a great deal if you first learn what turns off your B2B customers in order to avoid making simple mistakes that can damage a customer relationship. There is a big difference between what B2B customers say they want and what really drives their purchasing decision.

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Industrial Marketing Today

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Of course, you don’t have to copy word for word any of the examples from above, you are the only one who can decide which approach works best for your product, service or list. You’ll receive your first issue immediately even if it is 2:00AM on a weekend.

Email Marketing 60

Email Marketing Web 2.0 Planning Opt-in 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 8, 2012

These industrial professionals prefer self-service over talking to a salesperson until they are ready (aka, listening to a sales pitch early in their decision making process). I suggest that you create a digital self-service center on your industrial Website. You have to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think like him/her.

Marketing Websites 60

Marketing Websites Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Leads 60

Industrial Marketing Today

APRIL 26, 2011

Most major email service providers (ESPs) and Marketing Automation (MA) vendors provide the tools to easily create dynamic content within your emails. Many of these solutions also integrate well with popular Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Relevance 60

Relevance Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services Lead Ranking 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 11, 2011

Tweet The challenge for many industrial marketers is making their content relevant to their prospects and customers. Because your customers know what they want and what is important to them, your content must address their concerns or they will go looking for the answers elsewhere (your competition).

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